Maragana Girl
Copyright 2004 by EC
EC's Erotic Art & Fiction - http://www.ecgraphicarts.com/
EC's deviantART collection - http://caligula20171.deviantart.com/ 

(warnings: judicial corporal punishment, forced public nudity, sex between adults, 
references to drug use, references to violence)

Chapter 4 – The Socrates Club 

By the end of Kim's first week in Danube City she was partially settled into her 
strange new life as a convicted criminal and bicycle courier. Within a week her 
welts were fading and no longer hurt. She had come to terms with what had 
happened and even managed to pass by the Temple of the Ancients where all her 
trouble had started. Kim vaguely wondered if that sadistic cop and her partner 
were still patrolling the grounds behind the Temple, but had no desire to go there 
and find out. She would see the woman in six months in the Police Station for her 
second punishment, and that was soon enough.

Kim's new boss, Victor Dukov, forced her to quickly learn the skills needed to 
move about as a courier in Danube City. Victor Dukov was very different from 
his brother Vladim. He was gruff and impatient and pushed her very hard. He 
quickly forced her to learn how to ask for and understand directions in Danubian. 
He ordered her to memorize a map of the city and yelled at her when she made 
mistakes. He expected her to find and use the shortest route and to ride from one 
assignment to another with no breaks. His favorite line for admonishing the 
American was: 

"Kimberly, you smart girl. You pretty girl. But you lazy girl, and you do dumb 
thing. Why you lazy? Why you do dumb thing?" 

Kim knew that line always led into an unpleasant lecture, but over time she got 
used to it. She learned it was easiest to go along with Victor's nagging, and if she 
agreed with him and apologized that tended to shorten his lectures. Whether 
Victor was right or wrong, Kim simply answered "Sir, I guess I wasn't paying 
attention. I'm sorry for not listening. I'll try harder in the future."

Kim did not like Victor, but she had no specific grievances against him. He did 
not treat her any worse than he treated his other employees. Victor never 
disrespected Kim for being a convicted criminal or for being a foreigner. For 
example, he never required her to kneel when she spoke to him, which was 
something that in theory he had the right to do, being her superior. To Victor, 
Criminal # 98945 simply was his employee, the same as four other individuals, 
and thus she was subject to his temper and demands no more and no less than 
were the others.

Because Kim's command of Danubian language and society were so limited at the 
beginning, Victor Dukov sent her on the deliveries that were furthest from his 
office, the ones that would take time away from his other employees. That meant 
fewer deliveries and thus fewer chances of making mistakes, but also longer trips 
and constant riding. Kim rode hard all over Danube City, often to within just a 
block or so of the dreaded yellow signs. She made her delivery, or picked up the 
needed signatures and receipts, and then was riding again, desperate to make the 
next delivery before Victor Dukov's cell phone went off to check on her 
whereabouts. She was always exhausted after each day's work from her hours of 
hard riding through the city summer heat. However, the courier job was extremely 
beneficial, because within a month she knew the entire city very well and 
understood some details about Danubian business protocol. 

A delivery to a private individual or business owner was no different than a 
delivery would be in the US. Kim walked in with her package and her signature 
pad, announced herself with her terrible Danubian, completed the delivery, and 
quickly was out the door on her bicycle. If the delivery was made to a public 
official, she had to go to her knees and hold the delivery items out in front of her. 
Once the client took them Kim put her forehead to the floor, and stayed in that 
position until she felt the signature pad placed back in her hands. If she wasn't 
sure if the client was a public official, she asked, and dropped to her knees if the 
answer was affirmative.

Over the first few days following her sentence Kim was mortified at the thought 
of having her body on display for a full two years. However, a person can get 
used to many things in life. Within a week Kim's mind had accepted her constant 
nudity; by the end of the second week she no longer even thought about it. It 
seemed that the intense stares from bystanders had started to diminish and 
Criminal # 98945 simply received the same casual glances any other naked 
criminal would receive. The unwelcome attention towards her body had receded, 
and with it much of her self-consciousness.

