The sound of the bell ringing woke me up fast, and I toppled over the bed in surprise. "Ouch!" I exclaimed as I groggily got up, rubbing my shoulder. I checked the clock. I'd been sleeping for three hours.
I also missed another class.
Aimee and Gwendoline where nowhere to be found.
I also missed Madame’s detention. I felt a grin creep up on my face before I went to the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, after I washed my hair, I was on my bed, yawning lazily. I gazed at the barred windows longingly. I stood and looked out them. I saw a meadow, with summer flowers sprouting.
I guess the Fisherman know how to garden. Huh. I was welcomed by a gust of wind and heard a piece of paper rustle behind me. Turning around, I saw a small note on the table, one I hadn’t noticed when I woke up.
I picked it up curiously and unfolded it.
Dearest Vivienne,
You shall be given one last chance. You have skipped a whole class on purpose, and skipped a detention. This behavior is unacceptable. If you do not show up to your next class, the consequences will be most severe. Thank you for your cooperation.
Madame
I noticed Madame’s neat, curvy handwriting before I even started reading. My mind started calculating then. If my last class was three hours ago, and detention was two and a half hours ago, my next class should have been exactly an hour ago.
Shit.
My eyes widened. Severe consequences? What the hell did she mean by that? Did she have a stack of electric chairs beside her neatly stacked textbooks?
I am so screwed. She’s probably already on her way here, since class just ended. Panicking, I started looking for a place to hide. The dorm was awfully small, so I didn’t really have many options.
She’d find me in the bathroom, she’d find me in the closet, she’d find me under the bed…
Suddenly, I stopped looking. I could practically hear my brain whirring. Why should I have to hide? Why can’t I just fight back?
I thought of my friends back home. If they saw me now, they would be cheering me on. I thought of Eli’s grinning face. He would back me up. I bet the whole school would, actually. Wasn’t everyone here against their wills?
I changed into a white tank top and my still-not-taken-away jeans. I sat on my bed, awaiting my fate. But I was also hatching Plan A.
If I could somehow convince all the other students that we could overpower Madame and her stupid Fishermen, we could bring her down and report her to the police. We could all go home to our families. We won’t have to stay in this horrible place for the rest of our lives.
Maybe at midnight I could rally everyone up and give a speech. A lightbulb practically went off in my head as I thought this. Yes! I would get my point across, and if people had ideas, they could just slip a letter under my door. Eli could help me. I could convince Aimee and Gwendoline. Maybe Eli has friends he could convince. After all, there are only forty kids at this prison.
Thinking back, I realized how many maybes and ifs were in my thoughts. Half of my plans relied on chance. How many people would show up? Who would support me? Would anyone rat me out?
Sadly, I couldn’t think of more impossible questions because there was a knock on the door. I took a deep breath, assumed my poker face, made the bed quickly, and took my time opening the door. As expected, Madame stood there, her pretty face looking down upon me with a mixture of amusement and annoyance. She was wearing a flattering flowery blouse with a pink pencil skirt.
“Hi. Anything I could help you with?” I asked brightly.
“May I come in?” Madame asked, her tone attempting to sound polite.
“No, I don’t think so. I don’t really want my dorm ruined by your bubblegum appearance.” I said matter-of-factly. Madame looked both ways as if she was crossing the street, probably looking if any kids were nearby, and pushed me inside.
“Hey!” I growled, glaring at her. She closed the door after herself and locked it with a key she took out of her pocket.
“Sit.” She said, all nice gone from her voice. I crossed my arms. “Honestly, woman. What makes you think I’m actually going to listen to you?” I spat. She narrowed her eyes at me.
“Because if you don’t, I will have to call in my men and they will have to force you. You don’t want that, now do you?” She had a point, but I wasn’t budging. “I don’t really care. Either way, I don’t do it because you told me to.”
Madame slapped me. I grabbed my burning cheek and turned around, whimpering quietly. Madame sighed. “You know, things could be so much easier for you. If you would just listen to what I told you-” I cut her off by suddenly turning around and punching her in the nose. I heard a crack, but I didn’t stop to listen before I pushed her aside and ran to the door.
Shit, I forgot it was locked. I banged on the door as hard as I could, but was interrupted when two surprisingly strong hands grabbed my shoulders and pulled me to the floor.
I fell hard and oomphed. Madame began kicking me. “You, ungrateful insolent child! Someone obviously has to teach some sense into you!” She yelled. She landed a kick to my ribs and I let out a wheeze. Struggling to catch my breath, I pretended to lose consciousness.
I lay there for ten seconds, quietly breathing in and out, resisting the urge to move my face. Madame took her foot off me and took a step back. That’s when I lunged and grabbed her foot, making her fall on the floor beside me. I got up quickly and regretted it when my sides started burning.
I kicked Madame once so she would stay on the floor, and grabbed the key inside her pocket. To my horror, I pulled out a ring of at least twenty keys. I groaned and ran to the door, trying each key. I was too distracted to see Madame pull out a phone device and pressing the call button. I heard a beep and turned back to see her standing up with a smirk on her face.
