Sirene (Wattys 2014 Entrant)

Chapter 1

London, October 1900

 “Miss Morgan, we have a new arrival, the policeman just brought her over. Do you think we have a place for her?”

Miss Morgan looked up and brushed away a grey strand of hair that had escaped her bun. “Yes, Miss Grey, we have room for her. Is this the child?” she motioned towards the small figure standing right behind Miss Grey.

Miss Grey nodded. “Yes ma’am, this is the one.”

“Come over here, child.”

The girl took a few steps closer.

"What is your name, your age, what were your parent’s names?”

“My name is Oceana and I’ll be ten next spring.”

“You’re name is what?” Miss Morgan looked up from her writing.

“Oceana, you spell it O. C. E. A. N. A.”

“I can figure out how it is spelled, but what a strange name.”

“It’s only strange because you are unfamiliar with it.”

“Mind your manners young lady. Who gave you such a name?"

"The man who raised me."

"Hmmm and what of your parents?”

“Never knew my parents.”

 “The child has no papers, no documents, nothing. Nobody knows who she is, where she came from or anything about her,” Miss Grey hastened to explain.

“Where did the police find her?”

“She was taken into custody with a man whom they had arrested for smuggling goods into London. The police officer brought her to us because we have a good reputation, and we also happened to be one of the closest orphan asylums.”

Miss Morgan frowned and looked the child up and down again.

“Very well,” she said at last, “seeing as it will be dinner soon, take her to the dining room. After dinner we will figure out what to do with her. Make sure the cook places another plate at the table.”

Miss Grey nodded and led Oceana by the hand out of the room and down a large corridor into the big dining room, filled with tables and chairs. 

“Sit quietly here,” Miss Grey commanded, leading her to one of the chairs. “Dinner will be ready in a matter of moments. When the rest of the children come down you will eat together.”

Oceana gave a slight nod and Miss Grey left the dining room. The little girl gazed at the four walls, her deep seaweed colored eyes looking about, searching for a way out.  A loud ring made Oceana jump and the slamming of doors and the sound of footsteps added fear to her eyes. Soon the great door opened and a host of girls of all ages came walking in. Two by two they walked, following a woman at the head of the long, long line. A few paused for a moment when they saw the stranger sitting at the end of one of the tables and whispers began going around as the news was passed that a newcomer had arrived.

“Children, hurry up and take you seats, dinner is served,” the overseer called and the children all obeyed. Before she knew it, Oceana found herself surrounded by a crowd of girls.

“My name is Mary,” the girl next to her introduced herself. “Your new here, aren't you?” 

Oceana nodded her head. “I just arrived today.”

“What’s your name?” The girl sitting in front of her asked. “I’m Christine by the way.”

“My name is Oceana.”

“Oceana?” Mary looked confused. “That is the weirdest name I have ever heard.”

“Only because you are not familiar with it,” Oceana explained. “No name is strange, only unfamiliar. I’m sure if Shirley or Mary or Stacey or any other name happened to be a rare name it would be strange to you too.”

“My name is Nora,” another girl put in. “Tell us where you came from.”

“From the docks.”

“Sailor’s daughter?”

“Yes exactly.”

“How come you are not dressed like the rest of us?” Someone else asked.

“Oh, Shirley, what a silly question.” Christine rolled her eyes. “She arrived when supper was served so they brought her straight to the dining room to eat.”

Oceana opened her mouth to say something but Mary was ahead of her. “They’ll fit her in a uniform once supper is finished. Now, all of you, stop pestering the poor girl, eat your food and let her do the same.”

Mary proved to be right. When dinner was over, Oceana was taken by Miss Grey and given a bath, after which she was given a sthe ugliest grey dress Oceana had ever seen. With it came a white frock and matching stockings. Once dressed, Miss Grey brushed out Ocean’s long hair and pulled out a pair of scissors.

“What the devil are those for?” Oceana eyed the scissors as though they were poison.

“Oceana, mind your language,” Miss Grey admonished. “It isn’t right for little girls to speak in such a manner. The scissors are to cut your hair.”

“Cut my hair!” Oceana gasped with horror and clenched her long auburn locks. “You can’t do that.”

“I’m sorry my dear, but with so many little girls, we can’t afford to have everyone’s hair long. There simply aren’t enough people to help you keep track of it, wash it, comb it, braid it.”

“I can do that all on my own,” Oceana stubbornly protested, refusing to let go of her hair while Miss Grey tried to pry it loose. “I won’t let you cut my hair, I won’t!”

“Come now, Oceana, stop being stubborn. Your hair will look just as nice as the other girls’.”

