St. Hilda's Academy By Merz A new teacher is introduced to a very unusual school "Before we get started on our agenda, I would like to introduce Wendy Kramer." Julia Edgars sat back in her chair and scrutinized Wendy, her coffee colored face letting the briefest of smiles slip out. "Our interview panel found her highly qualified so we will be offering her a contract to join our faculty in the fall. Wendy will be around for last couple weeks of classes to get a head start on learning our systems and methods. I encourage you all to make her welcome and to begin getting acquainted." When a thickset woman nodded encouragement from across the classroom, Wendy recognized her as Eloise Staples from the interview panel she had met that morning. Julia Edgars turned back to agenda for the English faculty meeting. "We will begin with old business. Mr. Cooper, you requested time on the agenda to discuss my decision that your contract not be renewed for a second year." Julia looked up from the printed sheet to study the crew-cut man overflowing one of the student desks in the first row. "I believe my reasons were stated clearly. You are a bully, you enjoy humiliating your students and you are letting yourself get out of shape so you are less a role model for our young people than St. Hilda can accept. And your teaching leaves much to be desired. Did you have something to say on your behalf that might change my decision, or did you wish to initiate the appeals process?" The man reddened. His neck appeared to swell to the point it strained his shirt collar. Meaty fists clenched in front of him. "Yeah, I got a lot to say. I just did my job the way it's done here. The way I learned in the Marines. You want me to be a pencil pushing classroom hack, I can do that. But you said I should be tough, should put some pride in these kids as well as teach them to read. Now you're saying I did it too well, and that's bull." Julia studied him for a few moments. "I chose not to renew your contract first, because you are generally inarticulate, as you are demonstrating now, and a poor example for our young women. Second, because you have failed to do much more than let those in your classes who can already read, read trash without stimulating any interest in learning or literature in the others. Third, because your treatment of some students was degrading and insulting. One lesson we want our students to take away from their years at St. Hilda is the conviction that they are not maggots, perverts, losers, pansies, whores, or blimps Ð all terms you have been heard calling students under your care. You are particularly inept in dealing with the girls in your classes who arrive here in poor physical condition and with poor self-images. Your job should be to make them think better of themselves through achievement rather than recount shortcomings of which they are already oversensitive. You wish to appeal this decision?" "Damn right. I know how this crap works. If I defend my right to my job, you gotta keep me on." "And did you wish to appeal on the basis of fitness or combat? Since I have your physical checkup records and can trace your weight gain since you began here, I don't suppose fitness would be your preference. Wendy, how would you describe the change in Mr. Cooper's complexion?" Wendy was startled at the question, but she had been thinking about the way Cooper's face had gone from pink to red to mottled purple as Julia recited her complaints against him. "Why, I suppose I would compare it to a plum coming to full ripeness and then going beyond, to an overripe state about to split its skin." "Very nice. No value judgments or crude similes. A fair and pretty comparison. Mr. Cooper? Your appeal?" Cooper unwrapped himself from the desk. He stood about six feet tall and with a developing paunch must have weighed two hundred and twenty pounds. "I'm in the best shape of my life. I could kick your ass at any fitness test you wanted. Besides knowing certain things you might not want getting around. But you asked for it. Combat." "Very well. It's your prerogative to name the category of appeal and mine, as defender, to state the rules of the test. We will wrestle to a pin or submission, with no punching or kicking permitted, beginning ten minutes after the conclusion of our business here. Is there any more old business? No, then moving on to new business . . ." Julia moved crisply through the remainder of her agenda discussing topics Wendy only half understood pertaining to the end of this school year and preparations for the next. For a few moments Cooper stood dumb and fuming as the agenda moved past him, then stalked from the room. When the meeting broke up Eloise stepped shyly up to Wendy. "I do hope you'll accept the job. I recognized your name from the Power Lifting News and I've been looking forward to sharing strength coaching duties, as well as