The Prefect, Parts Three & Four

Part Three

It was almost time.

Elise paced the hallway just around the corner from the door she was avoiding. It still wasn’t too late. She could call this whole thing off, and let the administration handle it. But Kaitlyn’s words rang true. It technically wasn’t her fault, but Elise still indirectly handed over a number of private materials. If she could just get those two binders back, the rest of her possessions didn’t matter.

She pulled out her phone for the hundredth time. Three minutes until 4 PM. 

Elise would play along. If things got out of hand, she would bail. Whether they respected her authority or not, she was still a prefect. They wouldn’t get away with this. Two binders, and then straight to the academy’s office to pass off the discipline responsibility. 

One more deep breath. Then she rounded the corner and strode to the looming entrance before she could talk herself out of her poorly constructed game plan. Out of habit, she knocked on the common room door, then opened it without waiting for a reply. 

 “Elise!” Of course, Kaitlyn was the first one to greet her. She and her two cohorts were waiting on the couches of the common area. All in uniforms that matched the one Elise wore, though none of them were wearing the blazer that went with the outfit like she did. 

 Two other first-years studying in the common room glanced up at Kaitlyn’s exclamation. Elise couldn’t tell if they were more curious about the presence of a prefect at this hour, or that the redhead had just addressed her so casually rather than following university policy. Perhaps both.

 “Girls,” Elise nodded to the two that weren’t involved in this. Play the part. Play it cool. Then she turned her attention back to Kaitlyn, “You wanted to discuss something?”

 They wouldn’t try anything here, would they? She was a prefect, and an upperclassman. Elise would absolutely not do anything that would further undermine her authority in front of more first-years. Surely Kaitlyn knew that.

 “Let’s talk in private.” Kaitlyn said. Not a question, Elise noted. The red haired girl stood up and walked over to her room. She opened the door, and gestured for Elise to enter.

It was both relieving and unnerving all at the same time. Elise’s previous worry was alleviated. No one else would witness her being spoken to so disrespectfully. But at the same time, she would be hanging out in a first-year’s dorm room, rather than the common room. It would be frowned upon if anyone found out. But what choice did she have? Short of bailing right now, she really only had two options. Public or private.

“Sure.” Elise faked a smile.

 Once the blonde prefect entered the room, the other two girls were quick to stand up from their cozy common room chairs and follow. Kaitlyn gave them both a knowing smile as they did. The stunt on the bridge was done on a whim, and adjusted on the fly. It hadn’t gone quite as well as the devious redhead hoped, but that was fine. It was enough to get the stuck-up prefect here. And this time, the girls had well over an hour to plan things out before Elise showed up.

 The clueless, uptight prefect had no idea what was in store for her.

Part Four

Elise did a quick once over as she entered. Also a prefect habit, as room inspections were part of her responsibilities. Save for a little clutter on the desk, the room was pretty clean. 

 Kaitlyn lived in a single room, which meant she was either lucky, or her parents were wealthy enough to pay extra to secure it. The first-year dorms were set up where ten girls would live together. A common room and six bedrooms. Four of the bedrooms were doubles, and two were singles. Singles tended to cost extra. If they weren’t all claimed and paid for, then any remaining girls who requested one would get it via luck of the draw. 

“First things first, Elise.” Kaitlyn said. The two brunettes walked straight passed Elise, smiling at her as they did, then sat down next to each other on the bed. Kaitlyn shut the door behind her, taking a confident step into the room and towards Elise. “What do you call me?”

Arguing was pointless. It would just prolong this whole experience. “Miss Kaitlyn.” Elise reluctantly replied. She tried so hard to play it cool, but couldn’t help but lightly blush when the two girls on the bed started giggling.

“Good girl.” Kaitlyn repeated the same demeaning phrase she had casually used on the bridge earlier. The redhead walked past Elise to take the desk chair, making the flustered prefect the only one without a seat.

“Look, I’m here.” Elise said. She tried to push away all of her frustration. Being calm was the best way to deal with girls like this. “Please give me back my things.”

“Elise. A proper girl addresses the woman to whom she’s speaking.” Kaitlyn said. She sat back in her chair, echoing one of their teachers’ common phrases. Edgewood Academy wasn’t just for learning, like most colleges. It was also meant to groom young women into proper ladies.

“Please give me back my things, Miss Kaitlyn.” Elise flatly responded.

“Good girl.” Kaitlyn nodded. “So the girls and I have been talking, and here’s what we decided. We took a quick peek inside your bag. That’s okay with you, right?” Of course it wasn’t. But Kaitlyn continued without waiting for a reply. “We saw two books, two notebooks, two binders, and your wallet. Seven things.” 

So much for privacy. The things Kaitlyn listed were what Elise had with her for the last two classes of the day, as well as her prefect materials. Had the girls looked any further than that? 

“Kaitlyn-”

“Miss Kaitlyn.” The girl cut Elise off. “Be a proper girl, Elise. Are you a proper girl, my little prefect?”

Elise wouldn’t let Kaitlyn get a rise out of her. Just words. Same as on the bridge. If she could play along, this would all be over soon. “Yes . . .” Elise muttered.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, Miss Kaitlyn.”

“The whole thing, Elise.” Kaitlyn leaned forward in her chair, staring the blonde prefect down, “If you can’t even get this right, you might as well leave.”

No. Absolutely not. This brat wouldn’t scare her off or send her away. Elise took a heavy inhale, trying to calm herself. “Yes, Miss Kaitlyn. I’m a proper girl.”

“Good girl, Elise.” Kaitlyn sat back. Content for now, apparently. “Now, you have to earn back seven things. So we decided you should do seven tasks for us. Sound fair?”

“What?! No!” Elise protested. “Kaitlyn, that’s too much. Just give me back my bag!”

“Elise!” Kaitlyn exclaimed. She almost sounded offended as she glared back, “You just said you were a proper girl.”

 “I . . .” Elise hesitated. What was going on?? None of this was fair. “Miss Kaitlyn . . .” she corrected herself, losing her composure for a second. No, she could do this. “Miss Kaitlyn. That’s way too much. Please, just give me back my belongings.” 

“I will,” Kaitlyn smiled, “After you do your tasks. What will it be, Elise? Do a few little tasks for us, or leave empty handed? Answer like a proper girl, okay?” 

Elise was dumbfounded. This cocky redhead should NOT be talking to her like this. It wasn’t appropriate. It wasn’t respectful. But she was awkwardly standing in Kaitlyn’s unfamiliar room. All three girls had their eyes on her, waiting expectantly for an answer. It was a win for them either way. Either Elise would call this off and get in trouble for leaking private information, or she would play along and no doubt embarrass and demean herself in front of the girls she was supposed to have authority over.

“I’ll do seven little tasks for you, Miss Kaitlyn.” Elise begrudgingly replied. At least using Kaitlyn’s ‘little’ word against her. “But nothing like what you told me to do on the bridge.” She added. Elise had already demeaned herself a bit in front of these girls. She could manage a little bit more. Hopefully.

“Fine, I won’t have you flash us,” Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. “Well, Elise? Ready for your first task? Answer properly.”

Elise quietly sighed to herself.

She could do this. Worst case scenario, she could back out if the tasks were awful. 

“What will it be, Elise?”

“Fine.” Elise muttered, “I’m ready for my first task, Miss Kaitlyn.”

Kaitlyn stood up, reminding Elise of their height difference all over again. The red haired girl confidently walked right up to the blonde prefect, giving her a teasingly sweet smile. Then she said those familiar words that made Elise inwardly cringe every single time.

“Good girl, Elise.”