Chapter 6 #2
Igor smirked before leaning down toward Joana and whispering something in her ear, his gaze still fixed on mine.
Joana's gaze slid back to me and she nodded.
Igor finally left the room, whistling. " All right, ladies, over the next ten months you're going to learn a lot, and there are two ways to go about it," Joana continued, folding her hands behind her back.
"Either you follow my rules, obey orders, and pass all your exams. Or you do it the hard way, and believe me, it will be painful," she explained, starting to walk in front of us.
"For the next ten months, this is where you will live with your roommates.
There is a second group like yours that will take the same classes.
Any fights between you or between the two groups will be punished very severely.
.." "Why would we fight?" I asked without thinking.
Joana froze with her back to me, tension suddenly filling the room as all the girls held their breath while Joana slowly turned and moved slowly in my direction.
I stood up straight, my chin raised, my gaze locking with hers as she stopped right in front of me.
She was much older than me, both in age and height.
"What's your name?" she asked me, sizing me up with her dark gaze.
"Stella," I replied through clenched teeth, ignoring the disgust that gripped me as memories came flooding back, the Master's hoarse voice repeating it over and over again as he assaulted me.
"My name is Stella," I repeated more confidently.
Joana looked at me for a few more seconds before her lips slowly stretched into a smile that revealed beautiful teeth.
"So you're the Master's new favorite?" " she asked, her eyes now shining.
"Mother told me about you, nine days in isolation when you're diabetic, hats off to you," she continued as she sized up the other girls out of the corner of her eye, and I frowned, not understanding her little game.
Because yes, something was going on, my instincts were screaming at me.
She suddenly leaned toward me, her perfectly manicured hand grabbing my jaw, her nails digging slightly into my cheeks.
"You're smart, that's good. You'll need it to get out of here alive," she whispered before backing away with a smirk on her face, while mine itched, but I refrained from touching it.
There was no way I was going to show any sign of weakness.
"At the end of your training, you will become Stars.
You will be our Master's little spies, slipping into the beds of the most powerful men in the world and extracting their deepest secrets," Joana continued as I let out a shaky breath.
"This year there are only two classes, which is more than enough considering the Stars already present.
You will replace those who are too old or unable to charm these dear gentlemen with their outdated bodies," she concluded, dusting off her haute couture skirt.
"And what happens to the Stars who retire?
Do you offer them vacations in Fiji?" I asked sarcastically.
I couldn't help myself, I refused to let anyone dictate my destiny without doing anything about it.
I was going to fight. I was going to make life hell for those who wanted to control mine.
Joana's eyes lit up and she did something I didn't expect.
She started laughing, "I take back what I said.
You're far too clever, little Stella, and with that rage shining in your eyes, it's not going to end well.
For you," she added before continuing to laugh while I clenched my teeth so hard they gritted.
"Olga, take them to wash up before you take them to the infirmary.
They must be in good health, otherwise they're of no use to us," she ordered the old women.
"Don't forget to count the ones who are virgins," she added, as if she were talking about a herd of animals, before leaving the room, her hips swaying in a way that clearly showed she knew what she was doing with her body.
Olga motioned for us to follow her, and we did so in single line.
I let the others walk a few steps ahead and turned to look at the girl who had been dragged to my side.
"How old are you?" " I asked her point-blank, and she looked at me with her dark eyes wide with surprise at my sudden interest. "Thirteen," she replied in a weak, childish voice, and I felt my legs tremble.
Thirteen? "What? Why?" I asked breathlessly, nausea rising for the thousandth time.
She shrugged with such a childish gesture that I felt my stomach tighten.
Oh my God. "My dad had debts, so he said I had to help him pay them off," she whispered in a weak voice as I stared at her in horror.
"What's your name?" I asked, resisting the urge to stroke her dark hair.
"Mimosa," she replied, and the nausea rose again.
"No, your real name. What's your name?" I asked again shaking my head as she pressed her lips together hesitantly.
"Valentina," she finally replied, and I smiled gently at her.
"I'm Sienna," I confided, holding out my hand.
She looked at it for a moment before slipping hers into mine, so small, so fragile.
I squeezed her hand as a new feeling joined my rage, an instinct to protect her.
Maybe I could help this kid while finding a way to help my sister.
I stared at the hot soup in front of me, the voices of the other girls a hubbub in the background.
I looked up and met Wendy's gaze at the other end of the table, a smirk stretching her lips.
I clenched my jaw and grabbed my spoon with my trembling hand before dipping it into the red liquid.
My throat tightened and I swallowed as the memory of two days ago came flooding back.
Someone had poisoned my food, I had vomited for hours, someone had tried to kill me.
I didn't know exactly who the culprit was, but I suspected there were several, since I had been subjected to dirty tricks since my arrival, from my clothes being torn to my sheets being soiled.
I understood what Joana had done when we arrived two months ago.
She had put a target on my back by talking about the Master's interest in me.
She had encouraged the other girls to hate and envy me for something I hated with all my being.
And she had made that target even bigger by talking about my illness, so they had started attacking my food, the only thing I couldn't control.
I brought the spoon to my mouth and stopped as it brushed my lips, my breathing quickening as I began to sweat coldly.
Nausea surged and I dropped my spoon, splattering food on the table before rushing to the bathroom.
The laughter behind me continued to echo in my head as I fell to my knees in front of the toilet.
But only acid rose up; my stomach was empty.
The liquid burned my throat as tears escaped me.
I wanted my sister. I wanted Selina to hold me close.
I let myself fall against the wall as my body was shaken by sobs, my head spinning and my body trembling.
I bent my legs and hugged my knees to me, hiding my face in my arms, my hair covering me, cutting me off from the outside world.
I wanted to go home, go to Italy, eat my mom's lasagna, watch the stars with Dad, and read with Selina.
I wanted us all to lie down in the same bed and tell each other about our days and fall asleep holding each other close.