Page 47 of The Headmistress

And just like that, Sam’s eyes filled with tears. God, it had been years, during which she’d felt alone and powerless and longed for anyone to just say those words to her. To tell her she belonged, that there was a soul that cared and had her back unconditionally. A flash of red hair in the distance reminded her she had things she stood to lose now, her love, her home—and as she squeezed Joanne’s hand—her family. Saving all three may be hard, but just as Joanne had put her faith in Sam, Sam put hers in the imposing woman who was gracefully climbing the steps to the stage in front of the massive crowd and surveying them as if nothing could faze her.

And Sam realized that nothing reallycouldfaze this woman. She’d worked hard her entire life to get here. Magdalene had sacrificed and taken step by small, laborious step towards this very moment when she could ring the little bell and a hush would fall among the crowd that must have numbered almost six hundred people, gathered before a wooden stage specifically erected for this occasion on the quad.

Sam wanted to shake herself at how utterly naive she had been, and how amazing Magdalene’s foresight was in contrast. Usually, the opening ceremony was held indoors, in the Aula Magna—the big auditorium designed to host all the school invitees. But this year, with Orla organizing her little coup or whatever she thought she was doing, Magdalene had clearly seen through it. So instead of cramming all these people into what surely was too small a space, which would have been a disastrous decision, had instead set up a stage and brought out folding chairs for the students so they could sit front and center. The rest of the guests were left standing in the back and to the sides of the students. The nine trustees were lined up behind Magdalene’s lectern like stalwarts, looking important and imposing—and hopefully, Sam thought, most of them were guarding her back.

A shiver ran through her as she looked at Alden, who stood between Timothy and Joel. The latter was periodically leaning into him, trying to get Alden’s attention, but he only looked around with a weary and faraway expression, virtually indifferent to whatever Joel was insisting on imparting on him.

Timothy was immersed in observing the crowd, seemingly untroubled by whatever was to come. Perhaps Magdalene had shared her plans with her ex-husband, a thought that irked Sam since Magdalene had not shared much of anything with Sam, her current… paramour? Sam didn’t know what to call herself, or what to call Magdalene. Or what to think of the secrecy that she had been subjected to.

All she knew was that Magdalene wanted to save the school. And that Magdalene trusted Sam to stand aside and let her do it on her own terms. This should’ve warmed Sam somewhat, but instead, she felt chilled by how calm Timothy was, and how she herself stood here, shivering from anticipation and anxiety. And maybe, just maybe, a little jealousy because no matter what, that handsome, expensively-attired man had once had a claim over Magdalene, and Sam was just small enough to envy him that claim, even though Timothy had thrown it all away.

Finally, when the bell rang with clean precision three times, guided by Magdalene’s slim, graceful hand, the crowd settled down and Joanne’s fingers found Sam’s among the bated breaths that seemed to be collectively held as Magdalene discretely cleared her throat.

“Good morning and welcome to Three Dragons, distinguished guests. I’m surprised but gratified to find so many of you here today. I find it extraordinary that the Academy is still so clearly near and dear to your hearts, years after attending it.” Sam had to duck her head just a bit. Magdalene might as well have said ‘attending it and forgetting about it’. As opening salvos went, Magdalene had named and shamed pretty much all the Old Dragonettes and Orla, who had obviously summoned them to be here today in some misguided attempt at a show of force.

Joanne pinched her elbow, and Sam raised her head again and tried to school her features. Maybe, she thought, Magdalene had been perfectly right to not tell her anything, because, for all of Sam’s otherwise famed ingenuity, she still couldn’t maintain a straight face or lie worth a damn when on the spot. She took a deep breath as the audience stood in silence, probably trying to figure out if they should be insulted and when to start booing.

“Still, I appreciate the unwavering support the school has received this summer. Because no matter our differences, one thing was always clear to me, even before I signed on to become Headmistress of Three Dragons. Under no circumstances could I let this school down. Too many people have cared about it too much for the past two centuries of hard work, to have its existence squandered on empty promises and elitist pretenses. I was called in to save the school, and I was given the requisite authority to do so by the trustees.”

Sam blinked and felt Joanne’s fingers tighten on her elbow again, though perhaps for a different reason this time, since Sam didn’t think she’d even moved during that last minute, absorbing every word Magdalene said, together with the other six hundred odd souls, all listening in complete silence.

“When I took over the school, I found it in a crisis that, if not stopped and reversed, meant Dragons would have had to have closed its doors within twelve months.” A collective gasp was so loud and perfectly synchronized, Sam thought Magdalene was the conductor of an orchestra—one that had her players in the palm of her hand, and with one wave of the baton, they did exactly as she’d commanded them to. A lone cry of‘LIES’sounded from behind where she and Joanne stood, and Sam knew right away that Orla—whom Sam could almost feel vibrating with the struggle of not being the center of attention—had finally reached the end of her rope.

Magdalene seemed unimpressed and unsurprised by the outburst. In fact, she didn’t even turn her head in the direction of the shout, simply proceeding once silence reigned again.

“This is fact.”

Three words and a pin could be heard dropping. A conductor indeed, Magdalene ruled the crowd with a perfect blend of power and strategy. She knew what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. She also possessed the amazing gift of pause, which, in times like these, said much more than anything anyone could shout at her, for it gave people time to really digest the information, as well as her assertion that facts were facts, despite what anyone else claimed or believed.

