Except for the two classroom blocks poking out from each side, the private girls' high school could have been an upmarket home set in spacious foregrounds. The administration block, a double storied wooden building of 1890s vintage surrounded by a small flower garden and an expanse of immaculately kept lawn surrendered to modern demands by having a ramp that provided accessed to the veranda. Double glass entry doors also looked an intrusion into the classic style and a complete contrast to the colonial windows that decorated the front facade.

                It was eight fifteen in the morning on the first day of the fall term and everywhere girls, most dressed in blue school uniform, wandered around the campus waiting for the commencement bell. Freshmen gathered in groups and gazed in wonder at the seventeen and eighteen-year-old young women while sophomores pranced around, swollen with their own importance. They were, after all, not the youngest at the school any longer and had seventy-five freshmen to look down on. The present roll of three hundred girls stretched the facilities to the limit with classes squeezed into buildings designed for two-thirds that number. Numerous temporary buildings dotted the grounds but the Charlotte Anderson Trust Board had once again delayed plans for a new multistoried block.

          A white limo swung up the drive, screeched to a stop outside the administration block and a well dressed woman with gray hair cut in a short style stepped out and straightened her business skirt. She walked indoors and waited patiently by the glass window while the office assistant dealt with two other people in the short line.

          "Can I be of assistance?" Ellen McIntyre inquired.

          "I know this is frightfully late but I heard there were three vacancies in the freshmen intake and I'd like to enroll my daughter."

          Ellen frowned. "This is quite irregular," she began. "The last enrollments closed back in April."

          "I realize that, "the woman continued. "It's just that I've only arrived in Seattle from the East where I had Penny, that's my daughter, enrolled in a girls' school in New Hampshire. Due to a sudden change in circumstances I've transferred here and wish to keep my daughter at home." She spoke in a confident educated voice and handed a business card across the counter. "My name is Mrs. Lynn McKendrick. Perhaps I could speak to Mrs. Barnsley, Charlotte Anderson School's principal."

          Ellen swallowed. The woman knew all the facts, that was for sure. They did have three vacancies after last minute cancellations and Mary Barnsley was the principal.

          "I'm not confident at all," she added, "but will ask Mrs. Barnsley if the vacancies have been filled." They hadn't but she was not about to reveal this. " Will you wait a moment, please."

          She called through and read the visitor's name to the principal, listened, frowned and glanced up at Mrs. McKendrick. The woman had stepped back from the window and was politely examining paintings in the foyer. "Excuse me," she said and walked through a connecting door into the principal's office.

          "Shall I send her away?" she asked the dumpy white haired woman who had been at the helm of the school for fifteen years.

          Principal, Mrs. Mary Barnsley studied the card Ellen had handed her and held it up. "Do you know who this is?" she queried.

          "Just some pushy woman with plenty of money who thinks she can fling it around to have her own way," Ellen replied.

          "It's Mrs. Lynn McKendrick," Mary replied. "The Lynn McKendrick!"

          Ellen shrugged. "So?"

          "One of the top defense lawyers in the country at the moment. She's been in half a dozen high profile criminal cases over the last few years. Earlier this year she was on that Senator Martinez case. Won it too, I might add."

          "Of course," Ellen replied and raised her eyebrows. "I remember reading she had her own marriage split up and had bought into a practice here." She hesitated. "But that does not mean anything."

          "I'll speak to her," Mary's voice cut the air like a knife. "Kindly tell Mrs. Adair I'll be delayed for ten minutes and show Mrs. McKendrick straight in."

          "If you wish." Ellen pouted and swished out of the room.

          The next morning the freshmen class girls hardly noticed Penny McKendrick, a tall blonde girl with a joyful smile and warm eyes who joined their ranks.

                                                             ***

Across in the administration block that same morning, Mary Barnsley had a meeting to discuss several decisions far more important than the enrollment of one extra pupil. She smiled across her office at the immaculately dressed, bearded man opposite her. The chairperson of the Trust Board, Lindsay Irwin, nodded as he read the letter of resignation handed to him.

          "So John finally got through to you, did he, Mary?" he remarked with empathy in his voice. "We'll miss you, you know."

          "Nobody's irreplaceable," answered the principal. "It was only your arm twisting which kept me here the last twelve months." She coughed in embarrassment, something unusual for this dynamic woman. "My successor," she continued. "I know I should have no say but I ..." she stopped.

          "Go on," prompted Lindsay. "You know we speak in confidence."

          Mary smiled. "Okay, I'll call a spade a spade."

          "You always did."

          Mary waved her hand in acknowledgement and continued. "I don't want Sharon selected for the position."

