Darn Stupid Brother You Are

(Angel's POV)

I woke up early, dreading the day ahead. Miss Stefan, our new dorm mother, was already up and about, her eyes fixed on us with a critical gaze. She slept in the same room as us, which made it impossible to escape her presence. "Good morning, girls," she said, her voice stern. "Today, we will be having a room inspection. I expect the room to be spotless. You will clean every inch of this room, and I will be checking every detail."

I groaned inwardly, knowing that this would be a long and tedious task. But I knew better than to complain, not with Miss Stefan watching us like a hawk.

We set to work, starting with our beds. We stripped off the covers and remade them with fresh sheets, tucking in the corners tightly. Then we moved on to the floor, sweeping and vacuuming every inch of the room. We dusted every surface, including the furniture, lamps, and knick-knacks.

As Dilada was dusting the top shelf of her bookcase, she let out a small cough breaking the no talking tense environment.

"Excuse me," she said, covering her mouth.

Miss Stefan's eyes narrowed. "Dusty air, or just a little laziness?" she said. If I didn't know her already, and if not for the laziness bit, you would have thought she meant well because of the tone she kept speaking in.

Dilada's face reddened. "I'm sorry, Miss Stefan. I just got a bit of dust in my throat."

Miss Stefan raised an eyebrow. "Well, try to avoid spreading your germs around the room, dear."

I was beyond pissed at that snarky comment, but I knew better than to say anything. We just continued cleaning, trying to avoid any further confrontations with the bitch.

We even cleaned the windows, using glass cleaner and paper towels to make them sparkle.

Next, we tackled our personal spaces. We organized our closets, hanging up clothes and folding and storing away anything that was out of place. We wiped down our dressers and nightstands, and cleaned any mirrors and picture frames. We cleaned the bathroom, scrubbing the shower and sink until they shone. We cleaned the toilet, inside and out, and restocked the toilet paper and soap.

Miss Stefan watched us every step of the way, her eyes critical and not the least impressed. She pointed out every tiny mistake, every dust particle that we missed, every small thing was offensive to her.

As we worked, the tension in the room was so obvious, with none of us talking. We were all on edge, waiting for Miss Stefan to find fault in something we had done.

Finally, after what felt like hours, we finished cleaning. Miss Stefan inspected the room, her eyes scanning every inch of the space.

"It's not perfect," she said, her voice dripping with disapproval. "But I suppose it will do."

I felt a surge of frustration, but I bit my tongue. I knew better than to argue with Miss Stefan.

I avoided eye contact with her as much as possible, but it was hard to escape her completely.

....

We sat down at our lunch table, finally free from Miss Stefan's watchful eye.

"Ugh, I hate that woman," I said, slamming my hand down on the table.

Hande shook her head, "She's such a pain in the ass. Always breathing down our necks."

Cylan snorted. "Breathing down our necks? She's practically suffocating us. I swear, I've never met anyone as annoying as her."

Dilada spoke up, her voice soft. "Maybe we're misunderstanding her. Maybe she's not trying to be mean, maybe she's just...trying to prepare us for the real world."

Cylan snorted. "Are you kidding me, Dilada? She's been riding us since day one. There's no excuse for that."

Dilada just shrugged.

Hande shook her head. "Yeah, Dilada, come on. You can't seriously think Miss Stefan is just trying to do her job. She's got it out for us."

"Aw..." Cylan cooed, lightly patting Dilada's cheek in an affectionate way, "You're too good for this world, honey."

I eyed their interaction as I sipped my bland coffee. "Dilada, I get that everything isn't black and white to you, but see, you're missing the big picture here. Miss Stefan is not just strict, she's cruel. And we can't just sit back and take it." Dilada looked taken aback by our reaction. "But what if we're the ones who are being too sensitive? What if we're just not used to someone pushing us to be our best selves?"

"Excuse me?" I exclaimed.

Hell did she just say we were sensitive? "Whose side are you on anyway?"

She blanched immediately.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out like that."

"No, Dilada, we're not being too sensitive. Miss Stefan has been too mean, too many times. She needs to be held accountable." Cylan responded calmly, her voice softening, sounding more adult than I was at that moment. "Hey, Dilada, we're not trying to attack you. We just are not so comfortable with Miss Stefan."

Dilada nodded and smiled.

Cylan was truly a better human than I was.

