Day 2 - Mrs. Kelly and the Catholic Schoolgirls

I had finished my chores and was making breakfast for the girls. It was extremely difficult to sleep last night, and I wandered back to the control room time and time to check on the girls. Some were sleeping, others had the same problem with sleep as I were in their beds with their phones out or laptops out. It wasn’t a dream after all. Most of the girls filed into the dining mess hall at separate times and sat at different tables. Mary and Charlotte sat together. Mya by herself. Nora and Natalie together. Mrs. Kelly sat at the same table as me.

I had still had fresh bread and avocados and made it with scrambled eggs. Mrs. Kelly seemed to be wary of me, and protective of her herd and who could blame her. I was a stranger, this was a strange place, and I most certainly didn’t have good intentions.

“It’s not getting any better out there.” Mrs. Kelly said glumly while picking at her eggs. “The emergency broadcast tells us to lock our doors and stay inside until the military can take care of this but I dunno.”

“I can assure you, Mrs. Kelly, you guys are no burden here,” I said reassuring her.

“Still, some of the girls are getting restless and want to try contacting their families. I don’t know what I should do.” Mrs. Kelly said.

“Speaking of which, which school are you guys from? Are you around here?”

“We’re at St. Michael’s All-Girl Private Academy. It’s a Catholic all-girl school in the Lawrence district. We were on a trip to Saint Paul’s Cathedral and also Hope University. Some of the girls were going to be attending there.”

“I see. That’s a very prestigious school. I’ve heard tuition and board are expensive. Usually, it’s reserved for the daughters of tycoons and politicians.”

“Yes, we pride ourselves on being a great molder of future Catholic women.”

“Is it very religious?”

“Yes we hold mass every day and prayer’s before class, but we still teach evolution and science and all that. It’s important for us to provide a great education while providing upright moral and religious guidance.”

I nodded. “So there aren’t any guys at all at that school?”

“Only Father Murphy. The parents of the girls don’t want them interacting with boys, at least until they are married or promised.”

I raised my eyebrows at that. “Surely some of the girls have had boyfriends though?”

“Maybe some do, some sheep always get lost away from the flock. But us teachers and the nuns run a very tight ship there.”

Charlotte had come over, with a very coy smile and her hands behind her back. “Adam, do you have hot sauce.”

Charlotte was playing with her hair at this point. I smiled and said, “Absolutely Charlotte. You like it hot, I presume?”

I realized my mistake. It was too early to push my luck. Mrs. Kelly stared at me cautiously like the wolf I was. Charlotte giggled, and I winced and went to the pantry and fetch a club size bottle of Cholula and also Tabasco, among the many club size bottles of condiments I had stored.

Charlotte and Mary went over and grabbed the bottles and shared it with their friends. They weren’t wearing their school girl uniforms but sweat pants and long t-shirts. Mary and Charlotte both smiled at me, which I stared dumbly at their form and then realized and sat down. I was getting hard.

“Mrs. Kelly, I’m sorry for that bit of joke. It came off wrong.” I apologized.

“I understand Adam. But you have to be careful around those girls. They are still young and full of hormones.” Mrs. Kelly said nonchalantly, and we continued and ate in peace.