Chapter 3: Zane and I Meet To Learn More

Ari's side of how she and Zane first met and how they're working on becoming closer.

April 26th. I was just finishing my door lock when everyone was called down for breakfast. As I walked past the nursery, I was greeted by Kara, the little 5 year old that lives across the hall from me. "Hi Ari!" Kara greeted me in the cutest way possible. "Hey there Kara! Come on. Let's go to breakfast," I encouraged Kara. Kara grabbed my hand and she and I walked down to the dinning room - which was 5 floors down. As I got Kara seated in her assigned seat, I turned around from the feeling of someone watching me. I turned back towards Kara and finished getting her situated. As I turned around to walk back to my seat, this blonde haired, blue-eyed boy ran into me. "Umm... Excuse me?" I snapped as the boy walked away. He turned around and for a split second our eyes met. His eyes shone back at me - as if he were my father. Flashbacks came to me and my face drew a blank. I saw memories of the last day I saw my father. As I came out of the hypnotic sense that I was in, I continued back to my seat. I was on clean-up duty this week with Jami, Zane, and Kye. After breakfast I started to the kitchen to start the hot water and start washing. The same boy that ran into me earlier was suppose to be drying - right next to me. "Hey. Sorry about earlier. I'm Zane," he introduced himself. "Ari." I answered back, shaking his hand. "Flora? The new kid?" he asked smiling. I nodded. "Trimbers! I was here a day before you were. My parents were in a car crash. What about you?" He seemed very social. "Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know. My parents were in this special ops type thing. Information about their death was classified. I never really knew them after I turned 8." I put forward as a few tears ran down my face. "I'm sorry. I didn't know." Zane sympathetically put out. as he placed his hand on my shoulder. He just stood there and stared at me for a reason I didn't know. After that, Zane and I were washing and drying in peace as Kye and Jami talked it up. Jami and Kye were best friends and were brought into the orphanage when they were 5, about 8 years ago. Since then they've been full of secrets.

I finished washing and went back up to my room were I set up the lock. About 20 minutes after setting up my lock, there was a knock. I waited in silence. The turning of the knob started. My alarm double locked and then sent a notification alert to the remote. "Hold on," I shouted as I disabled my lock, pleased that it worked. "Come in." The door knob once again turned. As it clicked, the door swung open revealing Zane behind it. "Hey," he greeted me cheerfully. "How do you know my room number?" I asked suspiciously. "Kye had it. He said Jami needed it the first day you got here so she could teach you the basics around here." Zane spoke quietly. "Okay. Why are you here?" I wasn't pleased that Zane was not stalking me. "Because." He paused for a second. "I want to be your friend. And I think I know how to dins out what happened to your parents." I froze when Zane said that. "What do you mean?" Zane gave me a mysterious look. He looked at my lock. "I'm making one just like this. My parents had one. They said they learned the design from work." Zane swung his head and looked at me. "Same here..." I said drifting my words slowly. I sat there awe-stricken. I looked to see if I still had the box I had from my parents was still under my bed. And there us was in the exact same place I left it. I turned back around to see Zane gone and a note on my desk. It read; Our parents worked together. Ask them about your parents. Call this number. Talk to me after you talk to them. H23. 712-3304 -Zane 

I put the note down and took out my cell phone. I dialed the number that Zane left me. By the 4th ring, someone picked up on the other side. "How may I help you?" It sounded to me like a woman in her late 40's. "My friend told me to call you and ask you about my parents." There was a small moment of no sound. "I'm sorry, I can't help you or your friend. You must have the wrong number," the woman spoke unsteadily. "No! My parents names are Jessica and Gabriel Flora. Please! I know you have something to do with me and more importantly, my parents deaths! Zane Trimbers told me so!" I was screaming by that point and tears rolled down my face. "Ariana Lilian Flora?" The woman sounded surprised. "They - they - they," the woman stuttered, "you're alive?" The woman sounded quite shocked. "Ummm... Yeah! I've been 14 for months! When'd you think I died?" I asked suspiciously. "And Zane Alexander Trimbers is alive also, I presume," the woman stated wanting to clarify all of this. "Yes. May I ask why you're surprised at all of this?" My patience was getting smaller and smaller. "You guys have been marked dead since you were 3. You were suppose to be dead in the car crash with your grandparents!" I could tell the woman was getting frustrated with all the mislead information. "Well, I'm alive as ever and so is Zane. May I please talk to someone who knows about my parents deaths? I would like to know and  if it has anything to do with Zane's family at all," I thought I was being quite polite considering the situation. "I'm afraid all of this is highly classified. Maybe I may visit you and your family and talk to you about this?" I was afraid she would say that. "I don't have any family. I'm at Elm Ridge's Orphanage. I have been for about a week." I tried to fight back the tears that came to me as I thought of my parents. "What's the number? Maybe I can call and ask to make an appointment to talk to yo. They should allow me if I tell them it's regarding your parents deaths." The woman covered everything. "I would like to speak to Zane Trimbers as well. The only thing I am able to tell you is that the Trimbers and Flora families were very close." The woman spoke back. "Okay. The orphanage's number is 366-902-5161." I told her clearly. "Okay. Thank you." The woman seemed to be in a hurry to get off the phone.

I set my phone under my pillow and darted fro Zane's room. I told him everything. Zane and I then waited for the orphanage to tell us we were having visitors soon. After about 3 days we were told, but they didn't sound too happy that these people were coming to talk to us. Zane and I waited impatiently for tomorrow to come. Zane seemed as if he knew the car crash thing was a cover up. Soon enough the woman that was on the phone came. We were then called down. "Hello. My name is Mrs. Laderman. You must be Ariana," she paused and shook my hand. " And you must be Zane," she paused again and shook Zane's hand. "Oh, I haven't seen you since you were oh so very little. How nice it is to see you all again. It's like I'm staring at Jessica and Adam straight in the eyes, all over again." Mrs. Laderman seems very talkative considering hoe she was being vague and choppy with her sentences on the phone just a few days earlier. Mrs. Laderman sat down with us. She waited quietly until we were alone. Once we were, Mrs. Laderman stood up and closed the door. Like everything she was about to say was top secret classified document of some sort. Mrs. Laderman waited another few moments before she opened her folder. She cleared her throat and looked us straight in the eyes. "Zane Alexander Trimbers and Ariana Lilian Flora," she paused. "Your parents were part of specials ops." Zane and I looked at each other. "Okay?" Zane spoke back unsure of why she was telling us. "And now you will be, too," Mrs. Laderman finished.