"So..." Mom was saying, "Father Roberto thinks that until you regain all of your memory, for your safe being you should attend St. Ursula's Girls College."
"But Mom..." I pleaded. "I'm feeling fine." I remembered this school from my previous life. Uniforms and nuns.
Mike tried to make the peace. "Honey, Father Roberto is only concerned that since you don't remember who your friends are that you might be led into temptation at Beal. And you know that St. Ursula's is a really fine school. They have the best business program anywhere. Parents from all over the country send their daughters there."
"But Dad, it means I won't be able to live at home. I'll be stuck in a dorm and that means I won't be able to find a job."
Ann looked like she was going to cry. "I'm sorry baby, but Father Bob is our family priest and he's only looking out for your interests."
Yeah, I'll bet he is, I thought. I'd fix that fucker good as soon as I could. Life was going to be difficult enough trying to pass for a female, and he hadn't been smart enough to leave well enough alone.
BUT... My brain was kicking me hard. It would remove the problems I might face living at home with Mike and Ann and I remembered the school did have a fantastic reputation, along with a scholarship program that would see me all the way through university if my grades stayed above 80 percent.
I decided to bite the bullet. I would turn this into an opportunity and a challenge, but I had also decided what I was going to go to university for!
I sobbed a little bit just to let Mike and Ann know that I would miss them for the extended periods of time. If I remembered correctly, the school ran year round with 11-week semesters and two-week holiday breaks between semesters. I could feasibly finish High School before I turned 18. "Father Bob" had actually done me a favor, but I still planned to get even with him for this.
"Okay," I said trying to sound unhappy. "If you think that it's for the best, then I'll do it and I'll make you proud of me."
"That's the spirit Patti," said Mike, though I could tell from the expression on Ann's face that she had not planned to lose me to the world so soon.
With a promise to pick me up Wednesday morning, they left.
It was well after midnight and Linda and Julie were listening to my horror story.
"I can't believe the church has that much control over a family's life," Linda said.
"They do," said Julie. "I was raised Catholic. Women don't make decisions in that society."
"But I really, really need to ask you guys for a big favor," I said. "I can handle this school without a problem. Trust me. It'll be a piece of cake compared to some other choices they could have made for me."
"What do you need Patti?" Linda asked.
I explained that even though Einstein was a boy, and I was so totally not into boys (which got a laugh) I said that I thought he and I had made a spiritual connection. Both Linda and Julie seemed to accept that at face value. I think at this point they were pretty sure I was a lesbian.
"What I need is a way to write him and get messages to him. They will never let me use a phone without supervision, and all my mail will be checked as well."
"That's an invasion of privacy!" Linda said.
"She's right though," said Julie. "Privacy will be considered a luxury. She'll be in a dorm for the first year, and then if she gets exceptional grades she'll get to share a room with three other girls in the second year. If she maintains honors every semester, by the time she's in her third year, they'll let her have a semi private room with a choice of room-mates."
"But," I said, "If I excel at a sport, I could be in a semi private room in my second year!"
"You know this?" asked Linda.
"Yeah, I guess I do. I must have heard it somewhere," I said.
"Well, with your height, you'd probably be a shoo-in for basketball or volleyball," said Julie.
"Don't forget track," I added. "Sports all year round, and that will give me a chance to travel as well."
Both of them laughed.
"You seem to think pretty quick under pressure," said Linda. "So, what can we do to help?"
I handed her my first letter to Einstein. I was sure I could trust these two girls, but unless Einstein had been able to change the way Tom and Rita thought, they wouldn't like Patrick receiving unusual mail.
"I want to pretend I'm writing a pen pal who shares an interest in astronomy. It will really seem innocent on the surface, but I'll be able to get my message across to him without any problems. What I need is a woman to write to, so I can get it past the nuns, and then to have it forwarded to Patrick. Basically it's just a mail-rerouting scheme. I'll pay for the postage," I said.
Linda laughed. "That's okay Patti. I think we can cover the cost of a few stamps. Here's our address," and she quickly wrote out an address on her pad and gave it to me. It was then that it dawned on me that Linda and Julie were lovers themselves.
"You two?" I asked.