Spooky Pregnant — School: The Quickening

Term 1 is for (dull, silent, theoretical). Term 2 is for Gestation of Habit (the halls grow warmer; you crave chalk dust and raw liver). But Term 3? Term 3 is The Quickening . What is The Quickening? In mundane medicine, it is simply when the mother first feels fetal movement. At St. Agatha’s, it is when the curriculum begins to move inside you .

It is written in the style of a (a "lost student handbook entry"). THE QUICKENING An excerpt from the St. Agatha’s Guide to Term 3 (Unabridged, 1974) Warning to the Newly Swollen: By the time you feel the first flutter, it is already too late to withdraw. spooky pregnant school: the quickening

In the final week, the students become hollow. Their skin goes translucent, like onion paper. You can see what has been growing in there: not a child, but a with your own name on it, dated the day you were born. Term 1 is for (dull, silent, theoretical)

At , we do not teach biology. We teach echoes . Term 3 is The Quickening

You will file into the basement auditorium. The lights are the color of a bruise. You will lie on a gurney. A cold, stethoscope-like device—too long, too flexible—will be inserted into your navel.

You will hear two voices. Your own. And another, slightly behind yours, speaking in reverse.