What helped reduce the constant curious stares, ironically, was the broadcast of 
Kim's punishment on Danubian television. Kim's case generated a sensational 
amount of interest. However, the broadcast also satisfied much of the curiosity 
surrounding Kim and answered a lot of questions. The naked Asian girl with welts 
on her backside and a collar on her neck had been sentenced under Danubia's 
marijuana laws and was serving a two-year sentence as a criminal. It was that 
mundane, and that simple.

No one in Danube City felt that Kim should have been exonerated, since there 
was no doubt she had possessed and smoked marijuana. However, most of the 
people interested in Kim's case felt the reduced sentence was fair and that she did 
deserve some leniency. Kimberly Lee projected a sympathetic and likeable image 
on TV and there was general agreement that she had been treated shamefully by 
her two friends. People also agreed with Dukov that the prosecutor had behaved 
irresponsibly in trying to get a maximum sentence for Kim while releasing the 
other two Americans. But that was why a Spokesman-for-the-Criminal was 
needed, to argue on behalf of the suspect and work out a fair sentence. Spokesman 
Dukov had done his job admirably and as a result the American had received fair 
treatment in court.

The hot summer weather continued unabated as July became August. Kim 
continued her sweaty bicycle trips around Danube City. She was in great physical 
shape from the constant exercising. She ate well and slept soundly at Vladim 
Dukov's house. She spoke by phone to her parents at least once a week and tried 
to assure them she was fine. Kim was too busy to have much time to feel sorry for 
herself. She was too busy even to think about how much she hated Tiffany. While 
she was not exactly happy, she had achieved a daily equilibrium in her life. Kim's 
tranquil existence in Danube City had been one of the goals of the judge who had 
sentenced her.

Vladim Dukov decided to extend Kim's stay at his house until she had enough 
money saved up to get a decent room. He insisted that she open a Danubian bank 
account and deposit most of her paycheck from her job. Dukov also laid out a 
series of chores he wanted the American to perform at his house in exchange for 
her free boarding. He sent his client out to buy groceries, pay household bills, and 
other errands with the intent of forcing her to learn how to perform the basic tasks 
needed to live from day to day. Often Anyia went with Kim and helped her carry 
the groceries.

By the end of her first month in Danube City, Kim had become a de facto member 
of Vladim Dukov's family. Her professional relationship with Dukov, her 
dependency on him, and her lack of any other friends in Upper Danubia resulted 
in her becoming almost a second daughter of the elder Dukovs. Having been 
convicted criminals themselves, both Vladim and Maritza understood much of 
what she had to face. Furthermore, the Spokesman had traveled to the US several 
times in his life on official functions. While US society and its values were 
unfathomable to Dukov, at least he had a glimpse of the world that had produced 
Kimberly Lee and was able to understand some of the cross-cultural difficulties 
she faced in her new life as a Danubian criminal. Kim needed to be educated and 
brought up to function in Danubian society. She needed to learn what that society 
expected of her and how she needed to behave in many different situations, large 
and small. The restrictions and rules Kim had to live under as a convicted 
criminal only complicated her adaptation to Danubian society.

After just a few days Kim knew how to speak some phases of Danubian, the most 
important and most frequently used being "Ya negat rozumigut," which meant "I 
don't understand". Danubian was a difficult language, very archaic and with 
grammar and pronunciation rules that would make the average Westerner cringe. 
Not many average people in the isolated country spoke anything other than their 
native tongue, thus the task of learning Danubian was a top priority. 

Oddly enough, Anyia was willing to help Kim with learning Danubian, at least 
during the times she wasn't sunbathing. She learned to leave Anyia alone if she 
was in the yard on her towel or with one of her friends, but if she was in the house 
alone the girl was perfectly approachable. After a short time Kim's vocabulary 
expanded way beyond "Ya negat rozumigut", largely with the help of Dukov's 
moody teenager.

----------

August 15 was a significant day for the members of Victor Dukov's courier 
service. On that day there were to be no deliveries during the morning, no bicycle 
runs whatsoever. On that day Kim briefly saw a different side of Victor Dukov, 
even if it was only for a single day. It was the day Kim's co-worker Vita 
completed his sentence for fighting in school. It was a significant day for Vita and 
one that Victor and his staff fully appreciated. Vita would enter the courtroom still 
a criminal, but would exit as a free man.

