Author's Note: All characters in the following story are aged 18 or more.
*
I had just taken the first drag from my cigarette when the suit walked to my table. I was seated in the corner of the outdoor section of my local cafe, with a bottle of water in front of me.
'Can you tell me the time?' His voice was smooth, like his appearance. A touch of grey at the temples, some lines but I somehow thought he might be older than the mid forties he looked. And he looked good. For an older guy. I was tempted to tell him to buzz off, but given that I was wearing my uniform with the Trinity High School logo boldly emblazoned across my breast pocket, I decided to keep it cold but not rude.
'Half past one,' I replied glancing at my silver wrist watch.
'Funny,' he said with a small smile, 'I'm sure Trinity High's lunch hour ends at one.' His cool grey eyes locked onto mine and I felt a cloud of butterflies alight deep inside me.
'What's it to you?' I shrugged as casually as I could, turning away from his piercing gaze to look down the street at the bell tower of the school barely two blocks away. 'I've got a spare.'
'Oh,' was all he said, but he continued to stand beside my table. I summed up the courage to look up at him and was unsettled by the smug smile still on his features.
'And do the school rules allow you to smoke these days?' I felt a nerve twitch at the corner of my mouth.
'I'm old enough,' I replied, my voice cracking slightly. I felt my neck redden and cursed my mental weakness.
'If you're in school uniform, I'm pretty sure the rules are clear.' He kept staring at me, but I chose to remain silent. 'Can I see your student ID Miss...?'
'Smith,' I replied without too much thought. 'And no, who do you think you are?'
'Donald Aldus Packard,' he replied fishing out a laminated card from inside his jacket. 'Mister Packard,' he added, 'and the district truancy officer for the Education Department to you.'
My insides sank. Of all the rotten luck. Still I remained silent.
'I could believe the spare story Miss,' he coughed, 'Smith. But smoking in uniform and only two blocks from the school...' He trailed off and looked down the street in the direction I had.
'ID!' His request was snapped at me, and in the conditioned response of one trained through twelve years of Catholic education, I automatically complied.
'Ah, Miss Lee,' he said in a normal voice. He had replaced his ID card and retrieved an iPhone. He tapped at the screen and I watched as his eyebrows rose. 'Well Miss Lee, it would seem that this isn't a first for you?' He smiled down at me, though there was no warmth in his eyes. 'The apps you can download as an Education Department official are so helpful.' He returned my student card and slipped the phone back under his jacket.
'It would appear you have quite a record. As such if I was to ring Headmaster Gray I suspect he would take quite a strict approach to your absence. Am I right?'
I nodded in reply. Worse than that, he would ring my parents and that would be the end of my gap year, only three weeks from the end of school.
'And yet we are so close to the end of school,' he echoed. 'Perhaps I can overlook this situation.' My head snapped up and I was unable to hide the desperate hope I was suddenly feeling. 'Except that I understand that the Department has several truancy officers on patrol at the moment, and should I be found to have left a young student truant, and smoking, without taking action, I could lose my job.' My heart sank but I watched closely as his gaze seemed to focus on one of the few clouds in the otherwise clear blue sky. My heart was racing and I was afraid he could hear it thumping against my ribcage.
'I tell you what Miss Sm...Lee,' he said, returning those grey eyes to me. 'You and I shall take a short walk to my office. Once there, I can fully check your record and we can decide what to do. Or not to do,' he added, again making my heart leap with hope. 'Follow me please.' Abruptly he turned a walked towards the door. I stubbed out what was left of my cigarette and almost knocked the table over in my effort to follow him.
We turned away from the school and walked three blocks, his pace brisk and sure and I felt like a skittering puppy trying to keep up with its master. As we neared an office block he suddenly turned down an alleyway and after one turn started up a metal fire escape. Apprehension filled me and I stopped at the bottom. Evidently he had been listening to the sound of my short but spiked heels to know that I had followed him, as he turned and looked down at me.