“I don’t want my hair to look like the other girls, I want my hair to be long! It must be long, Chandler liked it to be long.” 

Protesting did no good and the locks were cut off. Oceana was led in tears to the dorm where the rest of the orphans were preparing for bed.

“Hurry up or you’ll be late,” Miss Grey said as she helped Oceana undress into her nightgown. Soon all the children were in their beds and the lights were turned out. The silence of the night was broken by quiet sobs coming from Oceana’s corner. A girl with dark curly hair leaned over and asked, “What’s the matter, why are you crying?”

“My hair,” Oceana sobbed, “they cut my hair.”

“Of course they did,” her neighbor replied. “They always cut the hair of the girls who come here. If we all had long hair, they would all go insane trying to keep it clean and neat. There are over fifty orphans, that’s a lot of children, and there is only Miss Grey, and Miss Ringers and Miss Morgan and Mr. Parster and the cook. Oh well, and there is Patty and her brother, but that’s still only so much people.”

“But I can take care of my own hair,” Oceana kept sobbing. “I didn’t want them to cut it, it was supposed to grow long.”

“Please don’t cry,” the girl pleaded. “Look, they cut mine too. The lovely thing about hair is that it will grow back. Cheer up, at least they didn’t shave it off. While you live here it will be kept short, but when you grow up and leave the orphanage, you can grow it out as long as you want.” 

It took Oceana a few more moments to settle down and stop the tears, but at last they came to a halt and she wiped them away from her cheeks.

“That’s better,” the dark eyed girl smiled. “After all, tears won’t make your hair grow back. What is your name?”

“Oceana, how about yours?”

“My full name is Elizabeth Warren, but everyone calls me Beth. How about you, is there a short version for your name?”

“Nope.” 

“You do have a very pretty name, but it is very strange. Who gave it to you?”

“Chandler did.”

“Was Chandler your father?”

“No.”

“Oh, how intriguing, but don’t tell me now. It is late and tomorrow we must be up early. Close your eyes and go to sleep. I know this place seems strange; it was strange to me when I first arrived as well. With time you’ll get used to it, just like we all did.”

***

The next morning the girls were awakened by a whistle. Oceana jumped in fright out of her bed in. Glancing around, she noticed that the other children weren’t frightened at all. 

“What was that all about?” she asked Beth.

“That was the morning wake-up call,” Beth replied.

“Is this the way it is every morning?”

“Yes.”

“From the sound of it you would think we were in the army or something,” Oceana grumbled.

“Ah, you will get used to it,” Beth spoke in a knowing voice. “Like I said last night, at first everything is strange and foreign, but then it becomes part of your life.” 

Now that it was light Oceana could get a good look at Beth. She seemed about Ocean's age, but was shorter in height. Her eyes were very dark and very bright and it seemed they were always laughing. Her features were extremely round and reminded Oceana of a china doll she had once seen. Beth’s dark hair was made of curls and kept in two pigtails, like that of all the girls in the asylum. The short hair suited Beth very well. Oceana took an immediate liking to her little friend with the pretty smile and adoring eyes. 

“You and I shall hold hands when we go to breakfast,” Beth kept on talking. “And I will make sure you sit by me during the lessons. Don’t you worry about a thing; I will help you settle in. This is a large place and with so many children it is easy to feel lost, but I will be here to help you.” She reached out and squeezed Oceana’s hand. Oceana returned with a grateful smile and soon the two girls were walking hand in hand towards the dining room.

“Beth, that is not fair for you to grab the new girl,” Shirley called out. “Who said you had any right to her? What if I wanted to walk with her?”

“You’ll just have to learn to be quicker,” Beth retorted.“Besides my bed is next to hers, so I have the right of a neighbor.”

“Humph!” Shirley frowned. “I still say you are just being selfish. You could talk to her last night; now let the others have a chance to get to know her.”

“I didn’t do any talking last night because I was busy sleeping.”

“Well, you should have, that way I could have had her this morning.”

“Like I said Shirley, you just have to learn to be quicker.”

“Why is it that everyone wants to talk with me?” Oceana was a little puzzled as they sat down for breakfast.

“Oh, it is just because you are new,” Beth said with a laugh. “Everyone wants to get to know you and find out your back story. But they shan’t rob me of you, I had you first and I will keep you. And don’t be so slow with your meal.” Beth watched Oceana pick at the simple porridge. “Hurry up and eat, breakfast time will be over soon.”

“What happens after breakfast time?” 

