Detention for the Teacher’s Pet

Part 1 – The New Policy

Alyssa had attended the Willowcreek Boarding School for Girls ever since she had turned 12, the age at which girls became eligible for enrollment. Her parents preoccupied with business and nearly always out of the country, they sent Alyssa to Willowcreek, the best girl’s school in the country, as soon as they were able.

Alyssa was now 16 and one of the top students at the school. She achieved top marks and had a position in the student government. She wasn’t the most popular among her peers, however, widely considered a teacher’s pet and well-known for getting other girls in trouble for the slightest of infractions.

Alyssa was close with Miss Beaumont, the headmistress of Willowcreek Boarding School. They had weekly dinners where Miss Beaumont advised Alyssa on her manners and how to become a powerful and well-respected woman such as herself. Alyssa, in return, shared her thoughts about the school and advised on updates to the policies in place.

One thing that Alyssa had noticed, as of late, was that the current punishments for policy infractions were not sufficient. Girls broke the rules without worry over the consequences, probably because the consequences weren’t harsh enough. Usually, students would receive detention for their rule-breaking – an hour or two doing homework while watched by a bored teacher and they were back to causing trouble.

“So,” Miss Beaumont began after Alyssa had explained her concerns. “You think we need to be harsher?”

“Yes, Miss Beaumont.” Alyssa nodded. “There needs to be stakes involved. There needs to be a tangible consequence for breaking the rules.”

“Hmmm.” The headmistress hummed in consideration. “Perhaps you’re right. The girls need a real incentive to not get into trouble.”

“Will you be instituting a new policy, then?”

“Yes, I think so. Please let me know immediately if one of your classmates is causing trouble. We’ll be sure to discourage them from future infractions.”

Miss Beaumont had not told Alyssa what the new policy was, which left her wondering what punishment would face her peers the next time they acted up. She didn’t have to wonder for long, however, because soon enough she caught her classmates Sarah and Poppy writing crude words on the bathroom walls.

Without a word to them, Alyssa marched down the hall to Miss Beaumont’s office.

“Miss Beaumont,” She announced. “Sarah and Poppy are writing profanity on the bathroom walls.”

“Well, Alyssa.” Miss Beaumont said, standing. “That just won’t do. Come with me and we’ll give them detention. They’ll think again before they deface school property.”

Alyssa obediently followed the Headmistress down the hall and into the bathroom, where Sarah and Poppy were still snickering and writing on the wall.

“Sarah, Poppy!” Miss Beaumont commanded them to attention. “It is against school policy to write on the walls, and profanity no less! Detention for both of you.”

Sarah and Poppy ducked their heads slightly, nodding in concession. “Yes, Miss Beaumont. We’ll report to detention this afternoon.”

“This afternoon? That won’t do. You’ll come with me now.”

The girls all looked at each other in confusion, before Sarah and Poppy glared daggers at Alyssa. “What is she talking about?” Sarah hissed.

“There’s a new rule.” Alyssa shrugged, following dutifully.

Instead of going to the normal detention room, Miss Beaumont had led the girls to the salon, where students and faculty went if they needed their hair trimmed. Alyssa, with her long mane of perfectly-maintained blonde hair, had scarcely been there in her four years at Willowcreek.

“Sarah, Poppy, sit.” The headmistress commanded.

The girls glanced at each other before taking tentative seats in the salon chairs. The barberette, Miss Redding, secured haircutting capes around both of their necks.

“Thank you, Miss Redding. We can now commence with the girls’ detention.” Miss Beaumont clapped her hands and turned to Alyssa. “Alyssa, you are the one who reported the infraction. How short will Miss Redding be taking your classmates’ hair today?”

“What?” Sarah and Poppy screeched from their chairs. “What are you talking about?”

“The new policy of course. It was Alyssa’s idea. Traditional detention was not enough so we have shifted to something more motivating. If you break the rules of this institution, the person who reported you will decide how short your hair must become.” She explained. “Now then, how short must they be taken, Alyssa?”

“Umm.” Alyssa hesitated, shocked by the new rule, but excited by the potential for its efficacy. “To their shoulders, I think.”

The girls’ hair currently reached to the smalls of their backs, and they gasped with the revelation that they’d be losing so much length.

Miss Redding was already moving towards Poppy, scissors in hand, and before Alyssa could even open her mouth to stop her, all of Poppy’s thick brown hair from her shoulders down was parted from her head and fallen to the floor.

