The auditorium was a cacophony of female voices, murmuring and giggling as row after row filed in to take their seats. One hundred new freshmen girls had moved in to their dormitories within the first two hours of the day and now it was time for the orientation to begin.

A light flashed red through the auditorium and that horrible, abrasive buzzing noise that the dean of the college used in the atrium of his study rang through the spacious theater. A horrified silence sent a hush from front row all the way to the back and Cat could have sworn she heard a muffled scream from somewhere in the corner. Clearly no one escaped their initial assessment unscathed. She wondered how the dean could possibly find the time to examine one hundred girls in the week leading up to orientation.

The lights lowered and a dozen grown women in mauve robes lined up along the stage, behind a podium with the school’s crest shiny and silver on the front. The dean followed the dozen women to the stage and stood at the podium, silently and seriously assessing the audience of new scholars for the year.

“Scholars,” he boomed across the auditorium. Every girl in the room sat up slightly straighter. Cat heard gasps around where she sat. “Welcome to St. Mary’s, we are SO glad that you have chosen to represent our college of scholars. This morning you moved in to your dormitories - these dormitories will be your homes for the remainder of your time here at St. Mary’s. All scholars are expected to live on campus for the duration of their tenure in the college.”

Cat supposed she shouldn’t be surprised by that fact, and yet here she was, left with another doubt about why on earth she had to have ended up here of all places. At least she thought Max would be a fun and cool roommate. She turned to the girl in question and they both shared an uneasy smile at each other. Cat assumed her friend had similar thoughts.

“You will receive your course lists at the end of the day around the supper hour,” the dean continued. “Following our initial welcome here, you will be given a tour of campus in groups of ten. You will see all of the classrooms, laboratories, studies, as well as the areas of campus that are strictly restricted, and those that are completely off limits. The campus tour will conclude in study rooms assigned to each of your ten groups. A final orientation and assessment will be completed and you may all convene in The Great Hall for Supper promptly at six o’clock this evening.”

A murmur went through the auditorium at the word, “assessment”. No. Surely they weren’t to be subjected to another purity test?!

“SCHOLARS!” An unnerving silence fell over the auditorium once more, every lady in the room caught in fearful rapt attention to the man standing at the podium. “You are seated, conveniently, in rows of ten. This row is your orientation group for the remainder of the day today. You will tour together, you will complete your orientation together, and you will dine together this evening. Get to know each other as these scholars will likely be your closest friends and confidantes for the next few years. You will be dismissed by row by one of the patrons behind me,” at their mention, the women in mauve robes seamlessly, practically floated, from the stage and descended down amongst the rows of new students in the auditorium. “I will see you all back at The Great Hall at six o'clock on the buzzer.”

Cat looked down her row and caught the gaze of a stern, elderly patron staring daggers between her and Max. No possible way they could both be in trouble already?

:::::

The patron requested the girls address her as Madame or, formally, Madame Rose. What a weird name, Cat thought. The woman looked old enough to be her grandmother. It wasn't the same patron that ran her dormitory, she'd never seen the woman before now. Madame gathered the group of ten together in a circle outside the auditorium and assessed each girl seriously.

“Your names, please,” Madame said without preamble. She looked to Cat, and Cat awkwardly pointed to herself. “Your name, girl. And…a truth about you.”

A truth?? That was a weird thing to offer up. Cat opened up her mouth to say her name but stumbled on the “truth”. What a vague but serious sounding icebreaker to share.

“Um, I'm Cat - er, Catherine? And my truth is… is… I want to study history?”

“Good, but not many historians grace the halls of St. Mary's,” Madame said, her gaze moved to Max. “You?”

“Max. Just Max. I hate horseback riding. Next.”

Cat smirked. She wouldn't have guessed a girl who was an awarded equestrian for the better part of a decade would hate horseback riding but… Cat herself hated church and organized religion these days and her father prothelized on national TV every week. More than once a week around the holidays. Who was she to say what someone should or should not like on account of what their parents chose for them?

Madame nodded to the next girl, a tiny little redheaded waif of a girl who didn't look old enough to be in college yet. Though, Cat assumed that she must have been 18 since all scholars were required to be 18 by the date of the freshman orientation.

“Julia,” she provided, “I was homeschooled. This is my first time going to a real school!”

