The twelve meet up again

The younger nuns chattered excitedly and when Mary Josepha entered, almost everyone jumped up to greet the older one.

Only Mary Andrea remained deliberately seated, although she shifted restlessly back and forth, her face contorted as if the seat were a hot plate.

Even though none of them dared to make a loud remark about it, they were surprised that the novice mistress, who normally always appeared correct and accurate, looked rather disheveled today. A cheeky lock of hair had even stolen out from under her hood.

Mary Petra kept smoothing down her skirt as a precaution, as if she wanted to make sure it didn't slip up even a little.

Mary Thomas giggled again and again for no reason. Mary Emilia kept looking skeptically over her shoulder to see if something had suddenly appeared behind her.

The lower half of Mary Bruna's clothing was soaking wet, as if she had waded through a river, which didn't really make any sense.

And the other nuns also looked strange, changed or distracted.

"Did you enjoy the trip to the fairground?" Mary Josepha asked the group.

Everyone nodded and one or two cautious yeses rang out. However, none of the twelve was prepared to go into further detail about what they had experienced at the fair.

"Well then, I guess it's time for us to return to the monastery."

In the meantime, Mr. Trapp had trundled onto the stage and stood at the very front of the platform. He looked down disapprovingly at the dozen nuns who were about to leave.

"Now, now, my sisters, you don't want to abandon us this early, do you?"

He didn't wait for an answer; it was enough for him to have made them hesitate with his question. His face quickly brightened.

"Please take a seat again. Otherwise you would miss the highlight of the day, the show for which countless people from near and far come to our theater, the true crowning glory of our program."

He struck a pose and waved his arms.

"The unique, the fantastic, absolutely unrivaled queen of the carnival! Please join me, dear audience, in welcoming the enchanting Miss Trickett!"

He cheered rousingly and a storm of applause broke out.

The curtain parted and a tall, exotic-looking woman with raven-black hair and dark eye shadow, dressed in a tight black oriental silk dress, appeared. She bowed deeply.

"Thank you very much for this warm welcome! It is with great pleasure that I present to you my humble art, which I learned from monks in the mountains near Shangri-La."

She paused for a moment until she was sure she had the attention of the entire hall.

"Of course, I need volunteers to demonstrate my skills properly."

Thoughtfully, she let her gaze wander over the rows of seats. Finally, she fixed her eyes on the novice mistress and her entourage.

"How about you, ladies in the front seats? Please come up."

Without knowing exactly why, Mary Josepha rose and walked measuredly towards the stairs leading up to the podium. Her fellow sisters stood up one by one and followed her in single file. Mary Andrea walked at the very back, trying diligently to gather up her torn skirt. Nevertheless, she did not manage to hide her bare, shiny red backside from the spectators, so that the procession was accompanied by cheerful catcalls and shrill wolf-whistles.

Upstairs, Miss Trickett was pacing up and down in front of her test subjects, who had lined up neatly next to each other, her expression very pleased. As she did so, she produced an antique-looking brass coin from a hidden pocket in her dress and twirled it nimbly between her fingers.

"And now, my dear sisters, pay very close attention to what I'm doing ..."

So much for this story line - for now. I'll take it a bit easier over the holidays.
I'm looking forward to your comments and suggestions :-)
Happy Easter!