Lessons in Sin

by Pam Godwin

I turned my attention to the girl, her posture stick-straight and head angled away from the door. I didn’t need to see her eyes to know they were blinking back tears. Sadness, anxiety, fear. In about three seconds, she was going to channel all that into anger and direct it at me. Three. Her breathing quickened. Two. She clenched her hands. One. “Send me home.” She twisted to face me, her words rushing out. “I don’t belong here. I’ll never believe in your outdated religion or follow your stupid rules. You’ll regret every second that I’m here. So tell her you changed your mind. Go before she leaves. Tell her I’m not a good fit for your school, and you don’t want me here.” “No.” “Maybe I didn’t make myself clear.” She gnashed her teeth. “I’m going to fuck up every plan you have for me. Swear to God, my fuckups will be epic.” “That’s okay. Your punishments will be just as epic as your fuckups.” “You…” Her chin jerked back. “Priests don’t curse.” “How do you know? Have you ever met one?” “No, but this can’t be… It’s not normal.” She shrunk back a little, her palms sliding over her thighs. Then she straightened, her gaze fixed across the room. “You, the bat, the bars on the windows… None of this feels right.” It was time to educate her on a few things. I sat on the edge of the desk beside her, resting an elbow on my thigh. “We’ve had a number of peregrine falcons venturing down from the mountains. They nest on the church and along the window ledges. It wasn’t a problem until the...