God, and what a school to pick for your first introduction. Cat took in the surroundings outside the auditorium. The Victorian buildings towered over everything around them. Cat wondered if they'd been intentionally built on top of each other to look more intimidating and imposing. They were beautiful, but every building was painted in dark colors, and graced with spikes and mean-looking gargoyles - sharp teeth, claws, and scowls looked down at anyone who walked underneath.

“Anna,” the next girl - an exceptionally tall blonde- took her turn. “My family owns a vacation home in Newport. Rhode Island.” Yeah. She looked like it.

Next, “I'm Rosie. Rosanna.” She was brunette, cute button nose. “My parents decided I should come here instead of Vassar.” What a disappointment that must be for her.

And five more girls followed with their own introductions. All similarly wealthy, brilliant and smart young women who had somehow been tricked or coerced into attending this hellish college.

“Thank you, ladies,” Madame nodded once each had introduced herself, “I rule by the rod along with most of the rest of the administration.” Without any preamble or fanfare, she brandished the weapon from her robe and held it out proud for the girls to see. Julia bit back a high-pitched shriek in shock - tears immediately burst in her eyes. The rest of the girls stood up straighter, or outright flinched and reflexively tried to cross their legs under their skirts.

“I don't use it lightly, ladies,” she rapped Max on the wrist and she yelped, jumping back in shock.

“What was that for?!??” Max bit at Madame. Cat was impressed she kept her language clean.

“I said, Maxine, that I do not use it lightly,” Madame replied shortly, without further explanation. Max sulked and rubbed at the red welt rising on her wrist. “You could face the rod for such infractions as the back of your skirt being too high on your legs, a stain on your skirt or any of your clothing for that matter, a cut or a bruise on an arm or a leg. St. Mary’s scholars are expected to be immaculate in every way possible, ladies. Play your part, play it well, and you will excel at this school beyond your wildest expectations.”

Sure. And submit to bizarre medical intake exams… more than once?!

“Now,” Madame continued on, “Let us begin our tour of campus. Here we are standing in the main courtyard atrium of St. Mary’s. Temple Hall, as you are all well familiar with at least to some extent, is behind us. The auditorium is on the very bottom level of Temple Hall - the stage tucked away in a corner of the basement, as a matter of fact. The area below the stage is forbidden and completely off limits to scholars. The punishment is severe.” Madame blanched. It startled Cat. It was the first flash of emotion she’d seen on the woman yet.

“Above the main level are Study Halls and Laboratories. Third floor is the dean’s office, you are likely all aware of this already. Fourth floor contains a private laboratory. Only graduate students typically have access, but sometimes there might be an interest in an undergrad joining the lab. This laboratory is strictly prohibited to anyone who does not have the dean’s prior approval. Do not even try, ladies. You will desperately wish you had not even thought of the scheme in the first place.” She shook her head solemnly.

“Finally, fifth floor - the attic as some may call it. Catherine and Maxine. And Julia.” She pointedly looked at each of the three girls. Why?! “Stay away for as long as possible, ladies. The fifth floor contains the dean’s private quarters. He is the only man who lives on campus and is permitted 24/7 access. The academic advisors and other staff such as the security guards, are here on a strict and rigid schedule. Do NOT keep them waiting. Ever.”

Aye aye, Captain. Cat felt like she was being shackled tighter to the ground below her with each passing sentence from Madame Rose. Amidst all the warnings and caution about what was where and where not to go Cat had the realization that these weren’t necessarily tales from and intended specifically for freshmen. No, these were recommendations and wisdom that people would have needed time to gain access to, information that wasn’t imparted upon you until two, three or six years into your academic career in this place. What was it that made anyone stay beyond their first semester??

”In front of Temple Hall, we have the three main academic halls - Language & Arts is in the middle. Health & Science is the green hall on the left. Social Sciences is the dark blue building to the right…” Madame pointed them out as they walked along. “Senior and graduate student dormitories are to the North.” She nodded in the direction of long rows of cute little brick cottages dotting the hillside. “We won’t tour that area today. It’s not off limits, per se, but it’s just where the older girls live.” She turned, “To the south, are the undergraduate dormitories. You should all be familiar with your living spaces by now. Each dormitory has a formal Parlor, formal Dining Room, Kitchen and Pantries, multiple bathrooms and bedrooms, at least one study room, a cellar, basement, or, in your ladies’ case, a completely off-limits sub-basement that connects to a network of underground tunnels that surround the campus.”

