Mandatory Daily Attendance

{ Judas }

I sigh with my eyes tightly closed, I know I need to chill but it’s impossible with Sebastian Ferreira in front of me. I'm always nervous when we have to talk with the boss, but now that he's back in Rome and we have to see him face to face, I feel even more nervous and anxious. Especially because my mom doesn't have any kind of survival instinct and has been acting like a brat the whole meeting.

There's nothing worse for me than having to put up with my mom involved in the business being the way she is. She thinks she's always right and she thinks she's the boss even when we're sitting right in front of him.

If I'm going to do this for the rest of my miserable shitty life, I can't even think about marrying someone who isn't a paywhore who'll stay fucking quiet forever.

“No. You're not thinking straight. I think tha…”

"Love, please, just… just let us handle this,” my father interrupts her, equally if not more exasperated than me and everyone else here. He knows she’ll be the death of us if she doesn’t shut the fuck up.

My mom nods, crossing her arms in very clear annoyance. Mister Ferreira lets out a smile at my mother and shakes his head, looking amused. He kind of looks like he’s a nice man, but I know better. I’ve seen him work before, I’ve seen him in his element and I know he’s not really nice. At all.

"Let her have her say, Sinclair. I know that Winona always saves the day after all," he says, shrugging his shoulders, "Please, Winona, tell me what you think about this. A mother’s perspective is always appreciated.”

“Alright, I’ll tell you what I think. You can’t keep your daughter locked up forever, that's not fair to her. Let the girl go out and enjoy herself… with my boys. I think pretending we don't know anything about this is the best option we have at the moment. If they see that you have Alessia locked up and scared like a little mouse they'll realize we already know their plan and that's not good, it will only make them act faster, smarter and in secret," My mother lets out, speaking fast, “We don't know exactly who the traitor is yet and we could even be wrong about their whole plan. So let's act normal for a while and let them go down on their own."

"Mom, that's stupid," I mutter in frustration, hoping we haven't upset Sebastian, “They're going to kill the girl.”

And that would suck for us because then Sebastian would have no one and he probably would lose his mind and have a mass murder or something. With the gun power he has, he could take out half of Europe in an hour.

"It's not stupid and they're not going to kill her, Marcelino, because you and your brothers are going to take care of her and look after her. You’ll make sure no one ever gets close enough to kill her.”

"What? Me? That is not my job," I start to refuse, speaking more forcefully than I should, “Why would I be the babysitter?”

"Your job is to do whatever I tell you to do, it’s that simple. You’re not going to babysit her, you’ll be her friend. But you're also going to badmouth her and Sebastian to anyone who’ll listen," she continues giving orders, once again acting like she's the boss. Everyone stares at her waiting for her to explain the last part, “That way, you'll become a good option for them to trust with the plan because you'll be close to her. And you have… you know, a questionable reputation.”

"You mean we should act like the enemy," my brother Joshua repeats, nodding slightly and with a concentrated face, considering it, "It's a good idea, actually."

"No. It's a very good idea. I think this can really work," Sebastian places a hand on his chin and stares into the void for a second, thinking hard about my mother's stupid plan.

And yes, it's terribly stupid. I would never trust my daughter's life to some idiots… not that we're really idiots, not completely. I mean at least I'm not, but trusting us with his daughter's life is not a very smart thing to do.

We all know that he lost his father, his siblings and his wife and that his daughter, Alessia, is all he has left.

It'll be way too much pressure for us, having to take care of the boss's most precious possession. A kid someone wants to kill just to finally take everything from him.

"So what, we're really supposed to be her bodyguards?" I ask in a low and annoyed voice, with a neutral face and without moving at all because I don't want them to realize how upset I am. I would never die for anyone, especially not a random girl.

"No. No, guys. Think of Alessia as the little sister you sadly didn't have," my dad advises, looking at us one by one carefully, "Jude and Ansel, you can be the closest with her, at school, hanging out and all that... Joshua, Fran, Kyle and Joe will join you casually. It doesn’t have to be a chore, I’m sure she’s lovely.”

"Wait, at school? She's a girl our age?" Ansel asks in confusion, and that's what I was thinking of asking. I never imagined she could be our age.

