STEPHANIE<br/><br/>The Adam Sears issue was minor. He'd landed badly on one ankle and lightly sprained it in a basketball game. There wasn't a spot of anything loose or dropped or spilled on the gym floor or anything that could get the negligence fingers wagging so having sent Adam off with Janet to the nurses station, Virginia's class resumed and I asked Susannah to file a report once she had Janet's injury assessment from her.<br/><br/>I got back to my office and telephoned Mr Sears Senior but his answerphone was switched on. I tried Mrs Sears' home number but that too wasn't picked up. I left a polite and businesslike voicemail for her and that was that.<br/><br/>Going back to my honour roll assignment marking I tidied up the rather scattered mess on my desk, reordered the pile of 'A', 'B' and 'C' rated assignments and the unread pile and then sat back with a creamy latte that Susannah brought in, crossed my legs with a subtle<em>swiirr</em>of nylon on nylon and began to read.<br/><br/>Twenty minutes later - this would be mid afternoon now - I knocked on Natalie's office door and went in. I returned the Hadley assignment to her pile of papers and grinned.<br/><br/><strong>"My word. He's hardly subtle is he? After you'd pointed it out and I read it again with an awareness of the submissive angle it just flew off the page at me. That section between Mary-Anne Estavez, the plantation owners wife, and the slave boy Michigo in the plough shed. Its pretty obvious that our Mr Hadley identifies strongly with the slave and to highlight the part where she removes his shackles and he becomes <em>less</em> happy rather than <em>more</em> happy was quite the incisive critique. Michigo refused to run away to attain his freedom and begged to be allowed to stay 'to serve my Mistress'. It's good enough for me. The writer of that assignment I'd say had a pretty healthy submissive streak."</strong><br/><br/>I went to her window and looked out as students from the baseball team and the cheerleader squads trailed back off the pitches towards the locker rooms and showers. Natalie had designed Porter's cheerleader uniform herself and I had to hand it to her, it was fucking hot. The tiny pink cotton pleated skirts were just on the cusp between cute and downright obscene. That senior girl Hillary Ambrose looked good enough in it to eat.<br/><br/><strong>"Anything interesting showing up on Mr Hadley's internet usage records?"</strong>I asked, tearing my eyes away from the pert Miss Ambrose's behind and turning my back to the window and resting my rear on the sill.