Read While the World Is Still Asleep (The Century Trilogy Book 1) for Free Online

made Clara’s skin crawl, but she forced herself to smile. “We would like to visit a friend—”
    “This ain’t a hotel. No visitors. Get lost.”
    “But . . .” Clara began. “How dare you speak to us like—”
    Isabelle pushed her aside. “Please accept my apologies. My companion doesn’t always choose her words wisely. We are from the . . . Committee for the Social Rehabilitation of Delinquent Girls. Our mothers sit on the committee’s board of directors. They have sent us here to find out whether donated monies are being put to good use. Our visit is devoted solely to this end.” She looked at Clara disdainfully, then took out her purse. With a sweet smile, she slipped a few marks across to the gatekeeper. “Your employer would certainly be grateful to you, were you to lend the efforts of such an indispensable committee your . . . unbureaucratic assistance. Which is to say, please let us in. The young woman with whom we would like to speak on behalf of the committee is named Josephine Schmied.”
    The gatekeeper’s face contorted into an unpleasant grin. “Well, then, if that’s how it is . . . though I’m going to have to convince my colleagues over at the main building of the importance of your committee. And one or two of the guards, too . . .” He held up the money suggestively.
    “Get on with it, then. We’re in a hurry.”

    “Josephine Schmied!” The guard interrupted the lesson and looked from Krotzmann to the assembled class. Josephine hesitantly raised her hand.
    “Come with me.”
    Josephine fled the room under the teacher’s wrathful eye. What was this about? Was this the end of her ordeal? All of it just a misunderstanding? Had Moritz Herrenhus withdrawn his complaint? Josephine sighed quietly—what a pleasant thought.
    The guard unlocked a small, narrow room where a table and a few chairs stood.
    “Isabelle? Clara!” At the sight of the familiar faces, Josephine’s heart skipped a beat. She threw her arms around Clara’s neck. “You came . . .” Tears welled instantly in her eyes.
    “Sit down, all three of you! Physical contact is forbidden,” ordered the guard before leaving the room.
    “What happened to your hands? You’re bleeding!” cried Clara the moment she sat down.
    Josephine hid her hands beneath the table. “That’s from the accident . . .”
    “But . . . an injury like that can get infected before you know it. You must have it treated right away.” Clara looked from Jo to Isabelle, who sat beside Clara, looking aloof.
    “It’s not so bad,” said Josephine. “I’m so happy you’ve come.” She felt a lump rise in her throat and fought back her tears.
    “It wasn’t easy, take my word for it,” Isabelle said. “My father’s as angry as a bull. He couldn’t talk about anything else at breakfast—you and the damage you’ve done. If he knew I was visiting you . . .”
    Jo lowered her eyes. “I . . . I wish the earth would swallow me here and now when I think about what I did. I was so stupid . . .”
    “Sadly, your epiphany is a little late,” said Isabelle in a chilly tone.
    “Isabelle didn’t mean it like that,” Clara rushed to say and shook her head brusquely at Isabelle. “How are you? Are they treating you well? When are they letting you out? Before Christmas? The man at the gate said they don’t actually let anyone visit at all. We don’t know if we’ll be able to come again . . .”
    Didn’t her friends know that she’d been sentenced to three and a half years? “They’ve—” Jo began, then broke off. “We’ll see,” she said as breezily as she could. Don’t think about it. Don’t talk about it. Maybe then she would wake up from this nightmare. To change the subject, she said, “Clara, is it true that old Dr. Fritsche passed away? When I asked my mother to send for him after the accident, she told me he’d died. Strange that I didn’t hear about it earlier.”
    “Does that surprise