Page 14 of Wanted

The other girl with pigtails isn’t as fast.

Head tipped to the side, still listening to the applause, she’s standing out of place when Sister Agatha comes sweeping back in.

“Vanessa,” Sister Agatha says in surprise, before her eyes become murderous slits. “I told you to stay in line and repent for your sins!”

Marching up to the girl with pigtails, Sister Agatha’s arm lashes out lightning fast and she slaps the girl hard across the back of the head.

Vanessa cries out in pain and begins to sob loudly as Sister Agatha grabs her by the arm and yanks her toward the curtain.

“Stay in line or you’ll regret it!” Sister Agatha orders us over her shoulder before she drags the girl out into the cathedral.

I hear Sister Agatha say, “I hope you’re happy, Vanessa. Your appearance and behavior is going to bring shame to your parents!”

Then the world falls into silence again.

Staring hard at the curtain, I try to steel myself for the stomach cramps as everything that happened with the first girl, Sara, is repeated again.

I bite my cheek, filling my mouth with blood.

But the acidic pain hits so hard and fast, I can barely breathe through it.

Groaning in her own misery, the red-haired girl bends forward and throws up all over her shoes.

“Ew!” the blonde girl with curls yells and jumps back.

Sending the entire line stumbling into each other.

When the girl in front of me, Trinity, steps on my toes, I’m grateful for the distraction. My throat burning with bile, the smell of the red-haired girl’s puke is making me even more sick.

But just like the first time, the pain gripping my belly suddenly disappears as if it never existed.

“Oh no…” the red-haired girl moans and tries to move back, away from the puddle she left on the floor.

But the girl with blonde curls shoves her forward.

The red-haired girl slips through the puddle. She flails and flaps her arms, desperately trying to stay upright, but ultimately falls, her butt landing in the middle of it.

Many of the other girls in line giggle as if the entire thing is hilarious.

Pulling the curtain back, Sister Agatha peers down at the girl on the floor. All the color drains from her face as she says with a touch of horror, “What on earth, Renee…”

Her face flushed with embarrassment, the red-haired girl looks up at Sister Agatha and sobs. “I got sick.”

Sister Agatha sniffs the air then makes a disgusted face. “I can see that.”

A part of me is afraid she is going to punish poor Renee for what happened. But when Renee begins to cry harder, Sister Agatha sighs loudly and motions for her to stand. “Come. I’ll take you to your parents so they can see to you.”

It takes Renee a couple of tries to get up and back on her feet. When she finally approaches Sister Agatha, the nun is quick to side-step her, as if she’s afraid the girl might touch her, and motions for her to go ahead.

The two disappear and the other girls giggle louder, no longer holding them back.

“That was mean, Charity!” Michelle says.

The blonde girl with curls grins. “She deserved it. She shouldn’t have been so close to me!”

The girls giggle all the harder.

Then Sister Agatha’s face suddenly reappears, pushing through the curtain. “Charity, you’re next!”

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