It's another day like any other at St. Trinians. The spring sun is shining down, with the hope of an early summer heat wave soon to come. The thick plume of smoke that rises above the science block suggests that there's been an 'incdent' earlier than usual this morning, and the distant chatter of machine gun fire tells the tale of the fifth form, off on a cross country run - St. Trinians style. However, the birds are singing in the trees (except for those that are cut off with a sharp 'squawk' by a First Year hunting party) and the atmosphere is of casual, relaxed anarchy. A time of promise!

Which makes the summons to visit the Headmistress all the more puzzling. Each of you, shortly after breakfast, received word that Miss Fritton needed to see you immediately in the Upper Staff Room. Now that is odd! Nobody uses that room much. It's right at the highest part of the school, and the long climb up the stairs is seldom worth the effort. Nothing of any value is kept there, and in poor weather it is draughty and damp. It has a nice view over the school grounds, but other than that, it has no redeeming features. It is only ever used for meetings where some secrecy is required. Whatever could she want that needed such discretion?

None of the girls had been told who else was attending, of course. Given who has been arriving, certain suspicions might be forming, however.

The Upper Staff Room itself is actually rather nice to be in at the moment. The two large windows, with their comfortable window seats, are facing the morning sun. Several couches, in need of some urgent repairs, are available for sprawling on, and a battered card table with mismatched chairs occupies one wall. A lopsided portrait of Millicent Fritton hangs on one wall. A sideboard sports several decanters, all of them empty. No unattended booze ever lasts long at this school.

Miss Fritton has not yet arrived, so the reason for being asked to come so urgently is still unclear. But it must be important, otherwise why be asked to attend at all? In the meantime, there is nothing to do but settle down and wait.

Up early as usual, Angharad was surprised to find Miss Fritton's note. (A note, in real handwriting on paper, how quaint. Most people communicated by e-mail or text, at least if they expected a response from her!)

Washed and dressed, Angharad checked that her laptop was fully-charged before heading off upstairs as she was bid. The room was empty. Oh well, she was a few minutes early.

She sat down on one of the couches and opened her laptop. Hmm. Where to go, what to read? Obama's e-mail? Nope, boring. NASA was recruiting astronauts again. Maybe it was time to put in... US citizens only? That wouldn't be a problem. Aha... some Russian correspondence about Ukraine. She'd thought they were the ones taking pot-shots at MH17, whatever they said, ever since they gave a high military honour to a Russian missile unit that was near the border... now, who to send that little tidbit to? WikiLeaks? The BBC?

Viridia stalks in very carefully.  All the prefects knew why this room wasn't used much any more and she still wasn't quite sure how many of the "Bloomer Buster" bombs had been installed during the '96 demonstration.  Ms Lavalle had apparently set off at least one but she only had third hand reports to say that only one had been placed and she wasn't about to trust those.

On the other hand she was aware of at least one stash of bootleg gin hidden in the false leg of one of the couches which was probably every bit as dangerous and probably ruled out an existing bomb in that specific couch.

Carefully seating herself on the relevant couch to make sure none of the others did she folds her hands demurely on her lap with her fingers brushing the hem of her skirt and adopts a casual pose of almost insipid interest in nothing in particular, something that everyone else here would recognise as a sign she's preparing to unleash something nasty.

A few moments later, Eustacia arrives. She doesn't look out of breath, but she probably ambled up the stairs to avoid just that situation. She sees those present and raises an eyebrow. She then saunters to a window seat, and sits down. Out comes a lollipop of the small round and Kojak variety.

"Well, goodness me. Fancy seeing all of you here." She then checked her watch and popped the lollipop into her mouth. She looked out of the window and toyed with one of her pigtails absently. She even started swinging her legs. The signs are there for those with the knowledge. She's bored, and probably wondering who she can throw to the wolves today. She then winces.

"Oh, I say! Jolly good shot, that! That's one third former who won't be walking straight for a while. Seriously, at her age she should know not to stray too close to the shrubbery. She'll need a new satchel, too. Looks like the first form are carrying it off as spoils of war...no, no...they're fighting over it..." She holds the lollipop like a microphone. "And Warner Junior has dealt young Peabody a mighty blow with her tennis raquet. Warner's down, but not out, she's got her teeth into Mayford Minor's ankle and is not letting go!" She then looks up and remarks "I'll have a fiver on Peabody. Any takers?"

Viridia chuckles.

"Really Eustacia, what do you think a third year was doing with a satchel out there?  Five pounds says it's a trap or extremely volatile which is basically the same thing.  Those first years aren't going to win they're going to have their hairstyles augmented with excessive heat driven motion.  Unwary lot we appear to have this year, I wouldn't have risked a fight over a third year's stachel three weeks after arriving in the school."

"You may be right, but either way, it will be an amusing diversion. Of course, there is the chance that the third form were acting as couriers, hence the satchel. In which case, there will be dire retribution after lunch from whoever they were working for. Just a normal day."

She considered the people assembled so far. "Bit of an odd bunch to ask to come here. I wonder what's up. I don't suppose the Prefect grapevine has any hints?"

Viridia sits back daintily and narrows her eyes while letting her body sink into a fair approximation of the venus reclining pose.

"Well there's Natalie Jordan's so-called plutonium mine which is nearing the dining hall and threatens to undermine the reinforcements of the reinforcements of the west wing but I didn't think that the teachers were aware of that one yet.  The may-day parade plans of course would be worrying but the teachers have a perfectly good bunker prepared for that.  Or it could be, yaknow money again.  Getting some senior girls together to deal with money problems seems to be the current idea to deal with them."

Angharad looked up.

"Oh... do I have to do some more bit coin mining? I've been looking at some algorithms to, ah, speed up the process, but they're not perfected yet. Could give them a try, though."

She pulled up a file on the laptop and started reading through it. Bit coin mining was so tedious, especially if you did it the way you were supposed to. Hence her research into short-cuts to the process.

Viridia gives Angharad an attempt at a perfect skirt-curling smile which rather falls short despite effort.  Then she taps her arm in the chair.

"Do you remember Angharad?  Particularly obviously leaching internet coins excites.  And who does it excite dear?"

Her tone has gone particularly soft.

[Private to Angharad Probert: If you can't solve it on sight

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Take the first letter of each word

---

]

Eustacia chuckled as she looked out of the window. "I doubt it is mining of any sort. I'm not remotely involved in that sort of thing. No, something is afoot. The three of us are hardly a matched set. Ooh... that had to hurt. You know, they may still be green, but some of these firsties have a lot of enthusiasm."

Angharad giggles like the schoolgirl she so rarely resembles.

"That's only if you get, like, caught, dear Viridia. That's script-kiddie territory. You mask the routines, it just looks like chance. Bit mining is random enough a process that chance will turn up a whole run of the beggars evey so often."

[Private to Viridia Bowman: Hint appreciated but unneeded - neat way of expressing it, though!]

That.

Damn.

Squirrel!

Usually, usually, he was almost cooperative, but today, of course, he was living up to his namesake. "Dammit, Joffrey! Give me that paper!" Her door was shut, but she had no doubt there were Firsters on the other side listening to her struggle. The faint chitters of laughter mixed with Joffrey's and confirmed her suspicions. She knew it was important, she'd seen Miss Fritton's name, and a place, but the damn squirrel had snatched it out of her hand before she could finish reading it to find out the time. Now he was perched in the rafters chittering away at her ... mocking her.

"Now is NOT the time, Joff. Keep it up and I'll give you to Veruca Salt!"

It didn't work. He just lept to the other corner and ... was he actually pretending to read the paper!? It certainly looked that way. Nikki growled at him, low, under her breath, and menacing. Suddenly, she remembered!

She slowly sauntered over to the corner where her school jacket hung on the back of the chair. "You know, with you all the way up there..." she began, setting down and fishing something out of her pocket. "I won't have anyone to share this peanut butter pretzel with... It's a shame."

She began to unwrap the treat, slowly, but she could tell his interest was peaked. It was his favorite, after all, how she'd 'befriended' him in the first place. He sat up, nose sniffing eagerly, whiskers twitching as he considered his position. Slowly, carefully, he worked his way down from the rafters until he was perched on the corner of her dresser, inches away from her.

"Trade?" she said, simply, extending the treat, but not before taking ... and savoring ... a bite with a smile. Joffrey considered the proffered treat and the not-so-tasty paper in his hand and entirely forgot why he'd had it in the first place - he was just a squirrel after all - He extended his paws, Nikki took the paper and he took the treat, and was off into the rafters like a shot, chittering happily. "Guess I need to get a supply of those, huh?"

Finally, she was able to read the paper fully ... and find out the meeting was scheduled for 5 minutes ago. "Oh, hell." she swore. She blew through her door at a dead run, knocking at least one Firster unconscious from the impact and the other scattered in screeches as she ran through and past.

---

She arrived at the appropriate door several minutes later, out of breath and disheveled. Is anyone ever just sheveled? she wondered, as she smoothed her skirt, straightened her shirt and tie, and pulled her hair into something sensible. "Please don't let me be last. Please don't let me be last. Please don't let me be last." she muttered as she pushed the door open and seeing the other girls seated already.

Damn. "Afternoon, Ladies." She said, as calmly as possible. At least there was no Fritton, that was good.

Eustacia regarded Nikki and raised a Spock-like brow. "Well, well, well. The American element is rather late to join the party. I suppose it was inevitable. There is a precedent from 1917 and 1941, so it is good to know that they are nothing if not consistent."

That was a tad cutting, even by her standards, but until Miss Fritton arrived to reveal why they had all been called together, she needed to do something to keep herself amused. Sniping at others was her usual go-to time filler in such situations.

Angharad looked up from her keyboard.

"Saucer of milk for table 3."

She went back to exploring the underlying code for a new form of crypto-currency that's generated not by mining but by recording how far you walk. As it relyed on tracking data, there were several ways in which it could be spoofed.

"A wizard is never late, Frodo." Nikki began, not needing to continue the thought to get the point across. "And, besides, late or not, we bailed your asses out both times, you know, 'cause you all can't fight for crap." She concluded with a smile before moving to take an open seat.

Dani strolled into the room, apparently unconcerned with whether or not she might be late.  She knew this room, although there were warnings against using it, what with the potential booby traps left over from some historical battle between the years, it was still useful for tinkering with some of the louder experiments she had tested.  Never summoning though, summoning circles that weren't on the ground floor (or preferably in a basement) were just asking for trouble.  Yep, that faint purple stain was still under the lightswitch, Dani wondered if it still glowed under a full moon.
"Wow, morning all.  Not interrupting something am I? Only, I got a letter..."  She patted herself down, sure she had picked up the paper before leaving her dorm room.  Oh...unless that was what she had scribbled those equations on the back of.  She glanced around the room, trying to fit names to the other faces present, they were mostly older than her, not that it was an unusual situation since she'd hit the main school.  "No Fritton yet? Guess that means I'm not late then, what's she want us for anyway? I haven't even had tea yet."

"Oh, really? Making statements about the British fighting prowess, or lack therof, in this school... that is rather asking for trouble. I shall await the results with some interest." She popped the lollipop back in her mouth, and then removed it when Dani arrived. "No clue what she wants. But this is a very odd collection. Whatever she has in mind, it must be a desperate situation to get such a motley crew together."

"Not true at all, Staci. Had St. Trinian's girls been on the front lines, both wars would've been well in hand before there was any need for we Americans to join in." Nikki said, deftly side-stepping the accusation as Danielle entered. She liked Dani, rather more than most of the others. Though she was younger, she was closer in line to Nikki's own approach to the school.

"Heya, Dani." she said with a wave.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:41, Tue 01 Dec 2015.

The door to the Staff Room opened and admitted Miss Artemis Fritton, Headmistress and administrator of the school. As she arrived, wearing a stylish twin set, killer heels and an air of a Fifties Film Noir movie star, she delivered a lopsided smile wth lips so red that a whole horde of cochineal beetles must have died to achieve that colour. Her voice was educated, velvety, and spoke of a degree of corruption that all the girls should aspire to, whatever their calling. She was young to be headmistress, and moved with the sort of walk that suggested she was only biding her time before she headed out to seduce a billionaire octagenarian.

In short, she'd got style, brains, and bags of charisma.

"Good morning, girls. I do hope you haven't been waiting long. I do hope I haven't dragged you away from anything too pressing. I do know how you girls love your studies so much. However, we have important matters to discuss."

She sat on a sofa, which creaked in protest. She then took a document from a folder she was carrying. "Girls, you're all bright enough to realise that when I call a meeting of some of the most successful of our pupils in this high turret, something must be afoot. By now, everyone must be aware that Miss Petworthy has skipped bail. You'd think that a history tutor would have better sense than to get caught for tax avoidance. She's an embarrasment to the school. After her long career of fraudulent practices, to get caught now is simply sloppy. I am sure that the police will never catch her, and we'll never recoup our losses. I've made arrangements to have her taken care of if she does surface. Let's just say that she'd be well advised not to make any long-term plans about buying that apartment in Rio she has always dreamed of."

She frowned then. "Her timing was dreadful, of course. The third years decided to do a needlework project, which consisted of bypassing the security systems on our strongroom. Normally, this would be commendable, but they broke the rules by actually removing the cash, and losing heavily on some benighted nag in the 3.30 at Epsom Downs. They passed their Needlework exams with flying colours, but those behind the gambling are all looking at resits in mathematics. Miss Steamworthy is fit to be tied, she spent three weeks on how to pick a winner, and none of them seemed to have grasped the principles. Diamond Charlie will be running an intensive course for them during the summer hols. Most inattentive girls. Still, combined with other financial problems, our dear school is in trouble. I have here a letter I would like to read to you."

