Michelle's Kingdom Ch. 01

** This is my first story, inspired by a lot of the great work here and on other forums. It follows a new girl at school, Val Donovan, as she slowly discovers the school's social hierarchy, with the bratty queen bee at the top who holds the entire school under her thumb. It features humiliation, bullying, foot worship, and some lesbian themes. I have plans for the story which I will continue if there is interest. Hope you enjoy **

It was a hot, humid day and the sun was shining on Clover High, but Val Donovan was not in good spirits. It was her first day at school and she was the new girl, starting her senior year in unfamiliar hallways, surrounded by faces she didn't recognize. She didn't belong here, but her dad had landed a lucrative position as marketing manager in a new firm that had opened up near the town of Clover, and her family decided that they would have to move so that he could be closer to his work. It was a bittersweet stroke of fortune that left Val with no choice but to leave her friends behind and start her last year of high school at Clover High. So far, she was hating it.

It all started with Mr. Perth, her biology teacher, who was middle-aged, short and balding, and who had a seemingly permanent look of disapproval etched onto his gaunt face. It was first period and Mr. Perth had just begun outlining the day's lecture to the class when Val rushed into the room, panting and sweaty, a full five minutes late. She had gotten lost in the apparently endless hallways and stairwells of Clover High, a much larger school than the one she had spent the previous four years in. She was usually never late to class and hated getting in trouble, but despite her best efforts it had been unavoidable on her first day. She didn't know anything about Mr. Perth but she hoped that he would be understanding. Standing at the front of the room, Val was aware that all of the students in the classroom were now focused on her. Mr. Perth stopped in mid-sentence and turned slowly to face her, his ever-present grimace twitching slightly in annoyance.

"And who are you?" he snapped, his voice an unpleasant combination of shrill and guttural. It made the hair on Val's neck stand up.

"I'm Valerie, I just moved here. Sorry I'm late, I had trouble finding the room."

Mr. Perth looked her up and down, sizing her up like she was a piece of meat. His eyes lingered on her smooth, toned legs and full breast, and Val felt her face grow hot with embarrassment. She heard a few kids in the back snicker.

"Do you think you can find yourself a seat? Or will that also prove too difficult?" sneered Mr. Perth, his face now contorted into an ugly grimace. This caused full-out laughter from some of the students, while the more sympathetic ones gave Val apologetic glances and shook their heads.

"I'm trying to teach a class here. Come late again and you can explain your faulty sense of direction to the principal."

Val nodded, a lump forming in her throat, as she desperately scanned the room for a place to sit. She noticed that there was an empty seat in the second row, but at this point she wanted to be as far away from Mr. Perth and the mocking eyes of her peers as possible, so with her head down she made her way to a seat near the back window of the classroom. She felt shocked and humiliated at how Mr. Perth had treated her in front of the whole class. She longed for her old school where all the teachers had loved her and never disrespected her like that. It was clearly going to be an uphill battle in Clover. With a sigh, she reached down to pull her books out of her bag. As she did so she noticed the girl sitting next to her, who had a blemished and somewhat pudgy face but who looked at her with a compassionate expression.

"Don't worry about it, he's always like that," the girl whispered. "I'm Cass by the way."

Val smiled. "Nice to meet you. I'm Val," she said, stretching out her hand, careful not to be seen by the prying eyes of Mr. Perth. "Thank you," Val added, truly grateful for the girl's friendliness. Cass smiled shyly and turned to face the front of the room. Pleased that she had met at least one decent person that day, Val pulled out her pen and did her best to take notes. As Mr. Perth droned on about the functions of various organelles Val avoided his gaze and tried to forget about what had happened, but the scene kept playing over and over in her head. She wanted desperately for the class to be over so that she could get out of there. Time crept by ever so slowly, and soon Val became lost in her own thoughts, giving up all attempts at following Mr. Perth's monotonous voice through the mysteries of the cell. It was about twenty minutes into the lecture when the sound of a door opening broke Val out of her reverie. Someone had come into the classroom, causing Mr. Perth to stop speaking and the grimace on his face to ease up slightly. Beside Val, Cass sat up in her seat, a look of fear in her eyes that she tried to hide but could not. Val raised her head to see better over the rows of kids sitting in front of her. Standing at the front of the room was a tall, athletic-looking girl in tight shorts and a tank-top that struggled to contain her ample breasts. She had long, shiny black hair and a strange look in her eyes that to Val seemed like a smug playfulness. Val was into boys, but she couldn't deny the sex appeal of this gorgeous girl. A sudden burning feeling of inadequacy filled Val's chest and she looked away from the girl, instead focusing her gaze on Mr. Perth, who was still silently staring at the newcomer.

