The first stop is the Boston library since that is the reason they're all in Boston. The students listen to Professors Fletcher and Druid then head various directions in the library, the teachers counting copies and paying for them.

"Josette, come with me." Professor Druid says as they pull up outside a shoe store. Josette looks at her.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, Josette needs a good pair of shoes, she's going to be doing a lot of walking." Josette looks at her again. "The school pays for shoes for the student currently working in the laundry. Right now it's a pair every two years, with the laundry going four nights next year, I'd say a pair every year for you. You'll be glad for them."

A half-hour later the bag containing the shoes gets put on the shuttle and they head to the mall, Professor Druid buying Josette a couple packages of nice thick socks. "And when these wear out let us know so we can buy you more."

Back at the dorm Josette puts the socks and shoes in her closet until her job starts before she starts opening the other bags, putting everything away. They'd eaten lunch and dinner in Boston and had locked the dorm up when they got home. The rest of the rooms are quiet and they settle in Josette's room to talk for a few minutes before bed.

"How are we handling classes?" Alan asks the next morning.

"Principal Madison's going to be making an announcement in a few minutes. The classes that only have one student are cancelled for the rest of the week. . .that will give the students time to get their assignments finished. The classes with a handful of students. . .individual attention depending on how many students are there."

"Which means the teachers are going to be cramming to make up this lost week." Susan sighs.

"Yep."

"Okay, winter?"

"Cold, you'll want to put something up against your doors to block the air coming down the hallway from the front of the dorm. More than a few students have the small ceramic heaters they plug in for a few hours to help warm their rooms. The furnace is locked on sixty-four degrees to save propane." The others around them nod. "Our rooms are just as bad for all we have a second vent because the air comes straight down the hall to our room, that's why we have the fireplaces and the wind guard on the bottom of the doors." Abby sighs as Anna nods. "The bookstores will start bringing out door blockers and ceramic heaters after Thanksgiving, they've also got the heaters at the stores in town."

"Have the teachers started talking about the fundraisers yet?" Somebody asks from the next table.

"No, but the Christmas cookies and present wrapping events should start coming soon." The others look at them. "Each year raises money for their senior trip. Every year they have giftwrapping weekends here where people can have their gifts wrapped and after Thanksgiving they'll start making and selling Christmas cookies. During the summer we'll have car wash weekends."

"Senior trip?"

"Two weeks, two cities. The money goes for hotel rooms, meals at the hotel, and tickets, you'll be responsible for anything else." Susan makes a mental note she'll have to start putting money away for that too. "Bad news and worse news. You're going to have questions to answer for each stop." Various faces fall and Principal Madison snickers at the front table. "Josette's telling everybody about the senior trip, especially the questions you have to answer at each attraction." The other teachers snigger.

"Worse news?"

"The trip is the second and third week in April, you'll be coming home to take your last finals.  And packing up your rooms to go home."

"Yep, that's worse news."

Josette tosses longer, warmer socks in her cart when she goes to the store a couple days later for supplies. Anna looks at her. "Warmer socks for winter, unless you're wearing boots all the time. Half the time I did wear a pair of old boots inside to keep my feet warm. After it starts snowing you'll probably want to start taking the tunnels to class, it's warmer. We'll probably have an announcement after Thanksgiving."

"Can we use the tunnels to get to classes?"

"Yeah, your card will unlock the door to the stairs in the classrooms and the library. After the first time I land on my ass thanks to snow or ice I usually take the tunnel. During bad weather Principal Madison will make an announcement to use the tunnels, that gives maintenance time to clear the paths after its stopped snowing."

"Laundry?" Anna asks with a smirk.

"They've got a door for the carts of laundry, they'll add that door to my card before I start my job."

"Makes sense, I've never seen them moving carts of laundry."

Josette sighs as a crack of thunder is followed seconds later by the loss of power and wedges something in the door before going out into the hallway. The door of the twins room opens and she grabs it to keep it from closing. "Put something in the door, without power you won't be able to get back in." Abby nods and grabs the clipboard to keep it open as she and Anna come out.

"What's the rules for a power outage?"

"Everybody, listen up." Josette bellows. Anna broadcasts what she's saying to the second-floor girls. "Put something in your doors when you go out, otherwise you might not be able to get back into your rooms. Grab extra blankets from the supply closet if you need them and be thankful it's not winter yet."

"What happened?"

"Lightning probably hit something, the twins and I have emergency weather radios so we'll catch the news at the top of the hour."

"Doesn't the school have backup generators?" One of their classmates asks.

