“H ey — Adina.” Fraida snagged Adina by the sleeve as she passed and shoved a file into her arms. “Can you do me a huge favor? I need to go there—” she waggled her eyebrows toward the little office in the hallway where Mrs. Brandweis stood waiting—” but I promised the office I’d return this file right away. Rabbi Leibowitz needs it to place some order or something.” Fraida was already halfway down the hall tossing the words over her shoulder. “Can you put it in my cubby in the back of the office? Thanks!”

“Sure no problem” Adina said to the spot where Fraida had just vanished. She did an about-face and headed toward the office.

The main office with its labyrinth of alcoves and tiny walled-off offices was teeming with people this lunch period. “Can I just put this away?” Adina asked a secretary with phones on both ears. She waited a beat took the silence as agreement and squeezed past three tenth graders who seemed suspiciously soaking wet. It didn’t seem to hamper their spirits but Adina catching sight of a thunderous-faced Rabbi Leibowitz heading in their direction was glad her own business in the office was of the more mundane variety.

“What are you doing here?”

Adina looked around. One of the secretaries was looking at her quizzically over a table of collated booklets.

“I need to put this in the Shabbaton cubby” Adina said stretching out the file. “I think Rabbi Leibowitz needs it.”

The secretary nodded and gestured. “Back there” she said. “The cubbies are on the wall. If you pass the blue door you’ve gone too far.”

It was quieter back here away from the cacophony created by hundreds of girls moving through the hallway. There it was a wall holding rows and rows of cubbies. Adina’s eyes flickered looking for the right one.

“Bnos Tehila is out for now I think.”

Adina jumped startled. The voice was coming from behind the blue door.

“I know it was your first choice but like I told you originally even 12th graders can’t necessarily expect their first choice.”

The cubbies were organized alphabetically Adina finally realized. Was she looking for “S” for Shabbaton or what?

“I have the letter from Bais Shulamis right here…”

There was no cubby marked Shabbaton. Adina was growing annoyed. Couldn’t Fraida have been more specific?

“It gives a little hope but not much. I spoke to Rebbetzin Finklestein this morning…” Should she just leave it in Rabbi Leibowitz’s cubby?

“Rebbetzin Finklestein? Really? What did she say?”

Adina froze.

A low chuckle. “I’ve never seen a student so excited about a seminary application! It’s not what she said but what she didn’t say — she didn’t say no.”

Wait — right there — there was a cubby marked with Fraida’s and Sima’s names. She should just put— “So what does that mean?” The eager voice was so familiar. “Will she give me an interview?” “Well not exactly…” An interview?