The Hospital: How I survived the secret child experiments at Aston Hall by Barbara O'Hare

Author:Barbara O'Hare [O'Hare, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blink Publishing
Published: 2017-02-09T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Bodies

It soon became normal for me to walk to school every day with Frank. He didn’t hold my hand because I’d promised I wouldn’t run away. James would join us most days, walking alongside, chattering away, and it wasn’t long before we became good friends. Frank would be there, but he allowed us to talk as long as he followed close behind.

“I know this area well,” James told me. “I’m from Nottingham, you see. My dad used to take me camping all around here.”

Soon he was telling me about all the places he’d been on holiday, including the Yorkshire Dales, where he’d seen the most beautiful waterfall.

“You should’ve seen it, Barbara; it was the most incredible thing.”

However our conversations began, they always turned back to one subject – the hospital.

“I haven’t seen my mother since I was little,” James told me.

“Me neither. I don’t even know her name, because no one will tell me. All everyone ever says are nasty things about her. I don’t even remember what she looks like because she left when I was just a baby. My foster mother once told me my mum didn’t want me.”

James shook his head in pity.

“That’s awful,” he sighed.

I wiped away a stray tear that had suddenly filled my eye.

“But I don’t believe it because Edna was a cow, and she’s jealous. My mum’s a lovely lady, and she’s out there right now, searching for me.”

James looked over and smiled.

“I bet she is,” he agreed.

“One day, she’ll find me and I’ll have a mother just like other children. I’ll have a mother who braids my hair and looks after me. She’ll be proud of me, too,” I insisted. “Not like my foster mum. She wasn’t my real mum, she’s a fake. Only real mums can be proud of their daughters. That’s why I was put in here, to stop me from running away. I kept running away, you see, running away to find my real mum.”

James was quiet as he listened to my story.

“Hey, maybe we should both run away so we can find our mums together.”

I grinned. It sounded like a great idea. The only problem was Dad would be coming in a few days and I knew he’d take me out of the hospital, so I had no reason to go.

James looked up because we’d reached the school.

“Well, I guess this is you,” he said as he began to walk away. “See you later?”

I nodded.

“Yes see you later.”

We had the usual assembly, I helped Hannah go to the toilet and then pushed her around at break time. A few more lessons followed, and then it was time to head back to Laburnum for dinner. The days passed by in a blur until one morning when James met me on my usual walk; he seemed very withdrawn and quiet.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, giving him a nudge, as Frank followed us close behind.

James didn’t answer, he just stared out into space as though he was lost in thought.

“Why are you so quiet?” I whispered.

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