"You are to be seen as a normal girl and nothing more. Try your possible best to keep a low profile. That would be the best for you and always remember that if anybody finds out about your identity, you would be killed"He said firmly, striking fear into her heart with the last word.
"Have it at the back of your mind, you can't forfeit the rule because I will be keeping a close eye on you to make sure you don't go against your norms. You would be schooling at Jexs college and we will let you know why you were sent to the outside world later on" he stated and she nodded. All she could do was nod. She wasn't allowed to speak except she was being asked a question. It showed disrespect.
"Do you understand?" He asked and she nodded yet again. He glared in disapproval of her gesture. She quickly noticed.
" I'm sorry master, I apologize. I understand" she mumbled a quick response
He continued glaring at her for a while and her heart pounded faster than normal. She was still a little bit sore from the beaten that he had given her the previous day, she couldn't withstand getting another punishment in the state she was in.
"Go back to your room. I will send for you when the time comes" he ordered and her heart leaped. She couldn't say for exhilaration, but something different swirled in her. Something that she hadn't felt before. She was enthusiastic to see the outside world, no matter how bad it was painted. She wanted to see for herself and tell the other ladies the story of her adventure in the outside world. It seemed like an adventure to her because for the first time she was going to be very far away from this prison called Ghista.
***
Aanya blinked rapidly as she tried to adjust her eyes to the brightness that made its way to her eyes, harshly. Her eyes darted around and it took her a while to finally realize that she was in a moving vehicle. She panicked a bit, trying to figure out how she got there. She noticed someone driving the car and her heartbeat accelerated. The last thing she remember was talking to one of the ladies, but now she was here, going to God knows where.
She cleared her throat, signaling the driver that if he had tried to keep her unconscious, then he failed. He didn't budge, instead, he looked straight and kept on driving and it made her panic even more. What made her scared was the fact that she was in the outside world and a strange man was driving the car to God knows where. She had heard of how dangerous the outside world was and here she was. Although It didn't look dangerous to her as the car just went by numerous trees, hills, and valleys.
"Who are you?" she called out in a raspy voice. The outcome of her voice amazed her. She almost didn't recognize it. " What do you want from me?" she inquired again when he wasn't saying anything.
"Aanya" he finally spoke and turned to look at her. His slightly wrinkled face and croaked voice, screamed early 60s. The look in his dark downturn eyes held menace which made her shriek. He even knew her name, probably master sent him to bring her to the outside world, but she didn't want to make any assumption
He turned back and kept his eyes on the road, totally ignoring her question and it made her blood boil slightly. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as fear and panic took control of her body
"Relax," he finally let out like he could read her mind and emotions. "Ghista ordered that I take you to your new school,"
When Aanya heard those words, she calmed down a bit. Her heartbeat returned to normal while her back leaned back in the seat.
"Where is my new school?" She asked with more brightened big blue eyes.
"I thought in Ghista, you aren't allowed to ask questions recklessly" He muttered in a serious tone, but she could see him smirk from the car's rearview.
"I'm sorry" she apologized for her action and he erupted into laughter, taking her by surprise.
"I said Ghista not here. That's the difference. I am not your master and you are no longer in Ghista. Here, we have what we call human rights and you most definitely have freedom of speech"
" What does that mean?" She asked narrowing her eyes in confusion
"It means you can talk whenever you want"
"What about the rules? "
"No rules here" he stated. " Well technically there are rules but not so restricting as the ones in Ghista"
"So this place isn't so bad? "
"It depends"
"On what? "
"On how you choose to make it turn out for you"
"I want it to be great" she beamed with excitement
"It could be" he shrugged
"So what are you?"
"Aanya say hello to your guardian"
"Like a parent? "
"Yes, more like it" she didn't know why. But her heart leaped for joy when he mentioned those words. She had judged him by his countenance earlier, without realizing he wasn't so dangerous after all. But she couldn't still trust him. She was trained that way. She couldn't trust anybody.
"I will be keeping a close eye on you. Words from your master" he quoted
"Oh," she let out and nodded slightly, pressing her lips together.
"Your certificates have been prepared, you have already been enrolled and you will start as soon as possible," he announced and Aanya nodded again. "All your business will be done in school, my only duty is to make sure that you are in check in all your endeavors. Your mission has not been assigned to you yet, so keep a low profile till then"
"Why won't they tell me the mission yet?"
"Because your master is still figuring out the best time to strike"
Aanya furrowed her eyebrows "Strike what?"
