Days passed and an uneasy calm settled in at the school. Though Rachel questioned Ludo about the bruise for a few days, Ludo told her nothing. I, like everyone else, had a good idea where it came from, but we didn’t tell Rachel either.

I wanted to hope that Rachel might be able to set things right, all things. She seemed so powerful, as if there was nothing that she couldn’t do. But I also knew that if she failed, it would be the end of her.

It was okay before, before when we were just throw-away girls. We were used to accepting things, but I wasn’t sure if I could cope now. Rachel had shown us another way; if she left, I wasn’t sure I’d manage St Paul’s. We didn’t discuss it – the rest of us – but I think we all pretty much thought the same thing. And so we kept quiet.

Besides, we were all too busy wondering where Sister Agnes had gone off to. After the confrontation in the dining hall, we were told during studies that Sister Agnes had gone to a school heads’ workshop. Two weeks passed and still she had not returned. We all wondered now if it might have been a lie, that maybe Rachel had chased Sister Agnes away. A tenuous happiness threatened to take hold.

Sister Agnes’ absence let the whole school exhale its long held-in, stale breath. The sun became warmer, the classes more interesting, and the other teachers more relaxed and friendly. Everyone hoped it was a permanent situation. But our hopes were not to be.

I knew she had returned that night, even before she opened our hostel’s door. I knew that click-click of her boots. It was late, close to midnight, and I suspected everyone else was asleep. I woke as soon as my ears heard the first click. Even though I wished for something else, I knew Sister Agnes was coming for Rachel.

As soon as they left, I climbed down from my bunk and over into Rebina’s bed. I shook her, thinking she was sleeping, but she wasn’t.

“She’s taken Rachel.”

“I know,” Rebina said.

“What do you think is going to happen?” I asked. I wanted her to say that Rachel would fight back, though I knew it was impossible. I wanted her to say that somehow Rachel would win and we would all be saved, finally. Maybe if she said it, it might come true.

Rebina turned away from me. “Go back to bed, Tebby. Get some sleep. It will soon be time to get up.”

I climbed into my bed but I didn’t sleep. I waited. When the sky turned that hopeful shade of black, just before the sun rays turned it to grey, I slipped out of my bed and sat on the floor next to Rachel’s bed. I wanted to be there when she arrived. Maybe I’d be able to help her if she needed me.

Rachel opened the door to the hostel. I could tell she’d been beaten though the light was too little to see how much. The more beaten she was, the more I knew that she had fought them. Maybe she had won, I hoped.

She sat down on her bed. I waited for a few seconds to pass before I whispered, “Rachel?”

“What are you doing there, Tebby?”

“Are you okay?” I asked, as I climbed up on the bed next to her. “Did they hurt you?”

Rachel turned to me. I was close enough to see that her eye was swollen shut. There was a nasty cut near her mouth, but I was sure that the wounds I couldn’t see were far worse. “What do you mean did they hurt me? Did you know about this?”

I was scared. She was angry. “Yes … we all know. They take all of us.” I stopped when I saw the look on her face.

She pushed me away in disgust. “Go to bed Tebby.”

She lay down and covered her head with her blankets. There was no more talking.

***

Tell us: There is a long history of abuse hidden in some religious schools, depending on who is in charge at the time. Why is it so difficult to uncover?