DISMISSAL?

Chapter Two

"Hi, Faith."

Faith was jolted from her homework.

Upon glancing upward, she immediately fell victim once again to the compelling drag to Chad's baby blue eyes. Faith went speechless. His smile, his body, just him…he was so perfect. She smiled back. "Hi, Chad. Wh-what're you doing here?" she stammered, clearing her throat.

He neared, his eyes locked onto hers. "I came here to see you…I knew you would be here. You're always here after school," he said softly.

Faith's grin turned giddy, and she giggled. "I am? How did you know that?"

"Because I've been trying to get up to gumshion to ask you out…But I just couldn't. Faith…" He took her hand in his, brushing aside her Algebra homework. "Will you go out with me?"

"Yes," she impulsively shouted.

Chad brushed his hand down the length of her long brown hair. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to say that…" His grin turned slightly mischievous, and Faith arched her neck, allowing him to lean in for a kiss.

Suddenly, someone dropped a kneeler, bursting Faith from her slumber. Wait, where was he? Was it real? Faith looked around, confused and bewildered. No…she sighed, her brow furrowing. She was in chapel at the welcoming mass.

Christ, why didn't she know it was a dream? Chad was an untouchable, and all the dreams in the world would never bring him closer to her. Disappointed and feeling tricked, she looked around, wondering if anyone had noticed her catnap during church.

A nun on the other side of the church cast her a dirty look. Embarrassed, Faith studied the priest, trying in vain to avoid the sister's stare. Her guilty conscience took its toll. She was in church, why wasn't she paying attention to the mass.

She sighed, focusing on focusing.

Sometimes being a Catholic wasn't as easy as it looked.

The roly-poly priest gave his biggest smile and stretched out his arms to the congregation. "The mass is ended, go forth to love and serve the Lord!" Wow, had she really slept through the entire mass?

"Thanks be to God!"

"Yeah, that's it's over," Ramona murmured just loud enough for the Faith to hear. Faith frowned, disapproving of her comment as she opened her hymnals to the closing song, "Glory and Praise to our God"… but not completely disagreeing.

They only sang one verse, long enough for the priest to make his procession down the aisle, and soon, the students began to talk amongst themselves.

"Alright, can we leave now?"

"God, the principal's going up to the podium."

"Great…you know that that means?"

"Three more hours, listening to the nun preach even more."

"Jesus Christ."

Hmm, appropriate catch phrase, though cliché, Faith couldn't help thinking, amused. She obediently took her seat along with the rest of the school.

"Welcome back to Our Lady of the Rosary Academy," Sister Lily, the principal spoke, smiling widely. "As an almost-tradition here, we've snagged five other priests and confession will be held for the next hour and a half."

Silence met her answer.

Sr. Lily smirked, looking overtop of her horn-rimmed glasses. "In other words, classes will be delayed until tomorrow morning."

The braver seniors and some juniors and Ramona hooted and hollered in their seats, contemporarily showing their appreciation.

Sr. Lily laughed good-naturedly as the nun who had sent Faith the nasty look took great means to quiet them down. "I thought that might get your attention." About an eighth of the students laughed politely. "But I must urge you to take advantage of this opportunity. It only comes but twice a year." A few more polite chuckles. "Other than that, news of the semi-formal is already reaching far and wide. So as of tomorrow, a committee will be voted for to put together the dance."

A few quieter hoots and more girlish giggles.

The nun smiled. "Until then…go catch your buses and seniors, drive safely."

With that, the pews emptied as quickly as milk from an upside-down carton. The seniors went to their cars; the juniors begged for rides, and the freshman and sophomores stayed around to either guiltily go to confession or guiltily pretend they just went recently and wait for their buses.

Faith stopped at one of the quickly filling lines for confession when she saw Ramona heading in the opposite direction. "Hey," she called to her. Ramona hadn't heard her. "Hey, Ramona!" The girl turned around, eyebrow raised.

Faith sent her one of her famous confused glances. "Aren't you going to confession?"

For a moment, Ramona looked like she was going to puke. She took a deep, cleansing breath and stood next to a statue of one of the saints outside of the chapel. "Faith…I'd rather shove this very pointy and rusty scepter, that St. Pat is holding, up my-"

"Ramona!"

She stopped. "You get the idea."

Faith was rendered speechless and with a wave, Ramona turned to leave.

Faith sighed and returned to the even longer line. She may as well get it over with...looking upward, Faith tried to remember what she'd actually done the past couple months. Missed church once..but that was because she was sick? Did it count? She'd screamed at her parents and brother...but they screamed first. She lied a few times about stupid things...nothing really major...

But within the mist of her conscience-searching, she saw Ramona heading back.

A grin broke onto her face. "I thought you would come back," Faith called playfully.

Ramona rolled her eyes. "No, just stopped by to remind you that you don't have time to go to confession," she said.

Faith blinked. "Why not?"

"Because you've got a doctor's appointment at three?"

Faith gasped. She remembered the look on her mother's face, her voice and tone echoing in her head. And don't you forget, your knees depend on this! Her mother was probably in the parkinglot right now, wondering where she was. She'd already forgotten last week when they'd made the doctor's appointment, and already she was doing it again, after swearing not to. Panicky, Faith broke into a run, rushing past the small groups waiting in lines for the priests. Her mother was going to kill her if she was late again. She looked up-

And came face to face with clergy.

Faith toppled over, or would have, if the young priest hadn't caught her and kept her at her feet. "Hey, whoa, what's your hurry, huh? Where's the fire?"

Confused, Faith scrambled to regain her composure. "I-I'm sorry," she apologized, quickly moving to go past him. "Thank you."

But he caught her arm.

"Have you been to confession yet?"

Faith arched an eyebrow. What was he talking about, why did he care? "No," she admitted, pausing before her lie and telling the truth. "But I really have to get out of here, I have a doctor's appointment. I-It's important."

The priest leaned in, whispering to her as he cautiously looked from side to side as so not to be heard. "Not as important as the news I have to tell you."....