Day One -- Journal entry
Starting my new undercover assignment today. This one is going to be interesting, I expect. I will be posing as a 18 year old girl at Miss Priscilla's Boarding School. The chief says there have been some disappearances of girls from there and although the girls show up eventually, claiming to have run away...he thinks there is something fishy going on.
Good thing I look young for my age: 25 going on 18-- talk about a step backwards! My 'parents' are supposed to be dropping me off there today, bag and baggage. It was fun shopping for a teen-ager again although I wouldn't wear half the stuff normally!
Quite the outfits the girls have to wear: black-watch: tartan skirts, white blouses with peter pan collars, black knee socks, penny loafers and black blazers - always buttoned! Least that will hide my undies. No way am I giving up wearing my colourful satin flowered and matching undies for plain white cotton (to the waist) underpants and white, heavy (designed for aged matrons) bras!
For years, I have been trying to dress older, (sigh) Back to ponytails (yes, according to the 'Miss Priscilla's Book of Rules', 'if a young lady's hair is longer than shoulder-length, during the day it must be restrained in a ponytail up high on the back of the head worn with the school ribbon tied in a neat bow. Short hair should be worn with the school headband holding the hair back from the face.') Since my hair is long, down to my hips, it will be a long ponytail! At least I don't have to cut my hair or dye it like I did for the last assignment. Hated it black. I love the silvery gilt colour it is and it curls just enough. Restrained--hah! My hair doesn't know the meaning of the word...come to think of it, neither do I!
Not much point in packing a lot of make-up, Miss Priscilla's young ladies aren't allowed to wear make-up. Well, I'll keep it down to mascara, blush and some lip gloss: a girl can't run around naked!
Star
I arrive at the school in my 'parent's' limo and am dropped off. The Head Mistress, Miss Pringle, invites (commands is more like it) me into her office. I am introduced to my prospective roommate, Jennifer. She is a dowdy girl, with lank hair (pony-tailed, of course) and a sour look upon her face. She is dismissed to carry my luggage up to our fourth floor room and then I am introduced to Madame La Farge (French), Madame Pratt (maths), Madame Schuck, (science) and they all stare at me as if I were under their beady-eyed microscope.
I am told to report to breakfast at 6:30 am sharp and released to go find my room. Miss Pringle also said I'd meet the rest of my teachers and the Headmaster at dinner in half an hour. Finding my room, I surprise Jennifer nosing around my luggage.
"You sure have a lot of stuff! What's your name again? Stephanie? How long are you stuck here for? What did you do that your folks sent you here? I'm 18, how old are you? Are you a virgin? Where do you think you'll wear all those clothes?"
Her string of non-stop questions was driving me crazy! This was not going to be fun! I tell her that yes, my name's Stephanie and that I just brought everything because you never know what you might need and that it was none of her business whether I was a virgin or not! (I'm not, but, hey, I'm not really 18 either!)
We head down to din-din. Big fancy dining room with round cherry wood tables set for eight with linens and stem ware. I stand behind a chair, next to Jennifer and wait like the rest of the girls. It seems like there are a hundred in all although there are a few empty chairs when we sit down.
Mental note: one probably belongs to Tina, the girl who recently has 'run away' from the school.
At the head table, I see a few new faces and the girls at the table don't hesitate to fill me in! Talking in low voices, 'a lady always talks in soft, modulated tones' (blasted rule book again) they tell me to watch out for Headmaster Thaddeus Macleod. He is very strict and one didn't EVER want to be called to his office! The girls said he was called 'Cropper' behind his back because he always carries a riding crop even though he's never been near a horse close as they can figure! He wouldn't hesitate to slam it down on your desk if you weren't paying attention in class. I asked what subjects he taught and they told me English and History.
Damn, my two worst subjects. The things I do for the agency!
The Headmaster strides in. He is tall, perhaps thirty or thirty-five, dark haired (cut long and brushing his shoulders-- where's HIS headband, or for that matter, his pony tail!), slim to the point of emaciation and sports an impeccably fashioned goatee.