“It is also a fact that the previous administration had a very tough time running the school under some of the most difficult conditions. I would like to express my gratitude that they did so to the best of their ability.” This time Sam barely managed to hide her smile, because when Magdalene turned on the snark, she was utterly masterful. It was disloyal of Sam to find Magdalene’s barb and backhanded compliment amusing, but she was still so enraged at Orla’s uncooperative, rigid attitude and outrageous behavior—to summon an army to this opening—that she found it difficult to be angry with herself. Beside her, she thought she heard Joanne bite back a snicker, and it was her turn to pinch the older woman.

“Moving forward I would like to inform you all about some of the changes that will be taking place at Dragons. Changes that I believe will save the school, and not only improve its situation, but guarantee its legacy as well as its survival.”

There was some movement to the side and a beautiful, distinguished woman in a black suit stepped closer to the front of the crowd.

“The trustees had a list of conditions for my appointment, some of them were presented to the faculty at the beginning of summer and subsequently sent to all the families and Old Dragonettes via the school newsletter. Chief among those conditions was the return of the school to its spiritual roots. As you all know, after years of burnings, persecutions, witch hunts and other atrocities perpetrated by the Puritans here in Massachusetts, some of them decided that controlling adult women was so much more difficult than molding the docile minds of young girls. Hence Three Dragons Academy for Girls was founded for this illustrious purpose.”

And now the collective gasp was louder, the bewilderment clear on everybody’s faces. Some of the trustees looked like they were shell-shocked because Magdalene was beyond irreverent. She was graceful in honoring the true roots of Dragons, but she was also overwhelmingly insulting to pretty much every one of the nine people behind her, who had demanded and heralded the return of the old days. The old days Magdalene was now exposing for what they truly were. But she wasn’t done. As she raised a hand, the crowd, enthralled, simply stopped breathing again.

“However, I have instructed the renovation managers to prioritize the restoration of the chapel, per instructions from the Board. Moreover, I have invited a pastor to live on the island and conduct services at Dragons Chapel. Please allow me to introduce the Honorable Reverend Emily Lavalle. Reverend Lavalle is one of the first women pastors serving in New England, and we are honored that she has agreed to join our school. Reverend Lavalle holds a Ph.D. in Gender Studies as well as her title as a clergywoman and, in addition to being our new chaplain, will conduct an elective class in her area of expertise and other related studies, pertaining to Religion and Inclusivity, Religion and Feminism, as well as Religion and History of Women’s Rights. Please welcome Reverend Lavalle and her wife to Three Dragons.”

If the previous assertions about the Reverend hadn’t blown the metaphorical doors of the entire school wide open, the fact that Reverend Lavalle, aside from being a feminist, was also a lesbian, surely made pretty much everyone lose it, as the noise level would’ve been through the roof if they had been holding this shindig indoors. She turned to look at Orla, only to find the former headmistress blinking rapidly and looking beyond shocked, standing speechless surrounded by her supporters who were also lost for words, judging by all the jaws that were hanging open.

Unperturbed, Magdalene proceeded.

“Now, let’s move on to some logistical decisions I had to make in regards to the functionality of the school. It was brought to my attention that my original plan to dissolve the three Houses would result in total revolt against my leadership. I see that some of you have made quite a trek to Dragons for today’s assembly, I’m sure to give me a piece of your mind if I were to even attempt such a sacrilege.”

Magdalene’s smile was razor-sharp, and Sam involuntarily gulped. She was terrifying like this. Terrifying but hot. So hot, Sam clenched her thighs hard together and hoped the sensation of being incredibly turned on would pass soon.

The crowd, in the meantime, while they’d appeared hopeful after Magdalene’s previous statement, was back to wary. And this time, so was the Board. The students fidgeted, the faculty whispered and the trustees, despite being on display, did both.

“Before moving forward, I’d like to inform you that I have not reached this decision lightly. I have looked at ten years’ worth of disciplinary actions taken for conflicts resulting from what should have been mundane interactions between members of different Houses. They range from petty squabbles to outright assault and battery. I understand the need, the deep-seated desire to belong to something. But what everyone attending Dragons should wish to belong to isDragons. Nothing and no one else. It’s not Amber versus Sky Blue. It’s not Sky Blue versus Viridescent. It’s Dragons against the world. Hence I am canceling any and all inter-House competitions. But since some traditions are meant to endure, the Houses are staying. From now on, the Academy will compete against schools throughout New England. I have already arranged for our teams to be enrolled in the regional soccer, lacrosse and chess tournaments, as well as academic and choir competitions.”

This time the collective gasp sounded more like a moan of pleasure, an exhalation of angst released into the clear blue sky. Even the trustees looked somewhat relieved as one of the massive hurdles that absolutely everyone had opposed was overcome with minimal bloodletting.

Sure the inter-House competitions were fun, and the school really had always gone all out during the soccer and lacrosse matches, but what was to stop them from doing so on a bigger scale, defending not just the colors of their respective House but of the whole school? Sam marveled once again at the brilliant mind at work here. Not only had Magdalene managed to circumvent the most controversial battle on the agenda with barely a skinned knee, but she had done so while simultaneously taking the wind out of the Dragonettes’ sails.

Magdalene extended a hand, and silence reigned once more. Sam smiled at how easily the people who had come here to express their hatred, their disdain for the Headmistress were now eating out of that very hand, completely enraptured by her actions and her commanding presence. It was Willoughby all over again.

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