The New Principal Ch. 28

Fair warning to you, dear reader:

This chapter has no sex, and barely any explicit content at all. I plan to make that up to you in the next chapter, which will wrap up The New Principal. It will also come much more quickly than this one has. Thank you for your patience and the kind notes of encouragement you have been sending. They mean so very much to me.

*****

I expected the next week to be strange, and I was not disappointed.

It seemed that everyone was walking on eggshells. Even those who didn't know what was going to happen acted like they could feel the tension. Those who were in the know were particularly and visibly anxious. I saw Jennifer in the office, and counter to the poise she always used to display, she seemed flustered, shuffling papers and rocking back on her chair. I wanted to go and try to calm her down, but I knew that would be a bad idea.

In the halls, I ran into members of the Dionysian Club. Some seemed excited, as if they were ready for a big match at the end of the week. Others were less confident. Deborah Xu gave me a sly wink when I ran into her. They all seemed to have faith in us. I wondered if they really understood the danger that they had agreed to face.

I didn't see Veronica or Kimberly, which was probably for the best. Veronica was still playing her role well, acting like she had taken the chemical concoction that turned poor Lynn into a submissive husk. She had been consistent in showing me utter disdain whenever we saw each other. I knew it was an act, but I have to admit that it was tough to handle for me.

Kimberly was working on the inside as well. She was in charge of swapping the vials containing the serum for vials of water. That way the girls that were supposed to be sold off would take a harmless sip of water instead of a mind-altering concoction. Kimberly and the Xu twins were holding small secret meetings with the Dionysian Club members, telling them what to do and training them how to act as if they had been drugged, using Lynn's actions as a model.

I had to assume all that was going well, because I didn't have any way to get in touch with Kimberly, and the hallway or classroom wasn't the place to corner one of the twins for a discussion. Kimberly did pass me one note via our class monitor. Suzy, who preferred to be called Susan when she was in her class monitor uniform and not tongue-deep in her classmate's pussy, seemed utterly without doubts.

The note said simply: "Last moment to back out. If swap goes well, I will send word Friday morning."

So, I really didn't have anything I could do but keep up my act. I was supposed to be panicked about my losing my job and generally cowed by Principal Sten's oppressive regime. All I needed to do was fade into the background and not draw any attention. Easy to say, but surprisingly hard to do, except the panicking part. I was pretty good at showing that authentically, I think.

All week long it felt like I was on a caffeine drip. My every-other-day runs into the forest became daily, but that didn't help. I was jumpy and short-tempered, and I wasn't getting much sleep at all. I just lay there on my back in the bed staring at the ceiling thinking of all the things that could go wrong.

My main worry was about the vials. If Kimberly wasn't able to make the swap, all of the girls who had been working in the spa would be... Well, if the serum hadn't been improved, they would be that they turn out like Lynn, I supposed. She was basically a zombie. Her personality was in there somewhere, but nothing of her surfaced in action. She was a pliant, utterly passive lump. I'm sure there were plenty of people willing to buy girls like that, but my real worry was that if Sten was able to improve the serum, she might be able to make the girls into eager and willing little sex toys. And I was sure that Sten would get a fortune for that kind of product.

I knew I was a huge hypocrite about this, but when I used the trick with someone, I really did do everything I could to make sure that no one was doing anything they didn't genuinely want to do. I could see into their deep selves and there were even a couple times when I was shut out. Kimberly was a great example. She had powerful self-control, and before she was ready to be with me, she resisted, and was able to kick me out of her mind.

It wasn't just the Svengali trick of staring into their eyes. I'm not delusional enough to dismiss that I seemed to be having a bleeding effect on people. Even when I wasn't turned on, people reacted to the trick subtly. The entire campus was a lot hornier than it was before I got here, and I knew I was the cause. But I was convinced that the natural state of young people is horny. I was just bringing that out.

But that was only one worry. If they got the serum instead of the water placebo, there was no telling what would happen. But Kimberly was on that, and she'd ever failed me before.

There were a dozen problems that the buyers could cause. Would some idiot bring a gun or heavies to rough folks up? Even if the cops and Tess' folks did show up, we were not designed for muscle.