Unlike trials, the only day of the week that end-of-sentence ceremonies were held 
was on Mondays. Normally around 20 criminals ended their sentences on any 
given week. It was a significant event in their lives and one marked by a formal 
celebration of the transition from criminals to free citizens.

Monday morning Victor and his couriers went to the courthouse. Vita separated 
from the group to hug his parents, and then joined the group of naked soon-to-be 
ex-criminals waiting at the entrance of the main hall of the court. The departure of 
Vita left Kim feeling a bit uneasy, given that she now was the only naked member 
of the courier group and as of today would be the only naked member of Victor's 
staff. She pushed that thought aside and tried to concentrate on Vita, not herself.

The courtroom was filled with relatives, co-workers, and friends of the 19 
criminals whose sentences would end that day. There was a lot of happy chatter 
among the audience. The atmosphere was similar to the over-all feel of a 
graduation ceremony. 

A trumpeter in a traditional Danubian tunic blew a very old horn, signaling the 
criminals to enter the chamber. They filed in, 12 men and 7 women. They knelt 
and put their heads to the carpet, for the last time of their lives. The trumpeter 
blew again.

"Doc-doc Danube!"

The entire room put their right hands to their left shoulders, except for the hand-
full of criminals in the audience such as Kim. The criminals in the audience 
dropped to their knees and put their foreheads to the carpet. The judge who had 
sentenced Kim six weeks before entered the room, and everyone in the audience 
sat down. The 19 criminals in the front of the room stayed kneeling, although they 
knelt upright to be able to watch the proceedings.

Vladim Dukov and three other Spokespersons for the Criminals came forward. 
They saluted the judge, who saluted back.

The judge asked each Spokesperson if each of the criminals under his or her 
authority had completed their sentences and whether or not they were ready to 
assume the rights and responsibilities of a free citizen. He asked the same 
question 19 times. Kim heard a loud "Doc!" 19 times. The judge then gave a brief 
speech about the transition from criminal to free citizen and the significance of 
reform and a new start in life.

The next part of the ceremony was the de-collaring of the criminals. One by one 
they came forward and knelt facing a sturdy metal post. The collar technician then 
hooked a scary-looking device to the post and closed it around the criminal's 
collar. The device looked like a huge pair of pliers. It had several clamps that 
latched into the collar and firing pin to snap the collar's latch. The technician fired 
the pin into the collar's locking mechanism and pulled it apart by opening the 
extractor's handles. Once the collar was off, the technician quickly removed the 
small transmitter and then handed the open collar back to the ex-criminal.

Still naked, but now free citizens, the ex-criminals lined up for the next part of the 
ceremony; the passing out of their clothes. There were 19 sets of traditional 
Danubian clothing waiting, tunics for the men and dresses for the women. The 
Spokespersons placed the respective outfits at the feet of each of their clients. 
Once everyone was ready, the judge ordered the ex-criminals to get dressed. They 
did so, quickly. The Spokespersons then stepped in front of the group and saluted 
them. Their ex-clients saluted back, then turned around and faced their audience, 
smiling and holding their collars over their heads. The room exploded into 
cheering and camera flashes. The long suffering of these 19 persons had come to 
an end.

Later that afternoon Victor Dukov held a small party for Vita in the office. The 
party was short, because Vita later had to go home and celebrate with his family. 
Vita's co-workers teased him about the tan-line around his neck from where the 
collar had been. There was laughter and good cheer in the office. Tomorrow 
Victor would return to his usual dour over-bearing self, but for one day, at least, 
he proved himself able to celebrate a joyful moment in another person's life.

----------

Kim's bike routes frequently took her past the plaza where the Temple of the 
Ancients was located. The first couple of times she passed the Temple she 
experienced both fear and regret over what that building meant for the loss of her 
old life. However, towards the end of August the location also began to symbolize 
a new beginning for Kim and new hope for her future.

On a blazing hot day Kim finished her morning deliveries early. However, she 
was dehydrated and did not want to wait to go all the way back to Victor's office 
just to have some water. She decided to stop at the outdoor cafe across from the 
Temple, the one where she had gone with Tiffany and Susan just before they were 
arrested. The naked waiter was there, the same shy young man that Tiffany had 
tormented just before Kim’s arrest.  She sat down and ordered a large glass of 
fruit punch, and…oh please, with lots of ice.

