The Blackcoat's Daughter

In February, at a prestigious Catholic boarding school in upstate New York, students are preparing to be picked up by their parents for break. Kat, a freshman, has a dream where her father shows her the horribly smashed family car. She awakens from the dream, and marks off her calendar, looking forward to the day her parents will come. An older student, Rose, worries she might be pregnant and intends to tell her boyfriend that night.

When both Kat's and Rose's parents fail to pick them up before break, Rose confesses she told them the wrong date, but does not disclose it is because she wants to delay them until she can tell her boyfriend about the pregnancy. Mr. Gordon, the headmaster, jokes that their parents will eventually show up since they cannot live there forever. Kat is visibly upset, and the two nuns who are acting as chaperones reassure her that everything is fine and promise to keep calling her parents. They ask Rose to watch over Kat that night.