05-12-2023, 07:32 PM
Iletina Girls Juvenile Alternative Education Centre
PRESENT DAY
Camille Pierre had arrived in faint bemusement, and now she was on the verge of tears. Ironically, this was nothing to do with being punished, or locked up. It wasn’t even to do with the propaganda. No, Camille was almost crying because she was being bullied by the other inmates. They had figured out who she is.
It was the whole “being two years ahead in her schooling” thing that screwed her over. It transpired, after she was questioned on it, that common Kerlians were not permitted to skip school years, and were merely given extra advanced classes. That was how they worked out she was a Daughter, and that was why they all scorned her now. The people who still wanted to be rebellious hated her for her family. The people who wanted out were frightened at hanging out with someone who was clearly in here for politics.
One of them stuck her toothbrush in the toilet. Another tied her ankles together with a rolled-up pillowcase in her sleep so she tripped upon waking. They stole her stupid, scratchy uniform so she got in trouble in the morning. One of them stole a pen from class and wrote an insulting word (an illegal insulting word) on her forehead in the night. At least on that last one the perpetrator got sent to the punishment cells. But the night after, they really had it in for her, tripping her up and pushing her into the metal edge of the bunks.
The following day, Camille wanted nothing more than to be away from them. So, she began yelling a bunch of treasonous slogans in class until she got dragged off to the punishment cells herself. Once she was in solitary confinement – in an empty cell containing nothing but bare floor and a metal bucket – she actually felt more relaxed than she had for the past week. Whatever came next would be unpleasant, sure, but at least it would be at the hands of her captors and not the people who were supposed to be in the same situation as her.
*
Jia had also been sent for punishment. She was still a little shocked as she was shoved into the bare cage-like structure. It hadn’t been something she’d expected to end up here for. Not deliberate disobedience; not even telling a lie. No, Jia was being punished for telling a little too much truth.
20 mins ago
"You," the woman pointed at Jia. "Recite the names of the Founders of Kerlile."
"Nancy Arnott, Yijun Chiu, uh," she paused slightly to get her breath, and the woman slammed a ruler down on the desk in front of her.
"No hesitations. Stand up and come to the front."
Jia jumped, but complied.
"Recite the names of the Founders of Kerlile. Quickly!"
"Nancy Arnott, Yijun Chiu, Phoebe Georgiou, Wilma Greenwood, Camila Letitia Hale, Edith Hart, Sunita Patel, Marilène Pierre, Margaret Robinson and Martina Viallamando."
Jia jumped once more as the woman slammed the ruler into the teacher's desk next to her, and then pointed it in her face. She was openly sobbing now.
"We do not speak of traitors. There are nine Council Families. Nine."
"But the Robinsons were on the Council until…"
"Are you talking back to me?" She hissed at Jia, who hadn't been able to help herself.
Jia remained silent, afraid that speaking again would be seen as yet more disobedience. The teacher stood and walked over until she was towering over Jia. “Repeat after me: there are nine Council Families.”
“There are nine Council Families,” Jia complied quietly.
“You should know better than to speak things which must remain unspoken,” the teacher had said. “Take her to the punishment cells.”
And then she’d been dragged off by two women, still shocked at the whole thing. She hadn’t even known that they were trying to, what? Erase the Robinsons from history? It seemed like the sort of thing they’d do, though. Why hadn’t she been told she wasn’t allowed to mention them. The others probably got taught all that in their normal schools with their normal rules. It wasn’t fair.
Fortunately for Jia, they did not deprive the under-12s of food. They did, however, give her the absolute bare-minimum bowl of porridge, without even so much as a spoon. She had to stick her face in the bowl and eat the tiny amount. It was undignified and got on her nose. She supposed that was the point. Then she was expected to curl up on the hard-concrete floor without a blanket. Well, she supposed, so had Fleming’s cult. But then she’d had her mother to cling to for heat.
And she’d probably be kept here for three days, that seemed standard. The fear she’d managed to shove away came creeping back now, making her shiver alongside the cold. She curled up into a ball, clutching her legs as she tried to control her breathing. Don’t panic, Jia.
She jumped as there was a loud noise, the sounds of a struggle further down the corridor. She couldn’t see. They appeared to be dragging another girl in here, one who was screaming and pleading with them. “This is your third infraction!” one of the guards was yelling. “You will be here for two weeks this time, girl. Stop shouting!”
