thought she was barely five feet tall. She had
shoulders like a football player and hard, sharply cut
facial features. Her dark eyes were too far apart and
her short, dull brown hair was trimmed farther back
on her forehead than that of the other two. When she
opened her mouth, I saw she had crooked teeth,
especially on the bottom.
"A new student does nothing without
permission until she is told she may do so," M'Lady
One recited.
M'Lady Two continued. "That means even
going to the bathroom. A new student does not speak
unless given permission to do so."
M'Lady Three picked up immediately when
M'Lady Two stopped. She had the deepest, coarsest
voice. "A new student learns that in the real world
nothing comes to you because it's supposed to come
to you. You earn everything: you are entitled to nothing. This is reality. Therefore, we will have reality checks periodically to determine whether or
not you have earned what you want, what you have." This means everything," they all recited. They
spoke like some c
horus that had performed these
speeches many, many times, all speaking without
much emotion, except for the underlying and
continuous threat.
"A new student knows that complaints earn
demerits. Cheating, laziness, slacking off, any of that
earns demerits." M'Lady Two said.
"And demerits put you in the Ice Room," they
all chorused.
"Thank you. Mladies," Dr. Foreman said. They