Chapter 2 COLLETTE

Vee's house was small but it had electricity and pretty flower beds that gave it that lovely day look.

Her lodge was composed of a living room, a bedroom, a bathroom and a tiny kitchen. It's small enough but it was very homey.

What was I saying. It was the most loveliest home I've ever seen.

Vee had no television. Perhaps she couldn't afford it but she had a stereo system on the wall.

I stared at the wall in amazement.

Instead of wall paints, I saw beautiful artistic designs on the wall as if she paid some artist to paint for her.

It's Soo beautiful. I was speechless.

Then there were the potted flowers on every corner of the rooms. There were also a canvas and some painting boards lying on the floor.

I turned to Vee. " You're a painter?"

Vee smirked. " That's right, little Lucy. I teach fine arts."

That wasn't a surprise cause everything in this house pointed to it.

" Here," she opened a large cupboard. " This is where all my wards store their provisions. It's safe here. Whenever you want to get anything from here, I'm always available with the keys."

I dropped the bag and waited for her while she locked the cupboard. There were many bags of provision in that cupboard. I began wondering how many ward she had under her care.

" Why don't you seat on the floor over there while I make you some tea," she offered. " You like tea, don't you?"

I glanced at the floor. Then it occurred to me she had no seats, only a long fluffy snow White rug that was as soft as a bed.

" Tea would be nice," I said, meeting her eyes. " Thanks, Miss Vee."

Vee shooked her head. " Call me MOM. I told you that already, didn't I?"

I giggled. Don't know why I giggled but it sounded soo off calling another woman mom beside my mother.

" Alright. Mom."

Vee smiled and returned to the kitchen. I heard her liting the stove as she placed the kettle to heat it up.

As I waited for Vee on the floor, I studied the walls again. The paintings were extraordinary. I haven't seen anything Soo beautiful in my life.

There was a painting of two school girls on the wall. There was also a painting of a horse, a sunset, a big tree, some flowers, and more flowers.

Then I saw the names on the wall.

They were more like nicknames though, painted beautifully but their style were different from Vee's paintings.

These must've been painted by her wards. Their names were:

Collette

Caro

Queen Bee

Dandelions

Scarlett

Kelly

Teddy

Seven names. All girls. I became interested in these names. I wondered who they were and what they meant to Vee.

Just then, someone knocked on the door and stepped in. I turned around sharply and stared at her.

She stopped dead when she saw me.

That was how I met Collette.

Collette was tall with an oval pretty face and slim slender body. Her lips were full and red and her cheeks had cute little dimples on them.

She had nice titties which were developing fast. From the looks of her, I'd bet she was my senior.

One thing that caught me about her was her shoulder length hair which were coal black and shinny. Her hair was plaited in a corn crew but it looked soo beautiful and lovely.

She was very neat and smart looking Judging from her well ironed uniform and her red tie capped off by her red Barret.

I remembered my manners as to greet her. " Um, hello."

She regarded me without saying anything.

Vee then appeared with a tray of tea on her hand. She frowned when she saw the newcomer. " Collette, what are you doing here? I thought I told you I never want to see you here again!"

Collette seemed to have forgotten I was there on the floor, watching her. She left the door and walked up to Vee.

The next thing I knew, she was standing before Vee. I watched her as she silently bent her head.

I heard her sniff and two drops of tears fell off her eyes to the ground.

" I... I'm Soo sorry about yesterday, MOM," she said, softly. " I didn't know what came over me. Would you find it in your heart to forgive me."

Vee's eyes went to me uneasily. I looked away.

She gently dropped the tray on the table and hugged Collette. " It's alright, Collette. I've forgiven you. Just don't do it again."

" I won't," Collette sniffed, Burying her face on Vee's shoulder. " I promise."

Vee pushed her away gently. " Why don't you settle down. We'd talk about this later. Right now," she waved to me. " I'd like you to meet little Lucy."

Collette stared at me, her eyes wet. I watched her, knowing that she had absolutely no interest in me.

" I'm Collette," she said. Her voice was low pitched and unhurried. It was as if when she spoke, she was counting her words.

I licked my dried lips. " I'm Lucy."

She returned her eyes back to Vee. " Who's she, MOM?"

" My new ward," Vee said, offering me a cup of tea.

I smelt the aroma. It was a herbal tea. Soo rich and good.

" I see," Collette said, sounding sad.

Vee frowned. " Stop looking that way, Collette. She just registered in today. You should be showing her around, not getting jealous."

" I'm sorry, MOM."

Vee gave her tea. Collette accepted it but she didn't drink it. I'll bet there was something more important to her than the tea that she's been meaning to tell Vee. But she wasn't ready to say it while I was around. I drank my tea and forgot I was ever around.

