Chapter 19: Trapped in the ballet chamber with the evil mistress

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It was lunch break and when Serenity walked out of the class, she was surprised to find Antonio waiting for her by the door.

"Antonio! What are you doing here?" She grinned, walking towards him.

Antonio's lip curled up into a smile "I am taking you to lunch. Alessandro's order."

He pulled out his phone and showed her the screen.

'Make sure she eats healthy and full. Avoid anything with shrimps. Do not forget a glass of warm milk after lunch.'

Serenity pouted and huffed lightly, "He treats me like a kid"

"That's because you're a kid, kiddo." Antonio laughed and reached out to ruffle her hair.

Serenity scooted away with an alarmed look "No, no, not the hair. My braids will messed up."

Antonio just shook his head and told her to follow him.

They reached the exquisitely extravagant lunch hall. Serenity's mouth parted in awe. There was a large buffet table displayed with all kinds of cuisines, no less than a five stars restaurant. What caught her attention the most was the pizza making machine in a corner.

Serenity tugged on Antonio's arm to grab his attention, " Can we go there, please? That's a pizza making machine!"

Antonio paused, unsure what to do. Alessandro told him to feed her healthy and from his point of view, pizza wasn't something he would consider healthy.

"Pretty please Antonio! I haven't had pizza in a long time." She widened her eyes to enlarge it and pushed her bottom lips out.

Antonio grimaced and looked away before nodding hesitatingly.

Serenity silently cheered in her head.

Puppy eyes always worked!

"Here let's add some broccoli." Antonio brought a chunk of the green vegetable to her plate.

Serenity paled and quickly pull away her pizza dough. "No, no, no It will kill its taste and even my tongue."

Antonio growled and looked at her sharply, "What the hell Serenity! Alessandro will burn my ass if you're not eating the veggies. You have been only putting cheese on the pizza and nothing else."

"That's because I am making a cheeseburst." She grinned and pushed away his hands.

After assembling the medium sized platter, she entered the plate in the oven.

"Honestly it's my first time, making a pizza. I didn't know there were pizza making machines. How long should we wait?"

Antonio nodded, " Ten minutes. They are specially customized so the students can be free to filled it however they like."

Serenity's mouth parted in awe as she bobbed her head up and down.

She followed him as he walked to a nearby circular table and sat down. Serenity took her seat and moaned, resting her tired feet.

"Do you know I have made a friend?"

"Yeah I saw"

"Her name is Svetlana. She is really good at ballet." She continued

Antonio nodded, taking a sip of his drink.

"That wannabe Dancing princess."

"Antonio! That's rude." Serenity gasped.

He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"If I can say one thing about this new friend of yours then it's that she is "crazy' " Antonio quoted in the air with his fingers.

"Why?"

"Too ambitious for her own good."

"It's good to be ambitious in life." Serenity countered.

"Yeah, so is alcohol good for health, but then if you drink a bottle or two everyday...you die an early death."

Serenity's brows creased as she deliberated upon his words. But then again she didn't know Svetlana properly, she could have been misunderstood as well. It wouldn't hurt to give her new friendship a try.

Suddenly, three girls approached their table with a Cheshire grin spread across their faces. Serenity was fascinated when she realized they were triplets. All of them had black raven hair with dark brown eyes. It was difficult to differentiate who was who. They looked exactly the clone of one another.

"And those are the Tsukumo triplets." Antonio whispered as they neared their table.

"Hi!" Their zestfull cheering rang together in unison.

"My name is Mini!" The one on the right squealed.

"I am Mona!" The middle one said

"And I am Mina!" The left one clasped her hands together into a clap.

"And we are fifteen!" They squealed together again.

Serenity giggled at their exotic introduction.

Mini, Mona, Mina...that was cute, she thought.

Now that she looked closely, she also noted that they were Asian-Japanese to be exact.

The triplets were gorgeous.

And what excited her even more was that they were of almost the same height. Serenity felt utterly tiny that everyone was so tall and then dwarfed her but now she had three other girls.

She smiled ear to ear at the thought.

