Catholic School in New England17

The assembly passed slowly, the prayers, the anthem, the announcements. I was not called out, but I hardly felt relieved. After all, I knew that she would be coming for me some time during the day. And the day was agony, every moment lengthened by the dread I was experiencing. At lunch Maureen told me that I was pale as a ghost, and she asked me what was wrong. I told her that Mother Frances was going to paddle me, and Maureen said, “Don’t be silly. She doesn’t paddle girls. You’ll probably get two weeks of detention.” I wanted to believe that Maureen was right. After all, I hadn’t seen what the note said. Maybe my mother had changed her mind and decided that a detention would be sufficient punishment.