It was a normal school day for Jamie. She walked to the orphanage, taking the long way home through the park. She wanted to have a quiet time before she went back there. Jamie Allison was a chubby blonde in middle school. She was bullied and called ugly. Jamie did her best to ignore them but they still hit sore spots every now and then. One of the sore spots that the majority of kids loved to talk about was her lack of parents. She would make up stories of how her parents were billionaires that spoiled her rotten, but they never believed her. They would just laugh and walk away.
        

Jamie left the park and headed to the orphanage. There were nine other kids who lived with her. The youngest kid was only a baby, her name was Jemima. Alicia and Melinda were twins, they were 3 years old. Jamie was 11, she was bullied both at school and at the orphanage, the only time she felt safe was when she walked home from school. Denny was a 13 year old, he never talked to anybody and there were rumors going around that he had no tongue, but Jamie didn’t believe that. She felt sorry for him. Jack was 15 years old. There were rumors about Jack as well, rumors about him being a drug addict. Jamie believed these rumors because they came from reliable sources and he seemed capable of doing it. Harriet was 10 years old and was known as a walking encyclopedia. She had a brother who seemed to be the exact opposite of her, his name was Billy. Billy was a college student and was out of the orphanage already, but he came to visit Harriet at least once a week. Jones was 7 years old and he complained a lot, which was probably why no one had adopted him yet. Martin was the oldest child, he was graduating that year and was going to start working at the orphanage after that, he was nice to Jamie. 
        

Before Jamie even entered the orphanage she heard the shouting and screaming that accompanied the orphanage. She walked across the porch and went to open the door but before she did, she looked up to make sure that the boys hadn’t left a booby trap there for her. She walked around to the back wondering who would be the victim of the bucket of water above the door waiting to fall on someone. Jamie entered the house through the back door. She slipped inside and ran down the hall to her room.
        

Dinner was silent and awkward. It always was. Mr. Zaroff, the orphanage director, spoke in a booming voice, “I have hired an assistant to help take care of you lot. I expect you to be nice or I’ll personally hunt you down and take care of things my way. ” His voice was threatening and the kids paled at the thought of what he might do. They nodded and as soon as dinner was over scurried off to do their chores, leaving Mr. Zaroff to snicker in glee. He enjoyed slaving and scaring the children of the orphanage, but the children weren’t the only ones scared of him. The staff was scared of him too.
        

The next day Jamie was woken up by a loud banging. She practically jumped out of bed, running downstairs to see what had happened. The maid crouched on the kitchen floor picking up pots and pans. She stopped and looked up, eyes filled with fear, and whispered, “Don’t tell Mr. Zaroff.” Jamie came to the maid’s side and stooped down to help her clean up.
        

“My name is Jamie. What’s yours?”
        

The maid never looked up, all she said was, “Mathilde.”
        

Jamie struck up a conversation, one that Mathilde couldn’t avoid. From the conversation Jamie was able to piece together that Mathilde was trying to pay for something that had belonged to her friend, which she lost. By the time they stopped talking the pots and pans were all neatly put away. “Bye Mathilde. It was nice meeting you and I hope to have a chance to talk to you again, but maybe under different circumstances.” Jamie said with a smile. Mathilde nodded her head and smiled.
Jamie sat at the table and got out breakfast. She sat down and started to eat. Before the food even entered her mouth, she was grabbed by the collar of her shirt and lifted up. She turned her head and saw Mr. Zaroff grinning maniacally. “I heard that you were helping the maid.” Jamie looked fearfully at him, wondering where the wrong was in helping. Mr. Zaroff raised his hand and was about to strike her when, all of a sudden, Martin was there, jumping on Mr. Zaroff. One powerful punch sent Mr. Zaroff to the ground unconscious.
        

At that moment a lady stepped into the room. She nearly screamed and bolted but Martin caught her and held her. “Who are you? Where are you from? Why are you here?” Martin questioned her while he slowly let her go.
        

It took a moment but she finally replied, “Is this the Zaroff Orphanage?”
        

“It’s the orphanage all right but it’s not Zaroff’s anymore. What’s your name and do you have a phone I could borrow?”
        

“My name is Lottie, Miss Lottie,” she replied, and in answer to his second question she dug around in her purse and handed her cell phone to him. Miss Lottie and Jamie watched Martin as he phoned the police and reported Mr. Zaroff for child abuse. Finally there was proof.  He hung up and Miss Lottie took hold of his arm and said, “I was meant to be the assistant helping the orphanage. Are you one of the orphans? What’s going on, do I still have a job? I have to support my son. We lost everything during the Depression. Please! Help me!”
        

Martin looked helplessly at Jamie and replied uncertainly, “I’m not sure what’s going to happen but we would all appreciate it if you would stay and take care of us. I’m in my senior year and I have always wanted to run the orphanage. I’ve always wanted to knock that man unconscious.  He’s been abusing us for so long.  I would love to help you run it here, I know how everything works and I could teach you. I just won’t be here during June because my brother Nat is getting married.”
        

