A Life With Ups and Downs

"Can I trust you?"

"Of course you can't; trust has to be earned but if I say I promise not to name you as the source of anything you say to me I know I'll keep that promise. It's up to you to decide if that promise is believable."

"Do you think Headmistress is a lesbian?"

Claudette was genuinely shocked and it showed. "I can't reply to that."

"Good I trust you."

"Thank you Vera. Please call me Claudette."

"Thank you miss."

Claudette sighed.

She dined that evening in the dining hall with everyone else, sitting at one of the two long tables reserved for Surrey girls.

The hall was noisy when Headmistress and Vera entered with Claudette but died as soon as Headmistress raised her hand for silence.

"This is our latest recruit, French teacher and drama coach Miss Claudette Jones. Please be kind to her. That's all."

The noise resumed bit many eyes remained on her and just before Claudette went to step over the form to sit between two girls, two other girls ran over, jabbering away excitedly to her. They were two French girls at the school for a year as part of student exchange.

The noise died as almost everyone watched Claudette kissed both students French-style and then hold a hand of each of the homesick girls and appeared to talk to them kindly.

"She's told them this is not something to endue, that being homesick is only an emotion to deal with, that this is an experience they'll relate in pride for the rest of their lives," called a senior French student at the nearby Hampshire table, translating what Claudette had said to the girls.

Claudette's Surrey One table began clapping and that spread throughout the hall, almost 400 girls being involved and Claudette noticed teachers were also clapping, as were women behind the food-serving counter. It was a moment she'd never forget, knowing she'd achieved instance acceptance at her first teaching job in America.

A dark-haired pasty-faced guy who was a little overweight came up from the head of the table and introduced himself as Paul Moss and he beckoned the guy at the head of Surrey Two table over and introduced him as Richard Glass. Claudette kissed them both, French style, and catcalls and "Ooohs" rang throughout the hall. Only when girls began kissing each other did the one authoritative call ring out, "Girls please don't be asses."

New teacher Miss Jones had the entire school under control, and the girls stopped clowning although they remained laughing.

Later that night there was a knock on Claudette's door.

"Please come in."

Paul entered and stood awkwardly when finding Claudette dressed only in bra, panties and French thigh-high stockings.

"It's all right. Lock the door. Have you come for sex?"

Paul turned back to look at the door.

"Answer me Paul."

"Um I was hoping to begin to initiate some familiarity. We guys outnumber the women here who do it with men."

"I do it with men. Stay and fuck me Paul. Just let me send this email off to my mother and grandmother."

"Y-you don't mind talking to me like that with that expectation?"

"No Paul. Fucking for adults is a natural act so why complicate it?"

"Jesus."

Claudette smiled and sat and ended her letter and sent it off.

Paul still stood awkwardly.

Claudette swiveled her desk chair round and spread her legs. "Come over here and introduce yourself to pussy."

Paul all but tripped in his haste to get over to her.

He fell to his knees and sniffed and then licked over Claudette's panties.

"Pull them aside and make a real introduction to pussy Paul."

Paul slobbered, using tongue only until she finally came.

"Er what now?" he said, wiping his face.

"Do I have to instruct you or can you manage to push that thing of yours into me?"

"What while you remain on the chair?"

"Yes."

"What about your tits. I'd like them uncovered."

"You're in charge Paul. Do what you wish."

Paul managed to get her off again but she had to finish him with her hand.

"God that was great."

"Are we finished?"

The one-shot guy hung his head.

As he was leaving Claudette said, "It's Richard's turn tomorrow night Paul. Please issue the invitation on my behalf and urge him not to be shy."

In time the school chaplain and two gays were almost the only guys at the school who'd not been into Claudette's pants at least once. She would only accommodate one guy a night between 9:00 and the curfew requiring all visitors to leave by 11:00.