"What's up Mr. Perth?" said the girl easily as she made towards the empty seat that Val had noticed earlier. She moved with confidence and sat down at the desk, smiling at the friends sitting on either side of her. Val held her breath as she waited for the inevitable verbal thrashing this girl was going to get from Mr. Perth for coming to his class so late. She felt a slight guilty relief at the fact that she wasn't going to be the only one berated that morning for not coming in on time. To her surprise, Mr. Perth addressed her with what seemed to Val like his best attempt at a smile.

"Hi Michelle, nice to see you this morning."

Michelle smiled and maintained eye contact with Mr. Perth, who after a few seconds looked away and turned towards the board. Michelle gave the girl next to her a grin and rolled her eyes, which made the girl chuckle quietly.

Val couldn't believe it. Her five-minute transgression had earned her a public chastisement and a threat of being sent to the principal's office. This Michelle girl had sauntered in twenty minutes late and didn't even apologize! Why did she not get called out like Val had been? Anger started to bubble in her chest at the injustice of it all. She frowned and turned to look at Cass, who was staring straight down at her notes, apparently not noticing anything that was going on. Mr. Perth continued his droning lecture, purposefully, it seemed to Val, avoiding eye-contact with Michelle, who was smiling and chatting away in a low voice to the girls sitting on either side of her. Val tried to focus on the lecture but she couldn't keep herself from staring at the gorgeous, dark-haired girl and wondering what she was saying to her friends.

Soon the bell rang to signify the end of class, and Mr. Perth handed out a homework assignment to be completed by the end of the week. As everyone was getting up to leave Val noticed a scrawny kid with glasses and a tired expression awkwardly walk over to Michelle's seat and take the assignment off of her desk, placing it slowly into his backpack with his eyes studying the floor. Michelle didn't acknowledge him at first, but as he was turning away she smiled and placed one hand imperiously on his head. Val could see his eyes widen and his face redden as her palm made contact with his hair.

"I didn't even have to ask, you know to come on your own now, Pete. Good boy!" she snickered, ruffling his hair. The group of guys and girls standing around her started to laugh hysterically while Mr. Perth, who pretended not to have seen what happened, turned and walked out into the hallway clutching a stack of papers. Pete didn't move as Michelle and her group pushed past him and towards the door. As they were leaving, Michelle glanced backwards and seemed to stare directly at Cass, who immediately lowered her gaze and kept it there until the group had left. Val waited until the room was empty before asking, "What was all that about? Who is that girl?"

"I'll tell you later," said Cass quietly as she moved towards the door, and Val could see the torment in her eyes and felt a stab of pity. Eager to get out of the classroom, Val followed Cass out into the crowded hallway. They made their way through the throng of students moving in every which direction and stopped when they found a quiet spot near a stairwell. Val waited, not quite knowing what to expect. Cass looked around nervously for a few seconds before she decided it was safe to speak.

"That girl is Michelle Johnson. She's super popular and her dad is a big-shot in the school board. He decides which schools get funding, who gets to keep their jobs, all that stuff. That's why the teachers have to be on her good side."

At this point Val could tell Cass was getting nervous as she kept staring at the floor and biting her lip. But she pressed on:

"They can't just give her all A's because it would cause problems, but they turn a blind eye when she cheats, comes in late, or makes other kids do her work for her. She can basically get away with anything. Even the principal has to suck up to her. Of course, being hot elevates it even more. That's why she's got guys like Pete so desperate for her attention they're willing to stay up all night doing her assignments for her."

Val didn't know what to say. It didn't seem fair at all, but with a body like Michelle's it didn't surprise her that she could get what she wanted. There seemed to be something more to it though, the way that Cass was acting. Val was curious but she didn't want to press Cass as she was obviously uncomfortable talking about it.

