Sister Floriana

The Rollerskates

The one thing Diana loved about the Cristo el Rey Monastery above all else was the library. A quiet place, away from the blazing heat of the sun, and the loud din of the novices' common room. She was technically allowed to use the nuns' common room, but she loved the smell of books. Their presence was comforting. 

Emmie sat across from her at the table, engrossed in her own book. All was right with the world. 

Until they heard a crash coming from outside.

The two of them looked up, peering out the small window to the courtyard. They could see the novices darting past and around it, pinwheeling their arms and seeming to wobble back and forth. What on Earth were they doing? 

"Did they put up a balance beam?" said Diana.

"Maybe we should go check on them," said Emmie. 

Diana sighed, bookmarking her place and heading outside. 

The Sisters did not in fact have a balance beam. What they had was far worse. Somehow they'd all gotten ahold of roller skates and some kind of board with wheels on it. Riding past Diana on one was Pablo who looked up at her, quacked, and then pushed himself away with one webbed foot.

"What on Earth?" Diana demanded.

The Sisters had varying degrees of success with the boards and roller skates. Sister Isabel was a natural, spinning around and riding backwards over the courtyard, while Pacifica hadn't yet gotten onto her feet yet. Eulalia and Floriana were standing, and holding each others' hands for dear life. 

Carmen had the worst luck out of all of them. She could not go three inches without crouching down on her hands like Pacifica was doing. She fell on her behind over and over again, wincing each time. Diana felt rather sorry for her.

"Hey!" said Sister Benita, coming up to join them. She'd just come to return her books to the library. "No way! Where'd you get the roller skates?"

"They were a gift from my uncle!" said Isabel, doing another mid-air twirl. "He really is too much. My parents said that they mentioned in passing that I used to roller skate as a little girl, and he just up and sends us a dozen pairs!"

"Who's your uncle?" Benita chuckled. "Henry Ford?" 

"He owns munitions factories," Isabel explained. "He employed nearly the entire town when my parents and I lived there."

"Do you want a turn?" said Marisol, offering her the wheeled board in her hands. "I've been trying to ride this for an hour and it's not working. I'm thinking I'll try the roller skates!"

Benita smiled, but she shook her head.

"I'd fall on my rump more times than poor Sister Carmen," she said. "And I need to return these books."

Diana was still just watching everything with her disgust apparent on her face. 

Beside her, Emmie actually looked kind of excited.

"Do you think I could have a turn?" she asked them.

"Hold on-" said Floriana, letting go of Eulalia's hand. The girls drifted apart, but they stayed on their feet. Eulalia even accelerated! 

"Sure you can!" said Isabel, pointing to the pile over by the tree growing out of the cobblestone. 

"Can we take this horsing around out of the courtyard when I'm trying to read?!?" Diana demanded. 

Emmie had been about to leave but stopped short.

"Oh hey Diana!" said Floriana, just noticing her. "Why don't you get a pair?"

"I don't know the first thing about roller-skating! And clearly neither do you."

Flori grinned. 

"Come on! It's easy!"

Eulalia cried out, wobbling and spinning her arms around before she fell into the bushes, her wheels spinning in the air. She sighed, resting her head on one elbow.

"Could've sworn I had it!" 

Diana raised an eyebrow.

"Easy."

"Yeah!" said Floriana, undeterred. "I'll teach you!"

"You'll teach me?" said Diana. 

"Of course!"

Diana remembered what happened the last time Floriana had tried to teach her something. The result of it was still hanging in the hallway. And Floriana was a good artist- here she was struggling for every inch.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! It's the simplest thing in the waaahh!"

Floriana crashed head first into the bushes, right next to Eulalia, her feet kicking in the air. Diana closed her eyes, massaging her brow in frustration. 

"Do you wanna learn?" said Floriana.

"Really? Still?" 

"Yeah!" 

Floriana's head popped out of the bushes, a massive grin on her face, showing off the leaf debris stuck in her teeth.

"Perhaps you could show me lessons," said Carmen, sitting down against a stone pillar. "You're still doing better than I am."

"I can help you out," said a new voice.

Carmen looked up in surprise to see Angelo standing there. Today was supposed to be his last day working here along with his rambunctious brothers, but Father Alvadeo and the nuns had taken a liking to him. They gave him bread and tea, and he would even discuss theology with them sometimes. The novices liked having him around.

Angelo had picked up a pair of skates from the pile and was pulling them on his feet, as he sat next to Carmen. 

"I can teach you how to balance," he said.

"Why thank you! Can you do a demonstration?"

"Nope," he said as he stood up. He held out a hand to Carmen, smirking. 

"You're going to learn by doing!"

Carmen gasped. "You're just going to let me fall and make fun of me!"

"So what if I am?"

"It wouldn't be very gentlemanly of you."

"No. It wouldn't."

Angelo just kept making eye contact with her, waiting for her to take his hand. Eventually, she reached out and did so. 

Meanwhile, Floriana and Eulalia were trying to extricate each other from the bushes. Pacifica actually managed to get on her feet.

"I'm doing it!" 

At that moment, Floriana tugged on Eulalia's arms so hard that they drifted straight into Pacifica's path.

"Wait how do I turn this thi-"

crash.

The girls fell down into a shrieking and laughing heap. Emmie laughed too.

"I have to get me one of those!" 

She ran over and started pulling on her own skates, while Diana threw her hands up at the whole situation. Carmen went off with Angelo, slowly learning how to keep her balance in his steady grip, while Floriana and the other two picked themselves up off the ground. Isabel was whizzing around the courtyard like a comet. 

Pablo rolled past again on his skateboard, busily pushing himself along with his webbed foot. He looked up at her and quacked again as he passed by.

"I can't get a moment of peace," said Diana, defeated. She turned to go back inside the library, but before she did something occurred to her. She went over to the pile and pulled her own pair of skates out. She carried them to her room first, until she could find some alone time to practice on her own. 

Then she could join in with Floriana and the rest.