Chapter 3

I woke up to a long, bony finger poking and prodding all over my face.

"Marie," Bolton purred creepily. "Marie, it's time to wake up."

I turned over on my side to face him. He was standing with his arm fully extended, trying to stand as far away from me as possible. Didn't he know that freak wasn't contagious? "What?" I spat. I glanced at the iPod dock. "It's 6 in the morning!"

"And you have to be at the Dawson residence by 7 AM so Samuel can drive you to school. Up, up!" He dismissed me with a flick of his hand and scurried out of the room. I slouched out of my bed and rubbed at my sleepy eyes. Last night was the first good sleep I had gotten in years and it was beautiful. And now I had to wake up at 6 in the morning and pretend that it was totally normal? No way.

I rolled back onto the mattress, letting my head settle into the comfortable down-feather pillows. I was almost back into the same position I was before when an electric current ran through my body, jolting me from the bed and onto the floor. "What the hell?"

Bolton's pedo-face popped on the television, his beady black eyes staring down at me. "Your whole room is tapped and wired. You don't do what we say, you are shocked. The more often it happens, the worse it will be. I hope you have learned your lesson, Maximum." He chuckled maniacally to himself before he blipped off the screen.

What a wanker.

I hoisted myself off the floor and trudged to the vanity next to my closet. I plopped down on the seat and examined my face in the mirror. My cheeks were no longer sunken in, but full and rosy with defined cheekbones peaking below my eyes. A warm glow radiated through my skin. I was naturally tanned from working in the sun at the School, but this time it didn't look like it contrasted the rest of my body. I looked healthy again.

My hair fell over my shoulders and traveled down my back, stopping right in the middle. Eye-length bangs framed my face.

Last time I saw myself this clean was when I was nine.

Itex didn't really care about hygienic needs, so regular showers had been completely out of the question. Just the mere suggestion could've ended with me looking down the barrel of a shotgun.

I snapped back into reality and looked over at the time. Damn. 6:21 already? I quickly forced a brush through my matted hair and tried to put on some eyeliner sort of like how the Whitecoats taught me back at the School. I glanced at myself and figured I looked semi-presentable. I was here to capture some kid, not capture his heart.

I walked over to the closet and yanked the brass handles. The colorful assortment of clothes reminded me of the rainbow colored pills they would give me during experiments. I cringed at the thought and rushed over to the section with a plain white notecard with "Greenwich Uniforms" scrawled in blue pen. I pulled out the first one I saw and examined it. The blazer had a small gold lion embroidered on the breast pocket. How cliché.

I stepped into the skirt and left the blazer unbuttoned, exposing the white blouse underneath. I reached into the small drawer under the hanging uniforms and pulled out a pair of plain white knee-high socks. I wondered if the guy who came up with these uniforms had some kind of schoolgirl fantasy in mind.

I slipped on navy flats with a bow on each and looked at myself in the full length mirror hung on the inside of the closet door. Oh, ick.

I stormed out of the walk-in and threw open my bedroom door. The smell of fresh pancakes and eggs wafted up the stairs and filled my nostrils. My stomach grumbled on cue, as if willing me to follow the scent.

I ran down the stairs two at a time and looked into the kitchen to see Ilene hunched over the stove, flipping a giant pancake. I felt my eyebrows crinkle as I slowly walked closer.

My foot hit a creaky floorboard, prompting her to turn to face me. "Oh, Marie! I made you breakfast for your big day." She flashed her creepy kidnapper-worthy smile, but her eyes were filled with annoyance.

What the hell was wrong with her?

As I approached the table, I saw Sam propped up against the wall, arms crossed and smirk plastered across his zit-free face. "Hey, gorgeous," he winked.

"Do you have an eye twitch or something? You should probably go get that checked out." I smiled sweetly and saw the smirk slowly fall from his face. I plopped down at the table. "What are you doing here anyways?" Ilene placed the plate full of breakfast in front of me and put a hand on my shoulder. I began shoveling the pancake into my mouth, trying to ignore the fact that she was touching me.

"Sam's driving you to Greenwich. Bolton told you this morning, remember?" Her grip on my shoulder tightened.

I looked over at Sam and back at Ilene. Her eyes bore a hole into my soul. "Oh um, yeah," I said through a mouth full of pancake. "I just thought I was going over to your house first."

"Well, I thought I'd save those beautiful legs of yours the trip." His smirk quickly returned and his eyes twinkled with mischief. "Wouldn't want them getting damaged or anything." His gaze ran up my exposed thighs.

"How considerate," I muttered under my breath, forcing more food down. I was going to damage this guy's face.

Sam stood up against the wall, basking in his own thoughtfulness as I finished my breakfast in the growing awkward silence. As I handed my cleared plate to Ilene, it occurred to me that there was a good chance she put some kind of poison in it. Guess we'd find out in a few hours, eh?

I rose from the chair slowly, pulling my skirt down as far as it would go. Sam's constant staring was really starting to make me want to bathe in acid.

"I'm gonna go get my bag." I made a sharp turn around the banister and sprinted up the stairs, wanting to get away from everything. It was all just too creepy for me to handle.

I stepped into my room, trying to breathe in some fresh air. Right as I began to calm down again, Bolton's massive head came onto the screen again.

"Hello, Maximum. Please avert your attention to the small earpiece and microphone on your vanity. The earpiece will be inside your ear for the entirety of this assignment. We will talk to you every once in a while for an update on Fang." I pinched the piece between my fingers and slid it into my ear. A low hum rang through the tiny speaker and sent shivers down my spine.

"The microphone will be pinned to the breast pocket of your blazer at all times so you can speak to us at any time. Failure to wear either one of these items will result in punishment, understood?" His black eyes narrowed into tiny slits.

I sharply nodded my head, knowing a vocal response would probably result in punishment as well.

"Good. Now get downstairs." The TV clicked off.

I grabbed my backpack off the back of the desk chair and took one more look at myself in the mirror.

Here we go.

A/N : This was sort of just a short filler chapter. All of the good stuff will be posted in a few days in the next chapter. Either way, I hope you all enjoyed it(: Please keep reading and reviewing and I'll see you guys soon.

*zirny