The New Principal Ch. 12

I was heading back to the admin building when I saw a familiar silhouette entering the building in front of me. I followed along discretely.

"Hello? Anyone home?"

Kimberly spun around and nearly jogged out of the room. "Ms Lashgari!"

I entered the room behind Jennifer to see the cheerful meeting.

"Kimberly, I was just here yesterday, and I'll be here tomorrow. I'm not even your teacher anymore, so you don't need to fawn all over me. It's not like I'm a long lost sister or something." Her tone made this less of an admonishment than a grateful acknowledgement of the respect and love Kimberly had for her.

"I just dunno if I believe it. You have been gone such a long time." She smiled at her for a moment that seemed to mean a lot, but then a portion of her professional bearing came back.

"We do have a lot of work to do. Principal Lee said that you did meet, right?"

I stepped forward with my hand out. "Yes, we've met, but in much less formal circumstances. Ms. Lashgari, it's good to see you again."

"Jennifer, please." As she shook my hand, I remembered the last time we shook hands, when her hand was slick with her own cum. I smiled at the memory as I felt a slight shock of my little trick jump between our flesh.

"Jennifer then. I can't tell you how happy I was when Kimberly told me that you had agreed to come back, and so soon. Pardon me for being so blunt, but my impression was that you had strong reservations about working here again. I wouldn't want you to join us here unless you really wanted to be here. It's not going to be easy moving forward."

"That's thoughtful of you. The main reason I didn't want to come back isn't an issue anymore." She arched her eyebrow and smiled. "But the reason I want to be here now, is rather contingent on a little proposal I want to put in front of you."

"I see. Kimberly has been teasing me with the mystery of it all this whole morning. I'm intrigued. Let's come into my office and have a talk."

Kimberly piped up. "Can I get you coffee or anything?"

I shot her a quick glance.

"Ah. Old habits." She grimaced.

"Kimberly has agreed to take a promotion. We're still working on the title, but she's in on all major decisions now."

Jennifer smiled. "I knew something seemed different. She wouldn't tell me anything yesterday." She turned to Kimberly with an arch smile. "So many secrets, Little Kimberly. Congratulations! I think that is an excellent decision." Then in a lower confidential tone, "Her talents have always been wasted here."

When we finally got arranged in my office, it seemed like both women were getting more nervous. This might be Jennifer's idea, but Kimberly had bought in and they were both hopeful, but unsure. I didn't know if it would work, but I tried to use my trick to push out a sense of comfort and safety to the both of them. I trusted Kimberly fully, and from what I'd seen of Jennifer, plus her reputation among the students and the information in her files, she was brilliant and someone with good judgment, so I was genuinely excited about what they might have put together.

"Ok, Jennifer, give me the top-level pitch, and then we can fight out the specifics."

"Good." A pause and a deep breath. "Bright Hall's reputation is uneven. We used to have outstanding teaching, decent facilities, and a strong relationship with high schools and alumni, but in the past few years, frankly, all of those have significantly weakened. Luckily, our traditions are strong and news of our decline hasn't really travelled too far or too deep, but we need to act quickly to stem the damage. I believe if we make a big visible change, we could benefit a great deal from the PR. And of course, if the change were a positive one, we could bring back the reputation for quality we used to have."

"Jennifer, that's exactly what I've been wanting to do here. Let's take all the background as read. Give me the big idea, then we'll dig back into details if we need to."

"Ok. Well. Bright Hall should become a women-only school."

They both looked at me anxiously.

I only had to think for a second or two. "Of course! That would solve a couple of problems I've been thinking about. Ok, let's talk this out. Hypothetically, we become women-only. What are the problems?"

Jennifer spoke up immediately. "The biggest one is money. There's almost certainly a tuition drop for a while as the boys leave. It will take a while to make up that number in women."

Kimberly added, "But, we're already at nearly a seventy-thirty ratio, so the loss won't be as bad as you might think."

"Ok. Other downsides."

