Page 134 of Finish Line

“No, I’ll be fine.” I shuffle to my clothes.

With great pain, I move to change my pants. I bend down to slide my pants off my legs.

“Can I sit on your bunk to put on my pants?” I ask Laurie, and she nods.

Once I’m done, I take off my shirt, gritting my teeth against the pain in my ribs. My stomach is black and blue.

“They worked you over more than they did us.” Milly stares at me.

“So, they’re the welcoming committee?” I ask no one in particular.

“Pretty much,” Milly says.

I want to lie down, but the thought of climbing the ladder makes me hurt.

“I’m going to eat some breakfast.” Should I risk eating food that might be drugged again? “Is there anywhere to get food here besides the cafeteria?”

“No.” Laurie shakes her head. “Be careful.”

“I’ll try,” I say. I can’t guarantee I’ll be successful.

I limp my way down the stairs. With every step I take, my ribs scream in pain. I make it down the steps and stand in line.

Once I get my food, I sit down.

They drugged my food yesterday. Will I know if they try it again?

As I drink my orange juice, staring at my food and debating whether to eat it, my name is called to the head office.

My shoulders slump. This isn’t good.

Well, I guess that solves that debate. I throw away my food.

I walk to the hall where the offices are and look for one that says head office. I come to the end of the hall and find a lady sitting at a desk. To the right is a door that says, Melinda Santos.

The lady behind the desk doesn’t look up at me. “Go in. She’s expecting you.”

I walk in, and if I thought the group home area was posh, this takes the cake. Cherrywood flooring runs wall to wall. A light brown hutch sits on an L-shaped oak desk. A white leather couch sits along the wall with a fluffy faux fur rug under a coffee table.

“Miss Winters, please take a seat.” She gestures for me to sit in front of her.

I move, trying not to limp or groan as I sit in a chair that looks like a big box but is one of the most comfortable chairs I’ve sat in.

“I’m Melinda Santos, you can call me Ms. Santos. I run Milestones Academy. We seem to have a problem. Can you tell me how your first night here went?”

Shit, she’s fishing. I have two options: tell her the truth and have my stay here be more hellish, or I could play dumb.

I make my eyes go big, and I blink. “I’m not sure what you are looking for, Ma’am.”

She huffs, then someone knocks on the door, and her face lights up. “Right on time.”

Julia walks in with two black eyes and a bandaged nose. I guess I know who Small One is. She takes a seat beside me and gives me a side smirk.

“Ms. Winters, you met one of our prize students, Ms. Julia Web. Julia came to me in the early hours and said you attacked her. Care to explain yourself?” Ms. Santos asks.

“Did she tell you she and two others did this to me?” I stand up with some difficulty and show her my jaw and the cut on my forehead before I lift my shirt and show her my stomach.

“Yes, she said she had to defend herself,” Ms. Santos says, unsurprised.

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