Fif15teen

  ****

  Nishi lay in her bed bored out of her mind as pain shot through her chest with every shallow breath. Her stomach grumbled loudly, and she pulled a cord that hung from the ceiling. A bell rang deep in the kitchens, but there was no one there to hear it. After a long wait she rang it again, surprised no one had responded. Normally when she rang, a shivering girl was at her door within seconds. Someone would pay for making her wait. After yet another seemingly endless wait, she tossed the blankets off and stood up clumsily, her broken ribs screaming in protest. She walked to the door and pulled the handle, but the door did not budge. She howled in pain but continued to yank at the handle. To her dismay, the door wouldn’t open. Finally she resorted to banging and screaming, but still no one responded. She was locked in, and she knew instinctively who had done it.

  “I should have killed you when I had the chance!” she screamed at the door before hobbling back over to the bed in defeat.

  Chione stood outside Nishi’s door checking the thick ropes she had tied snugly around the door handle. She tugged on the opposite end that was knotted through a grated vent in the floor. It had taken a painstakingly long time to lock Nishi in her room without making a sound, but it was totally worth the effort. Nishi screamed once again from inside her prison as Chione tiptoed away, giggling silently into her hands.