"Hi! I am Serenity O'Sullivan. Nice to meet you."

"Oh you're so pretty." They gushed together again in unison.

Serenity blushed and looked down shyly "You girls are pretty too."

Antonio awkwardly cleared this throat.

And they turned their attention to him.

"Vitali." They acknowledged and bowed in respect.

"Tsukumo." Antonio returned with a curt nod.

The triplets again turned to Serenity.

"We bought some dishes for you as a welcoming gift. It's Japanese cuisine. We hope you don't mind."

Serenity gave them a sheepish smile "Y-You didn't have to. Thank you."

Mina placed a large bento box on the table and gesture her to open it.

Serenity opened and saw the cute arrangements of different kinds of fruit and some vegetable dishes.

"I-I...This is lovely." Serenity awed at the box.

"Have a good day." They wished together and walked away to their original table.

Serenity looked at them in fascination. Even their steps fall together robotically. She saw them walking to a table where one girl was sitting with her back faced towards her. One of the triplets said something in her ear and she gave a nod and they sat down on the table.

Serenity wouldn't have second guess it.

That woman had platinum hair.

She knew who it was.

Antonio peeked a look at what's inside the box and nodded to himself.

"That looks healthy enough."

By the time, the pizza open dinged and Serenity rushed to her freshly baked goodies.

***

"Serenity! Wait!"

Serenity turned to see Svetlana strolling towards her. The classes were over except for the after school activities and since Serenity hadn't signed up for any, she was free to leave or hang around if that was her choice.

She was actually excited to meet Alessandro at his office. It was going to be her first official part time job other than plucking gourd seeds in the gourd garden back in the island. She was curious to see how it would work out.

And besides the thought of being with Alessandro made her inside mushy. She wasn't sure what it was about but she was as equally thrilled as she was nervous.

Svetlana caught up to her pretty quick.

"Hey, I was wondering if you'd like to check out the ballet club now that the classes are over. It will be quick and it will help you further decide if you want to be in the team or not."

She hesitated, "I-I actually h-had somewhere to be-"

"It will only take a few minutes, I promised. Come on."

Before Serenity could reply, Svetlana tugged her arm and dragged her around the corner to the ballet chamber.

It was a large, spacious and beautiful dorm. The walls were mirrors on three sides of the room and the other wall was painted in the soft hue of pink. There was another door that led to the changing room, showers and lockers.

Most of the girls were practicing in groups while a few lay around, tying their Pointe shoes.

A strict looking women in all black leotard and black leggings walked around instructing the dancers.

Svetlana quickly pulled Serenity to a small seater at a far corner of the room.

"That's our ballet mistress, Ms. Dracoan. She is a sweetheart, don't let her looks deceive you."

"SALLY! YOUR TOE IS OFF THE LINE! GET IT BACK! YOU LAZY GIRL!"

Serenity flinched at the loud voice of Ms Dracoan as she scolded a young girl severely. She looked at Svetlana who was rolling her eyes.

"That stupid kid never gets, no matter how many times she's told. Such a pain in the ass. You know what, it actually serves her right."

Serenity felt bad for the young girl who looked like she was about to burst into tears.

"I need to go. I will show you what a real ballet is. Wait and watch. " she smirked and strolled off to the changing room.

Serenity watched for a while and she couldn't lie , she was dying to get out of the room. Ms Dracoan had a draconian treatment towards her students. She felt scared just by watching them. Svetlana's definition of 'sweetheart' was far different from hers.

She was never learning ballet if she was to be taught by this terrifying mistress. She would be bawling her eyes out in the first class.

A girl forgot to pin her fringes up and Ms Dracona grabbed her hair in a tight fist while shouting for lack of discipline.

Serenity shuddered watching the brutality.

She couldn't watch anymore, she would apologized to Svetlana the next day. Serenity picked up her backpack and stood up to leave the room.

"Hey young lady! Come here." Ms Dracoan yelled just as she reached the door knob.

Serenity jumped, startled at the high pitched terrifying voice. She gulped the big lump at her throat and slowly turned around.

