Over the PA system, a voice rang, "All new students please assemble in the great hall, just follow the signs."
Catharine and Taissa looked at each other, shrugged, and joined their fellow students in the march to the great hall, marked indeed by plastic orange signs. They sat down in their seats, and a few minutes later, a late forties year old woman marched onto stage behind the podium.
"Welcome my new students, to Camwood University, I am Rachel Loveless. I hope you have an educational year at our school. I assure you our services are unchallenged. Your books, loggings, maid service, food, essentials, student equipment, uniforms, and everything else, will be provided completely free of charge."
'Well, that sounded since.' Catharine thought.
"Our school has a rather unorthodox way of motivating you, that no one would believe unless they saw it for themselves. You shall see for yourselves." Then ... a bunch of girls Catharine's age stepped onto stage in perfect synch with each other... all in made uniforms, all with a happy distant content look in their eyes... and all of them had cat ears and tail! And ears that twitched and moved and tails that swished about, they weren't animations or costume props.
"Say hello girls."
"Hello Student Mistresses!" They echoed and bowed.
"I shall cut straight to the chase. Every week, one student whose grades are the lowest, or whose demerits are the highest, will be declared a failure... and will be instead given an automatic mandatory life time contract with us ... with exclusive rights on your free will and humanity... all of this was spelled out in the fine print of your contracts you signed before coming here. Of course, you won't age, so 'life time' will be a very long time indeed."
"Your contracts state, which our legal team have declared air tight, that you are the property of the school until you graduate next year. So fleeing will be considered a breach of contract, and you can decorate the art gallery instead. They are also quite happy, as eternal stone statues, and I'm sure they'll enjoy visiting them. We're not murderers here after all. Be sure to enjoy the complimentary gourmet dinner provided for you tonight. You might be helping making it yourself next week. And don't worry about your parents or the police, they won't even remember you. So work art, behave, and hope someone else's grades are lower than yours."
Most of the assembled students were stunned and mortified.
A girl with glasses next to Catharine and Taissa said to herself, "Every fancy private school has to turn its students against each other somehow..." She rolled her eyes.