Crystal, Holly, Héloïse, and Nasira, after deciding who should read the statement they have prepared outlining their complaints about the temporary toilet solution at St Tibb's, enter the Year 8 admin office and are shown through by Vera the secretary into Mrs Bailey's office, Head of Year 8. Holly steps up to the desk and the other three girls also move forward to show they are still supporting her. "Uh... Miss... the girls and me hav--- I mean, the girls and I have written this statement we would like you to hear. They've asked me to read it out but we all added points to it so this is, like, how we all feel, Miss." "Go ahead, Miss Hewson," Mrs Bailey urges Holly on, smiling encouragingly as she sees how nervous the small girl is. (Mrs Bailey likes to get to know as many of the girls as possible in her Year and she knows the names of all four standing before her from their involvement in various activities and incidents.) "We're all behind you," Crystal whispers. "You can do it, Mademoiselle Holly!" Héloïse says quietly as she puts a reassuring hand on Holly's shoulder. Nasira leans over and pats Holly's arm. "Go for it, girlfriend!" she encourages her classmate. "Uh... okay, Miss, this is, like, our statement..." Holly begins and then looks down at the sheet of paper to start reading out what she had prepared two nights ago from all of the points which the four girls had collectively come up with. She is very nervous and halting to begin with but as she works her way through the text, she feels more and more confident, and by the end of it she is adding little rhetorical flourishes here and there to make her points more emphatic. "So there it is, Miss, that's what we wanted to say to let you know how we all feel." Mrs Bailey is quiet for several minutes as the girls wait expectantly for a response. After a short while, she appears to come to a conclusion and looks directly at Holly, spokesgirl for the group. "That was very well presented, Miss Hewson. I can see why you were chosen to read it out." The four girls, as one, let out a held breath as they see that Mrs Bailey is not angry at what they are doing. "And if I can make a suggestion, Miss Hewson, perhaps you might like to think about joining our debating society. You would do very well there and would probably enjoy it immensely," she smiles at Holly and folds her hands in her lap. "All of your points are very valid, girls, and I am absolutely delighted to see members of my Year being so pro-active and organizing themselves in this way. I am quite sure many other students feel the way that you four have expressed here but are simply gritting their teeth, putting up with things, and hoping someone else will do something to improve the situation. But you four have stood up and done something positive. That's the St Tibb's spirit in action, girls, and I commend you for it!" The four students cannot resist the little smiles that appear on their faces as they hear Mrs Bailey praise what they have done. "However," Mrs Bailey says with an obvious change in tone, "as much as I would love to be able to say that, as from now, the normal toilet blocks are to be re-opened, the mouth badgers which are currently infesting those parts of the school are still there, and my issuing a decree will not remove them." The shoulders of the deputation slump as it becomes obvious to them what the conclusion is going to be. "No one on the staff here likes the situation, and we are keenly aware of how much this is affecting your time at school, but it is such that we cannot risk having a student being scratched or bitten, and possibly contracting something very injurious to her health." Mrs Bailey's demeanour turns very serious as she continues. "I am sure you can imagine that if such a thing were to happen, many parents would rush to remove their daughters from the school, our reputation would plummet in the bad publicity that followed, and of course it would be personally awful for any student herself suffering in such an incident. As I said, I have enjoyed seeing you four being so enterprising and motivated to do this---and I will be praising you highly to Miss MacKenzie[*]---but I must regretfully say that the normal toilet blocks will remain closed and the temporary ones will continue to be onsite until we get the all-clear from the council's pest-control department." The girls let out a collective groan of disappointment and Mrs Bailey stands up to address them further. "Everyone at the school hates that this has had to be done and we are taking it very seriously. But sometimes Nature is simply too strong for us to fight against, and the mouth badgers pose too much of a risk for us to take any other approach." She walks out from behind her desk and approaches the doorway, pulling the door open to give a very large hint that the group is now being dismissed. "However," she says as she turns back to the group and smiles warmly, "I am overjoyed to see Tibb's girls being so positive and trying to effect change. It shows the go-getting attitude we try to encourage in every student who comes to St Tibb's, so to see it being acted out, regardless of the outcome, makes me very proud." "Thank you, Miss," Holly says, still being the main voice of the group as the other three all mutter their own quieter utterances which could also be "Thank you, Miss" but they are spoken so dejectedly that it is difficult to discern. All four then sullenly walk through the open doorway with their heads down and return to Vera's office. ============================================================================ [*] Miss MacKenzie is the Headmistress of St Tibb's. ============================================================================ (Posed and rendered in PoserPro 11, clothes created in Marvelous Designer 9.5, postwork in PSP 2022.)