          The board chairperson frowned. Everybody expected Sharon Thomas, the deputy principal, to lead the school after Mary's retirement.

          "But why?" he asked.

          "..because she's a ruthless machine," continued Mary in a seriousness voice. "Sure, she is efficient but does she really consider the girls and their feelings? My seniors are young women who'll be going to college next year and she treats them like twelve year old kids. Worse still, she has the same approach with the staff. Everything has to be her way." She frowned. "During the last half term, I've had to pull rank on her twice. In one case a staff member was about to walk away she was so distressed."

          "Yes," nodded Lindsay. "I heard about that little incident."

          "Did you?" Mary retorted. "It was meant to be confidential."

          It was Lindsay's turn to smile. "Very little slips past the senior common room."

          "So it would seem," Mary replied "I know you'll be chairperson of the appointment's committee, Lindsay, so all I ask is for you to bare in mind what I said. Okay?"

          "Certainly," replied Lindsay and held out his hand.

          "By the way," Mary interjected as he walked towards the door. "Have you short listed our new property manager applications yet?"

          Lindsay stopped and grinned. The property manager used to be called the janitor. "There were ninety seven applicants," he said. "We've slimmed it down to twenty. Would you like to see the list or do you want it shortlisted down to the five?”

          "I'll see it, now," replied Mary. "This may be the last major decision I make."

          "Sure," replied her visitor. "I'll get the info in my car."

          After he left the room Mary sat in her comfortable swivel chair and stared across the courtyard. First period had just concluded and everywhere girls, dressed in the school uniform of maroon and white checked summer dresses, walked purposely to their next rooms. Dotted between them were the older seventeen and eighteen year old young woman dressed in mufti as the seniors were allowed to do. Mary sighed. She would miss them all.

                                                                ***

The pile of resumes for the janitor's position, as Mary still called it, varied from a hand written sheet to a marathon effort of fifty odd pages including photos and rambling paragraphs of the owner's self appraisal. Mary sighed and glanced through them again.   Half an hour later she extracted one and stuck her head through the door.

          "Can you check on something for me, Ellen?" she asked.

          "Sure, Mary," Ellen answered.

          "This guy applying for the janitor's job. He's only thirty-five. Could you discretely call around and check up on why he left his farm."

          Twenty minutes later Ellen was back in Mary's office with a sheet in her hands. "It's all written here," she said.

          "Tell me," replied her principal.

          "The farm manager said the farm's been in the Goodall family for three generations and after his father's death about ten years ago, Neil inherited it."

          "Well, so far, so good. Carry on."

          "Next, I called the local sheriff's office. In a small town, they know nearly all the locals." Ellen grimaced. "Apparently his wife; Phillipa, died of cancer two years ago. After that, he lost interest in the place, put the manager in and moved to Seattle." She glanced back at her notes. "The plant shop where he is working now speaks highly of him. 'Very dependable and honest,' the manager said."

          Mary grinned. "Thanks, Ellen," she said. "That ties in with his references. I think I'll call this Neil Goodall."

                                                            ***

Two weeks later, Neil started as the new property manager at Charlotte Anderson School. He slipped into the position easily and was well liked by Kevin Winters, the young groundsperson, and the half a dozen part-time cleaners under his care. The teaching staff were also pleasantly surprised by his unobtrusive presence around the school. Nothing was too much trouble for him and maintenance problems such as leaky faucets or jammed doors were immediately attended to. This was a distinct contrast to his predecessor who managed to grumble about everything.

          "We made a good choice with Neil," commented Sally Kingsley, Trust Board member with property responsibilities, during her usual Wednesday meeting with Mary. "Let's hope we do as well with your replacement."

          "Well, that's up to you," replied Mary. "You're one of the five on the Appointments Committee. "The job closed yesterday and already there are applications piled up in the office. Have fun" The principal grinned but refrained from mentioning her earlier comment to Lindsay.                        

                                                            ***

Deputy Principal Sharon Thomas sat at her kitchen table and looked at a clipboard of her duties for the day. She was a large bosomed, immaculately dressed forty five year old woman who tried to hide the fact that the years were creeping up on her by running a dye rinse to hide creeping gray hair.

          "Well, just don't be over confident, that's all I said," her husband, Gary, muttered as he bit into his morning toast.

          "Don't talk with your mouth full, Gary," she responded. "Who else on the staff has my qualifications anyhow?"

          Gary frowned in annoyance. "I'm not a pupil at your school Sharon," he said, "and that is one thing which may go against you; you're too abrupt with adults. You can't go around treating them like your pupils." He purposely took another bite of his toast before continuing to talk. "There could be applications from all over the state."