The news that new teacher Miss Jones was a slut spread through the school like wildfire but Claudette faced no charges or even mild reprimands in the three years she remained there. If anything her popularity increased. Three senior girls explained the reason for that during a 'ramble' (an easy walk through fields and woods). With the party sitting in groups for lunch, her threesome revealed they found it difficult to believe Claudette didn't seen to reject advances from any man (their words) when she was such an attractive and lovely woman.

They boggled when she replied, "It's only sex darlings and don't grow up believing the good-looking hunks are naturally great at sex. There's not connection between looks and body shape and great sex."

Josephine asked in awe, "Then what matters?"

Claudette said, "You know teachers here are forbidden to give sex instruction."

Trudy said smiling, "This is simply a conversation about genetics."

They all laughed.

"Just how good a guy is at sex depends on his physical equipment and that needs to be backed by knowledge and honed by practice but I think the most telling point is the extent of his eagerness to please a woman. Just ignore talk about the G-spot or size as most of that talk is just crap. A guy gives clues of how it will be simply by the look in his eyes."

"And what else?" Meg asked.

"Meg that is encouraging me to give sex education you wicked girl. Now back to reality. This is good food so don't be picky and please eat your crusts."

Learning the French language was one of the core subjects at the school, meaning all students had to study it unless excused from taking French classes on acceptable representations by a parent or guardian. Towards the end of Claudette's third year at the school she wrote a play to be presented entirely in French and that was noted in the local press and it became somewhat controversial when revealed it was about a family of nine children living opposite a brothel set some distance out of Nantes.

Claudette had approached the project carefully. After writing the play, based loosely on her great-grandmother's upbringing, she'd given it to Headmistress to read and copies were given to the seven board members who all approved of it being staged.

When Claudette named her cast Headmistress sent a copy of the play to the parents or guardians or each of the nineteen girls in the cast (some of whom would be dressed to play the role of the father, two or his brothers and the two boys of the family plus a priest and a senior police officer. Three of the girls were to play prostitutes so Headmistress assisting in their casting, having some knowledge of the parents of those girls.

Controversy raged in the local newspaper about schoolgirls playing the roles of prostitutes but Headmistress stood her ground and maintained to the news media the critics were ignoring the role in context of the play. She emphasized the three prostitutes had a 'morally uplifting educational experience' in becoming closely associated with the family through their friendships developed with the two oldest daughters.

Headmistress was caught in controversy herself when a TV interview from Boston arrived to interview her. To a question why was a play being performed set in France and not Massachusetts she replied, "Oh how boring that would be. This is an exciting play, an educational experience for our French students to publicly express their competency in the expression of the French language and French culture. It would have been set closer at home but our inspirational Welsh-born French teacher who wrote the play happens to have lived in France and has relatives there and has never been to Quebec."

"So Massachusetts and Quebec are boring?

Headmistress snapped at the male interviewer, "Think what you like."

"Is that an un-American attitude?""

"Oh please don't be mired in your own insular stupidity."

TV screens were set up in the dining hall that evening and were switched on for the TV news, something quite unprecedented at the school. It was done on Headmistress's order. She wished the entire school to see what an ass she'd made of herself during the interview. She fully expected to be vilified by bigots and supporters of the TV station's award-winning journalist who'd conducted the interview.

The TV newsreader said after the first two items had screened, "Today we sent our intrepid reporter Mark Hamlin to a highly-esteemed Massachusetts's girl's school where parents spend small fortunes to have their daughter's taught and to live under an English-school type of communal living. The school is preparing to stage a play in French about a family living opposite a brothel. There has been controversy locally about young girls being forced to act and even watch such a school play. Our Mark interviewed the school principal and said he received a flea in the ear."

The cameras rolled and some of the girl's screamed, "There's our school."

A series of shots followed against the background of the school choir singing the school song, that singing being taken off a film clip held in the TV achieves from the school's 75th jubilee. One shot showed Headmistress freshening up her lipstick in preparation for the interview. She winked at the camera.

It was an aggressive interview from the start.