“Oh, lots of things. There is a really tight schedule here, all thanks to Miss Morgan. She’s a good lady, only very strict. We will all gather for morning devotions and then have our school lessons. You really had better hurry; being late is greatly frowned upon.”

True to Beth’s words, the schedule was very tight. After breakfast they were led to a big hall where they sat and listened to Miss Morgan read to them from a big book. Oceana didn’t understand what was being read and didn’t bother to listen. She preferred to watch the birds playing outside. After the reading the girls were lead to a large classroom. There were tables and chairs and the girls sat in pairs while the teacher stood up front at the big blackboard. Oceana’s big eyes got even bigger as she looked around the room. 

“What on earth do you do here?” She asked, turning to Beth. 

“Why, learn of course," Beth explained while gazing at Oceana curiously. "We sit at the desks with our slate and papers and workbooks.”

“What a nightmare!” Oceana gasped. “It is like being in a prison cell.”

“Oh Oceana, it is nothing of the sort. It is only a classroom.”

“I’ve never been in a classroom before.”

“Then how did you go to school?”

“Never been in a school.”

“You mean your parents never sent you?”

“Never knew my parents.”

“So you lived on the streets?”

“Never lived on the streets.”

Beth opened her mouth to ask another question, but the bell rang and all the girls took their seats at the desks. Oceana sat next to Beth, her eyes still filled with confusion; she had never done anything like this in all her life. 

“Now, Oceana,” The lady at the blackboard turned her attention to the new arrival. She was short with brown eyes and small glasses. Her grey dress made her look thin and pale. “My name is Miss Ringers, and I am your teacher. Tell me, in your last school, what grade were you in?”

“I never went to a school, Miss Ringers.”

Miss Ringers was not happy with the answer. “I was afraid of that. How am I to know where you are scholastically? Can you read and write?”

“Of course I can. Just because I have never been in a school doesn’t mean I haven’t got an education. Give me what the other girls are doing.”

Miss Ringers hesitated for a moment, but the class had to get going and she figured she would do as Oceana suggested and they would take it from there. Oceana was handed a sheet just like Beth’s, with addition and subtraction to be worked out. 

“You will do your work quietly and once you have finished, put your pencil down and wait till the rest of the girls are done.” 

The girls all worked at their sheets without a word. The silence was so loud Oceana couldn’t help but think it deafening. With a sigh, she turned her attention to her work. After a few minutes Beth glanced over to see how Oceana was getting along, perhaps the work was too difficult for her. Oceana was busy scratching away and seemed fully occupied with her mathematics.

There was a bit of noise from a few girls, but this was put to silence with a rap on the head from Miss Ringers’ large ruler. Oceana viewed this form of punishment with great horror, not understanding anything that was going around her.

Oceana completed her work very quickly and put her pencil down. Now it was her turn to glance over at how Beth was getting along. Looking up to see if Miss Ringers was watching, she gave Beth a little nudge with her foot. 

“You’ve got two wrong,” she whispered through clenched teeth, hoping Miss Ringers wouldn’t notice. “The first two in the second column, it’s not 17 and 19, but 16 and 21.”

Beth looked up in surprise, which became even greater when she saw that Oceana had finished, none of the other girls had. Beth nodded her thanks, but didn’t speak out of fear of Miss Ringers.  At last the mathematics lesson was finished and the girls handed their papers to Miss Ringers, who in turn gave them ten minutes of recess. It was here that the little orphans crowded all about Oceana. Many of them introduced themselves and asked Oceana how she was settling in. 

 “Can someone tell me what this place is exactly?” Oceana asked, looking into the sea of eyes that surrounded her.

At this question all the girls burst out laughing. 

“Why, you don’t know?” Mary asked. “How funny of you if you don’t. This is an orphan asylum. An orphan asylum is a place where orphans live. Oh, I’ll give you a hint, we are the orphans.” Mary gave a sad smirk when she spoke the last sentence.

“Are there only girls?”

“Of course! They would never mix boys with girls, not here. This is strictly a school for orphaned girls.”

“So…what am I doing here?”

“You?” Shirley looked at her strangely. “You are going to live here with the rest of us.”

“I AM?”

“But of course. Why else would they bring you here then?”

“You are an orphan, Oceana, are you not?” Beth asked.

“I never once thought of myself as an orphan,” Oceana replied.

“But you said you never knew your parents; that makes you an orphan. Surely you understand that.”

“An orphan is someone who has no one to care for them,” Oceana stated after a moment of thought.

“Really Oceana, you can’t be that ignorant, can you? An orphan is a child who is left without parents and…” The bell interrupted Beth’s explanation and the girls ran back to their lessons.