#Chapter 37: The Orphanage

Nicholas didn’t say a word. He simply turned and left. “Bye, Nick-lass!” Elva called, before happily returning to her waffles. Deflated, I corrected my chair and flopped down onto it. None of the girls spoke to me during the rest of breakfast. Susie might have, but she was still too embarrassed from her own comment. Her gaze never lifted to mine. The longer I sat there in silence, with the girls chattering amongst themselves, the more suffocated I began to feel in the palace. The girls’ conversations had more or less returned to the same topics as before, as if I had not spoken up at all. I hated being surrounded by so much vanity and selfishness. It made me worry that I was becoming that way too. By the time Elva and I had finished breakfast and were on our way back to our room, I felt like I might vibrate straight out of my skin. I was uncomfortable and unhappy. The looming threat of my punishment weighed on my mind too. Mark was still waiting outside of our room, ta