“My hair!” Poppy exclaimed, tears forming in her eyes.

“This will teach you to think before you break the rules again.” Miss Beaumont chastised her. “Miss Redding, clean up Poppy’s new haircut and then move onto Sarah.”

Alyssa watched in fascination as Miss Redding trimmed the perimeter of Poppy’s hair to leave it neat before repeating the entire process with Sarah’s shiny black tresses.

“You may all return to class.” Miss Beaumont announced. “And Alyssa, please do not hesitate to let me know if you encounter any of your other classmates misbehaving. I have a feeling this new program will be very effective.”

The next day, the student body buzzed with rumors of the new rule. Some were too terrified to dare challenge it, some didn’t believe such a rule could be real – just a threat to scare them, they reasoned. Rule-breaking went down ever so slightly, but it was only two days later that Alyssa got her next opportunity to bring her classmates to justice.

Part 2 – The Escalation

Everyone in the school knew that Jessica had a boyfriend at the boys’ school across town. She was usually better about sneaking back into Willowcreek before curfew, though. Alyssa was still awake, studying her history textbook, when Jessica slipped into the dorm with her uniform askew and a giddy look on her face.

“You’re so late, Jess!” Miranda hissed from her bed.

“I know, I know.” Jessica brushed her off. “But Jaime is just so cute and I couldn’t help but spend more time with him.”

Everyone’s attention on Jessica as she relayed the story of her sordid night, Alyssa excused herself into the hallway and approached Miss Beaumont’s office.

“Alyssa.” The headmistress greeted. “I wasn’t expecting you tonight. What a pleasure.”

“Not such a pleasure, I’m afraid, Miss Beaumont.” Alyssa bowed her head. “Jessica stayed out until past curfew with her boyfriend and only just came back.”

“Oh, well that won’t do.” She stood from behind her desk, already leading the way towards the dormitories. “Jessica must get detention for this.”

Alyssa dutifully followed Miss Beaumont to the dormitories, where Jessica was still regaling the other girls with details of her visit to the boys’ school. It was more than incriminating enough for the headmistress to dole out the proper punishment.

“Jessica!” She demanded. “You should know that staying out past curfew is against the rules, and at the boys’ school no less! You’ve earned yourself detention.”

Jessica’s eyes flickered towards Sarah and Poppy on the other side of the room, where their hair was still freshly cut. “Detention?”

“Yes, Jessica. You and Alyssa will follow me at once. Come, girls.”

Jessica shook next to Alyssa as they made their way down the winding halls to the salon. “How could you do this?” She hissed. “You’re such a snitch!”

“You’re getting what you deserve.” Alyssa reasoned.

“Sit.” Miss Beaumont commanded Jessica once they had reached the salon. “Miss Redding?” She called, and the barberette emerged from her back room.

“Another detention I see.”

“Yes, and as Alyssa reported the crime, she will chose the extent of the punishment.”

“Of course.” Miss Redding agreed. “Well, Alyssa, what will it be?”

Jessica stared pleading eyes at Alyssa, but justice was blind and she would not be swayed.

“This infraction is certainly more severe than simple graffiti, so the punishment must be as well. Perhaps something that will dissuade her boyfriend from keeping her at the boys’ school for so long, as well.”

“I have just the idea!” Miss Redding exclaimed. “A bowl cut – professional but severe, a style of a bygone generation.”

Alyssa wasn’t sure a bowl cut was ever ‘in style,’ but it certainly fit the brief. “Yes, perfect. Jessica should receive a bowl cut.”

“What? No!” Jessica screeched from the chair. “You can’t do this to me!”

“Sit still, child, or you’ll receive an even shorter hairstyle today.” Miss Beaumont threatened, and Jessica stilled in the chair. “Wonderful. Miss Redding, if you please?”

“Of course.”

Miss Redding produced a cape and secured it around Jessica’s neck, this time also adding a strip of paper to shield her from any shorter bits of hair to come later. She sectioned Jessica’s hair neatly, securing around half of it – that above a straight line taken at the level of her eyebrows – onto the crown of her head and brushing out what lay beneath it.

She took her shears from the vanity and swiftly hacked away the bulk of the bottom portion of hair, cutting the bunch off at the nape of her neck. Tears streamed down Jessica’s face and she met Alyssa’s eyes in the mirror. The girl was irate, but she deserved it.

