The Secrets of the Dupont Family

Chapter 8

Past

Attending group seminar for the first time was confirmation that I got send to hell. The first assignment was called the life boat exercise. Like we were on the titanic or something. Two counselors were standing in front of our group explaining the assignment. I listened carefully to the explanation. My Spanish had improved immensely over the passed weeks since I came here but when they talked so quickly it was difficult to understand what was said. The classroom we were standing in was empty of furniture and the lamp hanging above our heads was the only thing that shed some light in the depressing room. I was standing next to 15 other girls who were all on the same level as me. Level one. So this was the first time we actually got to talk again.

Our group was on a ship in the middle of the ocean, but we hit something and now the ship was sinking. However we had only one life boat, but they said that only five people would fit inside of it. They gave us ten minutes to decide who got to be in the life boat and who had to stay on the ship and...well die basically.

The girls were all arguing and I barely got a word in. It didn't help that I was one of the youngest in the group, all of them just looked over my head most of the time. We all wanted to be in the life boat, not because we would virtually die if we weren't. We all knew that the ones in the life boat would pass this seminar and pass over to level two, Which meant a lot more freedom in this shit hole.

Our time was up and we didn't come to an agreement. They punished us by saying that only two could be in the life boat and they ordered us to vote. Everyone got one vote and the girls with the most votes got to be in the life boat. They also were cleared for the rest of the seminar and leveled up immediately. If you got one vote then you had to continue with the seminar but you also passed to level two at the end. If you got zero votes, the seminar would be over for you and you had to do it over in a month, while staying at level one.

No one voted for me.

Almost everyone got at least one vote except for me and two other girls. That kind of hurt not gonna lie. It felt even worse when one of the counselors laughed and asked me why I didn't vote for myself to live.

That was the first lesson I learned at Casa by the sea. In order to survive here, I had to put myself first and if it meant that I had to screw another kid over to level up, then that is what needed to be done. The next time I tricked a girl into voting for me and promised to vote for her too. Except I didn't, I voted for myself. I got into the life boat and to level two immediately.

I never hated myself more.

Present

I was woken up by two voices talking softly to each other. My eyes felt too heavy to open but I was regaining my senses one by one. I felt myself laying in a bed and the unpleasant smell of cleaning products made my nose scrunch up. I finally opened my eyes and my suspicions were correct, I was in a hospital. The curtains were almost all the way closed, but I could see that it was almost dark out. I turned my head to the side and saw two of my brothers standing in the doorway talking quietly among themselves. Alexander and Sebastian both hadn't noticed that I was awake. While I took in the rest of my surroundings I was trying to remember how I ended up here in the first place.

I instantly gave myself a headache and brought a hand up to my head to somehow relieve the ache. I guess one of my brothers saw some movement in the corner of his eyes because the next thing I knew I heard Sebastian speaking my name and when I opened my eyes both were standing beside my bed.

"What happened?" My voice hoarse from dehydration.

Alexander and Sebastian gave each other a quick look before turning back to me. I got annoyed and asked again what happened, this time my voice cracked. Alexander muttered that he was going to get a doctor and quickly walked out of the room.