Chapter 11
"Do you think he's found out?" Melody asked, wringing her hands and walking nervously back and forth across their small living room. She looked directly at Ralph who stood looking pensively out the window into the school yard. "Well?"
"For the fiftieth time, Melody, I don't know!" Ralph said quietly.
"Didn't he give you a hint? Maybe his tone of voice?"
"Nothing, darling. He simply walked up to me this morning and said he'd like to see both of us in his study tonight. He wasn't smiling, and there was no menace in his voice."
"I think he's found out," Melody persisted. "Maybe one of the girls talked to another girl or something."
"Melody, I think you're working yourself up over nothing," Ralph said softly, walking up to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. "It could be any one of a dozen things, even a staff conference. Besides, we both know Harold is laying little Sylvia. So what could he possibly say if he did know?"
"I don't know, Ralph, but I'm worried."
"It's just left over from your Puritan conscience, that's all." He looked at his watch and frowned. "Come on, it's later than I thought. We'll get this over with and you'll be able to relax again."
They walked downstairs to the school yard and crossed slowly. Ralph watched the young girls leaving the dining hall in groups, talking and laughing as they made their way to their rooms. He was pleased that things had been going so well at Heavenly Hills and that he and Melody had fitted into this level of education so readily. It had been hard work and called for a number of adjustments on their part, particularly in their styles of teaching, but they enjoyed the work. It was more of a challenge, and perhaps that was what made it so rewarding in the long run.
Ralph's eyes caught several very cute little figures which were just beginning to bud and he smiled to himself. What he and Melody called their "fringe benefit" of a supply of young girls for sexual training definitely made a difference. They had talked about expanding their activities beyond Cathy and Margie, perhaps even to some of the younger girls, and Ralph was looking forward to this aspect of their life at Heavenly Hills.
Melody fought back panic. She had never been so completely happy in her life, and Melody was frightened that her happiness would be pulled out from under her and that she and Ralph would have to return to the never-never land of bored and boring swingers. And Melody knew she wouldn't be able to stand that existence again. Not after the joy and excitement of working with children. And in the back of her mind Melody was convinced that their sexual adventures with the young girls would actually serve to save the girls from ever becoming the jaded, bored zombies who called themselves swingers. That in effect they were short-circuiting the . cause and effect relationship of the sexual revolution. And through a process of rationalization and justification, Melody had convinced herself that in their case the possibility of an adult warping a child's mind did not exist.
They climbed the stairs to the second-floor suite Harold Stone had reserved for himself and knocked on his study door. He opened it almost immediately, indicating that he had anticipated their arrival. The solemn look on Harold's face sent chills through Melody's stomach.
"Come in, come in," he urged, waving them through the door and closing it securely behind them. "Please sit down. I'm afraid I have some bad news."
"Oh?" Ralph commented in the pause which seemed to call for a cue.
"Yes. They called me from the hospital this morning. Cary Waller died in her sleep last night." Harold crossed the room slowly and pulled the chair from his desk to sit facing Ralph and Melody.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Melody said.
"Yes," Ralph added in a somber voice, "she was a fine woman. Do they know the cause?"
"Unofficially, hypertension," Harold said quietly. "The official cause will probably be listed as a coronary failure. I don't think any of us realized how ill she was."
"We'll certainly miss her here," Melody remarked, her body visibly relaxed now that she knew the purpose of this meeting.
"I'm afraid that is a gross understatement, Melody," Harold said, and he began telling them the entire story of Heavenly Hills and his inheritance. "So, you see, I'm very much a neophyte in this business, and I depended to a great extent on Mrs. Waller's experience and knowledge of the school. That's one of the reasons I asked you to come up here this evening. This gap in our staff will not be easily filled. I feel we face a complete realignment of classes."
"Will you continue to teach?" Ralph asked.
"I don't think I can. With Mrs. Waller gone, I will have to be free for administrative work. Which probably means at least two additions to our current staff, one to take my classes and one to take over Mrs. Waller's responsibilities and classes."
"And one of them will have to be resident," Melody commented.
"Not necessarily," Harold said with the hint of a smile on his lips. "That brings me to another project I feel we should initiate. You see, we're all indebted to Mrs. Waller for a number of things. You, for instance, Melody, owe her a debt of gratitude for the delights you've been experiencing with Cathy Abbott."
"What?" Melody gasped.
"Oh, please don't waste my time by denying it. You'll find practically nothing goes on at Heavenly Hills that I don't know about. Like your affair with Margie, Ralph. By the way, is Margie a good lay?"
"Uh ... why ... yes, quite good," Ralph replied, experiencing a rare loss of his composure. "How in the world...."
"Simple," Harold replied with a wave of his hand. "As you may know, I've been having a lovely time with young Sylvia. And children love intrigue. They make marvelous spies."
"But...." Melody began.
"Please understand," Harold continued, waving aside Melody's intended protest, "that I have absolutely no objections to this conduct. As I told you, Melody, I thought you'd find the gay life rewarding. And Mrs. Waller and I were working together on some planned sexual adventures for our young maidens here at Heavenly Hills. I think we'll get much further if we all admit that we're horny people who delight in the charms of young girls. And if you both are honest enough to admit that, I think you'll be very interested in the new program I mentioned.
"You see," he continued, lighting his pipe slowly, "I want to begin classes in sex education for all of our students."
"Sex education?" Ralph said.
"You mean turn the whole student body on?" Melody asked incredulously.