She lifted the letter and commenced. "My dear Missy, I cannot begin to tell you how delightful last night was for me. The feeling of your lips on mine as we danced under the moonlight was..." She paused and cleared her throat. She then tucked the letter away and drew out a different sheet of paper. "Wrong letter, I do beg your pardon. Here we are. Miss Fritton, it is with some concern that I notice that for yet another financial quarter the payments due on certain trivial matters such as heating, lighting, food and drink, have all neglected to appear in your establishment's account. It is therefore necessary to inform you that your creditors are seeking action and that, unless you take steps forthwith, it seems likely that they will drag the name of your school through the mud once more. However, with the amount owing, it would be hard for any authorities to rule against them, and the inevitable insolvency of your school, and its closure, must certainly ensue. Blah blah, fawn fawn, Mr Rupert Creep, for the bank of... you get the general jist, girls?"

She put the letter away and remarked, calmly. "Obvously, I do not intend to let a few mere unpaid bills, no matter how large, to threaten the school. There are various ways to pay the debt with cuts. For example, what would you older girls say if I told you I wished to cut the Sixth Form trip to the Chateau de Sade in the Loire this year? I do know how you all enjoy it so much. Or perhaps I could cancel the standing order we have for repairs to the science block. It would mean that we'd have to stop production of most of the current projects..."

She regarded the girls for a moment, waiting for the reaction to these hghly controverstial suggestions.

Viridia coughs gently as a practised interuption as the Headmistress comes to an end.

"So the bank finally noticed and escalated it above "Your most beloved Marcus" did they?  And I presume this Creep is above your blandishments?  You'd think that they'd have the sense to bring in a woman by now given the size of the authorised overdraft but hey.  I don't think I've seen the last few statements so how's about a nice round figure for the digestion and then we can review our options since either of those is likely to get certain knickers twisted so far that they tear into shreds."

Angharad looked up from her laptop.

"Is a money-making scheme in order, Miss Fritton? Perhaps some mythical time-shares on apartments in Rio would be appropriate. Or diverting a day's payments from the UK to the EU to our somewhat more deserving coffers?"

Her eyes glittered as she contemplated working mischief from her keyboard.

Eustacia kept her words back, but glared at Nikki. She hated being called any variation upon a theme of Staci. It sounded so common.

And then, the Headmistress arrived...

The rather peculiar strangulated noise coming from the window area was Eustacia. At the very suggestion that the long-anticipated trip to stay in a chateau in the Loire Valley might now be cancelled, she had become agitated. And that was putting it mildly.

"Oh, Miss Fritton!" She finally gasped out. "Angharad is right, there must be something that can be done! Surely the school has dealt with a crisis like this before now? I can always tell Daddy to give more money as a donation, he'd do anything if Mummy and I told him to often enough! The school must stay open, it's just got to. And I want to go to France!"

From another girl, that last statement might have sounded like a petulant tantrum. From Eustacia, it came out more as a declaration of war. When she wanted her own way, she usually got it, not by being a spoiled brat but by going out and slapping the world about in her own unique, machavellian way until it gave her what she wanted.

Daddy was probably in for a hard time.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:13, Tue 01 Dec 2015.

Nikki listened intently, both to the problem and the few suggested solutions - including Eustacia's Veruca Salt impression - funny, it was the second time she'd used that connection today, maybe it was time for another viewing.

This was the first time she'd been included in a meeting at this level, one planning this level of larceny as well, but her thoughts coincided with Angharad's own. "Cyber-crime's the way to go, especially with the minds we've got working for us. Money goes missing all the time, no reason we can't wind up the recipient of some of it. We don't need some wacky, slapstick, shenanigans or some convoluted art theft scheme in this day and age. Virtual money floats pretty freely around the world, and I'm sure the Computer Girls can make sure the right Zeros and Ones make it into the right code to make sure our bills get paid. Just like Office Space, but, you know, successful."

Viridia smiles gently and rises smoothly to walk over and stand near the wall.  She adopts a pose of calm demureness with eyes sparking with trouble.

"Ah yes the art heist.  Wondered if someone was going to bring that up and its a useful case in point.  Our computer expertise today isn't too different from what it was then, is anyone aware of why we didn't just hive off fractions or go after the dormant accounts back then?  Alternatively what's the difficult part of proving a crime?"

Miss Fritton raised a reassuring hand. "Please, girls. Your enthusiasm is much appreciated, but I fear it will not be sufficient. We can perhaps raise twenty thousand, but we need closer to a hundred and fifty. And while we would prefer not to have to rely on donations from third parties, they do help us. Eustacia's father is only one of a number of very generous individuals who send large sums to help keep us afloat. The fact that he probably has no clue what he is doing is immaterial." She then smiled reassuringly "Fleecing the bank or counterfeiting is too common these days. If we do that too often we could devalue the currency, and that's the last thing we want. I plan to be rich when I retire. That's hard to achieve if we've caused runaway inflation. Equally, this is the modern age, where computers control the world. Unfortunately, after Miss Petworthy's antics, the long arm of the law has been united with the scrutinising eye. C.I.D. are watching. Watching very closely. Indeed, if we attempt anything that even smells somewhat suspect, they will jump on us. We might get away with a little scam here and there, but we can't raise that amount of money using such methods. It is far too risky, and I do not want this sort of scandal at this time. That would be our death knell for sure!"

She makes no comment on the art heist. That was before her time, and while she might not have done things the same way, she was aware how dangerously close they had come to being caught. This was one reason why she did not want to repeat that sort of affair.

She opened her file and started to leaf through more papers. "As it happens, I do have a plan. Last night, as I was walking the corridors in thought, I ran into Olivia Monks. She was reading a magazine. It was a shock. Five years at the school, and I had no idea she could read. She had even done the crossword. Although three down was certainly not 'well fit' and I am sure that well has more than one L. Be that as it may, I was looking for some late night reading, so I confiscated the magazine."  The fact that this was blatant abuse of power was not even on her mind. She produced the magazine. Vague: High fashion, high prices.

"Now, this magazine are running a compettion to find the next new teen model. But they want to banish the idea that models are all body and no brain. So they are running the competition through schools. Candidates have to pass a written examination, and then win a beauty contest. While we have many clever girls here, and a fair few beauties, nobody has brains and beauty in one place. Not enough to win this sort of thing, the competition from other schools will be too high." She smiled to the girls present, "No offence, ladies. You're all exceptional in your own way, but we need someone truly unique to win this, and we don't have one. But the prize includes a cash payment of one hundred grand for the school. That could definitely help ease our pain, oh yes indeed. The rest we can scrape together with a variety of low-risk and under the radar ventures. I'm tempted to make it a project for the A-level maths students. If they can pull it off without getting us all stuck in chokey, they'll all deserve top marks."

She tucked the papers away. "But how do we win? I think we can count out legitimate practice. Nobbling judges in the competition might be possible, but our first hurdle must be winning the brains aspect. I don't want to risk another school winning. We need to get the answer papers, and not to mince our words, cheat."

She rubbed her hands eagerly. "I think this is where you young ladies come in. Someone has to find, and then provide copies, of these papers."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 20:14, Wed 02 Dec 2015.

"'Sup Nikki."  Dani waved at the older girl, unconcerned that this might have been read as showing partisanship towards the colonial contingent in the budding discussion on nationalism.  She lacked time for anything more as their much beloved (by at least half of the peerage) headmistress swanned into the room.  As always, Miss Fritton paused just long enough for a plethora of imagined flash bulbs to go off, something about the woman screamed red carpet, even somewhere like the Upper Staff at St Trinian's.
Dani found herself a perch on the arm rest of a battered looking sofa, she leaned back and crossed her legs in front of her, listening to the ideas being thrown around with rather more concentration than her usual state.  "Drag our name through the mud? Insolvency? This guy's gotta be new right? Sounds like he doesn't have much of a clue what he's talking about."  She didn't pass comment on the 'threats' to withdraw treats or facilities, no way was that going to be happening, none of the staff wanted a riot on their hands.

"Could probably slap a tracking dodad on Petty if she's left a hairbrush behind or something.  And if we don't have a contestant, we could probably make one...would make an interesting project at least.  I'm thinking more cloning than Mary Shelley though."  She dug around in a pocket until she found the pen she was looking for and started scribbling her own short hand notes on her arm.  "Or try scrying for the answers I s'pose.  Who's going in for the beauty part?  If they've got to have 'inner beauty' as well or some crap like that, we're out of luck with this gang." She looked at Eustacia, probably the best candidate for a beauty contest.  "Unless you can persuade them to keep their mouth shut for the duration."  She paused, underlining something she had written and staring at it for a couple of seconds.  "Or we could dose the judges with something and persuade them to vote our way.  Thiopental's overrated but I'm pretty sure we can cook up something decently effective."

That was Dani, full of ideas, if you could only get her to focus on one of them for long enough.

Yeah, Miss Fritton's got it right. Nikki thought. These girls tended to fall heavily into Brains but Not Beauty, Beauty but Not Brains, or somewhere squarely in the middle of the field on both. While she counted herself luckily in the middle, she knew it wouldn't be enough to win the competition outright.

"Got that mag handy, Ms. F? An idea of the rules of the competition would be helpful." she asked, hoping she could read through the entry in the magazine to try to find loopholes to exploit, or further information on what they'd need to accomplish in order to cheat the system.

"Is there a web address for the contest, Miss Fritton?" asked Angharad.

A couple of years ago, she recalled, there'd been a 'Spy Master' reality contest, and she'd hacked the contestant database. Most of the photos had shown the entrants in tuxedoes, James Bond style, but one had a bright pink fluffy bunny and a few had been obscene.

This of course would require some deeper digging, to find the quiz files. But it was likely that they'd be word processed at some point and if they were on a computer, she'd find them. Answers would be good, but the questions and Google would suffice in a pinch.

With an apologetic mask and downcast eyes, Emma slipped into the meeting. She knew she had to be somewhere, but with Keats beckoning, she simply lost track of time. She loathed being late to anything and her anxiety was peaking to new heights. As one of the younger students invited into Miss Fritton's private enclave, tardiness was not the way to impress.

Spying her distressed cousin, she pushed her own unease deep within. She stealthily slid around the room to Eustacia's side, careful not to disrupt the conversation. Emma's underskirt whispered with the gentle click of her footsteps. She extended her hand in comfort and whispered, "Are you OK, Dear? What have I missed?"

[Private to GM: Does "moving stealthily" count if I use my Games to make sure I don't draw undo attention to myself? My goal is to be quiet as a church mouse and to not draw any attention to me whatsoever.]
This message was last edited by the player at 15:04, Thu 03 Dec 2015.

Emma's arrival is, thankfully, accompanied by the various outbursts and suggestions from the pupils. It gives her the chance to slip in without everyone staring and judging her lateness. The atmosphere in the room suggests serious matters afoot. Certainly, the responses from the girls would cause concern in some. Eustacia's annoyance is usually a sign of someone being on the sharp edge of her tongue. The very mixed group of girls is an odd choice - nobody would usually expect someone like Nikki to be grouped with Angharad on a project, given the difference in age and abilities. But with Viridia here, it was obvious that there was something serious going on - why include such a reliable Prefect otherwise? Most of all, the fact that Danielle was scribbling away with the rather fevered animation that came when she was inspired by some new project ... that was not something to ignore. The scribbling led to experiments. The experiments to a workable project. And Dani's projects led to... explosions. Screams. Things That Ought Not Be.

A game was definitely afoot!

OOC: I'll give you a chance to post a couple of times before unleashing the Fritton again. :)

Eustacia regained control of her temper and remarked to Emma, "The school is desperately short of money. Miss Fritton has a plan for us to enter a competition and rig it so we win, and get the prize money. It sounds feasible." She frowned and considered the situation. "I wouldn't do such a thing myself. A beauty contest? Hardly suitable for me. But we have a fair few beauties in the school. It is easier to fake brains than beauty, so maybe we should pick one and then fake brains. As for the written exam, that's not a problem. Getting the questions and answers should be a snip for Taffy!" She nodded to Angharad. Rooting about in computers for answers was literally child's play for the likes of her.

Viridia slowly stretches a leg and considers it as the conversation flows around her.

"Let's point out a couple of things here.  First beauty is in the eye of the beholder and different people have different standards of beauty, we need to know who the judges are before we select a contestant.  If needed we'll need to look at alternates to the judges and persuade some of the current judges to stand aside.  Second is the test.  I think we need to look at the test marker in that case, if we get the test answers the test might be changed so persuading the marker to find in someone's favour might be easier."

Angharad looked up from her keyboard.

"They'd only change the test if they knew someone had accessed it like!" she said, sounding a bit idignant. "I don't leave tracks like some novice."

She looked back at her screen.

"Not that knowing the people involved is not a good idea, though. Our 'Beauty' needs to sound like she can think too. Maybe you should go the Miss Congeniality route, do up an OK girl with a brain into a right show-stopper of a beauty. Do you know any pageant consultants?"

Staci and the girl with the computer's comments came hot on the heels of one another, and Nikki - rightfully so - found herself agreeing with the latter. "I agree with ... ah ..." Why didn't she know her name...? "You." she finished, hoping to cover the faux pas and knowing she'd probably failed. "It's easier to fake beauty than brains."

She looked to the Emma - Did I miss her all along?, she thought, briefly - and then to Eustacia. "As someone so well-versed in faking both, I figured you'd know that, Eustacia, dear." She said with a wicked faux-smile.

"If there's one thing Ms. Carter's and a ton of Hollywood movies has taught me is that beauty is easy to pull off, with the right efforts. Unless we're talking about inner beauty or something - then, as someone already said, we're all screwed already. We need to find someone smart, and then give her the makeover from hell custom tailored to the look the judges are looking for. If need be, getting the answers for backup is a good option, too."
This message was last edited by the player at 09:23, Sun 06 Dec 2015.

