The Chaperone

by M. Hendrix

Women aren’t allowed to carry firearms. It’s the job of men to protect us.

Ever since I became a woman, Dad hasn’t been allowed to touch me. It’s against the rules.

Chaperones have freedom and respect other women don’t, but they also give up their own lives to follow a higher calling. Teaching girls like me how to be respectable women is their sole purpose.

That’s why women in Old America could do things women can’t do here—choose their husbands, have careers, drive cars, own guns, play sports, open bank accounts, even dress however they wanted. But some women didn’t want to give those things up, so they left when New America was founded. I was just three years old then, so I don’t really remember, but I guess a lot of younger women left. That’s why they want us to have babies right away.

Dad asks over his shoulder as he lops a giant pat of butter on his pancakes. I can’t remember the last time I had butter or syrup. Pancakes, Mom insists, are a treat all by themselves.

how to keep from getting kidnapped or attacked. It’s where we first learned the DANGER method: Deflect attention. Abstain from sin. Navigate the world with care. Give obedience. Embrace purity. Respect your chaperone.

“You think you’ll be free if you go to those parties, but the truth is, you’re never really free. Other people can always stop you from doing what you want. All you can control is how you respond to what’s in front of you.”