The Adventures of Fiona McCormack
A Story by Jenny O’Brien
Fiona, accompanied by Sister Teresa walked into the large, oak-panelled office. Seated behind the desk, in her usual place was the Mother Superior who was reading a document. Hearing the footsteps she looked up at Fiona. “McCormack’s here, Reverend Mother” said Sister Teresa, as if by way of an introduction. Fiona knew the form. She stood on a spot in front of the desk; everyone knew where to stand from the worn patch on the carpet, caused by hundreds of pairs of shuffling, guilty feet and studied the floor in her most contrite pose. “Ah yes, McCormack, Fiona isn’t it?” The Reverend Mother looked flustered and never normally called girls by their first names, certainly not in her office anyway. “Sister Teresa, can you get Fiona a chair please”. Sister Teresa looked round for a chair, without much luck. Generally, anyone visiting the office wasn’t expecting to sit down, so she popped outside and returned a few seconds later with a dining room chair, which she put down in front of the desk. Fiona sat down suspiciously. She really wasn’t very comfortable with the Reverend Mother being nice to her. Normally when she was here, she at least knew what to expect, but this time, it was all rather strange. Sister Teresa was just about to leave them when the Reverend Mother called her back. “Sister Teresa, I think that it would be better if you would stay”. It was more of an order than a suggestion so Sister Teresa, who knew no more than Fiona about what was happening, returned to the centre of the room and stood next to where Fiona was sitting.
Sister Teresa noticed immediately that she was standing directly on the worn spot on the carpet. It gave her a somewhat strange feeling as, in her former life as a Saint Mary’s schoolgirl, she had many times stood on the same spot, either to be lectured on her behaviour, or as a prelude to one of the many spankings she had received at the hands of the woman on the other side of the desk. Instinctively, she put her hands behind her back, lowered her head and stared at the carpet. When it came to being a regular visitor to the Mother Superior’s office, there had been a time when Sister Teresa could have given Pippa a run for her money.
“Fiona”, the Reverend Mother started to speak. “Yes Reverend Mother”. “Fiona, I’m afraid that I’ve got some rather bad news for you”. Fiona knew it! She wasn’t going to be able to visit her father. That was what this was all about. “I can’t go to America, can I?” she blurted out. “Well no, I mean yes, I’m really not explaining myself very well”. The Reverend Mother was not finding this very easy. She took a deep breath and addressed the agitated little girl sitting opposite her. “There really isn’t an easy way of telling you this Fiona, I’m afraid that I’ve just had news that your father has been involved in a car accident”. Fiona’s mind was swimming. “Is he alright? When can I see him? Can we call him now?” Fiona looked up at the elderly face across the table and the look told her everything that she didn’t want to know. “Is he?” The Reverend Mother nodded sadly. Fiona burst into tears and fell into the arms of Sister Teresa who had knelt down beside her and for the next ten minutes, nothing was said. Fiona had sobbed her heart out when her mother had died, three years earlier, but this was different. From the moment she knew, she was aware that now she was totally alone. The enormity of the situation wasn’t lost on her, now she was an orphan, what would become of her?
When she had run out of tears and exhausted herself crying, Fiona calmed down a little. Sister Teresa dried her reddened eyes for her and straightened her dishevelled hair. “What happens to me now?” she asked fearfully. “Will I have to leave Saint Mary’s and go to an orphanage?” Fiona had read old books about orphanages and they didn’t sound very nice. “No, of course not dear” said the Reverend Mother softly, “We would love you to stay here for as long as you like”. “But what if there is no money to pay?” howled Fiona, who had read rather too many books about children in Victorian times. “I might have to go to a workhouse!” “We want you to stay here for as long as you want, whatever happens” the Reverend Mother sought to reassure her, “You will always have a home here at Saint Mary’s”. After sobbing a little more, Fiona quietened down. “Sister Teresa, why don’t you take Fiona to the sickroom, she will be better off there at the moment”. Fiona was glad to not have to go back to the dorm. She really didn’t feel like seeing anyone now. “Is it alright if I stay with Fiona today?” asked Sister Teresa. “That’s a very good idea Sister, I will arrange for someone to cover your classes this afternoon” said the Mother Superior, thankful that somebody had taken on the responsibility. She knew that she was a good Headmistress, but she also knew the limits of her talents and comforting distraught eleven year olds wasn’t her strong suit.
Sister Teresa helped Fiona out of the office, past another three girls who had arrived in the time that she had been inside. These included Pippa, who had celebrated her escape from retribution only a half an hour beforehand, by instigating a food fight in the dinner hall. The sight they saw as Fiona came out from the office shocked both Pippa and the other girls. It was not unusual for girls to emerge from there in tears, even when they had only had a good talking to, but this was different. What they saw was a girl with red eyes and in floods of tears, having to be helped away by a teacher. God knows what was going through their minds as they waited to be called into the office, even Pippa seriously considered giving up her life of crime if that was to be the result and within an hour, a rumour had spread around the school about the terrible punishment Fiona had received for an unknown transgression. It was only at afternoon assembly that the true story finally came out.