And then there was Tess. We were all gambling on her being on the level. She said she was kind of FBI, but not really, whatever the hell that actually meant. The women I knew back at my old school didn't seem like a cop at all, but I suppose that's part of the job to seem different to different people. When she snuck into my house she seemed a bit more the part, but who knew?

Then there were questions of logistics, and gathering people afterward, questions of the girls that weren't in the Dionysian Club and so didn't get training, questions of what Sten's reaction would be when she realizes we're moving on her... So many questions to keep me from getting a good night's sleep.

And nothing I could do but wait.

Even though I was staying in and not roaming around the town, it was clear that the Wednesday ferry brought in some supremely sketchy-looking characters that were new to the town. I saw some of them hovering around the spa during the day, looking almost stereotypically gross. One in particular stood out, a big guy, tall but fat, too. He wore a heavy black well-tailored suit with a black tie, but it was the blocky, wrap-around dark sunglasses and the patchy scruff of beard that really sold the look. I wouldn't have been surprised to see one of those giant block-of-metal watches on his wrist. He looked like he had a lot of money, but didn't know what to do with it. He was just a big bag of wealth and sloth.

There were others around town that were certainly less conspicuous, but it was impossible to be hidden in a town our size. Everyone knew each other at least by sight, and any newcomer, even the regular tourist variety, was fair game for examination and speculation. In some ways, these other people were more disturbing. It's like the old bit from the movie: "Where's your Halloween costume? This is my costume. I'm a homicidal maniac. They look just like everybody else." There were several people in town that looked way too much just like everyone else for comfort.

Thursday afternoon, I nearly broke character. I was coming home from work and moving with a purpose because I wanted to check Wednesday's film from the campus and spa cameras. Maybe I could see something about the newcomers that would help.

Turning the corner on the sidewalk to my street, I nearly ran smack into Trooper Moore.

He had been looking across the road and I had been distracted.

"Mr. Lee. I, uh... Hello."

I glanced around nervously, wishing that I had even an ounce of cool.

"Trooper Moore. Ah... How is Trooper Pine?" The words sounded beyond stilted in my mouth.

He stared at my averted eyes, a bit puzzled.

"He's okay. He's back on the beat." He paused. "He'll be working this weekend, just like all of us."

I couldn't help looking at his face. "All of you? What's going on?" I knew my attempt at being casual was completely failing.

He cocked his head and gave me a strange look, but ignored my second question. "Yeah, funny thing, ain't it? We're all working this weekend. Even the volunteer watch. Weird thing though, that replacement chief we got just got called back to Seattle, so he's not here anymore. Not that I'm complaining any, but it basically puts me in charge. Funny thing."

I felt a tingling suspicion, and then saw a couple of our science teachers coming up behind him. I didn't know how to warn him, so I just looked him right in the eye.

I had hardly any experience looking into the minds of men. The trick was so powerfully anchored in sexual attraction, I wasn't even sure that would be able to do anything at all.

It took only a fraction of a second, but seemed so much longer. I was able to push into his mind like swimming in marshmallow. His consciousness was utterly opaque to me, but I could feel that I was at least there. I probably would be able to have some effect.

I pushed calm as hard as I could. He needed to be quiet at accept this. He needed to be quiet. Right now.

Sliding out of his mind was much easier. I felt a wash like fresh cool air all over me. It was like the trick worked on me too. I was as calm as I wanted him to be. And I accepted the situation as it was.

"Well, I'm glad Trooper Pine is fine. I do need to get back to the Green House. With all the changes around here, I'm job hunting now." I tried to key that in an exhausted tone and loud enough for the passers-by, who had noticeably slowed their pace, to hear.

"Ah, well..." Moore wasn't entirely himself, but he seemed to play along. I passed by him and clapped him on the shoulder, trying to spin him slightly so he could see the men coming up.

"Take care, Trooper." Then as I passed the teachers, I nodded. "Gentlemen."

They didn't bother to even reply, but headed toward Trooper Moore. I didn't linger to try and eavesdrop, but went right up the path to the Green House.