"No, not giant sex orgies," Harold said with a chuckle, "although the idea certainly has some exciting possibilities. I'm referring to legitimate sex education courses, geared to the various age groups we have here."
"But won't that be adding to the already existing staff problem?" Ralph protested. "It seems to me we're talking about at least one, and perhaps two more for the staff."
"Undoubtedly," Harold replied. "And naturally that distresses me. But with some careful planning perhaps we can combine this with the duties of our staff and the new members we will be hiring. You see, Ralph, I've given this careful consideration. First of all, sex education will prove beneficial to the students. That's a well-established fact. And, second, it is terribly important to the three of us and our own little program. I'm confident that you've both considered expanding your activities. You, Melody, would like new little twats to lick and new little tongues to explore your lovely cunt. And you, Ralph, must wonder if some of the other young girls wouldn't enjoy your particular brand of balling. I myself would like to explore beyond the delightful Sylvia. But selection is a very real problem in our situation. And that's where our new sex education program will prove to be invaluable."
"For heaven's sake, how?" Ralph asked impatiently.
"Well, first we spike the sex education courses with some psychological booby traps," Harold replied. "A series of perhaps half a dozen questions mixed into a normal examination will tell us a great deal about the emotional makeup of the student. We'll be able to gauge her stability and her potential as a sex partner. You'll have to admit that at the moment we're guessing, and we could make a drastic mistake that way."
"God forbid!" Melody replied with a shudder.
"Precisely, Melody, God forbid!" Harold continued. "The ramifications are frightening. But with scientific study we'll eliminate the guesswork. We'll know which girls are our prospects and how they will react, even what method or approach will be most successful in the shortest period of time."
"And we can tell quite a bit by just observing the girls in a sex education course," Ralph added, warming to the idea rapidly.
"Exactly!" Harold responded. "And add to that closer observation of the girls' living habits, and we have virtually eliminated all guesswork to make our potential almost unlimited."
"But with Mrs. Waller gone," Melody said, "how can we get closer observation of the girls in their dorms?"
"Well, if you are both in agreement with me on this program and find it as exciting as I do, I want to ask you to take over Mrs. Waller's wing. Next year, we can build an apartment for you by adding on to the building at the end of the hall. But this year you will be slightly inconvenienced. I'm afraid the best we can do quickly is to open a door between two of the rooms and make you a small apartment without a kitchen. You can eat all of your meals in the main dining room and make full use of the school laundry service. Naturally, there will be a substantial raise involved for both of you. You'll be working harder and taking on a great deal more responsibility, and I will see that you're rewarded. I can't say just how much at the moment, until after we realign our classes and see how many additional staff members we'll have to have. I'd appreciate your assistance on that, Ralph."
"Certainly," Ralph replied. "When do we start?"
"Tonight, if possible."
"One thing I don't understand," Melody interjected. "We'll be controlling Mrs. Waller's wing rather effectively, I agree. But what about the girls in the other wings? If the other members of the staff aren't in on all of this, won't we be risking exposure if we initiate girls who live outside our control? I mean, after all, these girls do talk. Look at what you learned about Ralph and me. What's to stop Miss Mellon, or even Mrs. Jones, from learning the same way?"
"Yes, we'll have to be careful of that," Harold replied with a smile. "But let's use logic for a moment. Our greatest exposure comes in two areas: first, the girl being missing from her dorm to take part in our little games. Once or twice, this can be explained without raising suspicion, but beyond that someone will begin to wonder what the hell is going on. And, secondly, we risk a certain amount of exposure in what the girl will tell her friends and roommates. Both dangers can be eliminated by keeping all of our little girls in one dorm. How many girls will Mrs. Waller's wing hold?"
"Thirty-six," Ralph responded.
"Thirty-two, if we take two of the rooms for our apartment," Melody corrected.
"All right, thirty-two," Harold laughed. "Now, can you imagine us ever using more than thirty-two girls for our little games? Hardly! We won't touch a girl until we have her transferred to your wing. The minute we feel she has potential, we'll change her from her dorm to yours."
"And bounce some girl we feel is a risk," Ralph added.
"Right. We might even call it F Wing," Harold chuckled.
"But what about the different age levels?" Melody asked. "Won't it seem strange mixing the age levels in one dorm?"
"Perhaps, but we'll explain that in terms of emotional development. Now, Ralph, if you think you can spare a few hours, I think we should try to work out our realignment of classes. And when we're finished, we might see if we can bring Sylvia and Margie up here and do a little swapping for some variety. You'll find Sylvia quite a sex machine. And, Melody, I wish you'd spend some time in the wing. You'll have to break the news about Mrs. Waller. I haven't told anybody. Some of the girls felt close to her, so you'll probably have some emotional problems at first."
"Come on, honey," Ralph said, "I'll walk you ' down. If we're going to work on figures and schedules, I need my glasses. I'll be back in less than ten minutes, Harold."
"Fine, I'll get everything out and we'll see what we can do with it."
Melody and Ralph descended the stairs arm in arm and crossed the yard in silence. When they reached their apartment, Melody breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why the big sigh?"
"Oh, Ralph, you have no idea of how tense I was up there. You know how worried I was about Harold finding out what we've been doing. Then, when he told us he knew, I almost had a heart attack. Besides, I'm always uncomfortable around Harold Stone, and don't ask me to explain why."
"Feel better now?"
"Much."
"And what do you think of our leader's plan?"
"Ralph, it's crazy, but I like it!"
"So do I."
"And he's going to give us a raise."
"Screw the raise!" Ralph said with a hearty laugh.