          "I know," Sharon admitted. "I've carried Mary for years now and I'm sure everyone realizes that."

          "It's not me you have to convince," continued her husband. "But I suggest you take a low profile and listen to the Board before you speak. You must admit you are inclined to dominate meetings."

          Sharon glared at Gary then smiled. "I know you're only trying to help, Honey," she replied, stood up and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek. "Anyhow, I must leave. There are three parents I am interviewing before school. Their damned daughters were meeting boys at lunchtime, yesterday. I don't know what's happening to the girls. Five years ago no one would have dared go into the wooded lot, let alone meet boys there."

          In her office at school fifty minutes later, Sharon nodded grimly at Gavin McLean, a prominent businessman in town who had been called in from an important meeting for an interview. His daughter, a junior, sat in the corner with defiant eyes.

          "When I received a call, Mrs. Thomas," he said in a steely tone. "I was led to believe that Valerie was in serious trouble and you tell me she was only found talking to boys yesterday."

          "She was in the back wooded lot, Mr. McLean. That area of the school property is out of bounds for the students. Furthermore, her friends and her were talking to boys from the local state high school and cigarette smoke could be smelt on their breath."

          "Not marijuana, I hope," replied Gavin and winked at his daughter.

          "This is no laughing matter, Mr. McLean," retorted Sharon. "Valerie has broken school rules, therefore I shall have to enter it on her records and suspend her from school until the end of the week."

          McLean's face turned dark. "This is the third time in the last year I have been called into the school over frivolous matters, Mrs. Thomas and I am telling you now," His voice remained quiet but hard, "you will not suspend, Valerie."

          "It is not up to you, I'm afraid," hissed Sharon. "We have our standards to maintain."

          Gavin stared straight into the deputy principal's eyes. "This interview is over, " he said and turned to his daughter. "Come on Valerie. We'll go and see Mrs. Barnsley."

                                                            ***

Mere minutes later Gavin and Valerie were sitting in Mary's office. After he had explained his reason for being there Mary offered him a seat and looked over at Valerie.

          "Could you wait outside a moment please, Valerie," she said. "I'd like to talk to your father alone."

          "Certainly, Mrs. Barnsley," replied the girl politely and left the room.

          Gavin had by now simmered down a little but was still annoyed. "Unless something is done about Mrs. Thomas and her overbearing manner I shall write to the trust board and file an official complaint." he began, "and I tell you, Mary, there is a lot of discontentment amongst the parents."

          Mary nodded. Everything Gavin had said was true and confirmed her earlier discussion with Lindsay Irwin but, diplomatically, she couldn't repeat this.

          "I agree the punishment was somewhat harsh," she said quietly and continued. "Your other comments are noted."

          "I mean it, Mary," he continued. "If that woman is put in charge, the school will suffer."

          Mary's eyes met his but she merely nodded and pressed an intercom button on her desk. "Ellen, could you ask Mrs. Thomas and Valerie to step into my office?"

                                                            ***

"Tell us, Miss Fernhill." Lindsay fixed his eyes on the next candidate on the shortlist. "Being Principal at Charlotte Anderson School involves working in a different environment from state schools. If you were appointed, what would you see as one of your first duties?"

He inspected the attractive brunette woman sitting opposite. Dressed in a light brown suit and cream blouse she appeared almost too young for the position. However, her credentials were of the highest quality and there was an air of confidence about her. Whereas the last candidate they interviewed clutched her purse and talked too much, this young woman was very precise in all her replies.

          "Get to know the people here; trustees, staff and the pupils," Gail Fernhill answered.

          The five people on the committee glanced up from their notes and waited.

          "Is that all?" one woman finally asked.

          "No, of course not," Gail continued with a slight smile," but I believe the people in a school are more important than bits of paper. A principal of a school is beyond the chalkboard, so to speak. Staff morale and loyalty are of the highest importance. One has to know her staff before formulating programs, finding out previous school policies and so forth. It would be foolish to rush in with masses of theory that may not suit the school."

          "I see," replied Lindsay in a neutral tone and jotted some notes on a piece of paper. His eyes met Gail's deep blue ones. "I notice that you passed your Masters Degree in Business Administration. Was there any reason for this?"

          "I wanted to broaden my interests," replied Gail. "Taking purely educational or academic subjects can be restricting."

          "I noticed you passed with honors. Congratulations," Sally Kingsley added.

          "Thank you, "the woman responded modestly but didn't elaborate.

          The interview continued for another fifty minutes with set questions and several personal queries made. Gail answered with confidence and those present noticed she wasn't afraid to give an opinion if it was called for.

