It’s not like last year

It’s not like last year, Tom thought to himself. You see when Tom was just twelve years old his mother was too poor to take care of him. So she took him to an orphanage. It had huge iron gates and it was an ugly red building, the yard only had sand Tom didn’t hear a single child talking. Tom didn’t know where he was, his mother held his hand and they both walked towards the ugly red building. Finally, his mother stopped at a door, and she knocked. Someone came out, she had brown messy hair and a scrunched-up face, she was wearing a white apron and a navy dress. Tom was frightened of this woman and held his mother’s hand tighter then ever before.

It’s okay Tom, his mother said softly. The woman smirked, don’t worry I don’t bite she laughed.

Tom didn’t like this lady one bit. ‘I’m Matron Millie’ she said.

‘Come inside dear’ she said. She tried to grab his arm, but he clung to his mother tightly.

‘Tom dear, it’s alright, this woman will take good care of you’ his mother said softly, and her eyes were filling with tears. Finally, Matron grabbed his arm while Tom screamed for his mother. His mother ran down the steps and couldn’t bear to look at him getting taken away.

Tom screamed and screamed until his voice was so sore, he couldn’t scream anymore. Matron brought him into a room. It had a tub in the middle of it. ‘Get in’ said matron, Tom reluctantly got in. Matron started to wash his hair, while doing so she got soap suds in his eyes, and he started to yell and cry. Matron tugged his ear. ‘Stop crying you little baby!’.

He stopped crying. After the bath she took his old clothes and threw them away.

Tom said, ‘Why are you throwing my clothes away’.

Matron said ‘Because here we have a uniform’, and she threw the uniform at him. It was an ugly brown Top with black buttons and the trousers a tan sort of color, and the shoes were black with laces but they looked old and ugly too.

The socks were a yellowish sort of grey color, and finally the cap was a ugly green. Right get yourself dressed and I’ll show you around. Tom reluctantly put on the uniform. He thought it might be comfortable but it was a scratchy material and he kept having to roll up his trousers as they were so scratchy they hurt his legs.

But the Matron didn’t like that, ‘Stop doing that’ the matron said. The matron showed him where the dorms, the dining room, the yard and the classes were.

‘Bed is at eight o clock sharp’, said the man in charge of the boys. ‘Anyone caught sneaking around at night will get whipped and bread and water for a week’.

Tom gulped he didn’t like this man Tom wanted to escape but how? Will he ever get home?