After spending the New Year in Moscow, when everyone started to have some speculations and disagreements, we were finally able to set off.
It was my first time to fly and I was very excited.
Worried about being laughed at as a country bumpkin, I was cautious throughout the trip.
The parents were also given a week of accompanying time, and they made good preparations before departure. In order to buy a few sets of better clothes, the 10 million rubles subsidy was almost spent.
If it were the past, I would definitely not be willing to part with it.
Because she learned that after arriving in London, she would receive 1,000 pounds a month for living expenses, she did not save.
10 million pounds, 6 million rubles.
It is still equivalent to almost two years of income for their mother and daughter.
The other girls were not sure. She did not plan to give all of it to her mother this time. She made it clear that it was their living expenses.
Natalya did not have her luck.
Uncle Yuri went back while waiting and spent all the 10 million rubles, but he did not spend it lavishly. Their five brothers and sisters and some relatives needed help. It seemed that one of her uncles borrowed it to treat their children. For 2 million rubles, Natalia didn't even buy a new set of clothes when she came to London. In the future, her living expenses will probably be taken away by Uncle Yuri to support the family. Uncle Yuri was a very arbitrary man, and Natalia never dared to oppose her father's decisions.
I originally thought that after arriving in London, it would be very rare to have living conditions like a Moscow hotel.
I didn’t expect it to be a very grand single-family villa, and it is located in the very prosperous Chelsea district of London. A few hundred meters away is the Thames River. The beautiful red and white four-story villa is higher than the surrounding buildings. Behind the villa Not only does it have a separate private courtyard, there is also a park across the road from the main entrance.
The first time they entered the luxuriously decorated villa with carpets everywhere, she and other girls were a little afraid to stay, including their parents.
And the number of rooms in the villa is scary.
There are 10 girls in their group, and each of them has a separate bedroom with a bathroom.
Although, okay.
The bedrooms were not consistent in size. She found that her bedroom on the second floor of the villa was a relatively small one among the 10 girls. Even Natalia's bedroom next door was larger than hers. There were two girls' bedrooms on the fourth floor that were even connected. A living room.
Rooms had been assigned before they arrived in London, and there was a nameplate with each person's name on the door. The girl who was assigned to the small room had no choice but to accept it.
However, some parents raised objections.
The girls who were assigned good rooms naturally refused to change. Neither the villa housekeeper Ms. Burns nor their guardian Ms. Wendy Alan said they had no authority to change bedrooms for the girls. If parents and girls are dissatisfied, they can only be dissatisfied.
In fact, she knew there was another option.
leave.
Unless, of course, everyone is crazy.
5:40.
The alarm clock in the bedroom rang on time, interrupting Natalie's wandering thoughts. She turned on the light and started dressing and washing quickly.
On the first day of moving in, the girls' schedules were set.
Ms. Alan explained that important people are used to getting up at six o'clock. As life assistants, they have no reason to wake up later than their masters.
There's really no reason.
I just admire that the big shot still insists on getting up at six o'clock.
If it weren't for this opportunity, Natalie wouldn't be able to do it on weekdays.
Six o'clock sharp.
She put on a white tight-fitting training suit, and instead of leaving the room in a hurry, she opened the door and stood obediently at the door.
Ms. Burns, still dressed in black like a witch, appeared quickly with her shadow-like translator, Miss Isaacwa.
"Good morning, Ms. Bernsch."
Natalie took the initiative to say hello, using the simple English she had just learned in the past few days.
Ms. Burns stopped and responded equally politely: "Morning, Miss Vodianova, can I come in?"
Can I say no
Natalie complained a little in her heart, but still had a cute smile on her face: "Of course."
It was also the first day of moving in. The first lesson Ms. Burns taught the girls was how to tidy up their rooms, down to the storage and placement of bedding, pillows, towels, toothbrushes, etc. She also said that this was just a preliminary correction and would be done in the future. There are formal courses.
After entering Natalie's bedroom for a brief inspection and guidance, Ms. Burns nodded slightly with satisfaction, indicating that she could go downstairs to the practice room.
The practice room is in the basement.
