Surrounded by the darkness of the past

After class is over, Sara decides to go back to her room to relax and read a book, since they have an hour break before the next class. Most students go to the cafeteria to eat lunch, but she is not hungry. She prefers to use this time to be alone for a while. She misses the quiet because she shares a room with a noisy roommate. More and more often she brings Simon with whom she fools around, and when she doesn't, she winds up on the phone for half a day, talking about what's going on at the center. She challenges all the girls who have messed with her. She swears revenge on them, and Sara is silently happy that he is on her side.

Although there are times when she has to show her claws, making reproaches about Matthew being so nice to her. Sara guesses that she is jealous of this, but she values him as a colleague who extended a helping hand to her from the beginning. He said himself that she reminds him of his sister, whom he has also protected all his life, so other relationships don't enter the plan. Of course, it doesn't. He doesn't even allow himself this thought. She is too shy to flirt with boys, but when it comes to Alan....

She smiles at the thought of him. Furthermore, she is walking down the corridor dreamily when she suddenly spots him. He looks furious and is not alone. He is facing the director, who is listening intently to him. Sara hides behind the wall and tilts her head curiously, trying to overhear what they are talking about. She senses that it has to do with the fact that he was hit by a teacher.

The old man, to whom he gives eighty years of age, explains to Alan that he will try to settle the matter. The boy yells at Alan, telling him to throw the man out; otherwise he will tell his father about everything. The director attempts to calm the boy down, but this angers the blond even more.

Sara gets the impression that the old man is more obedient towards him, and worthy of fulfilling his whims, than towards other students.

She doesn't know if it has to do with the fact that Alan's father is the prime minister, but it caught her attention on the first day.

- Calm down. I can't expel this teacher, but I promise to deal with the matter properly. It will never happen again, and you will be personally apologized to by him," he announces to him, at which Alan raises an eyebrow and crosses his arms over his chest.

- If he does it in public in front of the whole class, then I'll pretend that the incident didn't happen," he claims, and the man looks at him carefully. However, a moment later he nods in agreement, so a slight smile appears on Alan's face. - In that case, I hope he never tells me what to do again, especially not to raise his hand against me. That's what I have a father for," he adds.

Did the director just go along with him? Did he just do it because he is afraid of the prime minister? Something is not right here.

Sara hastily runs off as the older man looks around the hall to make sure no one has heard their conversation. She goes back into the room and stands as if she's struck by surprise when she sees Laura inside, kissing Simon on the neck. The boy seems to be in seventh heaven.

The teenager jumps away from his friend when he notices her roommate.

- A girl with an ugly complexion," he says pointing his finger at her, at which Laura parries with laughter. She leans with her back against the wall, and the blonde blushes charmingly. - You could have knocked before you came in.

- This is also her room, Simon said. She is entitled to enter without knocking. - The brown-haired woman looks at them confused. It's embarrassing that she found them in such a situation. - After all, we didn't do anything wrong. We are just friends," she claims, shrugging her shoulders. - Sara had better tell us who the shoes lying under her bed belong to. They look expensive, besides they are men's.

The girl blushes up to her ears, and Simon crosses his arms over his chest and makes a face as if demanding an explanation.

The confused 17-year-old glances at Laura, who is watching her with curiosity painted on her face.

Sara wordlessly walks over to the bed and takes the shoes in her hands.

- I have to give it back," she says shyly, glancing in all directions but at them.

Simon squints his eyes, and a mysterious smile appears on his face.

- It's Matthew's, isn't it? Admit it," he says, not taking his eyes off her. Perplexed, she looks at Laura, whose smile automatically descends from her face. She knows that her roommate has her eye on the most popular boy in the center and feels bad about it.

- No, it's not him. It's someone who helped me last time," she whispers and gets the impression that Laura breathes a sigh of relief. A smile appears on her face.

Simon glances at her out of the corner of his eye.

Sara senses that there is a love triangle between them, from which she prefers to stay away. Usually, love triangles cause many problems and lead to tragedy.

- You can stay here. I'll go return the shoes to the owner," she adds, lifting the shoes up. She quickly slips out of the room and rushes to the men's area where the boys' bedrooms are located. She runs up the stairs to the second floor and knocks on Alan's room.

The blond man doesn't open, so she puts her ear to the door to make sure he's not in the room. However, she hears his voice. He speaks in a raised tone. He is furious.

- What do you mean you don't care that I was hit by a teacher? He had no right to do it, even if I deserved it! I knew from the beginning that you sent me to this place to get rid of me from home. After all, I am the son of your mistress! It's a shame, isn't it? You're the prime minister, and you have to maintain a good image, so you didn't have to lower yourself into it! At least then I wouldn't have been born.

Sara freezes. She would never dare muzzle her dad, especially using such vocabulary. Alan does indeed have a cutting tongue, and his relationship with his father does not look as colorful as one might assume.

- This place makes me even worse, so you'll regret locking me in here! I'll muzzle you because you didn't deserve respect. This is not how a father behaves!

