The Academy

BED WETTERS

For some it took days. Others, months. But for me, it took a year and a half to fully realize that my parents left me. That they don't and never will love me. That I'm all alone now.

The girls here at the academy learn to deal with the hell we live in. We learn to ignore the little voices in our heads that tell us that there is hope. That some couple will come and want a girl like us. Because giving in and listening to that voice is submitting to an expectation that will not be met. Never will be.

The boys at the academy are a different story. They're picked so fast that the beds aren't usually filled. For some reason, people want boys more than they want the girls. But you don't see us crying about it. But that's not because we're tough, it's because when we do cry, it's at the dead of night. When everyone is asleep and you can cry your heart out. When the tears can slip out while you're alone.  Ending the day with a ten year old in your bed isn't fun. Starting the day out with a wet bed isn't fun either.

Warmth spread out on the bed, and I shot up, nearly knocking my head on the bunk above me. Liliana, the girl next to me, had wet the bed. She was sleeping with her thumb halfway in her mouth, her braids had come out in the night and were spread all over the pillow. I shoved her and jumped out of bed, wiping at the seat of my paper thin nightgown. I wrinkled my nose and threw my pillow at Liliana.

"I thought you grew out of that! Come on, you're ten! That's disgusting." She rolled over and glared at me from under her lashes. Sitting up, she pulled a finger to her lips.

"Shh! People are trying to sleep! Sorry if I can't control my bodily functions." She whisper-yelled as she ripped the blanket off her. I threw my hands in the air and looked around the room.

"Actually, it's about time that people start waking up. Yes! Wakey wakey! Wake up unless you want the Matron to!" Matron had a rough way to go about waking someone up. That usually meant throwing us out of the bed, or ripping the covers off.

A chorus of groans rang out through the room. Several girls rolled over in their beds. My best friend, Marley, glanced at me before pulling the covers back over her head. I tip toed over to her bed and yanked her braid. Her head shot back and she pulled her braid away from me. She gasped and sat up, glaring at me. Getting a lot of those today.

"Anne Margaret! I'm yelling for the Matron!" even though she pouted, I could see the beginnings of smile form. She got up, swinging her legs out of the white sheets. She pretended to walk out the door. But I ran after her. I grabbed her arms and she almost collapsed from laughing. I held her arms tight as I broke out in giggles. Marley's eyes widened the way they do when she's about to do something stupid.

"Oh, I'm disappointed in you girls. You shouldn't be so loud. Good, respectable people don't want loud and arrogant children. Shame shame shame." Marley snorted the last bit as she wagged her finger in front of me, hand on her hip as she imitated the Matron. Grace-less, ugly laughs escaped me, making Marley laugh harder. We fell on the floor in a heap of snickers. Imagining Marley in the Matron's big white habit made me laugh harder. Marley was laughing so hard she was wheezing. A hand with a single silver band around a slim finger clamped down on her shoulder. Our laughter stopped immediately. Marley looked up with her mouth open, mid-laugh. A strand of hair that had come out of her braid was caught in her eyelash. I was biting my lip when my eyes met the face of the Matron. Her pinched face was not a pretty thing. If I told that to her, she would say something like 'beauty is not a virtue. God did not give you beauty for a reason. He gave you other things to be thankful for.'. Matron and the Sisters were always like that. What if I wanted beauty? Matron, who was still grabbing Marley's shoulder, pulled us up from the ground and turned us to face the rest of the girls, who were now sitting up in their beds, staring at us. One of the Sisters had hurried over to help Liliana take off her sheets. Matron's other hand came down on my head.