The mistress was assessing her appearance with uncompromising look of indifference. She sternly motioned her to come forward.

Serenity did as she was told.

"Who are you? And what are you up to?" Her lips sneered into distaste.

"M-My name is Serenity O'Sullivan. I...no...My f-friend Svetlana bro-brougt me here to s-see if I would like to j-join-"

"Urgh! Stop with that stupid stutter! Young lady. You sound so dumb and idiotic well you look dumb too but that's not the point. There is a rule, my rule actually, you cannot leave the ballet room until and unless the practice is finished for the day. It is a discipline and bystander or not, you will not disrespect it! Unless you want a corporal penalty and a week of heavy detention of cleaning the dorms' toilet. So shoo-shoo, Go back to your seat like a good little girl and don't step out of your line."

Serenity didn't have a good feeling about this, she had a job waiting for her, Svetlana said it would be a few minutes not one and a half hour.

"B-But Ma'am, I have a-" she was interrupted brutally with an extra glare.

"SHUT UP! RULES ARE RULES! ARE YOU STUPID? GO BACK TO YOUR SEAT! YOU ARE NOT LEAVING UNTIL THE CLASS IS OVER!"

Serenity flinched and looked down, tears brimming her eyes. It was humiliating and scary to be scolded so harshly infront of so many students. She quietly walked back to her seat and sat down, secretly trying to wipe her eyes without anyone noticing. Her throat parched and lips trembled. She fisted her tiny hands on her skirt and tried to keep her sobs down.

Svetlana came back after changing and waved at her, Serenity didn't bother waving back. They started the routine practice of stretching and warm-ups. An hour and half had passed and she didn't look up from her lap. It was getting claustrophobic to stay in that room.

Alessandro will be so mad at her. Will he be disappointed that she was being careless and procrastinating? Or were they searching for her?

Alicia had drama club while Antonio must be in the computer lab. They both must be busy.

Serenity silently prayed to God to help her out of this hell.

Suddenly the door banged open, bewildering everyone in the class. Ms Dracoan gasped as though someone had kicked her in the ass. She strutted towards the intruder, ready to fire all the profanities in her dictionary.

"Who the devil dare to disturb my class!" She yelled angrily.

A sigh of boredom escaped the lips of the girl who walked in.

"Still dramatica as ever." She rolled her eyes, "Well hello to you too, Miss Dracula."

"Jesus-" Ms Dracoan gasped, placing a hand over her heart ,"Dracula??? You spoiled little wench! How dare you!"

"I ain't got time for your shit. Now where is that little red head with strange eyes."

"ATHENA SPRINGTON! HOW DARE YOU!" Ms Dracoan roared.

"You've said that like three times already." Athena mocked with an innocent look.

She, then turned to the little girl who was looking at her with parted mouth incredulously.

"You coming?"

Serenity quickly nodded and rushed towards her with her bag tightly secured in her arms.

"Hey! You cannot insult the routine by just barging in! I am taking this to the office tomorrow. I won't let you get away with it." Svetlana took a step forward to match up.

Athena rolled her eyes and flipped up the middle finger, " Fuck off, loser."

"Oh my God! Ms Springton, Cursing is strictly prohibited in the campus! You have broken three rules in total and there is heavy consequences in the end." Ms Dracoan screeched.

"Do I look like I care?" Athena let out an exhausted breath.

"I am pretty sure your parents will do 'care' of what you're turning out to be. One call from me and you're grounded, cards confiscated and a bruise or two." Ms Dracoan crossed her arms over her chest with a confident smirk.

Athena raised an eyebrow and move towards her. She leaned towards her ear and said something.

Serenity noticed Ms Dracoan paling instantly and her composed figure trembling as though her soul's been sucked out of body. She looked at horror at Athena and shook her head.

Athena stepped back with a satisfied smile and tip her head.

" Adios Ms Dracula."

She sashayed out of the room and Serenity hurriedly followed her like a lost puppy.

Athena's long legs were almost impossible to catch up. They were quick and elegant at the same time like a runaway model's. Serenity panted and ran after her.

