Chapter Text
Penny sat on the bus, smoothing out her skirt over and over and over again. The bus would hit a bump and she’d smooth it out. The bus would take a turn just a little too fast and she’d smooth it back out. She would normally play with her hair, but one of the girls at her foster home had braided it very tightly for her. Since she couldn’t play with her hair, her skirt would do. She barely noticed the conversations happening around her.
“Bro, I can’t believe we have to wear our stupid uniforms to the fair. We’re gonna be there all day!”
“Hey, at least they’re letting us skip classes today. Remember last year? The fall senior trip was going to the mega-mall. In uniform. On a Saturday. They complained about it for the rest of the year.”
“Yeah, but they complained so much they got to go to Toronto for the spring trip. Maybe if we complain, we’ll get to go somewhere even cooler.”
“Yeah, man!”
The other boy laughed and Penny startled when she heard their hands clap together. She let out a small huff and looked out the window. Endless amounts of evergreen trees passed by, just a little too quickly. If she looked too long, she almost felt dizzy. The bus hit another bump and she went back to smoothing out her skirt.
Penny liked the school uniform. She had never worn one before. Growing up on a commune meant that well…she could wear whatever she wanted, but she appreciated that she didn’t have to choose what she wore. The uniform also went well with the blouses she had - the ones that matched her dollie, who was nestled in the bottom of her small backpack, surrounded by soft handkerchiefs.
When the social worker told her that she would be starting school today, she wasn’t sure how to feel. The social worker told her it was fine to feel nervous or scared, but Penny didn’t really feel any of those things. When Penny didn’t respond, the social worker hummed and wrote something down. Penny knew that meant something bad, but the social worker told her that she could take her dollie. It couldn’t be that bad, right?
When Penny got to St. Cassian’s that morning, she was lead into the school gym - where the Sister who served as the principal lectured the other seniors about how they needed to behave. Penny didn’t really listen and instead looked around at the sea of unfamiliar faces. Some of them met her gaze and quickly looked away, startled. It didn’t faze her at all.
Penny was startled out of her thoughts by a hand resting on her shoulder. To her surprise, the bus had stopped and she hadn’t noticed anyone get off. She looked up and her eyes met the weary face and smile of an older gentleman.
“You must be Penny,” he said, warmly. “I’m Father Marcus.”
Penny nodded and watched his face fall slightly when she didn’t say anything. The social worker told her she needed to start responding but she just didn’t know what to say.
“I have a favor to ask of you,” he continued. “My chamber choir is performing in a competition today and we need at least 6 students to participate. I only have 5. All you need to do is stand to the side and smile. Would you be interested?”
Penny took a moment to process this information. Knowing she needed to respond, all she said was,
“I like singing.”