Tom walked over to the orphanage for the second time that week and knocked on the door. A woman with a mean-looking face opened it.

"Yes, what do you want?" she asked. "You look  too clean to be an orphan."

"You're right," Tom replied. "I'm not an orphan. I'm here to give a donation."

The woman's eyes lit up. "Come in," she said, opening the door wider. "Make yourself at home."

Tom walked in and was greeted by the smell of molding wood. "Wow," he said, crinkling his nose. "This place could use some repairs."

The woman laughed nervously.

"How much would you like me to donate?"

"How much can you donate?" the woman pressed.

"As much as you need," Tom answered.

The woman's mouth fell open. Then she composed herself and said, "I think one million dollars should do it."

This time it was Tom's turn to gape. Then he wrote with a shaking hand $1,000,000 and handed the check to the woman who grabbed it and stuffed it in her shirt. She tapped Tom on the head and then left.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tom saw a boy with brown hair duck behind the wall and run up the stairs.

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Author guidance for This story

The main characters in this story are

Justin Nits: A crotchety old man around 90 with dementia. Everyone keeps telling him it's Alzheimer's but he won't accept that
Otis Whiten: A twenty-something year old African American man who just got out of college and doesn't know what he want's to do with his life.
Mat: He doesn't know his last name. Neither does his twin sister, Petunia. They're orphans and they have been for as long as they can remember. They're eleven.
Petunia: Mat's twin sister. She has skin cancer.
Tomas Theodore Brownstone: Call him Tom. His parents are billionaires who own a bunch of stuff. He lives in a mansion and goes to a prep school but all he really wants is to be a normal guy who can go outside to play without having to worry about getting his clothes dirty. He's fourteen.

Each chapter name is the name of the person who it's focused on: Justin, Otis, Mat, Petunia, or Tom. You can see inside their head but no one else's.

Other than that, it's up to you. Where will you take them? Just, as always, keep good spelling and grammar.

updated Jan 13 '10 by SummerDreams