From a third point of view, it would have been seen as a baby goose chasing the mother goose. By the time, they reached outside, she was out of breath.

A neatly dressed man in three piece was waiting for them with a black Limo car.

He was swift to approach them with a worried crease in between his eyebrows.

"Ms O'Sullivan. Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yes..." Serenity looked unsure at him.

"I am Jimmy, Mr. Vitali's PA. I was sent to escort you to the Vitali headquarters."

"Oh...I am so sorry. I was...in a situation I couldn't get off." She apologized, now feeling bad for making him wait for so long.

Serenity turned to the gorgeous blonde who stood a few feet away from them with her arms crossed, glaring into the space.

"T-Thank you so-"

Before she could finish, Athena snapped her head towards them.

"Jimmy...Would you remind me what century is it?" She asked sweetly.

Jimmy, startled at the unusual question, answered "...21st century, Miss."

Athena's sweet expression promptly turned cold and unforgiving, "Then tell your fucking boss to buy his girlfriend, a fucking phone. I am not his 'Belgian Malinois' to fucking run around this whole big ass school to search this inconsiderate bitch"

She stormed off out of sight before Serenity could even apologize and thank her.

Serenity looked down, dejected and saddened.

Jimmy kindly ushered her to the vehicle and pulled out of the campus.

He looked at the rear view mirror and felt pity for the tiny girl in the backseat. He could see her sneakily rubbing the tears off her eyes. Her sensitive heart couldn't handle such harsh words.

"Miss, Don't take Ms. Springton's word to heart. She had been searching for you for over an hour and must surely been frustrated. I tried calling Ms Alicia and Mr. Antonio but they didn't pick up. So I had no other choice than to take help from Ms Springton.

According to the Connor's rules and regulations, outside force shouldn't disturb the academy when the sessions are going on except for red light situations. So I couldn't barge in and search for you. It would have gotten us into a huge problem." He explained.

Serenity was stunned, she nodded anyway as she processed the words in her mind.

Athena agreed to help find her when they don't even know each other. Heck they haven't even officially met yet. The way Jimmy talked, it seemed like he knew her quite well.

And Athena talked so harshly about Alessandro and even got the guts to curse at him.

It wasn't making sense to her.

Were they familiar with each other from before?

'Don't think too much! It's not like she knew him all his life. She literally knew Alessandro for like a week." Serenity told herself. She shouldn't bother with it.

Another thought hit her and she paled.

Alessandro is going to be so mad at her.

***

"A-Alessandro."

Alessandro flick his finger up and motioned her to shut up.

What is it with everybody cutting her sentences?

Serenity pouted.

" You can leave, Jimmy." He said.

Serenity almost forgot he was behind her all the time. Jimmy bowed his head in respect and escaped the tense room.

Alessandro didn't say anything afterwards. He went back to the huge stack of files infront of him and completely ignored the little red head stranded in the middle of the room.

Serenity was puzzled, this was completely different from what she had expected. She had imagined him to glare and scold her or even fire her from her job. She had even thought different ways of negotiating and calming his anger.

His indifference and ignorance was bothering her a little too much.

She cleared her throat once, twice and thrice.

He sighed and open his drawer.

Serenity smiled a little, thinking he will talk to her now.

But his next move completely shocked her.

He threw her a pepper mint tablet.

Her eyebrows pull together.

"Alessandro..." she called softly again.

No reply.

"I...I am s-sorry..." she took a little step towards his table.

He continued marking the files and flipping over the pages.

When he still didn't respond, she didn't know what to do. Serenity sat down on the chair infront of his table.

He was still trained on the paper but his eyes snapped towards her coldly for a milli second.

"Did I say you could sit?" He said in a maliciously deep voice.

Serenity looked at him, confused

"Did. I. Say. You. Could. Sit. Ms. O'Sullivan?" he repeated word by word.

Serenity shifted on her seat uncomfortably.

"N-No but-"

"THEN WHY THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DISRESPECT ME IN MY OWN OFFICE!" he roared, slamming his hand down on the table.

Serenity jumped out of the chair and took a quick step back.

