Caution – Non-consensual sexual activities – Caution
Caution - overheard via speaker phone - Caution

Entrapment is such an ugly word.

I would like to thank my dear friends,
Angel O’Hare, Karen Page, Joni W., Annette MacGregor and Holly H Heart
for their kindness, help, support, and input.

Education in the Hills
Chapter # 35

By Penny Reed Cardon

Friday, January 28, 2005

The day had finally come. The day that so much time, planning, and preparation had gone into was finally upon us. The Santino's reign of terror would be coming to an end and all the friends we left behind would be free. Every detail had planned out, every contingency had been considered, and all the options had been covered, at least everything that anyone had thought of. I wished that someone could have told me why I was so nervous.

Everyone was just a bit subdued during the mornings ‘Pilots Briefing’ as Jenny went through the day’s agenda. Just to be on the safe side, I asked each of the Black Sheep how many items they were planning to use. I'm not sure how it could have happened, but for some strange reason the Black Sheep were on time for breakfast.

The students from Years B and C were surprised to see eight of the upper year students in the cafeteria, for breakfast. I guess most of them had heard the rumors of the mystery group. Not to mention that they had their suspicions as to the identities of the members. I'm sure that seeing all eight of them together, in the same place at the same time, would be more fuel for the rumor mills.

“Good morning, Matilda,” RJ greeted me, as I entered the computer lab.

“Good morning, RJ, Janice, Kimberly. I’m surprised to see you two here.”

“Where else would we be this morning,” Kimberly replied.

“After all, Matilda, there's only a little more than two hours before lift-off,” Janice added.

“Thanks, all of you. I could never have done this without your help,” I told them.

RJ added his thoughts, “Matilda, I think I can speak for everyone that’s part of this operation when I say we are pleased we could help. We know that getting involved and putting these people away is the right thing to do. Shall we get started? We have a lot of last minute checks to make.”

“That we do,” I agreed.

“Okay, first off we need to check and verify that there hasn’t been any additional security added, to any of the targeted institutions. Kimberly, you take the local banks, make sure we can get in and that our programming can access the targeted accounts. Janice, you take the national banks. Matilda and I will take the international banks and the cell phone companies. After we’re done with those we’ll split up the public records. When we’re finished, the Roberts family will never have existed.”

“Right,” Kimberly said, as she sat down at one of the computer stations.

“Will do,” Janice replied, sitting down at a different station.

“Matilda, before we begin, I want to exchange your PDA.”

“But I thought my PDA was one of the newest models?”

“It is, for an on campus PDA. The one I’m setting you up with, is for off campus activity.”

“I thought Aaron would be doing the PDA exchange, just before we leave, like he’s done before.”

“He will be, for the rest of the year. For this trip you’ll need something with a few more capabilities than the standard travel PDA’s.”

I recognized the model PDA that RJ issued to me; I'd found reference to the different PDA's used by the school, on one of the servers. I knew better than to ask why RJ had issued me a Beta team PDA. By the time the three of us left RJ, we'd double checked all the programming and all the command sequences were loaded onto my PDA.

I rushed back to my room to change. I heard Mary Beth in her room, as I entered mine. "Are you ready MayBee?" I called out, as I went into my closest.

"Almost, I’m just slipping on my distraction costume. How was your time with RJ?" she called back.

"A little surprising," I replied, as I finished getting into my costume.

"Surprising, in what way?" she asked, no longer yelling. I could tell that she'd stepped through the interconnecting door.

I smoothed out my skirt and double checked that the hem hadn't been caught somewhere that would normally be embarrassing. Joining Mary Beth, I handed her the PDA that RJ had issued to me.

"That's not your PDA."

"No, and it isn't a normal travel PDA. It is the same model PDA that the Beta team uses."

"What? Are you telling me you've been drafted into the Beta team?"

"Not that I know of. RJ said, that I needed a PDA that had more capabilities, for this mission. Besides, according to all the rumors, they don't have any members younger than Year D."

"Well - okay. From what you've told me about them, I don't know if I want to be part of that group. We have enough problems and you get into enough trouble without being part of the mystery group."

"I don't think you have anything to worry about, at least for a few years. We'd better get moving, it wouldn't look very good for us to be late, considering that this party is for us."

"Party? We need to work on your idea of what a party is, Matilda. Trust me, what we're about to do is no party."

