LINDA'S NEW SCHOOL

BY JOREYMAY

[ part 6 ]

Allies

As she walked down the hall, she noticed that the clocks in some of the classrooms disagreed with each other. In particular, the clocks in the empty classrooms displayed a later time than those in the occupied ones. She suspected that it was deliberate, yet another way to disorient and depress the students.

She also noticed that the girls ranged from stark naked to fully dressed. One of the naked girls was bent over a teacher's desk, her red-striped bottom facing the class. Another stood tearfully, head bowed, hands at her sides, while the teacher was saying something to her. Linda was determined that some things would change at that school.

Eventually, her classmates were dismissed. She walked up behind Victoria, linked arms with her, and began in conversational tones "So, are you going to show me to my room, or what?"

Victoria jumped. "I didn't expect to see you again! After all that, I figured they would get rid of you or something. What happened?"

"Miss FitzGibbon was taken away to hospital, after being taken to the ambulance naked from the waist up. There is a good chance she will face criminal charges for what she did to me. And Matron is in much the same position. Miss James is walking on eggshells, because if she does anything to me she could end up facing charges and the school could be shut down. Even the school's backers are spooked, because of the possible scandal. If I know my parents, we could end up owning this place."

"I've seen girls come here with that kind of confidence before. Sooner or later, they were either broken or sent away."

"Not this time. I mean it literally. My mother eats bigger outfits than this for breakfast. My father handles bigger legal challenges for highly placed people all the time. I really mean we could end up owning this place."

"Wow! So why are you still here?"

"It's going to take a while to get everything sorted out. I have some decisions to make, and I need more information. So, which would you rather see, changes or closing?"

"That depends. What kinds of changes? And what would happen to us if you closed the school? I don't fancy going to some prison."

"I really doubt it would come to that." She paused as they reached the utility closet. She retrieved her bundle, then asked "Which way to the room?"

Victoria told her it was up the stairs, and they resumed walking.

"We all are in here for some pretty small stuff. If the school closes because of the scandal, most judges will weigh the crimes of the school against yours, and see who the real criminals are. Probably ask whether you've Learned Your Lesson and then, if you don't smart off to him, let you off with time served. You might even get Victim's Assistance for what they did here. So, is there anything here worth saving?"

"Most of the teachers are not too bad. And we tend to do well on the comprehensives. If you got rid of the real sadists and perverts, and the whole humiliation thing, it might be an ok school."

They turned a corner in the hallway, and found themselves alone.

"Victoria, why were you there, waiting around that corner, when the headmistress brought me in?" This would tell Linda a lot about how far she could trust her.

"We were chosen. The same thing happens to every girl when she arrives. It is not wise to refuse an assignment they choose you for, even a dishonest one. Besides, I like meeting the new girls."

"Yes, but why you?"

"I honestly don't know. Maybe it is because I come across as friendly. They probably think it throws the new girl off guard, or something. I've been chosen a few times now. Here's the room."

"Which bed is mine?" She asked, as she looked around for the camera she knew would be there.

"This one. They gave you the one the sun hits in the morning."

"I see what you mean. Kind of them," she added sarcastically. Moving so her body blocked both the camera and the other girl, she stashed her bundle under the mattress. "And such a comfortable mattress. Are the lumps supposed massage my back or something?"

"Something like that. Seriously, they want you uncomfortable and off balance. They say you have to earn your comforts."

"Of course they do. Which dresser is mine?" She held her arms as though she was still cradling her bundle.

"You get the bottom drawer over there. It sticks, of course."

"Of course." Moving her body again as a shield, she opened the drawer with difficulty. She moved as though she was puting her bundle inside, then shut it.

"Now," she returned to the bed and sat. "After the PE attack and the so-called checkup, what other joyous experiences would I have had today?"

"As soon as you went to class in that outfit, you would have been stripped and punished for the missing buttons and the like. After attending the rest of your classes naked, you would have been sent to the supply room to 'explain why you could not take proper care of your clothes,' punished yet again as publicly as possible, and then given your real clothes and a lecture on taking better care of them."

"oh, joy. And later?"

"When you take your shower, your clothes would disappear and you would be last in line to share the towel."

"You *share* towels here? Ewww, gross."

"Gross is when you are last in line to share it. Makes you feel like you need another shower. But the scented powder helps a little. We share that, too."

"Wonderful. What else? Do they put something in the food?"

"I hear that they used to do something at meal time, but the mess got so bad that even a paid off health inspector couldn't overlook it. They will make you stand up and introduce you, but then it's time for food. It will be something hot and probably messy, because they expect you to be naked by then. If you are not, you will be after they catch you getting anything on your clothes. Either way, you will be encouraged to take that shower."

"Oh, how jolly. So after my clothes disappear, I have to go beg for more?"

"Pretty much. One way or another, your butt hurts so much by the time you get to bed you barely notice the lumps."

"And in the morning?"

"Nothing special. They probably figure the usual will be enough. We all go down to the pool for our morning swim. Naked. After we shower, we share the towels and powder again. Then we go back and get dressed. I think they want you nervous, wondering where the next thing will come from."

"Sounds about right. So when do we eat?"

"About an hour. Right after the daily Staff meeting."

"So I have time to get my clothes. Good."

"Not so good. The supply room is closed for the meeting."

"Even better." She pulled out the map in the orientation packet. "Where is the supply room? I would bet real money that this map is wrong."

"No bet. Another of their games. It's right there. What are you going to do?"

"You don't want to know. What would you be doing now, normally?"

"Homework, in the common room. There," she added, pointing to the map.

"Get going then. I'll see you at tea." They left, and she headed for the staircase with her envelope in hand. On the way, she passed a girl who was squatting, stark naked, in a corner of the hallway. She recognized her as the one she had seen in the classroom. As much as she wanted to help her, she knew she couldn't. Yet.