"Now," I said, "my parents want to keep a very close eye on me, and they think that Sister Honororia is just wonderful."

"Don't say her name too loud," Maisie cautioned. "She's behind you in the corner, and she's looking right at you."
 

"Tread softly because you tread on my dreams," Mrs. Wix finished.

I had never liked poetry, never read it, but at that moment I was hooked. It was the most magical thing I'd ever heard, and I wanted more of it.

"That was He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven by William Butler Yeats, girls," Mrs. Wix said again. I wrote "Yates" in my notebook so I could look it up later.

Susan looked at what I'd written, shook her head, and wrote "Yeats" on my pad.

"Thanks," I whispered.

"Marcie, just so you know, I start every class by reading a bit of poetry or a piece of prose that is exceptionally well written." I nodded.

Then she dove into the lesson, which had nothing to do with Yeats or poetry.

At lunch, Maisie, Susan, and I sat together. "So how does this compare to your old school?" Susan asked.

"Well...," I said, "at lunch I used to sit with two of my friends just like this..." The three of us smiled at that. "But right over there," I gestured over my right shoulder, "was the boyfriends' table, where our boyfriends had to sit."

"Really?" Maisie snorted. "It sounds like prison! It defeats the whole purpose of going to school with boys! Could you talk to each other?"

"Sure you could. The only problem was that if the teachers knew you were an item, you couldn't sit together in the cafeteria. There was a no-PDA rule."

"PDA?" Susan asked.

"Public Displays of Affection," I explained. Maisie snorted again.

"So you had a boyfriend?" Susan asked. I nodded. "What happened now that you moved away?"

"We talked on the phone a couple times since I got here..." I replied. "I really miss him."

"I didn't mean to get you down," Susan said. "I was just curious." She sighed. "I don't know if my mother will ever let me date. That's one reason she sent me here, to an all-girls school."

"Yeah, me too," I said. "I wasn't even supposed to be dating when I went out with Jerry."

"How did you manage it, then?" Maisie asked as she munched on a carrot.

I laughed. "The first time he asked me out, he wanted to take me to a movie. When I told him that I wasn't allowed to go out with him, he said we could both happen to go to the same movie, and he could accidentally buy two tickets..." Susan and Maisie laughed. "The thing was, my parents were *here*, and I was *there*, so that's pretty much how I got away with it."

"Mmm," Susan commented, looking quite envious. "Did you stay with a relative or something?"

"Yeah, my Aunt Jane."

"And she let you do whatever you want."

"Well, she wasn't supposed to... but, yeah, I guess I got away with a lot." (Talk about understatements!)

"Lucky you!" Susan commented.

"Now," I said, "they want to keep a very close eye on me, and they think that Sister Honororia is just wonderful."

"Don't say her name too loud," Maisie cautioned. "She's behind you in the corner, and she's looking right at you."

As if on cue, Honororia came to our table. "Margaret, Susan, Marcella," she said, as a greeting.

"Good afternoon, sister," I replied.

"What have you learned today, Marcella?" she asked.

Huh? I thought. I wasn't ready for the question, but something came to me quickly. "I learned that I like poetry, sister. I didn't know that before."

"And how did that happen?" she asked.

I told her about Mrs. Wix's reading.

"Ah, yes," she said. "I'm sure you can find Yeats in our school library. Susan can certainly help you find your way.

"Mrs. Wix is one of our graduates, did you know that? Class of '94. It seems like yesterday, that she was sitting at one of these tables, just like you, with—" she stopped in midsentence. Actually, it was more like she froze in midsentence.

I looked at her in surprise.

She caught my look, and willed her face into an expressionless mask. Then she took a breath and hurriedly said, "In any case, she's one of our best."

She looked at each of us in turn, then said, "Girls," as a — well, as the opposite of a greeting — and left.

Once she was gone, I said, "Mmm," with a slight grimace. "Susan, do you think you could help me in the library now?"

"Yeah, why?" Susan asked.

"I have to keep on her good side, and I know she's going to ask me about Yeats next time I see her." I sighed. "I need something to read in detention, anyway."

After a quick visit to the library, I called my mother on my cell phone. She almost sounded glad that I'd gotten detention.

Mothers!

Dentention wasn't so bad. At least I wasn't the only one there. It was me and another girl, but we had to sit on opposite sides of the room, and the detention nun wouldn't let us even look at each other. I didn't mind so much because I was a little sweaty and sticky from gym class. I didn't want anyone smelling me!

After I got through my homework, I read a few pages of the Yeats book. I found the poem Mrs. Wix had read, and I liked it as much as when I first heard it. I read it over and over, in fact, and even thought about memorizing it.

Looking back over my day, I had to admit that gym had been the strangest class, mostly because it was a class of seniors. Mom had set it up — it was the only way I could have gym at the end of the day, which would allow me shower at home. At least, on a normal day I could shower at home.

One thing that was clear: if I did any school activity on a gym day, I was going to be uncomfortable, unless I could figure out a way to shower alone.

Or — I could get the operation to make me all the way girl. I had to get it done soon. Mom had mentioned it when she told me about the reward money, which meant that my parents had discussed it. I knew that before I could get the operation, I had to get a new therapist and endocrinologist. I also had to wait for my parents to quit freaking out about the purse-snatcher and the bank robbery — not that *that* had anything to do with anything.

Then — not to change the subject, but — I had a funny idea. I wondered whether the public library has the Nancy Drew books... Then I wondered where the public library was. No, no, it's a stupid idea, I realized. If something else happens, they'll think I got the idea from the books... that I went looking for trouble... I had to avoid any idea of adventurous, crime-fighting teens.

When I left detention, I headed straight for the front door. Mom was there, talking to Sister Honororia. Hoo, boy. Remember: find a way to bend without breaking.

"Ah, here she is now," Sister said. The two women were smiling.

"Hello, sister. Hi, Mom."

Honororia looked at the books in my arms, and tapped her index finger on the red Yeats book. "So you found it," she said, approvingly.

"Yes, sister. I was able to read some of it during detention."

"I hope you were also able to reflect on the error of your ways," she said. I wasn't sure, but that might have been a joke. There was a kind of twinkle in her eye, but it didn't completely convince me.

"I may have," I replied. I don't know why I said it. What else was I supposed to say? It just came out of my mouth — but the nun seemed to think it was funny.

"Good! Good!" she laughed. "Well, off you go! Nice talking to you, Mrs. Donner."

As we walked home, I could see that Mom was very happy. I resolved to not burst her bubble.

"You like Sister Honororia, don't you?" I said.

"I think she's a wonderful woman!" Mom gushed.

Luckily Mom didn't see my face. To say I was taken aback is putting it mildly.

"I found out that my English teacher used to be a student here," I informed Mom. It seemed like neutral information that she might like to know.

"Oh, really?" she asked. "Mrs. Wix was a student here?"

"How do you know her name is Mrs. Wix?"

"I met her," Mom said. "I met all your teachers, while you were still out in California."

"Oh," I said, considering.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"I guess not," I admitted.

"So how was your day?" she asked.

With an effort, I managed to not sigh, and pretty much told her everything.

She just got happier and happier. Interesting.

© 2007 Kaleigh Way