Natalie only learned yesterday that there was such a spacious space underground in the villa. In her opinion, a practice room of more than 200 square meters for only 10 of her girls was a waste.
Arriving at the practice room, Natalia and several other girls had arrived and were warming up under the guidance of teacher Yulia.
Miss Yulia Shulshkina is their classical ballet teacher. She is also from Russia. She looks about thirty years old. She is very beautiful and has a good figure, but she is not very tall, only about 1.7 meters. When Ms. Burns introduced her yesterday, she said that the other party had been in the Bolshoi Ballet Company and was an excellent dancer. Natalie also happened to know that it was one of the three most famous ballet companies in the Soviet period.
After politely saying good morning, Natalie took the initiative to stand next to Natalia and began to earnestly imitate teacher Yulia's movements to warm up.
I actually don’t understand why people want to learn classical ballet.
Teacher Yulia is a somewhat silent woman. When we met for the first time yesterday, she simply introduced herself and then started to instruct them on what to do.
Even if they don't understand, the girls certainly don't have any room to say no.
And I never had the chance to learn it before.
Probably because of the dancer, Teacher Yulia has a very elegant temperament, and Natalie hopes that she can be like this in the future.
Of course, forget about the melancholy that is probably caused by a frustrated life.
It can be seen that Teacher Yulia's life is not satisfactory, and her uneasy and hesitant mood is exactly the same as that of her mother during the most difficult period last year.
All 10 girls arrived and began basic ground physical training. The simple and boring exercises continued until eight o'clock. I went back to the room and changed clothes, and finally could have breakfast.
As usual, Ms. Burns had to teach them some dining etiquette. When the girls were dining, the other party would keep pacing around the table, correcting them if they made any mistakes. Everyone was therefore cautious, and it was impossible to whisper to each other. They even felt that they were If you make a mistake you may be punished with starvation.
Probably, not.
Natalie thought so, but secretly paid attention to the tableware in her hands.
The knives and forks were very heavy, maybe sterling silver.
It must be valuable.
After breakfast, the guardian, Ms. Wendy Alan, came to pick them up and they were finally free from the witch's control.
The 10 girls took two commercial vehicles and rushed to St. Paul's Girls' School, which was only two or three kilometers away.
We had already been here on Saturday two days ago, and there were still various small tests. Fortunately, no one was eliminated this time. Today is Monday, school time. The girls got off the bus outside the school gate and followed Ms. Alan into the school gate. They were surrounded by girls carrying schoolbags coming from everywhere.
Natalie's first impression was that British girls are really ugly.
Those with red faces, those with freckles, those with buck teeth, those with fat bodies, and those with curly and sparse hair.
All right.
In fact, there are beautiful ones, but there are very few.
And they are generally not tall.
Among the 10 girls, there are only three who are around 160cm. Well, she is one of them. The other seven are all over 170cm, and two have already reached 180cm. Therefore, walking on the crowded campus corridor is like a group of swans. Pass the chickens.
As for appearance and body shape.
Just look at the obviously envious little eyes of those girls.
I couldn't help but feel a little proud.
Although, she actually knew what she looked like and was at the bottom among the 10 girls, but she still had to be better than the chicks around her.
Entering the old red brick teaching building, they have their own exclusive classroom.
I don’t know what local girls study, but they only have one course for the time being: English.
There are three classes in the morning, one on basic grammar, and two on common conversations and exercises.
Natalie felt like she was being stuffed.
She didn't understand much about basic grammar. In two sections of common dialogues and practical exercises, they needed to memorize 30 groups of dialogues directly.
But other girls don't seem to be like this.
Anna Breerskaya, one of them, is 12 years old like her, but she can speak directly to the teacher in English very proficiently. Anna comes from Tver city in the north of Moscow. Her parents are both teachers. She is very young. Then he started teaching her English.
Moreover, this is not the key point. The point is that Anna is so smart. When she was still in the Moscow hotel, everyone knew that she could memorize the entire book just by reading it once.
There are two other girls who also have a certain foundation in English. Even if they don't reach the level of Anna's photographic memory, they are still very smart.
