Dangerous Game

Two Weeks Later

“Do I have to?” asked Lucy as she set down the book she held in her hands. Jaz rolled her eyes at her. “But they just do the same thing every evening!”
“You sound like a five year old.”
“Maybe I am secretly a five year old,” said Lucy as she stood up. Jazmin’s hands rested on her hips. “Fine.”

Jaz and Lucy walked into the music room to see a familiar scene: Stu in Andre’s Arms, Gallant sitting on the arm of a couch, Coco being served by Grays. The song playing from a radio was the same as every night. The Carpenters. Everything was so repetitive.

“This song,” groaned Gallant as he pinched his nose. “The same one every night.”
“Oh, here we go,” muttered Stu with a roll of his eyes.
“Where is it even coming from? And why do we have to listen to it? What are we missing here?”
“About 99% of the world's population,” said Stu.

“Would've been better off dying with them,” said Gallant as he paced around. Everyone knew he didn’t mean it, he never meant half of the things he said.
“Speak for yourself, darling.”
“Wouldn't have to drink this, whatever this is,” he said while picked up a glass filled with clear liquid from the tray Mallory was holding.
“It's mineral water,” said Andre. It seemed everyone was fed up of Gallant complaining already.

As Lucy and Jaz sat neat Evie, they saw Mallory and Coco whispering about something.
“It just plays over and over, 24 hours a day,” Gallant whined while touching Coco’s hair. He had done her hair yet again and was clearly proud of it.
“It's like Satan's Spotify playlist.” Andre laughed at his boyfriend’s remark and Lucy was already regretting coming to the music room instead of hiding away with a book.

Everyone turned to the door, hoping someone other than Ms. Venable walked in. That was the only way this could get worse.
“Oh,” said Evie. “Well, well, well. New blood.” Lucy looked at the two new people. Two teenagers by the look of it, both in purple.
“Come in. Don't be shy,” said Dinah, speaking up as she walked over to greet them.

“You're Dinah Stevens,” he said, in awe of the woman. “My mother used to watch your show. She said you beat the pants off Oprah any day.”
“Bless her heart.” She smiled at the boy. He only seemed a few years younger than herself. “A million of her and I wouldn't have been replaced by that telenovela.” The boy furrowed his brow but anything he was going to say was interrupted as Gallant walked over.

“Um, what's happening out there?” he asked.
“He’s going to regret asking that,” muttered Jaz. Lucy nodded in agreement.
“It's all gone,” he said, looking to the floor. The girl glanced to her right at the boy.
“Everything,” she added. There was the clicking at the walking stick and Jaz and Lucy exchanged glances. She stood between the two newcomers and ring a silver bell.

“Dinner is served.”

The Grays served everyone dinner as usual. The new girl looked down at her plate with disappointment.
“It’s all we get,” said Gallant. “Don’t be too disappointed.”
“Darling, you don't know what disappointment is - until you've slept with Yul Brynner,” said Evie. Dinah laughed at her words while Lucy covered her mouth with her hand as she smiled at Coco’s annoyed eye roll.
“I want to die,” said Gallant. Yet again, everyone knew he didn’t mean it.

“The cube on your plate contains every vitamin our body needs,” said Dinah in an attempt to lighten the mood. “Or so they tell us.”
“I'm still hungry.,” Coco complained. “I am so tired of the hunger.”
“Being tired of hunger is better than being dead,” said Jasmin. Coco glared at the cube on the plate and stood up.
“Fuck this bullshit! With all the thought that went into this place, they don't have a single bag of Pirate's Booty in the pantry? For a hundred million dollars a ticket, I expect goddamn Gordon Ramsay in the kitchen cooking us real food!”

As Coco ranted, she failed to notice the loud taps of a walking stick on the floor.

Ms. Venable.