She stared at him, paralyzed with fear.

Tears brimmed the corner of her eyes and she was too terrified to let them fall.

"I-I am sorry..." she cried and trembled like a fragile leaf

"Now go stand where you were. That is your fucking punishment." Alessandro growled.

Serenity stepped back till she was again in the middle of the room. Her head hung low and lips quivering into small sobs.

Alessandro gave her a cold shoulder and calmly went back to his work.

Second, minutes, probably hours passed, Serenity didn't count. By now the blood flow on her legs had numbed so did the tears except for some occasional sniffs and hiccups. She was petrified, lonely and drained.

The headaches were hammering her head. She didn't know how long she was to stand there. Her legs were almost giving up and any moment Serenity knew they would give out soon.

The sound of the chair dragging back stiffened her up. Her body froze and went alert of her surroundings. She could hear the heavy footstep approaching and her lips started quivering again in fear.

He placed a finger on her chin and she flinched. Alessandro lifted her face up to look into her eyes but she couldn't meet his cold midnight orbs. They were too cold that it left her frozen.

"Have you learn your lesson, love?" He breathe in her ear.

Serenity nodded "Y-Yes..."

He buried his face in her hair and inhaled her sweet scent.

"And what have you learn?"

She drives him crazy

Serenity slowly looked up, her big doe eyes sparkling with innocence and naivety.

"T-To be on time...?" She asked rather than say.

Alessandro chuckled and step back to look at her softly.

"Wrong love. You were meant to learn how to say 'No'."

Serenity snapped her neck at him, confused and surprised.

"W-What?"

"I saw what happened, if someone is deliberately holding you up for no reason and you know you didn't do anything wrong. You say 'No' and stand up for yourself. You didn't do that when that girl pulled you forcefully into the dance room and you didn't do that when that instructor yelled at you for no reason. You knew you didn't do anything wrong. You were too pathetic to stand up for yourself. That needs to change."

Serenity gasped loudly, "H-How did you know?"

Alessandro sighed and walked back to his office chair to pick up his coat. He pulled it over himself.

"Jimmy called me as a last resort when Springton couldn't find you in the school. I hacked into the security cams and watched everything. It enraged me to no end that someone could be as stupid as to talk to my girl like that but you know what enrage me more...it was you,love. You stayed silent and bear it when you shouldn't have."

"I...I didn't know..." she mumbled, looking at the ground ashamed.

"I forgive you now. Come let's go home." He held out his hand.

Serenity looked at him unsure and hesitated before placing her owns on his.

Just as she tried to take a step, her legs waddled and a sharp tingling pain ran up the sole of her feet.

"Ah!" She yelped as she swayed to balance herself.

Alessandro grabbed her waist and hoisted her up in his arm.

She blushed bright red and stared at him in shock.

"M-My legs are asleep..." she mumbled quietly, nibbling her teeth on her lower lip.

A slight smirk appeared on his face and he silently walked out of the room.

Serenity squeezed her face onto his blazer, hiding her embarrassed face. She could feel the eyes of the employees on the ground floor. There were whispers and murmurs. Alessandro paraded unbothered with her still in his arms.

The man got no shame.

"You- You can put me down now..."

He glanced at her, amused "What if your legs are still sleeping?"

Serenity shook her head profusely, "No, they are awake now! See." She tried kicking her leg in the air and grimaced at the tingling sensations.

"Shss...Don't disturb them." Alessandro leaned down to whisper in her ear.

Serenity glared at him.

He tried blanking his face but the feel of the vibrations on his chest told Serenity that he was indeed laughing at her.

*****

How was the chapter?

Good?

Bad?

Or just meh...?

Ever wonder why I am updating earlier than usual and giving you all surprise updates...No?...I am jobless. Period.

I have been sitting in one place writing this long ass chapter for hours and now my legs are asleep and there is no Alessandro nearby to pick me up 🥺🥺

I BADLY NEED AN ALESSANDRO IN LIFE!!!!

OKAY! enough with my sappy moments.

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Until then,

Adios

Stella Cadante