Emma stared at the ground so as not to make eye contact with Nikki. Her fingers tightened slightly around Eustacia's, to the pulse of 10 heartbeats. She hated the way Nikki goaded her cousin, and being fiercely protective of Eustacia, she wanted nothing more than to put the Yank in her proper place. Not all the time, but when Nikki drew out her claws, Emma wanted to clip them to the quick.

Composure regained, she lifted her eyes to the room once more. "Surely with the combined influence all fronts can be covered and any threat neutralized." She paused, gathering her thoughts. "Persuasion comes in many forms; bribes and other more... creative tactics," there was an ominous pleasure ringing in her tone. "I'm certain that Viridia has the resources to manage without too much difficulty," she suggested. "A more personal touch may be employed once we know more details."

She glanced to Miss Fritton and then to the computer wiz. "So, it sounds like until we discover the judges, the exam questions and the potential contestants, there's very little we can do."

She glanced to Nikki, who was scanning the rules and regulations. "Is there a geographical boundary or limit for this contest? I mean, it is limited to the UK or parts of the UK? How far reaching is this promotion? And how many people actually read this publication? Do we know? Are looking at hundreds of applicants or only a dozen? I don't know if any of this matters, but right now, it feels like we're trying to boil the ocean and we need to drill down our focus."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:16, Sun 06 Dec 2015.

"We can fake brains easily enough, too. And if you think we can find a girl here who is clever and can be trusted enough...well. Worth a shot. But there's not too many of them around these days. As for making someone beautiful, we can do that. But have to be careful. We need to make them look great without looking like we actually did so. Natural beauty is what they want these days. It is a hell of a lot of work to make it look like you didn't do any at all." Eustacia looked at Nikki, and her eyes narrowed. "I think between the two of us, we can manage that. Actually, we can do more. We can work with cosmetics, but you know, a potion or two might not go amiss. Add a little glamour. Could be worth a shot."

She squeezed Emma's fingers in silent reassurance. She wasn't going to be goaded. Not yet, anyway. "Hmm. So... got to get questions and answers from whoever is running the show. Might be an external PR firm. Find us a suitable candidate. Nobble the judges, nobble the opposition - you know, we're going to get a load of volunteers for that! Let Miss Tatham loose with some custom made facepaint..." She seemed to like the sound of everyone's suggestions. They were awash with corruption and chicainery. Her two favourite flavours of ice cream!

She looked to Viridia for a more detailed set of plans, however. If Eustacia had wanted to be a Prefect, she would be one. It was far too much hard work and responsibility for her intrinsically lazy self.

Dani snorted, unimpressed that Eustacia had looked to Nikki when it came to talking potions rather than at least including her.  She got on with the American, the girl was a whizz in the lab, but Dani was...well...Not an exchange student.  And then little miss prefect.  Well at least the headmistress appreciated her skills.  "First, establish the desired outcome.  Second, establish available ingredients and equipment.  Third, eliminate any pre-known combinations that have already proven ineffective." Dani looked up from her scribbling and ticked off points on her fingers.  "We can boost either but beauty is easier to fake magically.  So long as they don't have an old girl on staff or something.  I know I would.  We COULD Weird Science it and get Angharad to make a brain but there's a hell of a lot can go wrong."  She screwed up her nose at Viridia's suggestion of getting at the markers.  "If something's multiple guess then it's probably computer marked, even if it isn't, they're likely to have more than one person handling it, a team that get moderated afterwards or something, like normal exams.  In terms of getting in, I'd bet there's an application process then an audition and then it goes on from there.  Like one of those dumb reality talent shows with the people who think they're good but have only been put through to the televised stuff for ratings."  She shifted her position, leaning forwards as she got into her stride.  "Em's right though, we need to find out numbers.  Every waiting room has copies of Vague in it but they don't get nicked so they can't be that interesting.  Or everyone already has a copy..."

Dani looked down at her arm, nodding as she checked off the points she had made.  "And when it comes to looking for a base to work on, you could do worse than DaVinci's ratios.  Get a proportional canvas and you can do a lot with not much.  Plus, the human brain is wired to find that sort of perfection attractive, even if the person themself isn't too bothered about brunettes or whatever.  Preferably no glasses or contacts unless you want to use them to fake some smarts in those rounds, one ear piercing tops, no visible tattoos at least.  Probably long hair, boobs about a D cup...Yeah, DaVinci."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:04, Tue 08 Dec 2015.

As the other girls continued to discuss their options, Nikki perused the magazine Ms. F had handed her^*. "Yeah, there's a lot here." she responded, successfully masking her surprise that Emma hadn't come riding to her cousin's aid earlier and was managing to speak to Nikki, still.

She read over the relevant bits, before offering a website to the Computer Girl to explore.

---

^*I think my request was overlooked unintentionally (or I missed a line, somewhere). Additionally, I'm going to need some GM intervention as to what's covered in the article. :) -Ken

"Thank you, Nikki," said Angharad when given the web address. She opened a browser window and typed it in and soon was exploring the site... not so much the pretty bits you saw in a normal browser but the underlying code, sniffing around for ways to get further in...

Something else from the conversation flying around her percolated in.

"I don't make brains. Too messy. But some kind of direct link to... well, someone smart or straight online if our 'candidate' could manage web searching..."

She knew there were some people who found it hard, but that was an intellectual knowing. It wasn't something she could imagine.

Damn! Now I'm going to have to learn her name! Nikki swore internally. That was, she supposed, part of her job, though: know everyone, learn everything. Computer Girl's comments snapped her out of her thoughts, however, and she moved closer to her, peering over her shoulder at computer code that was only mostly alien to her.

"You're not talking about just sticking a tiny bluetooth in someone's ear, are you?" she asked.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:21, Mon 07 Dec 2015.

Viridia chuckles quietly and returns to her seat to watch the fireworks.  This is a fairly normal event in this kind of situation and she's fairly sure they'll work out the problems in their own assumptions sooner or later.

"Maybe I ought to give you a little clue - this is a show which among other things values beauty, what does that mean?"

"That it's highly unlikely that they'll have an all male judging panel or the immediate rumour will be that the winner slept her way there. The public are nasty, suspicious types like that." Dani objected to the condescending tone purely on principle, if the prefect thought she had all the answers, she could damn well come up with a plan of her own.

Viridia smiles.

"Fair point - but not what I was trying to point out.  Photos.  They'll want to take photos which means no more than about 20 contestants in the final stage maximum.  No they'll not want to burden themselves with administering a massive test to everyone so they'll use publicly available data as a starting point.  Probably exam results.  So whoever we choose needs to have passed their exams with flying colours, in electronic terms at least."

She flicks her hand indicating moving to a new topic.

"So assume a smallish group of girls, all with good grades how do you administer your test?  Think about it from the point of view of maximum value for money for the organisers."

A slight exasperated snort escaped Emma at Dani's comment. Her cheeks flushed an ingenue's rose. While she knew such things were probable, even likely, it was so difficult for Emma to manage in this blunt, vulgar atmosphere. She cleared her throat and focused on Viridia's question.

"Standardized testing, either electronic or filling in dots with a number 2 pencil would make the most sense. Essays allow for all sorts of fluffing and buzzwords and sob stories as to why someone is the best candidate because they love all things big and small and want to save the world from itself through peace, love and understanding. So, we're going to want someone that naturally does well on standardized testing. Yes, that would likely be the first step to cull the herd." She paused, her lips pulling to one side, "An analysis of what sort if IT girl Vague already trends toward would also be beneficial. I mean, they will either use the same Mad-Libs formula or want a 180 degree change. Reviewing and assessing what they favor will prove insightful. Rather, it would help narrow the scope. I seriously doubt they're looking for a truly 'new' look; rather, they're likely looking for someone that bridges the gap between edgy and exotic and their tried-and-true marketing success."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:13, Tue 08 Dec 2015.

Viridia shrugs gently.

"Perhaps.  Perhaps not, the cost of administering a large scale exam is not insignificant you know."

She glances round the room.

"Right - there are several distinct tasks here and for now I think we need to split into teams to do each one."

"First there is getting the base information, judges names, designated alternates, anything on tests and test formats and any locations.  That's computer work for the most part.  Who wants that?"

"Second there is identifying a suitable candidate within the school, brains over beauty obviously but with a suitable base material element.  Whoever it is identifying needs to read Vague, at least the last dozen magazines looking for types and articles within it.  Then they need to find a candidate shortlist.  Who wants that?"

"Finally we need to put together a back-up team of some sort, clothing, make-up, poise and so on.  That's just one person assembling the best from the various cliques and should be the least work.  Any thoughts?"

Having handed the magazine to Nikki, Miss Fritton seems pleased with their brainstorming. "This all sounds very productive. As I understand it, there are several competitions being run in different countries. We have to deal only with the UK. But you know, a lot of schools will enter, and the first round will likely have hundreds of entries. We must get through to the next round! So winning in the brains section is essential, and your top priority! We can work oon beauty later. The actual contest is being held in Blackpool, I believe, which just proves that even Vague can have terrible taste at times. All the URLs and so forth are in the magazine, as well as a hotline number for the people running the show. I suggest we meet here again after lunch and you can tell me your plans."

She rose to depart and gave one final thought. "The school is depending on you. All our resources are available. The tuck shop, basement, and science labs are at your immediate disposal. Good luck, ladies!"

And thus, she departs.

OOC: Ok folks, here's the deal! When you have devised the first part of your plan, Viridia needs to state explicitly what everyone is doing. If she does so, those individuals get an extra +1d6 bonus when performing related tasks. If anyone deviates from the polan, you ALL lose your bonus.

Let me know what you are going to attempt, and I shall post the dice roll requirements here for you. Game on!

An audible pop accompanies the sound of the lollipop being taken out between Eustacia's thoughtfully pursed lips. While she is known for her selfish and manipulative manner, she is utterly devoted to the school, the second generation to attend, as her mother was a student here back in her time. St Trinians is their second home. They will fight to defend it!

When she speaks, it is with a thoughtful tone, and helpful - something that might surprise anyone who is used to her rather smug sounding cattiness. "As I see it, the candidate needs to have enough beauty to be a base to build upon. Looks are not too important, but decent skin, posture, managable hair are all vital. We need a good canvas for the masterwork to be painted upon. As for brains, it is a very fine line. We're going to cheat the exam anyway, so that element is irrelevant. What we really need is someone who can stand up on that stage and handle the interview portions of the contest. We're looking for someone who is more street and social savvy than a pure academic focus. I am sure we'll find someone suitable. If nobody minds, I think I should be the one to vet our candidates. No offence to anyone here, but I suspect I know more about the likely girls than anyone else. I've made it my business to snoop at everyone at one time or another, and it strikes me the sort of person we are after would likely be one of my girls." The gaggle of teenage harridans that form Eustacia's immediate circle might well spawn a candidate - or point at one elsewhere.

"As for the beauty section, I can help there, too, but from what I have seen in drama club, Miss Hayward is a bit of a whizz with the greasepaint. I know you'd not think so, given the train wreck she generally wears herself, but she is surprisingly adept. I'd certainly let her work on me for a performance, and I don't say that about just anybody."

Angharad, as was her custom, had been listening intently even as her fingers flew across the keyboard and her eyes gazed at her screen.

"Getting the base information, judges names, designated alternates, anything on tests and test formats and any locations indeed sounds like 'computer work' and right up my street," she said, trying to keep the edge out of her voice. Why did Viridia rub her up the wrong way so much?

"So naturally I shall attend to it."

This was one of the days when she was glad not to be pretty (not that it was something she thought much about as a general rule). Far too much attention for whichever luckless wight they picked on for their entrant. She was much happier in the background.

The Computer Girl had ignored or missed her question, but the conversation had moved on around them by that point, so Nikki let the matter drop. Something to explore at a later date, for sure, though.

She was surprised, then less so, as Eustacia recommended her for the makeup details with a backhanded compliment. Of course, looking the way she did was intentional, as it made looking vastly different much easier. Still, she nodded at the suggestion. "Viridia's right, if I've got a good, or even a neutral, canvas I think I can manage to improve on that fairly well. I'll start checking through the ranks of the academics, see who I think will work on that aspect. Between Eustacia and I, we should be able to present something contest winning, looks-wise."

She drew a breath before continuing. "Speaking of Eustacia - for the 'backup plan', I'd have to recommend her. She manages to do well for herself on her own, despite her natural shortcomings, in both the brains and the beauty department. With the resources of St. Trinian's behind her, she'd probably be able to manage to win something. Or at least place. How much is the second or third place prize?"

The magazine small print makes it clear that the lesser prizes are not so wonderful. Magazine subscriptions seem to be order of the day. This would appear to be an all or nothing competition. Which did focus the mind on winning!

Eustacia glared at Nikki for a long moment. Those comments were filed away for future reference. She would not forget them. But now was not the time for that sort of behaviour.

"I would prefer not to be in the limelight. Beauty contests and supermodels are all very well, but they are not the sort of behaviour that one expects from a future member of the royal family." She had not yet decided which of the various eleigible princes around the world she was going to marry. She would inform them as and when she had met them, and had their financial status properly vetted. "But if the school has no other option, I know where my duty lies. I shall wait until the other possibilities are rejected, however."

Again, Emma felt the flush of irritation at the American. First, she abuses the English language and then she continues to snipe at Minky. She couldn't believe the utter gall of the blond. What did Eustacia ever do to her anyway? As far as she was concerned, her cousin had been a perfect hostess, welcoming this stranger in a strange land. And what did she get in return? Nothing but impudence and childish, snarky comments only designed to obviously make the Yank feel better about herself.

