When the bell finally rang, announcing the end of the lesson, I dragged myself to Bekka without motivation. My mood was at rock bottom - I was longing to finally get out of this messed up place! "You could get books from the library. The textbooks are often available there as second-hand copies. Then you've got her right away." Bekka advised me while she gathered her things and put them in her bag. "Yeah, maybe you're right." I admitted with a sigh. Ordering all of the books online was sure to take some time and I didn't feel like digging around town for a bookstore - so the Academy's own library seemed like a pretty convenient solution. I walked Bekka to the lobby and said goodbye after she punched her number into my cell phone and gave me directions to the library. The trail didn't seem particularly difficult, but I didn't have a great deal of orientation, so I already expected to get out everywhere but the library. The academy was already dead, which suited me well, so I didn't have to endure any gossip. "The new one - who was suicidal enough to mess with Malio on her first day," was just one of the countless phrases I overheard throughout the day. I actually got to the library without getting lost once, which was a small miracle by my standards. A petite, elderly lady was sitting behind a computer, the monitor almost completely hiding her plump face, so I had to lean forward to study her curiously. She wore her gray hair in a tight bun, which made her look even older. Almost as if it had sprung from a completely different era. “Good day. I'm looking for the school books. I'm new and was told I might be able to snag a thing or two here." I greeted her warmly. She looked up from her monitor, the hazel eyes appraising me from top to bottom, which due to her height only worked up to my upper body. After finally smiling, which gave me a sigh of relief at having already reached my need for rudeness for the day, she said gently, "Of course! Wait here. I'll get you all together." I nodded and watched her hurry down a back aisle. Impressively, I let my gaze wander through the huge library. Thousands of books are lined up here on meter-high shelves along the walls. In the middle were some large and small wooden tables with chairs, at which a few students were still sitting. They shuffled in small groups, whispering softly, or sat alone, bent over their books. If you crossed the library once completely, there were a large number of computers for digital research, on the wall. The nice elderly lady came back with a stack of books that was over her head. I swallowed and was horrified to find that that was quite a lot of books for so few lessons - because the same subjects were repeated almost every day on my schedule. “You can borrow the books for a year. However, there is a rental fee of $150.00," the lady explained to me in a friendly manner while pushing the stack towards me. I saw on her name tag that her name was Miss Noshe. "Can I pay by card?" I asked insecure, as I usually never carried that much cash with me. It was always just enough for emergencies, for example for a taxi ride back if I wasn't able to drive myself. She nodded and pushed a card reader towards me. Packed with the huge pile of books that I had all stacked in my arms in front of me, I walked the way to the parking lot - much too long for my taste. Apart from a handful of cars, it was now pleasantly empty - which is why I was able to head straight for my Range Rover without paying attention to cars driving out. My gaze darkened, however, when it fell on the black matte Lamborghini - which was still in the parking lot, but on which Malio was now leaning, nonchalantly with a cigarette in his hand. It was clear. Of course it had to be his car! "Do you need help?" he asked with a grin while puffing on his cigarette with relish. "No thanks!" I reply snippy. His grin widened even further and I decided it was better to ignore him and just walk to my car. "You owe me your stake," he finally said. "Stake? We both know it wasn't a bet," I replied, annoyed. ,,Oh but. That was my kind of bet." "Well, I'm not interested in that." I threw the stack of books carelessly into the trunk. ,,You know what? I don't care what interests you or what doesn't. If I say you owe me a wager, you do!" he retorted harshly. Oh wow, was he actually serious? I turned to him and looked at him challengingly: "Oh, is that so? And how should this lying bet look like?" He licked his lips in response, which made me snort in disgust, "Forget it! I won't sleep with you!" He looked at me in surprise for a moment, but that expression quickly gave way to a loud laugh. "You think...", he had to interrupt his sentence because he was laughing so hard. "Seriously now?" I asked slightly offended, since I thought my consideration was quite possible. "Sorry, but that's absurd," he spluttered. "As absurd as firing a knife in the leg of a classmate?" I countered. I should just get in the car and drive! Why am I even still