Why on earth would she ever share that information with them?! Cat and Max shared a nervous look.

“Ladies. I cannot stress to you enough. Never. EVER. Enter the sub-basement tunnels.” Madame shook her head like she was shaking off a chill and like a mask, her face transformed into something pleasant again and they continued walking towards the West. The campus opened up into a vast field that stretched down to an idyllic pond, nestled in the valley of rolling hills. Finally, the view that she had seen on every single brochure that came to her house about the college. It was a pretty scene.

“Sports fields out in front. We offer football, rugby, lacrosse and, occasionally, polo if we have enough talent for it,” she gave a pointed look in Max’s direction. “Rowing and sailing on the lake. Swimming during the warm months.”

Cat shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun and peered across the lake. There were people over there. What was on the other side of the lake? A deep and dark valley divided the lake from the other side. It looked like dense, if not impenetrable, woods from where she stood right now. The lake had to be more than a mile at its widest point.

“On the other side of the lake is St. Joseph’s,” Madame said with a sneer. “They insist on commingling with our ladies for a couple of special occasions every year. It’s always, always trouble. I say the trouble is unavoidable for as long as they keep offering it.” Cat had to imagine it was one of these such events that had brought her parents together 19 years ago. “Do not ever, ever go into the woods alone and unattended.” For the first time, Madame’s voice turned haunted. She stared off into the dark valley and shuddered. “Dark, scary things happen in those woods. Things not of this world, if you ask me. The girls who go in there… IF they come back… Something evil is in those woods and I, personally, do not want to know what divides the colleges. Best that none of you want to know either.”

The lake was so beautiful and idyllic, it made Cat wonder what could be lurking and hiding in those woods. Clearly something that had scared Madame Rose half to death at some point in her past. Cat made a clear mental note not to cross the wooded boundary into the unknown - maybe ever.

“And, turning back around and veering North…” again, her voice shifted and changed and she headed in the direction she indicated.

She showed the ladies a block of laboratories - little block buildings that appeared to have been constructed at the height of the Cold War. Only one slatted window on the entire building, the door to enter accessible only by keyfob. Madame walked the girls past the campus chapel - an incredible cathedral of stained glass and gothic spires. There was so much red and orange stained glass used in the reliefs that Cat felt like she was walking towards an inferno. She wondered if the construction had been intentional.

Finally, turning back in the direction of Temple Hall, they came upon the Great Hall. A huge barn-like structure, encased entirely in glass and decorated from above with chandeliers. It was a shining, exquisite addition to the middle of the campus, but completely incongruous with the rest of the surrounding architecture.

“Meals are served in the Great Hall seven days of the week. Two meals a day. Monday through Friday, you will receive breakfast at seven in the morning and supper at six in the evening. Saturday and Sunday, you will receive a brunch at ten in the morning and a supper at five in the evening. You are allowed midday snacks. Most ladies will cook, at least to some extent, at their dormitories. Many do attend every meal, but not all. You are required to attend suppers on Tuesdays and Fridays. You are required to attend one brunch on Saturdays or Sundays unless you have otherwise been excused by the dean. Usually excusals are made for academic affairs only. Travel to conferences. Final exams.”

She stopped at a fork in the pathway. The sign pointed in the direction of The Great Hall, Temple Hall and Study Halls & Laboratories.

”Ladies, I will now be leading you down to one of the Study Rooms in our Laboratories that we just passed before The Great Hall. It is here that you will each receive your final orientation assessment to ensure that nothing radical has occurred within the past week and that you are fully vetted scholars of St. Mary’s Scholars College.” Cat’s stomach flipped as she listened to Madame Rose speak, she swayed on her feet feeling nauseous and as she looked around at the other girls with her, she clearly wasn’t alone.

They crossed the promenade and arrived at a squat gray building, windowless except for a single panel near the roof overlooking the front entrance. How inviting. Madame Rose flashed a keyfob in front of the steel door and it shuddered open to let the group inside.

Immediately, they descended down a flight of concrete stairs to a long, long grey hallway - much longer than the structure above ground indicated. There was another group of ten ladies at the opposite end of the hallway from them. Clearly the laboratories must have been somehow interconnected?

“Study Room C10, ladies,” Madame indicated. “The academic advisor is waiting.”