Class Trip by Rachel Burns Read Free Book Online

wanted
from me.
    I went to the bed
and opened my laptop. I wanted to play a bit of music while I waited
for what was to come next.
    Then I thought
about e-mailing for help. I didn't have any bars, meaning no
Internet. I hit my favorite playlist and turned the volume down low.
I looked around for a place to plug my laptop in. I wondered if maybe
I would get a bar or two that way. I hoped that the plug in would be
the same as in Switzerland.
    I found one and I
could plug it in. I grabbed my cord and tried that. It fit and my
laptop didn't explode.
    Nothing. Not even
one bar.
    I cleaned up the
cord and went to the wardrobe. He had said I could push his things
aside. Was this his room? It wasn't much. His rooms back at school
had been nicer. Why was he doing all of this?
    The wardrobe was
full but I had so little that I squeezed my things in. Did me
unpacking mean that I was going to be staying here awhile? I went
back to the chair and sat down. I got up again and moved it to the
window so I could look out. I could see nothing but fields and woods.
The fields were overgrown and looked abandoned. There were only mowed
directly next to the building below the window. We were in the middle
of nowhere.
    I soon got bored
with looking out of the window. I went back to my laptop and played a
movie. It was in English but it was a little funny too. I needed to
relax so badly. I was so frightened that my muscles were tightening
up and my chest was hurting. I lay down on the bed and just watched.
    That was how he
found me. I was lying on my stomach with my feet up in the air behind
me and my head was resting on my hands. I had Carrots wrapped in my
arm.
    “Sandra, it's
time for lunch. Turn it off and come with me.” He held out his hand
while I sat up and clicked away closing up the laptop.
    I got up and went
to him.
    He was really big
on holding my hand. He took me back the way that we had come in.
    We past the
courtyard and I could see around ten girls in there. I noticed that
there was a swing set and balls lying around. Most of the girls were
ignoring them and were huddled into a group. But two were kicking a
ball back and forth. They were all still in their uniforms. I
wondered about that.
    He looked out at
the other girls too. He gave them mean looks. “Those aren't very
good girls. They aren't like you,” he said to me as we swiftly
walked past them.
    We ended up back
in the dining hall. Others were already there and eating. This looked
like a staff meeting.
    He let go of my
hand and I thought about running for it. He pulled up a chair for me
and I said thank you before I could think about it. I sat and he
pushed the chair in.
    Everyone was
staring at us. They all looked shocked. Jaws had fallen open. I
looked over my shoulder to see if he had a knife or something in his
hands. He was just smiling at everyone and then he sat down next to
me.
    A plate of food
was already in front of me. It was some sort of goulash. Fat puddles
were swimming here and there. Potatoes were under it but they were
completely covered with the reddish brown sauce.
    I decided to try
it. I picked up my fork and took a tiny bit of meat. I bravely
brought it to my mouth. It was so spicy and fatty that I wanted to
spit it out. I forced myself to swallow it down and then I reached
for my water.
    Everyone had been
watching me. They were all laughing at me. I hung my head and just
stared down at my lap. I moved my hands to my lap too. I folded them
and just sat still.
    In Europe it is
considered very rude to hide your hands under the table, but I wanted
to make myself as small as possible.
    Herr Glossner
laid his hand around the back of my chair and said something loudly
in another language. The laughing stopped immediately. Someone
removed my plate and walked away with it.
    His hand moved
from the chair to my waist. He pulled me close and whispered in my
ear, “Don't worry I'm not the strict kind that makes little girls
eat what is put in front of