"I could help with the candidate vetting process, or at the very least I could assist with ensuring that whomever is selected has the mental and emotional fortitude to withstand scrutiny at the microscopic level." She cast her around the room, her shoulders rounded with uncertainty. "We could also do some cold calling once we know what Vague's distribution list is to find out exactly where the likely competition is and then persuade them to realize that it is not in their best interest to pursuing the contest. I would be willing to help with this, too. Convincing people what isn't in their best interest is something I have a knack for." Her eyes flickered to Eustacia for support before resting on Viridia for approval or assignation elsewhere as she deemed necessary.

"Actually...If you want amazing makeup and actually gorgeous if you put them in mainstream gear, you could do worse than some of the goth crowd.  I mean, some of them are stunning anyway but you won't convince beauty pageant types of that if you present them in their usual get up.  Jemima...Oh hell, can't remember her last name, went by something Silver Raven-Wolfy last year.  They're more likely to be in possession of a brain than a lot of the typical pretty crowd as well.  Their own brain I mean, in their heads, the other kind you probably want to steer clear of.  Oooh, and what about pheromones? I could whip up a batch of pure attraction that would have everyone drawn to our girl.  Or something that we could dump in everyone else's hair spray to give the exact opposite."  It had been looking so promising as well, at least her leap this time had remained with the project in hand rather than jumping to something totally unrelated.

Emma nodded in agreement with Dani, "With the Goth crowd, you're also likely to get someone who will manage gracefully under scrutiny. After all, we're..." she stumbled on the admission, given she hardly fit the traditional profile of the Goths. Clearing her throat, she continued, a little color coming to her cheeks, "We're accustomed to be judged for any number of reasons. Someone who is all beauty may melt into an emotional puddle because they're too desperate to be liked by everyone, while someone all brains is likely to come off to aloof or cold or smart, something that will not translate into the next 'IT' girl. The ideal candidate has to have a little bit of both, but also needs to be savvy, er, possess common sense or street smarts and they ultimately need to not care one wit what people think about them. With the right mentoring, their standoffish nature will come off as shining self confidence."

She paused, glancing around the room for consensus. "If that is the demographic we agree should be farmed first, I'd be happy to assist. I may know a few girls that fit our profile, and more importantly, what motivates them. Time is of the essence, correct?" Her gaze turned to Viridia, seeking confirmation.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:37, Mon 14 Dec 2015.

Viridia nods.

"Precisely.  We need to spend today assembling our information and then actually create a plane.  so to be clear."

"Eustacia, Emma and Nikki will handle candidate selection.  Concentrate on brains over beauty but with care taken to make sure the foundations are suitable.  Let me know when you're ready and I can use some first years to round up members of a particular clique and keep them there until you've dealt with them."

"Angarad will handle the computer searches.  We want any and all details but especially the judges, test information and locations."

"Danielle and I will explore less usual methods of influencing the judges, scientific and magical.  That's open ended but we're going to be looking a possibilities not mathods right now.  Any questions?"

OOC:

Time for a few rolls!

Angharad, as you might expect, you need to make a Computer roll. Thanks to Viridia's prefect-ness, your roll is Computer+2d6.

Eustacia, Nikki, and Emma: Social Studies rolls, please. Also, Drama and Observation, please! Again, remember it is skill level+2d6 thanks to the Prefect bonus.

Dani and Viridia: at the moment you are making plans, so no actual rolls on science and stuff are needed, yet. If you want to do something proactive, such as talking to NPCs, doing rituals and so on, let me know, and we'll do the relevant rolls.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:28, Mon 14 Dec 2015.

Dani leaned back, wobbling precariously before she recalled that she was perched on the arm of the sofa rather than somewhere a little more stable.  She gave up the idea and bounced to her feet, pacing a small circle as she spoke.  "I would suggest that we want to put any mojo on the candidate rather than try to directly affect the judges.  For one we don't know who they are yet so we can't tailor any plans even as far as gender.  For two, there'll be multiple targets and aiming at one is always easier.  And for three, they're subject to change if someone feels a bit queasy or something.  Although we can always get the lineup we want with a few rumours in the right ears if we don't like one in particular.  I'd suggest that we start with the scientific, I've got a luminosity thing that I've been working on, meant to be an anti-theft thing but it'll knock that light reflecting crap you get from the big brands into a cocked hat.  We can make her glow."  She paused briefly, physically and verbally, "In a pleasing cosmetic sense associated with health and stuff, not like she's been irradiated or anything.  That's a different project."

She was ticking off points on her fingers again, in between checking some of the notes she had scribbled earlier.  "Perfume or something, either pheromone based or just a scent that will get them all revved up.  That's a bit more subjective though and most men don't seem to have much of a sense of smell if the amount of cologne they splash about is any indication.  When it comes to questions, wonder if we could get the tech geeks to make something like google glasses, send the answers that way, less likely to get spotted than an earpiece."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 01:07, Tue 15 Dec 2015.

Eustacia sucked her sweet on a stick, pensively. "No, no questions. If there's nothing else, we can get right on it. I have a few ideas of who to choose, and I am sure that's true of everyone else, too. Shall we meet again after classes today? That gives us enough time to do some proper work."

Social Studies: 3 successes (assuming normal rolls at difficulty 5!)
Drama: 4 successes
Observation: 0 successes (boo!!!!!)

Nikki was not accustomed to noticing Emma on most days. It was a combination of her own brightness cancelled out by her proximity to Eustacia and her own naturally muted brightness. Today, though, she peaked Nikki's interest. Emma did possess most of the qualities they might be looking for. She was smart - probably smarter than Eustacia, even - she wasn't as pretty as Eustacia, but there was definitely a lot there to work with - if they could do something about those eyebrows. She'd been scrutinizing Emma for a while, now, during most of the latter part of the following speeches - she might've even gone a little doe-eyed as she considered all the possibilities of makeup, dress, hair, etc.

Snapping out of it as Eustacia spoke and effectively dismissed them all, she hoped no one had caught her fawning over Emma.

She nodded at Eustacia's comments. She wasn't thrilled about working with Emma and Eustacia - it was definitely going to be next to impossible to push her own suggestions at all. She took some mental notes as she stood, nodding. "Sounds like a plan. Do you three want to work together or separately for the canvasing?" she asked of Emma and Eustacia.

---

Social Studies: 2 successes
Drama: 2 successes
Observation: 1 success
<sigh> I hate dice rolling

"Okie dokie," said Angharad and turned to her computer once more. The rest of the room faded away as her concentration became absolute, fingers flying and eyes flicking from window to window on her screen. Now she was in her element!

---

OOC: 08:54, Today: Angharad Probert rolled 13 using 2d6+5 with rolls of 5,3.  Searching for info regarding competition.
10:51, Today: Angharad Probert rolled 19 using 7d6 with rolls of 2,3,1,1,6,2,4.  Re-roll with CORRECT dice!
This message was last edited by the player at 10:52, Tue 15 Dec 2015.

To Dani

Viridia nods.

"We need to be careful.  Being too obvious is as bad as being too unnoticable.  We also need to consider sabotage of others.  That light reflecting thing - could you get the radioactive version ready as well?  That could be useful.  A faint green glow isn't attractive and might not be noticed.  Think minor changes to make an overall impression."

Emma hesitated at answering Nikki's question. She glanced to Eustacia, briefly, before returning her attention to the blonde. "I think we should each come up with a candidate, separately, and then gather to discuss what options have been uncovered. Perhaps over tea." She smiled at the notion, loving the ritual of tea and scones. It was so... civilized. "Then we can evaluate each of the three together - either directly or indirectly - until a winning candidate bubbles to the top."

She paused, her attention drawn to her hands as they smoothed the front of her skirts. "I only ask, that..." she swallowed, trying to pick her words with care, "That we each agree that what is important is discovering the best candidate... not who our own personal choice is. I'd rather not waste time and energy bickering for the sake of someone's personal agenda or bragging rights. We choose the best... collectively." She glanced up from her skirts to meet Eustacia's, and then Nikki's, gaze. "This isn't personal, it's business. Nothing more."

---

Social Studies: 1 success
Observation: 2 successes
Drama: 0 successes

Eustacia gave a firm nod. She loved being on top, so to speak, but when the safety and continued existence of the school was in danger, she could lay aside her own personal advancement and work with the team. "It is a good notion. Better to have three potentials and whittle down than to put all our eggs into one basket. If we're at real loggerheads, then I am sure Viridia can give a casting vote."

She crunched down on the lollipop, the demise of the sweet thing signalling that her mind was already on the job. "If we do disagree, we can always settle the matter at a later date. I already have a notion about suitable candidates, but I need to talk to a couple of them first."

Dani nodded, reaching for her pen again and adding to the mess of ink on her arm.  "They both need a bit of tweaking I think, I'll see what I can do about getting at least one of them up and running.  Maybe something like laxatives in the water bottles as well.  For the other contestants I mean, only not that because it's been done to death and is a bit obvious.  Something to make them obviously uncomfortable so that they don't do well in interviews and things, can't concentrate on their talents...are they doing that horrible pageant talent thing? I presume they are."  She looked at those who had examined the article in more depth for confirmation.

A talent element was required, and would be used in the final round when the contest was held in Blackpool, but not in local heats. St Trinians had trained the girls in a variety of talents. Most of them were probably inappropriate, however.

Nikki assented to Emma's offer after Eustacia had done so. Inwardly, she knew it wouldn't matter whether they'd agreed or not, Emma was likely to throw in with Staci the first chance she got, which meant Nikki's suggestions would be out in the cold unless Viridia could somehow be brought into the debate.

"Agreed." she said, meaning it. There was more at stake here than personal pride. If she couldn't complete the curriculum here at St. Trinian's, what would that mean for her further training back at Miss Carter's? "See you all at tea time, then?" she concluded, rising and smoothing her skirt.

<<TIME JUMP>>

The girls departed to be about their appointed tasks. Their unusual work drew some interest from the girls, and the rumours and speculation soon had the school talking about little else. When time came for them to meet in the staff room again, a rather large and curious crowd formed at the base of the stairs leading up to it.

Eustacia managed to get through the growing crowd, and up the stairs. She sat down on one of the dilapidated chairs, and took out a notepad and pen. She made a few more notes, frowning as she did so. It was rare to see her actually apply herself to a project so thoroughly. She had, however, actually been fairly meticulous in her work, and taken copious notes. When she was enthused, she did not do things by halves. She wanted to help the school. She wanted to have this competition in the bag. And she really wanted to go to France!

Emma entered shortly after her cousin, the door to the staff room crashing against the jamb with greater force than she had intended. She leaned against the door, her eyes closed as she fought to get her breathing under control. Her lips moved silently in a backwards count of 10 before she opened her eyes. She stood from her stoop and smoothed her skirts before her hands slipped to either side of her head to ensure that her chignon had not been unduly disturbed.

"I ordered afternoon tea," she announced a tad breathless. "It should be here directly. That is, if Mrs. Abbott can actually get through the throngs unmolested. Honestly, I've never seen such a display!" she declared, exasperated. She crossed the room to join Eustacia, moving a small round end table and then two other chairs to form a working space for the three girls who had agreed to have a meeting of the minds.

Emma sat and waited a perfectly appropriate amount of time in silence before speaking again. "Were you able to find an adequate candidate?"

Angharad returned at the appointed time, having remained under the radar because who ever noticed her tapping away at her laptop? It was what she did, after all. She found the crowd at the foot of the stairs a bit disconcerting and nearly turned tail. She paused to take a couple of deep breaths, then wormed her way through and scampered upstairs.

Good! She wasn't late, or at least, others were later. She smiled at Emma and Stacey and settled on one of the sofas.

Nikki arrived not long after, looking quite worse for wear. Being the local Yank at the party, the others had not bothered to show restraint when trying to accost the information out of her. She had a swelling bruise under her right eye and the knuckles on both of her fists were cut and bloody.

"Good God!" She swore as she entered and managed to push the door shut behind her. She took inventory of the others and shrugged. "Either they went easier on you, or you've had long enough to fix the damage." she chuckled. Seeing where Emma and Eustacia were seated, she moved to their table, hardly noticing Angharad bent over her laptop. "Gimme a sec, I'll fix myself up." she frowned and then reached into her bag to break out her 'repair' kit.

Emma's attention flickered to the door at the sound of another entering. She gasped at Nikki's appearance, completely forgetting that she had posed a question to Eustacia. Worse, she hadn't given the other an opportunity to respond before becoming distracted and drawn to something else. "Oh Dear!" she exclaimed, worry creasing her brow. She rose quickly and moved to one of the cupboards, "That looks painful. Here," she returned with a first aid kit and reclaimed her chair, shifting it so that she could face Nikki properly. "Let me help with that. Otherwise you'll get blood everywhere with your hands in such a state."

---

Sorry, it seemed like something Emma would do. I'll wait for others to post before responding, again.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:33, Mon 21 Dec 2015.

Eustacia sighed. "I think someone has been giving the third years sugar again. If they give you any more trouble, we can always set one of the other gangs on them. If they are fighting each other, they might well leave you alone."

She laid her notes on the table, and took out her tablet. "I have been taking photos around the school, catching people in unexpected and unrehearsed activities. It might give us a bit more help choosing a candidate. Once the others get here, we can flick through and see what you all reckon."

If Nikki had known the term, she would've been gobsmacked at Emma's actions. Unfortunately, she did not, so she was simply stunned. "Uh. Thanks." she said, with surprising sincerity. In truth, she had to stop herself from flinching and delivering a blow of her own to Emma - expecting, as she was, an attack at any moment. She was caught off guard by Emma's concern and tenderness, which, likely, quelled the natural fight-or-fight^* instincts she had around Eustacia and Emma. She offered Emma a genuine smile of gratitude before she answered Eustacia's question. "Nah, nothing like that. They just thought they'd try to beat the information out of me regarding what we're doing here." he shrugged. "They were wrong. More than a couple are worse off than I am. Long fall down those stairs..." she trailed off.