We grabbed our coats and headed for the year lounge.

"It may not seem like a party to you, but you can be sure that our old friends will be celebrating."

"I guess you're right about that."

"It's about time you two got here." Aaron complained, as we entered the lounge. "We've got to swap your PDA's and get moving."

"You only need to do MayBee's PDA, RJ already did mine," I told him.

"Really, why did he do that?"

"He told me I needed a PDA with more capabilities. All of the command codes and some of the programming to move the money, close the cell phone accounts, along with the other things we’re doing, have been transferred to this PDA."

After Mary Beth's PDA was swapped, everyone grabbed their coats and travel bags, as we left the lounge. The conversation as we walked to the administration building was pretty much all on one subject; how uncomfortable our distraction costumes were. The Beta team was waiting for us in the lobby and the vans were in the parking lot. We didn't waste any time getting into the vans and we were soon underway.

I was surprised that there weren’t any security personnel joining us. That is, until we were coming out of Immigration Canyon, where I noticed two four-door sedans pull out of a cross street and fall in behind the second van. As we were approaching Whittier Elementary, I asked Kriss to park around the corner and a block down. Seeing two large vans close to the school, might make Mr. Santino suspicious, later on. With bags in hand, Mary Beth and I led the way as we walked 'two by two' back down the block and around the corner to the main doors of Whittier Elementary.

"Mr. Rothman, it's a pleasure to see you again," I greeted, as we entered the school.

"Hello Matilda. I assume these are the friends you said would be helping us today."

"Yes they are. Everyone, this is Mr. Rothman. Mr. Rothman, these are the Black Sheep, along with some other special friends."

Everyone said "Hello Mr. Rothman."

"And this is Principal Purcell," Mary Beth added.

To which everyone said "Hello Principal Purcell."

"Hello everyone," Principal Purcell said, with a smile. "Mary Beth, I didn't know you were going to be part of this group."

I told Principal Purcell, "It's really because of Mary Beth that we're here."

Principal Purcell looked at me closely, a little too close for my liking.

Mary Beth quickly came to my rescue. "That's only partly correct. I told Matilda about being bullied and beat up by Bart and she figured out what to do about him."

"Then we owe Matilda our thanks," Principal Purcell then offered his hand.

After shaking hands briefly, I looked at the clock nearby, I replied "Thank you, I'm just happy that I could help. But, I think we need to get this show on the road. Is there a room where we can leave our coats and bags?"

"Of course, if you'll follow me."

Principal Purcell led us to the teachers’ lounge, where we quickly took off our coats. As we were about to leave the teachers’ lounge, Ellen came in.

"Ellen, what are you doing here?" I asked in surprise.

"Just making sure all of my students are safe."

"May I assume you'll be watching from a distance," I asked.

"Very discreetly, but yes."

"Does that mean we change the plan?" Hope asked.

"No, we continue as planned," I replied. After a moment I turned to Ellen and added, "Ellen, I think you'll want to schedule some time with me tomorrow." She looked at me for a moment before agreeing.

We left the lounge and headed for the nearest door that would take us to the playground. The Beta team stayed inside waiting for our signal to make their move. We'd only gone about fifty feet when Mary Beth and I saw Mrs. Roberts, our third grade teacher.

"Hello Mrs. Roberts," we said together.

"Hello Mary Beth, it's good to see you. Do I know you," she said to me.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Roberts. This is my friend Matilda," Mary Beth explained.

"Ma – til – da," Mrs. Roberts said slowly while carefully looking at me as the smile on her face grew. "Well, Matilda, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Something in her voice and the way she said 'Matilda' told me that she knew who I was, or rather who I used to be. I also knew that she wouldn’t cause any trouble, for me, or the school. "It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Roberts. Um, do you know where Black Bart is?"

"Last time I saw him, he was in the North field. I'd stay away from him if I were you."

"Thank you. I'm sure we'll be okay with our friends with us," Mary Beth explained.

"It looks like you have quite the group of friends, Mary Beth. It also appears that you're going to an all girls’ school?" Mrs. Roberts asked.

"It's a - private school," Mary Beth answered.

I noticed that Barb and Em were starting to shiver. I nudged Mary Beth and started moving towards the North field.

"It was nice to see you again Mrs. Roberts, but we need to get moving," Mary Beth said as she followed after us.

