Sophie flopped backwards onto the couch in triumphant exhaustion. There was still a lot to do-the cardboard boxes needed to go down to the dumpster, the posters still needed to go up on the walls, the clothes needed to go from 'strewn across the bed' to 'folded and put away in the dresser', and Sophie needed to wash off the sweat she'd worked up from moving everything in. But all that could wait for a few minutes. The important point was, dorm life had officially begun. Her parents had left a full hour ago, and for the first time in her life, she wasn't expecting to see them again anytime soon. She was a genuine, card-carrying adult, living for the first time in her very own space-it was small, but she didn't care. She didn't have to worry about anyone bursting in on her, she didn't have to share the room with obnoxious siblings...she had total freedom within these four walls.
I think I'll leave my towel on the floor after my shower
, she decided.
Just to see what it feels like.
Her act of rebellion was interrupted by a knock on the door, and Sophie almost jumped at the sound. She hadn't expected anyone-she'd moved in a full week before classes started, and the residence hall was barely a quarter full. She didn't have any high school friends going to Christian Liberty-most of them wanted to go to schools that weren't quite so 'square'. Her parents had a ten-hour drive to get back to Pittsburgh; they wouldn't turn around and come back for anything less than the campus catching fire. So who would be...?
The knock sounded again, and Sophie scrambled to answer it. She opened the door to reveal a woman with brown curly hair, thick-rimmed glasses, and a tweed outfit that left practically everything to the imagination. She smiled an aggressively friendly smile and thrust her hand out for Sophie to shake. "Hello!" she said brightly. "My name is Carol, and I'm with the Christian Liberty University Welcoming Committee!"
Before Sophie could say a word, Carol stepped into the doorway as though she'd already been invited. "Your parents mentioned to us that you would be moving in today," she said, "and we thought we'd stop by and have a friendly chat with you about what you can expect from campus life." With a touch of bewilderment, Sophie craned her neck to glimpse the hallway, but she didn't see anyone else. Apparently Carol was using 'we' to mean 'me, and the moral authority I carry'. Still, Sophie was far too much her parents' daughter to kick out an authority figure without at least an effort at polite conversation, and Carol would almost certainly understand that she was way too wiped to have any kind of meaningful discussion.
"Well, thank you," she said, intending to follow that up with a brief monologue about her desire for fifteen minutes' rest and a long shower before any kind of orientation session, but Carol pounced on the pause like a lion stalking a gazelle.
"You're so welcome, Sophie!" Carol closed the door behind her. "We know what it can be like for a young lady like you-away from home for the first time, out on your own, feeling that heady rush of freedom that comes from being an adult with an adult's responsibilities. It can be a little overwhelming, especially when you don't yet have the routine of classes to help you settle in. That's why we wanted to talk to you as soon as possible about some of the more important expectations we have here at CLU. The most important, really" She sat down on the couch, her knees held tightly together and her hands folded in her lap as if in prayer. "I'd like to talk to you about chastity."
Sophie felt her cheeks flush involuntarily. "Oh, well, um...thank you, b-" She tried a little harder this time, but the next word was effortlessly devoured by Carol's response.
"You're welcome, Sophie. I know this isn't an easy talk, especially coming from an old fuddy-duddy like me." Carol chuckled lightly. Sophie almost laughed along; it was difficult to be sure, what with the hairstyle and the tweed dress that rendered her almost shapeless, but Carol didn't look much more than ten years older than Sophie was. "But it's vitally important that we discuss it, because a pretty young thing like you can get into trouble so easily."
Sophie's body language must have given away her irritation, because Carol headed her off before the words could even make it to her lips. "I know you don't think so-believe me, I've talked to hundreds of bright young girls who've come to Liberty precisely because they're not 'that kind of girl'. I'm sure you've made promises-to your parents, to your beau back home, to yourself, even-that you're going to save yourself for the right young man, and for your wedding night."
Sophie was about to explain that she didn't even have a beau yet, but Carol had taken the reins of the conversation and had no intent of letting them go. "Those promises are wonderful, Sophie, and I'm sure you think you'll never break them. You'd never 'go too far' with a boy, never let them 'take advantage' of you. But the thing is...here, sit down with me for a moment."
Sophie sat down, bristling just a bit. She didn't like the tone of Carol's conversation-Carol might have talked to hundreds of young women, but it didn't seem like she'd listened to a single one. Sophie had never had any problem sticking to her abstinence pledge. She'd always been proud of the fact that her parents could trust her to wait. She'd never even touched herself, let alone a boy. She certainly had no intention of letting some campus pickup artist get into her pants...well, when she was wearing pants. She suddenly glanced down at her outfit. Was that the problem? She'd only worn the cut-off shorts because she knew she was going to be carrying boxes in the hot sun. Carol didn't think-
"I normally dress much more modestly," Sophie blurted out before she could stop herself.