It had been a great Friday, and it would be an even better weekend Regina thought, as she parked her yellow VW in front of the boarding house. She had just earned an A in history and tomorrow would be spent on
the beach in her new bikini. With her slim, shapely figure, and blonde shoulder-length hair, she would attract every male on the beach and be the envy of the females. The thought made her smile. As she stepped onto the
curb, she looked up at the imposing three-story structure and the smile faded. She didn't like living there--the floor matron was strict--and the owner, Madame Petrushka, even stricter, but the price was right and her
mother had thought it would do her some good to get out on her own. Her mother had lived here when she was in school and had felt it would strike the right balance of independence and discipline.
Her room was on the first floor, right down the hall from Madame Petrushka's office, and she always walked quietly when she passed the closed door. Regina knew that some of the other girls had been in trouble
from time to time and been sent in the see Madame Petrushka, but nobody ever said what transpired in there. Seldom did a girl have to be sent in there twice.
Madame Petrushka was already out of Regina's mind when she placed the key n her door and found it was unlocked. Must have forgot to lock it, she thought as she opened the door to find the floor matron, Elsa, sitting on her bed. In her hand was Regina's new bikini.
"What is this?" Elsa demanded as she held the skimpy garment up for Regina to see.
"A bikini. What does it look like?" Regina was angry to see Elsa in her room with her property.
"I know what it is!" Elsa stood up suddenly, towering over Regina. "You know the rules concerning clothing. Impertinence will only get you in more trouble than you are now."
"I...Yes, ma'am," said Regina. She did know the rules, and a bikini broke most of them. Damn. She shouldn't have left it on top of her dresser that morning.
"We'll have to see Madame Petrushka about this." Elsa held the bikini out toward Regina, who took it and started to put it away. "Put it on."
"Please don't tell Madame Petrushka. I'll keep it in my car from now on."
"It's too late for that. Put it on."
"Do you have to stand there?"
"Do as I say, young lady, or else it will be worse for you."
"Yes, ma'am." Regina slowly took off her clothes, feeling distinctly uncomfortable as she stood naked in front of Elsa. She put on the bikini, which helped a little, but not much. It was a black one with a strapless top. When she looked at Elsa, she saw there were a pair of handcuffs in Elsa's hand.
"Turn around and put your hands behind you."
"What in hell are those for?" said Regina. The nervousness from her impending meeting with Madame Petrushka, coupled with her self-consciousness from being nearly naked, turned to fear.
"For impertinent young ladies. Madame Petrushka demands that her girls be restrained while facing disciplinary action."
Slowly, Regina turned around and let Elsa slip the cold steel cuffs around her wrists and lock them in place with a ratcheting sound. She tested them to see if she could slip her hands out, but they were securely fastened and held tight together by the short chain. Elsa took Regina by the arm and led her out of the room; when they reached Madame Petrushka's office, Elsa knocked three times. What had been a good day was turning bad rapidly.
"Come in," said the muffled voice behind the door. Elsa opened the door and pushed the captive Regina in before her.
"What on earth is that garment you've got on, Miss Regina?"
"A bikini, Madame Petrushka." Regina was holding her head down in embarrassment from having been caught, forced to appear in the garment, and being restrained.
"I'm shocked to see you in this. You've always followed the rules quite well."
"I wasn't wearing it until Elsa made me put it on."
"Do not talk back to me, Miss Regina. You're in no position to quibble over unimportant details." Madame Petrushka came from around the desk and stood next to Regina. "Do you have your notepad ready, Elsa?"
"As always, Madame Petrushka."
"Good. There are so many violations here, I want you to write them down as I read them out." She took a leather-bound book from her desk, opened it to a well-worn section, and used her index fingernail to run down the page. "Yes, Yes, here we are."
"Violation one: Clothing shall not reveal a young ladies back." As she said it, she ran a nail ever so lightly up Regina's spine, causing her to twitch involuntarily. "Violation two: All garments shall end below the knee." This time, she ran a nail down the back of her leg. Again Regina flinched as if an ant was walking on her thigh. Elsa was furiously writing in her notebook. "Violation three: Bare midriff," she said she ran several nails across Regina's stomach, which made her giggle briefly. Do you think this is funny, young lady?"
No, Madame Petrushka."