Chapter 7
YOUR POTENTIAL
We’re herded into an unfamiliar room just after breakfast. Mister M says nothing of the schedule change as he points to a row of white padded chairs.
The room is packed with them, all neatly lined in groups of six.
At least seventy girls are already seated, all dressed in the same pale pink uniform dresses with their pod numbers embroidered just above the heart.
A large screen consumes the stage at the front, displaying the organization’s silver crest. Faint, classical music emanates from speakers hidden above the panels.
We file into the row, sitting in descending number order. Mister M finds a place along the wall, quickly swept into conversation with a tall mentor I don’t recognize.
The music cuts mid-phrase, replaced by the crackle of a speaker.
“Watch,” a voice booms over the room.
The screen flashes, then blossoms into brilliant color.
There’s a girl in a gold dress clutching a microphone in one hand.
Her voice is honey-sweet as she thanks an unseen crowd, curtsying so deep she’s practically bent in half.
The camera cuts to another girl, greeting a row of official-looking people with a vacant smile plastered on her face.
Another twirls across a ballroom floor, beaming radiantly in silk as a crowd watches on in adoration.
A voice drifts over the footage, warm and over-rehearsed. “Each of you comes from hardship. We’ve brought you here because you deserve more; a chance to be perfected.”
The screen changes again. More girls: waving from balconies, clinking crystal glasses, playing classical instruments.
“Many of our graduates find placements in elite households or positions in performance venues. The most exceptional travel, representing our program as ambassadors. All living lives of exceptional influence and grace. You are here because you have that potential. We will shape you into what you were meant to be.” The voice drones flat.
“The world won’t offer you a third chance.
Be grateful for your second. Be obedient, be pliant, be eager to be corrected.
Follow these principles and you should have no trouble. ”
Whispers and gasps ripple across the space.
“Wives, performers, ambassadors; all roles crucial to a unified society. No matter what the program decides for you, you’ll serve proudly.”
I stay silent. These are things we know, of course. We’ve been repeatedly told what we are here to accomplish.
But to see it—to really see girls outside these walls—it sparks something in my chest, bright and undeniable because that could be me.
It will be, with any luck.
Well, luck, hard work, and trust in the organization to steer me right. Brielle tugs on my sleeve. I offer her a warm smile, squeezing her fingers.
“That’ll be us,” she whispers.
“I call being the blonde one.”
“Already taken,” June whispers over my shoulder, bouncing her auburn curls up with one hand and winking at us.
I giggle, a sort of peace settling over my chest. Graduation has never felt so attainable.
It’s equal parts exhilarating and overwhelming.
I won’t let myself be scared of it. For today, I’ll focus on hope. I must. They say without something to guide us, we’re just drifting. Hope is a fragile tether—pull too hard, and it’ll snap. I’d be a fool to give up just because the path is uncertain.
So yeah, I’ll keep hoping. I’ll dodge every catastrophic mistake and perform perfectly until I walk the stage at graduation. I’ll take my first step back into the outside world with confidence.
I’ll become exactly who they want me to be.