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Rosa and Sasha quietly slipped out the house the next morning, both of them receiving a text from Cassandra about meeting at the church.
When they arrived, most of the girls in town were already there, spread out amongst the pews or on the floor.
After greeting Helena and Kelly, they sat down together, waiting to find out what the meeting was all about. There was low chatter amongst everyone, many people still in shock over what had happened at the hardware store the night before.
At precisely 9 o'clock, the church doors opened and Cassandra and Allie Pressman headed inside. Rosa straightened up slightly, watching the two sisters with curious eyes as she began to wonder why it was only girls that had been called to the church.
They sat down in front of everyone, Cassandra's eyes drifting over them. "Boys that we thought we knew destroyed those stores last night," she began. "And if we don't do something, male testosterone is going to be the end of us."
"Is that why it's just girls here?" Helena wondered.
Cassandra nodded. "Right now it's just pillage. But how long until someone's raped walking home one night and no one gives a shit because that's just how it is?"
"Okay, I'm sorry no one wanted to date you in high school, Cassandra, but this war on men feels a little extra," Gwen stated, earning a few irritated glances.
Last night was the biggest wake up call Rosa had ever received, realising quickly how easy it was for things to descend into chaos and disaster in a town with no law and order.
"Shut the fuck up, Gwen," Kelly retorted.
Rosa glanced at the girl in surprise, desperately trying to hide the smile forming on her lips in response to the kind hearted Kelly, of all people, saying exactly what Rosa had been thinking.
"Everything that kept us safe is gone," Cassandra reminded them. "There isn't anyone to say no. And when you stop hearing no, you begin to think you can do anything. Women aren't safe in a world that's run by brute force and stupidity. If we want peace, we need order. And to get order, we need to exert our power."
Rosa nodded along with Cassandra's words, realising that she was making incredibly valid points. In some ways, Rosa wished she'd been taking things as seriously as Cassandra had since they first arrived in this place, rather than getting drunk, partying and playing stupid games of fugitive to forget about the whole mess of a situation they were in. But, the events of the night before, and Cassandra's speech, began to kickstart something in Rosa, and she decided she wanted to step up and start helping out, which was the exact plan Cassandra told the girls that she had for everyone.
So, later that afternoon, another meeting with the rest of the town was called, everybody flocking to the church. Rosa sat between Sasha and Helena, keeping an eye on the door and everybody who came in.
Her gaze hardened upon noticing Campbell Eliot, having the feeling that he was going to start causing trouble again. But she soon caught eyes with Glenn as he strolled through the door after him, her face breaking into a grin upon seeing the very noticeable bruise on his cheekbone. He smiled back at her, taking a seat in the pews behind them.
Cassandra soon took her place at the front of the church, her authoritative voice causing the light chatter to quieten down. "We need to know what we have, and what we're at risk of running out of. So, there'll be an accounting of resources. Once we get a handle on that, we'll begin to ration food, eating meals communally in the cafeteria. We'll also share houses, in case water and electricity are in limited supply, which, at this point, we don't know. But it's better to be safe because if we run out, we don't have a solution."
"No one will be doing any of this alone. We'll have rotating work lists. That way, everyone contributes the same. And this includes in the decision-making. It'll be by committee. Finally, we're going to put together a committee on going home–" Hushed whispers began to surface. "–So we can formally investigate how we got here and how we're going to get back. Adopting to this new way of living doesn't mean we're giving up. It means we're smart and prepared. That's the plan." Cassandra glanced up at everyone, sharing a brief smile with her sister. "I think we should vote. Okay. All in favor, please raise your hands."
Rosa raised her arm, most of the girls following suit. She turned her head to look behind her at Grizz and Glenn, glancing at them expectantly. Glenn let out a low huff, slightly reluctantly raising his hand, along with Grizz.
"I don't think that we can do this unless it's unanimous," Cassandra added, prompting the rest of the reluctant teens to comply. Rosa looked past the boys to see Campbell and Harry sat firmly with their arms still by their sides. She sighed slightly, wondering how much of a fight they were going to put up, until, finally, they raised them in the air. Rosa turned back around to face the front in satisfaction as Cassandra smiled proudly to herself. "Thank you everyone. The lists will be up tomorrow."
The crowd began to disperse, and Rosa noticed many clearly hesitant and unhappy faces, unable to even comprehend why so many people didn't think Cassandra's idea was a reasonable, sensible solution to the mess they'd found themselves in. It could turn out being essential to their survival, and people were still kicking up a fuss.
Rosa shook her head, wondering how, of all the people she had to be trapped with, it was the kids from high school.
"Hey," Cassandra spoke from behind her. Rosa turned to face the blonde with a warm smile. "I wanted to ask you something."
"Sure, what's up?"
"I wondered if you'd consider joining the decision committee?" Cassandra asked. "I'd really like your point of view on things."
Rosa deliberated for a moment, genuinely surprised that Cassandra would ask her.
The two of them knew each other fairly well, and had become closer since Sasha had befriended her in drama class. Rosa would perhaps even consider Cassandra a friend, and she certainly didn't mind her company, despite some of her friends unnecessarily disliking her because she beat Harry to student council president.
And now, they were all stuck in this place together, and Rosa was content with Cassandra's lead, not seeing anybody more suitable for the job. Being able to put her own ideas and points of view forward sounded appealing to Rosa, and she was appreciative that Cassandra was offering her that platform.
"I'd like that, yeah," Rosa replied, nodding eagerly. "I'd really like that."
"That's great, I'll keep you in the loop for the next meeting," she told her, starting to move past. "Thank you, by the way, for being on my side. I know a lot of your friends have been tough to convince."
Rosa spared a glance back at the others, who were hanging around near the entrance of the church. "Well, you're the only person coming up with viable solutions right now, and you're right on just about everything. Plus, in case you haven't noticed, most of my friends barely have one brain cell between them so..."
Cassandra chuckled lightly at her comment. "Thanks, Rosa," she said, with a genuine smile. "I'll see you around."