Dinner is served on fine china, (I know where part of the hefty tuition goes!) but dinner is tasteless, over-salted and generally disgusting. Well, I wanted to lose a few pounds anyway. The girls at my table all seem nice, in general agreement that they don't really like it here and then the discussion moves to Tina and how they doubt she ran away.
"She's such a mouse!"
"Timid."
"Good grades, does her work on time."
"Was called to the Headmaster's office a few times for failing to identify an author of a quoted piece though'."
"What's that about?" I asked. The girls tell me it is his favorite thing to do: quote a piece from literature and ask someone to identify the work and author. Shit, I'm in for it now! I grimace and one of the girls, Gladys, I think, tells me that she hopes I'm up on my authors because as the new girl, he's sure to pick on me a lot! Double shit!
Dinner, finally being finished, something that I think was supposed to be tapioca (ugh) for dessert, we are told to go to our rooms. We were informed there would be a surprise inspection that evening. As I head up the four long flights to my room, I think that since I've just arrived, there shouldn't be any problems there!
Not five minutes after we finally reach the fourth floor, as I lay flopped on my unmade bed, our door flies open. I hear Jennifer's quick intake of breath, sounding something like a hiss and look up to see Headmaster MacCleod standing in our doorway. He's wearing riding boots and standing there filling the doorway, tapping his crop on his thigh.
"What? What is this?" He strides into our room and comes to stand at the foot of my bed. I'm still sprawled here although Jennifer is standing (almost) at attention next to her neatly made bed. His crop whistles as it lands with a thwack on my unmade mattress. Then, moving over to my opened luggage, the crop slides under a particularly satiny demi-bra and lifts it so that it dangles off the end.
"And this? I'm confiscating this as it isn't part of your uniform. Don't ever let me catch you wearing this sort of...of...(pause, healthy pause) Just don't let me catch you or you'll know what for!" With that, he turns on his heel and stomps out, slamming the door behind him.
I absolutely dissolve in giggles. The look on his face, his almost stammering.
"Guess I'll have to be sure you don't catch me then!" I choke out between laughs. Jennifer is looking at me like I've lost my mind.
"He'll have it in for you, for sure now, Stephanie!"
Journal Entry
I feel like a little kid sneaking as I write in my journal, under the covers, with a flashlight! Lights out at 8:30! I haven't been to bed this early since, since, since I was a kid! The Headmaster here is a trip. He seems to be out to scare the kids silly, but then, corporal punishment is allowed here, so, who knows! The missing girl, Tina, isn't sounding like the type of kid who would run, but then she had been in some trouble here. Have to ask more questions about her. (Mental note checked off)
Not even looking forward to English class tomorrow! Like I am going to remember my college lit classes! Of course I'd like to see Thaddeus just try and mess with me! Think I'll wear some make-up and my fancy undies tomorrow, hitch up my skirt and see what happens: should be good for a laugh!
Day 2
Journal Entry
Yawn. Now I know why bedtime is soooo early. Been up since 5am! I want some coffee! But no. From what Jennifer tells me, it is oatmeal, toast, juice and milk. Sigh.
My schedule was tacked to the door this morning when I woke up. English and History are my first two subjects. (ugh...what a way to start the day.) Glad I brought some make- up, need it this morning!
Star/Stephany
I find my way over to the Branford Tower for English. Up to the third floor. The class is in what used to be an old church, ivy covered grey brick and the room is in a rounded tower. No desks, but many tables across the back of the room. In the mibble are rows of straight ladder back chairs. These are what we sit on. Several rows of young ladies all seated with their notebooks in their laps, ankles crossed. I had hitched up my skirt so that it was several inches above regulation knee length and managed to walk into class a few minutes late. Headmaster Thaddeus Macleod pointed his crop at the only empty chair. It was dead center of the front row.
"Sit Miss Stephanie. Do not be late for my class ever again. Am I clearly understood?" I merely nodded in the affirmative as I sat down and was informed that whenever I replied to him the correct response was, "Yes, Headmaster."
He walked back and forth across the front of the room for a few moments, gazing at each of us in turn. Devouring is more like it: the guy is a lecher!
