A Memory Away

9| Vending Machine

"Right..." she hummed before going back to stare at the ceiling.

Part of being clueless about what I am or what I offer, I had to make up fake stories for me to sound interesting. Satisfying Julia on the other hand was a challenge.

She told me a few stories about her life which were enough for me to make out that her life is thrilling! She had done things people only dream about doing and if I told her about my story─waking up in hospital with a memory loss─I'll doubt she'd think I'm cool.

"Wait, if that's true, does that mean people around here sleep together?" I couldn't help out of curiosity and to distract myself from my thoughts.

At this, she chuckled. "What do you think?! Some people have been living here for over 3 years!"

My eyes widened in surprise, "But how?!"

She raised her eyebrows. "You do know that we have a pharmacy with nurses working in there?"

Well, I mean people get sick...

"So, they just hand condoms out?! Does Mrs Andrea knows about this?"

"Of course they don't hand out condoms!" she scoffed at me. "Boys ask for after getting tested first. Girls take pills and are advised to check in with a nurse if they missed their periods or something. It's a really complicated process."

"And Mrs Andrea approves?"

"Well, it's better that way than to go behind her back."

"Hasn't anyone gotten pregnant?"

She hummed for a moment, thinking. "There was this girl, Becca, she got pregnant last year. She was escorted out of the academy instantly."

Wow...

"Mrs Andrea knows that we screw around, she knows that we pass curfew and she definitely knows that some do drugs and smoke. She just doesn't care."

"As long as you don't get caught." she finished with a shrug.

"That's comforting," I implied as I went to close the nail polish's cap. "Why does she have these rules then?"

"Just because she knows we won't follow, doesn't mean she should encourage us," she said. "It's like when your teacher gives you homework but you copied it secretly from someone. The teacher knows that you didn't do it but just goes with the flow. You know?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "So basically, she knows everything but doesn't care."

"Exactly!" Julia exclaimed. "And I bet she breaks rules as much as we do."

I face away and considered it for a moment, even though I didn't understand a word Julia just said. It was like every time I ask a question, I get confused more.

"This academy is a jail for delinquent teenagers," Julia explained further. "Its only purpose is to keep us held inside, out of trouble, because we're too young to be thrown in a real jail. That's why we're free from here by the age of 18, knowing that our behaviour and actions can longer be forgiven or given another chance?"

Her words this time hit me hard in the head. But what really went through my mind was my presence in here. Why did Charlotte send me here? Does she know who I am? Does she know who I was?