Mary Beth caught up to me just as we crossed from the asphalt of the playground to the snow covered grass. Our timing was perfect, as that was also when the alarm bells rang for about five seconds, indicating the end of the lunch period. Most of the students started running for the building when the bell started ringing. Twenty seconds later, the field was almost empty, that's when we saw Walter and his little gang slowly walking towards the building and us.

I turned my head and asked, "Everyone ready? Bully at eleven o'clock."

Walter saw our group and changed his course to intercept us. "Hello there sweeties," he said, as he stopped in front of us.

Mary Beth and I stopped in front of Walter.

"Hello Bart, I hear you've been looking for me," Mary Beth said.

As Mary Beth started talking, the rest of the Black Sheep circled around behind Walter and his gang, just as we'd planed.

"Well, well, if it isn't Mary Beth. What happened to that sissy boyfriend of yours?" Walter asked gruffly.

With eighteen girls behind them and only two in front, Walter and his gang turned halfway around.

"Oh, I can’t help you, Bart, I've never had a sissy boyfriend. But, if you're talking about Matt, I haven't seen him since before you attacked me,” Mary Beth replied. “I heard a rumor that his father killed him, but I don't know if that's true or not. By the way, you won’t be seeing me again; I'm going to a different school now."

As Mary Beth was talking, she and I continued on around to join up with our friends.

"And it looks like quite a nice school. Look at all these little cuties. Maybe I should come and visit some time," Bart said, with an evil grin. “It looks like all of your friends would like some special attention from my long tongue.” To emphasize his point Walter stuck out his tongue and licked the end of his nose.

"Oh my goodness, where are my manners?" Mary Beth said sweetly. "I told my friends about you and they wanted to meet you. They've never met someone in Fourth Grade that’s as big as you are. This is Matilda."

I smiled, put my left foot behind my right foot, lifted the hem of my skirt to chest level showing off a pair of Cherry Red panties, as I bent my right knee in a much practiced curtsy.

"Bart, did you see that," one of his gang exclaimed.

As I dropped my skirt I said, "Bonjour vous les déchets sans valeur d'oxygène," (Hello you worthless waist of oxygen). That had all of the Black Sheep giggling.

"And this is Tonya," Mary Beth introduced.

Tonya followed my lead with her curtsy and a greeting in French, "Bonjour, muet muet." (Hello dumb dumb)

"Bart, do think they is all gunna do that?" asked another of the drooling horde. Walter just stood there smiling.

Mary Beth ignored the comments and whistles, as she introduced each of the Black Sheep. Of course, the first skirt being raised was the signal for the Beta team to make its move. They successfully crossed the distance between the building and where we were gathered, before Mary Beth made the last introduction.

As Nola dropped her skirt, Suzy and Brittanie grabbed Walter's arms, pulling them behind his back.

"Hey, what the hell is going on?" Walter screamed.

"Shouldn't you little boys be getting back to class?" Brittanie asked, very gruffly for a girl.

Walter's gang took one look at the eight large angry looking girls and took off running. Walter had been screaming and cussing, since his arms were restrained.

"Relax Bart and I'll explain to you what is about to happen," I said, with a French accent, which I continued to use, keeping my previous identity from Walter. "First, we need to borrow your cell phone, to make a call.”

Kriss and Janet went through Walter's pockets, looking for his phone. Of course he continued screaming, which was getting pretty annoying. That is until Kimberley and Angelina produced some cloth and effectively gagged our screaming captive.

Janet successfully came up with the needed cell phone. Changing to a male voice, she opened the phone. "Let's see now, oh here's a listing that says dad. That would dial your father’s phone, correct?"

Walter was very effectively gagged and the only sounds he could produce were faint moaning, grunts, and growling. His eyes, however, told a completely different story. It was obvious he was alarmed that we were going to call his father, and shook his head wildly.

"Gee, from the look in your eyes, I'd say that is your dad and that for some reason you don't want me to call him. No matter, I hope your dad is having a better day than you are," Janet teased.

Letting the phone dial the number, she waited several seconds for an answer.

When Mr. Roberts answered, Janet had to pull the phone away from her ear, he was so loud. She then turned on the speaker phone so we could all hear.

Caution: not be suitable for younger readers or those who have experienced personal trauma.