I sighed, feeling guilty. Maybe I had been too hard on Dilada.

Charlotte, who had been quietly observing the conversation, spoke up. "I no understand why she so mean. We try our best, yes?"

I nodded. "Exactly, Charlotte. We're not trying to cause any trouble. But Miss Stefan already has a bad impression about us and assumes will pull off the worst acts."

Hande shook her head. "I know, right? It's like she has it out for us or something."

Cylan chuckled. "I think she's just jealous. I mean, we're all smart and talented, and she's just a bitter old woman stuck in a dead-end job."

Hande giggled. "That's a bit harsh, Cylan."

But I couldn't help but agree. "No, Cylan's right. Miss Stefan is jealous of us. And she's taking it out on us."

Charlotte's eyes grew wide. "Oh, I see. She is like big cloud, blocking the sun from shining on us. Yes?"

We all laughed at Charlotte's analogy.

I bit my lip remembering how she had reported me to my mum, as if knowing that that would make me scared.

"Let's just try to avoid her as much as we can. She seems like trouble."

Dilada nodded. "I know what you mean. She makes me nervous." Hande sighed. "I just wish she would leave us alone."

For a moment, we forgot about Miss Stefan.

I woke up feeling uneasy. It had been awhile since I last saw Hendrix and I was beginning to get worried. We got right into our chores, with me hurriedly working as fast as I could so I could get downstairs for breakfast. Maybe I would see him there.

I got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast when I was done but I noticed Hendrix wasn't there. He had missed dinner the night before, and now breakfast. It was unlike him to skip meals, especially knowing he had just gotten back from the infirmary.

I tried to shake off the feeling that something bad had happened to him. Twice in one week? No it couldn't be. But as I sat down at the table with my roommates, my worries only grew. Maybe something bad had happened. "Hey, guys, have you seen Hendrix?" I turned to my roommates and asked.

Hande looked up from her plate. "No, I haven't seen him since yesterday. Is everything okay?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I've just not seen him. I'm getting worried."

Cylan spoke up. "Maybe he's just tired. He did just get back from the infirmary."

But I knew Hendrix. He wouldn't just hide away without a reason.

Everyone on the table began talking with each other about different things and with Hands by my side, I confided in her about my concerns. "I'm getting really worried about Hendrix. He really doesn't like missing meals. This isn't like him at all."

Hande's expression turned serious, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Do you think Miss Stefan or the center has something to do with it?"

I hesitated, unsure of how to respond. While I shared Hande's suspicions about the center's weirdness, I didn't want to jump into conclusions just yet. But knowing how Hendrix was, he was always the life of the party, never missing an opportunity to charm the girls or crack a joke. He was always the charming, flirtatious one, never failing to make us laugh or blush with his witty comments. He wouldn't just go MIA.

"I don't know, Hande," I said finally. "He's not picking up or answering any of my texts. I just can't imagine what would keep him away like this. He's always been so...present. He was just so...off, after he came out of the infirmary, which was so weird. He's always been the one to crack jokes and flirt shamelessly with everyone. He cannot handle not being around people."

Hande rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Oh, please, you don't need to tell me. He's always making suggestive comments and winking at me. I'm starting to think he does it just to see how far he can push me."

I laughed, remembering the countless times Hendrix had teased Hande, making her blush and laugh. "Yeah, that sounds like him. But seriously, Hande, this is different. I don't know what's wrong."

Hande's expression turned serious again. "Maybe we should go check on him after we finish eating. Just to make sure he's okay."

I nodded, feeling grateful towards Hande. "Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll feel better once I know he's okay."

While we were still talking, just then, Miss Stefan walked to our table, a stern look on her face. "Girls. I have an announcement to make."

The table went silent as we exchanged glances, curious as to what announcement it was.

"As you know, you girls have been having some issues with following the rules. And I'm afraid I have no choice but to give you additional responsibilities."

Our mouths fell open. She had practically been enslaving us and she wants to give us more responsibilities?

"Today, you will be cleaning the cafeteria when everyone is done eating. And I expect it to be spotless."

I felt a surge of frustration. We had already been working so hard, and now this?

"B-but we have our classes and therapy!" Dilada whined.

"You should have thought about that before you sneaked out of your room at night." Miss Stefan said without feeling.

This didn't feel like it was just because of that night. It felt personal.

She walked away leaving her heels clicking on the hard tiles.

Bitch!