'Miss Lee,' he said, a hint of exasperation creeping into his voice, 'if we enter through the front door, you will have to be signed in. That will mean that the Education Department will have a record that you weren't in school when you should have been. That fact will be reported to Mister Gray. Need I say more?' He turned and ascended quickly. My heart was racing by the time I has climbed the two flights and walked through the door that he was holding open.
His office was functional, yet tastefully decorated with a minimalist touch. He motioned for me to sit in one of the two comfortable armchairs opposite his large desk. He sat in his high backed chair, turned to his iMac and began to type. After reading whatever was on the screen he swivelled towards me and sat back.
'Goodness me,' he said softly, 'you do have quite the record don't you?' I nodded. 'Good academic record too,' he added. 'There are two types of Catholic school girls in my experience, Miss Lee,' he said. 'Good girls, and bad girls. Rarely anything in between. I put it down to either cowing before the alter, or wanting to rebel against everything. I'm guessing you struggle against your parents too.' I nodded again.
'So what will happen if I ring Mister Gray?'
'I'll be suspended.' I tried to look defiant, but failed.
'And that's all?' I nodded, but knew that he could tell I was lying.
'Well, that's okay, with your marks a week off through suspension won't matter and you will still sit your finals and then off to University. I think the best thing is to call him, don't you?'
'No!' I spoke louder than I had intended as he reached for the white telephone on his desk.
'Hmmm,' he said, his hand freezing above the phone. 'And what do you propose?'
'I'll, I'll.' What indeed? 'I'll go back to school, and I promise that I won't miss another minute for the remainder of the year.' I looked at him, my eyes pleading with his cold stare. 'I promise, I really, really do.' And I did.
'Let's see,' he said, sitting back in his chair. 'Let's see what we're dealing with then.' He paused and his eyes seemed to be burrowing a hole through my head into my brain, seeking out my most private thoughts. 'Truant.' He held up his thumb. 'Smoking,' up went his forefinger. 'Smoking in public,' middle finger. He sat there, three fingers up. 'Stand up Miss Lee.' His voice had gone quiet but there was a hint of menace there now. I stood. So did he. When he walked from behind the desk I could see that he was holding a wooden ruler, the same style as the one in my desk at school.
'Can you tell me the regulation measurement that must not be exceeded between the hem of your skirt and your knee, Miss Lee?' He let my name roll off his tongue to rhyme with knee. It was sort of creepy and I shivered.
'Four inches sir.' I kept my voice quiet so that it didn't crack again.
'Very good,' he said with evident satisfaction. 'Which means that you are that second type of Catholic school girl, aren't you?' The question was rhetorical, but I turned to look as he bent down to hold the ruler alongside my upper leg. 'Eight inches,' he murmured, straightening up. 'Look to the front please.' I obeyed. 'Closer to nine, but I'll allow you eight. Did you know that with your skirt this short Miss Lee, that a breath of wind could blow it up and reveal your underwear to the world?' As he spoke he had moved behind me, and I felt the ruler flick the back of my skirt upwards, simulating the breath of wind he had spoken about. I heard the gasp of shock and felt myself redden, and my body tense.
'Are you, are you...have you not got any underwear on Miss Lee?' His tone was incredulous.
'Yes sir.' I hung my head and forced the words out.
'No underwear Miss Lee?'
'No sir, I mean yes sir, I mean, I mean,' my voice cracked in embarrassment,' I'm wearing a G-string sir.'
'A G-string?'
'Its a thin strip...'
'I know what a G-string is Miss Lee!' he barked at me. 'I just can't believe that you are wearing one...to school! Do you enjoy displaying yourself Miss Lee?' I shook my head. We stood in silence for what seemed like minutes.
'What bust size are you Miss Lee?'
'What?' My head snapped up at that and I looked at him open mouthed.
'Look to the front!' I obeyed the snapped command again, but remained silent. 'Miss Lee, may I remind you that at the moment you have five; five strikes against you and if you don't fully co-operate with me, I am going to end this little charade and ring Mister Gray. He can deal with you however he likes and I can get back to my work. Do you understand!?'
I nodded.