Nope, no way, you're not putting up with this. You were raised right, by kind and respectful parents, and you know that kids don't learn a damn thing from being beaten. You're an adult... kind of... and even you're shocked and dazed by what you're doing through. How the actual children are supposed to not come out of this traumatized, you have no idea. The next time these teachers even lay a hand on you, they're getting what's coming to them.
And what do you know, it doesn't even take one more day for you to end up in the Headmistress' office. "I have been informed," says the Headmistress, "that you have been insulting the teachers. Very crass remarks- personal attacks, not even valid criticism of their syllabus. What do you have to say for yourself, Crystal?"
You can feel an odd psychic pressure in this room, as if the plaster walls and mahogany desk are demanding that you submit. You don't want to believe this place is actually magical, but being shape-shifted has left your mind open to stranger explanations. Loafers digging into the wooden planks, tiny fists balled up in front of your skirt, teeth gritted in defiance... it takes all your will to stand up against the giant looming over you. "I'm thinking I want to leave. Now. Threatening to hurt me is bullshit, and HAH!"
Your child body feels sluggish compared to your old self, but knowing the attack was coming ahead of time let you get yourself in position. Five tiny fingers clench around the Headmistress' wrist and arrest her attack, and a split second later your other hand has ripped the hickory switch out of her hands as easily as a tissue from a box. The expression on the old woman's visage shifts from scorn, to confusion, to shock as her face is split open by a line of blood. You swing the stick right back at her again.
And again.
And again.
And ag-
Your body freezes in place. You feel nothing pushing or holding you, nor is your desire to keep harming the Headmistress diminished. Your arm doesn't even feel tired while raised over your head mid-assault. Your body has simply stopped moving. You move your eyes- the only thing which can still move- and see the Headmistress laying prone, left hand folded into a weird gesture which flashes and hums faintly. Oh no... she really is magic.
"The point has been proven, Crystal. I hope you are proud of the mess you are making." She stands up and dusts herself off as if your vengeance is no big deal. She does her best to ignore the bruises you gave her, though her wincing left eye gives her pain away. Her hand still carves a rune into the air to stop your movement, now held between you and her like a crucifix. "I am going to cancel the hex, and your movement will resume. If you attack me again, I will use lethal force. If you do not, I will allow you an explanation and make you an offer." Her hand relaxes...
And your own hand relaxes as well. You very deliberately bend the hickory switch until it snaps in half, and drop the pieces to the floor.
"First, Crystal, our immediate surroundings in this forest have dozens of hickory trees. Unless you are going to lumberjack school, that gesture was pointless."
"No it wasn't," you retort. "You're making me jump through hoops because you're worried I'll hurt these children, but you're using corporal punishment on kids who are like, kindergarten age! That's sick! That's hypocritical!"
"And that is speaking out of line, Crystal. But... it is interesting, indeed. Here I was seeing you as another spoiled brat acting like a feral animal, yet you claim to be driven by noble ideals. Would you like to hear my offer?"
Is that... a smile on her lips? "Okay, sure, yeah." You take one of the stools in her office and sit down on it, shoes barely touching the floor. "What do you want me to do?"
"Simple. You will be acting as one of the school's guardians. Allow me to explain..."
You have no idea how she talked you into this given how... permanent it appears to be, but at least you get to take the dress off. Your stupid school uniform is folded neatly on a table in one of the school's back rooms, only partially because the Headmistress is still hovering over you. The underwear, socks and wig don't get quite the same respect, left crumpled next to the dress. With an outstretched palm, you glare at the Headmistress for several uncomfortable moments until she hands you to the key to your cage. There is a sudden decrease in pressure, followed by... horrid, prickling pain as your sensitive flesh adjusts to open air. You don't feel particularly sexy at the moment.
"You are free to back out at any moment before we begin. You may put your uniform back on and accept a mundane punishment as if this never happened. The poultice I've been preparing is almost ready, so not even the evidence of your savage assault will be known. But you won't back out, will you?"
You shake your head. "No. Do it." You cross the room and enter a suspiciously empty closet, bare feet sticking to the linoleum with every step. Arms outstretched, you hold your breath in anticipation. Even with your eyes closed, you can hear and feel the rush of air from the door slamming shut. There's a single button press-
SBPLORP.
Warm, thick liquid clay pours down on your head from an unseen nozzle in the ceiling! You flinch and take even more of the spray over your back- you were expecting someone to manually pour this stuff all over you, not some automated setup! Gray stone powder clay coats your arms, drips down your chest and pools around your feet all at once. You gasp and claw at your face as the last of the clay coats your legs, expecting to be suffocating, but nothing is stopping your ragged gasps other than the panic in your own fluttering heart. Even your vision seems to work just fine despite your eyes being coated in sheets of clay.
Then the heaters start up, and you feel your arms begin to stiffen. Just like they promised, you're being turned into a statue. You still defiantly take a few paces around the room just to feel your body becoming slower and slower. As you petrify mid-stride, you sense the shapeless clay shell surrounding you reforming itself into a smooth, genderless humanoid model, like a puppet. It feels strangely nice, but you know the job isn't finished.
The Headmistress comes in with her smart dress replaced with a simple smock. She drags a bucket of wet cement behind her... of course. With a trowel and a quiet "hmph", she begins her magical work. You find yourself coated in a second layer of stone, this one making some drastic embellishments to your form. The limestone in the cement mixture begins to heat up- if it were not for the preserving clay, you might be getting burned right now. In far less time than you would have guessed, she makes a few more hand-signs and the work is done.
"Now... stand at attention." You find yourself standing up and saluting without even thinking of it, now with a heavy weight on your back which leaves you hunched over. "Follow me", she orders, and you follow. Your gait has changed into a sort of light, birdlike skipping, and when you pass by a mirror you can see why- you are a stone gargoyle! Your impish face has a mouthful of stone fangs and a single great horn upon your head, a snake-like tail swishes behind you, and tiny angel wings are folded up behind your shoulders. Something about your new look feels creepy, yet handsome.
Outside the school, the Headmistress pats you on the shoulder, then points upwards. "See the empty platform on our roof? Fly up there." Your wings flutter, and the magic animating your stone body lifts you up into the air! You land on the roof with almost no sound, then skip onto the platform.
"You wanted to protect the children at my school? Here you are, our first line of defense against those who would pry at our secrets without paying the price. Crystal..." Your heart flutters when you hear your name. "Stand in the same pose as the others and only move when an intruder violates our grounds."
You crouch in a low squat and grin. The next bastard who lays a hand on these kids is getting what's coming to them.