"Only in the buildings that have been renovated recently, the health center and the dining hall. We're officially on lockdown once the electricity went off. We'll be escorting everybody to dinner at five just like we did the first night." The older students nod.

"Classes?"

"If the electricity's not on by morning classes are cancelled, the day students will have a number to call to find out if there's classes." Josette says. "That won't get you out of schoolwork, if it's more than a day the teachers put assignments up on the bulletin boards at the front of the dorms. It's your job to see what you've been assigned and get to work. Anything assigned will be due the day classes start again."

"The day students too?"

"Yep, their assignments are on the same number they call to see if there's school."

"Be glad it's not winter yet, the dorm gets damn cold without any heat." One of the older students says as maintenance comes around the front of the dorm with a cart filled with bottled water.

"Everybody, grab a case of bottled water and take them to your room." Abby says as Josette helps pull the cart into the front of the dorm. "Any news?"

"Lightning strike hit a pole. The resulting sparks started a wildfire and as dry as it's been this summer the firefighters are having a hard time getting it under control."

"And they'll have to do that before anybody comes out to put up the new poles and fix the lines." Josette sighs.

"Yep."

"And the lines going down caused an overload?"

"Yep. We're just the poor schmucks hit by it. We're on the very edge of the area by the reports, A good chunk of the state is dark."

"Well shit, I was going to go grocery shopping tomorrow." Josette sighs. The maintenance man chuckles and heads off with the cart to go to the boys dorm.

"Did you hear anything?" The girls ask coming back into the hallway.

"Yeah, lightning strike hit a pole. That caused an overload that took out a good chunk of the state, we're on the very edge of the outage according to maintenance. The worse part is that the sparks started a wildfire and as dry as it is, they're having a hard time fighting it."

"And they'll have to get it contained and out before the power company can come in and replace the pole." One of the older students sighs. "Plus the longer it takes to fight, the possibility of more damage." The others look at her. "My Dad works for the power company where we live, I grew up at the station and learned quite a bit just listening to the conversations around me."

Josette whistles shrilly a couple hours later and everybody follows her and the twins through the tunnels to the dining hall, filling their trays and settling in their usual seats as the boys arrive from the other direction.

"You hear about the fire?" David asks when he sits down. Josette nods. "They tell people to be careful with their campfires and whatnot, some moron always whines. This will show them why you're supposed to watch your fire. I lived through a lot of wildfires in California."

"And no matter how bad the fires were, people never learned to keep an eye on their fires and it happened again?"

"Yep." Josette says. "I didn't live in the area of the wildfires, but I saw the devastation on the news." Principal Madison stands up and everybody turns to look at him.

"Okay everybody, I'm sure that we've all heard about the accident. We don't know how long it will be until the electricity comes back on. For those who haven't heard the news, lightning hit a utility pole, taking it out. We're on the very edge of the area that lost power thanks to overloads. Unfortunately either the lightning or the downed lines sparked a wildfire that has to be contained before a new pole goes in and the lines fixed. Your assignments will be on the dorm bulletin boards"

Josette checks the bulletin board when they come back from breakfast the next morning, the older students look at her. "Not yet." They head to their rooms.

"How do we handle the toilets?" somebody asks.

"If the pipes are empty, pour a couple of bottles of water in the tank. That's one of the reasons we get a case of water a day. And be glad it's warm enough to open windows. In the winter we'd be filling pails with snow and putting them by the fireplaces to melt for water to flush the toilets."

"Furnace?"

"If the furnace is on when the power goes out you should still be getting some heat coming out of it but the blowers won't kick on." One of the other students calls.

"Yep."

At lunch the assignments are on the bulletin board and the students write down their classes and start working until dinner. Flashlights had been handed out before they left for dinner the night before and are turned on again.

A couple days later everybody sighs when the power goes back on. The sound of flushing toilets has Josette and the twins sniggering.

Josette is waved to the front table at dinner and handed a couple pieces of paper. She asks something and Principal Madison nods.

"Guys, the teachers are going to ask you to pick up my assignments for me for the classes we have together in a couple days, I'm going to be in Boston seeing the eye doctor for my new glasses."

"Is anybody signing up for the Boston trips?"

"I might after Thanksgiving to see the decorations that will start coming up and maybe take in a movie. Be warned though. . .the shuttles will start filling up rapidly."

"How does the school handle Thanksgiving?" Somebody asks a couple tables over.

"Brunch at eleven with dinner in the late afternoon."

"Christmas?"

"Each building has its own decorations. The day after Thanksgiving trees will be brought up and put in the front of the dorms. The outside of all the buildings will be decorated and a tree put up in the common areas where possible."

