Sharon pounded her fists against her desk as she read the words: This Page Cannot be Displayed. Kim had told the truth; the webpage had been taken down. Jason, Sharon fumed, Kim got to Jason. And through him, Sharon knew, the webpage had been removed and she knew he wasn't quite eighteen. She snorted in rage. Well, she thought, I may not win, but that bitch won't either. In her view two losers trumped Kim winning.
Sharon burned a CD containing the pictures and videos of Kim. She grabbed the originals and the duplicate CD and left her home at six a.m. that Friday morning. She had a stop to make before she gave the pictures to Kim. She drove to the campus and parked in front of the Dean's residence. Anger at getting caught, at losing, spurred her actions. She stormed the sidewalk and rang the bell. When the door was not answered she rang again and then beat on the door so hard her hands hurt.
Finally, a sleepy, "Sharon?" sounded from behind the door as the lock was disengaged.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir," Sharon said, "but I have something you have to see." She held the CD she'd just burned in front of her like a cross held aloft to ward off a vampire.
"Couldn't this wait?" Dean Waters asked thinking that Sharon did not sound sorry; she sounded furious.
"No, sir, it couldn't."
Dean Waters invited Sharon in and escorted her to his office. He powered up his system and when the computer was up he took the CD from Sharon, inserted it, and perused the pictures. He didn't need to watch any of the videos to know what he had to do. "How long has this been going on?"
"Two weeks at least," Sharon said. Now she carried a tone of sympathy.
The dean looked at a few more pictures before standing up. "Thank you, Miss Reed. Let me see you out." He led her to the front door and ushered her outside.
"Dean," Sharon said with a nod. Her frown folded into a smile as she turned her back on the shutting door. She made her way to her car and then, feeling better, she drove to Kim's house.
Kim opened the door, dressed in a smart business suit and blazer. She looked professional and comfortable and Sharon hated her for it. "You have something for me?" Kim asked, all pretense of formality or politeness absent from her voice. This was merely unpleasant business that needed to be done.
Sharon smiled, knowing the surprise Kim would have waiting for her at work. "Here you go." She handed the pictures and the two memory sticks containing the videos to Kim.
Kim took them, wondering if it could be that easy. "This all of them?"
Sharon nodded.
"Good, then I guess we have just one more thing to do."
Sharon raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Strip. Get out of those clothes. I want you to know what it was like even if it's just this one time."
Defiantly, Sharon looked at Kim, held her gaze, and began unbuttoning her blouse. So predictable, Sharon thought; she'd seen it coming. She knew she would have done the same thing in Kim's place. She shrugged her blouse off her shoulders and dropped it to the ground. She reached behind her, unfastened and unzipped her navy skirt and let it slip to the floor. She stood there in a white brassiere and a black thong and still her eyes never let Kim's. Sharon unfastened her bra, releasing her ample breasts with dark nipples. She dropped the bra to the ground and then with ease slid her panties down and stepped free of them. She stood naked save for her shoes in Kim's foyer.
"I'll bring your clothes to your classroom. Now get out of my house!"
Seemingly unfazed by her nudity, Sharon left Kim's home and walked slowly to her car. She climbed in and drove home to once again get dressed for work.
Kim shut the door, relief washing over her. The look on Sharon's face the night before when she had mentioned the webpage had convinced her that she'd get the pictures, but she hadn't been certain that the site was down until Sharon showed up to deliver the pictures. She knew that Emily was to have met with Jason and she had felt pretty confident that if that had happened, that that shameful website had been deleted. Sharon's arrival had simply verified it for her. Kim reasoned that if the site was up then Sharon would think Kim was bluffing.
Kim grabbed Sharon's clothes and carried them to her car. She had not enjoyed making the woman strip and would not make her do so again. She had thought she'd feel better by getting Sharon to disrobe; instead she felt dirty. She just wasn't mean enough to continue.
Satisfied that she had the pictures, Kim drove to work feeling normal.
"Dean Waters needs to see you, Miss Turner," an administrative helper said from the door of her classroom.
"Thank you," Kim replied. She stood up, the first time she had stood before her students in weeks and said, "I'll be back in a moment. Keep working on your papers." With that she left her students and made her way to Dean Water's office.