Don’t panic, Jia. Don’t… panic… okay I’m panicking.
*
Carolyn hated Cass. She hated having to share a cell with her. But, well. Now Cass was in solitary confinement and Carolyn had to admit that she’d had less time alone with her own thoughts when Cass was there trying to convince her to join some rebellion. Now, it was just Carolyn, and Carolyn’s brain. Her brain was running at a million miles an hour, recalling every moment that had led up to this one.
The plane home from Shuell. When she told her mother about the group of Daughters discussing political strategy.
“… just who have you been speaking to, Carolyn? This is not like you. You have always been far more interested in military matters than politics.”
“When I was younger, I believed that joining the military was the best way to serve my country and its mission. I still believe in serving my country and its mission… but I’m starting to realise that there are better ways to do that. Yes, there have been a group of us Daughters, who have been discussing these things together.”
“I am intrigued to know who is part of this group,” said Letitia.
The time she’d met the other conspirators in a park in the middle of the night, when they were plotting to rescue Xia from her grandmother, and then later decided not to let her help.
“It’s freezing!” hissed Carolyn Greenwood as she stepped out of the darkness towards them. The group all relaxed. “Why are we meeting here!?”
“I need to ask you some questions, Carolyn,” Olivia said calmly. Rosemary stepped closer to Reena, who had moved away slightly, watching. “What do you think of your grandmother?”
“Her policies were ill-conceived. She did damage to this country that will take us many years to repair, perhaps even decades,” Carolyn replied, frowning. “But why do you want to know about her?”
And now this. The whole ill-conceived Reena Patel rescue. And then her decision to return from Zongongia, because her mother assured her it would be fine. Had her mother betrayed her? Or… had she betrayed her mother? Did her mother interpret her statement as pro-reform rather than about strategy? Was she becoming pro-reform, hanging out with the others? Maybe she did need alt-ed!
Carolyn groaned, putting her hands in her head and moving to the other side. She didn’t have a clock, but she would have guessed it was around 3am. Please, Goddess, please let this be over soon. Please.
PRESENT DAY
Camille Pierre had arrived in faint bemusement, and now she was on the verge of tears. Ironically, this was nothing to do with being punished, or locked up. It wasn’t even to do with the propaganda. No, Camille was almost crying because she was being bullied by the other inmates. They had figured out who she is.
It was the whole “being two years ahead in her schooling” thing that screwed her over. It transpired, after she was questioned on it, that common Kerlians were not permitted to skip school years, and were merely given extra advanced classes. That was how they worked out she was a Daughter, and that was why they all scorned her now. The people who still wanted to be rebellious hated her for her family. The people who wanted out were frightened at hanging out with someone who was clearly in here for politics.
One of them stuck her toothbrush in the toilet. Another tied her ankles together with a rolled-up pillowcase in her sleep so she tripped upon waking. They stole her stupid, scratchy uniform so she got in trouble in the morning. One of them stole a pen from class and wrote an insulting word (an illegal insulting word) on her forehead in the night. At least on that last one the perpetrator got sent to the punishment cells. But the night after, they really had it in for her, tripping her up and pushing her into the metal edge of the bunks.
The following day, Camille wanted nothing more than to be away from them. So, she began yelling a bunch of treasonous slogans in class until she got dragged off to the punishment cells herself. Once she was in solitary confinement – in an empty cell containing nothing but bare floor and a metal bucket – she actually felt more relaxed than she had for the past week. Whatever came next would be unpleasant, sure, but at least it would be at the hands of her captors and not the people who were supposed to be in the same situation as her.
*
Jia had also been sent for punishment. She was still a little shocked as she was shoved into the bare cage-like structure. It hadn’t been something she’d expected to end up here for. Not deliberate disobedience; not even telling a lie. No, Jia was being punished for telling a little too much truth.
20 mins ago
"You," the woman pointed at Jia. "Recite the names of the Founders of Kerlile."
"Nancy Arnott, Yijun Chiu, uh," she paused slightly to get her breath, and the woman slammed a ruler down on the desk in front of her.
"No hesitations. Stand up and come to the front."
Jia jumped, but complied.
"Recite the names of the Founders of Kerlile. Quickly!"
