The Bad Cop Ch. 02

"I don't know what to do with her. Her behavior has been very strange," I heard a woman say. It was one of the voices I'd heard in the hallways.

"Well, maybe we need to notify her parents," the other voice said. Were they talking about me? Had they somehow recognized me?

"Yeah, I think we need to call them in for a conference. She's been such a disruptive influence lately in class." It wasn't me they were talking about. They must not have seen me. I heard the stall door next to mine open as one of the women entered it. The other woman turned on a sink and washed up as the two continued talking about some problem student. The restroom door swung open again as another person entered.

"Hi, Karen," I heard another female voice say to the woman out by the sink. "Is anyone else in here with you?"

"Me," I heard the woman in the next stall call out.

"Who's me?"

"Angela.

"Okay," the woman said. "I take it you're dressed aren't you?"

"What?"

"One of my students said he just saw a naked woman go past the classroom door."

"Yeah, Angela is butt naked alright," the woman out by the sink said. "I keep warning her about violating the school's dress code but she just won't listen to me." They all laughed.

"Okay, I'm sure my student has an overactive imagination. Boys that age always have naked women on the brain."

"Boys at every age always have naked women on the brain." Another laugh.

They continued talking as I sat quietly and helplessly in my stall, the clock ticking away on any hope of finding my keys in time. Even if Tamara had found the note she wouldn't know where to find me now. The tears began welling up in my eyes as I thought about the consequences facing me in just a few more minutes. What was I going to do? How was I going to get home? What was I going to tell my mom when she got that awful video? I'd gone through all of this for nothing! It was so unfair.

I finally heard the toilet in the next stall flush and Angela exited and began washing up at the sink, still talking to the other women. They dallied for another minute or so before the door swung open and the bathroom fell silent again. I had no idea what time it was but I couldn't have much time left. I decided I was going to get the hell out of here before the ten o'clock bell rang. I'd just have to head back out to my hiding spot in the woods and try to sort out from there what I was going to do.

As I exited the stall I caught a glimpse of my nude body in the bathroom mirror and stared at it for a minute. It looked so familiar, yet so out of place in these surroundings. It struck me again just how strange all of this was, standing naked in my old school. When would I be able to put clothes on again? And how many more people would see my nude body before the day was over?

I opened the door slowly and peeked out into the hall in each direction making sure it was clear before I stepped out again and began walking. The open classroom door I'd passed earlier was closed now. I guess the teacher wanted to make sure that her horny teenage student wouldn't be imagining any more naked women wandering the hallways.

I turned the corner and checked the clock on the wall. 9:52. Just eight minutes left. There's no way I could search the first floor and find my keys in that time. I wasn't even sure the note would still be there if Tamara had found it and then gone looking for me as I hid in the bathroom. I made another turn and began walking down the hallway that led back to the fire escape that I'd climbed to enter the school. I was about half way down the hall when I heard my name called.

"Laurie."

I turned and saw Tamara motioning at me to come to her. I walked quickly to her.

"Did you find it?"

"Yeah. Where have you been? I looked all over for you."

"I had to hide out from some teachers. Give it to me, Tamara, I don't have much time left."

"When will I get my money?"

"I'll mail it out tomorrow. I promise."

"Give me your hand," she said. She took a pen out of her pocket and wrote her address on my palm, then handed me a small envelope with my name on it. I gave her a hug and her lips curled up in a faint smile - the first expression I'd seen on her face since I met her. She was a rather odd girl but I felt grateful to her, even though I'd had to bribe her to help me.

"Where did you find it?" I asked as I tore open the envelope.

"It was on the bulletin board in the front lobby. I hope you find your keys." She turned and began walking away.

"Is there any way you can help me retrieve them?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I'm already going to be in trouble for being gone so long."

"Okay, thanks for your help," I said as she disappeared around the corner.

I pulled the note out of the envelope and began to read:

Laurie,

You'll find your keys on the back wall of Room 101.

M.

Room 101 was the first classroom past the front lobby where the note had been left. God, if I'd just entered the school through the front door I could have completed this in a couple of minutes. Megan probably figured I wouldn't have the guts to do that. She'd been right.