Once in the sickbay, Sister Teresa helped Fiona into bed and within twenty minutes, she had cried herself to sleep. Whilst she slept, Sister Teresa had a bite to eat and changed back into her normal clothes so, by the time that Fiona awoke, she was sitting at the bedside next to her. “Would you like something to eat?” Fiona shook her head. “Would you like to talk?” Fiona nodded, so for the next couple of hours, in between the tears, the pair of them talked. There was so much that Fiona didn’t know about Sister Teresa. She had no idea that she too was an orphan, or that like Fiona, when she was a schoolgirl she had spent every school holiday at the school. “You see Fiona, the convent became my family. That’s why I decided to become a nun, so I could stay here” she explained. Fiona screwed up her face. “I’m not sure that I want to become a nun,” she said. “Or stay here forever”. Sister Teresa laughed. “I don’t think that you have to become a nun. You can stay for as long as you like, as you”. They even talked about Sister Teresa’s life as a Saint Mary’s schoolgirl and all the scrapes that she had gotten into. Fiona was amazed. “You mean that you used to be spanked by the Reverend Mother?” she asked incredulously. “Almost every week” Sister Teresa confirmed. “I even got the ruler on more than one occasion!” Fiona couldn’t really picture the scene but found it funny anyway.
After tea time, at about six o’clock there was a gentle knock upon the sickroom door. Sister Teresa went to check who it was. “There are a couple of your friends here to see you, Shall I let them in?” Fiona agreed. “I will be just outside if you need me” said Sister Teresa as she let Rebecca and Pippa into the room. Rebecca ran straight to the bed and hugged Fiona, them both dissolving into tears, while Pippa held back. Pippa wasn’t really a very close friend, she was considered a dangerous person to be around as she seemed to land all her friends in regular trouble, but she thought that she would tag along with Rebecca to see what was happening. “I’m so sorry” Rebecca cried, “It must be awful for you”. Then both girls sat on the bed and chatted. “So you’re not going to be able to go to America?” asked Rebecca. Fiona didn’t feel that it was very important any more but shook her head anyway. “Oh you poor thing, and you were so looking forward to it,” she continued. “But don’t worry. I rang my parents a minute ago and they said that you could come to Italy with us, in August”. Fiona wasn’t really worried about holidays right now but she thanked Rebecca for the offer.
So far, Pippa hadn’t said much but after a while she said, “I’m really sorry about your dad, Fiona, but I really came here to thank you”. “Thank Me,” said Fiona, somewhat confused. “Thank me for what?” “Well” explained Pippa, “I’ve been sent to see the penguin twice today, and look!” she said, flipping up the back of her gymslip, “not a mark on me! And it’s all thanks to you”. Fiona was still confused. “The first time I was sent”, she continued, “Sister Teresa told us all to go away, and the second time, the penguin was so distracted that she told me to stop behaving like a silly little girl and to get out of her sight. I was expecting the ruler both times”.
This was just the tonic that Fiona needed and the three girls collapsed into a fit of giggling. Sister Teresa, who was sitting just outside the door, wondered what the commotion was and put her head round the door to check that everything was all right. She was surprised to see all three girls rolling around in hysterics, but was glad to see that Fiona’s friends had lightened her mood. After that, Fiona told her friends, and there was no doubt that Pippa was now a friend, whatever the dangers, about what Sister Teresa had told her of her own schooldays. The two girls sat open-mouthed as Fiona told them about Sister Teresa’s experiences in the Reverend Mother’s office. “You mean that she got the ruler?” asked a disbelieving Rebecca. “Every week?” from an admiring Pippa. “I didn’t think that she had it in her!” Fiona didn’t recount all of the stories, for fear of giving Pippa too many new ideas, but what she did say, put the sister in a completely different light as far as the other two girls were concerned.
After a couple of hours, Sister Teresa returned and said that Fiona now needed to rest, but that they could come back tomorrow morning. The two girls kissed Fiona goodbye and left. Sister Teresa wondered why both girls gave such strange looks as they were leaving, oblivious to the fact, that within a couple of hours her whole school history would be common knowledge around the school and that her acquaintance with the Reverend Mother’s ruler would be the talk of the town, including a couple of embellishments courtesy of Pippa’s fertile imagination.
“I think that you ought to try and get some sleep now” said Sister Teresa as she kissed her goodnight. “We can talk again in the morning, if you would like that”. “Thank you for looking after me” said Fiona softly. “I think you’re right. You are my family now”. “I’ll be sleeping in the next room if you need me” said Sister Teresa. “Try to get some sleep. You’ve had a very hard day” as she switched off the light and closed the door behind her. Within a couple of minutes, an exhausted Fiona had fallen into a deep and dreamless sleep.