"Nancy Arnott, Yijun Chiu, Phoebe Georgiou, Wilma Greenwood, Camila Letitia Hale, Edith Hart, Sunita Patel, Marilène Pierre, Margaret Robinson and Martina Viallamando."
Jia jumped once more as the woman slammed the ruler into the teacher's desk next to her, and then pointed it in her face. She was openly sobbing now.
"We do not speak of traitors. There are nine Council Families. Nine."
"But the Robinsons were on the Council until…"
"Are you talking back to me?" She hissed at Jia, who hadn't been able to help herself.
Jia remained silent, afraid that speaking again would be seen as yet more disobedience. The teacher stood and walked over until she was towering over Jia. “Repeat after me: there are nine Council Families.”
“There are nine Council Families,” Jia complied quietly.
“You should know better than to speak things which must remain unspoken,” the teacher had said. “Take her to the punishment cells.”
And then she’d been dragged off by two women, still shocked at the whole thing. She hadn’t even known that they were trying to, what? Erase the Robinsons from history? It seemed like the sort of thing they’d do, though. Why hadn’t she been told she wasn’t allowed to mention them. The others probably got taught all that in their normal schools with their normal rules. It wasn’t fair.
Fortunately for Jia, they did not deprive the under-12s of food. They did, however, give her the absolute bare-minimum bowl of porridge, without even so much as a spoon. She had to stick her face in the bowl and eat the tiny amount. It was undignified and got on her nose. She supposed that was the point. Then she was expected to curl up on the hard-concrete floor without a blanket. Well, she supposed, so had Fleming’s cult. But then she’d had her mother to cling to for heat.
And she’d probably be kept here for three days, that seemed standard. The fear she’d managed to shove away came creeping back now, making her shiver alongside the cold. She curled up into a ball, clutching her legs as she tried to control her breathing. Don’t panic, Jia.
She jumped as there was a loud noise, the sounds of a struggle further down the corridor. She couldn’t see. They appeared to be dragging another girl in here, one who was screaming and pleading with them. “This is your third infraction!” one of the guards was yelling. “You will be here for two weeks this time, girl. Stop shouting!”
Don’t panic, Jia. Don’t… panic… okay I’m panicking.
*
Carolyn hated Cass. She hated having to share a cell with her. But, well. Now Cass was in solitary confinement and Carolyn had to admit that she’d had less time alone with her own thoughts when Cass was there trying to convince her to join some rebellion. Now, it was just Carolyn, and Carolyn’s brain. Her brain was running at a million miles an hour, recalling every moment that had led up to this one.
The plane home from Shuell. When she told her mother about the group of Daughters discussing political strategy.
“… just who have you been speaking to, Carolyn? This is not like you. You have always been far more interested in military matters than politics.”
“When I was younger, I believed that joining the military was the best way to serve my country and its mission. I still believe in serving my country and its mission… but I’m starting to realise that there are better ways to do that. Yes, there have been a group of us Daughters, who have been discussing these things together.”
“I am intrigued to know who is part of this group,” said Letitia.
The time she’d met the other conspirators in a park in the middle of the night, when they were plotting to rescue Xia from her grandmother, and then later decided not to let her help.
“It’s freezing!” hissed Carolyn Greenwood as she stepped out of the darkness towards them. The group all relaxed. “Why are we meeting here!?”
“I need to ask you some questions, Carolyn,” Olivia said calmly. Rosemary stepped closer to Reena, who had moved away slightly, watching. “What do you think of your grandmother?”
“Her policies were ill-conceived. She did damage to this country that will take us many years to repair, perhaps even decades,” Carolyn replied, frowning. “But why do you want to know about her?”
And now this. The whole ill-conceived Reena Patel rescue. And then her decision to return from Zongongia, because her mother assured her it would be fine. Had her mother betrayed her? Or… had she betrayed her mother? Did her mother interpret her statement as pro-reform rather than about strategy? Was she becoming pro-reform, hanging out with the others? Maybe she did need alt-ed!
Carolyn groaned, putting her hands in her head and moving to the other side. She didn’t have a clock, but she would have guessed it was around 3am. Please, Goddess, please let this be over soon. Please.
LIDUN President 2024 | she/her | Puppets: Kerlile, Glanainn, Yesteria, Zongongia, Zargothrax