I only had about five minutes left so sneaking around was no longer an option. The quickest way to Room 101 from here went right past the administrative offices, including the principal's office. I had one other option that would be less risky if I hurried. I started running down the hallway toward the exit where I'd first entered the school. I hobbled down the fire escape stairs as fast as I could, my poor bruised feet screaming at me with each step, then began running for the front of the building. Ahead of me one of the school's janitors was picking up trash on the edge of the parking lot. There was no more time left for hiding so I gave him an eyeful as I ran past. As I turned the corner leading to the front entrance of the school I saw my car parked nearby. With any luck I'd be driving away in it within the next couple of minutes.

I pulled open the front door and entered the lobby, nearly running into a woman exiting the school. When she saw me her eyes bugged out so far that she reminded me of a cartoon character. I recognized her as one of the school's secretaries and I just prayed to God that she didn't remember me. I walked briskly past her without saying a word and passed through another door that led into the heart of the building. On my left was Room 101. As I stepped up to the door and gripped the doorknob I could hear a muffled voice speaking. There was a class in session in there! Megan was going to make this humiliating for me right up to the bitter end.

I took a deep breath, opened the door and stepped inside.

Every head in the room turned in my direction as I stood in the doorway still breathing heavily from the run and with my skin flushed from the potent blend of nervousness, humiliation and arousal pulsing through my body. I felt a little faint and placed my hand against the doorframe to steady myself. I stood for several seconds trying to gather my composure when I saw the person standing at the head of the room: Megan! She had a feigned look of surprise on her face but I could see the delight in her eyes in seeing me there. Dave was sitting in one of the student desks holding the same video camera Megan had used earlier in the park. He pointed it in my direction.

What in the hell are they doing in here? What are they up to now? I took a couple of deep breaths and finally started walking toward the back of the room as I heard some disconnected words tumble from my mouth.

"I have to find something...a note told me...my keys...the back wall," I mumbled.

This came out sounding like total gibberish - the ravings of a crazy woman, which I'm sure they all thought I was. I walked unsteadily down one of the rows and the giggling and laughter from the students burned my ears. I reached the back wall and began desperately looking for my keys but there was no sign of them. I ran my hands back and forth across the bare wall. Where were they? They were supposed to be here! I'd beaten the ten o'clock deadline so they just had to be here! As I frantically continued searching the area for my keys I heard a voice that I hadn't heard in years. "Laurie Davis? Is that you?"

I turned back to the front of the room. "M-Mrs. Fitzpatrick?" Oh my God, it was my favorite teacher from high school! And she recognized me!

That's when it struck me that the keys weren't here; they were probably never here. I'll bet they never left Dave's pocket. This had all been a ruse by Megan to lure me into this classroom and humiliate me! I wasn't going to be able to run out and drive away in my car after all. I was totally at Megan's mercy once again - just a naked little puppet dancing on her strings.

As this realization hit me my head began spinning and I had to grab onto a nearby empty desk to keep from falling over. Megan and Dave were moving fast towards me now and each grasped one of my arms to keep me from falling. They assisted me as I walked on shaky legs back to the front of the room and they sat me down on the edge of the teacher's desk in full view of the class. Mrs. Fitzpatrick leaned down and looked in my eyes with alarm. "Are you okay, Laurie?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm not okay," I blubbered as the tears rolled down my cheeks. I shook my hair across my face as if that could somehow block this all out.

"What's wrong with her?" Mrs. Fitzpatrick asked Megan.

"She's obviously on drugs of some kind," Megan replied as she brushed the hair out of my face and peered into my eyes. "Heavy breathing, flushed skin, incoherent speech, irrational behavior. She's exhibiting all the signs." Megan turned to the teacher. "Do you know this girl?"

"Yes, she was once a student here. That was a few years back though. She's lost a lot of weight since the last time I saw her."

"Well, that could be another sign of drug abuse."

"She looks good though. I mean she was too heavy before and she doesn't look like one of those anorexic drug addicts."

"Not yet anyway. We may have caught her before it got to that."