"The rest of the dorm?"

"The hallways will be decorated and if you want to decorate your own room you'll have to buy your own decorations. Nothing too gaudy in the common areas, we've got students who might not celebrate the holiday." At the front room Principal Madison and Professor Druid are nodding. "Those of you who want to attend church services, there will be a list of local services in the office with sign-up sheets. No midnight masses, you still have to be in the dorms by nine even during break." 

Josette drops into a seat in her room a couple days later. She'd eaten lunch in Boston after her eye appointment since they wouldn't be back in time and had stopped at the dining hall for a bag of snacks.

A knock on her door has her getting up but the door opens before she can reach it and Professor Druid waves her back to her seat.

"Eyes dilated?" She sees the plastic sunglasses behind Josette's glasses.

"Yes, I can't see a damn thing."

She chuckles and puts a folder on the table. "Your assignments the others aren't getting for you. Did you get your new glasses?"

"Yes, they were able to make them there in an hour rather than make me come back another time. Of course it was extra."

"Of course." Professor Druid snorts. She looks at the bag and Josette waves at it.

"Oh these are nice."

"Nice and expensive." Josette snorts. "Now I know why Mom started putting money away every time she got paid for new ones."

"Did you eat in Boston?"

"Yes, since I was gone so long. Did I miss anything?"

"Kennedy having an absolute fit when she realized she was being put in a 'nutzoid' place for her attitude problems. She tried blaming you for everything . . .again and her father slapped the lie right off her face. Our former school psychologist had a fit about that and was fired. He was gonna sue until the school's lawyers told him the facts of life and he slunk off with his tail between his legs."

"Good, couldn't happen to a nicer pair of assholes." Josette snorts. Anna snickers as she comes into the room with another folder she puts in front of Josette.

"Girls, honest opinion here. Tammy?"

"A spoiled little brat who got her ass handed to her by you and Principal Madison and then her parents." Josette says automatically. "She's trying to keep her nose clean because her parents laid down the law."

"They did, her attitude problem got her put on probation this semester. She thought being away from Mommy and Daddy she could do whatever she wanted. She soon learned otherwise." Professor Druid nods. "I've noticed her wanting to slack off or mouth off but something stops her. . .I think seeing how Kennedy acts and how she's being treated is stopping her." Anna says. "Is she acting up again in classes?"

"No, she just got a call from the police back where she lives. It seems there was a . . .an incident in the car. A group drove them off the road trying to make it look like a road rage incident, killed her parents and three siblings and torched the car to try to cover up the evidence but local security cameras caught everything. James is taking her to the bank right now to sign her up for a scholarship loan and deal with packing up their home and putting it in storage for her. The people have been arrested and are looking at life in prison and we sicced the school's lawyers on them."

"Why did they do it?" Anna asks quietly.

"They were trying to cover something up at his work, he found out and was going to blow the whistle on them."

"Fucking crooks, killing five people for . . .what? Stupidity?"

"Yes, they're wailing because they'd probably have gotten six months in a club fed type facility, now they're facing hard time for five counts of first-degree murder."

"Don't worry, I'm sure their high-priced lawyers will try to claim they're victims of their stupidity and should get off with a slap on the wrist being told not to do it again."

"Yes, he's already trying everything in his power to get the charges dismissed and get them rehired. It's not fair they lost their jobs."

"No, what wasn't fair was five people losing their lives." A judge snorts a couple weeks later as he throws out the requests to dismiss the charges and have their jobs returned to them. The defendants wail as they're dragged off again to their jail cells.

Thanksgiving is quiet, the next day maintenance starting to bring out the decorations. Over the next couple of days everything is put up and a few people put things up in their own rooms.

Finals is hectic and Josette hugs Alan, Abby, and Anna as Mr. and Mrs. Covington arrive Wednesday morning from Tennessee to take them home. They're not the only parents picking up students and Josette is busy marking down names as students head off.

Professors Druid and Fletcher come back from buying presents for the girls who were staying over, while Professor Ziegler and Eppes had done the same thing for the boys. Principal Madison smiles and opens the door to a room in the administration building where they can wrap the presents and store them until it's time to put them under the tree Christmas eve.

"Who were the women with bags and boxes?" Professor Eppes asks.

"Workers from various agencies, delivering gifts and food packages to those students who are wards of the state. Maintenance is delivering them after lunch."

"When is the church holding their bazaar for underprivileged families?"

"Saturday, eight of our students have spots. That's just the students who are boarding and staying at school, who knows how many more have their families attending."

"How are the students getting there?"

"The shuttle will drop them at the door, take any other students to where they want to go in town, then pick them up when Josette calls."

