Chapter 40

How could I let a stranger cart her away and destroy her life while I watch because it is 'her future', 'her fate'?? It was hard. Pretty hard. And I knew I couldn't do that. If I disobeyed Prince Robin's warnings about helping my sister alter her future, it was probably going to make us enemies of each other because I would not need to be mated to him(my thoughts), and I'd have to seek the help of someone else because it was mandatory that I risk it because I had already made the mistake of knowing her future. . It was going to be dangerous and hard being enemies with him, but it was even going to be harder living under the same roof with your sister, whom you know would be abducted as a child and maltreated and destroyed at a young age, sooner not later, and you're there, not doing anything about it. Don't you think that was indeed harder?

All these thoughts clouded my head until I fell asleep. I felt a tap on my legs and that was what made me open my eyes.

"Hey, you'll be late for the big event, Get up" it was a girl's voice. And no it wasn't Vicky or Maria. It was Mitchell, the fourth person staying in my room, and no I wasn't in the castle; I was now back in the cabin. All I remembered was sleeping on the master bed in the castle but now I woke up in the cabin.

"We are already being called for breakfast" The sun shone brightly and I looked around me, Lucas was dressed up, Mitchell too, Vicky was not in the room, I was the only one still in my pajamas.

"Hurry! Go have your bath" she said to me while wearing her socks.

"Oh yeah! Thank you so much" I said, jumping down from the bed. What was going on? How did I get back to the cabin? Did they know that I hadn't slept in the cabin or being on the campground the previous night? I ran straight into the bathroom after pleading with Mitchell to wait for me, because I didn't know the way to the dining hall. Outside, a lot of students were already prepared, while some were preparing.

"Do you know where Uncle Robinson is please?" I asked her as I walked to the bathroom but it was Lucas who replied me

"Is that what you should be talking about now? You're our representative; you should go get yourself ready. What's with you and uncle Robinson?" He asked with irritation in his voice, and I wanted to snack his face and yell 'You won't understand"

I went to the bathroom and had a cool bath which barely lasted four minutes. When I returned to the room, Lucas was already out. I mouthed some words of thanks to God because if he was still in the room, I would not be able to dress up. Whoever mixed boys and girls in the rooms did not do too well. I wondered why the person did what he did. Mitchell was lying down, fully dressed in our school uniform but without her shoes, she was lying down, reading a book. I tried to sneak a peek at the title of the book but her long fingers were hiding it.

"You have to hurry, Ariana" she said. She sounded kind. She was not from my class; in fact she was about four years older than I was.

"Yes please, sorry I'm keeping you waiting" I said , doing many things at a time. In roughly ten minutes, I was ready. She even helped me style my hair into a fine ponytail. And as we walked out of the cabin upon hearing our counselor's yells over the gramophone: "Everyone should vacate the cabins and move to the dining hall for a quick breakfast. Make sure you lock your doors and windows too to avoid anacondas from entering your properties" These words were repeated many times. It was starting to get embarrassing, so Mitchell pulled me out with my hair and my half tied shoe laces, and bolted the door firmly, then pulled me with my hair towards the exit of the campground. We didn't want to miss the others who were walking towards the dining hall already.

"Thank you for waking me up"

"It was my third attempt; you were stubborn and wouldn't want to get up" she said with a smirk on her face

"Thank you for not giving up" i said, sighing. If she had left me, maybe my nightmare about being left alone would have materialized.

"Stop thanking me; I'm not that nice. I was working with strict orders" she said and hastened her steps towards the others, purposely leaving me behind. Of course, I was wondering too. I didn't meet with kind people that easily, except of course they wanted something from me, or they were working under strict orders like she put it.. I shouldn't be surprised. But, strict orders? Was she like an assistant counselor or something? Who could have mandated her to wake me up? Could it be Uncle Robinson? Thinking about it, and the fact that I was roughly dressed, maybe coupled by my weight slowed me down, so I ran to catch up with her, and the rest of the students while picking up one of my pair of shoes that had fallen off my feet because the laces were not yet tied. The cabins were quiet and totally empty when I looked back, and for the umpteenth time, I was secretly grateful that I was not left alone.

When I looked back the second time, I saw the one-eyed young man--the camp counselor we met on our first day at the camp. He was following us.