Finally, she got around to Eustacia's actual comments. "Candid pics are a good idea, unless people start calling you a creeper." she chuckled, "I've got a candidate myself, whenever we're ready to present."

---

*NOT a typo. ;) -Ken

A shy smile curled Emma's lips as she focused her attention on the swelling eye. "Of course," she answered demurely. She dabbed at the tender skin with a soothing salve, gently smoothing away rough skin and excess cream alike. Her eyes flickered over Nikki's likeness critically, her fingers brushing away Nikki's long hair so that she could examine the dove-like skin for other abrasions. She couldn't help but be fascinated at how quickly the creamy complexion took the hues of contusion or how the rainbow subtly forming beneath the skin contrasted the fair girl. The swelling, of course, was to be expected. It looked as if one of the Hockey Girl's landed a blow solidly on Nikki's high cheekbone. She was amazed that Nikki's eye wasn't bloodshot from the trauma.

Her attention to Nikki's face almost reached the point of awkward silence before she remembered herself. Rose flushed her cheeks as she fumbled with the cleaning unguents, before gently taking up one of Nikki's hands to tend to the torn flesh found there. Again, she marveled at how Nikki's apparent soft hands had weathered the brutality she clearly delivered to her assailants. Skin had been marred across the knuckles, and her fists would be tender with slight bruising, but overall, her hands looked no different that had she skinned them falling from a bicycle. After the flesh had been cleaned, she tenderly applied antibiotic cream before wrapping the hand with gauze and securing it with a little medical tape. The process was repeated with the other hand. Periodically, she'd glance up at Nikki, briefly, wondering whether her patient had noticed her peculiar interest, before returning her attention to the task at hand.

"There," she declared, with a pleasant smile, "Right as rain. Or, as close as can be expected. You may want an ice pack for your eye and your hands, otherwise, you'll be dreadfully sore in the next day or two." She rose, returning the first aid kit and disposing of the used materials. She washed her hands before returning to the table and noting that Angharad was sitting with her laptop off on her own, moved another chair toward the table. She hoped the gesture would be taken as an invitation as she didn't want to interrupt the girl's 'Netting.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:27, Tue 22 Dec 2015.

Eustacia watched the transformation with a distant, rather calculated eye. As the work continued, she remarked in an offhand manner to Angharad, "She's very good, isn't she? It's rare to find someone with some skill in this sort of thing. Most of the girls are more interested in causing damage than patching it up."

She laid her tablet in the middle of the table, so people could flick through the photos easily. There were a lot of them, and not all of them had been taken in a flattering fashion. The changing rooms for the sports classes displayed a lot of flesh, while a decent selection of sixth form beauties were portrayed in the sort of light that brought out their worst.

"As you can see, I went for the very worst possible results. I reason that anyone who can look presentable when taken to look hideous is going to be absolutely stunning when we really work on them. We can whittle down the results, but I am reasonably confident that there's only two or three who could even be considered viable. There's a fine line to be drawn between brains and beauty, and having a personality we can work with. Bright enough to manage, dumb enough to be manipulated. We do not want a pretty, intelligent, and Machiavellian hag trying to get original ideas at the wrong moment. They're the very worst sort of people."

She batted her eyelashes innocently. No, she couldn't possibly be doing it on purpose. It is unfair to consider the hypocrisy of her statement. She's not a devious bitch, she's just misunderstood.

“Gangway!” The word was uttered just loudly enough to carry to its intended recipients and no more.

The gaggle of first-years who were on duty for the prefect slammed into the crowd at the foot of the stairs and then parted like the Red Sea, dragging the older girls with them, and leaving a path that allowed the prefect to drift through unimpeded.

She almost smiled. A year ago, that would have taken a considerable projection of will to pull off, but now, her prefect’s stripes entitled her to have the work done for her.

There was no mistaking which clique the prefect hailed from. Her simple needlework skills were sufficient to have altered her uniform, taking her skirt in the opposite direction from most of her compatriots, so that it dusted the floor as she walked. Her bell sleeves almost did the same, and the whole ensemble had been washed frequently enough with cheap imported clothes from a certain market stall that it was now a comfortable approximation to black.

Her nails, lips, hair and eyes were coloured to match, from her belt hung a wicked-looking silver dagger in a velvet sheath, at her throat was a silver pentacle, and across her shoulders, blending almost invisibly with her hair and clothes was slung a shapeless black bag from that same market stall.

The Red Sea closed behind her and her young entourage followed her up the stairs. As she reached the landing, she intoned, “Guard!” and the first years stuck to the head of the stairs like a nest of angry wasps. It would take bravery bordering on foolishness to run that particular gauntlet.

Vanda Markham drew herself up outside the double doors of the Upper Staff Room, then cast the doors open and flipped them closed behind her with a single fluid movement born of long practice. As she swept in, she heard the doors give a satisfying click as they closed to perfection.

Her dark eyes settled on each of the occupants in turn, but her face was a pale, emotionless mask as she addressed the Headmistress alone.
“You called for me, Miss Fritton?”

There was a sudden, ominous cthonk noise from the far wall. The panelling slide forwards, then aside, revealing the dark, mysterious interior of some sort of hidden chamber or passage. From the darkness, the form of the Headmistress emerged, carrying a glass of something deep red in one hand, and a cigarette holder in the other, the cigarette smouldering at the tip.

"Indeed I did, Miss Markham. Do take a seat. I think your input on this project might be very beneficial. How much have you learned? The rumour mill is going quite berserk, it seems."

Miss Fritton cast her eyes around the room and sighed. "Young Tatham is as punctual as ever, I see. Did anyone remind her that we were meeting again? She's probably up to her eyeballs in ectoplasm again. I admire her zeal, but her timekeeping really needs work."

After eying the Secret Door, and mentally noting its location for future investigation, Vanda draped herself across a vacant seat and pouted.
"Seems you're interested in Goths - intelligent and pretty ones. An easy enough quest on the face of it, but what you want them for seems to be a matter for pure speculation. Congratulations to you all on keeping it quiet - so far."

She smiled inwardly. If that was Danielle Tatham, ectoplasm wouldn't be any surprise at all!

Dani hit the stairs at a run, a faint glow hovering around her finger tips.  When someone looked as though they were even thinking about blocking her path, she took a second to wave said hands ominously in their direction.  It mostly convinced them to back off.  Although that could have been the odour of brimstone drifting in her wake.  "I'm expected, you can let me in, in fact I'm late and if I get later you 'orrible lot are going to incur my wrath to an equal extent as I get from Miss F and co."

Either the mob had been warned she was on her way or her threat paid off, a gap opened wide enough to permit her entrance to the staff room and the door crashed open.  "Sorry I'm late Miss, all.  I had a fantastic idea though and I really needed to find this book, then I thought I'd work on the cream while the librarians were rummaging in the back room...gods that sounds like a euphemism...But I've got us a plan B, C, Z, whatever...You're not Viridia."  In her usual scattered way, Dani finally noticed the new face in the room and paused.

Nikki offered a genuine return of gratitude as Emma rose and returned to her seat. She was still off-put by the whole gesture, and would likely need to sort things out for a bit before being able to get a solid grasp on the matter.

In short order, Ms. Fritton, Danielle and, surprisingly, Prefect Markham, all entered the meeting chamber. It seemed Vanda had been summoned by Ms. F for some reason, and - apparently, replaced Viridia. Nikki'd heard their most recent partner-in-crime had suffered some mysterious misfortune earlier in the day, but had just chalked it up to rumors until now.

Angharad looked up from her keyboard (having been enthralled by tracing a blockchain to its origins...).

"Um, yes... it's fascinating to see what can be done with physical effects... to think not so long ago that's all people had," she said rather vaguely to Eustacia.

Before she could return to her screen, Vanda Markham appeared. What was she doing here? Manipulative creature. Of course, maybe that was the best sort of creature for the current caper.

Then Miss Fritton arrived, via an entrance she probably thought was secret but which had been on Angharad's plans for at least two years, and Danielle smelling as if she'd raised a spirit that lived in a disused toilet.

"Come along, Danielle! You can tell us your ideas in due course. Now, girls, Miss Bowman met with an incident earlier. Nothing too serious, but collateral damage is always a risk when poking one's nose into other people's business. I have brought Miss Markham in to coordinate the project from now on." She sat langrously on a chaise-longue. "Vanda, dear, we are arranging to enter the model search contest being run by Vague magazine, so we can run off with the prize, and keep the creditors from closing down our school. The girls have been doing some research. Angharad has been hunting down the details of the academic portion of the competition, which is the first stage. We need to cheat our way through that. Danielle is working on ways to enhance our candidiate's chances. The others have been attempting to find us a contestant, with beauty, brains, and gullibility enough to be a contender, but not so much that they can go their own way. I'm intrigued to learn their thoughts."

She sipped her drink, which had the colour and consistency of a good tawny port. "So, then. First things first. We need to discover the questions and answers for round one. Angharad - what can you tell us?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:55, Thu 11 Feb 2016.

"What-ho, Marky. Welcome to the team." Eustacia placed a paper bag of sherbert lemons on the table for all to grab as required. She looked at Vanda with a slightly amused smirk. They were in the same classes, and though Eustacia had been asked to be a Prefect, she had refused the honour as it seemed far too much like having to actually do some work occasionally. And work was a four letter word.

She turned to pay attention to Angharad. "What's the score, Taffy?"

"Nawr te," said Angharad, "It's been a bit hard, like, but... well, they don't appear to have the questions on their servers, like, but this may be because they have farmed out this part of the contest to an outside agency. The agency in question is a PR firm called Public Relations International (Calvin Klein) - it seems that this PRICK is owned by the designer label, and it makes some sense, I suppose, given that this is a competition to find a new world class model."

You notice that the Welsh intonations become more pronounced as she gets absorbed in her discoveries.

"Nawr, the questions and the answers are on file - paper files would you believe? - in the PR offices at Vague magazine's place. In a safe. The judges for the competition have yet to be selected, however, but their role is limited. While the academic part will be marked by the people who are handling the competition at PRICK, the beauty element will be judged by a panel of five... and they appear not to have finalised on who they want, let alone announced it yet.

"There will be regional heats - our nearest is the south-east one, which will be held in Brighton in June - and a grand final in Blackpool come August. Knowing my luck, clashing with the Eisteddfod."

"Hello Minky," returned the prefect. There was the hint of a smile, which probably indicated that she was comfortable enough in present company to relax the 'death incarnate' public image.

"Sounds like there's a school trip in the offing - to the Vague offices, with a safecracker in tow. And we'll need someone with enough skill to do it without leaving a trace. This isn't a TNT job.

"We can't nobble the judges until we know who they are, but the fact that they haven't been picked yet gives us plenty of time to get the question papers before we worry about that. Unless there's things I don't know about.

"We can work on finding a candidate, though. I can probably give you a few suggestions there, I know most of them."

She took a sherbert lemon from the bag and sniffed at it as a matter of professional habit before popping it into her mouth. Then she rummaged in her bag for a moment and tossed a bag of treacle toffee onto the table beside the lemons.

"Unless, of course, there's a way for us to pick the judges?"

"Hey Van, I see the rumours about Viridia are true then? Or some of them at least."  Although they were at opposite ends of the school in terms of age, Dani had met the infamous Vanda Markham a time or two, mostly when they happened to be drafted into the same ritual or ran into each other in the greenhouse.  Short of the goth-turned-prefect revealing that she was none other than Lilith herself though, Dani treated her with the same cheerful semi-respect she gave anyone else older than her...when she wasn't distracted by something else.
"You're going to want more than needlework to get into a safe somewhere like that.  Paper papers say that someone is a paranoid bunny and probably has more layers of security than you can shake an athame at.  On a good day I can get us through the mechanical stuff but electronics aren't my field."  She perused both sets of sweets on the table before shrugging and circling the room to find herself a seat, either the choices were unappealing or she didn't trust the people providing them, not that she expected anyone in the room to try poisoning the other members of the group, that would be counter productive.  "With candidates, I figure if all else fails we whip up a succubus.  No question they'll win the looks portion, can probably swing any kind of personality or talent round and a couple of thousand years or more is going to give you a damn good knowledge base."  Dani finally found a beanbag that was to her liking and plopped down in it, abandoning herself to gravity and theory that the piece of furniture would still be filled with something soft.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:05, Fri 12 Feb 2016.

Eustacia grabbed a piece of toffee, but before eating, she pondered the situation. "If the only place we can get the papers is in their office, we're going to need a decent plan. We could talk our way in, but we'd still have to break the safe, or wherever they are kept. A classic break and enter heist might be easier. I mean, I can get in easily enough, it just takes a decent suit and a pair of horn rims, and any office has an open door. But once inside, we'd still have to grab the file. Makes it too risky." She considered options. "Hayward and I - we could case the place, maybe? Then let you needlework afficianados do the sneaky stuff."

She gave a slight smile. "It'd be fun. But, you know, I think using a succubus as a contestant is probably utterly insane. I'm find with demons, not a problem usually, but controlling one all that time? Trés risky, darlings! We could ask one to put a little pep in her step, whoever we choose, but really, putting one in a tankini and letting her loose in Blackpool? Hell, no!" Literally.

She ate the toffee. She liked sweet things.

Dani pursed her lips and plucked a book out of her bag, dusty, leather bound, and titled in faded gilding...she had at least come prepared for her plan.  She grumbled something under her breath, it sounded like _{"It is Blackpool."}

Genuine surprise crossed Vanda's face. Needlework wasn't her forte, beyond the usual petty entry and basic escapology, but the concept that there could be safes that St Trinians couldn't crack seemed to be a new one for her.

"More than needlework?" she queried. "Well, if that's the case, maybe we can go back to the computer angle. I mean, those papers weren't hand-written. If we can find out who wrote them, and hack into his or her computer, it might be easier than safecracking.

