Bells at six.
Wash face and hands.
Brush teeth.
Hang the toothbrush on the hook with your initials next to it.
Gather clean stockings and underclothes from the radiator
school dress and apron from the hook on the wall
shoes from under the bed.
Air the bed.
Dress.
Comb, part, braid each other’s hair.
Bells at six-thirty.
Line up.
March to the dining room.
Stand behind your chair.
At the signal, sit.
At the signal, pray.
At the signal, eat. Oatmeal. Coffee.
At the signal, rise. Line up. File out.
Place dirty dishes in the washtub next to the door.
Bells at seven.
Return to the dormitory.
Make bed.
Sweep.
Dust.
Bells at eight.
Line up.
March to the classroom.
Stand next to your desk.
At the signal, sit.
Lessons. Reading. Writing. Arithmetic. Penmanship.
Bells at eleven-thirty.
Line up.
March to the dining room.
Stand behind your chair.
At the signal, sit.
At the signal, pray.
At the signal, eat. Soup. Bread. Milk.
At the signal, line up. File out.
Place dirty dishes in the washtub next to the door.
Bells at twelve-thirty.
Line up. March to the dormitory.
Change into ticking-stripe work dress.
Hang school dress and apron on the hook next to the bed.
Bells at one.
Line up.
March to work.
Mondays, laundry.
Tuesdays, mending.
Wednesdays, ironing.
Thursdays, floors.
Fridays, sewing.
Bells at four-thirty.
Line up.
March to the dining room.
Stand behind your chair.
At the signal, sit.
At the signal, pray.
At the signal, eat. Beans. Potatoes. Bread. Blancmange.
At the signal, line up. File out.
Place dirty dishes in the washtub next to the door.
Bells at six.
Line up.
March to recreation.
Mondays, reading and letter writing.
Tuesdays, brisk walk around the school grounds.
Wednesdays, reading and letter writing.
Thursdays, brisk walk around the school grounds.
Fridays, dining room for group singing.
Bells at seven-thirty.
Line up.
March to the dormitory. Supervised free time.
Meni, you going home this summer?
Louisa, lemme rat your hair for you,
put it up like the white girls in town.
Somebody help Zente polish her shoes.
Bells at nine.
Change into nightgown.
Hang work dress on the hook next to the bed.
Place shoes under bed.
Wash underclothes and stockings in the lavatory sink,
hang them over the radiator to dry.
Wash.
Brush teeth.
Hang the toothbrush on the hook with your initials next to it.
Bells at nine-thirty.
Stand next to your bed.
At the signal, kneel.
At the signal, pray.
At the signal, into bed.
Lights out.
Silence.
Listen to the girl in the next bed cry.