Clara is leaving the centre

Rowena was adjusting well to her new environment at the centre. Just when she thought she found someone who had her back, then came the disturbing news that Clara was leaving the centre. Clara was about to reach her eighteenth birthday and was doing grade twelve in school. That means that the following year she was going to the university. This kind of news did not sit well in Rowena's ears. She knew that things would not be the same if Clara leaved the centre. She was the only one who had her back and her departure meant one thing, her life would return back to the previous state and that was not good for her progress. Yes, she was happy for Clara because her life was taking a lip to success. She deserved that after everything she had been through. Her mother passed away when she was young and her father opted for the crooked ways in life and ended up in jail. There were few relatives who could have taken her under their care but they had their fair share of problems as well. Like one aunt she had from her father's side who an epileptic case and ended up having stroke. This situation forced Clara to be taken to the centre. Now she was a grown up woman who was about to be an independent adult. She was happy too but sad that she was going to leave Rowena all by herself in the centre.

The matron of the centre was a white old woman who was not keen in taking full accountability in everything that concerned the children at the centre. She was a mean conservative person. She was among those who started the centre and she believed that the centre should stick to its traditional rule and no one had the power to change that. She was a tough racist to the core. Being a former nurse of the army made her to be a hard core who was resistant to anything that could make one a kind of softy. She and her partners opened the centre because the were many children who were orphaned by the outbreak of wars. The main objective behind the opening of the centre was to train those orphans to be the soldiers. But as the time went by they saw the need to allow the children to be what they ought to be. The idea of forcing the children to be soldiers was condemned by the Organisations that stood for children's rights. Then the new adjustments were made for the children to go to school and pursue their dreams. Even so, life was not easy at the centre. The children had to adjust to the strict and sometimes unfavourable conditions.

By some unknown reasons , Rowena was not the Matron's favourite. She had to tip toe around her all the time so that she didn't step on her toes. And Clara was not in the Matron's good books either. This was because she was always on Rowena's side. Sometimes she found herself being scolded for making minor mistakes. She knew that Rowena was not going to receive a good treatment after she had left the centre but there was nothing she could do to help her. On her things were going so well. She was going to start a new chapter of her life as a university student but Rowena was going to get stuck in the centre with people who care less about her. Life can be unfair sometimes but things always work out for the best for those who believe, she taught Rowena that. Rowena was getting stronger by the day because she realised that being weak would not bring solutions to her problems. She knew that now that Clara was leaving, she was going to be by herself. No one was going to stand up for her against the bullies.

She and Clara kept doing well in their school work. Clara was working harder than before because she did not want to miss the greatest opportunity of her life. She got the bursary to carry on with her studies meaning that she was sorted financially. The bursary had conditions though, that is why she had to go out of her way to achieve more marks. Rowena was inspired everyday and she vowed to herself that she would work hard and get a bursary too. Clara promised her that she would make sure that she got the bursary when the time was right. They made a pledge that they would abstain from the things that made young people to be distracted from their studies. Such things as falling for boys and getting involved in things that would make them lose focus on their studies. They locked their pinky fingers to seal the pledge. Then they gave each other a high five then went off to have a dinner because the bell was ringing for all the children to gather in the dining hall for the dinner. They set in the same table everyday. That made it difficult for other children to make a mockery of Rowena as they used to do before. There was a troublesome boy though, who usually would go out of his was to crowd Clara. Jacob was an eighteen year old boy like Clara. He was still in lower grades though, for he was busy bullying others around instead of focusing on his studies. He was rebuked everyday for his behaviour but he seemed not to be keen to change his ways. The matron of the centre saw it as a good riddance that Jacob was nearing the she to leave the centre. She had enough of his bad behaviour. Even Clara was fed up of him always being a nuisance. She tried by all means to get out of his way but he seemed to enjoy being at her presence. Clara was able to fend for herself though. She could handle him very well especially when he came near Rowena.