"I agree with Minky, though, a succubus at a beauty pageant would be too unreliable. It would have the raw charisma to get the votes from male judges - or interested females - but it'd be like using a cutting torch to open a barrel of gunpowder!"

Angharad's fingers were tapping away again and she was muttering under her breath.

Anyone glancing at the screen could see building plans spinning around. A large red star appeared on one office, with a spider's web of lines converging upon it. Some green ones went through corridors and other conventional routes, a second set of blue lines went through the hidden accesses, crawlspaces and the like.

"I mean, Taff and I between us could probably manage it, but knowing how to get through a five pin offset tumbler lock won't help much if there are electronic alarms all over the place, or if you have to get through something digital first.  It's not like I'm saying we can't do it, just that it's not going to be a job for a stethoscope and wishful thinking."  Dani hastened to clarify what she meant, just because she wasn't the complete b&e package, she was still confident that, between them, they could handle anything thrown their way.  If all else failed they could just hex any security into submission.

The thick parchment of the book crackled softly under her fingers as she turned from reading the finer points of dealing with Hell's call girls, it was hardly as though Blackpool, or Brighton come to that, could not be improved with a bit of excitement.  The faint pout still hovering about her lips at having her idea shot down, faded further as she found something else to catch her attention.  Love spells were probably a bad idea but adapting something so that...Those who knew her would recognise the shift in posture as one of her ideas struck, it was probably a blessing that she remembered to scribble on a scrap of paper rather than the ancient tome in her lap, still, it would have been helpful if said scrap was something other than the application form pulled from Vague.

Eustacia managed to finish the very sticky toffee before speaking. A proper lady never talked with her mouth full!!!

"The school has a fine tradition of burglary, and I am sure between us we can concoct something. Disable alarms, get Taffy and the Geek into the building to work a little safecracking magic, make a copy of the questions and answers, then sneak back out without anyone being any the wiser. All over in half an hour - job done!"

Grabbing something like this in a daring raid was exactly the sort of tnhing that fired the imagination of the St T's girls. She was pretty sure there would be no shortage of volunteers to provide assistance. "If they did exist on a computer we could get to remotely, I am sure Angharad would have grabbed them already. We don't need much to get into the place. Alarm off, a floor plan - it's not rocket science. It's needlework!!!"

A sherbert lemon was then devoured. Her sweet tooth was always rapacious when she was scheming.

B&E - needlework as it was politely referred to - was something Nikki had yet to learn at Ms. Carter's. In fact, it was one of the main reason's she'd been sent to St. Trinian's, as their girls were some of the best in the world at it. She definitely needed to pay attention on this mission.

"I'm not sure we need everyone to head to Vague." Nikki said, ignoring the candies that had been offered - she hadn't built up an immunity to all the poisons, yet. "Vanda, you've got sneaky down pat - how much can you use that to cover other girls, too?"

"So, we're looking at a full frontal B&E on the safe then? Well, we should think outside the box here. This is a St Trinians mission - we six are just the organizers. We don't have to do everything ourselves - if there's another girl we can recruit who is a better safecracker than any of us, let's bring her in - on a need to know basis, of course."

Vanda hesitated at Nikki's comment and query. She decided to take it as a compliment. "If there are only six or seven of us, we may need all of our talents to gain access. We have to do this without anyone knowing we've done it, remember.

"I'm not sure what you mean about covering anyone else. If there's some elephant of a fourth former stomping around in pit boots, I can't make her quiet."

Vanda pondered her own words for a moment. Could she cast some sort of Blanket of Silence spell?

OOC: It'll be up to the Headmistress whether we can recruit skilled NPCs or what spells are available, but we'll need to know in order to make a workable plan.

"I'm just saying, your level of sneak is approaching something something Jedi-like, in my book. Just wondering if your mojo just works on you, or if it can be used on a group." Nikki clarified, reclining back against the sofa.

Vanda shook her head. "It's just acrobatics, it's not like I can cast a Blanket of Silence, or anything. Magic doesn't work that way, unfortunately. I can't cast an 'Open Sesame' spell on that safe, either."

Miss Fritton watched Dani and sighed. "Good thing we can apply online. Now, I see no problem with you going to the Vague offices -  we can make it a practical field trip. You can take who you will along, but remember, large numbers are easier to spot. We'll lay on the plain school minibus, and the Tuck Shop is at your disposal. You can use the labs and the ritual circle as well. Let me know when you plan to go. At night, I presume, for obvious reasons."

She rubbed her hands. "So, ladies - who do you think should be the next face that makes a millon?"

Eustacia retrieved her tablet, and displayed a few photos that showed the sort of blonde loveliness that was bound to end up digging a lot of gold once she was unleashed onto the world outside. "I'm putting my money behind Belgravia Earheart. She's a great choice. She has a fairly poor family background, so she has the beauty queen rags to riches element. Now, I know she is at best in the middle of the bell curve for her academic results - and that's being generous. But if we are cheating the exam, it isn't an issue, and we can definitely put pep in her step when it comes to the Q and A on stage. Also, she's a smooth operator. She really will shine in a beauty contest, she can charm the pines off a hedgehog. She has half the boys at Eton frothing at the mouth. And, one last good point, is that she can be a total and utter bitch. When it comes to doing a number on the other contestants, she has the drive. We all know that those who make a success of the beauty world, in a pageant or in front of a camera, are all absolute cows. Well, she is! But dumb enough to do what we say and not get creative. I think she'd be spot on. What about you?"

She looked to Emma and Nikki, curious as to who they had been thinking of for the contestant.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:48, Mon 15 Feb 2016.

Nikki tossed a folder down on the table - it was an impressively organized and detailed dossier on one Sharon Kray - complete with some seemingly impossible to snag candid pictures of the girl when she wasn't completely covered in her usual chav attire. Honestly, the whole collection looked as if Nikki had hired a firm to do her work for her.

"Sharon Kray." she said, taking on an unusually official tone in her voice. She'd done these briefings before, it seemed. "She's directly connected to the Kray crime family which I'm sure we're all familiar with." Nikki hadn't been, but was, now. "She needs a lot of work. Chiseling, mostly, but there's enough good under the bad that I think our combined efforts can eventually get it down to a nice scalpel application of make-up. Her schoolwork isn't impeccable, but her IQ is off the charts. She just doesn't apply herself in most cases.

"That said, she brings a whole slew of skillsets and connections to the table that we can use, and are in need of. Cut her in on this piece of the action, and I think she'll willingly play ball with us." she concluded.

[OOC: She's a Fixer and I think we need that, yes? Could be an in-game solution to our problems? -Ken]

Angharad was still muttering to herself in Welsh as she dug into the alarm systems of the Vague office block. She also checked out the sewers in case a really hidden approach was required.

"Scalpel rather than a bucket full of fake tan and a trowel for the makeup you mean?"  Dani looked up briefly from whatever calculations had caught her attention.  Her lack of patience for all things chav had been publicised to the school when she added some kind of green colouring to every batch of tan that came into the grounds over the course of a full term.  It wasn't her fault that the drama group had something on that also required it.  "We don't necessarily need to choose our own judges, if we can get something from them once they're declared, we can always whammy them if it comes to it.  Or even go for plain old blackmail."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 22:27, Tue 16 Feb 2016.

Emma continued to sit with quiet poise, her hands folded prudently in her lap. Her attention drifted around the room as each spoke, giving the person her undivided attention. She had accepted Vanda's new role in their conclave with little more than a nod of acknowledgement, and perhaps slight deference. The two girls were familiar with one another as they shared many classes and acquaintances. While Vanda dressed the tortured soul lost in Morticia Addams' closet, Emma knew the other young woman's passions ran far deeper than the requisite 'look'. Personally, Emma never understood why black everything had to be the Gothic Uniform. It was such a drab, and frankly, tired, cliche. Still, Emma respected Vanda's talents and opinions; and for that, she was pleased to see the new prefect among their ranks.

The conversation bandied about acquiring the questions, blackmail, the usual tactics that were the foundation to any St. Trinian ladies formal education. She honestly began to feel a little ill equipped to provide support; after all, her needlework was passable but hardly her passion. The conversation briefly swirled to possible contestants. Eustacia made a compelling pitch, as did Nikki. Both girls presented had definite strengths to be employed and weaknesses that could probably be neutralized, or at least diminished.

With delicate movement, Emma retrieved her journal from her bag. She didn't have pictures, not like the other two. Instead, the anachronistic Emma had sketched the likeness of her candidate. The image seemed to stand out from the page. A new picture with notes covered several pages. "I'd like to present Miss Cinnamon Richmond." The sketch that she turned to the rest revealed a long, lean athletic form that could be a gymnast if she were not so tall. Perhaps the Hockey Girl was a dancer, or track star, either way, her physique balanced Amazonian strength with the soft fluidity of poise and grace.

"She's very average in the academic arena, but, I don't believe any of us are truly concerned with that. Her appeal is that she's not a traditional beauty; meaning that she has that 'something' that people can't quite put their finger on, but at the same point, they can't help but appreciate her statuesque, Grecian allure. I'll admit, she's hardly a contender against Bela or Sharon... but they are so..." Emma chewed her lower lip as she searched for the correct work, "Normal. All contestants are going to be Barbie-doll cutouts, it's only a question of whether they'll all show up with blond hair. The judges are going to want someone who can bridge what is with what could be. Bela looks exactly like what they have. I think we should consider putting forth a candidate that represents the future."

Emma glanced around the room before continuing. She swallowed and sighed, "Of course, there is always a concern that she may slip her poise if anyone pushes too hard. Her temper is almost legendary, and if half the rumors are to be believed, her brutality is second to none. But," a smile twitched at the corner of her mouth, "Being a 'cow', to use Eustacia's phrase, isn't the only way to unnerve or intimidate other candidates. I'd like to think that this is well within Cinnamon's wheelhouse."

Vanda listened to the others' suggestions carefully. She picked up that maybe they should all make a suggestion and then choose. For her, one candidate stood out if you wanted to make an impression.

”You were talking about recruiting a Goth. How about Lucy West? Strawberry blonde, likes dressing in virginal white and treating the boys to a ‘brides of Dracula’ experience. She could probably work the judges pretty well, giving them an innocent smile and then licking her lips with that coy, suggestive manner of hers. She’s got a brain, but she’s manageable - provided there are no young men around.”

Diverting from the alarm systems momentarily, Angharad went into the school records system like a knife into warm butter and pulled up the records for each girl proposed.

Eustacia lifted a finger to make a point. "I can appreciate that she is attractive, but really, Lucy West? Not likely! These judges are going to be looking for someone who has a little je ne sais quois, but the whole point of goth is looking most unlike the sort of thing they are going to be choosing. I have no problem with goths, many of my friends are goths, and I am not above donning the velvet and pale face look myself now and then. But trust me, darling, I know the fashion world. She could make it in an alternative journal, like Bizarre, maybe. Vague is high-end Milan and chinless West Hampstead in outlook. She's just not right for them."

She considered the other suggestions. "I am not sure that an unrepenant chav like Kray is controllable. And the press would have a field day - not that this is a bad thing, if we can get some spin working for us. Cindy's got a lot to recommend her, though. Definitely in the right figure bracket. I am not sure a borderline psychopath is necessarily a bad thing. Look at Naomi Campbell..."

She looked at the others. "What do the rest of you think?"

She hadn't exactly tried to totally rubbish the other ideas, barring her anti-goth and chav bias. She must have been taking it rather seriouly.

"Belgrabbia Airhead?"  The surname was rich coming from Dani but she ploughed on, seemingly oblivious to the irony.  "She'll get snapped shagging someone's brother, or one of the judges, or get caught sticking itching powder in one of the other contestant's bras.  The girl has no sense of subtlety and her idea of pillow talk is opening her mouth and letting her brain fall out."  How the scientist knew this little piece of gossip was up for speculation but she spoke with conviction.  "Loosey isn't much better, no offense Van.  It's not about her looks, it's about the lack of ability to keep anyone else's knickers where they should be.  She'll have one half of the judging panel in bed and the other half hammering on the bedroom door.  Shazvegas might work but my vote goes for the Cinnamon bun.  If it comes to it, we can probably dope her up a little to keep the temper under control, we'll have a hell of a lot less work to do than on any of the others."
Dani clearly had opinions on the suggested candidates and seemed to know a surprising amount about the girls.  Clearly the first year spy network was as strong as ever and her unique memory was capable of retaining more than just chemical/alchemical formulae.

Vanda pouted for a moment as she contemplated Emma's suggestion, then shrugged. She'd thought the idea was to choose one of the Goths. Wasn't that why they'd drafted Vanda in the first place? Not that it really mattered who they chose as long as they won. And with any luck, that wouldn't be down to the candidate anyway.
"Sounds like we have a winner. I like the drugs idea, though." She gave Dani a quick wink. "We'll need something to keep her manageable."

Dani shook her head vehemently.  "Not drugs, just something...I don't know, a filter.  Or a sleep spell.  Maybe hypnosis."

Miss Fritton considered the options, and blew a langrous ring of smoke in a manner that would make most red blooded males bite through their spoon at dinner. "I can see what each of you is thinking. They are all very viable candidates. I only wish there was a way we could find someone who had everything in one place." She sighed, forlornly. "I don't suppose there is any way to remove twenty years from me without a demonic pact? It's so inconvenient. Beelzebub won't return my calls. And he's deleted his Twitter account. I can't get anything from him, it is darned inconvenient!"

She pondered the candidates. "We've got several problems, depending on who we select. It really comes down to who you think you can form into a winning candidate. Drugs are only one option, Danielle. There are others. Which can you fake the most convincingly? Brains? Charm? A genial manner? Poise? You'll only get one chance at this, so be sure. Be very sure. You will get whatever support you need. We have one vote for someone who eats raw meat if left unattended. Who next?"

