My Bavarian Assignment     Chapter  1
By valerafon
An American travels to Germany to teach in an all girls school.


Author's note: "My Swedish Vacation" will be ending in a few  
chapters. Alas, all stories must eventually come to an end. For 
those readers who really enjoyed reading that story, I think they 
will like this one too. Many of the same elements that were 
incorporated into that story will be found in this one as well. I 
will try to have a new chapter ready for posting every six weeks 
or so. My other long series, the Tanta series, will follow roughly 
the same schedule, but that story will be written in a completely 
different style with much more combat in the story line. The first 
chapter for that rather long saga has already been posted.



This is a work of fiction and should not be read by anyone under 
the age of eighteen. Please do not read further if you are 
offended by violence and or sexual content.


Chapter One     Off to Germany 


My story begins at the turning of a new millennium. Maybe, that's 
why I feel so restless. I needed a change. I wanted to do 
something exciting with my life. I had been teaching school in an 
exclusive suburb of Chicago for the last five years. It was a 
wonderful teaching assignment, but I wanted more. I yearned to see 
the world, to be immersed in other cultures and other peoples 
traditions.

I think it all stemmed from the fact that I was a foreign language 
instructor. I was fluent in six different languages including 
German, French, Russian, and Spanish, but in spite of that fact, I 
had never left the state boundaries of Illinois, and I was almost 
twenty eight years old.

On a whim, I found a couple of internet sites that posted teaching 
assignments in Europe. One posting in France and another in 
Germany were very intriguing. I sent my resume along with my 
picture and vital statistics to both places. I really didn't 
expect to get a reply. Six weeks later, I received an acceptance 
letter from Helen Van Gilder's School for girls in a place called 
Kreuth in Southern Germany.

In an e-mail, Ms. Van Gilder told me that she had contacted the 
State Department and the Chicago School System and that I had 
passed all of her inquiry's into my credentials and character with 
flying colors. She even hired a private detective to check me out 
and he also had given me a passing grade. All of this vital 
information had passed through the wonders of the internet. 

In a subsequent e-mail, I was told she knew all that was necessary 
to make her decision and that a preliminary interview was 
unnecessary, and that I had been accepted on a trial basis for the 
up coming term which started in several weeks.

The pay was excellent, but I didn't even know where Kreuth was 
located on the map, and I would have to scramble to get a passport 
and to prepare for the journey. The fact that I wasn't leaving 
anyone behind made my decision a lot easier. Both my parents were 
dead and I was between girlfriends. I didn't have any close 
relatives in the area as well. I was virtually alone. Maybe, that 
is why it was so easy to accept her offer.

I left a week early and wanted to see some of the historical 
sights and beautiful scenery in Southern Germany and Austria 
before I started my new job. My first stop was Salzburg. I spent a 
few days there taking in the sights. Once there, I found out that 
Salzburg's location had made it a crossroads city in the past. It 
was directly in the path of age-old trade routes, and several 
centuries before, it had become a seat for powerful archbishops of 
the Holy Roman Empire. There influence still could be seen in the 
architecture and quite literally still could be felt as well. I 
soon realized you had to measure time differently there. In the 
U.S. one measured history in decades or centuries. Here, one 
measured history in millennia. 

Salzburg was incredibly beautiful. I especially loved the backdrop 
of the city with it's lovely alpine scenery and the baroque style 
architecture of some of it's more famous cathedrals and buildings. 
It was like going back in time.

After leaving Salzburg, I even found time to visit a couple of old 
King Ludwig's castles. Neuschwanstein was my favorite. It's 
opulence is amazing and it has an aura about it that transports 
you into another world. You feel like you're entering a fairy-tale 
when you're inside. This Bavarian king really knew how to live.

My final stop was Munich. I only had a day to wander around which 
was nowhere near enough time to visit all the sights of interest 
in this wonderful city. My teaching assignment was only an hour or 
so south of the city, and I hoped to explore Munich more 
thoroughly at a later date.

I was so engrossed with Munich, that I almost missed the train to 
Tegernsee. At the station, I was to meet one of the teachers from 
the school who would drive me the rest of the way to Kreuth. 

I spent my time on the train reading about Bavarian culture and 
Bavarian history. I really didn't want to seem like a tourist. 
Every now and then my mind would wander back to Helen Van Gilder 
and her school for girls. I couldn't help but wonder, with some 
trepidation, what awaited me there.

-----------------------------------

The town of Tegernsee is located in a sprawling valley from which 
it takes its name, and is one of five towns that surround the huge 
lake in the center of the valley.  I read, on the train, that Lake 
Tegernsee is a very  famous resort area for this part of The 
Federal Republic of Germany and for all of Europe for that matter.

The train ride to Tegernsee was brief, but scenic. The whole trip 
couldn't have lasted more than an hour. When I arrived at the 
station and departed the train, I noticed a tall blonde woman 
holding a sign. It had my name on it, Ben Dawson. 

I was immediately taken aback by this awesome vision before me. 
She appeared to be in her early twenties and she was stunningly 
beautiful. I momentarily stopped and looked over this fine German 
lady before proceeding towards her. The first thing one noticed 
about her was her body. She had curves in all the right places, 
but you could tell she was athletic. Her muscles had a tone to 
them like she was heavily into sports of some sort. In fact, her 
whole body emanated with a healthy glow.

The next thing that commanded my attention were her long lovely 
legs. She wore a short skirt which ended a few inches above her 
knees. They exposed a great deal of the best pair of legs I had 
seen in a long time. Her legs were accented by the high heel shoes 
she wore. They made every muscle on her long shapely legs stand 
out. Even from this distance her calf muscles were very 
impressive. Instantly, my mind wandered to a scene where those 
lovely long legs were wrapped around my midsection as we made out 
in bed. I shook my head to refocus. I was a little embarrassed 
about my day dream. Maybe, women were right, all men are pigs.

As I stared at her, I could see every man, who passed by, turn his 
head and stare at her as well. Eventually, their eyes traveled 
down her athletic body making the long trip in record time and 
settling on those impressive legs of hers. She ignored their 
stares. It was a reaction, from men, that she must have been used 
to.  

Finally, she looked in my direction, her eyes fixed on me, and a 
big smile lit up her impressive features. I swallowed hard and 
took a deep breath. This was another reaction I was sure she was 
used to as well. Slowly, I felt my legs move in the direction of 
this vision of loveliness who was still smiling at me just a few 
meters away. 

As I got closer, I could see her eyes more clearly. They were a 
vivid shade of blue and her mouth was large like the rest of her 
and was accented beautifully by the red shade of lipstick she 
wore. I forgot about those long legs of hers for a moment and 
focused on her sensual lips. They were prominent and thick and 
made her mouth look very appealing indeed. 

As I continued to stare at her, I realized she resembled someone I 
had seen before. Finally, it came to me. This beautiful woman 
before me had a striking resemblance to Julia Roberts the movie 
actress, only this woman had a much more impressive body. I felt 
myself begin to sweat as I neared this beautiful woman, and I took 
a handkerchief from my pocket and wiped my brow.  

As I drew near, I began to realize just how tall this woman was. 
She was much taller than me with or without her heels on. Her 
awesome height made me feel even more uncomfortable as I ambled up 
along side of her. Tall women, for some reason, made me self 
conscious. Maybe, it was the fact that I was a bit shorter than 
average for a man. In spite of that fact, I liked tall women and 
this one was almost a head taller than me.

