Chapter 4

Samantha POV

The alarm has woken us up at 5 am this morning. Which is totally fine with me, we are a lot of girls that need to get ready for the proceedings of today.

5 minutes after the alarm went off, one of the cleaners came in with a white dress that we all need to wear today. She also gave us some white sandals that compliment the dress perfectly.

I am currently sitting in a chair. I finished my shower, washed my hair, and shaved everything that needs to be shaved. Joan is now busy with my make-up.

We decided on a smokey-eye with a wing eyeliner. She said it will bring out the blue of my eyes.

She is also going to curl my hair. I want the curls to look natural and not overdone, if you know what I mean.

Once she is done, she turns me towards the mirror. The girl I see is no longer a girl. She is a full-grown woman. The dress compliments my curves.

I finally look and feel pretty. For the first time in my life I know I am going to be okay. Nothing is going to be able to stop me. I feel a tear roll down my cheek.

"No, don't you dare. I spent a lot of time on your make-up. There is no time to fix it." Joan screeches. Of course, make-up is all she is worried about now.

"Do you think we will see each other again?" I ask Joan looking up at her slowly.

"Honey, I don't know what the future will bring. I, however, can promise you that no matter what happens, I will try to keep in touch with you. You are the only family I have. I cannot lose you too."

We stood there hugging each other for quite some time. This is the saddest part of any action. This might be the last time we will ever see each other.

The bus came half an hour later to pick everyone up. The bus diver took all our suitcases and placed them in the luggage compartment, at the end of the bus.

Joan and I made sure to get seats next to each other. We want to spend the last few minutes we have left with each other.

It took us quite some time to reach the hall where the auction is going to take place. The bus driver took us towards the back of the building. There are already 6 other buses parked at the back entrance. They must be from other schools in the vicinity.

Miss Valerie climbs out first. She leads us all towards a big room. There are rows upon rows of chairs in front of a big stage. Some girls are already sitting down.

A man stands up and walks towards the microphone that is standing to the left of the stage.

"Hello to all the girls present here today. My name is Lennox, and I will be your auctioneer today. I am human just like all of you present here today. This year we decided to do things a little differently. We sent a booklet to all the potential buyers. All the information that is important about you is in the booklet underneath a picture of you. So your potential buyer will know they want to buy you even before you step foot on that stage. You will be placed in your groups. Group 1 is up first, then group 2, and so on. I will call your name. You will walk around the sage a bit and then the bidding will start. If you are not bought in this auction, you will accompany your professor back to your school, and they will bring you to the next auction. Now please move into your groups." Lennox and the professors help us into our groups.

Once into the group, they start ushering us to the back of the stage. We were barely behind the stage before the first buyers came into the room. We heard the conversations getting louder and louder.

We barely stood for 10 minutes before we heard Lennox introducing himself to the crowd. He made some jokes and we heard the buyer laugh. The air turned serious just as the first girl's name was called.

She walked out. I heard numbers being shouted over and over again. The final number was close to a hundred thousand and that was when I completely shut down. I never in my life been this nervous.

It was finally my turn after about 3 hours. Miss Valerie pulls me out of my dream world with a pat on the shoulder. I look up at her. She is smiling down at me.

"How did I know that you were zoned out? You are next, love. Don't worry you will be great." She squeezes my shoulder and walks away.

"Thank you, Miss Valerie," I whisper just as my name was being called.

I walk up onto the stage. The lights nearly blinding me. I walk around the stage and then stop just before I reached the edge.

"This is Samantha. As you can see, her photo does not do her justice. Like before, the bidding will start at a thousand dollars." Lennox words give me a boost of confidence. No one has said I am pretty in so many words. I place my hand on my hip and lift up my chin. I just hope I do not zone out once again.

The first bid came in. After that, the number just kept rising. There is a bidding war going on between two men.

I try to see what they look like, but the light is too bright. All I can see from on top of the stage is their silhouettes. I close my eyes and let their voices wash over me. One man's voice is soft and gentle. The other has a domineering tone to it.

Just as fast as it began, it came to a stop. I listen to the price that I was sold for. I nearly had a heart attack. I was sold for four hundred thousand dollars. That is more than all the pets.

A guy I have never seen before came up on the stage and start leading me towards my new master.