"I repeat, if anyone violates this important rule, he or she will be summarily dismissed."
"How else can you be dismissed but
summarily?' Howard muttered.
"You could be court-martialed first," Steven quipped.
Ms. Fairchild did not smile. She glared at Steven, who quickly shifted his eyes toward a painting.
"Please follow me," she continued and took us to a door she said was the door to her quarters. "I repeat, come directly here if you have a problem that needs my attention. Do not discuss it with anyone else, not even your teachers and certainly not with anyone outside our school."
She checked her clipboard, looked at her watch, and told us to follow her back to the parlor.
"Wait here," she ordered. "Madame Senetsky will be addressing you all in a few minutes.'
She turned and left us.
"A work roster?" Howard immediately cried. "How come no one told me about that at the audition? Anyone else here ever told we'd be washing clothes, clearing dishes, taking out garbage?"
"You would if you went to an ordinary college, wouldn't you?" Rose asked him.
"No. I wouldn't go to just any college."
"Why don't you just think of it as another role or something," Cinnamon told him. "The butler in a big mansion or the owner's deranged, illegitimate son."
I saw how Ice's eyes filled with amusement.
"I never washed my own clothes before," Howard moaned.
Ice raised her eyes toward the ceiling, smiled, and shook her head.
"It's not rocket science," Rose said.
"You know how much we're all paying for tuition," Howard complained. He looked at Ice. "Anyone here want to take my turn at kitchen duties and take care of my clothes for me? I'll pay," he said.
She turned to me and Cinnamon, the small muscles in her jaw tightening. Her name might be Ice. I thought, but she looks like she could explode in a ball of fire.
"Why are you looking at me?" she asked Howard, "You think I've been working as someone's maid?"
"No. I'm looking at everyone. What about you. Honey?"
"You're not showing a good attitude. Howard," Cinnamon said. "You won't build character if you buy off your responsibilities:"
"I've got character!'" he exclaimed,
"Yes, but which character? Doctor Jekyll or Mr. Hyde?" Steven quipped.
Everyone laughed. Howard shook his head and plopped on the sofa.
"The instrumental studio looks pretty good, doesn't it?" Steven asked me.
"Yes," I said.
"Piano is in tune. Actually. I've got the same one at home." We all found seats and kept our attention on the doorway.
"What was all that about not entering Madame Senetsky's private area?" I asked.
"The reason is pretty obvious." Howard said in a condescending tone.