"You must be Ben Dawson? she said in perfect English. At the same 
time, she extended her hand in greeting.

I set my suitcase down and extended my own hand as well. She 
immediately took it and my hand seemed to disappear into hers as 
she shook it very firmly. I looked down at our two hands and the 
comparison between them made me feel like I had the hands of a 
child. She was undeniably a big woman with large hands and long 
delicate fingers. In spite of the delicate looking nature of her 
hands, it still felt like my hand was gripped by a vice. 

"My name is Katia Kronenberger," she informed me, "but you can 
call me Kate, everyone does."

As I tried to extract my hand from her firm embrace, I said, "Can 
we speak German? I need the practice."

She smiled, shook her head yes, and finally let go of my hand. As 
I tried to work some circulation back into the hand, she picked up 
my suitcase.

"I got that," I said in English forgetting what I had just asked 
her to do. She seemed to ignore my statement and didn't return my 
suitcase. Instead, she started to walk towards the parking lot.

I had to walk very briskly to catch up with her. When I did, she 
looked my way and gave me a very amused smile before she  
commented, "It's just like a man to travel light." 

I tried to keep in step next to her,  but she was moving very 
fast, and I almost had to jog to keep up. As I tried to look 
comfortable walking next to her, I answered, "I thought I'd buy 
what I needed here in Germany. I want to fit in and look the 
part."

She gave me another smile and said casually, "The town of Rottach-
Egern has some great shopping areas and some marvelous men's 
stores. You'll be able to find everything you need right there." 

I nodded and tried to keep up as best I could. A few men gave me  
amused smiles as we passed them. Katia moved with long powerful 
strides, and I must have looked a bit silly trying to keep in 
step. I remained quiet and followed her as best I could.

When we neared her car, she turned and said in German, "Once 
you're settled, I'd be happy to take you there. The towns night 
life is famous and they even have a casino."

"Thank you! I'd like that," I said. I couldn't envision any man 
turning this woman down.

After my gear was stowed, we drove along the lake towards Kreuth. 
I could see sail boats on the lake and a few people were jet 
skiing as well. As she drove, She told me about the area. Their 
were five towns that surrounded the lake. Gmund was located on the 
northern end of the lake and Kreuth was on the southern tip. On 
the eastern end of the lake was a small town called Bad Wiessee. 
That was the town where Katia was from. On the western end of the 
lake was the towns of Tegernsee and Rottach-Egern. The school was 
located about twenty minutes from Kreuth on the slopes of Mount 
Kohlenstein.

I tried to pay attention, but my eyes kept wandering down to her 
long lovely legs. Every so often she would glance in my direction. 
I think she caught me staring at those marvelous legs of hers more 
than once. She didn't seem to get mind. Instead, she kept up her 
running commentary about the area.

As she talked, I realized just how perfectly situated we were here 
in Southern Germany. Saltzburg was close to the west and Munich 
was just to the North. To the south over the Austrian border was 
Innsbruck and great skiing, and this valley and the surrounding 
mountains offered every kind of outdoor activity one could 
possibly desire, from paragliding to mountain biking.

A few minutes later, we passed the town of Rottach-Egern and she 
informed me that we would soon be in Kreuth. As the scenery 
whizzed by, she told me that the cities were founded by the 
Benedictine monks who settled in the area many centuries before, 
and that most of this part of Germany was Catholic and deeply 
religious. After her statement, she paused and looked in my 
direction waiting for a reaction. I didn't give her one. Instead, 
a tune started playing in my head, something about Catholic girls.

While I was preoccupied, she hit me with a question.

"How tall are you, Ben?"

It came out of nowhere and caught me by complete surprise. 

I was quiet for a few moments thinking about an answer, but I 
finally was able to blurt out the truth, "I'm five seven."

She thought for a moment and then continued on with this line of 
questioning, "And how much do you weigh?"

What does one do in a situation like this? I sighed and said in as 
even a tone of voice as I could muster, "I weigh 150."

She nodded as if she agreed with my figures and said in a very 
sweet voice, "I hope you're not embarrassed, Ben. I like smaller 
men, and you're very handsome."

"Thanks," I mumbled. 

Was she coming on to me? I dismissed that idea. She was one very 
good looking woman and she could have any man she wanted. It was 
my feeling, with no basis in actual fact, that tall women 
preferred tall men.

It was quiet in the car for a few moments, both her and I were 
deep in thought. I was a bit shocked at her straight forward 
approach to the question of my height, but maybe German girls 
didn't take the twisted route to answers like American girls did. 
I quickly regained my balance and I did want to know her vital 
statistics as well. This seemed like a perfect opportunity.

After a few seconds of silence, I asked, "How tall are you?" 

She smiled and said proudly, "I'm six one and would you believe I 
weigh close to 185."

I was happy she used the American system of weights and measures. 
I wasn't all that familiar with the metric system just yet. As I 
thought about her answer, I did believe her height, but she didn't 
look like she weighed that much.

Before I could comment further she added, "But of course, I'm not 
anywhere near the biggest woman at the school."

I think she enjoyed my stunned expression because she laughed out 
loud when she glanced my way. My mouth was open and I was staring 
a bit wide-eyed at her as well. As I pondered her last remark, she 
hit me with another bombshell.

With a coy expression on her face she said in a merry voice, "You 
know you'll be the only man at the school."

"What?"

"Oh there's the gardener and the custodian, but they're pretty 
boring," she informed me.

"I'll be the only man at the school?"  I asked incredulously.

She turned, smiled, and said, "Uh huhh!"

I didn't know," I said in almost a whisper.

"It has something to do with a new law which was just passed in 
the German Legislature. And Helen, I mean Miss Van Gilder needed a 
man this semester, and you're it!"

I turned and looked directly at her and she was smiling and 
looking directly at me as well. Then her eyes started wondering 
over my form and this time I got the distinct impression that she 
was checking me out. It made me feel sort of strange.

She drove on, and both of us were quiet as the scenery whirred by, 
but I did notice that her smile never left her face.

In a few minutes we were driving through Kreuth towards the slopes 
of Mount Kohlenstein when she hit me with her next question.

"Are you athletic, Ben?"

"Yes, I love sports," I told her. 

It was a half truth. I did love sports, but I really wasn't all 
that athletic. I was more of a sports fan then a participant. The 
only sports I occasionally had time for were golf and tennis, and 
I did love to ski.

"Good!" She shot back. "I'm the athletics instructor at the 
school."

This time her statement really didn't surprise me, but her next 
one did.

"Have you ever boxed or wrestled?"

I didn't know what to say. Finally, I managed to blurt out, "A 
long time ago." 

It was stretching the truth a bit once again. I certainly didn't 
do it in any organized way. I glanced her way and she seemed to be 
digesting my answer. I quickly added, "Why do you ask?"

She smiled broadly before she informed me, "The school has a 
boxing and wrestling team."

In a somewhat startled voice, I said, "I didn't know girls did 
those sorts of things." 

She shook her head like she was a bit disgusted with my answer and 
said in a mildly perturbed voice, "This is the nineties, Ben. I 
thought Americans were progressive."

I tried to visualize the girl's at the school boxing and 
wrestling, but the images just wouldn't come.

Before I could recover from that last bit of information, she hit 
me with yet another stunner.

"I know you teach foreign language, Ben, but were adding a few 
sports this semester, and I really could use an assistant after 
classes. I'll talk to Miss Van Gilder about you assisting me with 
the girls."

I was flabbergasted. I managed to say, "But, I don't know that 
much.."