"That's pretty messed up. Thanks for letting me know though, now I don't feel so bad about the whole Mr. Perth thing," Val laughed, slightly nervous herself. She definitely wasn't looking forward to her next Biology lesson.

"Yeah, no problem. I think we should be heading to next period. What do you have?" Cass asked.

"History with Ms. Kwali. What about you?" Cass' face lit up. "Oh no way! Me too. I've got a few friends in the class I could introduce you to."

"Perfect. Lead the way, clearly I'm not good at directions," Val joked. Both of them laughed and Val was glad the conversation had been steered away from Michelle.

They walked the remainder of the way to the classroom where they would have their next lesson, and inside was Ms. Kwali, a short, plump woman who looked much friendlier than Mr. Perth. There were still five minutes before the start of class and most of the seats were empty. Cass led Val to a group of desks where two girls were already sitting. They smiled when they saw Cass and one of the girls, thin and lanky with nerdy-looking glasses and brown eyes introduced herself to Val as Maggie. The other girl, who was plump with slightly greasy hair but a wide smile, didn't say anything at first but Cass introduced her to Val as Jen. Both girls were quite nice and accepted Val into their group. Val wasn't sure what she thought of them exactly but she was grateful that she wouldn't be sitting alone. The girls talked for a little while about Val's old school and what she thought of Clover before the lecture started. After what seemed like an eternity the history lesson was finally over and the lunch bell rang. Val and her newfound friends made their way out into the hallway, and Val asked, "Where do you guys usually eat lunch?"

It took Val a few seconds to realize that the other girls had stopped walking and were standing in the hallway casting nervous glances at one another. Val stopped too and smiled nervously when she saw the expressions on her new friends' faces. What did I say? she thought. She waited a few seconds for one of them to answer. Finally, Cass came forward and said in a low voice, "We usually eat lunch outside in the garden, but we can't hang out there today. We're on duty."

"Duty? What are you talking about?" asked Val, genuinely confused with Cass' response. Cass stared down at the floor and it was Maggie who answered, "Mondays and Fridays have been assigned to us. We have to be at the cafeteria at lunch or she'll get mad."

"Who'll get mad? I don't understand."

"I'm sorry Val, but we can't spend lunch with you today. We can hang out tomorrow," said Cass, and with that she and the other two girls turned around and walked away. Val was left standing in the middle of the hallway, frowning, lips slightly apart as she tried to process the situation. What the hell was that? she thought. She was confused and a little bit hurt at the way she had been dismissed from the group. After a few seconds she thought better of it and decided Cass and her friends had been kind enough to her today already. Maybe it was best they take a bit of a breather anyways. She shrugged and made her way to her locker to put her books away. It took her a while to find it and a few tries entering the combination, but eventually she was able to dump her bag and decided she would head over to the cafeteria to get food. She hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and was looking forward to having some hot lunch. After a few wrong turns she finally made it to the big doors with a sign that read "CAFETERIA" written in bold over them. She walked in, moving through a sea of unfamiliar faces and voices until she made it to the food line. As she waited or her turn, she scanned the crowd out of habit, and her eyes fell on a gorgeous girl with dark hair sitting at a long table. It was Michelle, and she was surrounded by people. Val recognized two girls who were standing just behind Michelle, their hands by their sides and anxious-looking expressions on their faces. Val felt anger rising up as she realized they were Maggie and Jen. Cass was nowhere to be seen.

So they ditched me to eat lunch with the popular kids? Figures, thought Val. She felt betrayed, but she also felt an inexplicable desire to be closer to Michelle. She ducked out of the food line and moved towards their table, taking care not to be seen by Maggie and Jen. She found an empty seat at a table close to where the two girls were standing, and sat down so that she could look at Michelle sideways without being noticed. From here she could hear everything that was being said.

"...can you believe that? What a tool, he couldn't even get my name right!" Michelle laughed, and everyone at her table laughed with her. Val craned her neck to listen better.

"So that was probably the worst date I've ever been on," Michelle continued. As the laughter was dying down she turned slightly to face the two girls that were standing awkwardly behind her. "Jen, honey, you can get started."

