We walk into the assembly hall and take our seats at the front, with Caitlyn sitting towards the back with the others in the forty class.
A woman, impeccably dressed, takes to the stage and I know I’ve never seen her before.
“Good morning, esteemed gentlemen of the Harkwright Academy and to the girls as well. I am Miss Lucien and I will be overseeing the running of the Academy from here on out. Sir Harkwright will be out shortly to make his announcements. You are not to make a sound, or to even move unless it is to breathe. I don’t care if you suddenly have an itch that must be scratched, you will refrain and uphold yourselves in a manner befitting this establishment.” She stares us down before walking off to the side of the stage and folding her hand in front of her.
Sir takes to the stage, and no one dares to do much as fidget as we wait for him to speak. I think we’re even too scared to breathe, in case it’s deemed too loud.
“Good morning, in just over a month, the final year will commence and the workload will be greater than it has ever been before. I don’t doubt many of you will crack under the pressure, and should that occur, then you do not need me to explain what will happen.” He glances over at Miss Lucien, but she stands resolute. She may as well be a statue. I’d think she was one, if I hadn’t seen her move with my own eyes. “As you should all know,” his eyes cut across us, and his tone clearly states that we had better remember, “Shane will not be joining us this year, and has since been replaced by Thallon. You will all have received his dossier by now, if you haven’t familiarized yourself with it, then that is highly disappointing.” Ahhh shit, please don’t quiz us. “What you will not know is that Tucker will not be joining us this year either.” He smiles, almost daring everyone to gasp, just so he can punish us. He nods before glancing at Miss Lucien one last time. I wonder what happened to Miss Martins. His smile becomes more sinister, and I’m resisting the urge to wipe my clammy hands on my pants.
“How many girls have we lost, Miss Lucien?”
“That would be five, Sir,” she says, her face remaining stoic and expressionless.
“Ahh yes, well seeing as we are already down by six girls, I don’t see the need to replace Tucker. Therefore we will be having a sort of culling, shall we say. By the time the academic year begins, there will only be forty girls remaining.” He smiles wide as he looks at his son, but Emmet continues to stare at us, he looks nothing but bored. If he didn’t know about this, then he’s doing a good job at hiding it.
“I will also be releasing all claims, and abolishing waiting lists. First come first serve from now on. If you miss your chance, then find another girl. No new claiming will be issued until the year begins, and I will not be accepting the requests until a week before it starts. This rule applies to all, except for my son.” He stares at the guys one last time and Emmet smirks this time.
“Maddox, you may keep Daria. I’m nothing if not a generous father. You are now dismissed.” He steps off the stage and no one moves or says anything.
I guess my guarantee of being claimed by Tom or Emmet just went out of the window. I don’t know why I’m still surprised by this place.
We wait a good five minutes before shuffling out in silence, usually someone should be speaking by now, but that just isn’t the case today. Too much shock running through our systems. Not just because of the culling and the abolishment of the previous claims and lists, well not for me at least. No, I can’t understand why Sir would let Maddox keep Daria. Out of all his sons, that’s the one I expected him to screw over, so why show him this act of kindness? Is that the right word? I don’t know, but it doesn’t add up. Not with all the things I have heard from them all. Something is going on behind the scenes. What is Sir’s endgame?
Daria and I walk through the halls until we find ourselves outside. The air is too still, too quiet.
“What do you think that was about?”
“I’m hoping one of the guys will know, or at least, if they do that, they’ll tell us. But at least you’re safe. Maddox won’t have to worry about claiming another girl, and you’ve pretty much got the best guy here,” I say back, as I nudge her with my shoulder.
“I agree, he’s an absolute sweetie, and he needs me. Jake even agrees that I should stay with him. I know Mad would release me if I asked, but I won’t do that to him. The less attention he gets from Sir, the better.” She stares up at the birds that fly past. Chirping happily, so carefree, with no worries.
“A culling though, that doesn’t sound pleasant. Do you think it’s open to anyone, or just those who are in the forties?”
“I’d imagine he’ll get rid of the lowest numbers. Which means…” we look at one another as we say simultaneously, “Caitlyn.”
We rush off to try and find her. We search every inch of the gardens, the mess hall, and both libraries but she’s not there.
“We could try her room,” D suggests, and I guess we probably should have started there.
“She could be with Sam,” I point out, and we both blanch at the notion of looking for a Harkwright deliberately.
“Let’s try her room first, and if that fails, then we’ll look for one of our guys.” She loops her arm through mine and we head for the forty wing.
It’s been a while since I walked down this corridor, the Zero door stares back at me and it’s strange that I feel a little melancholy looking at it. It’s the reason I discovered that Tom was the protector of us girls, the place where I encountered my first bully here. I mean, she turned out to be the first victim, but she wasn’t that bad. She didn’t deserve to be strangled and left alone for God knows how long. It’s also where I formed my first friendship. We’ve gone back and forth, but it feels as though me and Caitlyn are getting back to where we used to be.
Sure, it confirmed how insignificant I was in this place, but it also gave me hope that I could make it here. That I could find a way to prove myself to the guys. I didn’t have to do anything degrading or dehumanizing. Nor did I have to throw myself at a guy. I saved Maddox and not only got a number, I also found a friend. I know which one values higher in my mind, the only one that will outlast this place, because no matter where our lives may lead, I think we’ll find a way to always be there for each other. Not just me and him, but D as well. We’re the Harkwright equivalent of the Three Musketeers.
We knock a few times and wait for her to answer, as girls disappear into their own room.
“If you’re looking for Caitlyn, she hasn’t come back yet. I think she may be with her claimer,” a girl says, and I'm trying to place her number.
“Thanks, Forty. How are you feeling?” D asks, and I’m astounded by how she can remember so many names and numbers. Then again, she actually makes the effort to get to know others, I tend to just stick with the people I know.
“What can I say? When he gets rid of us, anyone forty one or higher will be gone. I don’t know how I feel, other than defeated and it hasn’t even happened yet.”
Her eyes are half hooded as she stares down at the ground, before she shrugs it off and flicks her strawberry blonde curls over her shoulders.