The café was nearly empty, leaving the young waiter with some spare time to 
converse with Kim. She could tell he was fascinated with her. Suddenly she found 
herself somewhat attracted to him as well. He was not the type of guy she would 
have been attracted to in the US, but she had changed as a result of her two 
months in Upper Danubia. Kim realized that she desperately needed someone to 
talk to who was not connected to Dukov or his family. In a flash she realized this 
waiter was her first chance to make a friend of her own, one who she had chosen 
herself.

The waiter's name was Sergekt. Kim found the name hard to pronounce correctly, 
but he in turn called her "Geemberglek". The two laughed at the mangled 
pronunciation of each other's names. With that they briefly exchanged a few 
details about their lives. It wasn't much, but it was a start. 

Some new customers came into the café and Kim's cell phone went off, pulling 
her and Sergekt away from their brief conversation. With that Kim was back on 
her bicycle, but she shyly smiled and waved to Sergekt as she pulled away. She 
badly wanted to see him again. 

Over the next few days Kim never missed a chance to stop at the café, even if she 
could only stay a few minutes. Finally at the end of her fifth visit, Sergekt asked 
her when she got off work. It turned out that Kim would be off work just after 
Sergekt got off, giving him time to meet her outside Victor Dukov's office. The 
result was a pleasant uninterrupted conversation at a nearby café. Kim had to 
force Sergekt to repeat himself many times to understand him, but gradually she 
found out more about him.

Sergekt had completed the first year of a three-year sentence for participating in a 
student riot at his high school. Kim was not able to understand much of Sergekt's 
explanation of why the riot took place, but apparently a total of 28 students had 
been convicted of the crimes of insurrection and vandalism resulting from the 
incident. 

Kim did understand enough of Sergekt's explanation to get a perspective on how 
Danubians saw "honor". When the 28 students were brought before the judge, 
each refused to say anything about what any of the others had done. Apparently 
both the judge and the police chief had expected the students would not say 
anything against each other, and thus the group had to be punished collectively. 
They were sentenced to three and a half years, collared, and returned to their 
school. They were switched one-by-one in the school courtyard in front of their 
classmates, something that took up an entire school day. Because they were 
under-aged, their punishments were not televised. The offenders then returned to 
their classes as criminals, naked except for their collars. As far as everyone was 
concerned the matter was closed and no one ever mentioned it again. All 28 
students graduated at the end of the previous May, some of them with honors. 
Most were now in college. However, the sentences remained, the expected price 
of loyalty and friendship among the group. Every four months they had to show 
up at the local police station near their old school to be switched, a burden they 
would endure until their collars came off two years in the future.

Sergekt was all too-aware of Kim's case. More than anything else he was shocked 
and appalled by the behavior of her friends Tiffany and Susan, as were many 
other Danubians. No Danubian in his right mind would ever dishonor himself by 
betraying a friend out of self-interest.  The American tourists had violated one of 
the most fundamental values of Danubian society, the belief that friendship is 
sacred and friends never betray each other. Sergekt believed that having to endure 
the betrayal of her friends must have been far worse for his guest to endure than 
her actual punishment. Kim sighed and thought to herself, you don't know my 
country, Sergekt. Where I'm from it's everyone looking out for Number One. 

It was only natural that two criminals would start out by talking about their 
sentences and convictions, since that was the one thing all criminals had in 
common. However, both Kim and Sergekt realized that to become friends they 
had to move beyond that topic and see each other as individuals, not as fellow 
criminals. They probed each other's interests, but quickly realized that Kim's 
Danubian vocabulary was not advanced enough to have such a conversation. 
Sergekt finally decided to invite Kim out on Sunday, for a walk in the park, for 
dinner, and for a movie. That sounded great, yes, just hanging out. She agreed, but 
later decided it would be a good idea to clear her plans with Spokesman Dukov 
first.

That night Kim found out that she was quite right in taking the precaution of 
clearing the planned afternoon of "hanging out" with her custodian. 

