A/N: this is part 1 of a 6-part series.
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My name is Patricia and I have quite the story to tell. It all started when I was a child. My parents, both only children that had seen their own parents die when they were young adults, died in a car accident when I was 4 years old. My sitter, an elderly neighbor, could not take care of me so I was placed in foster care for a while. In my grief over losing my parents and, in fact, my whole world, I acted out, I threw tantrums, I was a problem child so after three different families tried and then rejected me, I was sent to an orphanage.
There, some nuns understood that I was hurting and gave me the time and opportunity and most importantly, the guidance to grieve. I was a much better behaved child when this couple came to visit and picked me along with three other girls of the same age and similar stories to go live in a special school. The four of us girls clung together during the ride over to our new home. The new home was a huge boarding school and we were taken to one wing to begin our new lives. We were introduced to a nurse, a doctor and three teachers. After we were medically checked out, we were given school uniforms and shown our room. We were to share a large room. There, we found a stuffed bear and a doll on each of the four beds, along with some clothes. We were shown how to put away our clothes in the drawers beneath our beds and in the small closets.
Then, we were taken to a play room and allowed to play. Over the next several years, we were taken really good care of by loving, doting teachers, nurses and doctors. We learned how to read, write, count, and all the stuff kids learn in school. Our teachers made geography and history fascinating. All four of us excelled and became the best of friends. We found out that first year that all of our birthdays were in the same month and we were all the same age so each year, we celebrated. Through the years, we were loved and never wanted for anything. The doctors, the nurses and the teachers were parental figures that taught us not only manners but also how to be affectionate and supportive of each other. Hugs were very common and when one of us was sad or hurt or had a bad day, we all rallied and made it better. We learned to respect each other and to live and let live and respect differences. As an adult now, I am very grateful that despite not having my own parents, I grew up to be a very loving and accepting person.
When we turned eighteen, the one doctor, the father figure, told us that we had a choice. We could leave this school and go out on our own in the outside world or continue our schooling here and learn very specific skills that would better prepare us for a very good life. Of course, we all chose to remain. I mean who in their right minds would pass up a free education? We had learned all about economics and finance and the value of things and though we'd never had to handle money on our own, we were very much aware of the cost of things and the value of an education.
Three months after that, the doctor said that we were now of age to learn about sex but to do so, he'd have to make sure we were healthy and make sure we wouldn't get pregnant. We'd learned all the theory but none of the practical. We got our first full exams that week. We each took turns on the table and the doctor showed us all what he was doing and what he was looking for and allowed us to look too. He inserted an intra-uterine device that releases minuscule amounts of hormones to ensure we wouldn't get pregnant. I wondered how on earth we could get pregnant without any boys around but kept that to myself.
We were brought into this wing of the school we had never been in before. We were shown to our new rooms. They were really weird. As I walked through the door, I saw a small closet in which was a toilet, and then a small sink and vanity. Then, there was a set of shelves. On the other side was a closet for clothes, a dresser and then a school desk. At the end of the room, spanning the two sides, was the bed. The weird thing was that beyond the bed wasn't a wall, it was a hallway. And on the other side of the hallway were windows that allowed great light in. Down the hall from our four rooms was a washroom with two shower stalls and a bathtub.