The Girls
Darkness filled Rose's vision. Only a sliver of sunlight filtering through a palm-sized window at the top of the room gave her a vague sense of how much time had passed.
The throbbing sting in her arm and the dim light that hemmed in her vision made her realize she might have to say goodbye to school for the rest of her life.
It was no big deal, she thought optimistically. Even without an impressive résumé, she believed she could live a good life far away in a foreign land. She only needed to save enough money to buy a plane ticket home.
She never wanted to stay in this unfamiliar country again.
With her senses deprived, she drifted repeatedly between sleep and startled waking. A dull ache in her temples forced her to rest her head against the cold, hard wall, even though the damp stone made her even more uncomfortable.
With the passage of time indistinct, she began to dream.
A cozy home bathed in warm yellow light, close family, and a table laden with fragrant food. In her daze, she could even hear music from a song-and-dance performance on the television.
But a sharper sound replaced it all. Grating insults and accusations left her gasping for breath, and her stomach cramped and stabbed with pain. Unable to hold it back any longer, she threw up with a retch.
Dream merged with reality, and when Rose woke with a start, her stomach really did feel queasy.
Hunger and the symptoms of low blood sugar made her suddenly realize that it had been about ten hours since she had last eaten.
The dry bread she had eaten that morning had long since been digested into who knew what organ. Perhaps there had been so little food that there was not even anything to excrete.
Rose curled up on the cold, damp floor, thinking it wasn't so bad to lie there like this. Maybe Mr. Johnson had completely forgotten about her, or perhaps he had chosen to forget a rebellious freak of a girl like her. The thought even made Rose feel a little happy.
So be it. Once this was over, she would finally be able to leave.
A tapping interrupted her jumbled thoughts. Someone was quietly tapping on the glass of the little window in the ceiling of the confinement room.
"Is she asleep?"
Rose recognized little Becky's voice. It had always been easy to recognize, with its babyish, nasal sound.
"Shh-" That was Alice. "Keep your voice down. Marge said she could only hold Miss Elena up for a little while. We have to hurry!"
A moment later, Rose saw someone quickly swing a hard stone at the glass, which shattered with a crash.
"What was that?!" Miss Elena's voice came from a distance, accompanied by the sound of her high heels drawing closer.
"I think Becky broke a drinking glass, Miss Elena!" Hurried footsteps followed as Marge spoke with certainty. Her excuse seemed to convince Miss Elena—the sound of high heels disappeared.
Two Yorkshire puddings were tossed down through the window, followed by a bag of sugar.
"Rose, Rose-" With the glass gone, Becky's voice came through a little more clearly. "You might have to stay locked up for another day. Miss Elena said she was going to teach you a lesson. Are you still awake?"
"Stop talking nonsense, Becky!" Alice said. "We should go. At least she won't starve to death now! You should be more worried about yourself. You shouldn't have given her your piece too!"
"But Marge said kids locked in the confinement room go hungry the whole time. She almost starved to death in there before!" Becky whispered back. "Didn't you save your own piece too?"
"That's different. I'm on a diet."
The two girls' voices grew fainter and fainter. Only after Rose was sure they had left did she make her completely stiff body inch toward the puddings.
The two Yorkshire puddings had gone completely cold. Rose took a small bite, and the eggy smell spread through her mouth. The cook was not especially skilled, but this was the best food Rose had eaten since coming to this world.
"Thank you..." Rose's large, warm tears dampened the cold, hard Yorkshire pudding, making it grow warm, just like Rose's cold heart.