She interrupted me, "But you do like sports, don't you? And you 
did say you boxed and wrestled, didn't you? And it would be so 
nice to have a man teach us all there is to know about the manly 
arts."

I looked at her in astonishment, but remained silent. What could I 
say anyway? I had snagged myself in a web of my own half truths. 
And here I was, 27 years old and manipulated by a beautiful woman 
yet again.

"Good! That's settled," she said in a happy voice and then she 
gave me a wink.

As we started up the slopes of Mount Kohlenstein, I wondered just 
exactly what I had gotten myself into. My only hope was that Ms. 
Van Gilder would say no to Katia's request.

We arrived at the school ten minutes later. I was not ready for 
what greeted me there either. Katia told me as we turned toward 
the ancient building in the distance and drove up the long drive 
that the school was actually a small castle that had been bought 
and converted into a school by Ms.Van Gilger.  As we approached 
two large iron gates, they mysteriously swung open. I looked 
around as we drove through, but I didn't see anyone operating the 
controls nearby.

The road swung around a curve and ended in front of the castle. 
There was plenty of room for parking off to the left, but Katia 
stopped the car right in front by the large doors.

After turning off the ignition, there was momentary silence in the 
car as we looked at one another. She finally broke the spell by 
informing me, "The girl's will start arriving tomorrow. Classes 
begin the day after."

She paused a moment to let me digest that information much of 
which I already knew. During the lull in the conversation, she 
continued on with her survey of me. 

Finally, she opened the door, turned back toward me and added, 
"I'll show you to your room. You can relax and freshen up for 
dinner."

Before I could react, she grabbed my suitcase out of the back seat 
and exited the car. I wanted to carry my own suitcase, but it was 
long gone. I sighed resigning myself to the situation, opened the 
car door, and walked into my new life.

A man was weeding in a small flower bed right by the door. Katia 
and I walked up to the door and the man stood to get a better look 
at us. He looked to be in his forties and he was an inch or two 
smaller than Katia, but he had to weigh close to 220, and it was 
all muscle.

Before we went through the doors, Katia introduced the man, "This 
is Max. He takes care of the place for Ms. Van Gilder, don't you 
Max?

"Yes ma'am," he said very politely.

I extended my hand and he turned towards me and looked me over for 
a second or two before taking my hand. At the same time, he gave 
me a very peculiar smile.

As we shook hands, Katia said in a strange tone of voice, "Max is 
handy at many things, aren't you, Max?"

Again Max replied very politely, "Yes ma'am."

"This is Ben Dawson, he's one of the new teachers this semester. 
If he gives you an order, you will carry it out, won't you Max?"

Max stopped shaking my hand, looked at Katia, then lowered his 
head before answering, "Yes ma'am."

"Good!"  Katia replied.

Katia didn't hesitate a moment more, she motioned for me to follow 
as she entered the castle. I turned and looked at Max one final 
time. He had that strange smile on his face once again, and he was 
watching me intently as I went through the doors.

I followed Katia into a gigantic room with ancient weapons and 
paintings on the walls. To the left was a long winding staircase 
which led to the upper two floors.

"You can tour the place later," Katia informed me as I looked 
around the room. "You must be tired after your long journey. I'll 
take you directly to your room and you can rest and freshen up for 
dinner."

I nodded my appreciation and followed her up the long winding 
staircase. When we reached the second floor, Katia pointed to the 
right and said, "The girl's dormitories and rooms are in that 
wing. Pointing up the staircase she told me, "And on the third 
floor are the class rooms. You can see those facilities later," 
she added.

I nodded and looked down the long corridor to the right, but I 
didn't see anyone.

As I looked, Katia informed me, "First and second year girls live 
in dormitories. Third year girl's live three to a room. If a girl 
can afford it, she can opt for a private room in her third year."

I nodded again, I was sure the tuition was very expensive and that 
this was a very exclusive school catering to the elite of society.

Again, Katia gave me a few moments to digest everything before she 
continued on, "And the teacher's quarters are in this direction."

I looked in the other direction just as Katia began moving once 
again.

She turned around and said politely, "Follow me please." 

This time the other hallway was not empty. The biggest woman I had 
ever seen in my life was walking straight towards us. She was 
gigantic, but she was not unattractive. Her blonde hair was fixed 
in a bun on top of her head, and her blouse and skirt were plainer 
than I would have expected a teacher to wear in this school. If it 
wasn't for her uncommon beauty, she would have reminded me of a 
prison matron in one of those B movies. I did get the distinct 
impression that she was East German even before we were 
introduced.

When the lady saw us, she stopped and waited for us to approach. 
Katia and I halted in front of her and I tilted my head and just 
looked up and up and up.

"This is Emma Gildenstern Katia informed me, "Emma teaches history 
and is in charge of security and discipline here at the school."

Emma took my hand and gave it one firm shake. And I thought 
Katia's hands were big! Afterwards, it felt like she had ripped my 
shoulder blade right out of it's socket.

Emma did not smile, but she said in broken English, "Velcome, Mr. 
Dawson. You have an appointment with me at two o'clock tomorrow, 
don't be late." And then she quickly moved off.

I watched her retreating figure for a few moments as I rubbed my 
right shoulder with my other hand.

I heard Katia giggle, and as I looked her way she said in a 
somewhat joking manner, "Why, I think she likes you, Ben."

Still rubbing my shoulder I asked, "And what does she do to people 
she don't like?"

Katia's smile disappeared and she said in a somewhat gloomier 
tone, "You don't want to know. Just follow all the rules and keep 
on her good side."

After that bit of news, Katia quickly moved off again. Before I 
followed her, I looked at Emma's retreating figure once more, and 
wondered what the hell Katia meant by that.

Finally, my thoughts returned to Katia. By this time, she had  
moved a good distance down the corridor. When I caught up to her, 
she had already opened the door to my quarters and was waiting 
patiently for me. 

The room was far more opulent than I  expected. There was a huge 
fire place opposite the door and it seemed to dominate the room. A 
large ornate bed and canopy was off to the right. It wasn't modern 
in appearance, but it still looked like it was fit for royalty.

Katia placed my suitcase on the bed, turned, and said, "If you're 
wondering, Ben, Emma's six eight. Nobody knows her weight and I 
wouldn't ask her either." 

I did some quick calculations. That meant she was over a foot 
taller than me. She seemed a lot bigger than that when I was next 
to her. I didn't notice if she was wearing heels.

Katia silently watched as I explored the room for a minute or two 
then she gave me another tantalizing tidbit, "The girls call her 
Mount Stern, but not to her face, and I wouldn't recommend that 
you call her that either."

I laughed as I explored the huge walk in closet. There was more 
than enough room for my meager clothing.

Katia must have read my mind because she quickly added, "Don't 
worry, I'll take you to get some clothes. Maybe, tomorrow we can 
get away."

I yelled, "Thanks!" as I continued to explore. That's when I 
spotted them in a neat row on some hangers.

Katia came running over when she saw me find the clothing. There 
were five identical light brown shirts in a row on hangers and 
five dark brown pairs of shorts next to the shirts. On the floor 
were several pairs of brown shoes and five pairs of dark brown 
socks neatly stacked nearby.

I took one of the shorts from the hanger, stretched it out, and 
asked Katia, "What are these for?"

Katia gave me the bad news in a cheerful voice, "They're your 
school clothes. Ms. Van Gilder designed them for you, herself. She 
found out your measurements and she had these made especially for 
you."

