Chapter 2

“What year are you in?”, I asked as I followed her down the empty hallway.

It was meaningless chatter, but anything was better than the silence and the mounting embarrassment of her company. She stopped and turned to me, and after what felt like an eternity, she said,

“It will be my third year.”

I shivered, telling myself that every school had their odd characters, and it was still good to get to know her since she had been here long enough to know all the unspoken rules, but my mind refused to believe it.

Her English was perfect, though, making me jealous, since I still spoke with a slight accent, so maybe this school really was the best for me, just as my aunt believed. Still, I couldn’t shake those unnamed feelings that crept into my body as we walked, tying a knot in my stomach.

The shared bathroom was at the end of the hall, and I immediately envisioned a hot bath where I could soak away all my worries. But to my disappointment, only a row of showers appeared when Xiaolian opened the door with her smartwatch and let me in. I glanced at my own wrist. So Farah hadn’t joked when she said it would give me access to everything.

She walked to the row of lockers at the far end and then turned to look at me.

“Choose whichever you want…”

They all looked the same, so I pointed at one of them at random.

“Use your watch.”

Xiaolian looked at me with the same expression she’d had since we met, and I hesitantly turned to glance at my watch. Of course… I fiddled with the interface for a few moments and managed to assign a free locker to my name. It opened with a pop, revealing a shelf full of toiletries in nondescript bottles and soft white towels folded neatly underneath.

Shower… I could excuse myself from the rest of the tour like that. I definitely needed one after my journey.

“What are you doing here?”

Farah stormed into the bathroom, and she frowned as she halted before us.

“I am setting her up,” Xiaolian said flatly, turning away from her and looking straight at me.

I froze under her gaze. Should I nod? Should I say something? Suddenly, I felt something brushing against my leg and yelped, covering my mouth with my hands.

“Stay away from her, Farah.”

Xiaolian's quiet voice echoed in the room, and I dared to glance down, but there was nothing there. Had it simply been another draught? The mansion was old, but…

Farah suddenly grabbed my wrist, and I shrieked as she pulled me to her.

“Your luggage is downstairs. There are no servants here.”

She looked at me, squeezing my wrist before letting me go, and I instinctively bowed my head and whispered,

“I am sorry…”

I glanced at the door.

"I... I will get it... now."

I burst out, and my footsteps rang in my ears as I fled down the staircase. Only at the bottom did I pause, remembering to compose myself to not bring shame on myself if someone were to see me in this state. It was a lucky move. The moment I stepped into the hall, I saw Madame Faber standing at the doors leading out, gazing into the dusk.

“Yuna”

She smiled when she saw me, and I hesitantly walked over to her.

“I see you already feel at home here.”

I shivered as her eyes fell on me, but I only nodded. I learned a long time ago that silence was the best answer if I had nothing to offer. She watched me in silence, but I dared to sneak a glance through the open door, only to see that our car was gone. She must have noticed, yet I could still feel her cold blue eyes on me as she spoke,

“Akane needed to leave, but she left you in my care.”

“L-leave…”

She chuckled, ignoring my distressed look.

“She’s been like that as long as I’ve known her. One email or phone call, and she would drop everything and go on to pursue another breakthrough in her research.”

I sighed and nodded quietly, knowing that side of her so well that I took her absence for granted and her promises as optional in the best of cases.

“Get some rest while you can, Yuna. When the semester begins, we will only accept the best from you.”

I wanted to bow, but she stopped me by putting her hand on my shoulder.

“You can always come to me if something troubles you, my dear.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, desperately searching for my luggage that would give me an excuse to get away.

A part of me screamed that I was selfish and ungrateful, and that Madame Faber had shown me nothing but kindness so far, and her soft hand resting on my shoulder only added to my guilt.

“I hope we will have more conversations like these."

She smiled and let me go, and I spotted my suitcase leaning against the wall. I forced myself not to rush to it as I watched her walk to the heavy door and close it behind her.

Normally, I would have struggled to carry my suitcase up all those stairs, but this time, it somehow felt effortless. But I didn’t think much about it, feeling relieved that I would be able to rest soon. Only when I stopped in front of the door to my room and put my hand on the lock did I remember I shared it with Xiaolian.

She sat on the bed exactly as I remembered her when I first saw her, and for a moment, I believed we were meeting for the first time and that I’d simply imagined those memories of seeing her before.

