To Skin A Lamb

2

CHARITY

She was right.

On May 2nd, we sat in a conference room in the Student Center. It was away from the noise of the busy campus and gave us enough privacy to speak freely without being heard.

The first thing that was asked of all of us was a brief description because according to the advisor for the trip, Dr. Samford, we would be very acquainted with each other.

The eight students that would be in attendance are the following:

Phoebe Taylor, Sophomore, Social Work Major, Very Sweet Girl.

Brett Adams, Junior, Political Science Major, Not-A-Total Asshole

Davinia (Vini) Harold, Social Work Major, She's Alright As A Human

Cash Simmons, Junior, Religious Studies Major, My Best Friend Faith Would Eat Him Up

Charity Garcia (Me), Sophomore, Social Justice/Nonprofit Studies Major, I'm only listing myself because this is the order of introductions

Henry Davoe, Sophomore, Linguistics Major, He's Pretty Funny

Sheila Avery, Junior, Social Work Major, She's A Bad Bitch

And finally... Terrance Nester, Junior, International Relations/Linguistics Major, That One Weird Mfer Who Was Staring At Me (3)

I look up from the page and finally lock eyes with him, causing him to look away for the moment. Dr. Samford was giving us an important list of dates and things we will need when I noticed him staring at me again with those eyes. He looked away again.

Dr. Samford said, "Fortunately, I will not be solely responsible for the eight of you. If you haven't noticed we have three very brave Seniors who will be serving as our interns for the summer. They are the second me and it is imperative that you do whatever they ask of you." She explained everything and I watched with semi-delight and somewhat anxiousness.

"This is Gracie Miller and she is majoring in Social Work." Dr. Samford started introducing them and they stood as she called their names. Gracie gave us a warm smile and waved at us. I already liked her. She reminded me of my Faith. "This is Lea Anderson and she is a Senior majoring in Social Justice/Nonprofit Studies."

My ears perked up and looked at her with even more interest. She faintly nodded her head with a chill smile on her face.

"And lastly, this is Alexander Woodruff and he's a Senior majoring in Political Science." She introduced all of them. "These are all individuals who have participated in the program before so they are well versed with the area and the type of work we will be completing. So if you have any questions that you are too scared to ask me, ask them."

Dr. Samford gave us a disclaimer: "I should warn you. The topics we will deal with will be difficult and potentially triggering. We will encounter extreme poverty, sexual exploitation, and a lot of it will be hard to witness. If things get too heavy for you please reach out to me or the interns. We would hate for you to have an unpleasant experience. However, the purpose of the trip is to immerse yourselves in a different experience to hopefully widen your understanding with certain issues."

I looked at Phoebe who looked back at me with a little apprehension. She mouthed, "Should we run?"

I smiled and looked down at my notepad. I didn't want to run. I was becoming more excited with the idea of actually helping those in need. I knew it would have to be challenging, but if it isn't challenging then we aren't learning, growing, or progressing. Thus meaning, we can't really help others.