My mouth fell open as I looked at the shorts. I thought they were 
hideous. I put them up to my body and they ended half way up my 
thigh. They looked more like athletic shorts than dress shorts. I 
turned and looked at Katia in complete astonishment. 

As if to calm my fears Katia said in a soothing voice this time, 
"Here, in Bavaria all the men where shorts in the summertime."

I shook my head like I really wasn't convinced and put the shorts 
back.

Katia must have read my mind again because she said solemnly,  "We 
have a strict dress code at Kohlenstein. Even the teachers have to 
wear uniforms."

"I can't wear this, Katia."

"You can take that up with Ms. Van Gilder, but like I said, she 
did design these clothes just for you."

I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as I had a 
nightmare vision of me walking into a classroom full of girls in 
those clothes. I just wouldn't do it. I had my dignity.

Katia seeing my faraway expression, expertly changed the subject, 
"Come, there's one more room I want you to see."

She led me to a door with a key in it. After turning the key and 
opening the door, she said in a much happier tone of voice, "This 
is your bath."

I walked into one of the nicest and largest baths I had ever seen. 
The room contained a giant shower and a massive sink, and right 
next the toilet was a device I recognized as a bidet. Over in the 
corner, was a door that led to a fairly good sized sauna. The room 
was amazingly well equipped. 

On the other side of the room was a huge sunken whirlpool bath, 
but it was more like a small swimming pool than a sunken bath. It 
looked like it could hold several people very comfortably. Maybe, 
my clothes were god awful, but at least I could relax in luxury.

Katia watched me explore for a few seconds before she hit me with 
another bombshell.

"You're lucky! You'll be sharing this bath with Ms.Van Gilder."

"What?"

She laughed before she explained further. "Each bath is shared 
between two rooms. You'll be sharing the nicest bath in the whole 
castle."

I didn't know what to say. The living arrangements were just so 
different than what I was accustomed too. I must have had another 
strange look on my face because Katia busted out into laughter 
once again. I just stood there and tried to endure in silence.

Finally, Katia said in a sad voice, "My bath doesn't have a sauna 
or whirlpool. I think I'm jealous." Then she broke out into 
laughter one more time.

I must have looked really embarrassed because before I could 
answer, she took my hand and led me out of the room pausing for a 
moment by the doorknob.

Katia saw my expression and instantly became more formal. She 
pointed to the knob and informed me, "Knock before entering, and 
if it will make you feel more comfortable, lock your side of the 
door."

I nodded a bit sheepishly. I must have looked very unsophisticated 
to her at that moment. In other words, very American. This 
arrangement may have been completely within the bounds of European 
decorum, but to me, it would take some getting used too. 

Without saying another word, she let go of my hand and headed for 
the door. But before she left, she turned and informed me, 
"Dinner's at eight. We'll be eating tonight in the formal dining 
room so dress appropriately. I'll come and collect you so you 
won't get lost."

I managed to gather myself enough to say, "Thanks."

This time she smiled, nodded herself, and grabbed the doorknob. 
But before she left, something must have occurred to her because 
she added in a merry voice, "Everyone's just dying to meet you." 

She winked at me a final time before she closed the door and left 
me alone in my new quarters.

I just stood there in the middle of the room feeling somewhat 
numb. Finally, I said to myself, well Mr. Ben Dawson, you wanted 
change and some adventure in your life, I think you've found that 
in spades.

--------------------------------------

Katia was prompt. Her knock came right at eight o'clock. I was 
wearing my only suit when I let her in. I had been only partially 
successful in removing most of the wrinkles. She gave me the once 
over and nodded her approval. That brought a sigh of relief from 
me. I did want to make the right impression.

We quickly made our way to the formal dining room. I was about to 
meet Ms. Van Gilder and the rest of the teachers. I have to admit, 
I was more than a bit apprehensive. All I could hope for was that 
they were as friendly and nice as Katia had turned out to be.

Everyone was already seated around the dining table and waiting 
for my grand entrance. All eyes were on me as we entered the room. 
Katia ushered me to a seat right next to Ms. Van Gilder who was 
sitting at the head of the table. I stood at the table like I was 
frozen in time. I was not prepared for the women that sat around 
the table starting with Ms. Van Gilder.

She was an absolutely breathtaking women. Ms. Van Gilder was every 
bit as stunning as Katia, but in a completely different way. When 
I looked at Ms. Van Gilder, elegant was the word that immediately 
came to mind. She seemed to be molded from finer stuff than other 
women, and I thought she would be equally at ease at the side of a 
president or leading a procession as the Queen of England. She 
just had a presence about her and it seemed to enhance her great 
beauty.

Her choice in clothes was impeccable and her jewelry and makeup 
fit her perfectly as well. Along with her own innumerable 
attributes, everything fit so perfectly together as to command 
ones attention, male or female.

She appeared to be about ten years older than Katia, young for a 
women who had acquired a great deal of wealth and ran a large 
school. She was the complete opposite of what I expected to find.

She was watching my reaction with an amused smile on her face. 
Finally, she extended her elegant jeweled hand and said, "Mr. 
Dawson, please  join us."

I nodded in appreciation and sat down. As I did so, I looked at 
the rest of the gathering. I was in for yet another surprise. I 
was in the presence of a dozen of the most beautiful women I had 
ever laid eyes on. They didn't bring to mind a group of teachers, 
but rather a gathering of Barbizon models. Each woman had her own 
delectable points of interest. I had to force myself not to stare 
at the lovely creatures around me, but it was like putting a 
hungry termite in a lumber yard. It was impossible for a man not 
to react.

The women reacted to my presence by starting a number of 
conversations all at once. Some were talking to me. I responded by 
trying to listen to five different conversations simultaneously, 
and I was still staring at the women as my head swung from side-
to-side. Ms. Van Gilder silenced the group by gently tapping the 
side of her glass with her salad fork.

"Ladies please, let me introduce our newest teacher," she said 
rather formally.

I noticed even the cadence in her voice commanded attention and it 
was rich and deep, but totally feminine. The women stopped talking 
and all eyes turned towards me. I have to admit, they were the 
loveliest collection of eyes I had ever seen.

"This is Mr. Ben Dawson from America. He is our newest 
acquisition."

After the short introduction, all the women started to talk again 
at the same time. Each was offering her best wishes and 
congratulations on my joining the staff. Ms. Van Gilder tapped her 
glass again to restore order.

"Ladies please, they're will be time enough for each of you to get 
better acquainted with Mr. Dawson, but for now he belongs to all 
of us."

Some of the women laughed at that remark.

"Mr. Dawson, let me introduce your associates."

Ms. Van Gilder started to formally introduce each woman to me. I 
have to admit I'm bad when it comes to remembering names and it 
was easy to be distracted by other things.  I looked at each woman 
and smiled as Ms. Van Gilder introduced her and recited her 
specialty.

I really had to concentrate as each woman was introduced. To aid 
in that plan I found it best not to look into the woman's eyes. In 
spite of my best intentions, four of the women had already been 
presented to me before I really started to focus and remember 
names and teaching assignments.

"Ben, this is Yoki Moriyama. She joined us from Japan last year. 
Her specialty is math."

I nodded an said, "Hello!" Yoki was a dark haired Asian beauty, 
and even though she was sitting, I was sure she was tall for a 
person of  Japanese persuasion. 

As I looked around the table, I realized the staff had an 
international quality to it. The next person that was introduced 
to me was also not from Germany.

