Class Trip by Rachel Burns Page B

with my
toothbrush and things. Should I explain that that would be better? I
didn't have the nerve for something like that.
    “Look what I
got for you.” He showed me a pink ribbon. “Nice, isn't it?”
    I nodded. If I
were four I would have loved it. That man had strange tastes. He tied
it into my hair and turned me so I was looking at him. He looked so
expectant that I felt a need to say something. “Thank you, Tata.”
    “Your welcome.”
He touched his pointer finger to my nose.
    The woman, the
one who he was respectful to came out of one of the other rooms. She
looked at us for a second. He stood and grabbed my hairbrush. He was
talking to her and she just nodded at him. I got the feeling that she
was surprised that he was doing my hair, and putting a ribbon in it.
He put my brush away and then he came back out.
    Tata was still
talking to the woman as he reached his hand out to me. He wasn't
looking at me but I was looking at his hand. I sighed and went to
him. Not fighting is better for me, less bruises, I told
myself.
    He went to the
door and I fell into step with him. “My mother said you look very
nice.”
    “She is your
mother?”
    “Yes, and the
other two men are my brothers. I'm the oldest. I'm the boss here.”
    “How are you
related to the doctor?” I asked trying to figure out the who's who
of everyone here.
    He smiled at me
like he thought that I was just adorable. “I'm not related to him.
He was a friend of my father's.”
    “Where is your
father now?” Was he driving another bus full of girls here?
    “I'm afraid
that you can't meet him. He passed on a few years ago. My brothers
and I take care of our mother now. Just we are the family. The rest
work for us. Do you understand?”
    “Not really.”
I was trying to guess what he was getting at, but I couldn't.
    “It means that
they can't tell you to do anything. You are their boss. I want you to
do as my mother says when I'm not here. She will help me with you.
Stay away from everyone else. Have I made myself clear?”
    “Yes, Tata,”
I smiled at him. I was already playing with the idea to tell one of
them to drive me into the next town.
    He smiled back
misreading my thoughts. “You are really a little angel.”

    We got a quick
breakfast this morning. The ten girls were there again but Hannah was
shooting daggers at Tata. She was crying and complaining to the
others.
    I looked at Tata
for an explanation. He shrugged and looked away from me. “She was
never nice. Like I said yesterday, don't worry about her. She is
leaving really soon. Her buyer will be here tomorrow. Five girls will
be leaving. Online buying makes it all possible.”
    I nodded and
tried to hide how disgusted I was with everything here. I finished my
bread and butter and we stood to leave.
    “You fucking
rapist. You asshole. I hate you. Both of you.” Hannah stood and
looked at him and then at me.
    A woman starting
going at her with the cane and she screamed out like a madwoman. More
women came in and Tata ran over to her too. He slapped her and she
flew to the floor.
    I ran out of the
room and hid behind the door. He was that monster again who beat on
girls. I covered my face with my hands and slid down the wall I was
leaning on.
    I heard feet on
the floor behind me. “Stay where you are,” one of his brothers
said as he went back in. The door opened and I could hear Hannah
screaming and the other girls crying. The door closed and the sounds
softened.
    Less than a
minute later the door opened again and Tata was pulling me to his
chest. “I know that you are very sensitive. You are just so good
that you can't understand something like that. Hannah is a beast who
had no right to talk to you that way. She probably still doesn't
believe that you weren't in on it from the beginning. She is silly
but it is our job to teach her to obey. If we can't her new owner
won't be happy with us. Perhaps it would be best to talk him into
another girl until she is trained.”
    “Trained