Chapter 10

“I have an idea,” I said to Shaina one day on our way down the dusty hill from the pool to the school. We wore long, brightly colored robes with hoodies over our wet hair, and we ate the peaches I brought every day in my swim bag. We smelled of chlorine, our fingers were shriveled and we were dizzy from so much sunshine. It was just about the right circumstances to start dreaming about solutions to the world’s problems. And I had one.   “I think that anyone in the community should be allowed to leave after 18, when we get married. Here’s why. We won’t need as many restrictions anymore. We’d be mature enough to make the right choices. If we will already have families, we wouldn’t go on and become druggies, or murderers, or bums, or just divorcees. We’ll have spent our childhood learning about how the Torah laws guide us towards a more fulfilling life, so we’ll be ready.”