"BART YOU DUMB SHIT, YOU KNOW YOU AIN'T SUPPOSED TO CALL WHILE I'M BREAKING IN A NEW GIRL."

"I'm sorry to disturb you Mr. Roberts. I'm a friend of Bart's -"

"I DIDN'T KNOW THAT SHITHEAD HAD ANY FRIENDS. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WITH BART'S PHONE?" "Hold still and relax you little slut."

"Bart gave me his phone and asked me to call you. He's kind of in trouble again."

"WHAT'S THAT SHITHEAD GONE AND DONE THIS TIME?” “Oh yes, yes, ahh, you’re so tight, so nice and tight, ahh, oh yes."

"Well, one of the teachers caught him in a restroom with two kindergarten girls. He was trying to take their clothes off and they were screaming. Principal Purcell said, he is tired of Bart trying to molest the little girls at the school. He said he's not afraid of your fat ass anymore and he's going to see that Bart is punished for everything he's done."

"THAT STUPID PIECE OF SHIT. HE KNOWS BETTER THAN THAT. THAT’S WHAT THE DRUGGED CANDY IS FOR, DOPE UM AND BRING UM HOME.” “Ahh, yes, you is oh so sweet. Soon you’ll learn ta love this, ah, ah, ah, ah ah, ahhh." "ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT YOU STUPID PIECE OF SHIT?”

"Not me sir, that's just what Principal Purcell said. Then he called the police to come take Bart away, they should be here in about twenty minutes."

"THAT STUPID SON OF A BITCH PRINCIPAL.” “Oh, oh, yes, ahhh.” “I’LL BREAK BOTH OF HIS LEGS -” “Oh, oh, on, almost there.” “IF ANY OF THOSE STUPID COPS-” “Ahh, ahh, oh, yes, oh, yes, here it comes.” “-LAY A FINGER ON BART.” “Oh, oh, ah, ah, ah, yes, yes, ohhhhhh . . . , yes. You better learn ta love that cus your gunna see plenty from now on. Get over here you worthless sissy. Lick me clean then put that tiny little bitch back in her cage. What, yes you can lick her, you worthless excuse for a slave," he commanded someone. "WHERE ARE THEY HOLDING BART?" In the background, throughout the entire call, we could hear the unmistakable sounds of young girls crying.

"He's being held in the Principal's office."

"YOU TELL THAT SON OF A BITCH PRINCIPAL THAT I'M ON MY WAY. WE'LL SEE HOW TOUGH HE IS WITH MY BOOT UP HIS ASS."

End of Caution warning.

With that last threat, Walter’s dad terminated the call.

All through the call to his father, Walter had been trying to wiggle his way out of the hands that were holding him. Towards the end of the call, I saw Kriss produce a pair of handcuffs and secure Walter's wrists.

"Thank you, Janet. Great impersonation of a boy by the way," I complimented. "Kriss, where did you get the handcuffs?"

"I borrowed them from one of the officers, while we were waiting."

Kriss pulled out a plastic bag and Janet dropped Walter's phone in. "Be sure to give that to Mr. Rothman. I'm sure he'll know what to do with those names and numbers," I reminded her.

"What's next on the agenda," I asked myself aloud. Getting out my PDA, "Oh yes, I remember." After entering several sets of commands, I smiled up at Walter. "Well Bartholomew, that takes care of your family’s cell phones. The accounts have just been canceled and deleted from the companies’ records." Walter grumbled and tried to get away, again.

"Oh I forgot, you don't like Bartholomew, do you? Perhaps you’d like it better if I called you Walter?" I asked.

His eyes opened wide and if he wasn't being held so securely, he would have taken a step backwards.

"I'm right, aren't I? It's Walter, Walter - Santino - junior. Yes, we know all about you and your family. We know that your father paid someone at the US Marshal's office, to alter the documents, so it would look like you were part of the Witness Protection Program. Were you present when the Marsh family was killed? I guess it doesn't matter, does it. You are going to jail for all the things you've done, including assault and battery of Mary Beth Phelps, and for the assault and attempted murder of Rachael Covington. Oh my, from the look in your eyes, you didn’t know that Rachael was still alive. Let me assure you Rachael is very much alive and she's willing to testify against you."

Poor Walter was really struggling, trying to get away.

"Ok girls, make a circle, facing out," Suzy commanded.

