The Men's Camp

Chapter 3 Shula's Diary

Auntie soon comes up to my room and tells me it's time to go. 

She helps me get my bags to leave my childhood room. We go down to the front garden where two of my cousins are already waiting. Auntie places my bag beside Cara and Allie ready for us to be collected. I feel a tiny sting of disappointment about the girls. Cara is emotional and quick to complain about others. Allie is also a drama queen who likes only the best of everything and always has be first. But on the upside, they are always together so I'm happy they will be able to remain best friends.

Eventually a large black van pulls up in front of the house. I want to hug auntie, to say thank you and goodbye to her. But she gives me a stern look, so I let it go and climb into the back of the vehicle. In our new home, we will have a new auntie. I say my goodbyes to old auntie in my heart. Her brown dress flaps in the wind as she walks back into the house. I think that for a moment, I see her head bow a little, like she's feeling bittersweet about losing us three girls. Maybe she will miss us.

While we are afraid of going to our new place, we are also excited. Cara and Allie won't stop giggling together, so I tell them to shush. I want to arrive at my new home in a dignified manner and make a good impression. The council has decided we are mature, and I want to prove them right.

It's hard to see anything from the back of the van. The windows are tinted so darkly that everything seems tinged with brown. The dirt road looks like a dark stain that we follow. When it rains, all the paths are like melted chocolate and seeing everything through that brown tint makes me feel like we are driving on a sad, rainy day.

Once we arrive, the driver comes to open the door before moving to the back of the vehicle and piling our bags in front of the new house. My two cousins skip happily out of the van and stand in front of the new auntie. I follow them feeling more reticent about this moment.

New auntie looks very stern. She barely looks at us. Her brown robes flap in the wind, but she stands ramrod straight. She is tall and thin compared to old auntie. After a moment when we are all assembled before her, she grabs our bags and tells us to follow her inside.

All the bedrooms in a townhouse are upstairs except one. New auntie sleeps downstairs in a large bedroom by herself. At the top of the stairs, Cara is given the first room on the left. Allie is shown into the next room and I have the third, and end room. Opposite Cara and Allie's rooms are another two bedrooms.

I look around my new room. It's similar to the old one with a dark wooden bed and handmade quilt. The similarity makes me feel like I am at home, although there are some notable differences. The quilt is now blue and white instead of having other colours sewn through it. There is no desk. I'll have to write on the bed or the floor beside the wardrobe that is next to the door.

The townhouse is smaller than our old place. Old auntie once told us that our grand home was a farmhouse for a large family with many children. Old auntie taught us that the girls who serve are more important than the children on the outskirts. They must live closer to the centre of the city, nearer to our leaders and the men's camp. This new house is closer to everything, so it is more compact with room for only five girls. Five peers now.

"When will they arrive?" Cara chirps happily as we stare into the empty rooms.

Auntie does not look at her when she replies, "soon." Then she glares at us all.

Cara and Allie seem to shrink backwards and look downcast, so I ask them to come and see my room. All our rooms are the same, but it gives us a chance to move away from new auntie and her severe face. New auntie goes downstairs and we start to relax a little.