"Ben, this is Heidi Kinder from Switzerland. She's our science 
instructor and she also coaches our football team."

That struck me strange and I muttered, "Football?"

Heidi laughed and clarified the remark, "You Americans call it 
soccer."

That brought a round of laughter from around the table.

I laughed politely as well, but I was more intrigued with Heidi. 
She was a real blonde beauty! A real Swiss Miss! On a scale of one 
to ten she was an eleven, but of course I was surrounded by tens 
and eleven's and Ms. Van Gilder and Katia were off the charts.

"Ben! Oh Ben!"

It took a second or two to realize that Ms. Van Gilder was talking 
to me. I looked at her a little sheepishly.

"Well Heidi, it seems Mr. Dawson is impressed with you're 
credentials."

That brought another round of laughter from the whole table. 

As I looked around the table a bit red faced with embarrassment, I 
noticed Kate wasn't laughing and she had a strange look on her 
face. A few of the other women had similar looks. For the first 
time, I felt a slight tingle at the back of my neck. I had the 
strangest feeling, like I was a mouse surrounded by a bunch of 
cats.

I didn't have time to dwell on my fears because Ms. Van Gilder had 
continued on with the introductions. She introduced another couple 
of women before I managed to refocus completely.

"Ben, this is Uma Hautman. She's our art instructor and she 
coaches our swimming team."

I managed to say, "Hello" as I looked at yet another beautiful 
blonde. Uma looked extremely athletic just like Katia. 

After pausing for a moment and letting me acknowledge her,       
Ms. Van Gilder added proudly, "Uma won a gold medal for East 
Germany at the Olympics twelve years ago."

That made me do some mental calculations because Uma didn't look 
to be any older than in her mid to late twenties. She must have 
won that medal at a very early age.

"And you've already meet our Katy, Mr. Dawson. 
May I call you Ben?"

"Please do."

"She's already given me a complete report on you're sport 
exploits."

An excited murmur went around the table.

Just great I thought.

"We'll discuss that tomorrow, Ben." She informed me.

I sighed heavily and looked at Katia, this time she had a big 
broad smile on her face.

Emma was the next one to be introduced. She quickly informed Ms. 
Van Gilder that we had already met. That brought another murmur 
from around the table. I was again told, by Emma, that we had a 
meeting at two tomorrow and that I better be on time. I had 
already resolved that I was going to get there about ten minutes 
early, just to be on the safe side.

The last two women were foreigners as well, just like me. Pamela 
Parker was a good looking red head from up state New York. She 
taught world literature and a couple of writing courses at the 
school. I learned that she had been with Ms. Van Gilder from the 
beginning when she opened the school five years ago.

Last but not least was Rollie Bourdet from France. She was an 
instructor of music and also taught creative dance at the school. 
I also learned that she taught a couple of self defense classes 
two nights a week to any of the girls who wanted to take up the 
sport. She was an expert in a number of disciplines including 
Savate which I learned was a form of boxing with the feet and she 
also taught karate.

She was the smallest person at the table at around 5'2'', but I 
knew size didn't matter that much if the person was expert in a 
martial art. What did matter was that Rollie was another looker 
and that accent of hers was a real killer.

After the introductions were concluded, we ate a meal fit for 
royalty. There was a staff of eight women who cooked and some of 
them served the meal. They were also introduced. I was not 
surprised when they turned out to be young and good looking as 
well. Ms. Van Gilder obviously had an eye for beauty. I just 
wondered how I had gotten the job.

The rest of the evening also went well. The women seemed to be 
going out of their way to make me feel comfortable and at home. I 
guess I was a novelty, but I hoped it would last. Being a novelty 
for a group of stunning women wasn't so bad.

We sat at the table discussing the up coming term and the girls 
for two hours after the meal. I listened in fascination. I knew 
very few details about the school and everything that was said was 
important for me to know.

I knew that my new assignment was a prep school for young ladies, 
and that Ms. Van Gilder's graduates attended some of the most 
prestigious universities in the world. What I didn't know was that 
Ms. Van Gilder's school was attended by about 160 girls from all 
over the world. The girls were split fairly evenly into three 
grades. 

The requirements were that the girls had to speak German and all 
successful applicants had to be members of the upper echelons of 
society or their families had to be government leaders. Some of 
the girls even had royal bloodlines. A number of Arab sheiks had 
sent their daughters to the school, and one was attending the 
school now. One of the biggest concerns at the school was the 
girl's security, but I was to find out later just how well 
protected the girl's were.

Tuition was steep, but it wasn't really a hardship for the people 
who were sending their daughters to this school. Most of the 
girl's parents were beyond rich. They were in fact some of the 
wealthiest people in the world.

I also learned that these girls were used to giving orders not 
taking them. Ms. Van Gilder reiterated, for my benefit, that most 
of these teenage girls were a real hand full. That is why 
discipline, at the school, was strict. Ms. Van Gilder said it was 
important for the girls to learn some humility and discipline 
along with attaining a first rate education. After all,  they were 
future leaders or would influence future leaders.

I looked over at Ms. Gildenstern and she was listening to 
everything Ms. Van Gilder was saying and nodding her approval.

Ms. Van Gilder made it a point to warn me about three of the 
girls. They were the worst of the worst as far as following the 
rules were concerned, and this was their last year. The three 
girls had requested a room together as was their right. Ms. Van 
Gilder had reluctantly granted their request. The girls had made 
promises to focus on their studies in this their last year.

Since Ms. Van Gilder was telling the story for my benefit, I 
wasn't so sure she expected the girls to keep their promises. I 
wasn't all that concerned, I had dealt with problem teens before.

The leader of the group was English. Her name was Diana Farnsworth 
and her father was a member of parliament. The second girl was 
German. Her name was Gretchen Kromschroeder. It seems that both of 
her parents were agents for the East German government in the 
seventies and eighties, and now her father was ambassador to 
Luxembourg.

The last member of the click was American. Her name was Michelle 
DeAngelo, and Ms. Van Gilder explained that it was common 
knowledge that her father was in the mafia.

Pamela added in a matter-of- fact tone of voice, "Her father is 
the mafia in New York!" 

I gave Ms. Van Gilder a puzzled look.

She shrugged her shoulders and said, "He paid me five times the 
normal amount of tuition."

I shouldn't have been surprised, money usually can open any door.

Finally, the dinner party broke up and Ms. Van Gilder told me to 
be in her office at eight o'clock sharp tomorrow morning. At which 
time, she would go over my course load and inform me about 
anything else that I may need to know. I had a pretty good idea 
about the courses I would be teaching. Before I left for Germany, 
she had sent me a Russian text book and a French text book both of 
which were in German. Neither of which presented me with any 
problems, but it would be different teaching language courses in 
German and not in my native language.

The dinner broke up around ten and I was dog tired. When I got 
back to my room, I had to use the facilities. I knocked discretely 
and waited for some sort of reply. Obviously the room wasn't in 
use. I quickly went about my business in the bath room. I 
hesitated just a moment at the door to Ms. Van Gilders room. With 
curiosity overcoming my better judgment, I put my ear to the door 
and listened. I didn't hear any noises on the other side of the 
room. She must have been elsewhere. For a moment, I fought back 
the urge to try the doorknob just to see if it was locked. After 
all I was a man. Somehow, I resisted the urge.

Once in bed, I tossed and turned for some time. This had been one 
long day, but too many things started to play over and over again 
in my mind, and I couldn't fall asleep. I still wasn't sure if I 
had made the right decision. It seemed like hours passed, but 
slowly sleep overcame me and washed my concerns away.