Josette settles at her usual spot at the table, expecting to eat alone until the new semester starts and smiles as Susan comes into the dining hall. Susan grins and waves at her before filling her tray and settling at the table.

"You're staying over?"

"Nobody to share Christmas with." Susan says. Josette nods. "I'm heading off for a couple of days tomorrow, need to get some money for next semester. Michael, Alexander." She waves at them when they come into the dining hall.

"Oh good, I wasn't sure if anybody but us were staying over. David left after breakfast." Michael says, putting down his tray.

"With his gift, commuting is a snap." The boys nod. "Not spending Christmas with family?"

"We grew in the same orphanage." Alexander says. "The twins and Alan take off? I know they were planning on leaving this morning."

"Yeah, after breakfast." Josette says. "There's only seven or eight girls staying over, what about the boys?"

"About seven with us." Michael starts counting off names on his fingers. "Thankfully we won't have to worry about them except to lock the doors and turn off the lights, we're going to be busy during break." The girls look at them. "We're artists, the school built us a studio before we enrolled. Now that tests are over, we've been concentrating on our projects for a show. What are you two doing to keep busy?"

"I'm heading to the track tomorrow to make enough money for next semester's classes." Susan says. The others look at her. "That's how I can afford to pay for my schooling."

"Our shows pay for ours." Michael says. Alexander silently snorts. 'and then some.'

"I'm running into town tomorrow to get groceries and other supplies, stocking up now so I don't have to deal with the crowds closer to Christmas." The others shudder and nod. "Other than heading into town Saturday with some of the other students for the bazaar a local church is having for underprivileged kids and their families I don't have any plans."

"Ahhh those, money was always tight at the orphanage. The staff tried but that's the only way we got Christmas presents some years."

Josette nods. "I'm on the list for paper angels again this year, there's never enough to go around and they usually concentrate on the younger kids."

"And the older kids end up with nothing under the tree." Michael says. Alexander nods. "We had a reporter at the orphanage one year doing a story about 'how happy the poor little orphans' are opening their presents. When about eight of us didn't get anything because nobody had chose us and the agency had run out of money, they really had a story."

"Everybody pointed fingers at each other but. . ." Michael shrugs.

"All the explaining in the world doesn't mean anything when you're the one who doesn't have anything under the tree." Josette says. The boys nod.

The next day Josette catches the morning shuttle into town, heading to the superstore and filling her carts with food, pet food and kitty litter, and a couple of items for herself since it’s Christmas, the driver helping her put everything in the back of the van when she comes out of the store. Putting everything away she settles in the recliner she'd found at a yard sale in town a couple months ago, Samhein jumping into her lap and purring in her ear.

After lunch Josette does her laundry, looking over as Michael comes in and starts sorting out two bags, obviously doing his and Alexander's.  She nods and swipes her laundry card after adding detergent and dry bleach to her machines. She settles at the table with a book to wait for the machines to be done, Michael doing the same.

"This place is dead."

"Everybody that was going home got their laundry done before finals, I waited since I wasn't going anywhere." Michael nods. An hour later they're busy folding laundry and heading back to their dorms. Michael puts the clothes away back at the dorm then heads off to the studio to work on their art.

"Get the laundry done?" Alexander asks, looking over his shoulder when the door opens.

"Yes, it was dead in there."

"Everybody doing laundry before they left for the holiday."

"That's what Josette said. Like us she waited because she wasn't going anywhere." They work until they get hungry, with the school closed meals are buffet style and they do their Josette impressions, filling their trays two or three times. Heading back to the dorm they lock it up for the night, checking on the students who are remaining.

In the girls dorm Josette is doing the same thing before she settles in her room with a book, petting Samhein when he leaps into her lap.

Saturday Josette tells the other students when and where to gather for the ride back to the school and they enter the bazaar. Three hours later the shuttle arrives back at the church and they start putting everything in the van, sorting everything out when they return to the school.

Josette puts everything away before heading to the dining hall, filling her tray and looking up with a grin as Susan walks in and fills her tray.

"Just get back?"

"Yes, thank you god. I hate taking the bus but I paid for the next semester of school and have a little extra money in my account." 'And then some' she silently echoes what Alexander had been thinking a few days earlier.

The boys come over.

"What happens when you're done whatever it is you're working on?"

"We've got a show lined up in a couple months."

Principal Madison comes over to the table.

"Boys, you're nearly fifteen. Do you want to sign up for the drivers education class this summer?"

"Yes please."

"Come to the office after the new semester starts and we'll get you all set up."