"What's going on?" I wanted to know.

"Nothing to concern yourself with, Matilda, we have a little gift for young Mr. Santino from the team. You may continue with your explanation of what's happening. Pants." Kriss replied and commanded.

"Okay. First off, Walter, that phone call to your father had two objectives, one to get him hopping mad at Principle Purcell and to get him to come here. In about eight minutes he should be pulling up to the front doors, of the school. Second, as for the police being here in twenty minutes, that wasn’t accurate. You see, the police are already here. When your father rushes to the Principal's office, in a fit of rage and not thinking clearly, he will run headlong into an eight man SWAT team. Unless your dad has a death wish, he should be arrested and in custody within two minutes after walking through those doors."

While I was talking, Angelina had moved between me and Walter. Then she opened Walter's pants and pulled them to his knees.

"Scissors," Kriss ordered.

"Scissors?" I questioned.

"Relax Matilda, nobody is going to be hurt. Please continue," Kriss assured me.

I shrugged and continued, "Next, shortly after your father left your house, a dozen officers moved in to arrest your mother and conduct a search of the premises. From the sounds we heard over your phone, they will find more than just the computer records they’re looking for. We know that it was your dad that was actually running the estate in West Valley, the one that was raided last November. I also know there are two other facilities that he runs. The computer records will link him, and probably you, to all three facilities. Once the evidence is uncovered, your father is going to spend a very long time behind bars."

Angelina was giggling, by the time I'd finished with part three of Walter's future. The scissors had been used to cut off Walter's boxer style underwear and it seemed that Angelina was amused at what was revealed.

Angelina jumped in when I paused, "Hey, Walter, you aren't by any chance proud of that tiny little appendage are you? I used to help take care of children with various handicaps. I’ve seen six-year-olds with a larger appendages." By then most of the Beta's had taken a peek at Walter's apparent lack of manhood and were all giggling. As for myself, I wasn't even tempted to take a look.

"Bloomers." Kriss ordered, amid her snickering.

I ignored Walter's embarrassment, and his struggles to get free, as I continued, "To continue, if you're counting on the US Marshal's coming to rescue you and your parents, you can forget about that. Oh, they might try, but I found the documentation that proves your family isn't the family the Marshals are supposed to be protecting. I've given all the documents to the District Attorney, so he knows they can now charge, prosecute, and convict, both you, and your miserable parents, for all the crimes you've committed in Salt Lake. And the icing on the cake, as far as you're concerned, is that the District Attorney is going to push to have you tried as an adult, for the attempted murder of Rachael. If he's successful, you could find yourself locked up for twenty-five years or more."

"Ribbons and locks." Kriss called out.

"Locks?" I questioned.

"Well, actually they're just zip ties. We wouldn't want Walter to remove our gift before the guards at the juvenile detention faculty have had a chance to enjoy them. After an appropriate amount of teasing and humiliation, they should have no trouble removing the zip ties. If Walter is lucky they’ll let him keep the bloomers," Shelly whispered in my ear.

I watched for a moment, as they started weaving some ribbons up the sides of the bloomers. "Just two more things for you to think about, Walter. It was extremely generous of you, to donate all of your savings to the school." Walter's eyes went wide. "That's right, I just emptied both your bank accounts, and gave the money to the school, and that's just the beginning. All of your parent’s bank accounts will be emptied, before they are booked into the county jail. And I do mean all the accounts, local banks, national banks, and international banks, all twenty-four million dollars will be gone. That also answers the question about your dad hiring a high price lawyer to get you out. No money, no lawyer, so that’s not going to happen. By the way, Walter, the bloomers they’ve given you are such a lovely shade of pink and with just the right amount of lace."

"Pants." Kriss said, and Walter's pants were pulled back into place and carefully fastened, tucking in all the lace.

"Lastly Walter," I started. "You must be asking yourself who are we. Who is it that could do such a thing? Who could learn your family’s secrets, empty and close your bank accounts, redistribute your family’s extensive wealth, and bring house Santino to its knees, imprisoning its members for a very, very, long time. Who are we that could do such a thing - we're some of your victims, the very individuals that you tormented and abused. Your victims have conspired together to end your family’s reign of terror. It's now nine minutes since we called your father. He should be arriving soon and we don't want him to see you out here, you’re supposed to be in the Principal’s office. So, would you like to sit down or lay down?"