"Are you going to arrest her?" Mrs. Fitzpatrick asked.

"No, but we're going to have someone check her out. We'll find out what she's been taking and whether she needs psychological help or drug counseling."

Mrs. Fitzpatrick leaned in close again to talk to me. "Megan, these are police officers. They're going to help you."

I let out a short, bitter laugh through the tears when I heard that. If these two "helped" me much more I really would need psychological counseling.

"Can you walk, Laurie?" Megan asked.

I nodded my head. I just wanted to get the hell out of here. Megan and Dave helped me to my feet and I felt my hands being pulled behind my back and the cold metal handcuffs snapping onto my wrists.

"Is that really necessary?" the teacher asked.

"I'm afraid so," Megan replied. "We don't know what she's on and drug abusers can often turn suddenly violent. It's for her protection as well as ours."

Megan and Dave started walking me to the door and I saw the look of concern in Mrs. Fitzpatrick's face.

"I'll be okay, Mrs. F," I said. "Just please don't tell my parents about this."

"I won't Laurie, if you promise to get help."

"I will."

Dave opened the door for me and Megan walked me out into the hallway. I was expecting them to take a right turn toward the nearby front door but instead they turned me to the left and we began walking deeper into the school.

"My car's out front," I muttered.

"Yes, but our car is parked out back," Megan replied with a barely disguised glee in her voice.

At that moment the ten o'clock bell began clanging.

DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN

It was déjà vu all over again as I sat naked, handcuffed, and humiliated in the front seat of Megan's SUV just like after streaking the baseball game. I had the feeling that this might become a regular feature of our get-togethers. As Megan negotiated the car through the school parking lot the image of all those high school students pouring out into the hallway replayed itself again and again in my mind as if it was on a continuous loop. I think that moment will be burned into my brain forever. Those naked in school nightmares have nothing on the real thing.

After the bell rang I just kept my eyes glued on the floor in front of me and concentrated on putting one foot in front of another as I tried desperately to block out the stares, laughter, catcalls, and rude remarks. If I could have I would have floated out of my body and watched the proceedings as a neutral observer, but I remained stuck inside my very naked skin for the duration.

After finally exiting the building into the rear parking lot, Megan had told Dave to get my car and meet us back at the park before helping me into the front seat of her SUV. As we pulled out of the parking lot Megan couldn't contain herself any more. "God, that was beautiful!" she laughed. "Oh man, what a rush, huh? Whew, I could get addicted to this!"

I just sat there sullenly staring out the side window. I wasn't going to give her any more satisfaction than she was already getting out of this. She barely even noticed my silence as she kept rattling on excitedly about my "adventure."

"I was starting to get worried that you weren't going to make it in time, Laurie. It would've been a lot easier for you if you'd just had the balls to walk in through the front door. Life rewards the bold, my friend. I just knew you wouldn't do that though. Let me guess, you snuck in using a second floor fire escape?" I turned and glared at her for a moment before returning to my view out the side window. "Hah, I knew it," she chortled.

She turned the corner and we began driving through the same residential neighborhood where I'd been running naked only a little over an hour ago. It already seemed like ages ago. Megan kept on talking, undeterred by my lack of response.

"You know, I give these anti-drug lectures to high school classes every so often and I'd been trying to think of a way to spice them up a bit. When I was asked to talk to a class in your old high school I just knew I had to get you involved in it. You were perfect, too! If those kids aren't scared away from drugs after your performance, they never will be," she laughed. "I'm so glad I brought Dave along to videotape that. Maybe I can use that in future lectures about the dangers of drug use."

Megan looked over in my direction hoping for some kind of response but I remained silent. "Oh c'mon, Laurie, what would you be doing today if I hadn't dragged you out of your boring little life? Sitting in a cubicle?"

"It's MY life," I shot back angrily, breaking my silence. "You have NO right telling me how to live it."

"Laurie, you're a bookkeeper for chrissakes. Hell, you're not even a real accountant. At least CPA's make decent money."

"So what?"

"So you're twenty-five years old and you have a boring job, no boyfriend, and no life. You act like you're still that fat little girl that no one wants."

