Don't fall

Chapter I: Cloudy Days

After just a few minutes, waiting in the office, the two wooden doors behind me open. I turn my head to the person walking through them; a man in his mid-fifties with dark grey hair and brown eyes. He is wearing a vestment, which is pretty appropriate to the decoration of the office. Crosses everywhere, small sculptures of Jesus, Mary, angels and saints decorating the desk, and of course, the holy bible inside a small glass box. I assumed that it has some special value considering that the cover is quite neat and it is so protected inside the box. Without stoping, the priest quickly walks past me and goes straight to the desk in front of me. He takes a seat, rearranges his posture and smiles at me.

-Good morning. -He says cheery.

-Morning. -I say in a low tone.

-I am Father O'Connell, pleased to meet you. -He extends his hands as he speaks loudly, mouthing the words carefully.

-I am fluent. -I reply leaning in forward to shake his hand.

-Oh. -He lets out a small laugh of embarrassment. -But you were born there, right?

-Yes, born and raised. For a while. -I pause until I realize his look at me, almost as if I was forgetting to say something. -I got my citizenship all worked out. I'm an american citizen.

-Proud american citizen. -He corrects me smiling while pulling a file from a drawer under the desk.

-Sure. -I mumble.

-So... -He looks up from the file at me. -Name and age?

-Can't you tell that from the file? -I ask politely.

-Very good... -He chuckles. -Can you believe that some girls try to lie?

-Well, some girls have no brains.

-I like to believe that most women aren't that bright. -He laughs and looks at me until I smile, going against my own moral philosophy. He goes through my file quickly and closes it. -I guess everything is okay. You are officially ready for your first day. But, before that, I think I should explain you a few things, nothing too big. First of all, welcome to Leviticus Academy for religious repairing and guidance. I am the director of this institution. I hope you're able to settle in.

-Thank you. -I say, keeping my voice low again.

-This is a boarding school for young women such as yourself, who have lost their paths in life. We are here to show you the light and put you back on the right track. Throughout your days in this institution, you shall attend to catechism classes and prayer group sessions. Along with it, you'll have reparative therapy daily, except on Sundays.

-Let me guess: we do some specific religious things on Sundays?

-I see you have a challenging behavior. -He replies passive aggressively. -Another thing you should know is that we have a very organized system here; there are six floors in this building. The first three are purely recreational; there's the cafeteria, the library, the infirmary, the chapel and the courtyard. The remaining floors are the dorms. During your rehabilitation process, we work from floor to floor, like levels; you begin at the fourth floor, the first level. You spend one year on it and take a test to evaluate whether or not you're ready to move on to the next level. If you fail, you spend another year and you keep repeating the process until you succeed. When you achieve the sixth floor, the last level, you spend another year and take the test. If you pass, you'll be released from the academy. Another thing about the levels: as you make progress through them, rules get more strict. In level one, for an example, you are given the option of dresses, skirts, shirts or suits as your uniform. But in level two, the options are narrowed down and you have to choose between pants or ties. You can't wear both. By the time you get to the third level, only skirts or dresses are allowed. And I think that's all. In case you have any questions here's a small guide -He hands me a small plain notebook. -and you can always ask Sister Monica, she is in charge of level one.