In all my twelve-and-a-half years of schooling I'd never had detention. I was always the class good girl, something of a teachers pet, according to a number of my peers. At eighteen I was still a virgin, although not entirely ignorant of the ins and outs of sexual intimacy. Then one day, to my horror, I found myself with my name in the detention book, courtesy of what turned out to be a conspiracy by an evil-intentioned group of my peers who wanted to cause me a maximum amount of embarrassment. We had a new relief teacher who was a stickler for rules she'd laid down to the class on her first day, one of which was our eyes on her for the entire duration of the instruction period. Turning to talk with anyone behind was a capital offense, as far as she was concerned. When some small projectile stung my cheek I turned to remonstrate and this was enough cost me two hours' detention. Being a well behaved girl I didn't argue with my elders or betters.
I'd heard gossip around the school that some girls had escaped spending a full term of detention by having sex with the room's supervising teacher on that day. Being a virgin, that just wasn't an option, even if I'd wanted it to be, which I didn't. I'd rather suffer the indignity of a two hour punishment than be embarrassed by submitting to some groping old lecher smelling of drink and tobacco smoke.
As things transpired, it was Mr Ulrich who was on duty that day, a rather pleasant teacher who taught me social studies. He didn't smell bad, but of breath-freshener and hair conditioner.
"Ah, Miss Nash," he grinned. "What could you have done to deserve punishment. It seems hard to believe."
"I turned around in class and Mrs Gallop saw me."
"And why did you commit such a heinous crime, pray tell?"
"I think someone stung me with a pea-shooter, or something like that," I told him, indicating the still visible red mark on my face.
"Well I can't believe you'd have willfully disobeyed the Dragon-lady, so you can go home now," he chuckled.
"I wouldn't feel quite right about that, sir," I told him.
"Why not?"
"I'd feel like I was getting special treatment, something that others had not got. And if anyone saw me off early they'd know, then the whole school too."
"So what?"
"So I'd be embarrassed."
"Why?"
"Because everybody says there's a quid pro quo for getting out early from detention early and I don't want that kind of reputation, so it's best that I serve the full penalty."
"Do you believe it, about the sex I mean?"
"I don't know, but it doesn't matter, everyone else believes it."
He gave me a long, intense look.
"Did you engineer this situation to find out if the rumours were true?"
"No!" I told him adamantly.
"Well, in my experience a lot of girls do, for one reason or another. All the teachers have to be very careful about finding themselves alone with a female student. If a girl makes an allegation, true or not, it can damage a man's reputation permanently."
"Oh, I'd never do that, Sir," I assured him. "I wouldn't lie about anyone for any reason. I'd keep quiet rather than say anything bad about a person, anybody, even those I disliked."
"Well you're obviously as lovely a person as you've always seemed to me, but you shouldn't be so influenced by what your peers think about things."
"How do you mean?"
"Be your own person, have your own opinions and think for yourself rather than just following the herd and being confined to what's fashionable at the time. And don't just decide you don't like things because you haven't tried them yourself. Be curious and adventurous rather than avoiding situations, you'll find life so much more fun if you do."
"My mum's always warned me against taking risks, telling me that I should take the safety first option in all things. I suppose that's why I don't do anything much out of the ordinary."
"So how do you feel about those girls who do risk their reputations to do what pleases them, rather than keeping up the appearance of respectability? Is it contempt or do you envy their enterprise?"
I thought about this for a moment and realized I did envy those girls who had reputations as being sexually active, the girls who'd created my latest difficulty with their practical 'joke', then understood that I'd never have known the experience of detention without their having done that.
"The latter, I guess, to be honest about it," I blushed. "Not that I'd be inclined to emulate them. That's just not me and I really can't imagine myself going with any of the boys I know. I think I'd rather enter a convent, but I'll wait until I'm older to find someone more suitable to my taste and needs."
