Sara had already sensed the danger looming over them for a long time, but she hadn't thought that day would come so soon. She believed they would remain safe for a while longer since they were still hiding their true intentions.
The moment the teens stood up for Julia, they had angered their enemies so much that innocent people got caught in the crossfire. None of the teens wanted this to continue, but they couldn't allow Julia to be hurt. They had to protect her.
Now, they also began to worry about themselves.
The morning had been unusually quiet, as if people had sensed that something bad would happen by evening. Only Matthew paced nervously, unable to recover from yesterday's incident. He couldn't understand by what right the General had raised his hand against him. He knew perfectly well what kind of man the General was, but he had doubted that, at his age, the old man would still resort to his old habits. For a man in his eighties, the General was holding up pretty well, and he remained a serious threat.
The day began with the director gathering everyone in the lobby first thing in the morning. All the kids from the center showed up. There weren't many of them, so the director could afford this step. Not every parent was capable of sending their child to a correctional center just to get rid of the problem, especially since it required a significant expense.
Sara's father certainly did not belong to that group. He had simply been looking for any way to send her far from home. For him, the most important thing was a new family, while his daughter was nothing but a nuisance. Sara had long since felt this deeply.
She missed her mom terribly.
"You are all gathered here because I have something very important to announce," the director said. "Many of you have probably already heard about yesterday's incident in the bathroom. I doubted that after that, anyone here would still be foolish enough to cause trouble. The offenders have already been punished, but they are fortunate enough to leave the center this weekend, as their designated stay is ending. As a result, I have decided that you must all surrender your cell phones. I should have implemented this rule a long time ago, but I was too lenient in allowing you to contact your families."
Sara looked around at the students as they started murmuring complaints and arguing that it was unfair to make everyone suffer for the actions of a few irresponsible girls. She didn't know what the fuss was about, since she hadn't heard anything beforehand.
Puzzled, she looked at Laura, who only shrugged. The brunette had no idea about what had happened the night before either.
"I ask everyone to take out their cell phones and hand them over to the teachers. You will get them back when you leave this place. If someone tries to cheat us, we will catch that person eventually, and the consequences will be very unpleasant. So you should listen and avoid causing problems."
One by one, they all pulled out their phones and threw them into black bags held by the teachers. From the start, Sara sensed that something else was going on. The principal had simply found a way to cut them off from contact with the outside world.
They obediently tossed their phones into the bags while the woman watched them closely with her eyes.
Sara glanced over her shoulder and spotted Alan, who had been watching her the whole time.
She had completely forgotten that he wanted to talk to her. He must have been worried, thinking she was avoiding him. She probably convinced herself that he had done something wrong and that was why she didn't want to talk to him. But the truth was she did want to talk — yet she was too shy to behave normally. She didn't mean to hurt him, but just the thought of being alone with him made her blush and her heart race.
She smiled shyly at him to reassure him that everything was fine.
She felt embarrassed when she noticed Oliver watching them. She quickly turned her face away, but Laura caught her staring at the boys.
The brunette shook her head, a cocky smile spreading across her face.
"Silent waters break the shores… or is it a threesome?" she teased with amusement.
Sara flushed deeper.
"Stop it. I'm not you. I'm not turned on by threesomes," she muttered, which only made her roommate laugh harder.
Her face paled further as Simon walked past, barely greeting her with a dry "hello." Sara had hoped her friend would get over his feelings and things would return to normal, but apparently, this time the blonde was determined to hold a grudge until Laura understood his feelings.
Sara felt like giving Laura a good kick for still making puppy eyes at Matthew, who clearly had her deep in his nose.
"Did you hear? The girl the others beat up in the bathroom yesterday, and whose photos they took with their phones, is Julia. Apparently, they waited until her stay here was almost over to teach her a lesson for oppressing them before. It's said that Julia hasn't been feeling well and has been at the doctor's, but the wounds aren't serious enough to call an ambulance. I don't feel sorry for her, though — she was a terrible bitch. She may have changed recently, but that's only because of the psychologist. Otherwise, she'd still be the same."
Sara looked around the students but didn't spot Matthew anywhere. The boy was tall and stood out, so it was unusual not to see him.
Could he be by Julia's side?
She looked at Laura and saw the girl clenching her teeth in anger. Laura might not like Julia and think she deserved a spanking, but she hated gossipers even more.
"Be careful you don't get hit in the mouth yourselves. Mind your own business, silly hussies," Laura warned, approaching the three girls. At the sight of her, they froze. Laura was the terror of the corridors; sometimes all it took was one word from her to settle an issue.
"But you're scary enough to give me chills," Oliver teased, suddenly appearing by their side. Laura threw him a mischievous look.
"You don't have to be afraid. I don't touch little girls," he shot back, which made Laura even angrier. The boy smiled crookedly, fire in his eyes.
Sara sensed he was about to say something mean-spirited enough to unsettle Laura.
"Are you jealous because I look better than you and I'm a man? Even Matthew said I'm prettier than you."
That hit her right in the heart. Matthew was a sensitive subject; Laura still couldn't get over his rejection. She had spent so much time chasing him, and he had used her like a toy to get revenge on Julia.
"Same dumb roommate," she snapped back, walking away. Oliver was pleased to have rubbed it in. Both had strong personalities, so teasing was in their blood.
"That was despicable. Please don't treat Laura like that. It was Matthew who was cruel to her. You don't have to hit her." The brunette looked at him reproachfully. "And you better tell me what they're planning. I don't believe they took our phones just as a punishment."
Oliver put his arm around Sara and led her aside, which didn't escape Alan's attention. He again followed them with his eyes, and Sara felt as if she was making him uncomfortable by doing so.