Next, Miss Redding produced a pair of clippers from a drawer and attached a guard to it. “You know, I rarely get to use clippers here, I’m excited to be able to use them again.” A buzzing sound emanated from the device as Miss Redding switched it on. She plunged it into the hair at Jessica’s neck, peeling away strips of mousy blonde locks. A velvety field of stubble remained once she was done, stretching the expanse of Jessica’s head below the upper section.

Miss Redding then let the top section out of its clip, long hair spilling down Jessica’s back and almost hiding the undercut that had been created – but not for long. She carefully combed the hair evenly around Jessica’s head, including over her face, and went in with the scissors. She cut the hair just at the sectioning line, so that none of the undercut was hidden. She cut blunt bangs across Jessica’s forehead to match, leaving a cap of light brown hair just over the girl’s shocked expression.

“I – I look like a boy!” She exclaimed.

“Don’t worry.” Miss Redding assured her. “I’ll take care of that in a moment. You will look much better once the undercut is cleaned up.”

Cleaned up? Did Miss Redding mean-?

Sure enough, the barberette was already preparing a bowl of shaving cream and sharpening a gleaming straight razor on a bit of leather next to the vanity.

“Now then, Jessica, you must stay very still for this next part, or you may get cut.”

Jessica held her breath and allowed Miss Redding to tilt her head forwards as she lathered the undercut in shaving foam. Alyssa watched with baited breath as the straight razor shaved through the white substance, leaving starkly pale skin in its wake. There was no trace of hair on the bottom of Jessica’s head once Miss Redding was done.

“There, now you’re finished.” Miss Redding announced, uncaping the stunned Jessica and beginning to clean up the supplies she had used.

“Good, thank you Miss Redding.” Miss Beaumont nodded. “She will think again before she stays out past curfew with a boy. Now then, girls, it’s very late. Back to the dormitories with you.”

Alyssa and a distraught Jessica followed Miss Beaumont through the halls and back to the dorm. The other girls gasped as they took in Jessica’s new appearance. Miss Beaumont exited wordlessly and left the students to process the consequences of their peer’s actions.

“Your hair!” One girl exclaimed. “They butchered it!”

“All for missing curfew?”

“It’s the new rule.” Alyssa pointed out.

“You!” Another girl gasped at Alyssa. “You did this! You told them to do this to her.”

“I told them to teach Jessica the lesson she needed, Miss Redding decided the rest.”

“You didn’t stop her!” Jessica sobbed, being consoled by her classmates.

“It’s what you deserved, Jessica. I hope all of you consider this before you break the rules again.” Alyssa sat down at her desk and went back to studying.

Part 3 – The Reminder

Most of the school had learned not to mess around after the incident with Jessica. Those who hadn’t had been subjected to similarly severe styles. There were french bobs for the minor infractions, pixie cuts for the more serious ones. A few other bowl cuts had emerged in the weeks since the new rule’s implementation, but infractions at Willowcreek had gone down significantly.

Alyssa was hopeful that her classmates had learned their lesson by now. She herself had only reported a few additional people for infractions since that night with Jessica. On a crisp Spring day, she gathered her textbooks and ventured outside to study in nature under the large oak tree on the quad.

The fresh air of the grounds was interrupted, however, by the distinct and awful smell of cigarette smoke. Alyssa gagged at the taste of it in her mouth and whirled around to locate the culprit. Sure enough, leaning on the brick exterior wall of the school and puffing out smoke from a cigarette, was Sarah.

“Sarah!” Alyssa exclaimed. “You’re smoking?!”

Sarah glanced towards the other girl. “Yeah? So?”

“So, it’s against the rules, Sarah!”

“Ugh, why’re you such a teacher’s pet? Can’t you just mind your own business?” Sarah huffed and went back to pulling smoke from her cigarette.

Alyssa quickly turned around and went back into the school, going directly to the headmistress’s office.

“Alyssa!” Miss Beaumont smiled, before frowning in response to Alyssa’s downtrodden face. “Is another one of your classmates causing trouble?”

“It’s Sarah again, Miss Beaumont. It does not appear she learned her lesson. She’s smoking a cigarette outside.”

“Well that won’t do, she’ll need another detention, then. Come with me and we’ll take care of it.” Miss Beaumont stood and marched toward the door, Alyssa scrambling behind her to deposit her textbooks on the desk and follow.