Eustacia reached into her jacket and drew out the kind of cigar usually found between the teeth of master criminals in dubious Seventies spy thrillers. She inhaled the aroma and sighed, eyes closed. She then removed the little paper band, and bit the end off. And chewed, in a ladylike fashion. Chocolate cigars. It fulfilled both her extravagantly sweet tooth, and her distinct flair for the theatrical. She leaned back in her seat, and it only required a white persian pussy cat to complete the image.

"Well, let's be logical. Objective. I know these words may be a little rare in this environment, but we can't take sides all the time." She did not blow a smoke ring. And blowing partialy chewed chocolate across the room was simply not done. "Never mind the girls in question. Consider the options. Brains. Yes, we can simulate that fairly easily. We rig the exam, and we can feed answers to any girl at the contest, and even spice up the brainbox a little." She tipped her cigar to Dani as a sign of respect. "It wouldn't be the first time that has happened, and it won't be the last. Beauty? Let's not insult the intelligence. Of course we can fake it. We're going to a beauty contest. Every single inch of skin and hair on that stage will be fake. All we have to decide is whether or not we're going to use silicon, science, magic, or just greasepaint and highlights. And then, there's poise."

She pondered that problem. "Social graces are something we might have trouble with. It's not so easy to fake that. We can pull a Pygmalion, with enough time. Which we may well have. But once they get on that stage, they are on their own. You can't feed someone a walk. Well, not easily. Panache in a bottle is worth exploring. Emma and Marky - if that's possible, I am pretty sure you can cook it up between you. On that score, I think our best options are Belle and Cindy, if truth be told. Good raw materials and at least some general disposition towards style. I'd prefer the former, but I'm not averse to Cindy. Provided we can keep her sedated when she's not actually working her booty. Remember Roedean."

In fairness, Cinnamon had not meant to bite off that girl's ear. She just had one of her little moments. Anyone can have a lapse from time to time. It was just a shame she had been a spectator, and not one of the opposing hockey team. At least they knew what they were in for when they took the field.

It was exactly what Nikki had suspected would happen. Names were brought forth. Valid points were made, and, in the end, the two prime candidates to be considered were those pitched by Staci and her lapradoodle.

"I think everyone has valid points. Each candidate has some merit and some flaw. I say we put it up to a silent vote for everyone to consider each candidate on their own worths. Top two candidates. You have to sign your name and you can't vote for your own candidate. Sound fair?" she proposed, but really only looked to Ms. Fritton for support. She knew Staci and Emma were like to just vote for each other's candidates, but hoped it wouldn't be enough to just automatically throw the vote to whomever Staci wanted picked.

She didn't ponder, of course, how petty she was being, simply because she knew that Staci was probably somehow being pettier. A contest within a contest, with some hidden prize only Staci could suss out. Bragging rights or some such. Plausible deniability if it all went wrong somehow, too.

"Sorry Miss, time travel isn't really my thing.  And my suggestion of everything in one place got shot down."  She shrugged, only a tiny amount of passive aggressive sulk in the gesture.  "Although I guess we could get one to possess Cinnamon.  That would put some stops on her and give her the social niceties."  She really did like her succubus plan.  Hopefully once things got past the discussion stage, something else would catch her interest so that the impulsive girl did not summon some denizen of hell just for the fun of it.  "Or we could just force feed her America's Next Top Model for a couple of days I suppose."  She shot a grin in Nikki's direction.

Angharad looked horrified.

"Do not ask me for an opinion, I do not have a clue about such matters. I'm good at what I do but I know what my limits are... beyond them I do not go."

Miss Fritton rose and purloined some paper and a pencil from the table. She divided the paper up and passed the pieces to everyone. "You may abstain if you wish, Angharad, but in te event of a tie, you may be called on to vote. Now, each of you, write down the name of your choice on the paper. I will tally the votes. I think Nikki makes a good point about not voting for your own choice. We can take it as read that you have no objection to their inclusion. Cast your votes, and we shall see which of these commendable young ladies is going to be our raw material."

The democratic process was unusual at the school. Any form of election was riddled with corruption and intimidation. It was quite novel to have one that was free from such influences.

Emma did an admirable job of not flinching or stiffening as her cousin so callously described the Goth culture. She hardly fit into the 'traditional' look that Vanda sported, nor was she the dark tart that Lucy was with her homage to one of Dracula's vixens. It was such a superficial thing to cluster all like minded personas into. If that was the only criteria, Emma could have blended into any number of cliques and her very own would be the last of the list.

She glanced down at the piece of paper and fretted. Her eyes flickered around the room, taking in each of the brain trust carefully. Her lower lip slipped between her teeth and she gnawed with nervousness.

"Miss Fritton, why must we select someone outside this group? I mean, does it not increase the risk of failure by adding more cooks to the kitchen? We have loveliness, intelligence, and scruples represented in here..." She glanced at Nikki, briefly, before her eyes returned to the paper. She doodled a little on the corner of the ballot. "If we're concerned with controlling our puppet, why have a puppet at all?" Her eyes flickered to Eustacia, "If we keep it simple with less moving parts, we increase our chances of success."

Her eyes rose to meet their matron, "If we could choose from those gathered here..." she shrugged a half shoulder and glanced around to anyone for support.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:57, Wed 24 Feb 2016.

Miss Fritton's smile wasw slightly indulgent. "A very valid question, but the answer is something that comes with experience. While I agree that several of you could easily fulfil that role, this was not the task I laid before you. Consider this - the candidate will be forever in the public eye, subject to constant scrutiny, and very probably highly restricted in what they can and cannot risk. There will be things that must be done, things that would be very risky to attempt under such close examination. No, my dear, that would be most inconvenient. And, of course, there is the other reason. The truth is that it is always better to be the power behind the throne, than the poor weary puppet who sits upon it."  She retrieved her glass and inhaled the aroma. "You, my dears, are going to be that power, not the figurehead. Your talents would be wasted in a more decorative role."

"Plus it's easier to convince 'Stacia that her candidate isn't perfect than trying to convince her that she isn't perfect."  Dani offered the girl in question a sunny smile.  Someone needed to remind her ladyship that she didn't rule here, just occasionally.
Dani scribbled her choice on the slip of paper she was handed and folded it twice.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:44, Thu 25 Feb 2016.

Emma flushed crimson, "Yes. Of course. How... short-sighted of me," she murmured, clearly embarrassed. Dani's comment, while striking a chord of truth, was a bit more snarky than required. To be fair, Emma didn't understand the need for backbiting among Miss Fritton's hand picked. She wished each of the girls gathered could simply teat one another politely. Being polite didn't mean one had to like the other; but it certainly preserved time and nerves.

She took to the paper and scribbled her response before folding it neatly in half and returning it to Miss Fritton.

[Private to GM: I don't remember what the name of Nikki's person is, but that is the name that Emma writes down. Bella's too vapid to trust the success of this caper to.]

Vanda pouted for a moment. Right now, the prospect of strutting around wearing a crown, commanding the attention of the judges and basking in the adulation of a congregation, seemed a very attractive prospect. And of course she would be chosen, both as candidate and winner...

But Miss Fritton seemed adamant. And she had a logical point: Vanda could work more magic behind the scenes than she could on stage. Literally.

With a small sigh, she wrote a name on the paper and handed it back to the headmistress.

[Private to Headmistress: Vanda will vote for Belgravia.]

Eustacia considered Danielle with a very cold eye. "I have never claimed that I am perfect. It is merely that I am so much better than anyone else here. But that does not mean I am perfect. Simply superior."

It was hard to be sure whether she meant it or not. There was a slight smile, which could be interpreted several ways. And she was clearly not going to give away anything more. Instead, she carefully wrote on the paper, flowing fine copperplate. She folded it, returned it to the headmistress, and bit a chunk off her cigar with rather vicious finality.

Nikki rolled her eyes quite dramatically at Eustacia's comment. She shared a sympathetic look with Emma that might have said "And that is why we all can't play nice." had she known what the other girl had been thinking moments before. Truth be told, she found Dani's comment bold and funny, unusual for such a young student.

She considered the candidates. Unfortunately, she really did feel that Sharon was the best choice - even in light of Miss Fritton's comments about the Inner Circle being the power behind the throne, so to speak. If they brought someone from outside the Circle into it, then they might even be easier to control and conform. Still, it was what it was. She pondered her choice, then wrote names down on the form. First choice, then second. She didn't really like either.

[Private to Miss Artemis Fritton:

• 1. Lucy West: She's the cleanest palette, in my opinion, easiest to start from scratch on.
• 2. Cindy Richmond: But can we please not refer to her as Cinnamon? That SO sounds like a stripper name!
  

]
This message was last edited by the player at 03:46, Sun 28 Feb 2016.

Miss Fritton took the papers, and examined them closely. Of course, it was improbable that there could have been any cheatig. But paranoia was a way of life at the school. However, she seemed satisfied that all the voting had been done with fairness. "Well, that is a fairly clear result. Miss Richmond will be our contestant of choice. She certainly wits the bill in many ways, but I think you will need to put your heads together to stop her forgetting herself and indulgnig her more... demonstrative tendencies."

She puffed on her cigarette for a moment. "I will have a quiet word with her, and will send her to see you, Vanda. She is your responsibility now. Try to keep her out of trouble - it will not do for her to get an hockey injury, or be photographed chewing on a raw leg of lamb. As to the next task, it must be to get your hands on that vital information. We must have those questions and answers! What approach will you take?"

Emma looked up from her journal when Miss Fritton announced the results, shock plain on her face. She glanced around the room, wondering how her recommendation surpassed that of Nikki and Eustacia.

Her eyes fell to her hands, briefly, before she glanced to Vanda. "Whatever you require, I'm available to you."

Nikki sighed and shrugged, happy but unhappy with the outcome. Cindy had been her third choice, after all. "Same here, but can we please not call her Cinnamon? She sounds like a stripper."

Vanda grinned inwardly at the 'demon' in 'demonstrative', it looked as if they had their succubus after all.

But her levity dropped when Miss Fritton said the animal was her responsibility. That was definitely not funny. Time to get the cauldron out. At least McConnell seemed willing to engage in damage limitation.

She actually smiled, though, at Nikki's comment.

"She probably is a stripper." she offered.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:03, Mon 29 Feb 2016.

"Yeeeeah..." Nikki said, returning the smile. "But that doesn't mean we have to advertise it."

"Perhaps I had better examine her social media profile and... ahem... clean it up a little," offered Angharad.

"Meanwile, if you want to visit the Vague office, I have several routes to the safe, the alarm codes and the wherewithal to make an 'official' Vague ID - they have card readers in the foyer, you see."

Eustacia gave a firm nod, apparently satisfied enough with that result. Her girl had not been chosen, but she was clever enough to know when not to fight a battle when it was clear she could not win.

She returned to her notepad. "Sometimes, Taffy, you can be just a little bit scary. This is why I never put anything online that could be remotely harmful. Not that I'd advise anyone else to do the same. It is fine when other people give us ammunition."

She tapped her pen against her pursed lips. "Cindy... Cinnamon... what name we use depends on who the judges are. We'd better look into who we want to pick, and how to get them on the judging panel. But yes, first things first. We definitely need all that you can find, Taffy. Ideally, we should get in, get what we want, and get out as fast as possible. But we need to case the place just in case there's something not on the internet that we need to know about, like security guard patrol times. A mix of security footage and maybe a trip in person seems like sense."

Vanda liked the thinking.
"I'm sure Vague is haunted by starry-eyed schoolgirls who haven't had the benefit of our sobering education. Perhaps Miss Fritton could arrange a school trip with the Vague management - or perhaps two: one to case the joint and another to do the deed? Once we have a class inside, a small diversion could allow a handful of us to 'go missing' for half an hour..."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:40, Tue 01 Mar 2016.

Nikki sat back and nodded, taking notes at all the points in which she might be called upon to help. She had a varied skillset, so wasn't sure where she should volunteer - or if, in fact, she could work on everything with everyone.

Emma pondered what was being suggested. Her expression turned thoughtful. She took care to choose her words wisely, hoping not to offend anyone by what she was about to propose. "I should think we could easily arrange a tour that doesn't revolve around would-be starlets. It could be under the guise of Leadership; exposing young entrepreneurial minds to a  publication empire. I should think a three part tour that includes job shadowing in various departments would do nicely. It would allow for easy access to all aspects of Vague without incurring suspicion. The first to case the location, the second to commit the act and the third to discover how Vague plans to deal with it, should they discover they've been compromised."

Emma glanced around the room, taking stock of the abilities/specialties gathered. "We all have talents that could be matched with different aspects of a multinational publication - regardless whether we have true interest. We can all feign interest for a few hours. This would allow for maximizing our time and if necessary, provide distractions to allow those responsible for acquiring the necessary documentation to do so unnoticed."

"These are excellent ideas, girls! You will do us proud." She rose and went back to her secret passage. "I shall leave it in your hands. Let me know when you have a plan. I can arrange a visit to Vague in a day or so, it won't be hard to fix something up with the sort of vapid girls they have in PR, I am sure. Just let me know when. And any resources you might need. I would advise taking some muscle along, however. If things go wrong, we will want to fight our way to freedom. Or you will. I won't be going along. It is hardly appropriate, and for the sake of the school, if it does go tits up, I can distance the school by claiming ignorance." She pierced them all with a gimlet eye, Vanda especially. "It won't go wrong, will it, girls? The examinations you are all to sit at the end of term might well be failed if you mess this one up. But the rewards shall be of equal grandeur. Toodle-pip, chicas!"

She vanished into the darkness, and the panel rolled closed behind her with the hiss and bleep of a complex hydraulic locking system. She had thrown in the stick at the end there, to go with the carrot. No pressure, or anything!
This message was last edited by the player at 17:04, Tue 01 Mar 2016.

