Cassandra Banter, or just Cassie went home after school. To be honest, the girl was exhausted. She had a really long day at school. To begin with, her gym teacher forced the whole class to run three laps just because someone said something rude about him and nobody owned up. Then she had to sit for a difficult Math test (good thing she studied) and then after school she had to help some seniors decorate for prom. Not that she minded helping out (she had volunteered to help two weeks ago), it was just that she was really tired.

Cassie was hoping to take a short nap before dinner, but what she discovered made it clear that she wasn't going to get any rest anytime soon.

Footprints. Muddy footprints leading up to her front door. Cassie felt confused. Her adoptive mother was working at the hospital as usual. Who had gone up to the front door?

Cassie slowly opened the door, which was unlocked. She felt suspicious. Her mother was a stickler for cleanliness and locking the door. Cassie had a spare key to the front door. She opened the door and found more muddy footprints.

Cassie felt nervous. Was it a burglar? She suddenly wished that she had her best friend Susan James with her. Cassie would feel braver with Susan around.

"Hello?" asked Cassie. No answer.

Cassie followed the footprints to the kitchen. Nobody was there. But just in case there was a burglar...

Cassie checked the kitchen utensils. Her eyes hovered over the kitchen knives. No, she could never harm anyone badly. Even if she was face to face with a serial killer, she would never have the heart to fatally wound them.

Cassie decided to take a butter knife and a fork. That way, if she needed to defend herself, she could use these items without worrying about endangering anyone's life. But it should be enough to cause a distraction and allow her to escape.

Cassie heard a sound from upstairs. She went up. Cassie spotted a door slightly open. It was her bedroom door.

Cautiously she went to the door. In a flash the door was open.

At first, it seemed like nobody was there. But then Cassie saw her cupboard door open a little and then pulled shut.

"C... Come out," said Cassie nervously. She inched towards the cupboard. She tried to pull it open, but it seemed that someone at the other end was holding the door.

"Come out!" yelled Cassie. She pulled at the cupboard door and it opened.

To Cassie's shock, she found a little boy inside. But it wasn't the sight of him that shocked her the most.

The boy was practically skin and bones. He was bruised and beaten up. He was pale and had dark circles under his eyes. He took one look at Cassie and burst into tears.

Cassie felt bad. She hadn't meant to scare him. Even though he had broken into her house and invaded her cupboard, only a heartless person could see this poor child and not feel sorry for him. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to scare you. I thought that you were a burglar."

"S... Sorry," said the boy.

"Don't cry," said Cassie. "Look, I'll get something for you. Are you hungry?"

"Yes," the boy. He put his thumb into his mouth.

Cassie noticed that even though the boy looked seven years old, he had the mentality of a three-year-old. When she gave him some noodles to eat, he was very messy, so she decided to feed him.

"What's your name?" asked Cassie after she finished feeding him.

"Carl," said the boy.

"Hi Carl. I'm Cassie." She didn't bother with her real name. Carl probably wouldn't be able to remember it.

"Where are your parents?"

"No parents. Live in place with kids with no parents."

"An orphanage?" asked Cassie.

Carl nodded wordlessly.

"Oh," said Cassie. "Do they feed you there?"

From the answers Carl gave to Cassie's questions, his orphanage was like Oliver Twist's. Cassie was horrified. Her biological parents had been emotionally (and occasionally physically) abusive, but it sounded awful there. She called her mother immediately.

"Mom, there's a kid here, and he came from a terrible orphanage where all the kids get beaten up, have one small meal per day, are forced to do chores, and only get five hours of sleep. Come home, quick!"

Cassie wanted to stay awake to tell her mother everything, but her exhausted and worn out body wouldn't let her. She was shaken awake by her mother.

"Cassie, is everything alright?" she asked.

Cassie looked at Carl, who was sleeping curled up in her bed. She had slept in a chair. "Mom, this kid has it really bad."

Mrs Banter hugged her. "Don't worry, I will file a complaint. Nobody will get away with child abuse."

It took four months, but eventually, the orphanage Carl was at was sued for child abuse. Carl and the other kids were moved to more child-friendly orphanages. Cassie hoped that Carl would be alright in the future.