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“Great!” Elaine said, clapping her hands together. She turned her attention to the shy girl, who looked as if she wished she could blend into the corner she was currently standing in. “Your turn!” she said, staring at the girl expectantly. The girl looked terrified and Lyssa felt a twinge of pity for her. She gave the girl what she hoped was an encouraging look. The girl cleared her
throat and said in a soft, melodic voice, “Penelope.”
With the introductions out of the way, the girls quickly engaged in conversation. They chattered
all the while they roamed around the house, talking mostly of their lives and the Almighty; all conversations eventually turned back to the Almighty. When they thought they had looked through the entire house, they stopped in the sleeping quarters, giggling about something Elaine had said. Lyssa’s stomach hurt from the laughter and she turned away from the group to catch her breath. In the corner of the room, she spotted a doorway, one that she hadn’t noticed
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before. She pointed it out to her new friends and they scrambled to go explore whatever was behind it. Odeliah cautiously pushed open the door and peered inside, then she pushed it open wide for the rest of the girls to see. Beyond the door was a long hallway, with four or five doors lining the sides. Lyssa opened the nearest door to them and found only stacks of boxes and dust inside. She shrugged and the girls filed back into the sleeping quarters, disappointed that they seemed to have only found storage rooms.
Outside, the sun had dipped below the horizon and the stars were making their appearance. The other girls started to file into the sleep quarters, some of them asking about dinner. One of the girls mentioned that her group had found the pantry while exploring; a large room filled with food stores that was enough to last them for a month. Before they could eat, they had to