---------------------------------------

The next morning, I quickly showered and shaved. Again, Ms. Van 
Gilder was nowhere to be seen or heard. I skipped breakfast. The 
general dinning area was open from six to eight thirty, but I was 
too concerned with the meetings I had today, to eat.

I opened my door to a beehive of activity. Many of the teachers 
and custodial staff were in the hallway moving about in a 
disordered shuffle of activity. I quickly learned that some of the 
girls had already started to arrive. I asked one of the staff 
where Ms. Van Gilder's office was located and worked my way down 
the stairway through the crowd to her door. With some trepidation, 
I took a deep breath and knocked.

Shortly after, I heard Ms. Van Gilder's reply in that deep rich 
feminine voice of hers, "Come in."

Her office was exactly what I expected. She was rich and she ran a 
very opulent boarding school and her office reflected those facts.

She was looking at some documents and didn't watch me approach. 
Finally, she looked up from her papers and offered me a chair 
which was positioned right in front of her big modern desk. I sat 
and waited patiently as she finished her paperwork. She was 
wearing reading glasses, but that did not distract from her 
beauty. Instead, they gave her an aura of great intelligence, 
which I was sure was all too well deserved.

Finally, she finished doing whatever she was doing, pushed the 
paperwork away, and looked me over for the first time. She didn't 
smile, instead, she looked at me for sometime with out saying a 
word. I returned her gaze with as neutral an expression as I could 
muster and waited patiently for her to make the first move.

Instead of talking, she pushed herself away from her work and rose 
walking around to my side of the desk. For the first time, I 
realized just how tall she was. She was every bit as tall as Katia 
maybe an inch or two taller. I had to tilt my head way up as she 
approached. I felt very small as she looked down at me.

She paused for only a moment by my side and then walked right on 
by me into the center of the room. I had to turn around in the 
chair to follow her. For the first time, she started to talk, 
pacing back and forth as she did so.

"I trust your accommodations are adequate?"

"They're more than adequate," I managed to say.

"Good! I want my associates to feel at home. As you have already 
found out, I have brought teachers in from all over the world. I 
don't want to lose them, I think their presence adds a great deal 
to my school."

She stopped pacing and was gesturing with her hands as she talked. 
As I watched her and listened to her, I realized she too bore a  
resemblance to somebody I knew. This time, my mind placed the 
similarity almost immediately. Ms. Helen Van Gilder had more than 
a passing resemblance to a female star of the sixties and 
seventies. She was the spitting image of Julie Newmar in her 
prime. 

I remembered the movie "Little Abner" and thought she had one of 
the best bodies I had ever seen. I couldn't help but look Ms. Van 
Gilder over as she talked and I realized that her body was every 
bit as good, maybe better. 

"Mr. Dawson?"

I heard my name and realized I was day dreaming again. I had not 
heard Ms. Van Gilder's words for some time. 

"Teaching three morning classes is not too much for you, is it?"

"No that's fine," I said with mortification in my voice. I was 
more than a little embarrassed that my mind had wondered.

Ms. Van Gilder stared at me for a moment than added, "Excellent! I 
want your afternoons to be free."

"My afternoons, " I managed to say.

"Yes, Katia tells me you're quite the athlete."

"I wouldn't go that far," I managed to say. Why couldn't a man 
tell a woman the truth after he's been complimented?

"Don't be modest, Ben. I'm sure the girl's will benefit from your 
knowledge."

"What do you have in mind?" I managed to say.

"I want you to help Katy after classes with her squads, and I 
thought I'd give you one of the more advanced physical education 
classes in the afternoon."

"Me!"

"Absolutely! I'm sure the girls will benefit from all your sports 
training."

"I don't know, Ms. Van Gilder, I...." 

"Come on Ben, you'll do just find and call me Helen. We don't 
stand on ceremony around here."

"I guess I can try it....Helen."

"Good! That's the spirit. Don't look so glum. I picked you because 
you were the best choice. You're work record is impeccable and you 
have a reputation of handling problem students."

Here was another beautiful woman using flattery on me again. I was 
doomed.

I didn't have much time to dwell on my promotion to girl's sports, 
though. Ms. Van Gilder was about to change the subject.

"You know Ben, I have a safe in my office. If you want me to hold 
your valuables for you, till you settle in here, I would be happy 
to relieve you of that worry."

I thought for a moment, shrugged my shoulders, and said, "Thanks, 
but I really didn't bring anything of value with me."

"Nonsense! You have your passport, don't you?"

"Yes, but.."

"Just drop it off here later today and I'll put it in my safe. I 
have all the teachers passports. We wouldn't want you to lose 
that, now would we?"

I shrugged my shoulders. I hadn't given it much thought, but I 
could see how losing my documentation could be a real problem. I 
nodded in agreement which brought a big smile to Ms. Van 
Gilder's..I mean Helen's face. It was like the sun had just come 
out.

In a matter of seconds she was on to another topic. I started to 
listen, but I wanted to talk about my so called uniform."

She was in the process of handing me a bunch of papers. They had 
the courses and room assignments on them along with the times. I 
scanned them briefly but my mind was made up, I was going to 
broach the subject of my uniform.

"Ahh! Helen could I talk about the clothes you want me to wear?"

Ms. Van Gilder stopped in mid sentence and looked directly at me. 
Then she said, "I'm glad you brought that up. Have you tried your 
uniform on yet?"

"No! I was hoping I wouldn't have to wear those clothes."

She gave me a stunned expression. Then her expression went totally 
blank.

"Don't you think the clothes will fit?" she asked curiously. Then 
before I could answer, she ordered me to, "Come here!"

I found myself up and moving before I knew what was happening. Ms. 
Van Gilder had a knack at command.

When I walked over, I could smell her perfume. It was the scent of 
lilacs on a cool summers day. Her aroma made my head swim as I 
looked up at her. She was wearing modest heals and she was more 
than a good head taller than me. She had to be at least 6'3'' I 
thought.

As soon as I got near, she grabbed my shoulders with her hands and 
turned me around. The next thing I knew, her hands were all over 
me. She looked me up and down as her hands roamed over my body at 
will. I didn't know quite how to respond. So I let her turn me 
about and look me over and measure me with her hands and eyes.

"No Ben, I think the measurements are right. The clothes should 
fit you perfectly."

"It's not that," I tried to say. 

She continued to measure and probe with her hands. I felt like I 
was getting frisked by an all too friendly cop. Then she squeezed 
my arm. It was like she was feeling for my muscle and seeing how 
big and hard it was. 

Her grip was like steel. I fought back the urge to squeal. I could 
see her looking down right into my eyes as she continued to 
squeeze. It was almost like she was checking out my body, but that 
just couldn't be.

Ignoring her probing, I managed to blurt out, "I'd rather not wear 
those clothes!" 

It hadn't come out as forceful as I wanted it too. Maybe, it was 
because I was looking up right into her green eyes.

A second later I heard myself add, "If that's all right with you?" 

She grabbed my shoulders again with her hands. I felt her powerful 
fingers dig in to them. This time, her voice was a lot more 
demanding and forceful.

"It's not all right! I went to a lot of trouble to design them for 
you. And besides we all wear uniforms at Kohlenstein, even the 
teachers.

"But..."

Before I could say anything else she said, "Come on, I want to see 
you in that uniform...Then we'll see if it's as horrid as you seem 
to think." 

