Uniforms, daily prayer, chapel, and strict discipline, were the building blocks that molded the character of the young women that attended Lady of Mercy School for Girls! The theory is that by the time a girl graduated from Mercy she was ready to face the world!
Of course in every organization, there were always those few bad apples that bucked the system, whether it be in the army, the Boy Scouts, or as in this case a high school for girls, for it is impossible to go along with the group and rules are made to be broken! In this case, our story opens up in Sister Nora's twelfth-grade math class where she is in the middle of a lecture on reciprocals...............
"........now class this is important and I'm sure it will be on the next test, so if there are there any questions speak up now!" "Well that's just wonderful, no questions," she said a little sarcastically, "with the marks some of you are earning you'd think you'd have a question or two!" The room was dead quiet when from the back row Zoey raised her hand, and in a sweet voice asked, "I have a question, Sister Nora!" Sister Nora eyed the eighteen-year-old with a little suspicion and replied slowly, "Yes, Zoey, what is your question?"
After giggling softly Zoey asked, "My question is, when in my lifetime am I ever gonna have to use the inverse proportion of a reciprocal?" Several of the girls gasped that Zoey would so openly ridicule one of the nuns, but they were quickly brought back to order when Sister Nora's ruler came down hard on her desk sounding for all the world like a rifle shot! She eyed the incorrigible girl for several seconds, and in a calm but stern voice Sister Nora replied, "I'm sure that after spending some time in the Mother Superior's office you can think of many ways to use the inverse proportion of a reciprocal!"
"I'm getting pretty tired of your insolence, young lady," Sister Nora snapped as they walked to the Mother Superior's office, "how many detentions is that, ten or eleven?" It sounded like a rhetorical question so Zoey just kept her mouth shut and kept walking, while Sister Nora, who was just plain tired of Zoey's insults and general bad behavior, shook her head in disgust at Zoey's continued inability to conform to Mercy High's code of conduct! "Well, now it's out of my hands," Sister Nora offered as they entered Mother Superior Judith's outer office, "hello, Sister Grace, is Mother Superior busy?" "She's on the phone, but it shouldn't be too long," the receptionist's secretary replied, "is there something I can help you with?" "It's Zoey, again," Sister Nora replied while nodding at the still smug teenager, "I've warned her so many times, and now I've just had it!"
After giving Zoey a cool long look, Sister Grace replied, "She can wait over in the corner, I'll buzz the Mother Superior when she's off the phone, in the meantime, you can return to your class!" With a grateful sigh Sister, Nora thanked Sister Grace, and with a backward glance at Zoey, headed back to her class! "So," Sister Grace said, "you just can't seem to stay out of trouble can you?" "Uh, I guess trouble must be my middle name," Zoey shot back flippantly! "We'll see about that," the Sister replied, "we'll see about that!"
