Penelope hung up the phone, her hand trembling. Orphans could not attend the Living Science school. No. It was for the children of the faithful only and if your parent was dead, well it was too pitifully obvious that they were not adequately faithful, now wasn't it? Her mother couldn't get out of the airlock, though, when the door was jammed, and she apparently had not had enough time to pray properly. It wasn't her fault, but Penelope had to keep her death a secret.

How could she go back to a mundane school after the glorious education she'd been getting at the Living Science school? More to the point, how could she stand the shunning by the other students if she went back to a mundane school? Let's face it; Living Science kids were chronically weird. She simply could not do it.

Why did they require an archaic paper form anyway? It was so much easier to have a parent sign electronically. Oh. That was probably why. For a kid attending an exclusive school, Penelope wasn't always brilliant. She groaned at her own opacity, then straightened her shoulders. It wasn't her fault. Anyone would be a little thick after doing what she'd had to do with her mother's body. Thank goodness her mother had the good sense to exsanguinate at the end.

Now Penelope would have to get a parent's signature by tomorrow. Since her father was three weeks out - the organization required him to leave when Penelope's mother converted to Living Science - Penelope had no choice but to get her mother's signature from the beyond.

*************
I might go one with this one later on today. I like it.