Is the word as used in the sentence singular or plural? civics a study of civics is in preparing a student for life as an adult. singular plural

"the only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon. they were both in white and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house."