Hello. My name is Isabella. That wasn't always my name, but it's the one the orphanage gave me when I arrived here. I am 12 years old, and have been here (here being a run-down, old orphanage in London) since I was first born.

My mother left me on the orphanage door as a baby, crying my tiny lungs out. There was a party that night, so I wasn't heard till the next morning. When they found me, the orphanage owners ignored my mother's note, which said my true name, Victoria. As I soon found out, there was already a Victoria, so they gave me a new name, which I get bullied for, as it's so posh. I wish I didn't live in an orphanage . I'm sometimes angry at my mother, for leaving me here. Then after, I'm angry at myself for being angry at her.

I'm having to write this crammed into the toilet, as Victoria was annoying me. I'm not popular at all, but Victoria is the most popular, due to her long black hair and blue eyes, compared to my mousy brown pigtails and matching brown eyes. I better get going though, as Miss Daniels is banging on the door, ordering me to get out and go to the dorm. I obey, as Miss Daniels is not afraid to cane people. I was forced to go back to the dorm, where I should put my memoirs (this book) away. I don't though. I don't want to stop writing, but now it's lights out and I can't see.

The next morning, I'm awakened by a bucket of water sloshing onto my bed by Victoria. I need to be quick and change my sheets before Miss Daniels does her rounds. She will think I've wet myself and pull me up in assembly to get caned! As I'm thinking over what I should do, the door opens!

As Miss Daniels looks though at me in shock and horror, it's all I can do to stammer,
"Miss... It's not my fault... Victoria..."
"What did Victoria do?" Miss Daniels shouts, interrupting me "Did Victoria pee all over you and your bed? Did she?"
Victoria, looking at me with a smirk, pipes up
"Miss! I don't mind taking the bedsheets down to the washroom!"
"Thank you Victoria..." Miss Daniels muttered, waving us all down to assembly.

Assembly was like the stuff of nightmares for me that day. I registered my best friend, Bennet, mouthing "Are you okay?" from the boys side of the room as I walked to my seat, but ignored him. The assembly started okay, with prayer and hymns, but then, Miss Daniels said it.
"Could Isabella Roberts come up here please!"

I had no choice: everyone was watching me. I could feel eyes burning into the back of my neck as I did the walk of shame down the aisle between the boys and the girls. I could hear Victoria's pointed giggles and whispers, and I knew she was trying to discomfort me. But, before I could get onto the stage, Miss Smith saved me by shouting,
"Miss Daniels, there's a lady here to see you, says she wants to take one of the girls and one of the boys!"

Miss Daniels ushered us all into our dorms, where we could change into our best clothes. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her usher Victoria and a few of her friends into her private room. In her private room, there's a proper bath, and the prettiest outfits you could ever imagine. It's not fair that they get to go in there, but that's favouritism for you.

One at a time, we are all sent into Miss Daniels' office, where we will talk to the visitor so they can make a decision. I, of course, am last, and there is a gap between me and Victoria, who went before me. I was sure that Miss Daniels was talking to the visitor, telling her not to choose me.

As part of the rules, Miss Daniels was not meant to be in the room when the visitors are talking to us, so she comes out. When I passed, she hissed in my ear,
"Don't you dare show me up!"

The lady - whose name was Miss Jones- was a round lady with a big voice and a big heart. Her auburn hair was cut into a sensible bob that hung at her jaw, framing her face. She wore a billowy white dress that fell to her knees, and a light green cardigan. She talked a lot, and didn’t let anyone else get a word in edgeways.

Miss Jones was nice, though I was a little nervous still. She said that she had heard that I could sing, so I sang for her. She told me I had the voice of an angel. She also told me that she needed someone who could sing. For boys she wanted Bennet, and for girls she wanted either Victoria or me. As well, she told me what Miss Daniels had said, and asked me if it was true. I assured her that it wasn't true, and told her the real version of the story, with Victoria and the water. She believed me! It's the first time an adult actually believed me, and it could be the person who's adopting me!

A couple of hours later, we were all sitting in the great hall, waiting for the results of who the lady's going to adopt. Miss Daniels was on stage, and the lady was up there too!
"Ok everyone!" Miss Daniels was saying, doing her fake impression of a nice person "For the boys, could Bennet please come down here!"
Bennet walked down the aisle to where Miss Daniels and Miss Jones were standing, looking like he wanted to die. I understood why he was so embarrassed, as I knew that Bennet was shy by nature.

You’ll have to understand something about Bennet. He’s a really small, sweet boy with big, green eyes, black hair, and the sweetest voice you’ve ever heard. He’s hard-working, kind and caring, but his only flaw is that he will not speak to you unless you’re friends with him or one of his friends or family. It’s for this reason alone that I was shocked that Bennet got chosen, as he wouldn’t speak to anyone if he didn’t know them, let alone sing for them!

When Bennet finally was stood next to miss Daniels, she started talking again, with a
“And for girls, could Victoria come up here please!”
Obviously, she chose Victoria. She looked almost exactly like Bennet, with the same eyes, and the same hair. She strutted down the aisle, throwing a smirk at me as she passed.
“Now, Miss Jones didn’t actually choose Victoria,” Miss Daniels began, ignoring the look of horror on Victoria’s usually perfect face “But I thought I would make a little announcement before I announced the girls. You see, everybody, Bennet and Victoria are actually brother and sister!”
The news hit me like a bullet in my stomach, and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from screaming. Bennet! And Victoria! Brother and sister! Why didn’t he tell me! At that point, I had to stop biting my lip, as I could taste blood. I was so blindingly angry with him for not telling me, I wanted to storm up there and…. I won’t describe the thoughts running through my head at that point, as there is no point ruining a perfectly good book with those things. Anyway, Miss Daniels was desperately trying to calm everyone down, and Victoria had flounced from the room when she was told she wasn’t picked. Nobody was listening to Miss Daniels, so I took matters into my own hands.

One shout and a very dead silence later, Miss Daniels had control again.
“Thank you Isabella,” Miss Daniels muttered, flustered “Now, the girl that Miss Jones has chosen is none other than Isabella!”
As I made my way up, I firmly refused to make eye contact with Bennet, instead keeping my eyes firmly on the wall at the back of the room.

After what felt like the longest hour of my life, me and Bennet were sent to our respective rooms to pack. I threw all of my belongings into a battered suitcase, very higgledy-piggledy, but then realised that nothing would fit, so I had to unpack and repack it all over again. One of the smaller girls, Betsy, helped me pack. I realised she was one of the poorer ones, like me, who was abandoned here as a baby, so before leaving, I made sure to give her a hug and told her to never let anyone get her down.

After packing completely, me and Bennet were hustled into a cab with Miss Jones. I felt nothing but overwhelming joy at the time, but looking back I can see I was still angry at Bennet, for not telling me.

While in the cab, I tried to make conversation with Bennet, to see if he would apologize.
“Sooo…” I started, awkwardly “You and Victoria huh?”
All I got for my efforts was an
“I don’t want to talk about it, ok!”
So I left him alone and made conversation with Miss Jones instead.