She didn’t smile or offer to introduce herself. Looking at her more closely now, I didn’t think she was unattractive, but I did think she was almost sickly thin. She had her lips folded inward, her gray-black eyes wide like someone very frightened. Her dark brown hair fell straight to the base of her neck. It looked dull, lifeless. Her shoulder bones were prominently outlined beneath her thin blouse.
Marcy was the first to blow up the pregnant silence with a big “This is your roommate, Kaylee Fitzgerald.”
“Say hello, Claudia,” her father ordered.
“Hello,” she said, and immediately raised her eyes toward the ceiling.
My father was right behind me, still holding my suitcases in his hand, but he dropped them both quickly and offered his hand to Claudia’s father.
“Mason Fitzgerald,” he said.
“Bob Lukas.”
Again, there was an uncomfortable silence.
“Facilities,” Marcy sang, and Terri stepped forward.
“Before you two unpack and get settled, I’ll show you our bathrooms, showers, study, and recreational area, and the extra storage room, should you need it. Mr. Fitzgerald, Mr. Lukas, Mrs. Rosewell is waiting in the recreational room with some coffee and cakes. Marcy will take you to her.”
“Daddies, this way, please,” Marcy said.
My father looked at me. I gave him a quick nod.
“So where are you from?” he asked Mr. Lukas as they followed Marcy out.
I looked at Claudia. She didn’t smile as much as she relaxed her face. She folded her arms, lowered her head, and followed me as I followed Terri out. Terri obviously had a memorized tour, describing how to use the bathrooms an
d showers, with that added “Always be considerate” tag to everything she said. We followed in single file, because Claudia seemed to want it that way. I had yet to say another word to her. We met two other girls in the bathrooms and then were shown the extra storage space before being brought to the study hall, which was furnished with half a dozen desks, one large one with eight chairs, and two brown leather settees. The floors were a dark wood, and there were four windows with views of the grounds.
A doorway led us into the recreational area, now populated with half a dozen parents besides Claudia’s and mine. Terri brought us quickly to Mrs. Rosewell.
I immediately understood why Marcy had referred to her as a platypus. She had a narrow face but with protruding lips that looked like some plastic surgeon had tried to drown them in Botox. She was short, maybe only five foot one, with wide hips and a heavy bosom. Her grayish-brown hair was too short for her face, barely reaching her earlobes, but she had a very warm smile, motherly, and hazel eyes that should have helped any nervous newlywed to relax a little. She hugged us like a grandmother, her large breasts forcing both of us to stand straighter. Claudia looked terrified at being so warmly embraced and kept her arms stiff, her fingers extended.
“Now, girls, we’ll have our little chat about the house rules after you’re settled in and after you and your parents visit with Mrs. Mitchell,” she explained. “If you like, have some cake and milk. We don’t encourage our girls to ingest caffeine and urge them to avoid soda. Too much sugar,” she told the parents standing nearby. I saw my father smiling at me, holding back a laugh. That, more than anything, helped me unwind a bit more.
“You want some cake or a cookie?” I asked Claudia.
“No,” she said, grimacing. “She just said soda has too much sugar. Why do they have cake and cookies?”
“She didn’t say no sugar,” I said, shrugged, and walked over to the refreshment table, where I met two other new girls, Jessie Paul and Estelle Marcus, who were rooming together. I looked back at Claudia. She was standing alone, just a few feet behind her father, my father, and two other men with their wives.
I guess I shouldn’t worry about my roommate asking too many questions, I told myself. She looked more terrified of meeting other girls than I did. In fact, seeing and meeting her practically convinced me completely that I was back to being as normal as I ever was.
“Your father hanging around to take you to dinner?” I heard Marcy ask, and turned to see her right behind me.
“No. He hasn’t said so, I mean. I don’t think so.”
She laughed. “Don’t make it a world crisis. You want help unpacking? I’m not especially good at it, but I am nosy.”
“What?”
“C’mon. You don’t have to hang out here. You have a half hour or so before you meet Mrs. Thatcher and get your panties inspected,” she said, seizing my hand.
I started to resist and then gave up and followed her out, looking back at my father, who saw me and winked. Claudia was still standing like someone who belonged with Haylee.
Maybe I attract them, I thought, and surprised myself by laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Marcy asked as we continued down the hallway.