The next few days pass and soon it's Christmas Eve. Josette looks out the back door, Samhein purring in her arms. The next day she opens the presents that she'd put aside from the state before she dresses and unlocks the dorm, finding presents under the tree. After brunch they open the other presents and Josette checks on her dinner preparations since dinner will be late.

A couple of days later Josette braves the stores in Boston with the other students who had stayed at the school, getting in a movie before they return to the school.

"Did you have a good Christmas with your family dear?" Mrs. Covington asks Josette when she helps the girls carry stuff into their room. Josette's face falls for a moment and she realizes something's wrong.

"I'm an orphan Mrs. Covington. My mother died a couple years ago and I never knew my father. I stay at the school over breaks, but Susan, Alexander, and Michael stayed over too."

"Oh my dear, you could have come home with us." Alice says firmly. "I know your school does its best but you should be with family at Christmas."

"Susan stayed?" Anna asks, looking over from putting her clothes away as Abby brings in the groceries they'd stopped at the store in town for.

"Yeah, she didn't have anybody to celebrate Christmas with and headed off for a couple of days to the racetrack so she'd have money for next semester. Michael and Alexander grew up in the same orphanage, they're artists and worked on some stuff over the break."

"Josette, you start your job here next week right?"

"Yeah, Mondays and Wednesdays. Six to eleven. I'll eat at five those two nights, six the rest of the week."

"Josette's working already? she's only 14." Alice asks her daughters when Josette heads back to her room a few minutes later.

"13 Mom, she made the cutoff because she was already reading and writing at a first grade level. She also skipped kindergarten."

"Why is she working already? I thought your Professor Druid said students were able to get jobs their sophomore years and Josette's in your grade."

"She doesn't have anybody to help pay for the scholarship loan we have."

"Won't the state pay her way through school? She is a ward of the state, isn't she?"

"Yes she is, and no they don't. Josette's room and board is 1200 a month like ours since she's got the other dorm monitor room, but the state only pays 300 dollars a month towards it."

"Shit."

"School books, food, clothing, other necessities. It adds up. Josette had to buy new glasses a couple months ago, her old glasses were four years old."

"The state wouldn't pay for that?" Alice moans.

"No, or dental. Our first week of school Josette got a tracfone like ours because her social worker demanded she have a phone. Leaving a message at the office wasn't good enough for them. Not that they've ever contacted Josette."

Alice says a few choice phrases that would have had her reaching for the dish soap if it had been any of her kids. "So Josette's making extra money and paying down her loan before she graduates?"

"Yes," Professor Druid says as comes up the hallway. "Josette's starting early since her gift will allow her to keep her grades up and the student who's currently handling the laundry is graduating this semester. This will give her time to learn the ropes with him before she has to handle it by herself while he's away on the senior trip and after he graduates. Josette?" She taps on her door. Josette opens the door.

"Here's the keys to the machines in the front room. Since you work in the laundry you can do yours for free. . ."

"I'll do it while I'm working. That way I don't have to try to find a machine during the busy times."

Professor Druid nods. "The key to the supply dispenser. Part of your job is going to be filling that and the emergency closet."

"Emergency closet?" Alice asks quietly.

"A closet with extra supplies in case the dispenser runs out. It usually does on the weekends when everybody's doing their laundry." Anna says just as quietly.

"This is the key to the supply closet. Maintenance will check it weekly, replacing cases of supplies as they're used. Like the supply closet here, there's a sheet of paper on the door to write down what you've removed." Josette nods. "The main bulk of the supplies is down in the basement, bring your card to the office tomorrow morning and we'll add the laundry main door, the door for the back room, and the basement door leading to the tunnels so you can put the boys laundry outside the door and bring the girls in when you come back."

Josette nods. "Do I bring the sheets and towels upstairs and put them away?"

"Yes. . ."

"I'll help you bring everything up, no use making multiple trips up and down the stairs with an armful of stuff, too easy to fall." Abby says.

"Thank you Abby, that will help out a lot." Professor Druid says, giving her a grateful look.

"Andrew, we're bringing more children back with us when we come back to pick up the kids for their break in April." Alice says firmly as she gets in the car. Her husband looks at her.

"Their friends Josette, Susan, Alexander, and Michael stayed over Christmas because they don't have families."

Andrew shakes his head. "This is a good school. . .but kids should be home for Christmas."

"Exactly. We can sit down and figure out what we need to buy when we get home. Those four for sure. . .their friend David can travel so he might be coming out for a day or so when he's not at his own home."

"Figure on five then." His wife nods as they pull out of the parking lot.

"Josette has a cat that will be coming along too."