"Some people might think it's regressive. The arguments for and against single-gender education are old, and everyone's heard them. Folks here on the island are quite conservative, they might actually favor women-only, but it might be a harder sell in more progressive areas where we get a lot of our students. Of course, we could lean into that -- say that we're a more conservative, traditional school, but that really doesn't fit with our curriculum."

"Another problem. What do we do with the male students we have? There are also some of our female students who might leave without the male company."

"And the other problem is that this would be a major change that you would have to run by the Board of Directors. I told you earlier that they seem to like you, but I have no idea whether they would support this or not."

"And, this isn't a huge issue, but the change will mean a bureaucratic mess. We'll need to spend a lot of time and money just reorganizing and rewriting the handbooks, and that low-level stuff."

"Ok. Other major downsides? No? Ok, positives?"

"It would be a real differentiator. We're already a special enough place that our name is pretty well-known in the high schools, but if we make this a part of the new ad campaign, we really would be staking a claim to a space that is simply unique." Jennifer paused then added. "I think it would be best to push this as a new type of women's only school. A school for empowering women."

"We double down on this being a commitment to education. The work we've done building the idea of Bright Hall as a remote place of concentration and undisturbed scholarship would fit right into this."

"It also rolls into the prestige line. 'This is a special place for special women,' that kind of thing."

I liked the way they were thinking this through. "Alright. One more problem. You've got a male principal. Isn't that hypocritical?"

"No, it's not a nunnery. We will still have male faculty and staff as well. It should be part of our pitch -- we bring the best we can, regardless of gender, to guide and educate the best young women."

"Ok." I thought for a bit longer, even though I had basically made up my mind as soon as Jennifer told me what the idea was. I could feel both of them looking at me, and I kind of enjoyed the sense of anticipation that I was getting. This is how petty managers become awful people lording over a tiny amount of power, isn't it?

"Ok. Let's do it. Kimberly, start the process of setting up whatever communication we need to have with the Board. I'd like to talk to them as soon as possible. Jennifer, can I have you work with Kimberly to put together an executive summary for the Board?" Jennifer nodded quickly, and Kimberly's smile could have lit up the room. "Positives, negatives, all that we talked about and more. With as much detail and as many numbers as possible. Don't sugarcoat anything, particularly the potential loss of student numbers and attached tuition drop. We will probably need to dig into the endowment to make up that loss, and they'll need to know that from the beginning. Would it be possible to start this in the summer term?"

"I think that might be too fast. We've already got male students enrolled and paid up to date for summer."

"What about if we announce it, and allow the men currently enrolled to stay on, but we accept no more starting this fall."

"That could work." Jennifer considered. "I'll put that in as a preferred option. We'll see what the Board says."

"Ok. First huge decision made. Feels good. I'll get out of your hair and let you start with that work. Oh, right -- Kimberly, you needed to talk about the gym?"

"Oh, yes. It's a couple of small things. I'm not sure it's a problem, but I wanted to at least let you know. If we do the gym and the pool at the same time as the dorms, we're going to have to bring on another contractor, and the only one I think we can work with is one I don't know well. They're more expensive, but their work seems good. I don't know. Nothing seems wrong, but I'm a little unsure."

"I would much rather have the gym and pool on their way to getting ready. Waiting on that would really hold us back. Also, the work on the pool and athletics center doesn't need the craftsmanship that the dorms need. I'll leave the final call to you, but my strong preference is to go ahead with it. Maybe with a little more oversight on their work?"

"Ok, and the other thing about that is if we are going women-only, then we can do renovations for the gym to combine the showers and make things a little nicer."

"How difficult would it be to put in a sauna? I said that to the students as a joke, but that might be really nice. Could we actually do that?"

"No reason we can't ask. I don't know if you know about all the hot springs around here, but we might be able to tap into one of the springs around here and do a natural sauna. I'll ask anyway."

I signed the approvals to get things moving, and the three of us walked out into the reception area.

Kimberly and Jennifer went into her office and left me to my own devices.

Back in my office, I started going over the faculty reports. If Veronica was coming back, then we would mostly be staffed up. We could use another English teacher, and the guy we had taking care of history wasn't stellar and he only focused on US history. I hadn't talked to Jennifer about it, but hopefully she would be willing to cover some of the gym classes.