Walter obviously couldn't say anything, but he did scream something into his gag that came out as a muffled groan, while shaking his head.

"Right, lying down would be more relaxing than sitting. Let's lay him down -" Whamp. "Well, I guess saying gently is somewhat meaningless."

"Sorry," the eight Beta’s said together.

"Are you okay, Walter," I asked.

He replied with a series of short rapid grunts and groans.

"He's okay," Kimberley said.

At that moment a black Hummer screeched to a stop in front of the school. A very large man got out and stormed through the school's main doors. Obviously Walter's father had arrived on schedule and as anticipated he appeared to be quite agitated. I didn't figure we had much longer to wait, which was a good thing because most of the Black Sheep were showing signs being very cold.

We huddled together in small groups, in order to share what little body heat we had left. Being the smallest, definitely has its draw backs, as I had to stay on the outside of a group or be suffocated within the group. The real problem was, there wasn't any choice in the matter, we had to stay outside. I’d promised Mr. Peterson that none of the students would be in danger. Not knowing the exact location of the officers or Mr. Santino, there was no way to determine what doors may be safe to enter and what doors could be in the line of fire. While we were waiting, I did complete the money transfers and account closures that were planned.

Eight minutes after Mr. Santino entered the building, two officers came out a side door.

"Here they come," Hope declared.

"Grrrreat," I said with a shiver. "Let'ssss get Walter up and let'ssss get in sssside, wwwwhere it’sss wwwarm."

Several of the Beta's lifted Walter to his feet and everyone started moving towards the nearest door, and some warmth. As the distance between us and the officers was quickly reduced, both the officers were shaking their heads.

"Gagged?" one of the officers asked, as we met.

"It did cut down on the noise pollution," Kriss replied, as she released her hold on Walter's arm.

After placing his hands where Kriss's had been, the officer agreed, "I can see that. Unfortunately, we can't leave him that way."

"I hope you have some ear plugs," Brittanie said, as she removed Walter's gag.

As expected, the peaceful atmosphere was instantly shattered with a barrage of threats and profanity, and at a volume that had most of us covering our ears, as we ran for the building. I looked back and saw that one of the officers was on his radio, while they led Walter towards the parking lot. I don’t know how someone on the other end of that radio call, could hear what the officer was saying, but that wasn’t my concern, getting warm was.

As we were walking down the hall towards the office, we heard cheering coming from the classrooms that faced the parking lot. Looking through the window of the classroom door, we saw the students looking out the windows and cheering. Looking out to see what had caught the attention of so many, we could see Walter being helped into a police car. Upon hearing the cheers and excitement of that moment, I felt that Immigration Manor had been reimbursed for any expenses they’d incurred.

When we reached the teachers’ lounge, everyone put their coats on and lined up to use the attached, single, restroom. I grabbed Mary Beth in one hand and our travel bags in the other. One set of student restrooms was just outside the office complex, and I knew my bladder wasn’t going to wait very long, before it demanded relief. Seeing Mary Beth and I leave, almost two thirds of the Black Sheep followed us to the restroom. As it turned out, most of us were staying in our school uniforms, only a few opted to change their skirt, for a pair of slacks.

As we left the restroom, we came across Mr. Rothman. “Did everything go as planned,” I asked.

“Yes indeed, Matilda. I’ve never had an arrest go so smoothly. By the way, the officers that secured the Santino home, found three missing girls in the basement. Were you aware of that?”

“When we used Walter’s phone to call his father, we heard something in the background that sounded like a girl crying. Before that, I didn’t have any knowledge there were victims in their home. If you want to add that to your case against Mr. Santino, you should have all the girls examined, and samples taken, for a DNA comparison.” I admitted.

“Matilda, are you saying that he was –“

“The sounds we heard while on the phone with Mr. Santino, were unmistakable. He was in the process of raping one of the girls when we called and continued while we were on the phone,” I gruesomely admitted.

All of the Black Sheep, that were behind me, solemnly nodded in agreement.

“I’ll take care of that immediately, thank you for the additional information, girls. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way,” Mr. Rothman concluded and left.

After Mr. Rothman left, we went back to the teacher’s lounge to rejoin the rest of our group. We also found a slightly upset Ellen Hansen.

“Hello Ellen. Is there a problem?” I asked.

