This is a sequel to my story "School of Secrets". I decided not to follow the same plot as the first story, so this sequel will have its own storyline.
School of Secrets Part II.
It was a cold winter afternoon when Anna Veigh came home from school. The pretty blonde sixteen-year-old was still dressed in her school uniform, which consisted of a black blazer and skirt with a white shirt and black tie. Black shoes and white socks completed her outfit.
When she got home, she left her school bag just inside the doorway of the luxurious mansion that she lived in and went upstairs. Just as she was about to go into her room, her father's voice called to her from the study that was only two doors away from her bedroom.
Anna went into the study to see her father sitting in one of the office chairs with an unusually serious expression on his face. He gestured for her to sit down and she sat down in another office chair directly opposite him.
"Anna, I've called you today because I need to talk to you about something very serious." Anna felt herself getting nervous because her father rarely spoke in a tone like this.
"There's been a bit of a situation with work."
Anna's father was actually a member of the Secret Service, which was an organization that investigated high-profile criminal cases. While this had made them exceptionally wealthy, it was also dangerous work and he had often told Anna astounding stories of some of the crimes that the Secret Service had uncovered.
"What's the problem, Dad?" "Well, it's not a problem - not exactly. You see, we've been investigating a boarding school called "The Richard Wagner Boarding School For Girls. Have you ever heard of that school?" "No." "Well, it's an exclusive boarding school for girls in Switzerland. The reason we've been investigating it is because...well...several students have disappeared." Anna found herself feeling intrigued. "Disappeared?" "That's the odd thing about it all. It's meant to be a sort of disciplinary school. A lot of rich parents send their children there. What's odd is that these parents don't see their children for long periods - no contact, nothing. And then they reappear." Anna felt herself getting puzzled. "But if they've come back, then how can they have disappeared?"
"That's just it. They don't act like themselves. According to our reports, they don't act like themselves at all. Dull...sort of vacant. We had so many reports that It got to the point where I sent two young agents to the school to investigate it." "What happened?" "They came back after a few months having undergone the same thing. It's almost eerie. There's something almost frightening about it. And that's where you come in."
"Me?"
"Yes. Our organization is becoming very concerned about this, so we need someone who can go there and who can tell us something about what's going on. We need a young girl to go there and pose as a student." Anna said. "Dad, I'm not an agent. I don't know anything about investigating."
"I know, I know. But we'd be careful. I'd give you equipment that you could use to contact us if anything happened to you. The agents we sent weren't prepared - they went without any equipment, which was a mistake on our part, but this would be different. Your headmistress has agreed to contact the school and tell them that you were expelled due to bad behaviour. All you'd have to do is go there and investigate...just look into things and see if you can find anything that might tell us what's going on."
Anna hesitated. Her father must have noticed her hesitation because he said, "If you do this for us, then I'll buy you that car that you wanted for your birthday." Anna thought about it. To her, the idea of her investigating the school was absurd, but it also sounded exciting and a little bit intriguing. "You'd make sure that nothing happened to me?" "Yes." "All right....I'll do it."
One week later...
Anna was sitting in a long black car dressed in a pair of jeans and a mint sweatshirt. Her long hair had been brushed into a ponytail and she was nervously clutching a suitcase that was packed with her clothes and other possessions. Before she had been picked up by the car, her father had handed her a delicate silver orb on a silver chain. He had said, "This necklace is a bug and it allows us to monitor you. If anything happens, you just have to open the orb and press the button that's inside it. We'll know that it's an emergency and come and get you straight away."
Anna had fastened the necklace around her neck and was now watching the winter scenery go by. She had no idea where she was going. All she knew was that the school had sent a car to come and pick her up because it was a requirement for all new students. She had no idea how she was going to get to Switzerland, but she supposed that the school would take care of that.
They drove for about an hour. At first, the car stayed on busy main roads, but then the roads become more and more deserted until the car that Anna was in was driving down a long black road all by itself. With a shiver, Anna thought that the landscape looked eerie.
After a long period of driving on the road, the car finally made a sharp turn and pulled up in front of a large rectangular building that stood in the middle of nowhere. It looked like a skyscraper from the outside with mirrored windows all over it and two mirrored doors at the front. Without saying a word, the driver parked the car directly in front of the building and got out of the car. He opened Anna's door for her to get out and then took her suitcase out for her and set it down on the ground. He got back into the car and drove away. Anna stared after him in disbelief. She had thought that he would at least wait for someone to meet her.
Anna looked around. The landscape was completely empty apart from the white snow that was spread out everywhere and the grey sky. She decided to enter the building because there was obviously nowhere else to go.
She picked up her case and walked to the doors. They slid open noiselessly and she walked inside. When she was inside, she looked around in awe. The floor of the lobby was covered in white marble with a grey carpet that formed a path down the middle and there were several amber coloured chairs scatted around the room.
A voice spoke:
"You must be Anna Veigh."
That was when she saw the woman sitting on one of the chairs in the middle of the room. The woman stood up and came over to her. She was a slim and tall woman who was wearing a black suit consisting of a jacket and pants with black high-heeled boots. A white silk blouse peeked out from under the suit jacket. Her dark brown hair had been pulled back into a sleek bun and she was smoking a cigarette. She had large brown eyes, curved lips that had been coated with red lipstick and high cheekbones. Anna thought that she was stunning to look at.
The woman looked Anna up and down. "My name is Miss Grose." Anna said, "Are you a teacher?" "I prefer the term, "governess". "I thought that they were called teachers now?"
Miss Grose said, "I prefer to call myself a governess because teachers are required to be concerned about the well-being of their students as well as educating them. I, however, am not. I am here to teach you. Governesses are also considered to be private teachers, which is precisely what I am. Furthermore, our school is a disciplinary private school focused on changing your behaviour. I understand that you've been expelled from your old school for bad behaviour, Miss Veigh?"
Anna nodded her head. Miss Grose said curtly, "Well, we don't stand for that at our school. But I expect that you'll discover that for yourself when you get there. Now, I think that we'll go upstairs and have a drink."
"A drink?" "Yes. The private jet is going to be here soon, so I thought that we'd make ourselves comfortable for the moment. Now, come along."