"And who are these enemies?" Valeria asked in a serious tone.
Julian paused, uncertain. "Those who took you away from your family. I'll tell you more when the right time comes, but for now, this is all that you need to know. "
Valeria pursed her lips, but didn't voice her displeasure.
Roxana didn't let silence commence. She hopped to Valeria's side and clung to her arm. She didn't miss the surprised, distressed flinch of the girl at the skin contact.
This wasn't the first time.
"Ok, dad. We realize you have hard decisions to make and will always do what's beneficial for us." She smiled a warm smile, and Julian returned the gesture with an affectionate one. Then her eyes enlarged, and a pout formed on her face, an irresistible, adorable expression.
"Dad, can I take Valeria to visit the mall today?" Valeria nearly choked on air as she did a double take. This girl was serious when she mentioned about shopping yesterday?
This conflicted Julian. "You know why I don't allow you to go outside too often, darling, right? I just told you there are dangerous people who want to harm us. You can order everything you need online, there's no need to go out."
Roxana's look changed to that of a kicked puppy. "But, daddy!" She whined. "I want to bond with my new sister as we visit store from store and learn more about each other and our tastes. I want to buy so many latest new dresses for Valeria. There are so many other items that she needs as well. We're teenage girls, who are still exploring ourselves and shopping online isn't adequate. You can send those mini hulk-like bodyguards of yours with us, but ask them to stay at least 10 feet away. They attract too much attention." The girl huffed all this out in a single breath.
Julian contemplated, with his arms folded. No one saw Valeria's head shaking with negation.
"Fine, but only after you've finished your classes of the day. And you'll be back before seven." He finally indulged with indisputable conditions of his own.
"But that gives us only four hours. " Roxana cried, horrified.
Julian shrugged. "Take it or leave it. And speaking of classes reminds me, Valeria?"
Said girl in question was still buffering since she heard the mention of four hours.
"Yes?"
"I have received your file from school, and it shows you haven't been performing well there. Do you think taking up extra classes for the subjects would be helpful?"
It was hard adapting to school for Valeria. Public high-school was a never explored territory for her when she had first arrived there with her mates.
Seeing the different teenagers trapped in one place, frustrated under the pressure of studies and taking it out in different ways was a hard experience.
The teachers were no better, each more bizarre than the other.
She had no time for completing homework and submitting projects.
It was no help to be smartest in the school when she didn't know how to take tests.
Answering those lengthy papers seemed like an entirely peculiar battle for some reason. Filling those tiny holes in the OMR sheets made no sense. The smallest mistakes caused her paper to cancel.
She didn't understand what to do with those blanks in the paper and her long, complicated answers to long question left the teachers muddled.
By the time she grew familiar with the process and the right ways, it was too late. The teachers had given up on her, and she found it too tiresome to waste long hours of her life answering questions she knew the answers to. So, mostly, she began sleeping in those lengthy exam hours to make up for the nights she lost chasing her goals.
She responded to her father's question with silence.
Julian spoke kindly. "Valeria, would you like to join the school Roxana goes to? It's an excellent school with a great learning environment. You might find yourself comfortable there." He suggested.
Roxana jumped in, "Yes! Valeria, school would become so much better with you around. " There was an indescribable, secret happiness blooming in her heart at the thought of going to the same school together with the red-head.
"Or, " he countered, observing Valeria's distasteful countenance, "Would you like to be home-schooled instead?" Valeria perked upon hearing the offer and delved into deep contemplation.
Roxana's brows scrunched together. "Why was I never home-schooled?"
"Because you're used to interacting with other people while your sister is not. You already complain about being cooped up in the house so much. Would you really like to stop going out to school? The school you go to is one of the best in the country. Valeria's home-schooling arrangement would only be temporary. She has to come out into the world and socialize with strangers someday. But she can take it slowly for now." Julian answered patiently, trying to get his point across to his two girls.
Clearly he had given this a lot of thought.