"Kimberly, as long as you are in my house, there will be no 'hanging out', as you 
say it, with a young man who has not sat at my table. I will not tolerate such 
improper behavior in my household. That young man will sit at my table before 
you spend any time alone with him."

Kim was a bit taken aback, not only by Dukov's response, but also by the harsh 
tone he used when he responded. She did not feel that the Spokesman was treating 
her like an adult. However, the following day Kim briefly saw Sergekt and 
brought up her guardian's objection. Sergekt seemed very embarrassed and 
apologetic. He immediately agreed to go to Dukov's office and ask for permission 
to visit his house.

Kim somewhat resented the whole exercise in permissions. All she wanted was 
have a friend and spend Sunday afternoon with someone her own age. She did not 
want a long-term relationship, just a friend. However, apparently in this country 
all contact between a young man and a young woman had to be sanctioned by the 
girl's parents, no matter how casual it might be. 

Saturday afternoon Vladim and Maritza Dukov dressed up in traditional Danubian 
clothing; a tunic for him and an old-style dress for her. They prepared several 
elaborate traditional dishes and awaited Sergekt. 

Kim rolled her eyes when she saw the set-up in the kitchen. This is totally 
ridiculous, she thought to herself. We're just friends. That's all I want from him. 
On top of everything else, she was not even Dukov's daughter. But she had 
learned not to argue. Upper Danubia had its own logic that she could only begin 
to fathom. 

Sergekt came onto the Dukovs' property. Because Dukov was a public official 
Kim's friend immediately went to his knees, touching his forehead to the ground. 
Dukov quickly requested that Sergekt stand up and join himself, his wife, and his 
client at dinner. Dukov and Maritza spoke at length with Sergekt as Kim stayed 
quiet. Over time Sergekt spoke more and more. The elder Dukovs initially wanted 
to have three basic questions answered, what had Sergekt done to be convicted as 
a criminal, how he saw himself as a person, and what were his plans for the 
future. Once Sergekt answered to their satisfaction, the conversation became more 
two-way.

The evening ended pleasantly enough with a strange combination of salutations. 
At first Dukov warmly shook Sergekt’s hand and patted his arm, but then Kim’s 
friend acknowledged his role as a criminal by going to his knees and placing his 
forehead on the ground. Kim did not like any of this. She resented having Sergekt 
essentially spend the evening with the elder Dukovs instead of with herself, and 
she resented all the formality. However, in the end Kim got what she wanted, 
Dukov's official blessing that she be allowed to spend time alone with Sergekt. 

"Sergekt is a man with honor. He has proper values. He will become a good friend 
for you."

Gee, thanks "Dad", thought Kim to herself. I think I had that figured out already.

Later that night, when she was alone, Kim gave some thought over the 
significance of the Dukov's stepping into her personal life. He had handled the 
matter with Sergekt in the same way he would have handled it with his own 
daughter. She now remembered that there had been no recent mention of her 
needing to find her own place, no hint that Dukov and Maritza expected her to 
move out any time soon. Increasingly, whenever the elder Dukovs went out, they 
wanted Kim to go with them. It seemed that at first they had taken Criminal # 
98945 in as a temporary house-guest, but now increasingly they were subjecting 
her to household rules and Danubian protocol. For better or for worse, with no 
one ever saying anything about it, Kim had become a member of the Dukov 
family.

----------

Kim spent a very pleasant Sunday afternoon with Sergekt. They went into town 
and walked along the Danube River, struggling to get to know each other through 
the language barrier. They had Kim's dictionary and were constantly looking up 
words. They had dinner at a café in the warm late-summer sun, and finally went 
to see a British movie. The movie must have been 30 years old, but it was in 
English with Danubian subtitles. Kim was grateful that Sergekt had taken the 
effort to find a movie she could understand. It was nice to hear something in 
English again.

Kim's second outing with Sergekt was a crash-course in Danubian culture. It also 
was the beginning of many huge changes in Kim's life; of her relationship with 
Sergekt, how she saw her own role as a Danubian criminal, and ultimately how 
she would look at herself.

