Chapter Eight, Part Two

           The next morning dawned far too early for Liz, who was woken up by Jackie shaking her frantically.  “What?” Liz whined, pulling the sleeping bag up to her chin.  Jackie merely flipped on the light, resulting in Liz’s agitated groan and her putting a pillow over her head.

            “Come on, we’re having a prayer session in the hallway,” Jackie said, while grabbing Liz’s arm and pulling her sister to her feet.

            “What time is it?” asked Liz.  She rubbed her eyes and, a moment later, felt a piece of fabric hit her face.  It was her church scarf and Jackie had just thrown it at her.

            Jackie picked up a hair elastic from the desk and forcibly pulled Liz’s hair back into a ponytail.  “Put on your scarf, for crying out loud!”

            “What time is it?” Liz repeated.

            “Five.  Jennifer is already outside.”

            “In the morning?!” Liz’s eyes went wide and she looked out the window.  Sure enough, the sun had not even come over the horizon yet.

Chapter Eight, Part One

           The scenery of the Ohio country passed by the car window.  Liz had her forehead pressed up against the window, allowing her breath to fog the glass.  Her mother, who was driving, kept throwing concerned glances at her daughter, although the two hadn’t spoken since they had left the house.  Liz twirled the edges of her Rose scarf in her hand—it was sitting in her lap.

            Only a week ago, as Jackie had been talking to Liz on the phone in one of their regular conversations, this whole trip had gotten planned.

            “Your spring break is next week, isn’t it?” Jackie had asked.

            “Yeah, it is,” Liz had answered, curious as to why her sister was bringing this fact up now.

            “You should come up and visit me at Drighton!” Jackie had exclaimed. “It’ll be the perfect opportunity for you to see the campus and get to know the colony up here and some of the other Roses that you’ll get to hang out with next year when you’re here.”

            “I haven’t been accepted yet.”