It was 8:30am when we got to the dining hall. The dining hall was a bit far from the cabins but trekkable. It was so big and beautiful and didn't look anything like the wooden cabins back on the camp ground. It was named Alien Contention Dining Hall. I took out my phone when I realized everybody had entered the hall, and quickly took a screenshot of the sign post. I didn't know if we were not allowed to use phones in there. It was not part of the rules as far as I was concerned, but maybe I didn't even know all the rules. It made a click sound and I hurriedly covered the speaker. I looked around to see if anyone had heard it, but everyone was already taking their seats and chatting their time away, they were obviously minding their business and looked unconcerned with whatever was going on at the entrance of the hall. I took many shots of the building and my environment and only stopped when I was satisfied with the pictures. I wanted to call Mom. But what if these people could hear our conversation? Was I going crazy? These people were normal people, the people who weren't normal were the roayl people from the castle where I visited with Uncle Robinson (Prince Long Sword or Prince Robin or 'Master') the previous night, or was that a dream? Was all of it a dream? Had I been simple dreaming all through the night? I swear I was uncertain. Since I didn't even see him, I thought maybe it was just a stupid dream. Still I was glad to be back in the camp even though I didn't know how I got back there.

I moved to a corner and dialed mom's cell number. She picked at the first ring.

"My darling daughter, I was about to call you! What a big coincidence" she said , sounding excited.

"Good morning Mom" i said. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Today's the competition, yeah? Make sure you do everyone proud. I trust you darling" she half laughed. I could hear Cameron's voice in the background. That means she was back home.

"I'm nervous mom" i said.

"Why are you nervous? You've always been a confident, smart girl. I know this is your first public performance but I promise you, you'll do well. I'll be here watching you on Realplayer" she said grinning from ear to ear.

"Are we going live?" I gasped.

"Your teachers said you probably will. Don't be nervous, baby. I believe in you. Where are you now?" She said. I felt someone behind me and I quickly turned back. It was the one eyed young counselor.

"Hello?" Mom said but I pressed my hands on the speaker to reduce the volume.

"Hello?"

"What are you doing here? Everyone has been served inside, c'mon, get back in now" he said. The one-eyed young man.

"Okay sir" i said and hung up. "I'm sorry for that" I added, stuffing the phone back in my skirt pocket.

"This is not the time to make calls. You're Ariana Peyton, right? The representative for Enchanting promises high school?" He said, pointing at me, and looking at his face, I began to wonder if indeed he had lost his right eye, and how it had happened. "The Award-winning Model daughter? Yeah?" I wanted to say "Duhh", but I said,

"Yes sir" instead, and walked past him straight into the hall, where i was greeted by a strong aroma of something that couldn't be delicious for sure

Immediately I found my seat, I heaved a sigh of relief because he hadn't even talked about the phone. He had only said 'this is not the time to make calls', I was afraid that if he had seized the phone, I'd lose contact with my world-- the world I understood and grew in, and I'd be stuck like forever with these bunch of weirdos.

There was a plate of meal before me, with cutleries and a bottle of what seemed like juice. I stuck my fork into the meal and sniffed it with my boss. Holy Moley! It smelled like the insides of an animal, accompanied with what looked like chicken wings, only that I was sure it was not chicken. It still dripped blood. It looked raw. I wanted to throw it at whoever served it. I could shove it in their face.

Apart from the fact that it smelled like rotten fish, it was unrecognizable. What food was this? I sniffed it again and made a irritating face. Everyone laughed. I heard them laugh quietly and jeer at me.

I looked up and realized I had been the object of attention right from the time I entered the hall. My face flushed at the sides with so much embarrassment.

"What is it?" Someone asked, and although i knew the question was directed at me, I didn't respond. I didn't even look up from my meal.

Everyone soon went back to eating, and the way they chewed and swallowed whatever it was we were served unnerved me. What food was this that smelled like dirty gutter and these people did not find it weird? Maybe all their noses were blocked or they were just weird, or was I the only weird one here? They all probably found me as weird as I found them? I looked around to see if anybody else felt the way I was feeling but everybody in the room was either slurping or chewing their food and relishing every 'bile' on their plate. I saw one even ask for more. Was i missing something?

I picked my fork again and wanted to try at least a spoonful but I couldn't. Mitchell was sitting very near me, and I could see her eating so satisfactorily. I peered at her meal to see if I was served a different thing but it was the same thing. It was the same thing on everyone's plates. Everyone was eating and minding their business now.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and when I looked up, I saw a familiar face. It was the man from home. The man who told me he wanted me to research something and that he'd pay me well, and when I had asked what it was, he had said "We'll talk about it in the camp". Now he was here. I didn't even know him, and I still wondered why mom was so happy that I got a job with him. It was pretty weird.