"My daughter is 18," Sebastian replies. Not exactly our age, but that's not a surprise, we’ve lost so many years that we’re probably the oldest in that stupid school they force us to go to. "We can have dinner tomorrow so you can all get to know each other. But you have to remember, she can't know about any of this yet. She has no idea of who I am, what's going on or the danger she's exposed to. And I want to keep it that way as much as I can.”

That's the dumbest fucking thing I've ever heard. The girl is in more danger by being ignorant, but I guess this isn’t my problem to solve. She’s not my daughter, so I'll let him make his own mistakes and if she dies, that's on him.

“Judas and Ansel are perfect for this, they never run their mouths and they’re young cute boys, Alessia will have fun hanging out with them and it won’t feel forced, just like normal friendship.”

“That is even better,” Sebastian says with a sigh, “If she’s out with them, I guess she’ll be safe. Just make her feel normal while I fix this, please.”

“Of course, Sebastian," my father nods with a big smile, patting him on the back, "My boys are good, you know that. They'll make sure Alessia is safe and sound. And happy.”

So amazing, now I'll have to be bodyguard, babysitter and best friend to a girl at school, be with her all the time and be very careful of what I say because it turns out, after all, the stupid girl doesn't know what her own father does for a living and how much everyone in Rome is a threat to her.

At least I hope she's hot, that's the least I deserve.

{ Alessia }

My second day at school didn't start off too bad. I woke up early and had enough time to take a refreshing shower, fix my hair, put on my uniform, put on my makeup and even had time to eat breakfast and chat for a while with Linda and my dad before I left the house.

I didn't bump into anyone or got lost or anything like that and the twins waited for me on the stairs to walk inside together. I got to my classroom early and sat in one of the first chairs, right in front of the hot teacher, commented on the classes and everything went great.

At lunch I convince the girls to go say hi to their dad and we stay there talking to him for a while. We only get interrupted when the secretary enters the office in a rush.

"La signora Fabiola ha avuto un incidente d'auto questa mattina presto," she says talking too quickly and with an anguished face. I kinda understood that someone named Fabiola had a car accident but then she says something else that makes the girls gasp at the same time and my uncle grimace. I think she probably died, “Cosa facciamo?"

"Dovremmo dire ai ragazzi e rinviarla fino a trovare qualcuno per sostituire,” he answers with a frown, lost on his thoughts. The secretary starts saying something else but I absolutely get lost and stop understanding her.

"What's going on?" I ask Yamin in a low voice while they keep talking.

"Fabiola is the school psychologist and counselor, she had an accident last night. She's in really bad condition and my dad said they have to find a replacement. Everyone loves Fabiola… this is horrible."

I nod and keep quiet while they start discussing sending her flowers to the hospital. Poor Fabiola, I guess. I hope she recovers quickly because there must be a lot of damaged Italians around this school that need her.

That makes me remember the time I took a pre-college psychology course. I convinced myself that psychology was my calling and I actually turned out to be good at it. My teacher said that I had potential.

So I basically had my future planned and… I left.

“On the good side, there weren't a lot of kids going with her like before. Let's hope she recovers soon,” my uncle adds when the secretary leaves.

"I could be the substitute," I blurt out with a smile. My uncle and the twins look at me with confusion, "I took a psychology course in a community college in Atlanta. My teacher said I had a lot of potential. If you really need help, I'm here."

"Uh, I don't really think that's posible, Alessia, but thanks for..." my uncle starts to blow me off, but his words stop when he looks at my puppy eyes, "I'm sorry. It's just not doable. We need a professional, not a student.”

"I swear it's true about the course, I want to be a psychologist when I grow up…”

"'Ale! You can't, what if one of the crazies does something to you?" Nedime asks, looking scared. I shake my head.

"I'm prepared for anything,” I assure them with a big smile, "I'm very good at giving advice and I know how to calm people down. I won't even ask to be paid or anything and we can say I'm just the counselor. Someone people can talk to and get advice from. Nothing fancy."

If I work here even for a little while I will have a reference for when I want to work professionally. I need to start thinking about my future even if I don't know where I'll be in said future.

"You're really not going to stop until I say yes, isn’t it?" my uncle asks with a smile creeping across his lips and I know I'm tearing him down.

