Angel academy

I looked at the envelope then to my mother, disbelief and sorrow filled her eyes, mirroring my own. Tears were threatening to spill.
"Who knows, maybe it's not..." I couldn't even finish my sentence.
Deciding to bite the bullet, I slit open the letter. My name was delicately printed, I began to read it out loud; "Aria Harrington, it gives us the greatest pleasure to announce your summoning to Angel Academy..." I once again found myself unable to complete my sentence. My mother let out a sob.
This was it, all out worst nightmares coming true.
Not able to look my mum in the eyes, I turned and ran for the bathroom, just barely making it to the toilet before being sick. With nothing left in me, I slid to the floor and rested my burning cheeks on the cool tiles.

A week later, bags in hand, I stood at the gates of Angel Academy. I turned to hug my mum and older brother, Xander, goodbye. Knowing this would be the last time I saw them, I couldn't let go, tears spilled uncontrollably. Not usually one for goodbyes, my mum slipped away, shaking with every step until she finally made it to the car.
"I'm going to get you out of here Ari" Xander choked out as he wiped the tears from my face. I mustered up all my courage and smiled at him, knowing no body returned from Angel Academy. "It's okay" I mumbled unconvincingly, "It had to be someone, right?"
"Miss. Harrington. Time to go." The gate guard, void of all emotion, called out.
Well this was it. Picking up my bags, I stepped away from my comfortable life and walked towards certain doom. I didn't have to look back to know that Xander would be at the car comforting mum, he was good like that. Ever since dad disappeared, he had been good at calming mum. I hadn't. Xander and I were so completely opposite, where he was able to calm and win over any crowd, I struggled to get one sentence out to anyone I hadn't known my whole life.
"Harrington, I assume" an extremely tall and pointy lady snapped at me. "Late. Let this not be a regular thing. Room 12. Dinner in half an hour. Dismissed." Her sentences were sharper than her cheekbones. I was completely at a loss to what she had been saying but she had left me standing alone before I could whisper 'hi'. Room 12, I could remember that. I just had no map, damn. If this was anything to go by, I definitely wouldn't make it past the first month.
I wandered around until I finally came face to face with a huge statue of the man that had caused me to be here. Reading the plaque under his name: "Here stands our most beloved founding father; Lucas Valentine." I looked at him with scorn. I hated this man... vampire. That's right. Lucas Valentine was a vampire. He was the reason me and eleven other girls were sentenced to this hell on Earth.

Every year, twelve girls are selected from across the states to be pampered and trained in the arts of pleasing Lucas. It was every girls dream, except mine. How did nobody else question the fact that there was a need every year for a new girl!? And why did nobody mind that he had to be shared with the eleven other girls?
Picking up my bags, I trudged in what I hoped was the direction to my room.
Finally finding it, I slumped down onto my bed and instantly started to drift off. It couldn't have been more than a minute when a perky young blonde stood over me, poking me and awakening me rudely from my sleep. "You should be on your way to dinner already. From what I've heard, you've already been late once. I wouldn't do it again." Deciding to ignore her, I rolled around to face the wall. "You know, dinner is in two minutes, if we run, we can make it on time."
If they expected someone who would willingly want to be a part of this cult, then they found the wrong girl. If they wanted me somewhere, well then they would have to drag me by the hair, there was no way I was going down without a fight.
The blonde must have accepted I wasn't coming because she skipped out of the room a minute later. Pleased with myself, I started to drift off back to sleep.

I was once again rudely awakened by two huge hands lifting me up off my bed. "What the hell!!!?" I screamed, I was flung over the man's shoulders and carried from my room. Pounding my fists against the brute's big back, I tried to struggle out of his grasp, but to no avail. Finally, after a humiliating five minutes, I was flung onto a seat.

I quickly glanced around to take in my surroundings. I was in an office that looked like it was from a display home. Nothing looked used, my eyes finally landed on the brute who had carried me here and was shocked to see he was pleasant to look at. Surprising myself I snorted "I prefer to be taken out for dinner first." Hoping to catch him off guard and maybe break the silence.
"Don't flatter yourself, it was more like taking out the trash." Shocked and appalled by his lack of manners I vowed then and there to hate this man forever.

"Thank you Caleb; that will be all." The pointy lady from before entered the room and Caleb took his leave. Even though I hated Caleb, one look at the pointy lady made me wish he would stay, so that there would be someone to testify against her when I was found murdered.

"You know Ms. Harrington, I expect my girls to listen when instructed." I glanced at her desk as she sat down. Headmistress Violet Cherub. Cherub? What a joke. "I also expect acknowledgment when spoken to. Tell me Ms. Harrington, do you know why you're here?" I just stared at her, not knowing what she wanted to hear. She sighed and I realised she was waiting to be acknowledged. "You would do well to respond accordingly."
"Or what? You'll kick me out?" I scoffed,
"You were late so you did not hear the welcoming. Ms. Harrington, our beloved Mr. Valentine only requires one girl a year. To provide the best of the best for him, we hand select twelve girls and every month we hold a competition, if you fail and come last, then you go immediately to the whore house, never to see friends or family again. If you succeed in all twelve challenges, then you are rewarded with the luxurious privilege of serving Mr. Valentine in any way he desires. There is no expulsion here, just punishments that will put you behind in your trainings for the challenges." She said it all so calmly, she didn't even bat an eye when she spoke of the whore house.

The whore house was supposed to be just a myth, not a real thing. In school, stories circulated about how there was a place in Valentine's castle where girls were kept to be fed on by Valentine and his friends. They were used as entertainment while Valentine had guests. Entertainment such as getting tortured, caged fights with lions, unspeakable things happened in the whore house and I certainly did not want to end up there.

Pain and fear flashed through my eyes and I could have sworn I saw the Headmistress smile. "Here is your timetable, I expect you to follow it accordingly." Taking the paper from her hand, I scurried out of the room, eager to get away from her and mull over my thoughts in peace. I ran straight into a familiar back. "Oh God, I can walk! Don't you dare touch me" I began to speed walk away from Caleb who looked like he was struggling not to laugh. "I just thought you would like me to show you the way back to your dorm." I stopped, realising he had a good point. I had no clue where I was. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction and remembering my vow of hatred, I stormed off "I don't need you ogre, go back to your cave." Pleased at my insult, I turned a corner and heard his laughter roaring through the walls. "Alright princess, but you're going the wrong way." I cursed, everything looked the same. I stormed back the other way and came face to face with the blonde girl from before. "I'm Amelia, ignore Caleb, he lives to patronise us because he knows he can't have us. I'll take you back to your room." I followed her silently and threw Caleb a menacing look as we passed him.

Walking into my room, I turned to thank Amelia, but she had vanished. I looked down the hall way and saw her saunter into her own dorm. Nobody around here struck me as the people I wanted to befriend. In fact, I made a mental note to avoid them all.

Left alone with my own thoughts, I thought back to what the headmistress had said. Only one girl would be left. The other eleven sentenced to the whore house. I began to cry for myself as images of my mother and Xander flashed behind my eyelids. I missed them and I would never see them again.