Prepare For Secrets
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The next morning, I woke up in the bed of my own room. The sun was already high in the sky and it felt like a good day to be alive. When I opened my eyes, there were two women sitting on either side of me with their legs crossed. One had black hair while the other’s was blonde. Both wore dresses that looked more like something out of an anime than anything else. They both smiled at me as they said hello.
“Good morning! We’re your maids!” exclaimed one of them, her voice cheerful despite being so early in the morning. She then pointed to herself and continued. “I’m Maria from France; this is Marie-Anne from Germany.”
“And we are also your maids,” added the second girl who spoke in German with a heavy accent. Her name was apparently Magdalena.
They seemed nice enough but I didn’t know what these girls’ true intentions were or how long they’d been here. So far, they hadn’t done much except sit around all day watching television and occasionally going into town for groceries. It wasn’t until later that I found out why they weren’t doing any work.
“We have a lot of time off because we’ve been working hard lately,” explained Maria. “So you can trust us not to do anything suspicious.”
It sounded like she wanted me to believe them, but I couldn’t help but feel uneasy about having two strange women living under my roof. If they really did want to keep things secret, they should probably stay away from me at least.
But after talking to them more and learning some basic details about each other, I grew to like them quite a bit. In fact, I actually enjoyed spending time with them.
Maria was twenty years old and lived in France. She loved cooking and often prepared delicious meals for me. As such, I ended up eating better than ever before. After getting used to it, I even started looking forward to breakfast every morning.
Marie-Anne was only nineteen and came from Germany. She liked fashion and would spend hours planning outfits for me. Whenever I asked her if she could make clothes for me too, though, she always refused. Instead, she just offered to take care of my appearance instead.
And since she had so many different styles to choose from, I never got bored.
Magdalena was almost thirty and originally hailed from Brazil. Unlike the others, she spent most of her days reading books while lying down. She claimed that it helped improve her mind and gave her energy.
Though I still thought it looked pretty boring, I tried doing it myself once or twice. To be honest, I didn’t think it made much difference, but maybe that just meant I needed to practice more.
Despite all that, I soon noticed that Maria and Marie-Anne were growing distant. Even though I knew nothing about their personal lives, I could tell something was wrong between them. Maybe it was because they were sisters? Or perhaps they simply didn’t get along very well.
Either way, I decided to try asking them about it.
“You two don’t seem close anymore,” I mentioned during lunch one day. “Is everything okay?”
Both girls turned towards me and nodded. Then they told me that they were related by blood. Their father worked overseas as a diplomat, which was why he rarely visited home. That was why they were forced to live together without him.
“But our relationship has improved recently,” Maria stated proudly. “We’ve become closer thanks to the influence of another woman.”
She glanced over at Marie-Anne, who blushed slightly. Apparently, she had a crush on someone else now. This was news to me, but I pretended not to notice.
“Who is it?” I asked curiously.
“A young man named Martin,” answered Maria.
“He’s a musician,” added Marie-Anne shyly. “I met him through his music video.”
“Wait… You mean you guys are dating?!” I blurted out.
They both laughed awkwardly.
“Not exactly…” admitted Marie-Anne.
“No, not yet,” agreed Maria. “But I hope we will someday.”
After that, I stopped bringing up the subject altogether. I figured I wouldn’t learn anything useful anyway. Besides, I had plenty of other things to worry about. My biggest concern right now was finding out what happened to my mother.
I hoped she was safe somewhere, but I doubted anyone would bother telling me. Still, I kept hoping against all odds.
One night, I went to sleep thinking about her. But when I awoke the following morning, I immediately remembered where I was. Suddenly, my heart began racing and I felt dizzy. Was it a dream? No, I definitely saw her face clearly last night. Why couldn’t I remember what she looked like?!
The next thing I knew, I was back in my bedroom. The first person I saw was Maria.
“Oh, good morning!” she exclaimed cheerfully.
“Morning,” I replied groggily.
Then I noticed Marie-Anne sitting beside her. For some reason, she was wearing a white dress.
