Deck of Cards

Day 33- Scarlett

Queen of spades- making clothes all day

Scarlett's POV

Sally was already up when I woke from my slumber, she was pottering around the room looking at its bland decorations. My sleep was indescribable, the best I had slept in a long time; the sheets had been like silk against my bruised skin and the duvet made me feel like I was enclosed in a warm cocoon.

"Morning," I said hazily as I stumbled to the bathroom not waiting for Sally's response which I knew would be a nonchalant 'hello'. In the bathroom I had a good look at myself, I hadn't washed as there was no time when we arrived and my hair was still matted and greasy from the absence of soap. The shower looked so inviting, with fluffy towels on the chair next to it. Tentatively, I locked the door and stripped out of the clothes that they had given me, I shuddered as they fell to the floor along with all the memories of the past.

As I turned on the hot water I realised how refreshed I felt, the sleep had done me good and for the first time I could think straight. I could process exactly what was happening. Stepping in the shower, I immediately relaxed as the water cascaded down on me like a water fall and washed away all the bad memories. Grabbing the bottle of shampoo, I massaged about half of it into my hair and rejoiced at the sight of the dirty, murky water going down the drain.

Scrubbing myself with a loafer and some shower gel, I managed to get all the dirt out of the nooks and crannies that had been missed the last time I showered. Finally , I used some conditioner to restore my hair back to its usual silkiness and regretfully I stepped out of the shower.

Wrapping one of the towels around my body and another round my hair I faced myself in the mirror again. I saw myself, the one before the game, staring back at me and it was a challenge to not burst into tears. They had stripped me of my identity for what felt like so long that I forgotten what I really looked like. The real Scarlett.

Sally knocked on the door, demanding that I came out so she could shower and grudgingly I obliged. She gasped when I came out, shocked by my sudden change from greasy swamp monster to Scarlett.

"Scarlett I knew you were pretty but this is wow," she stammered and I gave her a bright smile. Sally had always been beautiful despite the muck on her face and hair; none of us could compete with Ava though. Hannah came quite close.

I heard Sally shriek in excitement at the hot water just as I had done and I sat on the bed and contemplated. What was going to happen to us all now? We will all part and never see each other again, the pessimistic side of me said. I couldn't help but agree with it, that was the most likely situation. We all lived so far away from each other that it would be impossible to keep in good contact with each other.

Looking around for some clothes to change into, I saw that the kind lady at reception had left us some t-shirts and some jogging bottoms which I changed into happily. Using an elastic band which I had picked up somewhere, I tied my hair up and lay back down on the luxurious bed. Closing my eyes I couldn't help but feel blessed to have escaped from hell. I was safe finally.

A knock at the door brought me back to my senses and I opened it only to see a stern officer.

"Where is the other one?" He grunted at me, he was obviously not a 'people' person. Giving him a forced smile, I looked back in the room hoping that Sally would come out soon.

"She's having a shower," I explained in a sing song voice but I was panicking inside. Why did they want us?

"Ok tell her that she has five minutes before we do some more questioning," he barked and left me trembling by the door. He hadn't been very considerate to someone who had just experienced a trauma.