I will not snoop. I will not gossip. I will not conspire. scarlett, kneeling, heard the words and recognized that each was a reminder; and a painful one at that.

scarlett was going to learn a lesson that she would not forget. Not if Headmistress, and especially the Madame, had any say in it.

There were rumors that several faculty members had approached the Headmistress expressing concerns about the madame and her methods. The madame had summarily dismissed this as nothing more than chatter from a small segment of the Institute; older instructors who were jealous of the madame's power. The madame had been quite effective, even if her methods were...unorthodox.

The look on Headmistress's face said it all -- scarlett was in more trouble than ever.

The plan sounded so easy; scarlett, still on probation, had to clean Headmistress's office weekly. Surely, there were things that scarlett could look through without being discovered.

Except scarlett didn't count on the madame stepping into Headmistress's office to retrieve a file for the faculty meeting that was going on. scarlett, frightened, dropped the papers she was looking at and fled -- running into the woods as fast as she could. The madame vowed that scarlett would be severely dealt with.

Like some demented Mary Poppins, as the Institute's head of Standards, Code, and Discipline department madame Penelope had established an order and discipline across campus, delivered without the spoonful of sugar. Astrid was unimpressed. After earning more than one too many reprimands and warnings that she would have to face the madame, Nova welcomed the challenge -- she would very much like to know this madame for herself.

Her wish was soon granted.

scarlett was nervous, she always got a very active set of butterflies when meeting with Headmistress Viola Parker. Being summoned to her office, scarlett shifted on her feet nervously at the door; she had a moment of wanting to run away into the woods, but she took a deep breath and knocked, how bad could it be?

Beyond bad, with a capital B. Standing there, next to Headmistress Parker was madame Penelope; Headmistress's demonic little servant. The butterflies froze in her stomach and crashed together. This was not at all what scarlett was expecting. 

penelope had been all that the Headmistress had hoped, and more, for the Institute. She was proud of her protege; madame Penelope's ruthlessness, precision, relentlessness, and aura had brought a new feeling of order to the Institute just as Headmistress wished. The madame had an uncanny knack for getting just what she wanted -- the results the madame had already achieved were impressive; even if one had to look past some of her methods.

A scandal brews at the Parker Institute for Young Women. There have been accusations of a ring of students stealing and selling content and test answers. This is the kind of scandal that can give the Institute a black eye, or even worse, bring it all crashing down -- despite its impeccable track record of producing young women ready to take on the world successfully.

scarlett was nervous as she stood in front of Headmistress Viola Parker's office door. She knew that she was not there for a social call -- no one was ever summoned to Headmistress's office to socialize; Headmistress Parker held court in a lush, open room at her eponymous school.