Well, at least Tess was able to get the police on alert, and that replacement chief was Sten's hack, so that must be more of Tess' doing. I hoped that they knew a little bit about what was going on. I tried to calm myself down by remembering to trust people who had proved trustworthy. Tess knew how to handle her side of things, and she would handle them. Moore wasn't anything like a friend, but he'd been solid. Kimberly knew how to handle her side of things and she would handle them.

Still, I was nervous enough to take out Tess' pager to send her a message. But I didn't know what to say. I wouldn't have Kimberly's notice until the next morning, and I had no news to pass on. It was just nerves again. I looked at the pager to confirm she hadn't sent anything to me. Nothing but a blank screen.

I looked through the day's video and saw nothing new. A couple of the creepy dudes had managed to get appointments in the spa, which was quite something, considering there had been a week-long waiting list. But they didn't do anything special that I could see. They were creeps, but didn't do anything more creepy than others had. No one got in trouble, no one kicked out.

I tried hard to get some rest, and I did sleep some, but it wasn't enough. I had a thought about looking into Moore's mind. Maybe there was something I could do for myself. Could I get in my own head? It was a couple hours before my alarm went off, and it was clear I wasn't going to get back to sleep, so I thought I'd give it a try.

I pulled the mirror down from the back of the door in the bathroom and put it in the library in front of one of the chairs.

With full knowledge of how goofy this would look, I sat down in the chair and looked at my reflection. The eyes had always been the main entry point, but I knew I did have the ability to push moods, emotions, and such without deep eye contact. But I did look into my own eyes, and tried to push calmness, restfulness, quickness of mind, energy, and anything else I could think of.

I couldn't slide into my own mind, that seemed obvious from the start. And the more I stared at my own face, the more ridiculous I felt. Maybe I didn't find myself sexually attractive enough?

I nearly started to laugh at how stupid it all was, when my alarm went off.

An hour and a half? Two hours? Gone?

And I felt great. For the first time in a week, I felt ready to run. It was like I had the energy, but it wasn't bouncing around randomly inside me anymore. It was mine to allocate. Maybe I was sexy after all.

I had a great run.

When I got back from my run, I saw the flag on my mailbox was up. The mail carrier never got to my house before noon. It had to be Kimberly's message. But that was crazy, she wouldn't just walk up and put it in my mailbox. There were dozens of people who might see her. And my house had been under surveillance before.

These ideas whirled as I opened the mailbox and saw a single sheet of legal paper, folded many times over. Trying to contain my thoughts, I picked it out as nonchalantly as I could and took it into the house.

"Swap done. All go. K."

I felt my heart race. Kimberly's sign. I was still taken back by her boldness, but maybe she couldn't get to the Xu's and this was the only way to keep the timeline.

I went to Tess' pager and put in a message.

"Swap complete. Go."

I was surprised to see the LED flash, then the screen showed three immediate replies in quick succession. She had been waiting for this.

"Good. All go here."

"Event at 10pm."

"Wait for me at home. Don't interfere."

And there we were.

How in the hell was I supposed to teach classes after that?

The day went by in a blur. I suppose I must have taught my classes because otherwise someone would have mentioned it. All I remember is images of empty chairs. Each and every girl that I knew was listed on the spa work list for demerits was absent from class. It made sense, but for whatever reason, I didn't expect it. They would already have taken Sten's new drug, or rather the placebo Kimberly swapped in for it.

It seemed like our plan worked well in that as far as I could tell, it was only the members of the Dionysian Club, so that was a small victory. There was always a danger of getting girls who weren't in on the sting in the group, but managing demerits and the spa list seemed to have worked.

We expected that Sten would run them through some confirmation experiments so they would need the day. She would want to get as much data as possible before selling them off. She probably wouldn't have time to run blood tests or anything like that. We could only count on their mimicking of Lynn's behavior. Hopefully she would be distracted enough by her buyer guests that she wouldn't see through it all.

But again, there was nothing for me to do. The heavy lifting was being done by people I cared so much for but couldn't help directly. That was a frustration that I was getting used to, but I didn't like it.