We had the sciences covered, but not well enough. Kimberly had mentioned a teacher named Melissa Sten who used to handle Chemistry, so I supposed I should go meet up with her. From what Kimberly had said, she would be more of a challenge to bring in. I sent an email to Kimberly to see if she could set up a meeting.

The only areas we were completely unable to give classes for were foreign languages and theater arts. It was just wrong that we couldn't offer at least Spanish or French. We had several faculty members who were fluent in another language, but none of them were language teachers. We'd need to put out a call and hope to get someone in place by the fall. We had someone who could teach art, but he was already also handling a couple of English classes too, and he wasn't really trained for theater. Besides, I thought it would be better to have one person who handle drama, dance, and music. That would be another hire for the fall. All that was of course assuming I was still here in the fall.

The break was also going to be a challenge. Because we ran year-round, just about everyone left on vacation for the time between semesters. I was going to stay around to watch over the renovations and take care of any emergencies, but just about everyone else would be gone. Most importantly, Kimberly was going to go visit family, so I would be without her guidance. Who knows what I would screw up without her advice. I assumed Veronica and Jennifer would be out as well.

Ah well, nothing to be gained by stewing on things that I couldn't control.

I spent the rest of the day replying to the barrage of emails that had started coming in. It seemed like for every one email I answered, there were two meaningless ones to delete and three new ones in the inbox that required thought or research.

I didn't even realize how much time had passed when there was a knock on the doorjamb. I looked up to see someone who looked like Veronica peeking around the doorway, but clearly wearing very different clothes.

This woman had Veronica's lovely rich skin tone, and that same slim shape, with just the right amount of curve in the hip and bust. But now this woman had her hair up and in a tight bun, which drew back the framing hair from her face, and, with her angular face and bone structure, it made her look almost severe. She was wearing makeup, with deep eyeliner and a subtle green in the eyeshadow.

But her clothes were the most dramatic change. Instead of the loose casual clothes I seen her wear before, she had a crisp formal white blouse with some kind of frill up the front. She had a low black vest that nearly functioned like a bustier making her breasts even more enticing even though they were covered by that high neckline. She wore a long dark brown skirt that nearly covered some serious boots that were underneath.

She had always looked incredibly hot to me, but this image, somewhere between a goth fantasy and a steampunk dream, made me rethink things. Perhaps I needed to start looking for a different variety of porn. Then again, perhaps I wouldn't need to, if Veronica just kept dressing like this.

I must have shown the surprise and appreciation on my face, because she arched a thick eyebrow and gave me a sardonic grin.

"Down, boy." Her voice was low and crisp. Clearly, she knew the effect her clothes had on men.

"You look incredible..."

I had much more to say, but she put a finger to her lips and motioned for me to come out of the office into the reception area. I hesitated, but obeyed. When we were outside, she continued out onto the portico at the front of the building and then out to the quad area, which was currently empty.

She seemed a little uneasy.

"Here's the thing. I'm a bit paranoid to begin with. So, I need someone more level-headed than I am to bounce this off of."

"I'm not sure how level-headed I am, but I'll help if I can."

"Did Kimberly tell you about any security or surveillance systems here on campus?"

"No. We did talk about something along those lines when we were talking about staffing. We've got a few campus security officers, but they're mainly for chasing down petty theft and walking students around campus at night. Kimberly suggested that you would be the right person to arrange security from a technical angle."

"Well, that's good news. I think."

"What's going on? Is there a security problem?"

"I'm not sure. Well, yes, there is. I just don't know how bad it is. I was checking the systems in my office. I hadn't even been in the building in years, and it looked like the library had been closed for quite a while. I'm not even sure if anyone used the room at all since I left... Anyway. Something seemed off about the computer. I poked around a bit and found evidence of tracking software and other fishy spyware."

"Weird. How bad?"