Sergekt suggested going to a nightclub called the Socrates Club. Kim was thrilled. 
A nightclub, we can actually go to a nightclub? Sure enough, in the old part of 
town was the Socrates Club, which had been in that location for many years. 
Apparently the club was only for criminals and ex-criminals. The first thing she 
noticed was that everyone going into the club was naked. Not everyone was 
wearing collars, but club protocol mandated that anyone not still wearing a collar 
had to show proper respect to those who were still serving their sentences by not 
entering the club dressed. At first Kim felt a pang of fear, thinking that a 
nightclub only for criminals might be dangerous. Once inside, she realized that 
danger was the farthest thing from anyone's mind. 

Danubians often used the saying "to sing like a criminal" to describe a person who 
was capable of expressing himself in a very emotional or moving manner. The 
expression resulted from the fact that most of the country's romantic and serious 
music was written and sung by criminals, and most of that music had its origins in 
the Socrates Club. 

Kim later learned the club was a fixture in Danubian popular culture. It was a 
refuge for Danube City's criminals, a place where they could express themselves 
to a sympathetic audience, listen to each other's poetry and music, and share what 
they had created. The evening's entertainment started as club-goers stood before 
the audience to express their feelings, in as poetic a manner as possible. The 
poetry readings allowed other club members who had a talent for writing music to 
pick up ideas for songs from their companions on stage. During the ensuing week 
musicians in the audience wrote songs and music, which in turn were performed 
by the criminals who had the best talent for singing and playing instruments. It 
was a collaborative effort that produced a huge amount of very high-quality 
music, much of which eventually made it to Danubian radio.

Sergekt introduced Criminal # 98945 to a bunch of his fellow classmates. They 
greeted her warmly, but also with much curiosity. Finally they were able to meet 
the young American drug addict who had been so horribly betrayed by her 
friends. Kim saw in them a group of determined and very serious young people, 
hardly a group of rioting hooligans. Again she wondered what on earth had 
happened at their school. She also saw in them a group of people her own age 
with whom she would be able to hang out. Kim was a foreigner and a convicted 
drug-user, and yet Sergekt's friends seemed to accept her as one of their own.

The group ordered several pitchers of Danubian beer and sat down at a couple of 
tables that had been pushed together. Sergekt's friends talked a bit about 
themselves one-by-one. For a long time Kim struggled with introducing herself 
and trying to understand as much as she could from her companions. That effort 
was cut short by the beginning of the night's activities, the poetry reading. Two of 
Sergekt's classmates participated in that portion of the entertainment, as did five 
other club-goers.

Sergekt and five companions excused themselves for the next portion of the 
evening, the musical presentation. As two of his classmates, a man and a woman, 
sang together, the other four in the group played back-up instruments. Sergekt 
played an instrument that looked something like a balalaika. Even though Kim 
could only understand a few of the words from the group's songs, she could tell 
they were immensely sad and moving. One song she did understand almost in its 
entirety. It was a duet from Sergekt's classmates, in which the male singer 
lamented about no longer being able to sit at the table of his girlfriend's family; 
while she responded that she would wait for his sentence to end, and then insist he 
be allowed to return to her house.

Once Sergekt's group was finished singing, several others followed, all of which 
had produced excellent music for their companions. The criminals sung of lost 
love and lost opportunities, and also of the humiliations and physical suffering 
they were enduring. They sang about friendship and the personal sacrifices a 
person sometimes had to make to stay loyal to a friend. Above all, however, the 
criminals sang about their hope for the future. Kim sat fascinated as she listed to 
one sad philosophical song after another. None of the music that came out of the 
Socrates Club was light and happy, and certainly was not the type of music that 
would go very far in the United States. However, Kim reflected that what she was 
listening to now came far closer to the reality of her life than the escapist 
industrial product coming out of Hollywood.

Sergekt and Kim got up to dance, joining several other naked couples on the 
dance floor. They danced slowly and sadly, holding on to each other and seeking 
refuge from their lives on the outside. Kim vaguely wondered if Vladim Dukov 
and his fiancée Maritza might have danced here 25 years ago.