talking to him? "No, I don't want to sleep with you and for your information, I don't need to blackmail women with sex." He actually seemed so amused by my statement that he wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes. I rolled my eyes in annoyance and waited for him to calm down. "Ready?" I asked after a while. Malio tossed his cigarette butt and pushed off his hood. "I want you to come to my party," he finally said bluntly. I felt my jaw drop. I wasn't expecting that - but to be honest, the prospect of a party hosted by none other than Malio didn't seem all that appealing to me. "I don't go to parties." He answers shortly. "Then you start now. It starts tonight at 10:00 p.m." ,, Today? It's the middle of the week!" I said in shock, which he commented on with a hearty laugh. "Today 10:00 p.m. I'll send you a car just to make sure you come too!" he said and his voice already made it clear that he wouldn't take no. He walked slowly around his car and paused to turn to me again: "And put on some decent clothes." “Wait! I can't," I tried again. "Jolien. 10:00 p.m. If I were you, I'd be out on the street at 9:55 p.m. My boys aren't as articulate as I am," he said menacingly. winked at me and got into his overpriced car. If someone had asked me an hour ago if it was possible to hate Malio even more, I would have said no - but now it looked completely different! I watched angrily as he screeched past me. Such an ass! How could you be so arrogant and smug? I slammed the trunk door angrily, stomped around the car and sat down in the driver's seat, wondering what I had done to God to punish me like this. I pounded the steering wheel angrily, earning a confused look from the gardener who was supporting the roses nearby. "What?" I shouted angrily out the window. He waved his hand apologetically, which only made me angrier. Didn't anyone in this town have a backbone? At that moment I hated it here and I longed to be back in my old home. After my old school. After my old friends. After our old house. Furious, I turned the key and bolted out of the parking lot, realizing that not only did I hate Malio, I hated Silverside too! *** No one was home except for my two sisters who were watching an episode of Amelie's favorite show (My Little Pony) together. I glanced at the clock. 17 o'clock. My dad was probably still at work. It was his first day and he already had to work overtime... "There is spaghetti with tomato sauce in the kitchen." Silia said when she noticed me leaning in the door frame. I nodded silently, but instead sat down with my sisters on the little blue couch that our mother loved so much because we were always forced to huddle together when we went to a movie together as a family. "How was your day?" Silia asked casually after a while while we just silently followed the colorful images on the screen. "Don't ask. This academy is terrible." I confessed with a sigh. Silia turned her eyes away from the television and looked at me appraisingly: ,, Did you cause trouble again on your first day? You really should start to understand the seriousness of life." I rolled my eyes in annoyance, but before I could reply, Amelie gave Silia and me a crushed look while putting her index finger to her mouth and hissing Shhhh. I had to suppress a giggle and tousled her hair to do so. "Stop it, Jolien!", she grumbled and tried in vain to pull away from my hand. Grinning, I also kissed her on the cheek, which made the camel overflow - because disgusted she wiped it away with the palm of her hand , which made me giggle even more. The loud growl of my stomach finally stopped me and I gave up for the time being, stopping teasing my little sister to go into the kitchen and make myself a plate of spaghetti. My cell phone, which I had left at work, beeped the moment I searched one of the countless boxes for a plate. Puzzled, I looked at the illuminated display. It was a message from an unknown number. Think of the party Be punctual, then it won't be uncomfortable for you either! Was he serious? That could only be Malio! How did he get my number? I glared at the message angrily. Before I knew what I was doing, I was tapping the call icon. It rang three times, then I was pushed away and the call ended, which enraged me even more - so I called the number again. "I can't now," a male voice said on the other end. "Malio?" I asked irritably. "Who else?" I heard his voice through the phone. "I'll be right back, I'll carry on without me for so long." His voice came through the receiver more muffled. He was probably shielding the phone with the palm of his hand so I couldn't hear what he was saying. I'd say this worked semiwell, as although the voices were more muffled now, I was still able to follow their conversation - it just took a bit of concentration. I heard a deep male voice answer, "What's more important than our meeting, Malio?" The voice sent a chill down my spine. Even over the phone, one could clearly hear how cold and ruthless this man must be. His