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The rest of the day was spent in classes from five to seven, mandatory. They were streamed by some dude who used a cane as a pointer as he taught math, English, French of all things, and science. As the conference call started Nikki leaned close.
"Mistakes are punished. Don't answer unless you're sure and if you're called on, try to get it right."
"And if I don't know?" I asked.
Her eyes were wide and frightened. I thought maybe classes weren't regular but kind of a horror story thrown in from time to time if it seemed like maybe there hadn't been enough abuse passed around.
I was starting to hate Bevington more every second.
At the end of classes, dinner was brought in. I was becoming more confused. It was like Bevington didn't know whether to be a cartoon villain or something horrible and real or a chatty old man. The last hadn't seemed complexly like a false front. Some of it seemed like something he actually believed. The only thing I knew for sure was he was dangerous.
Dinner was unremarkable. Meat, protein, vegetable, whole grain bread, fruit. There was water to drink and coffee for after. It had all the thought behind the meal as a cafeteria lunch.
During dinner I asked if they thought Bevington would be up later as a result of having been in his bed all day with the migraine.
"If anything, he'll go to bed earlier," Lettie told me. "But we wait until the small hours like we were going to."
That sounded smart to me, too, even if it wasn't what I wanted to hear. We talked about the day, about my run in with the guard in the locker room. They'd all seen, which was even more embarrassing, and though they said at some point or another all of them had been fingered by Evan, I didn't feel better.
But I tucked Evan's name away to use later.
"What were you thinking, anyway?" Nikki asked. She wore a pink baby doll nighty I couldn't imagine pulling off or for that matter, wanting to wear. With the idea of some dangerous old pervert wandering around, I slept in shorts and a t-shirt and a bra. I wanted to be able to defend myself.
Right. Because that had worked so well so far.
I sighed. "I don't know. Sometimes it feels like the whole world is nothing but people fucking with you, you know?"
They definitely did.
"After a while it feels like you're crazy. Anybody here read I Am Legend"
No, but they'd all seen the Will Smith movie.
"Not the same," I said. "The movie was about vampires. The book was about being the last of something, the loneliness when what you've known is gone and the fear that now that it is gone and it's possible you're the only one left, are you still the way things are supposed to be? Or is the new world order of vampires hunting for one last snack the way it should be and your time has come and gone."
"Sounds like contemplation of old age," Nikki said.
Mia shook her head. "I don't know about the book, but I think Erin means with so many men in the world who see us for what's between our legs and who see us as controllable, are we making the right choice in rebelling? Or should we – "
"Never," Lettie said, as if that were settled. She turned and looked at me. "We've made a pact when one of us does something really stupid – " she gave me a look – "Like you did in the gym today, we take matters into our own hands."
I felt a sexual thrill I hadn't expected. I didn't even know what she was talking about yet.
"You don't have to, but if you want to be part of what we've put together," she said, and almost stopped.
The half confused look on my face must have gotten through to her.
She moved and sat on the edge of the bed. "We're trying to keep each other safe by reminding each other of the things we need to keep in mind." She patted her lap.
My eyes moved around the tiny group. Mia nodded. Nikki nodded. I looked back at Lettie. She wasn't moving. She was waiting.
"Shorts on or off?" I asked, standing.
"Off."
"She's been caned," Nikki said.
"I know that," Lettie said. She'd been the one with the lotion. She looked at me. "It's more the submission. To a group will."
