Read Online Strictland Academy by Breanna Hayse, Carolyn Faulkner - Free Book Online

items a day, but since you only have a
half-day, your quota will be one-hundred-and-seventy-five.   Part of our revenue comes from providing
this service for paid clients outside of the facility, so we expect care and
perfection when handling garments that are obviously not associated with
Strictland, ” Attendant Rachel advised, signaling to divide the enormous piles.   "There will be no breaks, no
sitting, and no complaining.   Every
hour someone will bring you some water, but it would behoove you to drink it
quickly and not dawdle. Do you have any questions? You have this one time to
ask without punishment."
    The
list of more thou shalt nots were issued, and Molly's dizzy head swam with both
exhaustion and anger. How was it that Strictland could not afford the resources
to heat the facility and bring some warmth to the inmates, yet they could waste
it steaming clothes? The need for heat was desperate after the layer of post-war
pollution blocked the sun for nearly a decade, which was nearly fatal for a
society that was once driven by solar power.
    “ Attendant?
I am confused, ” Molly bravely uttered. “ Where
did you get the raw fuel to power this operation? We were told all the natural
resources like coal and oil were essentially gone and that what we have is
rationed.   It ' s
also illegal to chop down trees, and there are no wind turbines or solar power
units that work because of the atmospheric pollution. I don ’ t understand how the
State would support such waste. ”
    “ Noisy
thing aren 't you? ” the attendant snapped. “ It
is none of your business how fuel is obtained from our facility or how we chose
to use it.   It amazes me about how
you girls complain about the cold and yet, here you are, nice and warm, and you
complain about that.   Get to work
and count your blessings! ”
    After
two hours in the grueling heat, Molly looked across her station to see Patricia
crumble to the floor in a dead faint, overtaken by the oppressive humidity,
lack of nutrition and water, and the ordeals of the day.   April and Molly ran to her rescue and
were intercepted, screaming as leather smacked at their thighs for leaving
their posts without permission.
    One
of the prefects threw a bucket of murky water over the unconscious girl and
dragged her bodily to the front of the room.
    “ All
stop! ” One of the attendants
commanded.   "Pay
attention.   This one thinks that
she'll get away with not doing any work by fainting, making the rest of you
have to pick up her slack.   Is that
appropriate behavior?"
    “ No,
Attendant Patience! ” A
unified shout met April and Molly's ears.
    “ What
does a lay-about get when she is discovered at Strictland Academy?"
    “ Twelve
of the best, Attendant Patience! ”
    “ I
think that, with the resistance she demonstrated, she can get half again as
much to teach her not to make such a fuss next time, right, girls?"
    “ Yes,
Attendant Patience."
    Patricia
could barely lift her head, let alone support her own body weight.   She was grabbed under the arms by two of
the older attendants and hauled to a tall, shackled pommel horse located on the
far side of the room.   Despite her
inability to struggle, she was roughly laid over it so that neither her hands
nor feet were touching ground.   The
chains to which the cuffs were attached were adjusted, so that she was held
taut, arms and legs outstretched uncomfortably.   Her dress was lifted in the back and
bunched under her armpits to display her already discolored backside.
    Attendant
Patience removed a formidable-looking cane from the wall and whipped it in the
air.   She glanced up towards the
viewing room and smiled, releasing the cane to cut through the air again.   The sound of swooshing caused all the
inmates to wince.
    "The
steam room is the perfect place to store our canes, isn't it ladies?   It keeps them so nice and pliable, and
weighs them down to help them cut a little deeper.   Didn't I teach you that in