The English teacher obviously liked them very much. He spent most of the time talking to the three girls and patiently helped them correct their pronunciation.
well.
Teachers have this bad habit of liking good students.
Too biased.
Guardian Ms. Wendy Allan also appeared in the classroom during the practice class. Unlike Ms. Burns, Ms. Allan was very proficient in Russian, which is probably why she became everyone's guardian.
Natalie soon discovered that she was perhaps the dumbest of the 10 girls. Natalia, who had the same name as her from the same hometown, was also smarter, prettier, and taller than her.
Finally she and Eugenia were grouped together.
Eugenia Volodina is a 10-year-old girl from Kazan. The other girls learn very quickly. Most of the 30 sets of dialogues can be memorized in the second class, and they can even write them down completely. Only they can learn it. The two... seem to be on the same level.
Ms. Alan was not as biased as the English teacher, and she personally came to guide the two underachievers.
At the end of the morning class, Natalie had a strong sense of crisis in her heart. She had never forgotten that the big shot only needed one-tenth of them, and 9 out of 10 girls might be eliminated.
If we go by the performance in the morning, Anna will definitely win in the end.
What about yourself
Returning to the small town of Novgorod to sell fruit
She would rather die than go back.
In the lively school cafeteria, 10 girls gathered together. Rumors about them had probably spread in the school. Many girls came to visit, and some came up to talk to them. Anna and the other three girls with basic English skills were very familiar with it. It's natural to communicate with British girls.
Probably because he was divided into a group in the morning, Eugene took the initiative to sit with her with a dinner plate. Natalia also sat down on the other side and glanced at Anna who was talking to the British girls. Natalie Ya came over and whispered to her in Russian: "Dad wants to stay."
Natalie was a little absent-minded: "Huh?"
Natalia repeated: "Yesterday at lunch, Dad said he planned to stay in London."
Natalie's head turned and she turned to look at Natalia: "Why do you stay?"
The parents are still in London.
However, only one week of accompanying time is given here. After confirming that they have been settled, the parents must return to Russia because their visas only last for 7 days.
Natalia said: "Dad hopes that Ms. Alan will help get the visa, as well as your mother, and others. If we all ask together, Ms. Alan will consider it. After all, we are very important."
Natalie repeated: "We are important?"
"Yes, we were selected from thousands of people." Natalia said: "Besides, dad only hopes to stay and will not ask for more. He will find a job in London. You know Yes, here in London, even if I can only earn a few hundred pounds a month, plus... plus my living expenses, it will be enough to meet the expenses of our whole family, and we may even be able to bring other family members over in the future."
Eugene, who was on the other side, had been listening to the conversation between the two. When he heard this, he said with some pure excitement: "It would be best if mom can stay with me."
Natalie glanced at the innocent-looking Eugene, a girl who was two years younger than her but as tall as her. She didn't know whether she was really innocent or pretending to be so. Then he turned to Natalia: "When does Uncle Eugene plan to tell Ms. Alan?"
Natalia said: "It's just these two days. After all, if we don't say anything, we will leave on Thursday."
Natalie fell silent.
Natalia waited for a moment and asked: "Nova, don't you want your mother to stay?"
If possible, certainly hope.
only.
This thing, this thing...
His eyes flickered for a moment, and Natalie suddenly smiled, nodding her head like scholar Eugene just now: "Of course I hope."
Having support from her partner helped Natalia relax. Everyone is not stupid, but quite smart. She probably has some concerns about this in her heart.
He just didn't dare to resist his father.
The afternoon course is still in English, but the mode has become very relaxed. The English teacher not only played an interesting English short film for them in class, but also took them out of school for a small extracurricular practice and went to a supermarket for shopping. This was to familiarize them with the labels of mainstream daily necessities as soon as possible. .
Looking at the dazzling array of products in the supermarket and thinking about the poverty and deprivation in Russia, Natalie felt that if she was forced to return, it would be better to die directly.
Then I remembered again what Natalia said during lunch.
I secretly made up my mind.