possibly finding a workout partner. Did Ms Edgars pull her hand shake trick on you?" "I thought I got caught in a vice. She nearly broke every bone in my hand. It took every bit of strength I had to keep from really being injured. I couldn't believe how strong her grip was." "I know. I think it's childish, but she thinks it's important for the candidate and for her to demonstrate their strength." Impulsively she put her arm across Wendy's shoulders. "You must have made an impression on her, though, because she usually doesn't offer a contract so quickly. I do hope you'll join our team." Wendy hardly heard these last words because she was so surprised to feel the hard, heavy muscles in the arm that gave her a welcoming hug. She held several weight lifting records but suspected Eloise Staple's conservative clothing concealed a physique of significantly greater power than her own. Julia Edgars concluded a brief conversation and joined the two younger women. "If you can stay a few more minutes, Wendy, seeing the appeals process at work may be of interest before you accept a position teaching at St. Hilda. It's unconventional but we think it is effective." The meeting had been concluded in a brisk half hour. Now Julia led the way down a series of hallways with about half the department's instructors following along. At the gym door Julia asked Eloise to take Wendy inside while she went to change. Inside the gym Wendy found that Mark Cooper had changed into sweat pants and a t-shirt that was a size too small for him, particularly for his waistline. He had spread tumbling mats on the floor to create a large padded area in the middle of the floor. In five minutes, as the faculty stood about expectantly the door to the girl's locker room opened and Julia Edgars appeared. Wendy suppressed a gasp of surprise. No wonder this high school English teacher could exert so much force in her handshake. Walking barefoot across the gym and wearing only a leotard, Julia Edgars appeared to have been chipped from flint. Wendy was certain her bodyfat would measure in the low single digits, and each stride showed off bands of muscle in her still-shapely legs, each swing of her arms highlighted well developed shoulders and prominent muscle. Wendy had never seen a woman with such a highly defined physique, her movements conveying agility, coordination and elegance more than the raw power that seemed to lurk below the surface. "You know how we handle appeals, Mr. Cooper. A copy of the proceedings will be kept here at the school. If you are successful a copy will be provided to you as well. James, would you be so kind?" Wendy saw James Sturtevant, whom she had met at her interview, raise a video camera and begin recording. The two combatants met in the middle of the mats and assumed wrestling crouches. Cooper lunged forward and locked arms with Julia, who held her ground. Wendy's amazement increased as she realized the older woman was matching Cooper's force with ease, showing no hint of discomfort while the bulky man grunted and heaved to try forcing her back even one step. Abruptly Julia ducked under Cooper's arms and let him stumble forward onto her waiting shoulders. Quickly she had him hoisted aloft in a fireman's carry, then tipped him crashing over onto his back. He lay stunned for a moment while Julia stepped back. Wendy had expected her to follow up her advantage, but was past being surprised by this point. When her opponent regained his feet Julia stepped forward to take charge. She went through a systematic series of holds to demonstrate her speed and agility outmatched Cooper's. Any time he tried to use the leverage his greater height and weight might give him, she deftly countered his move. Within minutes he was gasping for breath while she maintained an exterior calm but a clear determination to dominate her opponent. She seized his right arm and quickly twisted it into a hammerlock until he cried out in pain. She tripped him up, then applied an ankle lock that forced him to ask for mercy. From behind she grabbed the trapezius muscles on top of his shoulders. Wendy winced as she remembered the power of Julia's grip. Cooper spasmed in Julia's hands, obviously in agony and incapable of escaping until she released him. She caught him in a leg scissors that brought him close to passing out within a few seconds of her applying the force of her powerful legs to his ribcage. Finally she allowed him to heave himself back to his feet where he stood swaying weakly. She stepped close to him, almost daring him to throw the awkward punch at her head. When that whistled harmlessly past she stepped behind him, hooked his neck with one arm and his leg with the other and again lifted him across her shoulders, this time in a backbreaker hold. "Please, no more. I beg you," wept Cooper from his helpless position. Julia knelt to deposit him on the mats without