"Did you lose your appetite?" He asked and I felt like smacking him on the face. I had so much appetite but I'd never eat trash. Yes, I ate any food but not something that smelled like dog poo. I'd rather starve to death than eat shit. I asked him to bend down to my level so I could whisper into his ears,

"Sorry, what's the name of this food? It's disgusting" I managed to say. Actually I wanted to say worse things but I didn't know what to expect. Is this what I would be fed with throughout summer? I'd better plan running home.

"Alien wings plus Hot pepper intestine sauce" he said. He had one of the pieces of alien wings in his hands that he had eaten halfway.

I looked at him with bewilderment. I had never heard that such food existed. I was too sure it only existed in this camp.

"It's really delicious" he said munching the half eaten piece in my presence. "Eat" he commanded. I had to control myself not to shove it in his face.

"Wait, I know you!" He said, looking closely at me.

"Really? You know me?" I asked with my every word dripping with sarcasm.

"The job still waits for you, and if you don't mind, I could help you with whatever thing you need. We'll talk after the award night. Now, please eat" he said and left without looking back. I dropped my fork and looked away, waiting for everyone to be dismissed.

And them, the bell rang and the woman who I supposed served the meals, announced: "It's time for us to go to the venue for the big event. I hope we all have our passes with us. The pass is our identification code. If you do not have the pass, you know the consequences. You could incur the wrath of our counterparts"

What the hell was this woman talking about? What pass? What consequences? Why was I always confused? And where was uncle Robinson? I wiped my face with my towel and bent down to tie my shoes laces. I was almost done tying my laces when I heard her say:

"I need you all to raise your pass and let me see them" And to my shock, everybody in the room raised a greenish card up, each one of them! while I just started morosely wondering what the heck was going on around me. Everyone turned to face me just then.

"Ariana May Peyton! Get up!" She ordered. It was Miss Amanda. Or Mrs. Whatever.

I stood up nervously. "Why don't you have a pass?" She asked and I started to stutter. After a while, I stopped trying and just looked at my shoes whose laces were now properly tied by me.

"Luciano, please lead the rest of the students out of the hall. We should not be late for the event" The man who offered me a job bowed and asked everyone to follow him, and without planning it, everyone formed a curved line that looked like a row of lazily parked vehicles and followed him out of the hall. I was left alone with Miss Amanda.

She had a stern expression on her face and i didn't know whether to apologize or be quiet.

"Follow me!" She said and walked towards the inner part of the hall. I followed her quickly because she was walking too fast. I was so scared of being left alone in this hall which now looked deserted and creepy. She entered into a room and sat at the desk. It looked like an office.

"Do you realize you're the number one man in Enchanting Promises right now? Especially today?" She said sternly. I nodded. "How do you want to be let into the event without a pass?" She asked.

"Ma'am, I didn't know that we needed a pass" i said with a strain in my voice.

"Really? Weren't you here last year?"

"No"

"Wait, are you a spy or something?" She asked. "Are you here on a mission to spy on us?" Everyone booed.

"Excuse me ma'am?" I was shocked beyond words. I was starting to have an headache from the turmoil that was building in my head.

"You don't act like one of us. You're acting all weird! Why didn't you eat breakfast?" She asked shaking her head.

"It was strange, ma'am. I've never seen that kind of meal before" i replied honestly. She opened her mouth in shock.

She dipped her hand into a container behind her and stretched her hands towards me..it was a leg, and no, it wasn't the leg of a lamb or pig, it was a leg of another baby animal, maybe an animal I don't know.

I didn't take it from her. "You don't eat hunted meat too?" She asked.

"Tell me, who are you?" She asked, shrugging and I started to feel very uncomfortable.

Just then, uncle Robinson appeared at the door and I was so grateful that I almost actually thanked him for coming. He pulled me up and told Miss Amanda. "Leave her alone..she is a newbie. Stop making her so uncomfortable" he said and pulled me out, and towards the road that led to the venue of the big event.

"You're almost late" he said. "Don't mind Amanda. She's an asshole" i didn't know what to reply with, so I just swallowed saliva. He took me past a road that I suppose was the back of the venue. Then he snuck me in and asked me to sit in one of the empty seats at the front.

People who sat in front already had their passes checked, so I was safe. The venue was a very big hall that was very exquisite and beautifully organized. The students from the other school had also arrived even though it was only 9:00 in the morning.