"What controversy?" Headmistress responded after the interviewer asked for her reaction to the controversy that was 'ripping your small neighborhood town apart'.

"That's just people jumping in and talking anxiously about something they know nothing about Mark. That's not real controversy. Please keep this interview in perspective."

The girls in the dinning hall cheered and clapped but there was a nervous hush when Mark gritted, "So Massachusetts and Quebec are boring?"

But moments later there was a thunderous cheer after Headmistress had retorted ""Oh please don't be mired in your own insular stupidity." That was a comment that would be replayed in a condensed version of the interview by TV stations throughout America and in many English-speaking countries and the full interview was broadcast in England and France.

Headmistress that evening was seated at Kent Two.

Claudette rose to look anxiously at Headmistress and was relieved to find she was smiling although looking quite taken aback. Others around Claudette rose and soon everyone stood to give Headmistress a standing ovation.

She stood and everyone sat and became quiet.

"Thank you girls. That smart-ass interviewer riled me and I felt like putting him across my knee and paddling his backside. Fortunately I made do with a snide insult and shamed myself for going against my example of teaching you all to act as young ladies. I ask you all to not be carried away emotionally by this as if we lose the respect of our community and present and prospective parents then we are done for, at least under my stewardship. Perhaps it's best that I pull the play."

"No," cried Camille, the French exchange student who was to play the mother of the family. She began talking excitedly and rapidly in French, her passion rising.

"That's enough Camille," Claudette said in French. "As director I accept you have put everything into playing your part and you are an inspiration to us all. Please resume your seat."

Camille sat weeping and her friends quickly gathered around her.

"Look, look," someone called excitedly pointing to a TV screen. "That reporter is coming back on to make a special announcement."

"Hi I'm Mark Hamlin who ten minutes ago brought you that interview with Headmistress Anna Kennedy. We a getting scores of calls critical of me for being so rude to Miss Kennedy and how right she was to identify me as a buffoon. I believe I erred and those people are correct. I apologize for being a buffoon Miss Kennedy and I sincerely hope your school play is a great success. Thank you."

There was a huge buzz in the school dinning hall as that apology was announced.

Headmistress stood. "Hear me out everyone. I was on the verge of becoming a buffoon myself. My thoughts of pulling the play are hereby cancelled."

She was cheered and the red-faced and screaming Camille scrambled over two tables sending dishes and table settings flying to reach Headmistress whom she hugged and kissed, crying copiously.

"You girls, you have now seen how the French can truly react," said Headmistress. "I have visited France several times and was there a year on student exchange so I can tell you, Camille is simply being French. Isn't it sweet or perhaps a bit much for we Americans."

The girls clapped Headmistress and Camille.

"Camille you chose the order of tables going up for dessert," said Headmistress.

"The beautiful Claudette's table goes first," Camille announced. "She is beautiful in spirit as well as in appearance and is, someone I admire greatly."

"Ooooh," chorused her girlfriends and that rocked the hall in laughter as the twenty students and two teachers at Surrey One filed over to collect their choice of dessert.

* * *

Dean Powell chaired the emergency meeting of the board. "You were right to call for this meeting Headmistress. What is your recommendation?"

"Miss Jones has suggested opening night and second night as planned be reserved for the school and that we run for two more nights, with tickets being sold on a first-come basis, parents being given priority, and then that's it. I agree with her and say protocol suggests the French Ambassador and his small party take front-of-house setting on opening night."

There was discussion and that was agreed.

"Judging by the din in the dinning hall the acoustics in there are quite good," said the chairman.

"Or quite awful. It's a matter of perspective," said Headmistress.

Mr Powell said he suggestion was nights three and four be staged in the dinning room. "We'll have a higher stage than usual because seating will be flat. Dinner for pupils could be served at 5:00 on those evenings to give more time to make the hall ready. We'll get at least 500 people seated in there each night."

Joe White who operated a building supplies center said, "I'll donate the materials and get in volunteer builders to lay a temporary sloping floor to give patrons a better view of the stage."