Miss Lottie nodded and turned to Jamie who had been silent during the interchange. Jamie was pale and had tears in her eyes. Miss Lottie walked over to her and knelt down. Jamie took a step back and closed her eyes, waiting for the worst; assistants of an orphanage could be worse than the directors of an orphanage. Jamie felt strong arms wrap around her and felt herself being drawn toward Miss Lottie. A hug. Jamie hadn’t had the smallest sign of affection in so long that she burst into tears sobbing and wailing into the shoulder of a strange woman. She melted into the embrace and clung on for dear life.
        

Miss Lottie picked Jamie up and carried her to a chair where she sat down with Jamie on her lap. Officers came into the room and Martin explained what had happened and led them to Mr. Zaroff.
        

Mr. Zaroff stirred and the police jumped at him pulling him down with them. They struggled for a while and finally stood up with Zaroff in handcuffs. “If we take him away who will take care of the orphanage?”
        

“I will.” Miss Lottie spoke with determination. The police men nodded and started to drag Zaroff away. “I will hunt you down. All of you! You won’t escape my fury!” Zaroff shouted as he was led outside and into the police cars. Spectators gasped as they watched him spout out the words.
        

The week had passed quickly; it was the best week of everybody’s lives. Miss Lottie was taught how to run the orphanage with a lot of Martin’s help. Jack came out of his emo stage once Miss Lottie sat with him for over an hour in his room, and started to wear bright colors. He also had a haircut which looked very good on him. The biggest change was Denny. He was so chatty, it was as if all the unused words accumulated over the past years and burst forth, like he needed to catch up on them. Everyone’s attitudes changed and they learned how to be a family and look out for each other.
        

One day a couple came to the orphanage saying they wanted to adopt. The children dressed up neatly for the occasion and they had dinner together, everyone on their best behavior. The husband and wife introduced themselves, “My name is Jim and this is Della, my wife. We would like to adopt three of your children. We’ve thought long and hard about this, and we’ve decided to take Alicia and Melinda, the twins, and the baby Jemima. We feel that we could love them as our own, and they need families.” It was decided, and the new family headed back to New York.
        

The day after the adoption, two police men came in, an elderly looking one and a young adult. They sat down in two chairs. “Sit down please, Ma’am. Sonny I will need you to take away the younger kids. If you want you can come back and listen to what I’m about to say but the young one will need to leave.” Miss Lottie sat down and told Martin to take the little ones from the room, and quickly come back.
        

As soon as he was back the police told them what had happened. They said that Zaroff had escaped from jail, and because of the threat Zaroff had made, they would like to post the younger officer, named Rainsford, in the orphanage as an orphan. He would disguise himself and if Zaroff returned to the orphanage to get his revenge, Rainsford would be able to grab him and bring him back to the jail. They agreed to this and Martin lent him some of his clothes.
        

Miss Lottie told the kids the plan and managed to do so without them getting scared. They understood the danger and told Miss Lottie that they would do anything to help. Miss Lottie told them that they just had to live their normal lives and if they heard anything suspicious to come and tell her.
        

That night everybody was tense as they went to bed. Rainsford shared a room with the younger kids in an attempt to keep them safe. Rainsford lay in his bed awake listening for any unusual sounds. Suddenly he heard footsteps that sounded as if they were wrapped in cloth; an attempt to muffle the sound. Rainsford silently got up and crept to the door. The door creaked open; there must be someone there now because Rainsford hadn’t touched the door. Rainsford could see the fingers of a man coming around the door and opening it slowly. As soon as his body could fit through, Rainsford threw himself at the stalker.
        

Zaroff yelped in surprise as he was tackled to the ground. Martin burst out of his room like an elephant being chased by a mouse, and joined the skirmish. Miss Lottie ran out of her room phoning the police department. She hung up and shouted over the scuffle, “Enough! Children back to bed, and men if you must fight you may fight downstairs.” She watched as they trooped downstairs, their shoulders hung with shame as if they were little kids caught stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. When they reached the end of the stairs both Martin and Rainsford grabbed one of Zaroff’s arms. He yelled that it was unfair but Miss Lottie silenced him, telling them that the kids needed their sleep and wouldn’t be able to sleep with all the noise.
        

The police department was there in a matter of minutes. They took Zaroff and cuffed him. They shoved him into the police car and drove him off to a more secure prison. Miss Lottie thanked the police, especially Rainsford.
        

Dawn broke and Miss Lottie prepared a special breakfast of ham, cheese, eggs, and bacon. The children of the orphanage woke to the wonderful aroma filling the house and went downstairs to see the table set and a celebration breakfast set up. They all sat down as a family and ate together, having not a worry in the world.