She wasn’t trying to fight me. My confusion was interrupted when the door burst open and two Fishermen ran in. I weighed my options, and chose to fight to the death, hopefully. I landed a punch on the first one’s face, and I kicked the second one in the shin as hard as I could. They both groaned and grabbed me. I ducked out of their way when Madame caught me in a headlock. She thrust me to the men and they grabbed me.
I shrieked and bit the man holding me. He released me, but the second man grabbed my hands and pulled them behind as if he was trying to arrest me. I struggled to get out of his grip, but he was too strong. I screamed like a rabid animal and Madame walked over to me and bent down to eye level.
“You have one second to decide whether you will go quietly, or loudly.”
I spit in her face.
I was rewarded with the second man punching me in my stomach. I groaned, thrashing and kicking. But it was no use. The man landed punch after punch on my stomach, my arms and my face.
At one point even standing up felt like I was standing on the sun, so I slumped over, my weight on the man holding me.
“I told you, you didn’t want these men forcing you.” I heard Madame say before the men left the room. I crumpled to the floor. I felt like someone stabbed me everywhere. Madame grabbed my arms and pulled me to my feet.
I cried out in pain. She slapped me. Tears rushed to my eyes before I could stop them. “That’s for disobeying me.” She said softly. She slapped me again. “That’s for punching me in the face.”
Another hard slap. “That’s for spitting in my face.”
And the hardest slap yet. “And that ones for good luck.” She chuckled.
“Show up for class tomorrow, or today will seem like they beat you with feathers.” She whispered into my ear before pushing me back to the floor and stepping over me. I heard her shut the door, but I made no effort to stand up. I felt like I was lying on a bed of nails.
I don’t know how much time passed by before the doors opened again. I braced myself, but it was only Aimee and Gwendoline. When they saw me, they gasped and rushed to my side. They rolled me over and kept asking me what happened.
I was in no mood to talk. I just lay there, blocking their voices out and concentrating on the pain coursing through my body. I felt them pick me up and carry me to the bed, but I didn’t say anything, I just let them take my weight off my hands for a few seconds. When they saw I wasn’t responding, they just went to bed.
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The next morning, I woke up knowing the day would be terrible. Without opening my eyes, I moved my hands. They hurt. I moved my arms. They felt broken. I moved my shoulders. I winced at the pain. I opened my eyes and stood up, going to the mirror, feeling scared.
I had a black eye and a nasty bruise on the opposite cheek and a deep cut on my lip. I stared at my hands. They were covered in bruises. I rolled up the sleeves of my night robe. I had a gash on my left arm that was covered in dry blood and my right arm had numerous marks all over them. I picked up my shirt and saw a large purple bruise on my right side. My feet were also covered in bruises. My neck was also purple.
And worst of all, I had a bed head.
I looked terrible. I looked like something threw me up, ran me over, ate me, and shit me out again. I saw Aimee and Gwen sleeping peacefully and decided not to wake me up. I walked to the bathroom, every step feeling like I was stepping on shattered glass. I washed my face, and put a cold compress on my shiner.
When I walked out of the bathroom, Ay and Gwen were wide awake and they gasped when they saw me. I tried to hide my pain when I sat on the bed and started brushing my hair, but I’m sure it was written all over my face.
They gushed like a water fountain with their questions, but all I said was, “This bitch is going down.” My voice was hoarse.
I put on my yellow long sleeved hoodie and yellow pants. I left my hair down, hopeful it would cover my face. I couldn’t do anything about my neck so I just kept my head down.
I let Ay and Gwen lead me to class, not knowing what subject or what day or what time it was. I heard people whispering when I passed them, but I paid them no attention. I sat in the far back and stared at the floor. A few minutes later I heard the click-clack of heels and Madame walked into class, a shining smile on her face.
“Hello class. I hope you slept well.” She cleared her throat and took out a pink clipboard, calling out attendance. I listened to all forty names, hoping I could remember some.
“Blake, Justin.” A hand raised from the left side of the room. I noticed the boys and girls were separated.
“Saunders, Eli” I jumped at the name and saw him raise his hand, also in the back of the room, a few desks away from me.
I realized I didn’t want him to see me this way, so I hid my face.
“Dorian, Aimee” I didn’t react at all to her name. I didn’t listen to most of the names. I just tried to look at Eli whilst hiding my face. But I knew, sooner or later the inevetible had to come.
“Goldsworthy, Vivienne” I cringed, and raised my hand. My sleeve rolled down, and I know everyone saw my bruises. I heard half the class gasp.
I turned and saw Eli glaring at me. I tried to smile at him, but I only exposed more of my face. He sucked in a breath, and started writing a note to me.
I saw him scribbling furiously before crumpling it up and throwing to me while Madame was writing on the blackboard. I grabbed it and opened it quickly.
You and me. Bathroom after class.
I looked at him and nodded. He turned away and I saw him glaring daggers at Madame. I slumped into my seat.
Only an hour to go.
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A/N: Hey, hey, hey! I know i disappeared off the face of the earth...sorry about that. Kinda busy in my life haha. I know i ended it terribly, will make up for it later! mwa <3