"I'm not sure. I don't have the time to do any real investigation right now. I just shut everything down and disconnected it. To add to my very bad feeling about all of this, I did a quick once-over of the office and found one of those mini cameras in a neat little hole bored into a shelf. It looks like it's aimed right at the monitor and keyboard. Like it could see over my shoulder as I use the computer. This was pretty cleverly installed, not just an off the shelf camera glued to the wall. And it looks like it's been there for awhile."

"What the hell?"

"Yeah. I know it wasn't there when I used to work here, or at least I think it wasn't. I'm sure I would have noticed. Anyway, I don't want to tear it out until I can do the whole system all at once. There's no reason to think my office is the only one that's bugged."

Immediately, I started thinking about the little creep cellar in the Green House. That feed of Kimberly's room... Maybe she wasn't a cam girl after all. It was a hidden camera in her bedroom. This couldn't be a coincidence.

Veronica was watching me closely as I thought through the possibilities. I was struggling whether or not I should tell her about it, and again, I didn't hide my emotions well.

"You... You did it? You bugged my office?" Her voice broke a little, full of emotion.

"No! Oh, god, no!" I took a deep breath. Kimberly's advice was to always be honest with Veronica, and that had to be the right option now. "Veronica. This is a disturbing discovery, but I think it's even weirder than you think it is. Can you come by the Green House tonight?"

She seemed put off a bit by the suggestion, but seemed a bit apologetic. "Hey, I'd love to come by to play, but I've got a lot of work to do. I've already started on the ad campaign, but I'm going to have to be working all day every day if I'm going to be able to get out on vacation on time. And," her voice lowered slightly. "In any case, we need to be discrete. My reputation in this town isn't exactly spotless. And... well, small town gossips will figure us out sooner or later, but the later, the better."

"No, that's not... I mean, that would be great," I smiled, maybe a little too lecherously. "But I totally understand keeping this on the down low. It's just that there's something in the house you need to see."

"The Green House is bugged too?" She mouthed silently.

"Not exactly. But maybe?"

"Huh."

"Yeah. Can you come by?"

"Yes. But it'll have to be later. Say nine or ten. Are you allowed to stay up that late?"

I chuckled. "I'll ask my mom."

She smiled slightly, still concerned about this new revelation.

"Well, nothing to do now but keep on keeping on. Come on in and we'll get your paperwork taken care of and have a quick chat with Kimberly and Jennifer. We've got some exciting new information about the school for your ad campaign."

"Ok, but let's keep this under wraps for now. I trust Kimberly. I'm sure Jennifer is fine too, but I think it's better to not tip our hand to anyone until we can roll up the whole system. Just be aware that anything in your office might be recorded."

I started walking back into the building. "Well, that's not a little bit creepy..."

We walked over to Kimberly's office. I turned into the doorway and was getting ready to knock on the door to announce us, but I was caught up a bit short.

The scene that welcomed us was almost entirely professional. Both Jennifer and Kimberly were sitting at a glass-topped table facing the doorway. They were sitting nearly hip to hip in separate chairs with a single laptop in front of them on the table.

What made me pull up was that, because the table was glass, I could see Jennifer's hand, and it was resting high on the inside of Kimberly's thigh. Based on the beet-red shade of Kimberly's face, and the wide nervous smile she was sporting, it seemed like her enthusiasm for her old teacher was coming to a new peak.

I was trying to think of a stealthy way to sneak out, so maybe we could make some noise and try another entrance, but Veronica fixed the problem by just taking the path of least resistance.

"Jennifer! It's so great to see you!"

Both women nearly jumped out of their skin, further confirming that there had been something going on. Kimberly made a kind of yelping noise and then started coughing, which made her turn even a deeper shade of red.

Jennifer recovered more quickly, standing up and heading over to greet Veronica at the door. As she did, she shot a glance back at Kimberly to make sure she wasn't going to need assistance.

Veronica stepped forward making up the distance between them. They hugged warmly but quickly. I couldn't help but notice that even though Veronica wasn't Amazon-tall, thanks to Jennifer's stature, her head was basically level with Veronica's breasts. A flash of jealousy passed as I thought of how much I would like to be in her position.

When they pulled back from their hug, they held hands and looked each other over.