“Matilda, would you like to explain to me why twenty of our students indecently lifted their skirts in public,” she asked gruffly.

Mary Beth quickly raised her hand, saying, “Only nineteen, I just did the introductions.”

“Coward,” someone called out from the back of the room.

“Nineteen or twenty makes little difference,” Ellen said. “The fact remains, that our students indecently exposed themselves.”

“I’ll admit that from a distance it would appear that way, however, no one was actually indecent,” I replied.

“Matilda, would you please explain yourself,” Ellen demanded.

“I’d be happy to. No one was indecent, because of what was actually worn. Um, Jenny, would you tell Ellen what was on display when you lifted your skirt?”

“Of course, when I lifted my skirt, I was modeling a pair of Lilac colored nylon panties. The nylon panties were on top of ten pairs of white cotton panties, for a total of eleven pairs of panties,” Jenny explained.

“And would you like to lift your skirt now?” I asked.

“I most certainly would not,” Jenny said, in a huff. “Wearing that many pairs of panties was extremely uncomfortable and I have removed most of them.”

“Let’s see, Hope, would you tell Ellen what you showed off when you raised your skirt?”

“Well, Okay. At the time I lifted my skirt outside, I was wearing a pair of Burgundy nylon panties, on top of fifteen pairs of cotton panties. And no, I won’t raise my skirt now,” she stated clearly.

“You see Ellen, everyone was instructed to wear enough layers, that they would feel comfortable. We took a lesson from Hayley Mills and went from there,” I explained

“Hayley Mills?” Ellen asked more calmly, the wind taken from her sails.

“From the original Parent Trap movie. She did a commentary, years later, where she explained that in the scene where the back of her dress was cut away she’d worn fifteen pairs of panties, so she wouldn’t be embarrassed,” I went on to explain.

“Well – I’m still not happy about what all of you have done, but I suppose that, because none of you were actually indecent and you all volunteered, I guess that no one deserves to be disciplined for their actions. As I understand it, you are planning to go to lunch before returning to school.”

“That’s correct,” Kriss volunteered.

“Then I won’t keep you any longer. Matilda, I’d still like to talk with you, tomorrow,” Ellen said, as she picked up her coat and left the lounge.

“It looks like you’re still in trouble, Matilda,” LeAnne said.

“It looks that way,” I admitted. “But, I’m guessing that Ellen’s only upset that I didn’t discuss it with her first.”

“So, where are we going to lunch,” Nola asked.

“I couldn’t find a place that served everyone’s request, but I came as close as I could. We’re going to a place called the Sugarhouse Barbeque Company. They serve everything except for oriental or Mexican, and there was one request for each of those. I’m sorry I couldn’t find a nice place that would meet with everyone’s requests.”

I sent Kriss the directions and we headed for the vans, saying goodbye to Principle Purcell and Mrs. Roberts as we passed by.

Lunch turned out to be an enjoyable time for all. Even those who had requested something different, found something on the menu that they enjoyed. We really weren’t in any hurry to get back into the vans and head for the Manor, but I could tell that our inconspicuous security team was having a hard time staying inconspicuous. So, with one last slurp from the bottom of our shake glasses we bid farewell to our momentary thrill of freedom and returned to our world of schedules, and learning, and secrets.

On our way back up the canyon, I sent Mr. Peterson a note indicating our expected arrival time and asked when he would like to get together. I also requested, that because of our late lunch, that Year A be permitted to join Years D – H for dinner.

Mr. Peterson approved the later dinner time and in doing so requested that we meet thirty minutes before the dinner hour. Oh well, it had been a crazy, mixed up, day from the time we got out of bed. So, why should that change when we get back to the Manor?

"Good evening Mr. Peterson,"

"Good evening, Matilda. How was your fieldtrip?"

"A little disappointing."

"In what way?"

"It seems that Pioneer Village is closed during the winter months. Something I didn't take into account when I made my request. I guess that's a lesson for me, I need to do a better job with my research before making such a request in the future."

"You need to do a better job with your research?" Mr. Peterson snickered. "Considering your track record, I'm almost afraid to see what you'd come up with if you did a better job with your research.”

I just smiled and shrugged my shoulders.

Turning serious, he asked, “So tell me, what became of the unofficial action.”