While she was telling me this, she grabbed my hand and led me out 
the door towards my lodgings. I was too dumbfounded and 
embarrassed to complain further, and I let her lead me through the 
crowds to my room. The people in the halls didn't seem to be too 
intrigued by us. Everyone gave Ms. Van Gilder a polite hello, but 
they were all too preoccupied with the arrival of the girls to 
give us a second look.

When we arrived at my quarters, Ms. Van Gilder led me right to the 
closet, let go of my hand, and waited. I stared up at her for a 
second with an embarrassed look on my face. By this time, Ms. Van 
Gilder had folded her arms about her chest and was waiting for me 
to get started.

"Well, Go ahead," she said, "put on the clothes."

I heard myself stammering, "In fffront of you."

She shook her head and rolled her eyes before she said, "You 
Americans are so insecure about you're bodies. No wonder you're 
divorce rates are so high."

I managed to say, "It's that you're my boss. I don't think it's 
proper..."

She interrupted me again, "Nonsense, don't be a prude. You have 
underthings on don't you?"

"Yes, but.."

"Well, what could I possibly see?"

She had me there. She really wouldn't see anything. I sighed and 
started to take my clothes off. As I did so, I realized I hadn't 
won an argument since I got here.

She was leaning on the door frame with her arms still folded, and 
she was watching me dress into that silly uniform as she casually 
talked.  

"Here, in Europe, Ben, we are much more at ease with our bodies. 
People often share communal baths just like in Japan. And we don't 
think much more about it than if we were brushing our teeth or 
combing our hair."

I knew the customs were different here. I just didn't know how 
different. I was going to have to make some adjustments. Finally, 
I calmed down and finished changing. I said under my breath, when 
in Rome, but I still dressed in record time. Afterwards, I felt 
more like a school kid than a teacher.

As soon as I was done changing, Ms. Van Gilder exclaimed, "Why 
Ben, you look marvelous!

At least she didn't sound like Fernando Lamas or Billy Crystal 
doing Fernando Lamas.

"Turn around for me, Ben." As she said that, she moved her index 
finger on her right hand in a circular motion.

I turned around and around for her, modeling her creations, as she 
looked on with a big smile. Finally, I stopped turning and was 
about to say something when she said and did the unexpected once 
again.

"You've got to see yourself."

She grabbed my hand and led me out of the big walk-in closet right 
over to a large mirror. In a moment, I was staring at my 
reflection in the mirror. I thought I looked even more ridiculous 
than I had envisioned.

As usual, Ms. Van Gilder dominated the conversation.

"See! You look marvelous! And the clothes fit perfectly."

Marvelous wasn't the word I came up with, but incredibly I heard 
myself say, "I guess so."

Ms. Van Gilder stepped in front of me and grabbed my face with her 
big hands and said softly and seductively, "There's no doubt about 
it. Every one's going to just love you in these clothes."

For a moment, it became very quiet as I looked up at her and she 
stared down at me. I could smell her perfume again, and the 
closeness of her together with her fragrant perfume made my head 
spin. I thought for a moment that she was going to bend over and 
kiss me. I knew I wanted to kiss her, but for some reason I 
couldn't move. I felt my heart start to beat wildly in my chest. I 
actually wondered, at this interesting moment, if she could 
actually hear it beating. 

The moment lasted just a second or two longer because right at the 
peak of my desire, she let go of my face and pulled away. She 
started to walk towards the door but before she left, she turned 
and said in a somewhat out of breath voice, "The issue of your 
clothes has been settled. I don't want to hear about it again."

I just stared at her with what must have been a very sad look on 
my face.

Almost as an afterthought, she added, "Don't forget to drop off 
your passport. I'll be in my office almost the whole day." And 
then she was gone.

I just stared after her for a few seconds. Then, slowly I turned 
around and looked at my reflection in the mirror once again. I 
must have studied my reflection for a good five minutes. I still 
didn't like what I saw, but now it was too late, and I was going 
to have to wear this to class. I could almost hear the girls 
laughing already.

----------------------------------

I spent the next couple of hours watching the girls arrive. The 
first thing that jumped out at me was that no parents accompanied 
the girls arrival. I was told they were far too busy to come or 
that they were on extended vacations. In either case, the girls 
had to arrive parentless.

Still, most of the girls did not arrive alone. Each girl was 
usually accompanied by a large entourage. Some of the men in the 
entourage wore sunglasses and dark suits. They sure looked like 
special agents or bodyguards. I was sure they didn't like leaving 
the girls alone, but those were the rules.

Every so often, I would see Ms. Gildenstern hovering nearby or 
talking with some of the people in a girl's party. Occasionally, 
she would converse with a couple of women that I had not seen 
before. The women wore special uniforms, and I got the feeling 
that they worked for her. The uniforms reminded me of nazi 
uniforms, for some reason. And I found myself day dreaming about 
being interrogated by these two beautiful women. Both were 
slightly smaller versions of Ms. Gildenstern, and they looked very 
efficient and capable. 

I wasn't sure, but I thought that the women might be part of 
school security. One thing was certain though, I was sure Ms. 
Gildenstern could handle any security problems that cropped up.

Later that morning, I ate lunch in the large dinning hall which 
was set up expressly for that purpose. It was very similar to a 
cafeteria back home. Just like breakfast, lunch was offered for a 
few hours every day to accommodate everyone's schedule. As soon as 
I arrived, several of the teachers invited me to their table. I 
guess the novelty hadn't warn off just yet, but maybe I wasn't 
being fair with them. Everyone I had met, had gone out of their 
way to make me feel at home.

Finally, the time had arrived for my meeting with Mount Stern. 
True to my word, I arrived early. I waited till precisely two 
o'clock and knocked on her door.

In a big booming voice, I heard her yell, "Come!"

I opened the door and was surprised to find a very modern office. 
Ms. Gildenstern was working at her computer. I stepped in to the 
middle of the room and waited.

Without taking her eyes off the computer, she barked, "Sit!"

My body moved almost before I could check it. I almost sat on the 
floor, but there was a couple of chairs next to her desk just like 
in Ms. Van Gilders office. I quickly and quietly sat down and 
waited for the next order. I didn't have long to wait.

Still without looking at me and without taking her eyes from the 
screen, she grabbed some papers on her desk and handed them to me.

"Look these over," she commanded.

"Now!" I asked. I knew it was a mistake even as the words came out 
of my mouth.

I saw her body tense and for the first time she looked my way. She 
was not an unattractive woman. For that matter, she was quite good 
looking. I thought if she undid her bun and let down her hair and 
fixed herself up a little, she might even rival some of the other 
women at the school.

She studied me closely for a second or two even as I studied her. 
Finally, she said in not a too overly perturbed voice, "You have 
some where to go?"

"No ma'am!" I said in as respectful a tone as I could muster.

"Call me Emma," she said in a very friendly manner.

That really surprised me.

"I will not answer to Mt. Stern and you had better not call me 
that!"

"You know about that," I managed to say and regretted saying it 
almost immediately.

She did not give me the reaction I expected though. Instead, she 
chuckled and said, "There is nothing that happens at this school 
that I don't know about."

I had no doubts about the truthfulness of her statement.

Then the smile left her face and she said somewhat more sternly, 
"Look over those papers. And we will talk about them in a few 
minutes." 

Without waiting for a reply, she turned back to the computer 
screen and lost herself in her work once again.

