Pearl in the Mist (Landry 2)

"This is your file," she continued. "Beneath it is your sister's. I have reviewed them both carefully. Besides your school records, the file contains some important personal information.

"I should tell you," she said, pausing to sit back, "that I had a long, informative talk about you with your stepmother."

"Oh," I said, dropping my voice a couple of octaves. She knitted her dark, thick brows together. Since she had referred to Daphne as my stepmother instead of my mother, it was clear that Daphne had told her about my life as a Cajun.

"She told me of your . . . unfortunate circumstances and expressed her frustration over her failure to bring about the sort of changes required for your adjustment from a rather backward life to a more civilized one."

"My life was never backward, and there is much about my life now that is uncivilized," I said firmly.

Her eyes became small, her lips a bit pale as she tightened them. "Well I can assure you that there is nothing about life at Greenwood that is uncivilized. We have a proud tradition of serving the best families in our society, and I intend to see that continue," she said quickly and sharply. "Most of our girls come from the proper sort of background and are already schooled in how to behave and carry themselves in polite society.

"Now then," she proceeded, putting her glasses on and opening my folder, "I see from your schoolwork that you are an excellent student. That bodes well for you. You have the raw material to develop. I also note that you are blessed with some talent. I look forward to your developing it here.

"However," she said, "none of this will be of any good if your social skills, your personal habits, are lacking."

"They're not," I said quickly. "No matter what you might think about the world in which I grew up and no matter what my stepmother might have told you."

She shook her head and then fired her words like bullets.

"What your stepmother told me," Mrs. Ironwood said, "remains locked within these walls. That is what I have brought you here to understand. It is up to you to keep them locked. Despite the circumstances of your birth and childhood, you now come from a distinguished

family, and you have an obligation to that family name. Whatever habits, practices, and behavior you engaged in prior to your life in New Orleans must not rear their ugly heads here at Greenwood.

"I have promised your stepmother to watch over you more closely than I watch over my other wards. I wanted you to be aware of that."

"That's not fair. I haven't done anything to deserve being treated differently," I complained.

"And I'm determined to keep it that way. When I promise something to a parent of one of my students, I make sure to keep that promise.

"Which brings me to your sister," she said, moving my folder off Gisielle's so she could open it. "Her schoolwork is disappointing, to say the least, as is some of her past behavior. I realize she has a serious handicap now, and I have made a few accommodations to make her life here comfortable and successful, but I wanted you to know that I hold you responsible for her success and her behavior."

"Why?"

She flicked her stony eyes over me.

"Because you have the full use of your limbs and because your father believes in you so strongly," she replied. "And because you are close to your sister and the most influential person when it comes to advising her."

"Gisselle doesn't take my advice or listen to me most of the time. She's her own person, and as far as her handicap goes, she takes advantage of it more often than not," I said. "She doesn't need

accommodations, she needs discipline."

"I think I'll be the one to decide those things," Mrs. Ironwood said. She paused and stared at me a moment, her head bobbing slightly. "I see what it is your stepmother means: You have a strain of independence, that Cajun stubbornness, a wildness that must be kept in tow.

"Well, this is the place where it will be kept in tow," she threatened, sitting forward.

"I want you to maintain your good school achievements; I want your sister to improve her schoolwork; I want you both to behave and to obey our rules to the letter. By the end of this year, I would like your mother to be impressed with the changes in your character." She paused, waiting for my response, but I kept my lips sealed for fear of what might burst out of them if I began.

"Your sister's behavior during the orientation assembly was abominable. I chose to ignore it only because we didn't have this little talk first. Next time she behaves poorly, I'll have both of you on the carpet, understand?"

"You mean I'm going to be punished for the things my sister does too?"

"You are your sister's keeper now, whether you like it or not."

Tears burned beneath my eyelids. A kind of paralyzing numbness gripped me as I thought how pleased Daphne must be to know what she had prepared for me here at Greenwood. It seemed she was determined to put obstacles in my life no matter where, no matter what. Even though I had agreed to come here and to get myself and Gisselle away from her like she wanted, she was still not satisfied. She wanted to be sure she made my life miserable.

"Do you have any questions?" Mrs. Ironwood asked.

"Yes," I said. "If I'm the one who came from a backward world, why am I the one held responsible?"