“Well, except for having Ellen upset with me, everything went according to plan. The District Attorney and Principle Purcell were very pleased and the students were cheering.” I then went on to fill Mr. Peterson in on the details of the operation, including why Ellen was upset with me.

"Well, Matilda, I can understand why Ellen would be upset. Let me guess, you thought she wouldn't approve of your diversionary strategy?"

"Something like that."

"All I can say on that subject is, I think you may have misjudged Ellen. Then again, you've only known her for four months."

"And you for that matter," I added.

"Also true. However, let's move on to why I've invited you to come see me this evening. Am I correct in my assumption that you now consider the situation of Walter and your previous school resolved, to your satisfaction?"

"Well, even though there's nothing I can do about it, I would like to know how the trials turn out. Other than that, I'd have to say, I'm satisfied with action that's been taken."

"Very good. Now then, we wouldn't want someone with your talents to get bored, that could be dangerous for the school," he said, with a smile. So, I knew he was teasing me.

"Well, I wouldn't say dangerous per se, but it could be exciting," I replied.

"Well, I'm not sure how much more excitement the old buildings can take. So I'm thinking, we need to focus your energies in another direction. Do you think you could learn a different language in two weeks?"

"Two weeks, are you crazy?"

"I have been accused of that on numerous occasions. However, at this point in time, I can assure you I'm quite sane. Now that you're not spending all of your efforts on Walter’s downfall, we'd like you to accompany RJ on a trip to Edinburgh. They have been accused of speaking English, but if you've heard it, you'd probably disagree."

"Oh, that's the trip RJ was going to take just before Christmas."

"That's correct."

"He hasn't gone yet?"

"No. As you would put it, a higher authority feels that your talents could be useful in the evaluation of, and the negotiations for, the purchase of new PDA's for the school."

"How bad do they want me to go, with RJ?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, do they want me to go bad enough, that they're willing to spend a little more, for another airline ticket?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You remember last month, when Kimberley and I didn't make it to our rendezvous in Quebec?" Mr. Peterson nodded. "Were you told how badly Mary Beth lost it?"

"Yes, Ellen spent several hours with her, just so she wouldn't make a scene when she was in public view."

"The same thing almost happened last Wednesday, when I was gone for four hours with Ellen, talking with Mr. Rothman."

"I was told there was an incident with Mary Beth; I guess I wasn't informed as to the severity of the incident."

"That's because, Jenny and the Black Sheep, did their best to keep things under control and to keep Mary Beth out of the public eye. I spent hours holding her, after I got back."

"I had no idea she was still suffering PTS from the incident in Quebec."

"Nobody did. Of course, we haven't been separated by more than a few buildings since we got back, from Quebec. Mr. Peterson, you know how I am about keeping a promise I've made."

"Are you telling me you -"

"I promised Mary Beth that I wouldn't leave this campus without her, for at least a year."

"I see. That does change things a bit. I tell you what, I'll leave you and Ellen to care for your study partner, and I'll have a chat with the higher authority. A reasonable compromise?"

"Yes, quite reasonable," I said, with a smile.

"Well, you’d best be off, you don't want to miss dinner."

"No sir. Good night, Mr. Peterson," I said, with a smile, as I got up from the couch opposite Mr. Peterson.

That night after we'd said our prayers, Mary Beth asked what Mr. Peterson wanted to talk about.

"It seems that someone still wants me to go to Edinburgh with RJ," I told her.

Mary Beth started shaking and mumbling "No ... No ... No ... You promised ... You promised ..."

I quickly wrapped my arm around her, "It's all right ... It's all right ... I did promise, I did promise. I told him that if you didn't go, then I wouldn't go. It's all right ... Relax ... I'm not going anywhere without you."

It took a while, but she settled down. Looking down at me she finally asked, "Y - you really told Mr. Peterson you wouldn't go without me?"

"That's right. I made you a promise, so you're stuck with me hanging around for at least a year."

"What will we do then?"

"Well, between now and then, we'll do a lot of talking with Ellen, then who knows. You see, knowing that it would hurt you if I were to leave, I just couldn't go. I love you too much to cause you that much pain."

"I ... I ... Oh the heck with it. I love you too, Matilda."

'I've known it since we met the busses in Chicago, but she finally had the courage to shake off her mother’s bigoted teaching and openly say it.'

* * * To Be Continued * * *

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