What a creepy girl. I don't like her sullen air one bit.

" What's your room number, Lucy?" Vee asked, stretching forth her hand at me. " I want to see it."

I handed her my papers. She read through everything and smiled satisfactorily. " This is great. Not only are you my ward, you're also going to be in the same class I teach. That's wonderful. You're a science student?"

" That's right," I sipped my tea. " I wanna be a petroleum engineer."

" I'm impressed," Vee said and she did looked impressed. She turned her eyes towards Collette. " I'll be leaving for an important meeting right away. Lucy's room number is 205. Can you be a darling and take her there?"

Collette sad eyes narrowed. " Alright, I'll do that."

This girl. She doesn't say much does she? And why does she always looked soo pale?

" Great," Vee stood to her feet and headed towards the door. She turned to me with that cute smile on her face, her glasses gleaning against the sunlight. " It's nice meeting you, little Lucy. Feel free to visit anytime. Obey your seniors so you don't get in trouble and try to make as many friends as possible. I wish I could stay but I'm tied up with something really urgent. Collette would take you to your room. I wish you a better stay at Eleanor's college."

That was a brief reception but I loved it anyway. " Gee, thanks a lot, MOM."

She nodded to Collette and left the lodge.

That left only Collette and I alone in the room. I sipped my tea, quietly, watching her out of the corner of my eyes. She still hadn't tasted her tea and her face was just as pale as ever.

For a while, the room was drown in silence. Without Vee around, I realized how lonely and boring the lodge was. Well, she'd told me to make lots of friends. I'd start with this pale looking girl.

" Umm... Collette," I began then stopped sharply when she raised her head at me.

" Don't call me Collette," she said, her eye hardening. " When you're addressing your seniors, you call them seniors and not by their first names. Do you understand?"

I reared back my head, grimacing. " Well, yeah I kinda knew you were my senior but not that it matters anyways. Back at my former school, we call everyone by their first name. Don't get me wrong, not that I'm disrespecting you or anything but I believe-"

" Take off your clothes," she said suddenly, cutting me off.

I gasped. " Wait, are you asking me to take off my clothes? What for?"

She stared at me with a deadpan expression on her face. She was as calm as the sea but I could tell she was viscious inside.

" You are on your mufti. Your dressing violates the school dress code. I believe you're given a uniform. So I suggest you take your clothes off and put on your uniforms before you're shown your room."

I rolled my eyes. " But that doesn't mean I should take off my clothes right here infront of you. I can use Vee's bedroom."

" And why is that?" She asked, calmly. " We're both girls, aren't we? What's there to hide?"

" I want to use Vee's bedroom," I insisted.

She took a long sip from her tea. " MOM won't allow that. No one goes beyond the living room. That's her rule. Now take off your clothes."

I don't like this but I knew better than to argue with her. " Alright, then you'll have to wait outside while I change."

Collette said nothing. She took another long sip until the cup was empty. Then she rose up to her feet and walked towards where I sat.

She stopped before me and stood.

I glanced up at her, expecting her to walk out of the door to give me some privacy.

Instead, she opened her mouth and repeated herself. " I'm not going to ask you again, Lucy. Take off your clothes now."

Now I was getting mad. I jumped to my feet and wagged my fingers at her face. " Now just a minute, just because you're my senior doesn't gives you the right to start ordering me about taking my clothes off. This is my body and it belongs to me. Just because we're girls doesn't mean I can strip infront of you. I love my privacy and it's my choice to choose where and when I want to undress. So if you'd stop being a snob, I'd rather prefer you leave the room so I could undress. If you're not going to do that, then I ain't anything until Miss Vee returns."

Collette stared calmly at me. I couldn't get a reaction out of her.

Suddenly, she came closer to me and wrapped her arms tightly around me.

I gasped in fright. My nose was an inch away from her dark hair. I could smell her shampoo and her body fragrance.

" Wh.... what are you doing?" I asked, surprised at why she had her arms around me.

Then I felt my back zip being drawn down to my hips. I stiffened in shock and tried to push her away but she was stronger than me.

As gently as she could, she unzipped my dress and pulled it away from my body in one swift jerking movement.

I shouted. I was now in my brassier and panties. I was Soo scared and frightened, I jumped back and covered my brassier with my hands.

Collette looked me up and down, a bored expression on her face. Then she moved away from me to my suitcase where my uniforms were neatly folded.

I watched her pulled out my uniforms and dropped them before my feet. She stood to her full height and without looking at me, she ordered; " Put those on," she twisted her wrist to check her time. " We should be leaving for the hostel anytime soon."