The Prefect

Part One

Winter. 

It was Elise’s favorite season. 

Even after the magic of Christmas had long faded, January and February still held just as much magic for the appreciative girl. Scarves and creative layers to personalize the repetitive academy outfit she and the rest of the girls at her private school had to wear. Hot chocolate and a warm fireplace after a brisk walk in the cold. And, most importantly, snow. While most adults in the north grew jaded due to shoveling and driving in the annual torment, Elise loved every second of it.

Today included. Fresh snow on the ground from the previous night’s precipitation encouraged Elise to take her favorite route after the last class of the day. On colder days, she would stay in and do homework or study her notes from that day’s lecture. But a walk through the park sounded all too great for her today. She needed to decompress, and walking always helped. The fresh snow was just an added bonus.

At just twenty years old, Elise was one of the youngest prefects at Edgewood Academy for Girls. She was mostly in charge of the high school students at the prep school just across the river, though her responsibilities sometimes extended to the college’s first-years when her peers were busy. Most of the time, Elise’s job was easy. She would help out however she was needed at the high school during her free period, and then make sure all the teenage girls were back in their dorms after curfew when she had an evening shift. Back at Edgewood, it was more or less a RA job. Ensure quiet hours were kept, confiscate contraband, and make sure the new students were adhering to the school’s strict dress code.

Every now and then, her job was difficult. Today was one such day. Two fifteen year old girls got into a nasty fight at lunch when she was helping out at the prep school. Elise had intervened immediately, and paid dearly for it. She got her own blonde hair pulled, a few noticeable scratches on her arms, and the sleeve of her blouse partially ripped. Thankfully, a teacher and an older prefect showed up before things got out of hand, but it was still enough of an ordeal that left her shaken afterwards. 

Reliving the experience had distracted her throughout the rest of her classes, and a good portion of the walk so far. Standing at 5’5”, Elise wasn’t particularly short. However, her academic lifestyle didn’t help her much in terms of strength or muscle. Certainly not enough to stop a cat fight all on her own. The faintly sore scratches brought the memory back again and again. The screams of the girls, the jeering of the crowd of girls that did nothing to help the situation . . .

“Elise…? Elise? Elise!!” The yelling of her name snapped the distracted blonde out of the most recent iteration of the memory. Elise turned towards the voice, just now noticing three girls on the small bridge that she was about to cross. 

“Oh, hey,” Elise gave a faint smile as she approached, realizing a bit too late who it was calling out her name. All three of the girls were in the year below her, and shouldn’t be using her name in such a casual way. “I would prefer ‘Miss Elise,’” she said. It wasn’t her favorite thing, especially for girls so close in age, but rules were rules. When a girl had the prefect badge on, she was an authority figure. Even for college first-years who were all legally adults at this point and less than enthusiastic about some of the academy’s rules.

“Oh, does that count when we’re off the school grounds?” one of the girls asked. A red haired first-year named Katie? Katherine? Elise couldn’t quite remember. “Miss Elise,” the girl corrected herself, “What’cha doin’ out here?”

“Just taking a walk.” Elise said, letting out a sigh of relief to herself. It was always a coin toss whether a girl would be respectful or disrespectful to prefects at Edgewood, especially those closest in age to the others. While prefects did have authority, it was easier for girls to act dismissively towards their peers compared to their teachers.  

“Us too! We’re just taking a quick break,” the redhead said, “Do you want to join us? You can walk with us afterwards too!” 

“Yeah, stick around, Elise!” The shorter of the two brunette girls behind her added. Elise was pretty sure her name was Anna.  

Elise wanted to correct Anna too, but decided against it. These students seemed friendly enough, but taking them up on the offer would be a bad idea. When she became a prefect, Elise was warned about getting too close with any girl in a lower grade. It would make it more difficult to gain respect when needed, and often more difficult for the prefect to write up a girl she was friends with. And that wouldn't be fair to everyone else. 

