oh dove | Daniel Applebaum

chapter 1: flower bud

September 1963.

Finally, the sun had pierced the window to warm my shut eyes. As much as I had been resenting this day, my eventual attendance at Voltaire High School, a formerly all-boy school, had finally set over me. I sat up on my yellow bedsheets, staring at my wall that was plastered with posters of actors and actresses, to contemplate what I had gotten myself into. I sighed. Sluggishly, I walked to my wardrobe and put on the patterned, purple dress that had been sitting there for at least a week. I quickly prepared myself: brushing my teeth, and my hair, adorning some cheap jewelry and applying a light layer of makeup.

Soon, I walked down the stairs to meet my parents who had taken the day off to see me off to school. I found them sitting at the dining table. My father, an American man who moved here two decades ago to live with my mother was an adoring man if nothing else. The same could be said for my mother, a French native, if not for her tendencies to prioritize the family's outward appearance.

"Well, look at our little starlet!" My father gleamed before getting up to approach me. "If we're not careful, our Luci might be bringing a boy home by Christmas mass." He chuckled as if he were the funniest dad in France.

I rolled my eyes but couldn't help giggling at my father before sitting down at the table next to my mom.

"You're gorgeous, Lucienne--I know you're going to do perfectly." She beamed while placing a plate of bread and strawberry jam in front of me.

"I'm panicking... What if I get to class and-" I look up at the analog clock hanging above the refrigerator mid-sentence. "Shit," I mutter under my breath.

7:42, about 45 minutes until school starts.

Realizing that I was about to be late, I thanked my parents and briskly shoved the cold slice into my mouth before running out the door and waving bye to my parents on the way out.

"Tell us about your day tonight!" My mother managed to squeeze in before I was completely outside.

"I will, I will," I said under my breath as I started on my way to the edifice that was Voltaire High School.

~

I was maybe ten minutes into my walk (more like a light jog) when my path started to conjoin with other students. Despite having long concluded that nothing I could do would dull my nerves, I exhaled regardless as a futile attempt to steady my heart.

"It's fine... I'll reach the entrance any minute now and get this over with," I whispered to myself, still slightly out of breath from the hurried exit.

Just as I was contemplating my arrival, the gate slowly encroached in a matter of minutes.  My eyes scurried around the entrance, seeing nothing but heaps of bikes and a handful of boys. Shit. (For maybe the fifth time today) It dawned on me that I was one of the few girls attending the high school and I didn't find much comfort in that thought.

While clutching my satchel, I approached the cobblestone patch near the gate. Almost immediately, I felt the cold stares of the countless boys littering the school's premises. In an embarrassing attempt to seem unbothered, I quickly passed under the metal frame of the gate, unable to look upwards in anyone's direction. Now that I was fully within the confines of the school, I glanced upward to scan for a potential haven within this hell. More boys than I can count, a couple of teachers through the window, and two girls. A sigh of relief passed through my lips as I basically skipped towards the pair.

As I approach I overheard the strawberry blonde say something to a boy next to the two, "What's wrong?" She asked.

"My homeroom teacher... is Bluebeard." The boy replied.