Paper Dolls

Chapter 9

Binna and I don't bother bathing. We clamber around while we simultaneously brush our teeth and throw on the most decent looking clothes lying around before darting out of the trainee house. 

We reach the stand right when the bus arrives and just when I think our luck might be turning around, Murphy's law decides to drop by and  kick us in the butt. A single drop of rain hits the window next to me and within seconds it turns into a full blown storm. 

Rain pelts against the sides of the bus, the sound almost deafening in this closed space. I turn to Binna, who's face is whiter than a ghosts. The time on the clock above the driver's seat reads 8.15am. Fifteen minutes until our weigh in's start and then dressing up for our evaluation.

On any normal day we would already be in the studios by 6.30 or 7am. Forget running through our performances, I don't even know if we'll be in time for the damn tests. 

As expected the rain causes a massive jam and rows of cars stand between us and the blocky building that belongs to Firefly entertainment. I look out the window only to see everything at a stand still. 

Cars honk and I watch the fumes from their exhaust pipes float up into the air like exhales. Nothing moves except the merciless rain and our hammering hearts. 

"Look." Binna points somewhere north east and I make out the mammoth training centre that belongs to Firefly. So near yet so far. 

"I think we should make a dash for it," She suggests, her voice filled with panic. 

I stare at the distance between us and our training centre, then turn to her. "In this rain?" 

She gives me a look and then I note that the time is now 8.20am. It's either we take the bath we never did or risk failing our evaluation. 

The answer is as obvious as the look on Binna's face. 

"Come on." I grab my bag and press the red button on the handle bar nearest to us. We rush to the doors and the bus driver looks at us in alarm. 

"You girls sure?" He shouts but his voice is drowned out by the sound of rain hitting windows.

We nod in unison and the doors fly open letting in a howling gush of wind. I don't think about my clothes getting soaked or how the water collecting in my shoes sends chills all the way up my spine. 

My teeth chatter and I hurry after Binna as we run to the towering black building in the distance. It takes us about ten minutes and when we cross the threshold into the lobby, I lean forward and clutch my thighs to catch a breath.

A puddle forms under my feet but we ignore the cries of protest from the receptionists and run to the lifts. 

Weigh in's are always done on the second floor. Ironically right next to the cafeteria. 

We bundle through the doors that swing open as we push them and I see the rest of the girls all standing by the weighing scale. Our head nutritionist and person in charge of our weight management, Yiren stands by the wall and her eyes shoot up to us. 

They narrow on our flushed faces and then our soaked clothes. JinJin stands at the front of the line. She stares at us in disgust and scoffs loudly while one of Yiren's assistants measures her waist with a long tapeline. 

"Slept in? Talk about over confident." 

A few girls snigger but I'm too busy wiping myself down with my hands and trying not to catch a chill and die. 

"You two!" Yiren snaps her fingers in our direction. I notice her face is furious and the chill in me turns into icy fear. "Follow me. Now!"

I shudder at her tone and follow her into the room next door. I can hear JinJin and her posse giggling profusely as we leave and I honestly feel like punching her lights out.