Thirteen

5

Teacher's Pet by Melanie Martinez

"Liebling. If you could follow me."

The familiar panic starts to crawl its way up my throat. For a second, I feel paralysed. Frozen in fear. Grace catches my eye.

'Go.'
She silently mouths to me, making sure only I could see. I bite the inside of my cheek and stand up, turning around to see his stupid face, already holding the door open for me.
I want to run. I want to sink into the ground. I just want to teleport out of here and back into my bed.
But my feet have a mind of their own and make their way towards the door.
I glance back towards brunette boy and Grace, pleading them with my eyes: save me save me fucking save me- for all I know I could be walking to my death. But I know they can't do anything. And neither can I.

Vlad takes my wrist again and starts to drag me along like a fucking dog on a leash. I pull my hand away roughly.
"Let go of me- I can walk on my own." I say sharply, taking a single step away from him.
"Would you prefer I just let you wonder about on your own? Liebling, trust me. You don't know this place as I do. I highly doubt that you want to run into Dr. Smith again..." He mutters the last part with a twinge of anger in his voice.
As much as it frightens me, he has a point.
He instead pushes me along by my shoulders, my mind flooding with worst-case scenarios.

Eventually, he slows down when we get to the hallway with his name across the double doors.
Curiously, he stops at the door with the gold handle and no window.
Digging into his pockets, he pulls out a singular key this time, not on a keychain. He quickly unlocks it and pushes me through, as the door swings open to reveal a room which is bigger than I was expecting.

The surrounding walls of the room have built-in bookshelves filled with novels, binders, and small anatomy models. In the center of the room, a desk covered in loose pieces of paper and an old computer with faded yellow sticky notes hanging off one side of it. It was messy, yet organised chaos.
"Why didn't you eat your food this morning?" He asks sitting down on a swivel chair behind the computer.
"'Coz it looked disgusting." I say truthfully. Just thinking back to it makes me want to throw up.
He sighs.
"But you haven't eaten in over two days."
I shrug. With the overwhelming past few days, I just haven't thought about eating. Even when it's put infront of me.
"Sit down. I need to set some ground rules." He gestures to the small chair a few steps away from me. I reluctantly sit down, stretching out my bad ankle.

"You cannot starve yourself, you cannot hurt yourself, you cannot kill yourself. I need you alive and healthy."
My heart drops.
Is that really what it's gonna come to?
I push for the biggest question that's been playing on my mind.
"I still don't understand- Why am I here?"
He runs a hand down the side of his face like he's been dreading answering the question.
"I can't tell you that, Leibling."
The secrecy of it all is driving me insane.
"Why? Why am I here? What's wrong with me?!"
"Oh no, no, nothing is wrong with you. You're in perfect condition... I'm just not allowed to tell you."
Condition?
Allowed?
His choice of words make me uncomfortable. There's a small sting in my hands and I realise that I'm clenching my fists too tightly, creating small crescent shaped dents into the palm of my hands. I feel myself getting twitchy with frustration.

I can't bear myself to make eye contact anymore, so my gaze wonders over to the papers and books scattered across his desk. I notice a small calendar open on today's month. Most of the page is covered with words written in German and fuck knows what it says, but what catches my attention the most is how tomorrow's date is circled in red...

"Do you have any questions?"
His voice makes me snap out of my thoughts.
But my body suddenly seems to lift with hope. My mind races with which questions I should ask first.
"Are we still in the UK? In London?"
A smirk crawls across his face.
"Yes, we are still in London."
Thank fuck.
I feel the tiniest bit of weight lifted off my shoulders.
And then a question that I should of asked sooner pops into my head.
"How long will I be here for?"

His hesitation makes my skin crawl.
"As long as it takes." He responds casually.
"How long will what take? Why won't you tell me?!"
He flexes his jaw before speaking.
"We run on obedience in this place. We need to rely on eachother. You need me to live, and I need you to simply do as I ask. I could make your life a living hell if i wanted to. But I won't. As long as you don't give me any trouble. Understand?"

I think my heart has stop beating.
I feel like something is crushing me.
I swear the walls are closing in on me.

"Where are the fire alarms?!" I suddenly blurt out. The words fall out of my mouth before I can stop them. "I haven't seen any."

"Fire alarms are hidden on the guards to stop exactly what you're thinking of. Don't bother trying to escape. I know what you're like, Esther."
His face looks so punchable right now.
"You don't know shit about me." I snap back at him.
"Actually, quite the opposite..."
I watch him go to open a draw I can't see underneath his desk. He pulls out a beige file and drops it infront of me. I hesitate to open it.
"It's you."
My breath gets caught in my throat.
I take the folder with shaky hands and open it to the first page.
I frown when I read through it.

Name: Esther Fairbourne
Age: 15
Sex: Female
Height: 5'5
Hair colour: Red
Eye colour: Brown, Blue
Occupation: Student
Parent(s)/Guardian(s): Evelyn Fairbourne
Siblings:
Place of Birth: London

A shiver crawles down my spine. The more I read, the more panicky I get. It had everything; from the school I go to, right down to my favourite music band. The weight of unseen eyes watching me for months or possibly years starts to settle in. I feel suffocated with a mix of fear and vulnerability.
I go to turn the page, but he snatches it out of my hands.

"That is no more than your medical history and other information." He smiles softly at me like a psychopath and puts the file away.
"The point is, that there isn't much that I don't already know. But I also understand that you are human."
My world shatters.
I start to question every second of my life up until now.

My heart hammers against my ribcage, each beat echoing in my ears. I feel caught in the clutches of a deep panic that tightens it's grip with each passing moment.

"That's why I still want you to take your anxiety pills."
He takes out an orange bottle and places it on the desk.
I quickly take the bottle, downing one of the white pills, wanting, needing to think straight. I wait for the panic to be dulled.

"You're free to do whatever for the rest of the day." He adds, turning his attention to his computer.
"Meaning what?! What am I supposed to do?!"
He shrugs. "Have a nap or... go to the Rec Room."
He makes my blood boil.
I need some time to process.
I stand up and walk out of the room, not bothering to shut the door properly. The hairs on my arms stick up against the cold air.
I run a hand down my face, trying to get my head around my situation.

I look down the hallway, surprised to see that the double doors are wide open. I walk through them, heading towards the so called 'rec room' where I met Grace and brunette boy.
I need Grace.
I'm on the verge of crying, and I just need someone.
I follow the corridors I vaguely remember taking, although I'm unsure because everything looks the same.
My hopes lift when I see a door with the words 'Recreation Room' written on it.
I peek my head through, and feel relieved when I see Grace still at the table.
But I don't see brunette boy.
"Grace-"
She greets me with a hug, but when she pulls away, her face is full of fear.
"What's the matte-" I ask, holding her by her shoulders, but I'm interrupted by a distant alarm going off. I start wondering whether it's to do with brunnette boy, when Grace answers for me.
"That's him- he's trying to escape- he's gonna get killed-"

I hear shouting and gunshots being fired...

A/N
I hope you guys don't mind the slightly longer chapter 😭
WE'VE NEARLY HIT 200 VEIWS I NEVER THOUGHT THIS WOULD HAPPEN THANK YOU SO MUCH‼️🕸❤️