adding to his punishment, then waited while he regained some composure and could rise to a kneeling position in front of her. "That will do, Mr. Sturtevant, thank you. We will keep a copy of this tape for one year. If you contest the outcome of your appeal outside our system, we will release the tape showing you being bested by a woman. An old woman, by most measures. If you wish you may of course raise your appeal to Principle Figueroa, but you must realize the stakes will be much higher then." "No, God no. I won't go against her. Just let me out of this loony bin so I can get a job at a real school." Cooper staggered from the gymnasium, his head hanging. Julia Edgars walked to the locker room, pausing to say over her shoulder, "If you will meet me outside, Wendy, we can go the office and get that contract." Wendy gabbed Eloise Staples. "Staples, what the hell just happened? Did I just see a trial by combat in a public charter school? Among the teachers? And that big man just got trounced?" "Welcome to St. Hilda, where all the women are strong, the men are good looking, and the kids are kept from being homicidal because they don't dare challenge the teachers. Julia is about the toughest of the department heads, so I don't know why Cooper dared to take her on. Must have thought he had a secret weapon. After I got used to it, I've learned the system here works pretty well. Dr. Figueroa insists the faculty stay in shape, be able to defend ourselves, and treat everyone else with the same respect we want to be treated with. That's on top of knowing our subjects and being able to teach to kids from some pretty challenging backgrounds. If you take the job I can show you the fundamentals of taking a knife away from a kid pretty quickly, and that will be enough to get you started safely." Julia Edgars emerged dressed again from the locker room, showing no sign that she had just dominated and defeated a much younger and larger man. "Now, are you still willing to consider a job with us, Wendy? And would you be available immediately to sit in on Mr. Cooper's classes for the last week of this year, by any chance? We could draw up a short-term contract to cover that time period, and I can't be sure he will give his best effort now that he has lost his appeal and won't be returning in the fall. You would be either assisting and observing if he does his job properly or stepping in if he doesn't." Eloise gave a parting wave as the two women walked to the main office. "Our student body comprises extraordinary girls. Some are genetically gifted to become extremely strong. I have seen freshmen come in as 90 pound wisps and leave four years later packing an additional hundred pounds of hard muscle, whether they were particularly diligent about exercising or not. Something about Valkyrie genes, but biology isn't my field. At the other extreme are the girls with no particular natural advantages who do aspire to physical excellence, such as Emily Carstares. Four feet nine inches, and she can chin herself ten times with either hand. It seems she has always been sensitive about her size, and by assisting her in building a body of steel we are helping her to emerge from her shell. Our challenge with her is to assure she spends a few hours each day concentrating on things other than building muscles. Last summer she attended a gymnastics camp and excelled at all the male events as well as the ones usually reserved for women." She paused and looked intently at Wendy. "And a good proportion are aggressive to the point of being violent. We see our mission as channeling that spirit just as we channel their physical gifts. For that our faculty must be strong enough and skilled enough to earn our students' respect. Arriving at the school office Julia obtained a bundle of papers and booklets. From it she handed a contract form to Wendy. "You see most of the terms are standard - regular school breaks, description of duties, et cetera, et cetera. And then there is the St. Hilda appendix. By signing that you promise to abide by the philosophy of our school, and here is a copy of that, written by Principle Figueroa. You promise to stay in sufficient physical condition to pass the Green Beret fitness standards any time a more senior member of the order requests. And you promise to become or remain proficient in at least one form of hand-to-hand combat within a year of being hired. The contract is on an annual basis for the first three years as we get to know each other. There is an appeals process to protect you against arbitrary or unfair assessments, as you just witnessed. If you pass that period you will earn tenure with a few additional combat responsibilities added." Julia Edgars paged through the agreements for Wendy, presented the philosophy pamphlet, and offered a pen for Wendy to sign with. And that was Wendy Kramer's introduction to St. Hilda's Academy.