Sergekt and Kim left the club very late. The temperature outside was rather chilly, 
a warning that summer was coming to an end. On the way home the couple 
hugged each other for warmth. Kim was thrilled at the feel of Sergekt's body 
against her own as they huddled together on the trolley to Dukov's house. By the 
time Sergekt left Kim at Dukov's front door, she realized that her feelings towards 
him were much more than friendship. Perhaps her Spokesman had been right 
after-all by taking this relationship seriously from the very beginning.

----------

The following day was the first day of high school for Dukov's teenager. That 
morning the Spokesman’s household was hit by a loud crisis. It began very early 
with several doors slamming and Anyia screaming at her mother. Both Vladim 
and Maritza tried to reason with the irate teenager, but she stormed off and 
slammed yet another door. There was more yelling, and another door slam.

The issue was the teenager's school uniform. Having spent the entire summer 
tanning, the Anyia wanted to show off as much of her body as possible by 
converting her uniform skirt to a mini-skirt and shortening the sleeves of her 
blouse. Dukov was incensed. He had no problem with his daughter lying naked in 
the back yard all summer, but when it came to the school uniform she needed to 
wear it properly. Maritza had found the mini-skirt in the girl's closet and burned it 
the night before, replacing it with a standard school skirt. Once Anyia discovered 
her converted skirt was now a pile of ashes in the backyard fire-pit, she directed 
her wrath full-force at her parents.

The battle continued four days; screaming and door-slamming in the mornings 
and tense sullen silence at dinner each night. Danubians normally tended to spoil 
their children and rarely punished them, but by Thursday Dukov had enough. He 
borrowed a leather switch from the police chief and returned home with it that 
night. He did not really want to use it, but he was ready to if necessary. That night 
Vladim and Maritza Dukov sat their daughter down in the living room. Dukov 
pulled out the switch, tapped it in his hand, and in Danubian stated very coldly:

"I brought this switch from work today and I am keeping it in the library. I want 
you to understand the issue of your school uniform is resolved to the satisfaction 
of your mother and myself. Whether or not it is resolved to your satisfaction is of 
no concern to me whatsoever. There will be no further talk about your school 
uniform in this house. If you wish to discuss it further, you can get undressed and 
we'll settle matters in the backyard with you bent over a chair. Now…do you want 
to talk about your uniform anymore?"

The wide-eyed girl shook her head. "N…negat, Papa."

With that peace returned to the Dukov household. However, the next day, as she 
was heading to work, Kim noticed Anyia standing in front of her friend's house. 
The friend was showing the girl how to shorten her skirt by rolling it up at the 
waist. Kim pretended not to notice. Better not to get involved in this one, she 
thought to herself.

----------

The desire to talk burned inside Criminal # 98945 the week after she visited the 
Socrates Club. She had so much she needed to get off her chest. Where to begin? 
At night she began writing her disjointed thoughts down on paper. She wrote 
about everything she could think of; the kindness of the Dukov's, her feelings 
about Tiffany, the painful conversations with her parents, the horror of her first 
two days while under arrest. She wanted to talk, to be heard, and to have her 
feelings put into a song. Ultimately she wanted to stand at the microphone at the 
Socrates Club and speak her mind.

Finally Kim settled on an unlikely topic for her first reading; her mountain bike in 
the US. Somehow that bike seemed to represent everything she had been given in 
the past and never appreciated. She struggled with the words in English, trying to 
make sure that her listeners could understand her bicycle as a metaphor for 
something much greater in her life than simply an unappreciated object.

She presented her idea to Dukov, who spent three hours helping her translate the 
text to Danubian. Anyia then helped her go over the phrases and memorize them. 
Finally Kim presented the idea to Sergekt, who looked over her text. She could 
tell he liked it tremendously. 

Two weeks after she visited the Socrates Club for the first time, Kim spoke to her 
fellow criminals in heavily accented Danubian. She stood at the microphone with 
her knees shaking as she struggled to express herself in a language she still only 
partially knew. The entire club listened with respect to the perspective of an 
American trying to come to terms with being a Danubian criminal. 

Two weeks after Kim's first speech to the club a group of Sergekt’s friends 
presented a song titled "Nemat mi biciklet". They officially dedicated the song to 
Criminal # 98945.

