"Sorry, Sorry." I chimed as entered the classroom late. I kept my eyes centred on my desk as I passed through the room, I felt sure everyone's eyes must me on me, plus I hoped I hadn't annoyed Colette by interupting the lesson.

Reaching the safety of my chair I wrote a note for Madeline and quietly passed it along.
'Got delayed in the restroom. What did I miss?'

Madeline rolled her eyes. She glanced up at Colette who had an annoyed expression on her face. Usually the young reprimanded tardy students, but apparently she figured it was best to give Jo a bit of leniency. Madeline really hoped lateness wouldn't be a habit with the girl, it would draw lots of unwanted attention to her, and make people suspicious of her.

She passed back a note. 'The headmistress was here and noted your absence.'

My brows closed as read the note, well that was just my luck wasn't it! Hadn't Madeline only just warned me I needed to be carefully because the headmistress would always be watching.
It was just one lateness though, surely the worse that could happen would be a detention or something? I'd rather risk that than risk a leaking pull-up so in my mind I'd done the right thing.

I passed a note back,
'Oh well. I'll have to be more careful. Colette doesn't look pleased, lets just get on with the lesson and I'll tell you what happened later?'

I found my notebook and turned the history notes which had been made previously. Hopefully Madeline could keep me busy with notes to copy, I really longed to be outside, doing something that might help me get myself back, but there was only half the school day left to go, and then i'd have French lessons to look forward to, that would feel postive.

Madeline figured Jo was right. No point crying over spilled milk. So she settled back into their earlier pattern, taking notes and givign them to Jo to copy. She had to admit it made class harder than usual, taking them in english, but she perservered.

Eventually Colette made an announcement. "Now, as you know it would normally be time for gym" Why was it called gym Madeline wondered, they didnt' have a gym, shouldn't it be called 'field'? "but they had to spray the lawn unexpectedly, so its cancelled. Sadly, I forgot to prepare extra material, so I'm going to give you a free study period." The class brightened up. Since gym could be cancelled for any number of reasons, ranging from rain to the teacher getting drunk, the school policy was always to have extra material on hand to fill in. Colette was usually one of the best about that, this had been the first time she'd forgot. "You may talk quietly, I repeat, quietly. And I know some of you still need to see me, nows a good time."

Madeline turned to Jo. "Lucky break. Alright Jo, we have a chance to talk." Privately Madelien suspected Colette had forgotten on purpose so as to give Jo more a chance to adjust, but she saw no point in guessing.

My guesses where at the complete oposite spectrum to Madeline's, I was worried that prohaps Colette had been unable to prepare something because she had been busy with me this weekend. I would feel bad if I knew I had obstructed Colette's work, though on the other hand I doubted there were many people in the classroom who would be angry if I'd given them a free study period.
It wasn't as I could change it now anyway, I let it slip from my mind.

"There was this girl in the toliets." I spoke quietly but insistantly to Madeline, Although most people in the class couldn't understand a word of English, I didn't feel comfortable speaking about this in public, however I'd also wanted to get it off my cheast all during the lesson.

"Her name was Claire." I said this even quieter because I still wasn't sure if she was in our year or the one above.

"She was standing on the toilet looking down into my cubical can you believe that! Well she wasn't like perving, she was just smoking but still... and I was about to... you know." I glanced down at my legs and drew my eyes quickly level with Madeline's again, egar to hear her opinion and try to divine some guidence. I wasn't really sure how I was supposed to react. I just knew I had been frightened by the exprience and wanted to tell someone.

"Claire? I know her..."Madeline paused for a moment. "Remember that group of students I mentioned, the ones the headmistress is convinced can't be redeemed? Claires part of that group. I don't know her well...she kinda dislikes me. I think she was hoping for a fellow rebel, but she's a rebel with no cause, and nothing to gain. I wanted a future out of this town, and that meant I needed the headmistresses favor." Madeline sighed. Claire had seemed...nice. Well, sort of. Frankly with only two friends Madeline often found herself regretting all the people who might have been, silly as that was.

"I don't want to tell you to stay away from her, but don't let her talk you into somthing stupid. Like smoking at school, if she gets caught...the headmistress has the right to paddle or even cane students. Smoking is pretty much a certain caning, and that's on top of the miserable detentions you'd have to do. And Colette wouldn't like it either." Madeline sighed again, she was starting to sound like a nagging mother. "I'm just saying, use your brain, and your judgment. I'd hate to see you end up like Fosetta."

The headmistress caned students in this town? It sounded like something which belonged in another era to my mind. In England today it was illegal for an adult to strike a child in any way even in their own home. Plus it was terrifying concept, spanking had hurt bad enough I didn't want to experience a canning.
Fortunatly I had never taken to smoking anyway but who knew what other offences qualified?
I rested my jaw on a hand, leaning over the table. This school sucked, if I stayed here to long I really was going to be turned into a good little girl.

"Hang on, how's Fosetta?" I lifted my head and fixed my gaze steely on Madeline,

"You've mentioned her twice now and not in anyway that sounded good. I think I need to hear this."

Madeline felt like swearing again. She had let it slip. She felt like such a fool. And there was no way Jo was going to like hearing this news. But she couldn't think of any way out of it now. "Alright Jo I'll tell you."

Sitting back and wondering where to begin, Madeline decided it was probably best to stick to the basics. "Fosetta was the girl who sat in the chair your sitting in now. No one will sit there anymore cause, I don't know maybe they think its cursed."

"She was a good friend of mine." Madeline considered whether she should mention that Fosetta had been her first girlfriend, but decided against it. Jo could learn about that side of her later. "But she had issues. For one thing she had a learning disorder, I don't know its name in english, but it made it really hard for to read. And she had emotional problems too. Without going into details she had a bad childhood, with a cruel father. He finally got jailed for some unrelated offense when she was ten, and her mother remarried but the damage was done."

