"Here we have goats," Natani said. "And we make cheese with the milk."
"Goats? I thought those were pigs," I said.
"Pigs. too."
He smiled wider and we could see he was missing some teeth. He spread us out and showed each of us how we should use the shovels and how to turn the earth. We started to do it. and Teal
immediately cried about her hands.
"This is hard. I'll get blisters!"
Robin and I worked quietly, glancing every once in a while at Mindy and Gia, who stopped working and left the garden.
"Where are they going?" Robin asked jealously. "I didn't hear any bells ringing."
We worked on. Teal moaning the loudest, but soon all three of us were muttering to ourselves. I didn't think it was possible to get this tired and sore. Every once in a while. Natani would take the shovel from one of us and again demonstrate how to use it efficiently. He seemed to have magical hands, making it all look so easy.
At one point he knelt by Robin and picked up a rock. It glistened.
"She has waited a long time to see the sun again," he said. Robin looked at me and shook her head.
"She?"
Teal groaned and cried. "I'm going crazy. How is this a school? I nearly froze to death out there last night."
"What choice do we have at the moment?" Robin asked dryly. "It doesn't look like there's a bus station nearby."
"I don't care. The whole thing, this idea of this being a school, all of it is someone's idea of a sick joke. My parents probably arranged for all this just to scare me to death. Well, I'm not ashamed to admit they have. I just want to go home."
"Big deal what you want, what any of us want." Robin said.
Teal looked at her with a mixture of disgust and anger. You might be willing to hang around and take all this crap. but I'm not."
"Yeah?" Robin rested on her shovel, "And what are you going to do, call your daddy?"
"I might just do that and wave good-bye to you when they take me home."
Robin laughed.
Teal looked like she would go at her, but for the fact that M'Lady Two appeared and announced we could go to breakfast. My mouth was so dry from the heat and the dust. I couldn't swallow. We laid our shovels down, and like truly obedient puppy dogs, we followed her back to the main house. Outside the door, we were told to take off our clodhopper shoes and wash our hands in the spring water corning out of a pipe in an outside wall. We were also permitted to take a drink. Water had never tasted as good or as refreshing,
Suddenly. Dr. Foreman appeared in the doorway. She looked as elegant and composed as she had the first time we had met her. One thing was far sure-- she never did any chores on this farm. I thought, not with those fingernails.
"Good morning, girls," she said. "I understand you've had a good beginning. There will be merit points waiting for you at the day's end if you continue to behave and follow our rules."
Robin raised her hand and Dr. Foreman nodded at her. "Will they get us mattresses, pillows, and blankets?"
"They could, Let's wait and see, but you're thinking on the right track. Robin. That's good. That's reality. Now come in, take from the food table, and sit at the dining room table. One of Natani's nephews is our cook and he's very good."
We walked into the entryway and looked to our right where a table of fruits, juices, breads, cereals, and hardboiled eggs were displayed. At the long dining-room table. Mindy and Gia ate quietly, neither looking up at us nor at each other for that matter.
M'Lady Two came up behind us. "Remember, when you meet each other, when you meet one of us, you say. 'Excuse me. I'm sorry,'" she instructed. "We'll be listening for it."
We were herded to the food table,
"Do not make a pig of yourself or you will sleep with the pigs," M'Lady Two warned.
All of us timidly filled our plates and poured ourselves some juice. Then we approached the table and Mindy and Gia looked up.