"What are you my shrink now? Dr. Fucking Megan?"

"You can think of me that way if you want. I do know you need to form a new self-image for yourself. You're a smart girl and you should have more in your life than you do right now. You're not that frumpy girl anymore, Laurie, and you don't even seem to know it. You have a very pretty, innocent, girl-next-door face on a killer bod. You turn heads even when you're not naked. Do you even own any sexy clothes? Do you ever wear short skirts and low-cut blouses to work just to drive the men wild?"

I opened my mouth to respond but then closed it again. She was right. I didn't own any sexy clothes. The blue jeans and tank top I wore to my fateful birthday party was as daring as I ever got.

"How do you know so much about me anyway? Have you been spying on me?"

"Not spying, but I have taken the time to discreetly find out more about you. I was curious."

Megan turned the car into the parking lot of Mistmoore Park and killed the engine. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a key. "Turn around," she said. I felt the cuffs click open as she removed them and shoved them under the seat. I rubbed my wrists as I looked around the park. It was still deserted and Dave hadn't arrived yet with my car.

We sat there in silence for a few moments before she spoke again. "Listen, Laurie, I know I may have pushed you too far today. I never intended for you to be marched naked through the school while the students were in the hall. It's just that you got there right before the bell and I couldn't resist. I shouldn't have done that." She almost sounded apologetic. "Listen, I want this to be fun for both of us."

I laughed bitterly. "Fun?"

"Yes. Fun and exciting and arousing. I know you get very turned on by doing this kind of thing."

"I can't help it. That doesn't mean I want to take part in this."

"I think you secretly do. Maybe you don't want to take it as far as we did today, but I think you'd miss it badly if we stopped completely."

"More psychobabble," I said, but I wasn't so sure she was wrong. I still remembered vividly those intense feelings of excitement and arousal as I walked nude through the neighborhood this morning. I'd had those same feelings as I snuck naked around the empty school hallways. I think the danger of being caught turned me on even more than actually being seen. As hard as it had been to go through with this today I knew that I'd replay it over and over again in my mind in the coming weeks and become aroused whenever I did. I had to admit that my life now had an intensity and excitement that had been lacking before I met Megan.

"Laurie, if I gave you the choice of me leaving you alone, would you take it?"

"Are you giving me that choice?" I asked.

"I don't know yet," she replied. "I just want to hear your answer."

A few minutes ago the answer would have been easy, but I knew there was a grain of truth in what Megan had been saying. I was afraid to take chances. I did still see myself still as that fat, frumpy, unwanted girl. Suddenly I wasn't so sure I wanted to return to my old boring life without the daily danger of getting a phone call from Megan. This was the first time in my life I'd ever walked the tightrope without a net and I had to admit to myself that there was something intoxicating about it.

"I don't know," I heard myself say. "Is there any way we can make it not so...over the top? I mean, jeez, naked in my old high school?" A fresh wave of arousal pulsed through me as I realized that I was giving implied consent to continuing these games. Was this really my secret fetish – to be forced into public nudity and exhibitionism? Were my urges so strong that I would voluntarily allow this woman to dominate and control me to satisfy them because I knew I could never summon the courage to do these things on my own?

Megan smiled. "Today may have gone a little too far, but I'm not going to make it easy for you. It's important that we keep exploring the edge of the cliff. That's where the excitement is."

I sat again in silence looking out at the quiet park. I don't know if Megan had been serious about letting me go but the moment had passed. We both knew I was still in the game.

"Laurie, I'm going to have a copy of the school's security video soon." I knew it! "They actually have a pretty good system," she continued. "It won't be up to the quality of the Mariners video but it's not grainy black-and-white stuff either. You're always going to need a constant threat hanging over your head to force yourself to do these things and I think that video will do the trick nicely."

"What are you going to do with the Mariners video?" I asked.

"I'm going to post it on the internet since I don't need it anymore. I won't send it to your mom, though, although I can't guarantee that she might not learn about it eventually. You'll just have to hope that your friends and family don't surf those kinds of websites."