“What happened to your uniform?” I wondered aloud.
My question must have surprised her because she quickly covered herself with a blanket.
“Um… It’s supposed to be a surprise,” she said nervously.
That wasn’t enough information for me. So I decided to ask again.
“Are you going to school today?” I inquired.
Her response was a simple nod.
“Okay then, see ya later,” I responded.
And with that, I left the room. I headed downstairs and found Magdalena waiting for me there.
“Good morning, Master,” she greeted me.
“Hey,” I replied.
“Did you sleep well?” she continued.
“Yeah, I guess,” I shrugged.
“Have you eaten breakfast already?” she asked.
“No, I haven’t,” I replied.
“Would you like to eat here with us?” she offered.
“Sure,” I replied.
So we sat down to enjoy our meal together. We talked about random stuff until it was time to go. When that moment finally arrived, I thanked them for taking care of me.
“Don’t mention it,” Magdalena smiled.
“See you tomorrow,” Marie-Anne waved goodbye.
As I walked outside, I realized that I hadn’t seen any other students around. There weren’t even any teachers either. I assumed they’d gone off to work early. As I started walking towards the main building, I suddenly heard footsteps approaching behind me.
It sounded like two people were running toward me. A few seconds later, I spotted the culprits: Maria and Marie-Anne. They were panting heavily from their exertions, so I tried to calm them down.
“Relax,” I chuckled. “There’s no need to run.”
“Sorry about this,” apologized Maria. “We wanted to make sure you got to class on time.”
“Thanks,” I replied. “Now, take it easy.”
Maria and Marie-Anne slowed down before stopping completely. They took deep breaths while looking at each other. Then they both made eye contact and giggled.
“Wow! Your eyes are sparkling!” exclaimed Maria.
Marie-Anne blushed furiously. She averted her gaze and mumbled something under her breath.
“What did you say?” I questioned.
“Nothing important,” she muttered.
“Well, whatever,” I shrugged. “Let’s get moving.”
I started heading towards the main building once more. Once we reached the front entrance, I noticed that most of the classrooms were empty too. I didn’t know if everyone was still sleeping or just avoiding school, but I could tell that attendance rates had dropped significantly. Maybe that was why nobody was around.
When I entered the classroom, I saw that only a handful of students remained inside. Most had probably chosen to skip classes entirely. One of those kids was Martin, which meant he was also absent today. He seemed to be studying alone, so I decided to join him.
“Hi,” I greeted. “Mind if I sit here?”
Martin looked up and gave me an awkward smile. His cheeks turned red as soon as he saw me.
“Uh… Sure,” he answered.
I sat down and waited patiently for him to finish his task. After several minutes passed, I became bored.
“How much longer do you think it’ll take?” I asked.
“Not long,” replied Martin.
He placed a piece of paper on top of his desk and began writing something. I assumed it was a report or essay since that was usually what he worked on during class. However, I didn’t want to pry into his business. Instead, I decided to start reading over some of the books scattered across the table.
After spending a couple hours doing nothing, I finally finished my book. I closed it and set it aside. Then I glanced at Martin one last time. He was still diligently working away. I thought about leaving now, but I figured he might appreciate the company. Besides, it would give me a chance to learn more about the current situation.
“Alright,” I announced. “I’m ready to leave.”
“Thank you,” replied Martin. “You can go ahead.”
“All right,” I nodded.
I stood up and walked out of the classroom. This time, I went straight back home. I couldn’t help but wonder how things were going in other schools. If all of ours had been affected, then I could assume that every single student was skipping class. That meant that almost half of our entire population wouldn’t show up for lessons today.
***
The next day, I woke up feeling refreshed. My body felt rejuvenated after getting plenty of rest. It wasn’t surprising though; I’d spent the night tossing and turning. I kept having nightmares, which prevented me from falling asleep quickly. Thankfully, I managed to fall asleep eventually. Now I knew that I needed to find a way to stop these dreams. Otherwise, I’d never get enough sleep.