The future Countess of Barchester drummed on her teeth with her writing implement, making a hollow toc-toc-toc noise. She let her devious, twisty mind consider the task ahead.

"A guided tour would be good, but we can't all go sneaking about around the building. Vanda, are you the sneakiest amongst us? Or maybe Nikki? I think any more than two doing a quick explore might be asking to get spotted. But we probably need to get Angharad and Dani near the safe, and anyone who has expertise as a safecracker. The three of them should be able to tell what is needed to open the safe. All that, while some of us ensure that the staff stay properly distracted. If you want someone to go undercover as an intern, for a longer term of observation, I'm game." Yes. And just think of all the fashion details she would pick up...

She started scribbling more notes. "We've all got handy skills between us. How are we going to do this?"

Vanda pouted at the headmistress's back. She had considerable experience with 'poison chalices' and this was beginning to look very much like one.

"I think Minky is right, we need to look at this on a needs basis. So I think the first thing is to list our objectives, then decide how best to achieve them, and then decide who is best qualified to carry out each task - so we probably need a skills audit too.

"Obviously the Prime Objective is to get someone with needlework skills close enough to the safe to see if it can be opened. We may need needlework to get into the office where it's kept, we'll probably need to disable any electronic security - cameras, alarms, etc. If there are any staff in the office, we'll need to get them out of the way...

"This will have to be either out of hours or during a fire alarm, I'd imagine."

Eustacia turned a page and started writing. "I'll take notes so we have a log of everything. As to when to do this, we cannot risk a fire alarm. Modern fire alarms are automatically linked to the emergency services. We flip that switch, we could be eyebrow deep in firemen in minutes." She paused and looked distant. "Big firemen. With strong jaws. Big, muscular thighs. Rubber boots..." She smiled wistfully. Then shook her head and returned to the work at hand. "No, we can have a snoop around on a field trip, but the actual theft is probably best done at night. Far fewer variables to worry about. Now, skills."

Talking about herself! Her favourite thing!

"Obviously, when it comes to manipulation, disguise, playing mind games, and general all-purpose grifting, I'm pretty well experienced. I am fairly good with gambling, and can hold my own when it comes to throwing lightning. Though I tend to use my magic for healing rather than fighting. I get people to fight for me. I prefer not to get my hands dirty. But if we're in a bind, I do know how to fry anyone who stands in my way. Who wants to go next?"

Eyebrow deep in firemen?? Nikki though, also finding a bit of naughty pleasure in the idea. Best not to get her knickers knotted now, though. She tried to focus on Staci's comments, then nodded as she finished and asked for volunteers for nexties.

"I'm echoing Staci. My forte is Drama and Social Studies, but I've also got some talent in firearms and general poking around, yanno?" she shrugged. "I'm out for computer stuff and could pick up a thing or two from Vanda on sneaking around. I'm better at blending in than disappearing."

Emma groaned inwardly, wondering what on Earth Miss Fritton was thinking to have drawn her into this circle. Her skills were woefully useless in a heist. Sure, her ability to pass unnoticed was commendable; but she doubted seriously that she was a match for either Nikki or Vanda. Her needlework was passable, but again, she suspected there were others in their group that were far more talented in that arena.

"I've some talent for Needlework, passable at the very least," she offered, clearly uncomfortable with tooting her own horn. "I, too, am comfortable drawing little attention when required. My talents rest more in the ... healing or harming ... Biology and Home Economics." She carefully left out her passion for interrogation and torture techniques. "Perhaps I could help with distraction or at least reducing the number of persons responding to unauthorized activity?"

"My needlework skills are middling but, depending on the types of lock we're dealing with, careful applications of chemistry will get us just as far even if they're not as easy to cover up afterwards."  Dani had never really understood the fascination with firemen, the uniforms were bulky and heavy and they tended to rain on her parade, quite literally.  When it came to men in uniform, she preferred cammo and khaki.  "Obviously with the spell slinging and the building toy and stuff.  I can run distraction so long as you want something loud or confusing rather than showing a bit of cleavage and having the building drooling over it."  Dani's methods, even when they didn't involve explosions, were likely to have her talking a mile a minute about anything and everything rather than the more dramatic, performance basis that the other girls worked from.

Vanda listened to the others and offered her contribution."Covert intrusion is my forte, I suppose, and I'm pretty good with magic and potions, but my needlework is limited to the likes of office doors and desk drawers. There's not a hope of me cracking a safe. I can show a bit of leg, like the next girl, but ingratiation is definitely not my field. You need a posse of first years to cause a distraction, though, and you've got it."

Eustacia read her notes and pursed her lips... "Well, it looks like we really need to get Dani and Emma in to bust open the safe. They're the best we have with locks, and I am pretty sure if it needs more, that Danielle can figure it out. She's pretty good with the technical stuff. Then again, so is Taffy. Do you think we could get all three of them in? The more we send, the larger the chance of being spotted. Distractions - I think we have that covered. I mean, with Nikki's legs, and that funny sort of wiggle, that'll definitely be handy. I could easily rustle up some sort of incident if we needed one. And if in doubt - unleash the kids and hide under a desk until the screaming stops. I think we need to go take a nose around the offices, though. Doing a heist blind is always going to be a big risk."

Nikki nodded along with Eustacia's comments, the others' as well. "I agree we should case the place first. Should be easy enough to do, I'd think." She looked to Vanda - she was the Prefect, that made her 'in charge', she supposed. "How do you want to divvy us up?"

[OOC: I think that's the right thing to do, correct? To get Vanda's bonuses for our tasks? -Ken]
This message was last edited by the player at 02:49, Tue 08 Mar 2016.

[Plan Statement]"I think the first thing is to get Taffy to do some remote checks on the building layout, security and timetabling.[End] That way, we can get some idea of what we're up against. There's no point in planning elaborate distractions if we find that every Thursday afternoon the whole staff is in a meeting and they leave an alley door open.

"Taffy, can you do that now? How long will it take?"

Vanda loosed a momentary grin to the others.
"Any bets she's already done it?"

"Not one I'm willing to take." Nikki retorted with a smile.

"Most of that is done already."

Angharad, smiling to herself like a cat with a bowl of cream, took her laptop over to the big screen and plugged it in. A wireframe diagram began to unfold.

"This is the building in which the Vague offices are to be found. You enter here... then there is a swipe-card barrier for employees here that leads to a lift to their floors, which are 7, 8, and 9 - at the top of the building. The lift also goes to the basement, where there is limited parking..."

Vanda examined the diagram.
"OK, what I'm thinking is, if you can get at least two of us with temp-agency ID and swipe access from the parking garage to the Vague floors, and arm us with video cameras, we can get a small, concealable group in there, but let others with a need to know see what we're doing, via a virtual presence. A couple of physical ghosts and a bunch of virtual ghosts. I think I'd be best for covert access, and Dani should get a first-hand view of the safe. Do we need anyone else on the physical entry?
"Where exactly is the safe, anyway?"

A flashing red heart appears on the screen, in a tenth floor office.

"There he is."

The schematic shows that there are no surprises on the security front - fire doors activated by swipe cards lead to the elevators and stairwells, but other than standard door keys, nothing stands in the way, physically. Security cameras and probably walking guards and cleaners are the only personel who are around out of working hours.

The safe details are more concerning. It is double locked - a normal safe mechanism that should fall prey to rudimentary needlework. There's also a more complex time-operated deadbolt, which is nonetheless physical. It is neither hackable, nor is it something to be opened with standard equipment. Some jiggery-pokery seems necessary. A job for the science minded, with explosives, chemicals, or less risky fiddling around with complex tools. CDT and Physics look like the order of the day.

Eustacia examined the images closely. "I think it depends on how you want to do it. If you want to case the joint sneakily, you need one bunch. Alternatively, if you want someone to go in an take a look around in daytime, undercover, then you want Nikki and my good self. It might be worth doing. If we can have a day or so - even an afternoon - inside, we might be able to get our hands on some handy intelligence. Who the magazine is talking to about possible judges, and the various door keys, or their locations. We could hide when everyone heads out at night, pop down and let you in... Do the Trojan Horse, so to speak." She beamed winningly at Nikki. "I'll be the Greeks. You already look like the horse!"

She just couldn't resist a little barb...
This message was last edited by the player at 20:36, Fri 11 Mar 2016.

Vanda had to grudgingly admit - only ever to herself, of course - that Minky's idea was better than her own. At least for the daylight operation. They would still need stealth for the night raid, of course.

"That's another way to do it," she said, non-committally.

"Looks like we may need some serious science to get into that safe, though.
Unless we get some entity to enter the safe from another plane and simply hand the papers over."

"Acid." Dani piped up.  "And not the kind that comes in tabs.  I've got a nice little prep that eats through metal in no time flat.  I mean, we can't exactly hide the fact that someone has broken in, but it will get us through.  We could try something with electro-magnets I suppose but that's assuming there's a high enough steel content in the bolt and that it's a straight draw back bolt with nothing fancy.  I mean, we could always go with the old classic of a plasma cutter but that seems a bit excessive for a stealth job."

Vanda shook her head. "No good, Dani. They can't know that the papers have been compromised, or they'll just change the questions. We need to do this without a trace."

Eustacia donned a rather smug expression. "Thank you. And... forest. Trees." She shrugged casually. "If we make it look like we were after something else, and the papers seem to have been undisturbed, they'll not think twice. For example, if we break in and make off with all the designs for the winter lines, which will certainly be there as they will be doing a full spread on them at some point in summer or autumn, then they will assume they have been burgled by some shifty types who are going to make cheap sweatshop knockoffs. Counterfeit high fashion is a multi-billion pound industry, especially in the far east. If they think they have been hit that way, they probably won't even think twice about the question papers. And, bonus! We can actually sell those designs too, giving us a nice little cherry on top of our cake."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:55, Sat 12 Mar 2016.

"Well one way or another that safe has to be opened and that means getting through or around that deadbolt.  I'll take a shot with the electromagnets but I think through is our best bet.  And usually I'm all for summoning things to get the job done, but whatever it is will still need to get the papers out somehow and something that fragile doesn't tend to survive long if it needs to be taken through...interesting planes.  If we leave enough mess and only take copies they won't pay much attention."  Well, it was close to admitting Eustacia had a good idea anyway.  Typical of the other girl to find a way of making it all about fashion though.

"I'd rather look like a horse than be hung like one." Clearly indicating that Eustacia not only had a penis, but one of considerable size and girth.

She chuckled. "Despite Staci's endowment she's got a good idea for a plan, as far as I'm concerned. Who said all boys are dumb?"

"Perhaps add an artistic touch, one of the question papers on the floor with a boot print on it, ripped a bit - something discarded as of no interest," said Angharad, trying to get into the spirit of things.

She'd rather understand the safe technology and open it untracebly. At least they didn't seem to have a glass relocker. Those were tough!

"Is it possible to get a replica of the safe they use?" Emma asked softly. "I mean, I'm no scientist, but it seems wise to get a close up look at what we're dealing with and fiddle with it a bit before we have to actually open it. And we may find, when we're not looking at pictures or internet descriptions, that we can finesse the lock without flashbangs." An eagerness brightened her shy eyes, "I think we - Angharad and Dani -  might be able to figure out how to work around the complex mechanism..."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:27, Tue 15 Mar 2016.

Eustacia rolled her eyes. Penis jokes. How very colonial. "So, if we case the joint first to be sure of what we are getting into, we can then do the actual burglary that night, or the evening after if we have to make specialised tools. We could get a similar safe, but that would prolong things a lot. But I doubt they would have a customised safe, they do not seem like the type. We'd need to hack their computers to give us an excuse to be there, walking around. We could be visiting interns, but I am thinking maybe we could be journalists, there to do an article on the wonderful Vague magazine, and how everyone should aspire to be like them. Trust me, ego flattery is simply the best opening of all time. So, if we can get put onto the diary of someone in PR or HR, we can waltz in and have a leisurely day wandering around, asking people questions, scoping the lay of the land. That should get all the info we need, and then you sneaky safe-cracking types can pop in, loot the place, and pop back out again. Make it look like you're after valuable fashion information, and they'll be so worked up over that they would not even think it was the quiz we were really after. I mean, who would rob them just for the questions? It's pretty far fetched!"

She toyed with her pen thoughtfully. "I wonder how much we could get for this winter's designs if we did sell them. I'm thinking Christmas, Malibu, beach party, not having to watch the Two Ronnies yet again..."

Eustacia had a tendency to get ahead of herself, and usually spent her money before she even had it.

"Getting a replica safe might not be a bad idea," admitted Vanda. "Maybe Miss Fritton could persuade the suppliers that the school wants a demonstration of that model for our own exam papers. We could have the safe company describing exactly how it works and how it defeats unauthorized access, then, while the sales rep is having a cuppa with our friendliest girls, we could have our own look at it."

"A replica would be good." Dani nodded.  "That way we can have a real poke at it without there being problems involved with screwing up.  Not that I plan on screwing up.   I'm actually wondering if magic might be a solution, or a partial one.  If one of us can summon up the power to move the bolt without touching it."

She rolled her eyes at the sniping between Eustacia and Nikki, 'Stacia needed putting in her place occasionally she really could be a bitch, and beyond all levels of appropriateness for even a St T's girl.  "So we get a demo model of the safe, her ladyship gets the girls out and distracts the sales rep while we figure out a way around the bolt.  Then we go into the offices.  That how it stands so far?"  Surely it was pure coincidence that her gesticulations encompassed her chest area when she mentioned Eustacia's distraction techniques.

"Sounds like." Nikki said, nodding. "Vanda, why do you put it all together for us with a cute little animated sequence." she chuckled good-naturedly.