SORT OF SILENT SISTERS’ SHENANIGANS
A wave of water hit Christine in the face. “Hey! Watch it!” She couldn’t help but smile at the boys’ antics. Over a dozen had jumped into the lake at once, drenching anyone silly enough to stand at the edge. There wasn’t a shore, really. It was a straight drop from the rocks down to the soft bottom. Beautifully crystal-clear water ripped from each boy’s splash.
Sounds of dragging ice chests drew her attention away. Even more teenagers hauled countless bags and other items towards a covered picnic area. One boy started the grill causing flames to shoot sky high. Another placed a portable stereo on a table and began to blast music.
Christine’s boyfriend, Jeremey, sauntered over placing a red plastic cup in her hand that was clearly not just juice. He gave her a light peck on the cheek. “This is gonna be awesome! Do you know who found this place?”
She scrunched up her face. “I don’t know but it looks like the whole senior class is here.” Her gaze swiveled to a dirt path that rose to the top of a rather large hill. An immense stone building sat on the top. It reminded her of an old castle. “Are we gonna get in trouble for being here? Who lives up in that place?”
Jeremey shrugged. “It’s a convent of some kind. How can we get in trouble for being here. What will they do? Yell at us? Call the cops? The sign over there says they don’t talk.”
“Something like a vow of silence?” Christine finally pulled her eyes away from the spooky building.
“That’s what the sign says. Come on! Let’s go swimming.” He tugged on her hand, leading her to the water. She laughed along with him and got in.
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Up in the convent, three nuns glared out of a top window. Sister Dodie, Sister Sherry, and Sister Joanna couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Disrespectful children! Dodie slapped Joanna’s arm and pointed angrily towards the unwanted gathering. It was supposed to be the nun’s private recreational area. Joanna nodded but Sherry shrugged. A smile spread across Dodie’s face just as The Mother walked up.
The Mother tapped Dodie on the shoulder, causing all three to turn. She raised a single eyebrow that quickly removed Dodie’s smile. A small shake of The Mother’s head told them they were not to interfere with what was going on below. The Mother tapped the top of her wrist where a watch would normally go and then pointed to the sun high in the sky. Clearly, she thought the hoodlums would disperse in time.
All the Sisters nodded but Dodie frowned. She didn’t dare look to the other two while being chastised by The Mother. As soon as their superior turned and left, Dodie grabbed the other two by their brown tunics and hurried away.
She pulled them along the cold dark corridors until they made it to Dodie’s private chamber. Once inside, she took out three notepads with pens and handed them out. On hers, she wrote, “we have to do something.”
Sherry answered with, “but Mother told us to leave it alone.”
Dodie smiled. “But did she really?”
Joanna nodded in agreement to Dodie’s written statement and wrote, “She could’ve been telling us to wait.”
Dodie pointed at Joanna with a tilted nod. She knew Joanna would think along the same lines as her. They just needed to get Sherry on board. That never seemed to be a problem, though.
Just as Dodie predicted, Sherry finally nodded her agreement with a sigh. They began hastily writing out their plan. It was going to be a hoot.
Once the plan was agreed upon, they took off in separate directions after leaving the room. Each one had to grab whatever they thought would be perfect for their idea and then meet outside at the top of the pathway once the sun went down. Hopefully, The Mother wouldn’t suspect a thing.
By the time they all met outside, The Mother hadn’t been seen. So far, so good. There was no telling what their punishment would be if they got caught.
All three had found some form of brown or grey fur covering. They draped them over their bodies and took off down the hill making sure to stay in the trees. It would ruin everything if they were seen too soon.
As they went, they rustled the bushes and trees. Each time, they would stop and look at the party goers. No one seemed to notice the noise they were making. When the Sisters were almost to the end of the trees, making as much noise as possible with no results, they stopped. Frustration etched all of their faces.
Dodie raised both hands up in the air and thrust them at the teenagers. Joanna shook her head. What were they going to do. When they both looked to Sherry, their mouths dropped. She was grinning from ear to ear holding up a small blow horn looking device. One word was written in bold across the label, “Bear.” Their dropped jaws turned into O’s.
Sherry depressed the button causing a very loud roar sound to come from the device. It was so loud, the other two had to cover their ears. Instantly, the music stopped and not a single teen spoke. The nuns began shaking the trees again and Sherry pressed the button one more time. While shaking the trees, Joanna and Dodie made sure to be noticed between the shrubs in glimpses.
Finally, someone pointed and screamed in their direction. “MONSTERS!”
Instant chaos ensued. Just like you would see in movies, boys abandoned girls running away with high pitched screams while the girls chased after them. Many were still in the water and frantically trying to get out. It was as if the panic caused them to forget how to swim.
For good measure, Sherry pressed the button one more time. This really put the pep in the teens’ steps. Within seconds, they were all gone, leaving everything they had brought behind. The area was covered with trash, clothing and food.
Dodie, Sherry, and Joanna doubled over in silent laughter. They were finding it difficult to breathe. Each one covered their mouths hoping to not make a sound.
A twig snapped behind them. Joanna almost lost her vow of silence by nearly screaming. They turned and faced an angry Mother. Her arms were crossed in front with one foot silently tapping the soft ground. She pointed to each one of them individually before throwing an arm out towards the littered lake area. Her other hand brought out a box of garbage bags from who knew where.
Not one of them stopped smiling but they accepted the offered box. As they turned to clean up, Dodie caught a slight smile from The Mother. That made it all worth the risk. The three continued the rest of the way down with tears of mirth running down their cheeks.