- What are you doing? - She hears a familiar voice. She tentatively turns around and feels her face blush when she spots Oliver. The brunet looks at her suspiciously, and she feels like collapsing to the ground. - I knew you were weird, but to this extent? Maybe you're still peeping at us? - he asks, squinting his eyes. She quickly denies it while shaking her head, and his gaze rests on the shoes she is holding in her hand. - Do you steal our stuff too? Is this some kind of fetish? Perhaps you like men's underwear? I seem to have to keep it protected," he claims, making the girl extremely embarrassed.

- It's not like that. - She tries to explain to him, but Oliver continues to look at her suspiciously. The teenager guesses that he doesn't like her from the beginning and doesn't even know for what, but in his presence she is especially stupid. - Alan lent me his shoes and I wanted to return them.

- Did he borrow your shoes? Do you know how absurd that sounds? So what, you don't have yours? - he asks, and she makes a silly face and turns her face in the opposite direction.

- It just so happened.

- Do you want to borrow mine today? - He doesn't give up, so Sara bites her lip.

Oliver is spiteful, and she's had enough of it.

- Yours stinks," she announces, before biting her tongue. She would rather not be mean because it doesn't suit her, but Oliver gets on her nerves.

The brunet blinks his eyelids. He looks surprised by her answer.

- Why are you looking at each other like that? - She hears Matthew's voice, so she breathes a sigh of relief. She feels less embarrassed in his company. - Besides, what are you doing here, Sara? Are you lost?

Alan comes out of the room, and she glances nervously at the guys. Matthew quickly catches on to what's going on and puts his arm around his friend's shoulder, leading him toward the stairs.

Brunet looks over his shoulder as Sara shyly approaches Alan.

- I wanted to give it back to you," she says, handing him the shoes. - And to thank you. Because of me, you had to come back in just socks," she adds more quietly. The blond man lifts the corner of his mouth and swings the door to the room open, carelessly tossing the shoes inside.

- Is everything okay with you? Have you been to the doctor? - he asks.

She shyly nods and pulls her hair back behind her ear.

- I have to go now. I don't want anyone to catch me here.

She walks toward the stairs, but stops when Alan directly addresses her:

- What about the corpses? When are you going to show them to me? - She looks over her shoulder, and the blond man winks at her accusingly. - Please let me know when you dare to go back there. I'll be happy to accompany you.

*

Despite the late hour, she is still in bed. She squirms because she can't fall asleep. She twists on all sides, but tonight she suffers from insomnia. Laura snores quietly, which further irritates Sarah.

She must have drunk something with Simon, because it's the same every time.

From the very beginning, Sara wonders where they get all this merchandise? After all, to buy cigarettes and alcohol you have to leave the center, which is locked up with four triggers. Is it possible they have someone on the outside?

Finally, she rises on her elbows and sits down on the bed. She doesn't notice it at first, but her hair stands up when she sees the same woman who was limping in the middle of the room last time. This time she sits on the edge of the bed, her face covered by black hair.

Sara opens her eyes wider, and her body goes numb with fear.

The woman vigorously turns her face toward her, and she closes her eyelids as she sees her battered face again. It is a horrifying sight. She feels like screaming, but is unable to.

Her voice caught in her throat.

She gets the impression that her heart stops beating when the phantom appears at her side instantly. Watching her up close is worse than a dream in which she watches her death.

She places an unimaginably icy hand on Sarah's palm, and then the girl freezes.

- No one is safe here. It's still happening," she reveals, and the 17-year-old feels a shudder run through her body. - He will show you a piece of the past so that you can better understand the place you are in.

Suddenly, everything changes, and the girl finds herself in the middle of the hall. However, it does not look the same as it does now. Instead of classrooms, there are bars, and there are beaten people: suffering and begging for help. Women are crying and men are screaming and asking for mercy. They are all dirty and bleeding.

Soldiers dressed in uniforms stroll down the corridor. They are smiling, and the sight of the people there apparently amuses them. They specially stop by them; they eat delicious dishes when the hungry and emaciated people ask for a small piece. Instead, they get a beating for having the audacity to ask for food. Sara can't watch this. She is so disgusted by this sight that it makes her weak. It's cruel. It makes her feel like crying. She can't stand this suffering.

Her attention is caught by a sign on the soldiers' uniforms. She freezes when she realizes who they are.

A sign of the Nazis, she thinks, struggling to catch her breath. Her legs press against the ground, and she can't move from her spot. Now she understands this cruelty is not caused by their people — they are trapped, suffering and begging for mercy.

- He is the perpetrator of all the pain. The general who started it all. And it might seem that it ended with the war, but that is not true. You, too, are in danger. - The woman turns to Sara, who follows her gaze.

A tall man is walking down the corridor, with a woman walking at his side. The brown-haired woman wants to get a closer look at his face, but is too far away and the darkness prevents her from doing so.

- I can't show you more. You must discover the truth yourself. We are connected by blood ties, so let me and the others avoid eternal suffering. You are our only hope.

She lifts her eyelids and looks around the interior with horror in her eyes, realizing that she is in her room. She is lying on the bed, and Laura is still asleep. There is no woman by her side or anything strange that she might recognize as a picture of mental illness.

What past does the center hide? What is it all about, and why exactly did it happen to her?