Once again, I headed downstairs to see if anyone else was awake yet. The dining hall was filled with people eating breakfast, so I joined them. I grabbed a plate and sat down at a nearby table. Eventually, I met up with Marie-Anne and Magdalena. They both looked exhausted, as usual.
“Good morning,” greeted Marie-Anne.
“Morning,” I responded.
Magdalena yawned loudly. Her face was already covered in black bags.
“Have you slept well?” inquired Marie-Anne.
“Yeah, thanks for asking,” she grumbled. “But I’ve been having terrible nightmares lately.”
“Me too,” said Magdalena.
“Do you remember anything specific?” I wondered aloud.
Both girls shook their heads.
“No, not really,” admitted Marie-Anne.
“Same here,” added Magdalena.
I sighed. I didn’t know what else to do. We were stuck in this mess because of us. Even worse, we couldn’t even remember what happened. All we could hope for was that someone else remembered something. Hopefully, the other townsfolk would have better luck than we did.
As I ate my food, I noticed that there weren’t many students present. Only a few dozen were seated in the cafeteria. There were no teachers either. In fact, I hadn’t seen any of them since yesterday. Apparently, they were all off somewhere, trying to figure out what was happening. At least, that’s what I hoped.
Eventually, I finished my meal and returned to the dormitory. I took a quick shower and changed into fresh clothes. When I left the room, I found myself in the hallway. Everyone else was still asleep. I guessed that most people were attending classes today, despite everything. As far as I knew, nobody had skipped school. Not yet anyway.
I continued walking until I reached the kitchen. Today, I planned on making some cookies. I wanted to make sure that everyone got their fair share. Plus, I just liked baking. I enjoyed experimenting with different recipes, especially ones that were easy to follow.
Since I was done preparing lunch, I decided to start cooking dinner instead. Once I finished, I carried the food upstairs and put it in the fridge. Then I made my way to the living area. I saw that Marie-Anne and Magdalena were still sleeping. I guess they didn’t feel like waking up early.
I decided to wake them up later. For now, I figured it would be best to wait. I didn’t want to disturb them while they were resting. So, I turned on the TV and started watching an episode of Doctor Who. I watched the show for a little bit before I realized that the others were awake.
Marie-Anne and Magdalena came down the stairs shortly after. Both of them seemed groggy. Their eyes were puffy, and they were wearing dark circles under their eyelids. I assumed that they hadn’t gotten much sleep.
“Hey guys!” I called out cheerfully. “What are you doing up so early? Don’t tell me that you’re skipping classes again.”
“We don’t need to go to school,” answered Marie-Anne. “It’s pointless.”
“Really?” I asked curiously.
“Yes,” she confirmed.
“Why is that?”
“Because there’s nothing to learn anymore,” explained Marie-Anne. “There’s no point in studying when none of the information will ever come in handy. What’s the use of learning about history or geography, for example, if everything has already happened by the time you graduate?”
“That makes sense,” I agreed.
“So, why bother going to school at all?” questioned Magdalena.
“Exactly,” replied Marie-Anne.
“You two must be bored,” I joked.
“Not really,” said Marie-Anne. “We can always play video games or watch movies.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying yourselves,” I told her. “By the way, how long have you known each other?”
“Almost our whole lives,” answered Magdalena.
“Wow! That’s amazing,” I exclaimed. “How old are you?”
“Nineteen,” she responded.
“And you’re seventeen years older than me,” I noted.
“Oh yeah,” said Magdalena. “I forgot to mention that.”
“Huh?” I wondered aloud. “What does that mean exactly?”
“Nothing important,” answered Magdalena. “Just forget it.”
“Okay,” I said. “Anyway, let’s get back to the subject at hand. Why aren’t you going to class?”
“Forget it,” repeated Magdalena. “The answer is obvious: we don’t care.”
I sighed. It looked like I wasn’t going to get anywhere with these two. They were stubborn, but I couldn’t blame them. After all, I felt the same way most days.
The End