"I'll try to keep the details of her problems short, but she had anger management issues, when she got real angry she'd totally loose control of herself. Her mother took her into the city once a month to see a psychiatrist."

"She also had trust issues. It took quite a while for her to become friends with me, and she didn't have any other friends. She also had a problem with authority, you know, one of those kids who's mad at teh world? She did allot of that rebellious stuff, like smoking, tagging school property, she even stole some stuff. Which was silly, its a small town she got caught real quick."

"Any case, after the incident where I puked on the headmisstress I was really working hard to get back into her good graces, and eventually I did. But Fosetta took that as a betrayal, I think she liked the idea that I was on the list too, that we were outcasts against the world or somthing. Any case her rulebreaking got worse, and her control slipped more and more. Her grades hit rock bottom, to the point where there was talk of holding her back."

"Eventually she really pissed off the headmistress, although I never got the details of how. And then later that same day she lost her temper again, and wound up breaking a fair amount of school property, and actually wet her pants. This happened on a friday."

"Then the headmisstress decided that Fosetta wouldn't merely be held back, but should instead be sent to the lowest class to start all over again. She went through with it too. Fosetta went to school that monday in the little kids uniform, the lowest class is the only one they able to afford enough uniforms for so they have to wear them, the uniform is a white slip, red one piece dress with long puffy sleeves, and a very short skirt but wide skirt, which buttons up the back and is trimmed extensively with white ribbons and frills, red hair and neck ribbons, pigtails, this little red hat with white ribbons, frilly topped knee socks and red velvet mary jane slippers. Mom was payed to alter one to make it big enough for her, I remember her being puzzled as to why the headmistress wanted a large kindergarten uniform and a set of..." She looked meaningfully at Jo's crotch for a moment "cloth security panties. When I came home that monday and told what happend, she was horrified. Any case Fosetta speant three days in with the little kids."

"One of the things I do is I volunteer to sometimes assist the lowest class, its called the mentor program, so I sometimes get called to their class to help with activities. I got to see Fosetta there, and it was eerie how normal she acted, like she was right at home and happy to be with the kids. I tried asking her about it and she said that it was more fun there, and she was at least glad she hadn't been sent to the pre-school." Madeline shook her head.

"Then after three days she had a massive break down, at home. I don't know exactly what happened, but she was pulled from the school, and now spends most of her time at home. She got something from her psychiatrist excusing her from attending do to mental health or somthing." Madeline looked at Jo. "I'm not going to say anything more about her present condition to protect her privacy, what little theres left after everyone in school saw her in the uniform."

"I'll say this, the headmistress still has that uniform, and you're about her size. And no one really thinks she did the wrong thing in her treatment of Fosetta. The fact is she was a problem child from the start, and towards the end there she'd aliented everyone who gave her the benefit of the doubt. The whole incident is mostly seen as her fault, with the headmistress taking extreme action for an extreme child. You haven't alienated everyone, but neither do they know you, and lots of them dislike foreigners. And you have a reputation as getting so drunk you lost your memory, and other unsavory stuff. So...I worry. I hope I didn't scare you to bad Jo." Madeline sat back, looking at Jo expectantly, hoping her news wouldn't cause a nervous breakdown.

'Chair I'm sitting in? Cursed!' Well I could tell this was going to be an absolutely swiming story, grimly I listened on, already concern was etching faint marks or worry on my face.

I felt pity for Fosetta as Madeline recounted the tale, she sounded like a victim who neede care and kindness and should probably never have been a school where the rules were a tough as here.
I lowered my eyes when Madeline mentioned Fosetta had once wet herself, it made me feel akward and embrassed even though she wasn't talking about me but there was the ominious fact that Madeline seemed to think I might be heading the same way as this girl. The headmistress had already threatened to hold me back.
My eyes widened in horror as I discovered just how far back the headmistress was prepared to place a pupil.

I turned white as a sheet and actually tested bile in my throat. It was horrific, absoultely horrific, surely it had to be against the law?
I wanted to ask Madeline if she still saw Fosetta, I wanted to know that the poor girl was okay, getting help and not a suicide victim or in a hospital.
Words just weren't able to form though, my throat was dry. Madeline continued and I noted the warning in her tone. 'In my size!'

When she finished and looked at me I seemed to take stock of my own situation, my heart was palpatating rapidly. I considered putting my hand up and asking to be excused just so I could go to the toilets and drink some water to help calm myself but Colette would know I'd already been and I didn't want to push her patience in light of information.

"Good grief." I spoke in a low voice after what felt like a few minitues. "Thats absolutely terrible, I'm so so for her."

"Yeah, well she's actually not as bad off now as she was. I mean she's still in no shape to come to school, but she's doing adequitely at homeschooling, she likes to listen to books on tape, and she's actually a pretty decent painter. I think somthing she made is currenlty hanging in a gallery in the city." She was also totally diaper dependent, and speant ten to twelve hours a day sleeping, and liked to play with dolls, had to take pills everyday, and sometimes would have violent anger fits, but Madeline decided not to tell Jo that. Or mention the creepy black crayon drawings. "She still has friends that come and see her, and some of the people she hurt have forgiven her." Most of said friends were actually kids from the lowest class that came over to play with her, and the only people Madeline knew who forgave Fosetta were Madelines mother and Rose, but she kept those to herself too.

"But yeah, it was a huge and rather brutal ordeal for her. I don't want somthing similar to happen to you." Madeline knew intellectually that Fosetta's problems were beyond her ability to solve, but part of still felt there was more she could have done.