Call Me Kat

A continuing story.

The nun, in her long black habit, stood at the top stair in front of the heavy double doors, which were opened wide, welcoming the new students to their first day of school. There she stood, erect and formidable, wielding the heavy brass bell that signaled the end of playtime and the start of their new adventure.

She swung her right arm three times, and the bell rang out loudly. Other Sisters moved through the play area, rounding up the new students and forming them into long lines. Boys stood in one line, and girls alongside them, forming the second line, with the shortest student in front and the tallest at the rear.

Within a minute or two, all went silent. The children watched and listened to the directions of the Sister holding the bell. Everyone instinctively knew she must be the one in charge. They stood still and silent, waiting and watching for her next move.

Her name was Sister Agnes, the school Principal. She looked down upon the many fresh, young faces and reviewed each one, committing them to memory. Later, Lucy would learn that she would know each of them by name. But for now, she scanned the faces and smiled sweetly.

“Welcome, children,” she said in a pleasant voice, loud enough for all to hear but not so loud as to sound menacing.

Sister Agnes then explained that each of the other Sisters would line up before her, and as each Sister called out a name, that student should then line up in front of her. This was how the new students met their teachers, who would then lead them to their classrooms.

Lucy looked around and saw Johnny running toward the other end of the yard where the older kids were lining up. Johnny was tall and lanky, towering head and shoulders above Lucy. He was in the eighth grade, and this was his final year at Assumption School. Next year, he would be attending high school. Now she was completely on her own for the first time in her young life. She loved this new sensation. She was not afraid; she loved new adventures.

First grade had four instructors—three nuns and one lay teacher, Mrs. Tullamello, who would teach the English-language students. The Sisters taught the French classes, as Lucy would soon discover. She wasn’t quite sure of this; she had been looking forward to being here with the Sisters. She had seen them every Sunday at Mass, and they were mysterious and interesting. And she wanted to learn all about them.

Mrs. Tullamello appeared to Lucy as a woman about her mother’s age, but taller and slimmer. Her brown hair was pulled back tightly into a bun nearly at the top of her head. She wore a fitted suit in the fashion of the year, 1956, with high-heeled shoes. Tiny earrings adorned her ears, and she wore a slim wristwatch on her left arm. She was pretty, but she seemed distant in Lucy’s opinion. Mrs. T wasn’t all business, but she wasn’t as friendly as the Sisters either. Lucy was disappointed with her classroom placement; she wanted to be with the nuns. Her best friend, Julie, was in a French classroom, and Lucy longed to be in one too.

Julie had been Lucy’s best, first, and only friend. They first met when both were barely older than toddlers. Julie lived next door in the big white house with her French-speaking parents, her teenage brother Paul, and her sister Rita, who worked outside the home. On the first floor lived her eldest brother with his wife and their babies.

Julie was the youngest of her many brothers and sisters. Although she didn’t speak English when they first met, and Lucy didn’t speak French, they managed to communicate and spent much of every day playing together. Julie was a year older, so she wasn’t with Lucy on that first day.

Julie, being older, was a little taller than Lucy, with short, curly brown hair. She had an outgoing personality—the opposite of quiet Lucy—but they shared many hours learning from each other while they played.

And now playtime was over. It was time to settle into a new routine, experience the newness of school, and make new friends among the children and the Sisters. Two of the Sisters had already led their students into the school; now it was Mrs. T’s turn to lead her young charges into their classroom.

Upon entering the long corridor, the classrooms to the right were for the French classes, while to the left and along a far wall was a stairway leading to the second-floor classroom. Finally, they reached Mrs. T’s English classroom, where the rear door stood open, ushering the children inside.

Lucy’s heart was racing with excitement. She could hear Mrs. T directing the children to line up against the back wall, then she would direct each child to their desk. They walked, single-file, slowly until they were all inside and Mrs. T closed the door quietly behind them.

The adventure began.