“Sarah.” The headmistress commanded once they were outside and she saw Sarah smoking. “Put out that cigarette this instant. You’ve earned yourself detention.”

“Fine.” Sarah sighed and stomped the cigarette out, following Miss Beaumont to the salon. “Joke’s on you.” She leaned in to tell Alyssa. “I actually like the haircut you picked out for me.”

“Sit, Sarah, and we will decide what to do with you.”

Miss Redding met Miss Beaumont and Alyssa at the other side of the room. “Sarah, back again so soon? That’s a disappointment.”

“I feel that the other styles you have dealt out since the first detention have been much more effective. But Sarah is now a repeat offender, we will need to make an example of her.”

“I agree, something more severe. Something she won’t forget anytime soon.”

“So, Alyssa, what do you think?”

“It must be short.”

“Yes, of course.” Miss Redding nodded. “But how short? Another bowl cut, or something else entirely?”

“Something masculine.” Alyssa decided. “To remind her that she has harmed this community of girls with her infractions.”

“Good, yes.” Miss Beaumont beamed at her favorite student. “Something masculine indeed. What do you recommend, Miss Redding?”

“I think a flattop will suit her nicely, and there’s no denying that it’s masculine.”

“A flattop it is, then.”

Alyssa and Miss Beaumont took their seats at near the door as Miss Redding pulled a cape and neck strip around Sarah.

“Well then, Sarah, since your last detention didn’t seem to deter you from breaking the rules, let’s hope this drives the point home a bit better.”

“What are you going to do to my hair?” The reality of the situation seemed to hit the girl.

“You’ll see, you’ll see.”

Miss Redding wasted no time with shears this time around, simply placing a guard on the clippers and plunging them directly into Sarah’s hairline. Soon enough, she was left with about a half of an inch of hair all over her head, but it would get shorter.

Switching to a shorter guard, Miss Redding tapered down the sides of Sarah’s head to just above her ears. She then placed a long comb on the top of Sarah’s head and carefully carved a flat surface into the hair with the clippers. Sarah could only stare, dumbfounded, at her reflection.

“What is this?” Sarah squeaked.

“This, Sarah, is a flattop.” Miss Redding reported. “Now hold still.”

Miss Redding lathered up the back of Sarah’s head and shaved it down to the skin with her straight razor. She then repeated the process on the top of Sarah’s head, leaving a bald patch in the center of her crown and a horseshoe shape of hair around it.

“Perfect.” Miss Redding announced, removing the cape from around Sarah’s neck and leaving the girl to Miss Beaumont’s judgement.

“Thank you, Miss Redding, a wonderful job as always. Well then Sarah, let’s hope this will be enough to deter you from future infractions. Alyssa, you may pick up your books from my office and return to your studies, thank you for being such a disciplined student.”

Part 4 – The Tables Turned

Finals were coming up, and Alyssa needed to study. It wouldn’t be enough to pass them, no, she needed to be perfect. So she spent the majority of her nights leaning over her textbooks and quizzing herself on the information until she fell asleep. She would be woken up by her alarm each morning anyway, so it didn’t really matter where she slept.

Alyssa had not accounted for her alarm clock running out of batteries. When she woke, she could tell by the angle of the sun and the lack of classmates in the dorm that she had overslept by quite a bit. Rushing to get ready, she pulled on a fresh uniform, grabbed her books, and made her way into class as quickly as she could.

She tried to slip into her seat without anyone noticing she was gone in the first place, but it was much too late for that. Jessica was already raising her hand and announcing to the teacher that Alyssa was 30 minutes late.

“Alyssa!” Miss Iris scolded. “We’ll have to bring you to the headmistress’s office, you’ll probably get detention. Jessica, you come along too, since you reported her.”

Alyssa’s stomach dropped with the realization, but she held out hope that her mentor would be reasonable and understand that it was an honest mistake and an error of circumstance. She still couldn’t hide the look of shame on her face as they arrived at Miss Beaumont’s office.

“Miss Beaumont,” Miss Iris declared. “Jessica has alerted me to the fact that Alyssa was 30 minutes late to class this morning.”

“Alyssa.” Miss Beaumont gasped. “I can’t believe you. You know that tardiness is against school policy.”

“Yes, Miss Beaumont.” Alyssa ducked her head. “I know it is against policy but I overslept because my alarm did not go off this morning. I had stayed up studying last night for my final exams.”

“While that might be the case, we do not accept excuses, and you know that. I’m afraid you will need detention.”