"Have a seat," he said, pointing to the chairs in front of his desk, as Kim entered. His voice was distant and cold.
Kim took the proffered seat.
Rubbing his temples, Dean Waters faced Kim Turner. "Go home," he began, "you're fired. Your actions outside of this facility reflect badly on the moral compass we are trying to instill in our charges. Your wardrobe the past two weeks as well as your secondary employment gives me no choice but to terminate your contract."
Kim opened her mouth to protest but Dean Waters cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Don't say anything. Go, grab your possessions and leave the campus. You can use me for a reference if you leave now."
Kim knew Sharon was behind this and seeing the look on the Dean's face, his tight lips and hard set eyes, she knew better than to argue.
"Thank you, sir," she said fighting tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes. She left his office, made her way to her classroom and emptied her desk all under the watchful and questioning eyes of her students. They kept asking her where she was going and what was up but she kept quiet for fear of hearing the trembling in her voice. Grabbing the few possession she had, she left her classroom for the last time.
She walked past Sharon's door and with a quick glance she could see the tenured teacher smiling at her with a look of victory etched on her face.
Kim left the campus.
By lunch, the whole school knew that Kimberly Turner had been let go.
Emily Bradford sat in the same chair that Kim had sat in and waited for the dean to finish reading her story. She watched him read the story and then reread it. Finally he put the pages down and rubbing his eyes asked, "Is this true?"
She nodded, "Every word of it."
"Thank you, Miss Bradford. May I keep this?" He picked up her story.
"Of course."
"Thank you," he said again. "You may go."
Knowing she'd been dismissed, she climbed to her feet and left the office.
"Get in the back," Curtis Kinsinton said to Vera in a tone that left no doubt he would be obeyed.
Vera raced from the main floor of Abercrombie's into the back. Her dress was once again locked away and Michelle had taken the key from her. The night before, Michelle had made her beg for the key when it was time for her to go home and she had admitted to Michelle this morning that she liked how Michelle was playing with her at work. Michelle had promised to continue toying with her.
"Where are your clothes?" Curtis demanded.
"In my locker," Vera choked out a reply, holding on hand over her breasts and the other obscuring her pussy.
"Get dressed. You're fired. Imagine my surprise when I get here this morning and see you standing naked with your legs spread like a slut in the middle of my store. What do you think this is? A bordello? No! This is a store and you can't just run around naked; my God, are you insane? You could have gotten arrested, we could have gotten sued. I got a call yesterday from a customer complaining about a naked woman working in the store and when I get here I see he was right. You can pick your final check up Friday."
"But, I thought..."
"I don't care what you thought," he interrupted her. "Get dressed and go home."
"I have to get my locker key from," she thought quickly, "the register." She didn't want to get Michelle in trouble too.
"I'll get it."
Michelle entered the back of the story carrying the key to Vera's locker. "Here, I figured you'd need this." She handed the key to Vera and squeezed her hands compassionately. She gave Vera a quick hug and whispered, "Call me," before returning to the front of the store.
Twenty minutes later, Vera was sitting in her apartment wondering about her future.
"Miss Reed," the same administrative assistant that had summoned Kim stood at the doorway to Sharon's classroom. "Dean Waters needs to see you."
Sharon smiled certain that the Dean would want to thank her for helping get rid of Kimberly Turner. She left her classroom without saying a thing to her students. They wouldn't have listened anyway, she mused. She made her way to the Dean's office. "You wanted to see me, sir?"
"Yes, Sharon, come in. Have a seat."
Sharon shut the door and took a seat.
"You're fired. Clean out your desk, I want you gone and off campus by the end of the day."
"You can't fire me, I have tenure!" She stood in defiance, her voice full of rage.
"I have discussed you with the Board of Regents and I assure you, I can fire you. You have been having sexual contact with a minor and after we speak to this boy, we will decide about turning the case over to the authorities. But, it has been decided that you will no longer teach on this campus. Do I make myself clear?"
Sharon opened and closed her mouth, looking like a fish as she digested this information. She had not expected such retaliation from Kimberly. Her eyes flashed with rage as she stormed towards the door. "My lawyer will be in touch."
With more calm than he felt, Dean Waters said, "Don't do it. You'll probably end up in jail if you do. Accept the consequences of your actions and look for another job elsewhere. Don't worry about a recommendation, you won't get one. Now get out."
