Jane's School of Death

Toast And Crumpets

Mary dusted some fluff off her blazer and checked her hair in the mirror. Fine.

"Are you coming, Mary, or not? You can't go to school on an empty stomach!" Mary's mother called from the kitchen. Mary smiled at the thought of going to her new boarding school.

"Coming!" she responded, after looking in the mirror one last time.

All her sisters were sitting around the breakfast table, dressed in their smart uniforms too. Now, Mary was finally going to be one of them.

Breakfast was special this time. Toast and crumpets. Mary's mother had even put out the tablecloth she only used for special occasions, like Christmas, and birthdays, and, of course, today.

Today, everyone knew, was the best day. The first day of school.

"Now you won't have to learn any of those silly fractions and decimals anymore, Mary! Are you happy about that?" Theresa asked, taking a large bite of crumpet whilst still trying to behave politely as her mother had told her to.

"Of course I am! Now I get to do all the proper things at a real school! Oh, it must be so fun! I can't wait!" Mary responded, smiling excitedly. She knew today was the biggest day of her life. Apart from her graduation, of course.

"And what do you do when Jane hands you your high heels?" Mary's mother asked. Jane was Mary's hero- the founder of the school. Ever since Mary was a child, she had been taught, along with all the other children in the country, that Jane was the best person in the world, and that following her was the way to success.

Jane was only 12, so her mother technically owned the school, but Jane was basically the owner, as she made all the decisions. But it wasn't a normal school- it was the best school, the one that almost every child in the country went to. Jane loved high heels, and she created a school to teach you how to wear the tallest ones ever. The school of high heels. He-Le High. You may think that this is stupid and ineffective, but remember, Jane and her mother had brainwashed a whole country from birth. Rationality wasn't exactly anyone's strong point.

And in this school, on the first day, if was a tradition that every student (called a heeler, as 'student' was associated with learning in what heelers called 'traditional schools') was handed a pair of high heels by Her Wonder (Jane).

Propaganda from a young age had taught Mary and many like her that this was the best thing that would ever happen to them- being handed a shoe by a 12-year-old girl just like them.

"When Jane gives me my first pair of heels, I'll nod my head, and do a slight smile, but not too big otherwise I'll look immature," Mary answered, repeating what she had been told thousands of times.

Her mother nodded, satisfied that her daughter was prepared. Mary's older sisters were excited too, but they had already had their first days, so they were unlikely to meet Jane again.

After Mary and her sisters had finished breakfast, they put their plates in the sink, and quickly gave them a speedy scrub with a plate-washing sponge before heading out of the door.