So that evening, I found myself sitting in the library of the Green House, glancing every few minutes at the impossibly slow clock, and absent-mindedly scanning over and over the pages of a new book, taking in none of it.

The doorbell rang, but well before I expected Tess to show up. I opened the door to find a tall thin student with long blonde hair. She was wearing her school uniform in perfect crisp order. Long ago, I remembered seeing her nearly vibrating with energy as she led the swim team. That Friday night, she was as I had seen her more recently. Lynn was pale and emotionless, her energy and personality sapped.

She had come to the Green House to collect me before. That was to bring me to meet Principal Sten. The echo of that meeting hit me hard. Lynn had been Sten's and Grant's guinea pig. Who knows what they put in her, but whatever it was seemed to break her mind. I had tried to look into her consciousness, but found no desire, no id at all. She was simply the tool of her creator.

That she was here right then could only mean something had gone horribly wrong.

My first thought was to use the pager to warn Tess, but I couldn't let Lynn see it.

I stared blankly at her for a moment, getting no reaction whatsoever.

"Mr. Lee, Principal Sten needs to see you right away."

What could I do? I could run, I could try to delay, but that wouldn't solve anything. Sten would be put on guard if she wasn't already. There was the off chance she was just calling me in to make sure I was out of the way for the sale. She should believe that I was totally impotent. That made a kind of sense, but my gut feeling was that it was something much worse than that.

If everything had fallen apart, then maybe this wasn't the worst option. If Sten still thought my trick was gone, I might be able to do some good. If she thought I still had the trick, maybe I could make some kind of bargain, trade my knowledge for the girls?

Lynn hadn't moved a muscle.

"Mr. Lee, Principal Sten needs to see you right away. We need to go now."

"Right... Of course." Despite my rationalizations, this was certainly a colossal mistake.

I looked her in the eye one more time. Her mind looked as barren as it had before. But before I had a chance to look as thoroughly as I wanted to, she turned away and started walking down the path. She continued talking as if I were still in front of her, even though she didn't ever turn her head back to me.

"Mr. Lee, Principal Sten needs to see you right away. She told me to go back even if you don't follow me. But you should follow me. She'll be angry if you don't come."

A colossal mistake. I followed her.

Things had indeed gone wrong. Horribly wrong.

Lynn led me to the theater. The minute we walked in the main door, two large men flanked us. Then when we walked in the main theater, I realized a small fraction of the disaster.

On the stage was Principal Sten, front and center, and wearing a rather bizarre outfit. It was something that Veronica would definitely be able to pull off, but would have the taste not to. She was neck to calf in tight leathers, or maybe latex, with dangerous-looking black high heeled boots. And to top off the ensemble, she wore a long white lab coat. This was not her ordinary garb, but she was clearly playing not for me, but for her audience that would arrive any minute now. She looked like a mad scientist from a B movie, which was the effect she was going for I suspected.

Laid out on the stage were also two unconscious bodies. One long and thin with deep dark skin and black hair. The other was very short, but built like an Olympian triathlete. Veronica and Jennifer were piled next to each other in a heap. I couldn't tell if they were injured, but I could see them breathing, deep and even, which gave me some hope.

But there was one more person on the stage. I saw her blazing red hair first, but my mind refused to process it. She was sitting in a chair. Her head hung down and her hair splayed over her head, shoulders and even hid most of her body. The hair glinted beautifully in the stage lighting, but it shook and shuddered as Kimberly was obviously sobbing.

Principal Sten saw us come in and struck a pose, her gaze following us all the way up the stage.

When I started to get close to her, I looked hard into her eyes. I was getting almost close enough when someone, one of the burly thugs, probably, threw a thick black bag over my head.

I couldn't see anything, and all I heard was Principal Sten's awkward, strange chuckle, mingled with a low sobbing from where Kimberley was sitting.

"And aren't you the clever little bunny, Mr. Ben Lee? I really did think you had lost the power. I was furious. You have no idea how long I have been working on this, and carrier patients are not common. If I had known, I could have gotten so much data from you. But you have played your card, and you've lost. You ran your plan so stupidly. A dose of the new serum and Kimberly told me everything, right, Ms Adams?"