He rubbed his temples as Sharon slammed the door. Dealing with faculty was easier than dealing with students he concluded. You couldn't fire the students; they paid to be there. He fell into his chair thankful that the day was over.
Standing in front of her locker at Pussy Cats Kimberly counted the money she had made the night before. Her panties had sold for two hundred and twenty dollars and even though it had been Sharon's idea, it had been a good one. She reasoned that as long as she kept her job as a stripper, even losing her teaching job, she'd make enough money to get her house current and then she'd start looking for another job teaching. Really, though, what choice did she have; she had been fired and there was no sense in appealing the decision; the dean had been correct and as she did not have tenure, she had no choice but to abide by the decision made by Dean Waters.
"What's wrong?" Rascal asked, seeing Kim's puffy eyes. There was concern in her voice that Kim immediately responded to.
"I got fired from my teaching job because of this," she flapped her arms to indicate the club.
Rascal crossed the room and embraced Kim. Kim allowed herself to be hugged and then found herself sobbing and hugging back so tightly that both women felt it. Rascal allowed Kim to cry, rocking her gently. Kim rubbed her eyes as she pulled back. "Sorry," she forced a smile.
Rascal smiled back, "It's okay."
"I mean it's just a stupid job, right? But I liked it, I was good at it and I..." she trailed off, exhaled, wiped her eyes again and said, "fuck it."
Rascal laughed a little. "Yeah," she agreed.
Kim stripped down to a pair of white lace panties and a matching bra. She reached into her locker and pulled out her costume for the day. Sharon had been right in turning the stripping into a stage show and needing the money, she planned to keep doing just that. Rascal saw her outfit, shook her head and said, "Right on." Kim smiled weakly at her outburst as she finished dressing.
From the speakers, Billy Idol's White Wedding started and with it, Kim strutted out on stage wearing her old wedding dress. She had been unable to button it fully, but since it was going to be coming off very shortly, she didn't think that that mattered too much. Around the stage, applause rang out as Kimberly appeared.
Back stage, as soon as Kim marched down the hallway, Rascal pulled out her cell phone and made a call.
Kim entered the office of Dean Charles Heaton and after shaking his hand, she took a seat in a comfortable chair. "Your resume is impressive," the Dean said, "and I would like to officially offer you the job as our newest English professor. Dean Waters had nothing but nice things to say about you and I think that you'll be happy here."
Kim's smile grew. "I'd love to teach here," Kim said. Just like that she was working as a professor again. Only one question gnawed at her. The call from Dean Heaton had come unannounced to her house and what made it odd was that her number was new and unlisted. Someone, and she suspected she knew who, had written her old number on the men's room wall at Pussy Cats, and as such she had had to change her phone number. So, receiving a call to set up an interview had seemed odd but welcome. "How did you get my number?"
"My sister called me and recommend you. Rachael Heaton, don't you know her?"
Kim shook her head, "I can't say that I recognize the name."
"Well, she knows you and she is a very good judge of character. She can be quite the rascal though, so I am not terribly surprised that you don't know her."
And suddenly, Kim understood.
And, life was good.
Sharon retired. She had enough money that not working was an option and the agreement she made to stay out of jail prevented her from teaching anywhere again. She felt she got off lucky.
She never saw Jason, Kim or Vera again.
Vera took one last look around her old apartment. She was moving in with her new, best friend. Since she had lost her job, and with very little money in the bank, she needed a roommate and was fortunate to find on so quickly. It had taken very little time, only one phone call.
"Hello?" Michelle had answered on the second ring.
"Hi," Vera said, "I was wondering if..." she never finished the sentence.
"Yes," Michelle had gushed, "I was so hoping you'd call. I had so much fun playing with you that I wanted it to continue. Why don't you move in with me and be my little plaything. You can help with the rent and bills as soon as you get another job, but until then, I am sure I can find ways for you to earn your keep." There was playfulness in her voice.
"Thank you," was all Vera could say.
She turned in her keys and drove to her new home. Michelle greeted her at the door. "Come in, come in." She hugged Vera who hugged her back.
"Thanks again," Vera said her voice full of sincerity.
Michelle broke the hug. "You're welcome. Now, strip."
And for Vera and Michelle, as for Kim, life was good.