Beyond Our Control

Chapter 31

 Lina had brushed Kenna's tangly hair straight again. Split cleanly down the middle, the perfect brunette that she is after being cleaned. The dark blue dress made her waist small and at the front of her neck where her cleavage showed was more skin revealed than she is used to. The blue laces at the waist revealed slight bits of her light skin but it made the dress as a whole even prettier. Her cheekbones are sharper than the last time she looked in the mirror back at the Adjustment Center. She looked skinnier and tired. But she still looked pretty. Beautiful even. With that dress and those heels that's not sneakers or rough boots, she was magnificently beautiful.

Lina rested her chin on the side of Kenna's shoulder with her hands squeezing gently on both her upper arms. Watching their reflections from the mirror, she whispered excitingly, "oh dear, Kenna, look at us. You're beautiful. We're beautiful. We really look normal now, don't we? Like this, we will blend right in!"

She has never really thought herself as even pretty before but the sight of it all made her guilt crawl even deeper. She felt sick and nauseating.

Quickly, she turned away from the mirror and stared at anywhere else than at herself, feeling Lina's hands slide off her shoulders.

"It's only been a week and look at all the weight you have lost! You gotta eat, Kenna. Stop punishing yourself like this, what for? The girls back in the dorms are going to be fine, so treat yourself a little." She walked over to their vanity and pouted a special powder on her face that covered the small bits of acne on her cheek in front of the mirror.

Kenna wanted to scream in her face. She has never had that feeling before for Lina, but she wanted to scream. Shake her until she gets some senses back in her. Yell at her until she understands the real situation here.

Instead, she glanced at the time on her watch. "It's seven already, shouldn't the guider be here by now?"

Lina puts the power down and turns to Kenna, smiling now. "Oh yes! You're right, definitely. I'm glad you remember."

She remembers of course. She'll be meeting her parents after all and maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe it won't. Maybe this is good. This is a life she can build off of.

The bell to their door rings.

She can get through this. This was what she had been promised from the start and now she has it. She has all of the things that that once tiny little girl dreamed of from looking out that small narrow window.

She placed on her best smile and went to get the door before Lina did, sensing that would make Lina even happier that she cares about their guider.

Her smile dropped when she saw Jess.

"You." Her voice below a whisper.

His golden blonde hair is gelled back neater than usual, making his brown eyes and the freckles spread across his nose stand out. He wore a tight white sort of suit that revealed him skinnier than he looked before. He smiled, his straight teeth revealing.

"Good evening Ms. Johnson and Ms. Noel, I'm here as your guider to bring you guys to your dinner with Dr. Novak." He greeted them, as if this is the first time he's seen Kenna.

Her voice was still below a whisper but now became more of a hiss. "Jess! What the hell are you doing?"

He looked over her shoulder at Lina. "Are you ready, Miss?"

The click of heels from Lina sounded from behind her. "Ready as I'll ever be."

That's when she stopped faxing over the thought of why Jess is here but instead, she blurted, "I think you got the wrong people. That's not our names."