"There's a bigger issue at stake here. These girls didn't plan this. They're following the director's orders and his people. They were specifically taken to do the dirty work because they're leaving tomorrow. They didn't have to be asked; the girls agreed gladly. Like most here, they hated Julia, so kicking her ass made them happy. The pictures weren't an accident either. The director schemed to take away everyone's phones. They are definitely planning something, so we're in danger. Apparently, they're no longer accepting new people because they said the center will close after everyone leaves — the director is retiring. Many who have been here for a long time leave tomorrow. Only a handful of us will be left. We should start worrying because I have no idea what they're up to."
"Why are they taking such revenge on Julia? What do they want from all of us? We aren't guilty of anything. Even if our ancestors wronged them, which is nonsense, why do we have to suffer? Why blame us?"
"I only know one thing: they're not sane."
Sara bit her finger and her eyes widened as the General arrived. She immediately walked over to Alan and placed her hand on his shoulder. The blond man turned and looked at the General with disgust. The man said something, but Alan pushed his hand away.
Sara read his lips: "Fuck you." A cynical smile appeared on the General's face. Alan headed toward the stairs, and Sara ran after him. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the General watching her. She didn't notice that Alan had stopped and that she had fallen right into his arms.
She looked up and saw a broad smile on his face.
"I noticed you ran after me."
"I'm sorry," she whispered, blushing. She was embarrassed to have fallen into his arms.
"As if you have anything to show for it."
She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked at him shyly.
"What did the man want from you?" she asked, causing the smile to fade. He clenched his fists but tried to stay calm.
"Nothing important. Before he could speak, I told him to drop it."
He was lying. Sara had seen clearly that the General said something to him. What was it that he didn't want to share?
Sara wasn't the type to push for answers, so she let it go.
"I found out the phone confiscation was planned in advance. They wanted to cut us off from our families."
"I guessed as much. Nothing here is random. They're plotting something, and we have no idea what kind of trouble we're in," he said, looking past her. Then he met her eyes. "We were supposed to discuss something else, remember?"
"Now?" she asked, surprised. He nodded.
"Do you want to keep running from me? I don't see the point in prolonging this, Sara. You have to tell me if you like me, because I'm slowly going crazy."
She swallowed hard, surprised, and nervously twirled a strand of hair.
Alan took her hand, noticing her nervousness. He smiled to calm her, but she felt her hands were so sweaty that she was even more embarrassed.
"Stop stressing. I'm not going to eat you, Sara. I just want to know if you like me or not because I don't know what to do next."
Her eyes widened as his words sank in. "If you give me a trashing, I'll survive somehow. Somehow," he added, emphasizing the last word.
He studied her as she opened her mouth, but suddenly she was speechless. She liked him. She really liked him. But she didn't know how to say it out loud. The feeling was so strong that she thought her heart might burst.
She pulled her hand away and looked down. Her cheeks were flaming red.
Alan sighed and pulled her close again. "You know what? It's okay. I'll wait as long as you want. But don't wait too long. I'm not getting any younger."
Sara bit her lip and nodded, a little smile blossoming on her face.
*
"I'll kill those bastards! All of them, one by one — let them go to hell!" Matthew shouted, getting ready to storm out, but Alan blocked the door.
"Don't act tough. If you do, you won't even have time to say a word before they slam you down. These aren't normal people. So just stop, sit down quietly, and listen to what we have to say."
Matthew clenched his fists but finally sat down obediently on Laura's bed. Fortunately, she wasn't in the room — their reunion wouldn't have been a good idea right now.
"So what are you going to do about it? They're going to keep taking revenge on Julia just because her grandmother tried to kill the General?" Matthew asked, watching them carefully.
"You should start worrying about yourself too, because Julia won't be the only one suffering here. Your time here isn't over yet, and there will be very few of us left. I still don't know what they're planning, but I'm getting more and more anxious. I don't know what's waiting for me either," Oliver said.
Only Sara knew Oliver's secret, and just as she had promised, she kept it safe. She was someone others could trust.
"That's true. They're not just after Julia. There are more people in danger," Sara spoke up, drawing the boys' attention.
"But there's also someone among us who doesn't have to worry about anything. He's safe, so I don't understand what he's doing here," Oliver said mockingly, sneaking a glance at Alan. The blond man shot him an angry look. Sara guessed they were about to start another argument. The two didn't like each other, and Oliver was baiting him — it was only a matter of time before sparks flew.
"Jealous?" Alan shot back with a mocking smile. "Because I'm not exactly thrilled about being this man's grandson. I don't think anyone would want to be in my place — maybe only a coward who's manically afraid of these people and would do anything to protect his own ass. You look like one to me."
A grimace crossed Oliver's face as he prepared a nasty retort, but Sara decided to intervene.
"None of us is safe here. Alan could be in danger too — we don't know what that man is planning for him. I don't believe he cares about his grandson."
They both fell silent. Matthew raised his head and looked at Sara with worried eyes.
"You know what? I'm not worried about myself at all. I'm worried about Julia. I think I'm only now realizing how much I care about her."
"You're not alone. We'll help her too. We're all in this together, and we won't let anyone else get hurt." Alan put a reassuring hand on Matthew's shoulder.
"Speak for yourself. Maybe you guys want to help her, but not me. She's hurt my friend too many times. The only girl I'd help in an emergency is Sara," Oliver said carefully, looking at her.
Surprised, Sara pointed a finger at herself. He gave her a small, sly smile.
She glanced at Alan and saw that he didn't like Oliver's words. She already had a feeling serious trouble was still ahead with these two.