“O’Connor!”
Helena’s head perked up at the sound of her last name being called and her face became red in embarrassment. It was her turn to translate but she had been too busy daydreaming to pay attention to the class. She had no idea which verse she had to translate, and if she asked… Sister Olivia would practically crucify her.
“Helena O’Connor, come to the Disciplinary Committee’s office immediately.”
The announcement from the PA system let her release a sigh of relief. Punishment had saved her from punishment. All the students shrugged, well used to hearing this commandment.
“Sorry, Sister Olivia, but I must leave,” she said sheepishly.
The teacher scowled at her, knowing that Helena hadn’t been paying attention. “Go, but I still expect you to translate when you get back.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Taking her book bag with her, Helena stepped out of the classroom and began walking as fast as she could down the hall. Running was against the rules, but with how large the school was, she needed to put in some speed and reach the committee before they sent out another announcement. Stepping out into the open campus, she allowed herself a moment to enjoy the sunlight, breeze, and smell of grass, and then took off in a run. She passed by many other students in her rapid dash, both male and female. Normally Catholic schools like these had gender segregation, but with how many students were joining the clergy, Rosewood Academy used the coed population as a way to help the students prepare for their vows of celibacy. By having all these teenagers learning side-by-side in this holy school, it was simply a matter of teaching them to ignore temptation. Dating was strictly forbidden, and if they could graduate without ever giving in to their sinful desires, they would be ready for the clergy.
She at last reached the building with the Discipline Committee, and after climbing two flights of stairs, arrived at the entrance to their office. As she approached the door, she took a moment of catch her breath and straighten her hair. She stepped through an open doorway into a waiting room, with an assistant behind a desk, a corridor lined with doors, and several chairs and a couch in the corner of the room. Sitting in one of the chairs was a young man, though from the very brief glimpse she gave him, she couldn’t quite tell his age. He looked to be as old as she was, but he could have older, since unlike the other male students in this school, he was dressed in the black clerical jacket of an ordained minister. Though he lacked the official collar.
She strode past him to the assistant’s desk.
“Hello, Helena. Same as usual?” the woman asked with a wry grin.
This was FAR from Helena’s first meeting with the Disciplinary Committee. She sighed with a tired smile.
“Hello, Mary. I guess they’re waiting for me?”
“Go right in.”
Helena nodded and walked down the corridor, reaching the second door. She entered a conference room, where five teachers sat behind a long table, glaring at her with judgmental eyes. Two of them were priests and another two were nuns.
“Ms. O’Connor, I’m sure you know why we called you here,” the oldest teacher grumbled.
“I have an idea.”
A female teacher cleared her throat. “Three young men are being treated at the hospital, one coughing up blood with a broken nose and the other two suffering from concussions. When speaking to the police, they described you in clear detail. What do you have to say for yourself?”
Helena straightened her posture and her eyes became steely. “I was doing God’s work, helping to cure this city of its sin. Why should I have gone easy on them when they will face far worse in Hell?”
One of the priests slammed his hand on the table. “That is not your decision to make! That is the job of the police, not a student of this school. Every time you act up like this, you give us a bad name. We cannot condone your actions, violence can never be tolerated from someone who claims to fight in the name of Jesus Christ!”
“I will repent for what I did and ask God for forgiveness,” she said defiantly, as if to tell them that she did not recognize their authority.
“You’ll do more than that. On top of fifteen Apostle’s Creeds and ten Hail Marys, you are going to go and apologize to those boys before the end of the day, understood?”
He handed her a sheet of paper with their addresses and Helena bit her tongue, working to keep her temper in check.
“Yes, Father Brian.”
“Good, and to lighten your soul with a good deed, we have something else for you to do…” The old priest pressed down on the button of a nearby intercom. “Mary, please send him in.”
The student Helena had seen before stepped into the room, letting her at last get a good look at him. He was quite tall and very handsome, with a square jaw, blue eyes, and brown hair cut very short but still kind of spiky. She actually felt her heart flutter at the sight of him but shook the sensation away with a retightening of her moral corset.
“This is Xavier Michaels, he just transferred in. Show him around and help him get settled. The two of you will be sharing several classes together. Xavier, this is Helena O’Connor. If you need anything, ask her.”
‘Great, just what I needed. Now Sister Olivia is going to beat me like a mule because I have to miss class and show this guy the ropes. No, no, it’s not his fault. I shouldn’t be mad at him.’
Forcing herself to wear a smile, she held out her hand to shake his. “Nice to meet you.”
He took her hand and looked at her with confident eyes. For a moment, she thought he was going to lean down and kiss her hand. “The pleasure is mine.”
Helena suddenly felt her face go red, but she had no idea why. “Ok, follow me and I’ll give you a tour.”
About to step into the hall, she was stopped by one of the teachers calling her name. “Helena, remember: every time you cause trouble, you make it harder for yourself to achieve your goal. You’re facing a monumental task already. Don’t ruin things for yourself.”
She nodded and departed with Xavier trailing after her. Leaving the waiting room, they started down the hall.
“I’ve never met a Catholic school girl who could fight.”
“Huh?”
“My apologies, but I could hear the conversation you and the teachers were having. You sent three people to the hospital and called it “God’s work”, meaning that you were engaged in a combative situation with them. Considering that I don’t see any scratches on you or even a mark on your uniform, you’re clearly skilled enough to not get touched. Impressive.”
People normally condemned her for fighting, but there was no judgment in his voice. She tried not to blush at the praise, never expecting him to just reveal her true self with such intuition. “As the teachers will tell you, it is not one of my best features. I’ve been training myself since I was a child in martial arts and other fighting styles. They come in handy when I find an unapologetic sinner.”
“I take it those skills are for the goal that Father Thomas mentioned?”
Helena giggled. “You catch on pretty quick.”