          "That concludes our interview, Gail," Lindsay finally stated. "You will be advised of the outcome within the next two weeks. Thank you for coming. Please feel free to have another look around the school. Janice, one of our seniors on the student council will be your guide. As well, you're welcome to have afternoon coffee in the teacher's lounge before you leave."

          "Thank you," Gail said. "I saw some of the school before the interview and am very impressed. I'd love to see the rest."

          She rose, shook everybody's hands and left the room.                                                                                     

                                                             ***

When Sharon was asked the set interview questions, she was back to being her old blunt self again and seemed to have completely forgotten the encounter with Gavin McLean only a week a earlier.

          "We need to tighten up on our girls," she said. "In the modern environment we must offer something the public schools don't and one of these is tight discipline that leads to high academic results we can be proud of."

          "--and what about staff morale?" prompted Sally after she'd reread the notes taken when Gail discussed the same question.

          "Of course that's important," Sharon retorted. "With good discipline, this will follow."

          "I see," replied Sally.

          Before the interviewing process, she'd supported Sharon but some of their replies at present coming through made her feel the other woman might be a stronger candidate. She knew, too, there had been rumblings about the D.P. being too forceful in the school. Yet the other woman was so young. Almost absentmindedly she drew a large question mark on the paper in front of her and decided to wait to see what the other members thought.      

                                                            ***

"Gail Fernhill presented herself well," Sally commented as the members shuffled through their notes and began to evaluate the candidates.

          "Hell, she looked younger than thirty-two," muttered Bob Smith, a stout bald man in his fifties. "I'd have trouble picking her out from our senior girls. Good looker, too."

"Trust you to notice that, Bob?" chided Sally.

          "Well," replied Bob, "her references are excellent. Mind you, it would be a big step here after being a dean at a state school.”

          "Yes, I admit she is relatively young," added Sally, "but if it wasn't for Sharon, I'd probably recommend her."

          Lindsay coughed. "I would like to oppose Sharon's selection," he said quietly and took out a brown folder. "I believe she has the wrong personality for the position."

          "Come on," protested Ted Quigley, another Board representative. "Sure she's strict but isn't that what we need?"

          "No," replied Lindsay. "Not when it's at the expense of individual initiative, senior pupils are treated like juniors, staff are stressed out ..."

          "Okay," interrupted Ted. "I get your point."

          Lindsay opened the folder. "I have here, letters from parents complaining about Sharon's treatment of their girls. In the last term we received at least a dozen addressed to either Mary or myself." He glanced around the table. "Why, only last week, Gavin McLean phoned me to complain."

          "Okay," replied Bob and sighed. "I see it is not a foregone conclusion to select Sharon. I suggest, therefore, we go back to our job description and rank the candidates as we originally agreed."

          "I agree," answered Lindsay. "Let's begin. Now, part one is ..."

          For several hours the discussion continued with three candidates being eliminated for various reasons until it was finally time to make the decision.

          "This seems to be it," Lindsay began. "The final selection is between Sharon Thomas and Gail Fernhill. Shall we take a vote?"

          Five hands went up to nominate Gail. It was unanimous.                                                                             

                                                              ***

When Lindsay walked into Sharon's place early the next morning he wished his visit was over but he'd earlier decided at least he'd give Sharon the curtsy of telling her the news to her face rather than over the phone.

          "Come in, Lindsay," said Gary after he'd opened the door. "I'll get Sharon," replied Gary.

          "Oh, hello, Lindsay," Sharon said pleasantly when she walked in the room. She stood waiting with an expectant gaze.

          Lindsay glanced at her. "I came to say, I'm sorry but you missed out in the principal's position. It was very close but..."

          "Missed!" gasped Sharon and her hand went to her mouth. "How could I?"

          Lindsay sighed. "Another candidate was considered a better choice. We discussed your relative merits for hours but finally it was decided to give the position to Miss Gail Fernhill."

          "I see," replied Sharon. "Which one was she?"

           "Miss Fernhill was the young dark haired woman. She's thirty-two."

          " Thirty-two!" Sharon's voice grew louder. "You gave the position to a thirty-two year old?"

          Lindsay nodded. "When all of your relative merits were taken into account she, in the appointments committee's opinion, came out the strongest."

          "How?"  Sharon retorted.

          "She has an honors degree but you don't want me to go through every reason, do you?"

          "No, of course not. I'm disappointed, that's all."

          "Of course you are," replied Lindsay. "You have every right to be but I'm sure once you get to know Gail you'll find her a very mature and approachable person."

          "No doubt," replied Sharon with a trace of sarcasm in her voice. "Thank you for your personal approach, Lindsay. I appreciate it."

          She turned and abruptly left the room.

                                                             ***