I slumped down on my bed, pulled my suitcase towards me, and opened it in search of some fresh clothes to change into after the shower. Only then did I notice that the room smelt of jasmine and autumn rain. I glanced at Xiaolian, but she didn’t even notice me, her full attention fixed on the black screen of her tablet.

I didn’t want to interrupt her and risk another odd interaction, but I was sure that smell didn’t come from my belongings. It had been so long since I used that shampoo that I’d almost forgotten how much I liked it.

I picked a pair of slippers and a nightgown, not so different from the ones I’d used when I stayed with my aunt and got up.

“I’m going for a shower,” I announced into a room.

I didn’t think Xiaolian would care about my whereabouts, but I wanted to break the suffocating silence that filled the mansion, even if no one around seemed to notice it. I guess I would get used to it, and it only felt strange because I came from a city bustling with never-ending noise, I tried to tell myself as I opened the heavy door and stepped out into the hallway.

The door creaked when it closed behind me, and I instinctively scanned the empty hall, not even knowing why I did it. I tried to shrug off the uneasiness and headed to the bathroom, suddenly aware of my footsteps echoing through the hallway.

The door to the bathroom was locked, and it took me a few seconds to realise that I probably needed to use my watch to open it. I was right, and I quickly found the correct app, and the door opened with a click. I wondered if I would need it to get out as well.

I opened my locker in the same manner and picked up a nondescriptive bottle of shampoo. The cap opened with a soft snap, and I inhaled its scent. The scent of roses and something I couldn’t quite name filled my senses, and my body seemed to relax the longer I inhaled it. I sighed with relief and placed the bottle on the bench along with a thick, soft towel before undressing and folding my clothes neatly to the side.

There was a container for dirty laundry next to the door, so I dropped mine in a bag labelled with my name. Everything seemed so efficient here. It was not so different from those elite schools in Japan where I’d spent most of my life, and the familiarity put me at ease.

I would get used to it. It just seemed different because it was my first day, and I was tired after the trip. I turned towards the row of showers when the bathroom door suddenly opened with a soft tap, and Farah walked in, letting a cold gust into the room.

I froze and instinctively tried to cover myself with my hands, feeling the goosebumps on my skin as my hands passed over my body. She looked at me with a frown and walked to her locker, but I could feel her eyes following me as I stepped into the shower.

The hot water brought some relief, but I couldn’t shake the feeling her presence brought in me, even if I knew she couldn’t see me through the steam, and the glass door offered me some privacy.

The scent of roses enveloped me as I opened the bottle, poured some shampoo into the palm of my hand, and started to massage it into my hair. I closed my eyes and let the fragrance fill my senses as I spread the soft foam over my body, trying to wash away the uneasiness I felt.

The warm water, mixed with the soft scent, felt so intoxicating that I let it carry my mind far away to a world where I was happy and at peace, even though I couldn’t imagine what such a place would look like. I could stay like this forever, lost in memories I’d never had, but in the end, I forced myself to turn off the water and dry off with the soft towel before wrapping it around my head. Only when I stepped out of the shower did I remember I wasn’t alone.

Farah stood next to the row of hairdryers hanging from the wall, her body covered in droplets of water from her damp hair. Had she waited for me until I got out? I forced myself to look away, but not before I saw the round purplish scars that covered her chest and belly and similar ones on her back. What had happened to her…?

I shook my head and hesitantly walked over to the dryers, trying to push away the potential answers my mind flashed before my eyes. I picked one, feeling her gaze on me, but I didn’t dare to turn my back on her. It would be rude to do so, and the idea of having her behind me sent the shivers down my spine, even if I couldn’t understand why.

“Stay away from Xiaolian,” she said quietly, just as I switched on my dryer, and the rest of her words were drowned out by the blare of the machine.

I looked at her, surprised, and our eyes met. They were dark brown with streaks of yellow on the edges of her irises and the pupils. Part of me wished that I had never looked into them so deeply, but it was too late, and I couldn’t turn away my gaze.

I was still watching her when I turned off the blower and turned to my locker.

“Stay away from her, for your own good, Yuna."

I almost froze, but before I had time to respond, she turned away and switched on her dryer, and I didn’t dare to ask, “Why?” or “What happened to you?” or “Why did your eyes look like that?”