"Don't worry your head over it" he said, brushing it off. "And also remember the rules. You being out here, does not mean that you are free from your master's watch"
*******'Look straight, look straight, don't look sideways, don't lock eyes, look straight" the words kept ringing in her mind as she walked through the foyer filled with students her age. Jex's college_ the school that had been on her mind since she was told about it_ Now she was finally here. Words could not explain how apprehensive she felt, walking amid people she had never seen before. She adjusted her newly done hairstyle_ A more straightened hair with bangs. Other than her regular frizzy one which had been basically ignored by her. It was as elegant as the girl's from the magazines Lydia occasionally sneaked into their room from the master's office.The students in the hallway didn't pay any form of attention to her, but she felt bizarre, different, to be more precise. Well, you couldn't blame her because she indeed was different.Aanya had already been to the Chancellor's office with Mr. Patrick_ She got to know his name, later on,_ ‘Her guardian’ She th
***********Tapping on the massive table in front of him, Duong's fingers went simultaneously while his other hand was filled with a glass of champagne. Patrick looked up to Duong who had chosen to remain silent for the past few minutes.The look on Duong's face remained unread as he continually stared, lost in thought. Patrick knew well enough what he was thinking, but decided not to bring the issue up. One of them was Dormos and every Ghista executive saw that confraternity as a huge problem to them.“She has been enrolled already?” Duong finally spoke up.“Yes, we have arranged everything, and she is settled in”“Good,” he remarked with a nod“ But why didn't you go for the other girl… Uhm” he tried to remember her name.“Aida? ““Yes that one”“I work with brains, not agility”“You never say that to the girls”“they don't need to know”The significance of that, Mr. Patrick proposed, was to have the girls as blindfolded as much they could. That had always worked.“Do you think, Dorm
Aanya was still trying to ascertain who in their right sense would play a piece of music that loud when the toilet door opened. A girl walked in with a toothbrush in her hand. Aanya's mouth dropped when her eyes caught hold of the girl. She was distinct, way distorted from the rest of the students, ranging from her strange pink punk hairstyle which was tattooed at the bald sides.Now, Aanya was sure that everyone in Jexs college was crazy! “Could my life get any worse?” that was the first thing that proceeded out of the girl's mouth as she stared at the both of them, glaring hard It took Aanya a while to realize that she was actually glaring at Stacey, not her. Stacey, on the other hand, had a grin on her face, and it seemed to piss Madison off the more.Madison already figured Aanya was her new roommate, judging from the luggage she carried, plus she did get a message from the counselor that she getting a new roommate, and she hated the idea. Seeing Stacey here made her more pissed
Aanya held the book to her chest as she made her way to her room. She just finished lectures, and it was hectic and stressful as usual, trying very hard to modify her brain to fit the complex topics taught by the lecturer. The pressure made her head slightly hurt.While walking, she passed a group of people and was about to make her way through when she heard her name mentioned. She turned to her side and her eyes caught Stacey amid numerous guys. Stacey had a cigarette on her lips. Did most students of Jex smoke? She asked inwardly.Stacey smiled at her, beckoning her to join her. Aanya thought against it for a while. The whole scene wasn't welcoming. Numerous (about 4) guys sat on the little stairway and Stacey in the middle. Their peering eyes bored holes into her, making her uncomfortable.She approached Stacey, as nervous as hell with her hand adjusting her hair to remove the strands that stuck to her face. A blonde with brown eyes, a Brunette with green eyes, a dark-skinned guy
It doesn't matter" he said. Somehow those words found a way of stabbing her hard in the chest. She didn't understand why she cared, why she wanted him to give a positive reply. She hated the way he answered like she didn't matter, and he was right though, she didn't matter. He looked at her whilst saying the words like he was waiting for her reaction, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her hurt.*What did he even have with Madison anyway?* she thought inwardlyShe plopped on her bed and brought out her rule book. She had found it in her bag while packing and concluded her master made the orders for the book to be placed in her bag. Probably as a reminder of her basics.Amelia hadn't opened it since she unpacked, and it already felt like she was breaking a rule by not checking her rule book.Amelia ran her hands across the book cover. On it was written boldly, GHISTA RULES. She flipped the first page, lay back on her bed, and began to read. It was a total of 5
Aanya stared in frustration as Stacey kept rummaging through her box of clothes. The frown on Stacey's face was noticeable to Aanya. She held up one of Aanya's dresses and the frown hardened. She turned to Aanya giving her a 'are you serious' look. Aanya just shrugged, completely confused about the flaw of the dress Stacey held.“Now I know why you show up in school dressed like my grandma” Stacey blurted out and Aanya snickered.“I'm serious”“I don't know when we got so close for you to search through my stuff,” Anaya said as she snatched the dress off Stacey's hand. “This dress is perfect”. It was a dress every Ghost girl owned, and they wore it on special occasions. Like the selection event where executives from the outside world get to choose girls, they want to go with them. Master always assured the other girls that the selected girls were coming back, but it never happened, and the girls were too scared to ask about their whereabouts. Most of the girls feared and despised the
The loud music could be heard clearly from where Aanya stood with Stacey beside her. Stacey continually moved her head to the rhythm of the song, while Aanya remained nervous as hell. *What have you done, Aanya?*. Her subconsciousness kept screaming at her. She knew she would be dead if her master called her in such a loud environment. He would figure out she was at a party and she would be as good as dead.She kept on playing with her fingers as she walked amid some people who loitered outdoors. The way they stared at her, most especially the guys, made her uncomfortable and she started to think if there was something wrong with her outfit. Stacey was already in party mode and she wasn't paying attention to Aanya's discomfort.They finally approached the building, and as soon as Stacey flung the door open, Aanya squinted her eyes as the loud music evaded its way harshly into her ears. She didn't know who the Derek guy was, but she concluded he was very popular, judging from how crowd
*******“Who were you talking to?” That statement made her soul almost leap out of her body. She knew that voice, and she was going to be in big trouble if at all he heard the conversation she had with her master.With her heart in her throat, she turned around to face him. There he was, looking at her intently with suspicion visible on his countenance. Mr. tattoo guy, she swallowed hard, pressing her lips together nervously as their eyes locked. He walked away from where he stood over and came closer to her with his peering eyes not leaving her body. Her brain was blank. She couldn't come up with anything at that moment. She didn't want what happened with Xavier to repeat itself with Alex. “Nothing,” she snarled at him. You couldn't blame her for the harshness in her voice as she spoke. He earlier said she didn't matter. For some reason, it got to her, and she hadn't stopped thinking about it since he said it.“You were talking to someone?” he asked. It was as