I started to look over the papers in silence. There were two 
different handouts in all. The pages of each handout were stapled 
together. The first one was about ten pages in length which I 
looked over first. On the cover page in bold lettering the title 
read student rules and regulations. Each regulation was color 
coded too. Beside each rule was one of three colors. Most 
regulations were coded in white. A few less were coded in blue and 
just a few were coded in red.

I read a few to get a feel for the document. They seemed to be 
fairly standard and straight forward. The second document really 
caught my eye, though. It was about five pages in length and was 
also color coded. It's title read associate rules and regulations. 
I had already learned that Ms. Van Gilder did not like the terms 
instructors or teachers. Here at Kohlenstein, the teachers were 
known as associates, and it seemed that we had a large number of 
rules to follow as well.

One rule was similar for both. It appears the students and the 
teachers both had curfews. The students had to be in their rooms 
by ten o'clock on weeknights and the teachers by midnight. I could 
understand students having a curfew, but teachers?

I continued looking over the documents for some time. When I 
looked up, I was surprised to see Emma watching me very intently. 

"Is their a problem, Mr. Dawson?"

"There seems to be a lot of rules," I said cautiously.

"Yes! As Helen said last night, these girls are very spoiled and 
their used to having everything given to them on a golden platter. 
We want to teach them discipline in their lives as well as in 
their studies."

I shook my head like I understood, but some of the rules seemed to 
go too far I thought.

"Ms. Gildenstern's voice changed and it seemed to get even more 
concerned as she said, "There's a second more important reason as 
well. These girls could be targets. They are the best of the best 
and the elite from their countries. The rules are designed to 
offer them some protection."

I hadn't thought of that. It made sense.

Still, I had to ask, "But the teachers?"

"These rules protect them as well."

I remained somewhat skeptical. 

She seemed to understand what I was thinking. She quickly added, 
"Our teachers have been chosen very carefully. They are the elite 
as are our students."

I was being flattered again.

"Our other associates don't have a problem with the rules, and I'm 
sure you won't either."

What is the color coding for," I asked.

"I'm glad to see you looked over the papers carefully," she said 
before she answered my question.  "White is for minor offenses, 
blue moderate, and red is for major offenses."

"I didn't see any penalties prescribed?"

"The penalties are usually left to my discretion by Ms. Van 
Gilder. The color coding usually determines the severity. However, 
repeat offenses to minor infractions can have more severe 
consequences."

"The teachers are punished as well?"

"I assure you, Mr. Dawson, that happens very rarely even for minor 
offenses. Like I said, our teachers are the very best."

"And what could these punishments entail?"

Ms. Gildenstern pushed herself away from the desk before she 
answered. She looked like a  mountain when she stood. 

"Mr. Dawson, I assure you, the punishment is appropriate. I do 
have one warning, though."

I stared up at the mountain of a woman before me. I was listening 
very intently.

"The one rule our associates sometimes have trouble with is that 
they are reluctant to report a student who violates a rule. I must 
warn you very strongly to report all violations of the rules. Not 
reporting violations is a blue infraction and will cause the 
student as well as the associate to be disciplined."

My head was beginning to spin. I thought Emma would have made a 
fine Nazi.

"I see," was all that came out of my mouth.

"Mr. Dawson, I was not in favor of hiring you, I hope you will 
change my opinion over the coming months."

"Why, may I ask?"

She shrugged her massive shoulders and said very casually, 
"Because you're a man."

A fine sexist statement if I ever heard one, but, of course, I 
didn't say that. I wasn't a fool. I hadn't seen Emma Gildenstern 
mad and I had already decided that was one thing I didn't want to 
see.

"All I managed to say was, "I see."

Emma ignored my remark and walked toward a door. Before she opened 
it, she said, "I saw you watching me this morning. I think you 
were wondering about security here at Kohlenstein. Let me show you 
our control center."

She bent slightly and walked through the door. I guess I was 
supposed to follow. I got up and followed.

I walked into a top notch security room. One the likes of which 
you might find in a large building back in New York or a top 
security government lab.

There were banks of TV monitors on both sides of the room. One 
bank of monitors was completely dark and no one was sitting at the 
console, but on the other side of the room all the monitors were 
lit showing different panoramas of the castle. Their was a woman 
in uniform, I had not seen before, diligently watching those 
monitors. I guess Emma's little security force was fairly large. 
While the woman watched the monitors, I could see her turning 
dials, and various views of the castle immediately popped up on 
different monitors.

Emma let me watch for a few moments, then she said proudly, "A bug 
couldn't approach this castle without us knowing it."

I was impressed.

She pointed over to a row of tape recorders and said, "We tape 
everything! It may come in handy."

I walked over to the recorders and could see tape running through 
about half of them.

She pointed to the other end of the room and more equipment. I was 
not familiar at all with this equipment.

She stated in a very professional manner, "These are motion 
detectors and equipment to detect various scents."

I looked at her with a bewildered expression on my face and said, 
"You have equipment to detect smells?"

She smiled like she was instructing a student and said proudly, 
"The human body gives off a very distinctive odor. We can smell 
people coming even before we can see them."

"Very impressive," I said and I meant it.

"I have a security team of ten and round the clock surveillance of 
the grounds. I assure you if anyone was stupid enough to try and 
get through our security, we would know immediately and they would 
be dealt with severely," she informed me and it almost sounded 
like bragging.

"Boy! That sure must cut down on panty raids," I shot back.

The woman watching the screen tried to suppress her giggles, but 
all I got from Emma was a cold stare. I was hoping she would 
laugh, but she didn't. Now, I would take it as a challenge to 
bring some humor into her drab colorless life.

"You are dismissed, Mr. Dawson."

"I thought it was Ben."

The guard looked up from her console, at Ms. Gildenstern, with a 
surprised look on her face.

Maybe, I was pushing my luck a bit, and a retreat was called for, 
but I wanted to know just one more thing. 

"What are these monitors for?" I asked inquisitively.

She ignored my question and instead gave me one more order, 
"Remember to commit all the rules to memory...Mr. Dawson." And she 
emphasized the Mr. Dawson part. That brought a few more snickers 
from the woman at the console.

This time she said more urgently, "YOU ARE DISMISSED!"

I got the message, but before I left, I thought I'd rattle her 
chain a little more, even if it was a fairly big chain. I walked 
over to the woman at the console and introduced myself.

I extended my hand and said, "Hi! My name is BEN."

She shook my hand and said cautiously, "I'm Hildegard Brandt, but 
you can call me Hildy!"

I looked up at Emma and she was giving me a look that would have 
curdled milk. I decided it was finally time to leave. I beat a 
hasty retreat out the door. Hildy gave me a tiny wave goodbye with 
one of her hands. It was blocked from Emma's view by her body. I 
thought that was fortunate for Hildy. 

Emma watched me leave and after I was gone and out of earshot, she 
said out loud to no one in particular, "I think I will enjoy 
teaching you some discipline, Mr. Dawson...And some 
respect....Please break the rules!"

Hildy bent her head and started to work the dials once again.

By this time, the castle was full of people wondering about and 
they were all talking at the same time creating a din of pure 
noise. I watched for a few minutes, but the chaos was giving me a 
headache, and I decided to go back to my room and rest. I sure 
hoped Katia wouldn't forget her promise to take me shopping later. 
I needed to get out of this woman's world for a bit and back into 
the world of man for just a little while.


To be continued....


In the next chapter, Kate takes Ben out on the town and school 
finally begins. Ben also meets Diana Farnsworth and her two chums. 
Ben also meets his physical education class and Kate organizes her 
boxing and wrestling squads.