Beth turned around in a hurry as One left her. A sigh of relief passed through her chest. It looked like the minor god was already suspicious of her. But she knew that most probably the memory of her as a ten-year-old slave was gone from the woman's head already.
When they looked back, the minor gods would only be able to remember a hazy vision of her appearance. But that still was a risk that she had to consider. Beth didn't want to take her chances with her luck. Good luck was something that she rarely came across. Her feet moved up the stairs as her mind raced.
Suddenly, a warm hand landed on her shoulder, making her jump back in shock. Beth lost her balance and tripped backward, her behind hitting the edge of one of the steps with much force.
"Ouch!" She exclaimed, clutching her waist.
She heard a few giggles coming from in front of her. Beth raised her eyes, looking in the direction with an irritated expression. She had only landed in this realm, and the bullying had started, she thought, clenching her hand in anger.
Around five girls in the same blue attire that she was wearing stood on the street, staring at her with varying emotions. One blonde girl, in particular, had an evil smirk on her face as she looked her up and down with much interest. Beth could see the jealousy in her eyes as she stared at her. Judging from the way that she was standing authoritatively with her hands tied on her chest in front of the group, she could see that the girl was the leader.
"Are you new here?" The blonde asked, raising her chin in arrogance.
Beth didn't reply. Instead, she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and got up from the floor. Though she might have been scared of the evil gang of minor gods, the ones in front of her were nothing but servants who had not been picked by a god yet. She had spotted them in her days as a slave, bullying other servants.
They hardly bothered with the slaves as they considered even walking in the same street as them degrading. Beth wondered how these people even got into heaven, seeing their behavior. Or is it that they became like this as years passed in the lower town, and their status remained the same as other servants got picked for duties in the upper town? It was hard to say. Seeing that she ignored the question, the blonde girl narrowed her eyes at her in irritation.
"You look so peculiar." She said, pointing to her with a disgusted face.
Beth huffed dismissively, crossing her arms above her chest. The girl's comments didn't bother her. She knew that it was her jealousy speaking. One of the other girls tapped their leader's shoulder, with her brows scrunched in confusion.
"You mean that she looks beautiful. Right One-eighty-one?" She asked cluelessly.
The blonde glared at her minion, making her shrivel back to her spot behind her. "Shut up One-eighty-four." She said through clenched teeth. She turned back to Beth, tossing her smooth straight hair in arrogance. "Don't think that you'd get selected on your first try. Some of us have been waiting all our lives." She said with a smirk.
Beth knew that it was a threat rather than a statement. The girl, who she now knew was called One-eighty-one, was clearly warning her to make herself scarce and not gather any attention. She got her message loud and clear. There were three more days until the selection process started. She had to make sure to appear her best for the day. Annoying these girls now would make such a thing impossible, she thought, choosing to withdraw from any possibility of a fight.
"Sure." She said with a shrug.
One-eighty-one smirked at the answer, looking dissatisfied by it. She took a step towards her, reaching out to pat the side of her arm lightly. Beth moved away from the girl, uncomfortable at the proximity. Someone had to teach the people in heaven a thing or two about invading people's private spaces. No one seemed to have an understanding of such a thing as manners, she thought, clenching her teeth in irritation.
"It's only been five days after the festival ended," One-eighty-one said, glaring at her in anger. "It will take at least three more days for the gods to come in search of servants. Till then, let's see if you can keep yourself out of trouble. It's pretty ones like you that usually ends up in the hands of a wild god or two." She said, poking her chest to provoke her.
Beth took another step back, looking pointedly at her. Suppressing her instinct to grab the girl by her hair, she forced a smile onto her face.
Nodding at the rude girl, she said, "If that's all, I'd like to rest."
With a look of disbelief, One-eighty-one and her gang turned around and walked away from the spot, murmuring something to each other. Beth swore under her breath, letting out all the irritation that she had pushed back in the last few minutes. Shaking her head, she turned back towards the metal door that waited for her to open it.
As she stepped inside the room, she was surprised at its build. The room was at least twice the size of the dark cave that was a sorry excuse for a slave's room that she had resided in before. A small window faced the other side of the room, left slightly ajar. Sunlight poured into the room through it, making it brightly lit.
A sturdy metal cot stood beside the window with a thin mattress on top of it. A thick blanket was placed at one end of the cot. Apart from that, the only other furniture in the room was a rusted metal table and a chair standing on her right side. Beth didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This was the most amount of luxury that she had gotten since she came to heaven. She suddenly felt sad for her old self, who had to put through so much in so little time.