Orchid

By Lady Alice

Lady Alice is an advocate for disabled children around the world. She was adopted into a family where she was the only physical one disabled. She wants to be able to give back to the world and to give each child the gift of voice. She won’t let society keep her down nor have the naysayers keep her from giving something back to the world. She has the power to make things happen when she sets her mind to it. She wants others to be able to do the same. She wants all walks of life to not be forgotten nor not to feel like no one cares about them. She does, and this is her story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662462245

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Orchid

Lady Alice

Copyright © 2022 Lady Alice

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2022

ISBN 978-1-6624-6223-8 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-6624-6224-5 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Orchid’s Background

Drill

Auntie Tini

New Roommate

Tony

The Ringer

Tini

Garbage Town

The Glitterverse

Alingos

Jerk Planet

Joy

Matt the Roommate

The Last Chrysanthemum

The Royal Contest or Gem City

Not Just a Blog

Becoming the Wishing Queen: Step One

The Universe Will Speak for Those Who Want It To

Gemdom Turned Queendom

Lady Halloween

The Day Winter Queen Rose

Coming Together but Standing Apart

The Last Fight to See Who Is Better

Chapter 1

Orchid’s Background

Oh, man, came the sign from her roommate. Orchid was watching her roommate Joy playing Animal Crossing as she lay on the couch in the front room of their apartment for disabled people. They lived in a low-income apartment where the rent was affordable because it’s a third of their income. Depending on how much you make, it’s always going to be a third of your income. It was located in a high-end neighborhood. This neighborhood was named Gretals. It wasn’t what she had had in mind growing up. To be honest, to live in an apartment that didn’t upgrade because of how the landlord made their money wasn’t ever going to make them be able to afford an upgrade. Orchid had wanted to be discovered like the others in social media, but since she didn’t do anything that would make her stand out so that anyone could discover her, well, she went the path that she went. Some of the stories that she had read were lucky bastards that had makeshift offices in their globe basements and ended up coming out as butterflies. Their humble beginnings didn’t always make them continue to be humble after the rich part. She idolized those that worked hard to get to where they are, but she never expected that she wasn’t going to get there herself.

Since Orchid was adopted, she wondered for the thousandth time what her parents were like. She had never really gotten to know them because she was too young to remember them. She had pictures of her birth mother, June, and what she knew of was her name, which was on the birth certificate, but she had no idea what her likes or dislikes were. What were her struggles? Was she nice? People told her that she was stern. Okay, one thing down. What did she do for fun? Her half-siblings had told her that she liked to roller skate. She wanted to see this for herself. Oh, wait, she can’t. She was no longer here. Great, another thing that was added to the list of bad and unfortunate things that Orchid couldn’t control. Did she have any hobbies that mothers and daughters could do together? She didn’t have a picture of her birth father, but she did have his name on the birth certificate as well. She was told that he was a woman beater and that he couldn’t be around the baby mama and the child. This wasn’t necessarily a reason. It was a good reason, but guys beat up on their women all the time. They still go to see their kids, so they don’t have to pay for that child support. She didn’t know if she would like him or not. It didn’t matter because he was dead too.

Since her mother had passed after her father did, she was four when her mother died and three when he died, so the story goes that she was put into the social system. Children go into the system at all ages, but Orchid was young. The people that knew her mother told Orchid that she looked like her, but she didn’t see it. June had been very sick at the time and couldn’t take care of her. Like all foster children, something happened to their birth parents, and they couldn’t take care of them, which is why they are put into the foster system to begin with. In the system, there had been many problems just like everywhere else where the staff was underpaid and very streamlined while the kids are in abundance, so one child who is quiet and patient could easily be forgotten about. It’s not any person’s fault; it just happens. The ones that cry and cause a scene get more attention than the ones who wait for hours while everyone else gets their attention first.

There was one person that gave little Orchid the attention that she needed. She felt like this little girl should not be forgotten about. She was a human being too, so she should get care just like everyone else. This woman was named Charlette, and to this day, they still have a special connection—a bond that will never break. Charlette read to this little disabled girl her bedtime stories since no one else had the time. Orchid had always been the quiet type, the quiet baby, so people tended to forget about her. One day, Orchid was fostered by her soon-to-be adopted mother Daphaidille. Daphaidille loved this little girl since the first day she laid eyes on her. She loved this little one with all her heart. While she was being fostered, her mother was fostering another little girl by the name of Daisy. Daisy and Orchid didn’t get along in the beginning. Eventually, they became friends and good sisters. The best part was they got adopted at the same time. Wonderful. Cemented together for life. Orchid didn’t have an easy time growing up.

As Orchid got older, things would become harder for the family, not just for her. Daphaidille started to change over the years. When Orchid was six or seven, Daphaidille brought home another little baby. His mother was (like Orchid’s and Daisy’s parents) couldn’t take care of them. Drill was adopted when he was only a few months old. At least they were lucky enough to get adopted. Not many kids get adopted, not even fostered. Some want to get adopted so badly by a family and never get a chance to, while others get bounced around so many times that they lose trust in human beings and get really bad attitudes; they end up killing people because they felt neglected by society. Other times, they get abused in these foster families, and they get put back into the system because of what they end up doing to the families to make them stop. They sometimes go to juvey or jail, depending on how old they are and how they are tried in court. I would think that vampires would like how dark these people’s lives really are.

On Orchid’s birth side, she had a half older sister and brother. Their grandmother had passed away as well, so there wasn’t really anyone left in their family to really talk to, not that she had a real connection to any one particular family member. She was eighty years young, whatever that means. Daphaidille had tried to get Orchid’s family to get a connection, but it was somewhat of a lost cause. Later, Orchid would find out just how much her family really owned, just how much her grandma really left her, and just how much the rest of the family wasn’t really important to her like Orchid was.

Her grandmother’s own kids, who were grown, didn’t care enough about the rest of the family; they were too busy on drugs and alcohol to worry about her. The uncles were in and out of jail, plus there were too many sluts and hood rats walking in and out of the house, making it unsafe. It was like Sherlock Homes being under the influence, a mix between a crack house and a whorehouse. They ended up selling the house because the city had condemned it. On one of the visits, Daphaidille had bought Aaron (Orchid’s half older brother) a computer, and it was stolen by one of the uncles to get some money for the addiction they had. Their names were Joey and Charles, and they looked like slums from the gutter. They didn’t care about anyone but themselves and her half older brother Bartholomew, who wasn’t around much. He was in and out of Orchid’s life due to his choices. This is how life sometimes is for some people with bleak opportunities. Everyone in Orchid’s family has been to jail on both sides; the only one who hasn’t been to jail was Orchid. Good thing she was spared from this lifestyle due to her luck.

When the house was sold, Aaron and Bartholomew had to scatter into the world, while the uncles fended for themselves. They could do it; they were big boys with droopy drawers. Aaron was placed into foster care, which was how he was able to get close to Orchid again. This happy reunion wouldn’t last long. Daphaidille would go into a downward spiral and, because of this choice, would end up losing all her kids, throwing them back into the foster system while she had to battle to the court system for some reason. Aaron would then be back on the streets, never to be in her life again. All this happened while Orchid was in middle school going to high school. Everyone was separated. Daisy and Drill got to go to one family because they didn’t take meds; they weren’t disabled either. Orchid was deemed high maintenance because she took meds, and she walked funny. They had kids of their own and thought Orchid would contaminate them like she was contagious or something.

Orchid was taken in by a Hispanic family where there was