After returning to her room after dinner, she immediately called her mother's hotel phone number and confirmed what Natalia had said at noon. She resolutely asked her mother not to get involved in the matter, and also put forward conditions for her mother to return to Russia. , her monthly living expenses of 1,000 pounds will be 700 pounds sent back. If the mother insists on staying, she will not give her a penny in the future.
The first living allowance was paid out two days ago. This time it was not cash, but a bank card. The cards were in the hands of the girls themselves, which meant that they actually had the power to handle and distribute the money.
Uncle Yuri had already taken away most of Natalia's 1,000 pounds yesterday, leaving her with only a pitiful 10 pounds.
After haggling, Natalie handed half to her mother.
Larissa was a little sad to hear that her daughter, who had already had too many ideas of her own in just these few days, refused to let her stay. As a single mother, Larissa has no shortage of stubborn and aggressive temperaments. The mother and daughter have similar personalities, and they started arguing on the phone.
However, faced with the threat from her daughter, Larissa still chose to give in.
When I go back to Russia, I can get 700 pounds a month, which is actually a lot of money. Parents like them have recently learned a lot about London. If they are forced to stay, they may not be able to earn so much money in a month, and the expenses in London are not low.
Speaking of which, the girls are underage and the parents have absolute power.
It's just that they had signed an agreement to transfer partial custody when they were in Moscow, which specifically mentioned the terms to ensure the children's financial freedom.
I didn’t understand it at the time, but I was waiting here.
1,000 pounds!
After the first living allowance was distributed, except for Yuri, who took almost all of his daughter's living allowance, none of the other parents succeeded.
The girls had obviously been coached in advance and had their own ideas.
The next morning, Natalia's father Yuri Usatov took the lead and the parents of the seven girls contacted Ms. Alan, expressing their hope to stay in the UK and asking Wendy Alan to help apply for a long-term passport. If they did not agree, , they will take their daughters away.
Natalie's mother and two other parents, including Eugene's mother, were not involved. Natalie didn't know if the girl had communicated with her mother in private.
She thinks it's very possible.
She could feel the crisis between the two underachievers, and there was no reason why the other party couldn't.
It happened suddenly.
Wendy Alan obviously did not have such authority. After communicating with the parents, she reported the matter.
The response came quickly.
no.
Faced with this answer, some parents retreated, but Yuri Usatov refused to give in. His daughter was selected from tens of thousands of people, and his requirements were not high.
Probably because they were persuaded by Yuri, the other two parents also insisted on their attitude, thinking that the big shot had invested so much since last year and would not give up on their daughter who had gone through thousands of selections.
That night, Uncle Yuri even took Natalia away from the girls' villa and detained her in the hotel where the parents were staying.
Then.
The matter only lasted one night. When Ms. Alan showed up at the hotel where the parents were leaving the tower on Wednesday morning, she brought staff from the British Immigration Service and took the three powerful parents directly from the hotel in front of other parents. After getting into the car, the three girls were not left behind either.
When he was handcuffed and put into a car for resisting, Yuri Usatov finally realized that his daughter was not that important.
After discovering that Natalia was also taken into the car, Yuri immediately forgot the conditions he proposed yesterday and struggled to beg Ms. Alan to keep his daughter. The other two parents also regretted it, and one of them even cried to Alan. The lady knelt down, also hoping that her daughter would not be sent away.
Everyone could see that Ms. Alan was obviously relenting, but regretfully said that she did not have the authority. This was the decision from above. Yuri and others must be sent back to the country today.
The six people were forcibly sent away in front of everyone, and the parents who originally wanted to rely on their daughters to stay in London were frightened.
10 girls who had been screened arrived in London, and in a blink of an eye, only 7 were left.
The other parents didn't dare to make any special requests, and they all got on the plane back to Moscow the next day.
The remaining girls went to see them off together, watching a plane on the airport runway soar into the sky. Natalie was just a little regretful that only three were eliminated. Moreover, she looked at Anna who was standing next to Ms. Alan on the other side. Breerskaya and her father initially participated in the negotiations, but later withdrew.
Alas, what a pity.
It would be great if Anna's father could be as determined as Uncle Yuri. This kind of person, huh, must be a traitor in the revolutionary era!