BEXHILL SCHOOL

It was almost time for the Easter holidays and of course spirits were running high. However, that did not excuse a lapse like this: three Sixth Formers laying into each other with pillows and making enough noise to wake the dead. Senior girls, even if they are not Prefects, are supposed to set an example. So when Claire - the Head Girl - threw the dormitory door open and caught Linda, Jenny, and Sally behaving more like Fourth Formers rather than young adults, she was faced with no choice but to administer a strong dose of discipline.

She sent the girls straight along to the Prefects' Common Room, ignoring their pleas to be allowed to put on their pyjamas. She had intended to administer a hard dose of the rattan and send them back to their dorm, but am ingenious thought occurred to her as she followed the nervous little troop down the corridor. 

Claire sat in a chair facing the trio, thought it over, flexed her cane and looked at the three frightened faces.

"I've got a better idea than caning you here in the privacy of the Common Room. Most of the Juniors will have heard your antics. I think you need to be made an example of. If I punish you here, a few girls nearby will hear what's happening, but no-one will see what happens to girls who misbehave like you have."

Linda glanced nervously at Jenny, wondering what was coming.

"So, young ladies, I want you to go out into the Quadrangle and bend over that fence in the middle."

The girls gasped.

"But Claire, can't we put some clothes on? Everyone will see us!"

"Exactly! Everyone will see what happens to girls who get carried away. No clothes, but you can go back to the dorm and put on your shoes. Then go straight down to the Quadrangle and get in position. I'll be waiting for you."

Little spreads faster in a school than the news of an impending punishment, especially if there's any chance of witnessing it. So by the time Linda, Jenny, and Sally slunk out onto the Quad and Claire waved them into place with a few flicks of her cane, every window overlooking the area was crammed with faces eagerly anticipating the spectacle.