"You know me very well, Dan," I say

professionally. He sighs.

"Okay, you can be a counselor. Only

because it's you and because I make the rules. And only until I find someone else."

So, after the break, instead of going back to my classroom, I walk to Fabiola's office. I pull out my keys and feeling all grown up, I unlock my new workplace until she gets better or they find someone else.

I expected something clinical, but it's just a regular office. Sky blue walls, a glass desk with a computer, scattered papers and two white armchairs where my patients can sit.

Someone opens the door and I turn around startled to see Dan walking into the office with a blonde girl. I know who she is, I studied her file in my way here.

She's a shy, insecure, low-income girl who has no parents, is victim of constant bullying from the arrogant jerks at school, and who just watched someone random get murdered in front of her eyes. If that isn’t fucked up, I didn't know what could be.

"Alessia, this is Carrie Wilson," he says, gently pushing the girl to bring her fully into the room, “Carrie, Alessia is going to be filling in for Mrs Dally for a while. She's a counselor so you can talk to her like you would talk to a very good friend."

"Uhm, okay," she murmurs way too quietly.

"Miss Ferreira, good luck. I trust you," he says with a smile on his thin lips and with amusement growing in his eyes.

"See you later, Sir," I say and he walks out of there. I look at the first fucked up person whose life I'm going to change for the better, “Hi Carrie, please have a seat."

She nods and sits, looking awkward as hell. I know this must be hard for her.

"I read your whole file earlier, which basically means I know… um, everything about you," I begin, talking to her as if I were talking to any friend, hoping it makes her feel more comfortable, but she looks up at me with red cheeks, moving her hands in her lap and her foot continuously tapping the desk.

"I don't really trust you," she mutters a few seconds later, “I should just leave."

"I don't blame you, I wouldn't trust me either. I mean, you probably think that the second I walk out of here I'm going to tell everyone how hard your life has been so we can all make fun of you," I say and she just gives me an obvious look like I'm reading her mind, "I know my word means nothing to you but I really wouldn't do that. I'm new in this school and I only have two friends. I've been poor most of my life, too, so I get your struggle with money. That shit sucks. Also, I signed a confidentiality contract. If I ever talk about you to anyone, you can literally sue me."

It seems my welcome speech was good because she laughs at that and doesn't try to escape. For the rest of her hour, we talk about being poor and when she leaves, she looks okay.

A little better than when she walked in.

When I'm alone I read the file of another guy named Abraham who is REALLY fucked. Even more than Carrie. Something about his father being an abusive drug addict and being in shady business. He even tried to kill himself twice. Shit, that kid needs help way beyond my counseling.

And just as I grab the last file, which is noticeably thinner than the others and has a big stamp of: "Mandatory Daily Attendance" in red letters, the door opens.

And in walks the hot guy from the cafeteria. The old looking guy. According to the twins: Satan. The guy the girls told me not to talk to.

I open the file.

Judas Marcelino Sinclair.

"We'll look for her as soon as I can ditch Fabiola. I swear," he says to someone in a low, husky voice as he stands in the doorway, looking out. Then he turns to me, opens his mouth as if to say something and looks at me, closing it again.

Brown. His eyes are brown. A nice light brown, and his eyelashes are golden and long. His lips are red. His bruise more green than purple.

"Hi," I greet him with a smile, mentally demanding myself not to stutter or get nervous by his pretty eyes, "I'm filling in for Fabiola for a while. Come in and sit down, so I can explain.”

Judas stands there ignoring my words, still looking at me with a slight frown on his face.

He closes the door carefully after a few seconds and then walks like a predator to his seat without taking his eves off mine. He sits across from me without another word, waiting for me to speak, I guess.

"Fabiola was in a car accident yesterday. It was not serious, apparently, but she is in the hospital and we don't know when she will be back, so I am going to be her substitute for a while."

I wait for him to say something but he just nods.

"'Is she okay?" he asks. I just nod and he nods again, too. "Then I'm out of here."

"'No. You're not going anywhere," I scowl as he gets up. He looks at me with one eyebrow raised, “I haven't read your file, but I did read what it says in your folder: ‘Mandatory Daily Attendance’. So sit back down."