“Sorry, girls.” Elise gave them a half smile. “I’d love to, but I have a lot of studying to do. I’ll be heading back to the academy in a second.” She felt bad for lying, but it sounded better than saying that spending time with them outside classes was strongly discouraged.

“That’s fine,” the first girl said, “Have a good rest of your walk!”

“You too!” Elise smiled. Rather than take the bridge, she turned back the way she came. It wasn’t her intended route, but it was the only way to turn her excuse into reality.

However, she only got one or two steps before the redhead called after her, “Wait, Elise?”

“Yes?” She turned back around. Once again catching the lack of her proper title a little bit too late. 

“Where did you get your backpack? It has so many pockets!”

“Umm, I bought it online,” Elise replied. She just ordered it a few days ago, but couldn’t remember the exact brand or style off the top of her head, “I can give you the link later if you’d like?” 

“Do you mind if I check it out? That would be better than a picture, right? I’ll be quick, I promise!”

“Oh, umm, sure.” 

It seemed like an innocent enough request. After all, mailing something back that didn’t quite work out was always a bit of a chore. 

Elise walked onto the bridge to join the girls. She let the backpack slide off her shoulders, deciding it was better to watch the girls instead of turning her back. Just in case. As she approached the redhead, Elise realized the first year was an inch or so taller than her. Not a huge deal, but she found it more difficult to be the voice of authority when she had to look up into a girl’s eyes. It’s why she often wore heels, but not when the paths outside could potentially be icy and lead to a nasty fall.

“Do you mind?” The girl asked, reaching out for the backpack. The two other girls were whispering about something, but Elise didn’t bother thinking about that. Girls would be girls.

“Just be careful with it, okay? It’s new.” Elise said. She reluctantly let the first-year take the bag.

“Let’s see…” the redhead unzipped the main pocket. 

Elise wanted to protest, but she bit her tongue. It was mildly violating, but, at the same time, it wasn’t that big of a deal. The girl wanted to check out the backpack, and the inside of the pockets would be a factor if she decided to buy one for herself. That, and Elise didn’t have anything in her backpack that would cause alarm.

One by one, the girl unzipped every single pocket. Elise just watched, waiting patiently for her to finish her inspection.

“Annie?” The redhead glanced back to the girls behind her. Before Elise could realize what was happening, the shorter of the two brunettes quickly ran up and took the backpack out of the first girl’s hands. Annie then walked over to the edge of the bridge, holding the backpack over the running water beneath them.

“Hey!” Elise exclaimed with wide eyes. “What are you doing??”

She tried to get to her backpack, but the redhead was quick to block her path. “Ah, ah, ah, Elise,” she smiled, “One more step, and Annie will turn your backpack upside down!”

Elise froze. It hit her all at once. The fake curiosity about her backpack. The whispering. The unzipping of every pocket. But it was way too late.

“Annie, don’t!” Elise called to the shorter girl. "Please don't!"

“Hush, Elise.” The slightly taller redhead smiled, now standing directly in front of her. “Don’t worry, Annie won’t drop your things. IF you do something fun for us to earn it back!

Any rational girl would walk away.  

Especially a girl that was supposed to be in charge of first-years like these three under normal circumstances. She could explain the situation to the school. Replace the books, binders, and assignments. And let these mischievous girls be reprimanded by the academy’s administration. 

But Elise had JUST lost her backpack last week. The thought of asking her teachers for all the class materials a second time made her feel embarrassed and a little guilty. So she reluctantly decided to play along. Let these immature girls have their fun.

“What do I have to do . . .?” Elise asked.

“What do I have to do, Miss Kaitlyn,” the redhead was quick to reply, “See what it’s like for us, little prefect.”

Kaitlyn. That was her name. 

Elise flushed at the nickname more than the demand that came with it. Kaitlyn was barely an inch taller than her, but the words ‘little prefect’ were still patronizing enough for Elise to cringe at the teasing disrespect. 

“Fine.” Elise let out a heavy sigh. “What do I have to do, Miss Kaitlyn?”