It was loud in the cafeteria and at first Val wasn't sure if she heard the last part right, but what she saw next made her mouth widen. Jen had stepped sideways so that she was directly behind Michelle and placed her palms on Michelle's shoulders. As Val watched in shock, Jen began to slowly but firmly massage Michelle's shoulders, her thumbs and forefingers pressing deeply into her skin. A look of pained concentration began to form on Jen's face as she worked. Michelle threw her head back, eyes closed, and gave a small moan of pleasure.

"Oh, that hits the spot Jen. You're getting better at this."

"Thank you, Michelle," Jen mumbled quietly, focusing hard on pleasing the popular girl sitting in front of her. Michelle smiled and turned to Maggie, who now moved to stand next to her.

"Maggie, why don't you go grab me some pudding? You can throw this away while you're at it," Michelle said, tossing Maggie a sandwich wrapper.

"Of course, Michelle," replied Maggie, her eyes glued to the floor as she took the wrapper and started heading to the food line. Some of the other kids at the table snickered, but most acted like what had happened was perfectly normal. Val couldn't believe what she was seeing. Is this what they meant by "duty"? What the hell is happening?

As Michelle continued her conversation, Val could see beads of sweat start to form on Jen's forehead as she rubbed Michelle's back. Her hands were starting to cramp and her thumbs were getting sore, but she didn't stop. Meanwhile Michelle was telling another apparently hilarious story while she toyed with some pistachios in her hand.

"...yeah, she was being such a rude bitch. So when she came back to give me my change, I said 'Keep it, get yourself a proper boob-job' and I just threw the coins down." As she said this, Michelle tossed the small handful of pistachios she had in her hand to the ground beside her. Even louder laughter ensued, and Val could see Jen give a nervous chuckle as she struggled to keep rubbing Michelle's back and shoulders. As the laughter was dying down, Michelle turned to Jen once more and said, "Jen, sweetie, I feel terrible leaving a mess like this. Why don't you pick up all these pistachios off the floor?"

Jen stopped massaging and with a quiet "Yes, Michelle," she got down on all fours and started collecting the pistachios that had scattered around Michelle's feet. Unknown to Val and to any of the other kids, Michelle gave Jen a few hard kicks to the ribs and ass as she was kneeling under the table. Only Michelle heard Jen cry out softly, and a feeling of raw power flowed through her and made her smile with pleasure. No matter how often Michelle did this it never failed to make her hot between the legs. She considered making Jen perform a different type of massage while she was under the table, but at that moment Maggie came back and she snapped out of her thoughts.

"Here's your pudding, Michelle. I hope you like it."

Michelle took the pudding cup from Maggie and pointed to her shoulders. Maggie took the cue and assumed Jen's previous position of massaging the gorgeous girl in front of her.

"Good girl," said Michelle as she started eating her pudding. At this point, Val couldn't watch anymore. She was shocked and furious at how Michelle was treating her new friends. She considered storming up to their table and speaking her mind, but there were only a few minutes of lunch left and she didn't feel like making a scene in front of everyone on her first day at school. She got up from her seat and, with a slight feeling of guilt, pushed her way out of the packed cafeteria.

**********************************

Cass was sweaty and out of breath by the time she got back to the school. Her car was at the shop getting repairs and she didn't have much time before third period started, so she had run all the way back from Michelle's house. The heavy gym bag she carried on her back was no help. Michelle had forgotten she had track practice after school that day and she had left all of her stuff at home; it was Cass' job to bring it to school and keep it in her locker until later when Michelle would need it for practice. Cass hated the fact that she had to do this, but there was no way she could say no to Michelle. She was planning on applying to a top school at the end of next semester and she knew that even the slightest blemish on her record could close those doors for her. Michelle had threatened her with a suspension, and Cass knew that Michelle had enough leverage with the principal to get that arranged every once in a while. She would fabricate some story about a fight and the principal would have to take her side at risk of losing school funding. Michelle knew the power she had and she exercised it regularly over Cass and her friends. But Cass was resolved not to let Michelle spoil her future, so she would grit her teeth and do what she was told for a few more months of high school.