A Matter of Perspective

Our next 'Story of the Day' is A Matter of Perspective by Watcher which has been recommended by LSF member, H. KerrSutherland:

"I'd like to let people know about this story. The writer is new to the Library and has shown to be extremely talented. I Loved A Matter of Perspective. The story is about a set of female twins sent to a British boarding school. One naturally doesn't want to be there but the second ... let's just say this is the part that touched my soul.

Watcher depicted an establishment I would have seriously considered giving my adult teeth to if I could attend. Needless to say, if I had done something so foolish, I'd likely be given a nasty encounter with the Headmistress but hopefully; I'd also be given a bow for my hair.

Do please keep writing, Watcher."

Synopsis:

Twins, Jennifer and Jessica, are sent to a strict girls' academy by their step-mother, who is sick of their behaviour. Both girls get into trouble at school but their journeys take different paths as well.

Well, although no one has made any comment about this here on the forum, the story has picked up 5 comments since it was nominated for Story of the Day (highlighted in the latest loaded list) so that's a good thing

I agree! Having a way to call attention to worthy (but old) stories is a good idea. Five comments shows that the idea works.

I did not think it was the intent to comment about the story of the day on the forum. I thought it was much better for me to comment directly to the writer so that is what I chose to do in this case. I could only repeat what I wrote in my comment.

I agree with the idea of having a story of the day and I am searching older files for the ones I like a real lot.

CS

Absolutely, thanks CS. I'm sure the author will appreciate that.

We also envisaged though, that people (including those who don't use the forum very much) might be tempted to jump in and have a bit of an exchange about the Story of The Day. There's no pressure to do so of course (unless Miss Thrashbottom is on the prowl with her big stick) ...

Well, I commented directly on the story, but there's another issue I didn't bring up in those comments.

This story may be in a fantasy reality in terms of some of its legals issues, but I was wondering whether in RL a mentally competent eighteen-year-old girl like Jennifer could be held at a private school, like Kessler Girls Academy in the United Kingdom, against her will. What if, back in September, she'd simply demanded of Mrs. Havelock that her luggage (including her passport, credit cards and cell phone) be returned to her so that she could call a taxi, head to the airport and fly back to California?

Perhaps there were reasons that she wouldn't do something like that, such as 'Daddy' having threatened to cancel her credit cards and refuse to support her financially if she didn't stay at the Academy for the school year, but if the girl had simply demanded to be given her personal property and then allowed to leave, what could Mrs. Havelock have done in a RL situation? I'm wondering this because Jennifer seemed to believe that she was being detained illegally at the Academy, thinking of calling the cops or the F.B.I. to 'rescue' her. Of course the F.B.I. has no jurisdiction outside of the U.S.A., but what if she'd somehow been able to register a complaint RE unlawful imprisonment with the local police?

I'm just speculating here, because the story may involve fantasy elements RE British law and/or it might involve unexplained factors (reasons why Jennifer wouldn't dare actually leave the place until the end of the school year), but given her seeming near-desperation to get away from the Academy--not having adapted to it as her twin sister eventually did--I do wonder why she didn't simply insist on being released, after having her personal property returned.

Her musing about having "an army of lawyers" pursue the school legally seems to indicate that she felt her legal rights had been denied--in a RL situation it strikes me that she was correct, "IF" she'd formally demanded her property back and her release from the school's grounds... --C.K.

I just wanted to comment on CK's post. I remember an old 20/20 segment where religious nut parents didn't like how they're children were developing (outing themselves or normal teen behavior) and the parents shipped them to private "religious" schools on ocean islands. The kids were abused but only after they were brainwashed into accepting the "religion" and how they were to "behave" were they allowed to attend "half-way schools" on USA mainland. From what I remember, age wasn't a factor or defense to being taken and forcibly shipped to one of these "schools."
Kerr

Ahhhh well, legally I'm certain that being eighteen years old would technically be a legal protection against such treatment, and those "religious" schools were engaged in kidnapping, parental approval notwithstanding, if their targets were adults. Of course, if the 'brainwashing' were to be successful, the victim presumably wouldn't make any sort of criminal complaint so the kidnappers wouldn't be prosecuted.

The same goes for 'deprogrammers' who forcibly detain adult converts of religious cults--if the supposed 'de-brainwashing' turned out to be successful in a particular case, the person originally held against his/her will would be highly unlikely to complain to the police about having earlier been kidnapped.

AFAIC a perpetrator getting away with violating the law, whatever his/her intentions, doesn't mean that he/she wasn't behaving illegally... --C.K.

A good choice and well worth it. Great job, Watcher. Thanks for voting on it H.K.

B

As CrimsonKidCK said in real life there would be no legal way for the girls to be held against their will. When I started the story I wanted the two girls to be twins and to look at their very different reactions to essentially the same circumstances. They both wear the same uniform, have the same punishment but where as one is filled with resentment the other welcomes it and to a degree enjoys it. Given that there was going to be an implied sexual nature to Jessica's experience that meant she had to be 18 as far as I was concerned. So her twin had to be the same.

I touched upon the forced element at the first part of the sequel where Jennifer is given a choice. She can accept certain things or she can support herself until she is 21 and gets access to her trust fund. While it is not stated in the story why the girls agreed to go to the school I think they were given a choice of going or fending for themselves. So technically they consented to everything that happened to them. Jennifer being the self centred nasty piece of work that she is conveniently brushed over that fact as to her mind things are always someone else fault, never her own.

Of course in real life there is case law in the UK about whether one can consent to an assault beyond what would be expected in contact sports or everyday life and there could be an arguement that spanking and caning the girls could be illegal. In my story world all the Judges are secret spankos so I don't think there is any real risk of prosecutions.