Carol Allen checked her watch. Seven thirty. She sat back at her desk with a sigh that was partly relief and partly frustration. At least she was finally finished grading papers for the quarter. She pushed a stray hair out of her face and put the stack away in her desk drawer. She reminded herself to lock the school door on her way out. Everyone else was long gone and since it was a Friday the building would be empty until Monday.
It was a hell of a way to spend a weekend, thought the attractive thirty year old as she gathered up her things. But she might as well get her work finished. There was nothing waiting for her at home except an empty apartment. At least this way the paperwork was done for the weekend.
Carol glanced down at her gradebook, making sure she had recorded all of the scores correctly. A 50 caught her eye and she shook her head. Brian Dunross. He was definitely going to be trouble. She was certain a confrontation was coming and she was determined to win it.
Dunross was a leader, that was the problem. A tall, muscular senior who was used to getting his way. He had flirted with Carol from the first day of class, obviously counting on his charming good looks to earn him a good grade. When Carol had insisted he work, Dunross had rebelled, making it difficult to teach the other seniors in the class. She had been looking forward to working with the older students, but now had a bunch of eighteen year olds who were making her life hell. The 50 was the last grade and Carol remembered the look on the boy's face when he got the test score. Trouble ahead and she knew it.
She turned out the lights and locked the door. In the hallway, her shoes echoed hollowly as she made her way through the empty school. The building felt so different now, so quiet after the daytime that it made her a little uneasy.
She heard a sound from around the corner, a noise that sounded like the rustle of clothing. No one was supposed to be in the building and she moved to the far side of the hall in an effort to peer into the next hall, pulling a can of mace from her purse. Cautiously, she peeked around the corner, relieved to see that the hallway was empty.
She walked past the woodshop, not noticing a movement in the shadows. As she went past the door to the classroom, her arms were suddenly seized from behind. The can of mace flew from her fingers and rolled down the hall as she was dragged inside the room. She struggled desperately but there were two people holding her arms and a third grabbed both her legs in a tight grip as they threw her roughly onto one of the tables used during shop class.
"Let me go or I'll scream," she threatened, her voice fearful.
"Go ahead, nobody's going to hear you," said a familiar voice.
The lights came on and she stared into the eyes of Brian Dunross. She was being held down by three of his cronies and she twisted her head to see that a dozen other students, both girls and boys, were standing around the table.
"Let me go!" she demanded.
"Nope. We've got some business to attend to first," Dunross told her. "You've been making it hard for us all quarter and it's got to stop. I want my grade changed. I need an "A" in this class to get into State next year."
"You'll get the grade you deserve," Carol said angrily. She twisted and bucked but couldn't break free.
"Tie her," Dunross ordered and two girls put ropes around her wrists and trussed her to vices anchored on the edge of the table. "Legs too," he said and Carol felt her ankles being tied in the same manner.
"What are you doing?" she demanded.
Dunross smiled coldly. "You'll see."
He turned to a workbench and picked up a pair of metal shears, clicking them open and shut. Some of the students laughed as he clowned around with them. He walked to the table and used the shears to make a small hole in Carol's pullover blouse. Inserting on blade into the hole, he began slowly cutting the garment. Carol felt the cold metal moving across her stomach.
"Stop this right now!" she said desperately.
"I'll tell you what, teach, " Dunross said with a grin. "Call on somebody. If they say stop, I'll stop."