“What happened to your previous roommate?” Eva suddenly asked.
“Ines?” Bella wondered. “They said she transferred schools, but then again, she was here only for a year or so.”
Eva had no idea who Ines was or where she transferred to. She just wanted to see how long these people had known that she’d be attending this school.
“Listen,” Bella started all of a sudden, “I know it must be tough to start in a new school, especially like this, when the year already started.”
Eva eyed her, waiting to hear the point of all this.
“But, I just wanted you to know that you can count on me for anything you need, seriously.”
Bella sounded sincere, but then again, Eva had never been a good judge of character. She didn’t think she’d ever need to be. She was always honest with people and, naively enough, she always expected the same kind of treatment in return. That functioned well in theory, not so much in practice.
“Okay,” Eva nodded, more for a reason to end this conversation, than to tell her that she really trusted her, because she didn’t.
She didn’t trust anyone in this place, whatever it was, and she was determined to get in touch with her grandparents as soon as possible.
“So, when do I need to go see the principal?” Eva asked, remembering that this guy, anyone with authority really, could be her ticket out of here and back where she belonged. If there was a phone here, he’d have access to it.
“He said you could go see him whenever you feel like it.”
“Whenever I feel like it?” Eva repeated.
This guy really did seem like he cared about his students, if you could just go see him, without any prior arrangement. But then, she figured he probably knew she was here and expected she’d come first thing when she woke up, seeing he was the guy with answers.
“You might wanna get dressed first,” Bella smiled, eyeing Eva’s pajamas.
“Oh, yeah,” Eva looked down then back at Bella. “But, I didn’t pack my clothes.”
“What are you talking about?” Bella eyed her weirdly.
She, then, walked over to the big dresser in the corner of their room, and slid the door wide open. The left housed what appeared to be Bella’s clothes. There were lots of black t-shirts and blouses, and a general lack of color. Everything was dark: black, blue, grey and brown. Eva looked to the right, and to her surprise, saw all her stuff folded neatly on the shelves. There were her flowery dresses, baby pink and red blouses, jeans, sandals and her favorite pair of fall shoes.
“What the…?” Eva got up and walked over to the wardrobe.
Bella stepped aside.
“Your clothes are all here,” Bella explained. “Not that you’ll be needing them, really. We all wear uniforms, but if you want a life outside of these walls, then you’ll need proper clothes.”
Eva wasn’t really listening. She took out a blouse, and felt it, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She was sure that she didn’t pack any of this. If grandma did it, she sure as hell didn’t tell her anything about switching schools and being kidnapped into one.
“I’m…” Eva started, but Bella interrupted her.
“Confused?”
“A little,” Eva nodded, putting the blouse back. “I don’t remember getting here.”
“Ah, that,” Bella looked to the side. She seemed a little uncomfortable. “That’s what you need to discuss with Principal Rannulf. He’ll explain everything.”
“Can’t you tell me anything?” Eva pleaded. “Like, how did you end up here?”
“I can’t say anything,” Bella shook her head, lifting her arms up to her chest, in a defensive stance. “I’m not allowed. None of us is. You have to talk to him first. Then, all will be explained.”
Eva frowned. This was all crazy. She grabbed the red blouse again, as it was the closest one to reach, and the jeans.
“I wouldn’t wear that if I were you,” Bella suddenly said.
“Why?” Eva wondered, looking at the blood red blouse in her hands.