She turned back with a faint smile and noticed that the women were still intently observing her. Why were they acting so weird? Was this a kind of territory and she was intruding? Perhaps, they had already resulted to not liking her without even giving her a chance to get to know her. She wondered.
"How old are you?" Yin suddenly blurted out.
Sarah frowned in confusion. What has her age got to do with anything? Were they trying to size her up? "Twenty-five, why?" She reluctantly answered.
The women exchanged glances and Anita who seemed to be in charge, muttered. "Valuable."
"I'm twenty-one." Yin stated.
"Twenty-seven!" Said Florence.
"Will be thirty-six, come July." Anita finally told her.
Sarah was beginning to feel seriously uncomfortable with these three weird women. What was with them and the age announcement and why did they keep exchanging glances that carried hidden meanings which obviously had become mutual knowledge of understanding amongst them.
She suddenly felt left out. Will they continue treating her like an object of observation and only telling her things they felt she should know but not things she did want to know? She wondered. Suddenly, the thought of going in search of Sister Gladys and asking for a change of room occurred to her. She didn't know how long she would have to share this room with these three but she was beginning to dread her long stay with them.
Besides Helen, not like she had ever slept in the same room with other women, or had to share rooms with strangers before, but this was just a convent couldn't call the shots here. In fact, she knew that certain rules governed the place and she had no choice but to comply with its rules and regulations.
She had come as a nobody and she was bent on hiding her true identity from everyone. She was tired of making false friends. She wanted genuine ones this time, not opportunists who would do anything to please her.
"Why did you choose to come here?" Florence's voice interrupted her thoughts. "...I mean...to the convent... You don't look like someone who needs help."
Sarah did a double take. "Excuse me?"
Yin spoke out instead. "We are all here for one reason or the other, what's your story?"
Sarah, now realizing that the women were actually speaking to her in hushed tones as if afraid of being overheard, finally replied, "I am only here only because I want to. I don't need help."
Anita scoffed now, lying on her side, her right elbow propped up on a pillow. "Yeah, right…It's okay if you don't wanna tell but I do hope you find what you came looking for here." Her utterance was sarcastic and Sarah knew this too.
"We'll be going to the dining hall soon for dinner, be careful not to offend anyone or stare too much for your own good." Florence warned returning to sit on her upper bunk. "If possible, keep your eyes down at all times."
"Offend anyone?" Sarah asked, now perplexed. "Is this some sort of boarding house or what? I thought this is supposed to be a convent where everyone lives peacefully with one another. Is there something I should know?" she glanced from one woman to the other.
"It doesn't work that way here, Sarah; not everything is what it really seems on the surface." Yin said. Sarah noticed she now had a small pink teddy bear in her arms and was slowly stroking its short fur. Weren't they just reading catholic books when she walked in here with Sister Gladys? Besides, were Nuns even supposed to have teddy bears? "Do not be deceived by what you see in here." She half-moaned dejectedly. "There is a whole different world in here."
Well, I know, this is what I signed up for. Sarah wanted to say. "I don't need to be told that twice. I have done enough research on how life in the convent is." Sarah answered sorely, now noticing that Anita was now holding open a romance novel, and from the condition of the book cover and the untidy pages which had some dog ears, it showed that the book had been read over and over again. Where the hell had she just pulled that out from? Okay, there was just a lot of mystery here she would have to unravel. She had been nothing but confused since she stepped into this room. what more surprises are there?
"Listen, Sarah." Florence began, "You might not like us or you might probably even find us a little weird..." That's an understatement, you guys are a lot weird, Sarah thought. "...but we are like a family here. We look out for one other, but unfortunately, that is the best we can do even though each of us can't decide what fate awaits us when our time here is up." Up? Wasn't this supposed to be a life-time commitment? Did the convent let nuns leave at a particular time? "…but just be rest assured that we will be open to you if we find you worthy enough to keep our secret, but for now, I'll say this much, it's a mistake you ever came here in the first place and it is a mistake you might live to regret soon."
That was it! Sarah was fed up. She peevishly glanced at each woman. She really was going to ask Sister Gladys for a change of room first thing tomorrow morning. She suspected that if she stayed one more day with this estranged lot, she would probably lose it! What sort of Nuns cuddled teddy bears, read romance novels and heaven knew what Florence also did in her leisure time?
"It was really nice meeting you all..." Sarah forced a smile. "...but I really should rest now, I have had a very long day and my legs are already aching from the tour I had today." She slowly took off her shoes and folded her legs on the bed, fluffed the pillow and laid down, turning her back to the three strange and annoying Nuns.
"That was Cheryl's bed." She heard Yin say.
Ignoring her, Sarah tried to force herself to sleep when Anita added just at that moment, disrupting her attempt to close her eyes.
"No matter what you hear at night, for your own good, do not go out. Just pretend you hear nothing."
Sarah stared into space, thinking about Anita's final warning. Something definitely didn't feel right. She felt she had entered a whole new world of mysteries; mysteries she dreaded to unravel. Who were Bridget and Cheryl and if they were Nuns, where were they? Where were the other three women whose names were on the wardrobe doors?
She slowly closed her eyes, trying to drift to sleep, pretending she was back in her room at home and not with these weirdos for roommates. Oh, she should have listened to her father! She should never have come here. But it was too late now. She was stuck here and there was no leaving.