2. 2
2
D onna bent her head and carried a large stack of dishes from dinner back to the kitchen area where several women worked on washing them, along with the ones used to serve with. With one load dropped off, she went back to get another. She had to keep her head down, her eyes open and prepare for when she had a chance to escape.
In the meantime, she had to blend, to not call attention to herself, so that was what she would do.
“Sister Donna?” a voice startled her, making her jump and nearly drop the stack of plates she was carrying.
“Yes, sir?” She turned toward the man who’d called her name.
“Brother William said to send you over to the school building when you’re done in here,” Brother Jacob said, his gaze skimming down her body and back up again while he waited for a response.
“I’ll head over there presently. Thank you for letting me know.” She only glanced at his face before dropping her gaze again. She’d learned the hard way not to seem too forward, and meeting men’s gazes was seen as forward or aggressive. Now, she didn’t meet anyone’s gaze, doing her best to let them believe they’d beaten all the resistance out of her.
But she wasn’t beaten. No, she was planning her escape.
When she finished in the kitchen, Donna reported to the school building where the kids were all done for the day but that didn’t mean the work was.
“You need to clean this place,” Brother William instructed her. “Top to bottom, it needs to be done in time for classes to start again tomorrow. You know the consequences if you fail to meet my expectations. Do I have your understanding?”
“Yes, sir.” Donna went to the closet where the cleaning products were kept, dug out what she needed to get started and went to work. Once William was gone, she got a good look around the place. It was a mess. It would take her a couple of hours to get it into good shape. But she would, because it was better than the beatings or worse that would happen if she failed.
And she would bide her time because she had to time her escape right. She had to behave long enough to lull them into thinking she was fully indoctrinated. She kept reminding herself she just had to wait. She was close, she knew it, but the time wasn’t right. Not yet. But it was coming.
Soon.