sentence didn't sound like a question at all, more like a threat - there was nothing friendly in the words either, you could hear them, you could even almost feel them dripping with spite. I swallowed, wondering how Malio and this man were connected? “It's important, it's a business matter. I'll be right back," I heard him lie. The murmuring of the other voices became increasingly quiet, which probably indicated that Malio was moving away from them. After a few seconds, in which I impatiently drummed on the countertop, he spoke back into the phone: "You call me?" "Where did you get my number from?" I hissed back angrily. I heard him laugh on the other end and then say, "That was a breeze. Not worth talking about, do you know what you're going to wear tonight?" I gasped angrily. What was this guy up to? "I won't be coming, I thought I made it clear!" He cleared his throat and then said in a menacing voice, "I thought I made it clear you were coming! That wasn't an offer earlier." "MALIO?" came the deep voice of the man in the background again. I immediately held my breath, afraid the man would hear my breathing through the phone, he was intimidating me that much. I prayed I never had to meet him! "Why did you lie?" I suddenly heard myself asking. Before I could think about it, the words were already out. I expected him to yell at me or just hang up. But none of that happened. There was just silence. After a few seconds, when I thought he'd hung up, he whispered, "What do you mean?" "You lied, you said it was business." “And?" He was still whispering, which was kind of irritating to me. "Well, it's obviously nothing business. It's just me." Surprised, I realized that I had whispered the last words too. There was another tense silence between us. “That does not concern you. Just come tonight!" he replies coldly. "I'm not coming." "Yes - you will!" "No!" I replied firmly. "Do I have to pick you up myself and drag you to my car?" I snorted derisively. "Why don't you want to come? What do you think is happening here?" he asked angrily. To be honest, I had imagined a lot of crazy things. From public humiliation to things I didn't want. Everything was represented and very present in my head. When I didn't reply, he added, "Jolien, I'll tell you again, I won't touch you unless you want me to. So you better get off your I'm irresistible throne. Everyone will be there, how am I or anyone else supposed to harm you?" Well, he had no problem sticking a knife in a boy's leg during intermission. “Jolien? Fine, whatever you want, then I'll pick you up personally!" he said loudly and just hung up straight away. I angrily threw the phone on the counter - how could you be so rude? At 9:30 p.m., I couldn't believe that I was actually standing in front of the mirror in this black knee-length dress, turning unsteadily around my own axis. I had specially chosen a dress that was anything but sexy in my eyes. It was black, high-waisted, and made of lace - it also had sleeves. I didn't show much skin - just right for this party. I felt like I was the only lamb at a party full of wolves. No idea why, but the feeling grew stronger as the clock got closer to 10:00 p.m. My dad still wasn't there, which frankly worried me. He texted us at 8pm so we weren't worried which left me with a question. Which agent was still working after 8 p.m.? He used to not even work until 5 p.m.! 9:45 p.m. I still had the opportunity to go to bed and call it all off, just stay here at home. I would just turn off the bell. I had to laugh at the thought of Malio ringing his bell like a fool. 9:50 p.m. Damn, I had a decision to make. I crept to the door and listened. Amelie was already asleep and Silia was sitting in front of the PC, if I were to sneak down the hall now, I could actually leave the house unnoticed. My thoughts raced, torn. A part of me, the dark, rebellious one, wanted to go to this party, while the other part quickly told me not to play Malio's games. It was dangerous. He was dangerous. Everyone around him seemed dangerous as well. So how should I choose? 9:53 p.m. Oh fuck it! I carelessly grabbed a pair of heels and the leather jacket hanging on the door. I tiptoed down the hallway. I knew I had to skip the last three steps on the stairs as they creaked. After landing lightly on the laminate, I pushed my way through the front door and threw a last checking look into the hallway, but it remained dark. I did it! Sneaking out of the house unnoticed seemed like a better solution than getting caught by Silia going out during the week. Dad's message said he would probably have to work until midnight and since I wasn't planning on staying long at this stupid party anyway, no one would know! I spun around and suddenly bumped into someone with a force that almost knocked me off my feet. I felt strong hands wrap around my waist. My heart pounded as I felt the warmth of another body through my thin dress. "Careful, Cinderella!" A voice, far too familiar to me, whispered in my ear.