Delanna

7

When her torture was over, Delanna started to limp back to her dorm before Miss Hecklar stopped her.

"This is not to be said to anyone. If I find out that you have told anyone, it's the whip for you, Miss Hays. Now back to your room"

Delanna stood there in shock. How could she not say anything? This act is child abuse and it's cruel. She wanted to run to her mama and tell her everything, but she couldn't, not anymore. Or could she?

As the girl left Miss Hecklar's office she took a closer look at the pictures on the walls that lined the room's walls. All the children in the photos were wearing the same uniform that all the other students wore. They probably went here. Delanna thought. As she took a closer look at the kids, she noticed that they all had a red mark across their left cheek.

Just like her.

Delanna gasped. But before she could turn around, Miss Hecklar had shoved her out and slammed the door behind the girl. Thoughts and questions churned in Delanna's brain. What had that awful woman done to those kids? Were those red slashes whip marks like hers?

Before anything more happened to her, Delanna set down the long corridor. She was determined to get back to her dorm. To ask Lily what was going on around here.

***

She burst the door open and strode into the bedroom which Delanna and Lily shared. Lily was standing over her bed, appearing to be looking at a photo that she held in her small, delicate hands. Lily jolted and looked at Delanna with surprise.

"Hey," Delanna said to her friend.

"Um, hey where were you?" Lily replied.

"Can't say." Delanna's head swirled at the thought of not being able to tell her only friend what was going on. She wanted to tell her, she really did. But Delanna knew that she didn't want herself or Lily to be whipped.

"Oh, okay then." Lily looked somewhat disappointed. Delanna hated to see her like that. She felt guiltier than someone who'd committed a crime.

A long silence followed, the only sound that was heard was the faint buzz of the lightbulb. There were no birds singing, or children chattering, just that one yellow bulb. The two girls flopped onto their beds, only a small two feet of space between them. Delanna sat there, hugging her knees close to her chest as if she might lose them. Lily lay down face first on her pillow, which was rock hard and filled with mothballs instead of stuffing. Both students were hiding from the outside world, afraid that anyone would find out the secrets that theyd both been hiding.