"Maybe you should," Pascal mumbled. He glanced up at me shyly with his one eye. The other was always hidden away beneath his eyepatch. I'd never seen him without it, so I had no idea what lay beneath.
"All right." I took a deep breath and let it out. "Earlier when Kip was misbehaving, Headmaster threatened him."
Pascal frowned. "Did she hurt him?"
"No, not physically." It was hard to get the next words out. "She said... if he didn't listen to her, he would end up like Noel."
Pascal froze. I watched the same horror that I’d felt spill across his face. Then it twisted into fury. "That's horrible! Who says that to a kid?"
"I thought the same thing."
Pascal was trembling with anger. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but that makes me even more pissed off at her than I already am."
"Why are you angry with her?"
Pascal grimaced like he was in pain. He wouldn't meet my gaze.
"Pascal?" I asked.
He slumped in his seat like there was a weight pressing down on his shoulders. "Headmaster was upset with you this morning."
"Because I was late?"
"Yeah. But not just that. It sounded like she's felt this way for a long time. I don't know if she was telling the truth, or if she only said this out of anger, but... she said she was looking forward to kicking you out of the orphanage soon."
A chill ran down my spine. "What?"
Pascal rubbed his arm. He was clearly uncomfortable with being the bearer of bad news. "You're turning twenty soon, right?" he asked.
I nodded slowly, unable to speak.
Pascal turned his eye on me. "She said... she can kick you out the day you turn twenty, since you're legally an adult."
"But I've been legally an adult since I was eighteen," I argued.
He shrugged. "That's what I thought, too. But she said there was some loophole in the orphanage system so she had to wait until now." His gaze fell. "You won't be allowed to stay here anymore."
My stomach dropped. I couldn't fathom what Pascal was saying. It felt like I was in a horrible dream and I desperately wanted to wake up.
The rug had been pulled out from beneath my feet. I couldn't leave the orphanage. Not now. I wasn't ready. I wasn't so naïve that I thought I'd live here forever—I always knew one day I'd be turned out to live on my own, but I never imaged it would be so soon.
"Florian?" Pascal's gentle voice pulled me from my worries. His face was sympathetic. "You okay?"
I began to nod but then paused. My voice broke as I said, "No, I don't think I am. What am I going to do, Pascal?"
He grimaced. Neither one of us wanted to think of the implications of being tossed out of the orphanage, especially not with our disabilities—me with my chronic pain, and Pascal with his one working eye. Despite being forced to work all day long, we at least had some food and a roof over our heads. And most importantly, we found solace in each other’s presence.
The thought of being alone, without a home or food, terrified me.
"Maybe you misunderstood her," I said desperately.
"Maybe," Pascal replied, though I knew he was only saying it to make me feel better. "You should talk to Headmaster. Shecan'tkick you out, Florian. You do most of the work around here!"
"You do, too," I argued, not wanting him to sell himself short.
Pascal huffed. "Yeah. I mean, the two of us—we basically carry this orphanage on our shoulders, don't we?" He grasped my wrist. "I can't do it all by myself. She has to let you stay."
I chewed my lip. Pascal was right. He couldn't be responsible for both the daily childcareandthe kitchen tasks. It was impossible for a single person to do all of strict Headmaster's tasks in one day.