Roxana nodded. 'Makes sense, I guess. Too bad the best school has the worst people.' Her face contorted to a look of unhappiness, something which Valeria noticed.
"Can't I return to my old school?" She questioned, though she had an inkling about the answer.
"I don't want to let you go back to that unsafe environment, dear. I only wish to provide you with good, quality education and help secure you an easy future."
Easy was not in the dictionary of their lives.
"Is there a specific reason you wish to return to that rundown school?" Julian was curious. He wanted to get to know everything about Valeria, but could only take small steps at present.
Speeding up the pace could cause a devastating crash.
Valeria was unwilling to share. "No. I am fine with being home-schooled then."
"Alright," Julian had a tight-lipped smile. He should have expected it wouldn't be easy to get her to open up. "I'll arrange for it to begin soon. Just focus on settling in comfortably."
He raised his wrist to check the time. "It's time for your classes to start, Roxana. Valeria, why don't you accompany your sister and see if you'd like to take part in any extra-curricular activities yourself. You two may leave now."
Excited to show her skills, Roxana dragged Valeria out of the room.
For the next hour and a half, Valeria sat on the side as Roxana practiced the violin with her strict instructor by her side. Her eyes closed, and body relaxed yet back straight. The stick she moved across the string produced cadenced harmonies, something Valeria had never heard before.
She found it soothing, so much so that she dosed off to a dreamless slumber, a peaceful one which left her feeling relaxed and energized when she woke up to Roxana's gentle taps to her shoulder.
"Was it that boring?" Roxana asked teasingly, however insecurity dulled her eyes.
"No, it was good. I liked it." The brief reply helped return the spark in those orbs.
They were inside a vast hall. Mirrors replaced a portion of the walls at the right corner, and Roxana pulled Valeria to that corner from where they sat.
Martin escorted in another man while the first instructor bid his farewell and then saw the violin master out. Dressed impeccably like always in his black uniform suit.
Roxana raised her hand that held Valeria's and with a mischievous grin she jiggled her torso, especially her hip in a shimmy up and down.
"Time to dance!"
Valeria, who had never moved her body to a beat before, was at the blonde's mercy for the next hour.
Whimsical music filled the room, and in the large space the sisters followed it.
With the weird instructor dressed in a pair of modern ballroom type pants and a velvet shirt, hyping from the sidelines, and guiding where necessary, Roxana danced with vivacity, stringing the clueless Valeria along.
She pushed Valeria out and then pulled her in. She twisted and turned, spinning her around. The music reached its climax, the tempo increasing and at the dramatic drop of the music Roxana dipped Valeria down but struggled to hold the position because of her frail arms.
Valeria stared bewildered at Roxana's face from down below in her arms, frozen like a deer caught in headlights.
Coming back to reality after her head stopped spinning, she straightened up and nudged away from the gentle hold. The exercise wasn't enough to make her sweat; she was just baffled by the abruptness still. Roxana, however, panted heavily.
"Thank you, Charles! We enjoyed a lot today. See you in the next class!" She skipped to the man with hair painted in the colors of the rainbow, and air kissed his cheeks.
Valeria poked the center of her forehead with her index finger to soothe the headache that threatened to break out.
Roxana looked back at her over her shoulder. "Valeria, I'll go to see him out. Why don't you go change, I'll run up to freshen and dress up myself just after this." Saying so she left.
Valeria turned to the mirrors and blinked at her reflection, which emulated her action of brushing some stray strands of red hair away from her face.
She sucked in a breath, gulping down her saliva, and exited the hall room.
Her memory was wonderful, and in no time she reached her room and changed to the single nice garment in her belongings. This was the first and only dress she had bought for herself till now from the money she earned.
It was a black leather jeans with a white sleeveless top and a dark leather jacket over it. Her hair secured in a high ponytail, she brushed the wide-toothed comb she found on her dresser through the tips of her long locks.
She finished it with a pair of old combat boots that she had picked from a donating bin near the orphanage.
Without checking herself out in the mirror, she calmly walked out the door, wondering what else lay ahead in the day.