DON'T PRAY TO ME

10 - The Pink Gown

The second day of each month are the best days for Rachel, for that's when the mails arrive. At six o'clock in the morning, Rachel is already at the mailroom. She is the first, and only, visitor at this time when the sun is orange and fresh out of the horizon. The attendant at the mailroom knows Rachel. As soon as he sees her, he leaves to the back to open the sacks of packages that arrived last night from the regional post office. Rachel's package is in one of them.

Rachel rubs her hands together to warm them up while she waits. Soon the man returns with a flat rectangular parcel. He picks up a large stamp tied to the side of his desk and punches it over the parcel. "Delivered," in red and bold is now printed on top of the package. Rachel receives it and rushes back to her dorm. She goes straight to the cafeteria. The lights are not on yet at the seating area, but it's bright enough from the growing daylight. At the backside, a few kitchen staff have already started working on today's breakfast. Rachel pours herself a cup of coffee from the machine and sits down at one of the tables near the window. She puts down her cup and opens the parcel. There's a box of milk chocolates, her favorite. There's also an envelope. Rachel tears open its glued flap and pulls out the letter and the cash. Her parents send her some pocket money each month. But this time, there's a lot more cash than usual. Surprised, Rachel opens the letter and reads. "...I've included money for the dress. Don't wear any of your old ones for the ball. Buy a nice, expensive one at Parkot. Something really beautiful," her mother had written. Rachel looks at the extra cash and smiles.

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By the time Rachel had reached the auditorium, it's already half full. She quickly takes the empty seat at the second last row next to the doorway she came in through. "It's the ball, right?" One of the girls sitting at the row in front of Rachel says to her friend at her side. "You got your dress?" the girl says. "It's been ready for two months now," the girl's friend says and they laugh. Rachel smiles, too. The ball is something everyone is looking forward to. While looking around Rachel sees Ariek enter the auditorium through the next entrance. Rachel stops smiling and immediately faces ahead and watches some students arrange the chairs at the stage.

Through the corner of her eye, she sees Ariek and his friends head towards her section of the auditorium. Rachel's hand around the armrest clenches tight. The boys reach where she is and sit down at the row behind her. The girls at the front notice the boys, giggle at each other, and keep glancing at the back. On the other hand, Rachel is frozen like a statue. Her eyes search for an empty seat at the next section, but it's all getting full. She's also afraid to leave. After she signed the form Morrison gave her, Rachel hadn't seen any of them until now. All this time Rachel has been scared they'll show up anytime and ask her to practice with them for the LE.

The Deirci Principal's voice echoes through the auditorium. Rachel looks up. He's at the front-center of the stage, in front of the mike. All the professors have taken their seats behind him. The principal says, "As all of you would've guessed by now, today's assembly is to announce that coming Friday is the Saorine Ball." A loud cheer and applause from the students follow. He continues, "Details about the ball will be available on the notice boards and our school's website. It's one of the three major events for the final year students among you. It's also a mixed event. And just as the Sunvey Trip, I expect students from our side of the campus to be on their best behavior." The principal continues to warn the students to not cause any trouble, and while the speech is still ongoing, Ariek and his friends get up. As they leave, Ariek's fingers slide through Rachel's hair that was hanging over her chair's backrest. Startled, Rachel pulls her shoulders forward. Ariek smirks and leaves. Rachel bites her lips to stay calm. She sees Penny looking at her from the next section with worried eyes. Penny saw what Ariek did. Rachel and Penny exchange a weak smile.

After the meeting, Rachel waits outside for Penny. She wants to ask Penny if they could go to Parkot together to buy Rachel a dress. She missed her chance to get to know Penny at the Sunvey Trip; She doesn't want to miss this one, too. Rachel sees Penny and her friends come out, and takes a step toward them. But soon sees Mithria approach Penny. Rachel loses her nerves and leaves, thinking it's better to go by herself after all.