That generous offer was accepted.

"I still can't understand why so many people want to see the play," said the chairman. Probably most will not be capable of following conversational French."

"They'll be coming to see scantily-clad buxom Miss Roux putting a new face on prostitution and wondering if our novice playwright/director can generate sufficient drama to pull off a production that otherwise would be unintelligible to them," sniffed Mrs Roach, an attorney and a selectman on the board administering the nearby town. "The photograph of those two that appeared in our local newspaper has also been used in the Boston Globe. It was a rather appealing photograph."

"Well whatever," said the chairman. "We have the opportunity to augment school funds out of this."

The four-night production was a success, pleasing those who attended. The sauciness of the mother, the three prostitutes and her two eldest daughters caused much laughter and the production drew warm praise for the director because the audience left with a 'feel good' reaction because the family had reformed the three young prostitutes who took up regular employment. Camille Roux who acted outstandingly as the mother received rousing applause at the second curtain call at the end of the production as did the playwright/director.

A very complimentary review of opening night appeared in the Boston Globe and the reviewer reported that the delighted French Ambassador had presented the school with a magnificent painting for the main foyer at the school as well as twenty French-English dictionaries.

At coffee after the third staging ended and when most people had left, a beautifully dressed woman approached Claudette and said in English with a French accent, "Would you consider coming to New York to work for me?"

Claudette smiled and said she already had employment.

"Our company imports a huge arrange of French products and many of our suppliers come to New York to see how we promote and distribute their products and they wish to continue on to personally meet main distributors about supplying them directly from France. It takes business away from us but we become rewarded through generous penalty clauses in our contract with them. Many that do leave find using us as an agency is more economic and effective that their own efforts and they come back to us."

"Do you mean imports such as cosmetics, tableware, kitchenware and clothing?"

"Yes, high-end market items but not clothing. Instead add jewelry and very expensive bric-a-brac that may eventually become family heirlooms."

"Well I could be interested."

"Come to New York this weekend and stay with me and my husband André. I became interest in you a fortnight ago when in Boston and saw your photograph in a newspaper and read about your enterprising move. I employ three hostesses plus a chief hostesses but the principal position has been unfilled for almost a year. I have tried Frenchwomen but with little success. After a few months they wish to move back to France. I thought I should engage you because although you are British you appear more French than French if you know what I mean?"

"I think so. You see me as having adapted to the American way of life."

"Yes and I have heard you speaking answering people here who have spoken to you in French."

"Does being a hostess involve having sex with clients?"

"Well we could talk about that in New York."

"Please answer me Mrs Du Bois. You really have nothing to lose."

"Well it is preferable my hostesses have at least some intimacy with clients who desire it. However it is not a condition of employment."

"That's fine. I have no problem having sex with men I feel comfortable with."

"But not with my husband."

"Write that in my contract if I decide to come to work for you Mrs Du Bois," Claudette giggled.

"Yes, Mrs Du Bois said thoughtfully. "You appear perfect to work for me."

"I would have to wait till the end of the school year."

"Not a problem."

CHAPTER 3

Claudette began working for the Du Bois Corporation in mid-August after spending some of the summer with her parents in England and then with her grandparents in France, her mother coming and staying for Claudette's final two weeks before returning to America.

Mrs Du Bois met Claudette at the airport in a chauffeured hire limo.

"Hi dear, please call me Emmaline. I am so please you have returned."

"But I have a contract with you."

"People who break contacts usually hire excellent attorneys."

Claudette smiled and said she'd also promised she'd start in mid-August.

"Indeed you did and I must say I believed you. André wanted you to live with us but I knew what that was about. I have secured you a lovely but small apartment within reasonable walking distance from our offices."

"Thank you. I must say from what you've told me Andre is a little too old for me."

"I'm glad to hear that darling. I think he's a little too old for me but then I do have the use of his money. He is very wealthy. Without him I'd have no enterprise to direct."