Alyssa could not meet the headmistress’s gaze as she stood from behind her desk and led the way to the salon.

“Ah.” Miss Redding greeted them once they’d arrived. “Has Jessica committed another infraction?”

“No, Miss Redding.” Miss Beaumont solemnly reported. “It is Alyssa who has earned herself detention today.”

“Alyssa!” Miss Redding exclaimed. “I’m so disappointed. Well then, you know the drill. Have a seat.”

Alyssa obediently sat herself in the chair, squirming at the feeling of the leather on her arms. She hadn’t had a haircut in years, and now she was at the mercy of Jessica.

“Jessica.” Miss Beaumont addressed the other girl. “You are the one who reported Alyssa’s infraction, so you must choose how short Miss Redding will be taking your classmate’s hair today. Shall we discuss this?”

“There is no discussion needed, Miss Beaumont.” Jessica gleefully informed her. “Miss Redding will be shaving Alyssa bald.”

All three of the others gasped in surprise and horror.

“Bald?” Miss Beaumont confirmed. “Jessica, she has committed only a minor infraction.”

“She must learn her lesson, Miss Beaumont. Alyssa thinks she is better than everyone else in the student body – that she is perfect. This will remind her that she’s just like everyone else.”

“Well then, it has been decided, I suppose.” The headmistress conceded, and turned to Miss Redding. “Miss Redding, please give Alyssa her detention.”

The barberette kept her eyes downcast as she secured the cape and neck strip onto Alyssa.

“Please, Miss Redding, you don’t have to do this!”

“This is your punishment, Alyssa, for breaking the rules. It’s only fair.”

Alyssa’s hair was too thick to start with the shears. Miss Redding first sectioned the waist-long blonde waves into small ponytails secured close to her scalp. There were ten altogether, arranged around her head and making her look like some sort of alien. She knew, though, that it would only get worse.

Miss Redding hacked each ponytail off with her shears, one by one. She placed each bundle of hair on the vanity in front of Alyssa as her pride and joy was stripped away. When she was done, the hair on Alyssa’s head was an uneven mess of clumps of different lengths, but that would soon change. Alyssa could barely see her reflection through the tears in her eyes as the sound of the clippers approached her head.

She felt the vibrations and the hair falling away as Miss Redding pushed the clippers up and over her head, taking more and more hair with them, until she was left with short blonde stubble all over her head. Alyssa tentatively reached her hand up from under the curtain and ran it over the short hair. It too would be gone in a moment, and it felt so strange. She could feel the air from the vents on her scalp as it blew over her, an unfamiliar sensation.

Miss Redding returned to the vanity with a bowl of shaving cream and the straight razor. “Hold still, I’ll try to make this quick.”

The barberette lathered the foam all over Alyssa’s head, covering the hair that was left. She tilted the girl’s head forwards and made the first pass with the straight razor. The scraping of the blade almost made Alyssa flinch, but she stayed still, not wanting to add a cut on top of her humiliation. Miss Redding continued to peel away the remainder of Alyssa’s hair, until all that remained was her shiny pale scalp, even paler than the rest of her skin, since it had not seen the sun.

Alyssa’s mouth gaped open and the sight, and tears formed in her eyes yet again. She was bald. Totally, completely bald.

Miss Redding took some oil from the vanity and smoothed it over Alyssa’s head. It burned slightly, but Alyssa couldn’t find it in herself to care. “There.” The barberette said. “All finished.” She removed the cape from Alyssa’s shoulders and retreated to the back room, leaving the girl with Jessica and Miss Beaumont.

“Well then,” Miss Beaumont inspected Alyssa, fighting tears forming in her own eyes. “At least it looks alright. I hope you’ve learned your lesson, Alyssa. You will not be late for class again.”

“No, Miss Beaumont.” Alyssa agreed, head ducked but completely exposed. “I will not.”

“Back to class with the both of you. Alyssa, I’ll see you tonight for our weekly dinner. I’ll be interested to see if your opinion on the new detention policy has changed now that you’ve experienced it firsthand.” Miss Beaumont marched out of the salon and back towards her office, leaving only Jessica and Alyssa.

“Have you learned your lesson, Alyssa?” Jessica teased. “Because last night I learned just how easy it is to take the batteries out of an alarm clock.”

Her laugh echoed down the hall as she returned to class, Alyssa staring at her stranger of a reflection in the mirror.