It's time once again for a Wednesday snippet. This comes from a scene where Mrs. Brindle, the headmistress of the Dormitory is recruiting Leah and Marie. Enjoy!
“Aren’t you going to join your sister, Leah?” Mrs. Brindle shifted.
I shook my head. “No.”
She tipped her head. “I promise I’m not going to run off.” When I continued to stare at her, she gave me the same look Mom gave me when she was tired of dealing with me. “You’re more reluctant to trust, aren’t you?”
It was true. More than one adult in the past few months had asked for my trust only to ship us off to the next home. “Adults lie, Mrs. Brindle.”
She opened her mouth, whether to protest or agree I have no idea, because just then Marie ran back into the room clutching her stuffed animal.
“Leah, it was right where she said it would be. Tucked under all my clothing.” Plopping back down next to me, she gave me a nudge with her shoulder. It was something she always did when she wanted to rub my nose in about being right.
“Really?”
Marie bounced onto the couch next to me, the dog held tight against her chest. “So you have to listen now. You promised.”
I had, but it didn’t mean I had to like it. “Okay, what did you want to talk to us about, Ma’am?”
“I’d like to talk to you about coming to the Dormitory with me. I’m not like the other adults you’ve met. I won’t force you into coming. All the children who reside there are there of their own free will. Do you know what that means?”
I wanted to roll my eyes. I was thirteen, not stupid. “It means they choose to come.”
“That’s right, Leah. They choose to go with me. Unlike here, at the Dormitory we have teachers and doctors and nurses who live on the campus. It’s like being in boarding school or at college. Everything you might need is available. We have basketball courts and baseball fields, bike trails and rock walls, along with pretty much any kind of outdoor equipment an active child would like to play on.”
“Really?” Like any kid I loved being outside, riding my bike and climbing rock walls. Was there anything better? Dad had taken us to Planet X for our last birthday and we’d climbed their rock wall and played laser tag.
“Yep.” She smiled at me. “In fact, our gym teacher takes the kids outside on a daily basis, of course depending on the weather. We have a track and field day coming up next month, and he’s been coaching the kids at the track. We find that being active physically helps the kids control their differences.”
I fidgeted in my seat. What she was saying seemed too good to be true. A place where we could simply be ourselves without hiding? I glanced at Marie. “What about Marie. She likes regular classes and stuff.”
“Yes, does the Dormitory have regular teachers, too?” Marie asked quietly. That was my sister, the bookworm. She loved to learn. I liked school, but I wasn’t as nerdy as Marie.
“Of course. Mr. Standish is our fifth through seventh grade teacher. If you come to the Dormitory, he’d be your teacher. He teaches all the core subjects you’d normally get in school. Reading, writing, social studies, while Mrs. Razzle teaches math, science and labs. She also teaches our advanced placement classes. From what your case worker told me, Marie, you’d probably enjoy those classes. I do believe that they are planning on making homemade ice cream next week. And she has several labs in progress right now. She and her kids supply a good chunk of our produce for our meals.”
I wanted to groan. Now Mrs. Brindle had done it. She’d appealed to Marie’s nerd bone. “And did I mention, Leah, that Coach Pristash runs our archery team? He’s taken them to the state finals four times in the past five years.”
I’ll have to give it to the woman she was good. Excitement poured through me. How had she known that I loved archery? “He does?”
She tipped her head. “I promise I’m not going to run off.” When I continued to stare at her, she gave me the same look Mom gave me when she was tired of dealing with me. “You’re more reluctant to trust, aren’t you?”
It was true. More than one adult in the past few months had asked for my trust only to ship us off to the next home. “Adults lie, Mrs. Brindle.”
She opened her mouth, whether to protest or agree I have no idea, because just then Marie ran back into the room clutching her stuffed animal.
“Leah, it was right where she said it would be. Tucked under all my clothing.” Plopping back down next to me, she gave me a nudge with her shoulder. It was something she always did when she wanted to rub my nose in about being right.
“Really?”
Marie bounced onto the couch next to me, the dog held tight against her chest. “So you have to listen now. You promised.”
I had, but it didn’t mean I had to like it. “Okay, what did you want to talk to us about, Ma’am?”
“I’d like to talk to you about coming to the Dormitory with me. I’m not like the other adults you’ve met. I won’t force you into coming. All the children who reside there are there of their own free will. Do you know what that means?”
I wanted to roll my eyes. I was thirteen, not stupid. “It means they choose to come.”
“That’s right, Leah. They choose to go with me. Unlike here, at the Dormitory we have teachers and doctors and nurses who live on the campus. It’s like being in boarding school or at college. Everything you might need is available. We have basketball courts and baseball fields, bike trails and rock walls, along with pretty much any kind of outdoor equipment an active child would like to play on.”
“Really?” Like any kid I loved being outside, riding my bike and climbing rock walls. Was there anything better? Dad had taken us to Planet X for our last birthday and we’d climbed their rock wall and played laser tag.
“Yep.” She smiled at me. “In fact, our gym teacher takes the kids outside on a daily basis, of course depending on the weather. We have a track and field day coming up next month, and he’s been coaching the kids at the track. We find that being active physically helps the kids control their differences.”
I fidgeted in my seat. What she was saying seemed too good to be true. A place where we could simply be ourselves without hiding? I glanced at Marie. “What about Marie. She likes regular classes and stuff.”
“Yes, does the Dormitory have regular teachers, too?” Marie asked quietly. That was my sister, the bookworm. She loved to learn. I liked school, but I wasn’t as nerdy as Marie.
“Of course. Mr. Standish is our fifth through seventh grade teacher. If you come to the Dormitory, he’d be your teacher. He teaches all the core subjects you’d normally get in school. Reading, writing, social studies, while Mrs. Razzle teaches math, science and labs. She also teaches our advanced placement classes. From what your case worker told me, Marie, you’d probably enjoy those classes. I do believe that they are planning on making homemade ice cream next week. And she has several labs in progress right now. She and her kids supply a good chunk of our produce for our meals.”
I wanted to groan. Now Mrs. Brindle had done it. She’d appealed to Marie’s nerd bone. “And did I mention, Leah, that Coach Pristash runs our archery team? He’s taken them to the state finals four times in the past five years.”
I’ll have to give it to the woman she was good. Excitement poured through me. How had she known that I loved archery? “He does?”
©Becki Gylberte All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. No portion of this work may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.
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