The new regulations clash with time old obligations.

"Jill I know that you said on the phone that you found something, but you know full well why we can't admit boys. The code doesn't allow it."

"Maggie do you really want Saint Lucy to lose its state accreditation, for us to make students study only to get worthless diplomas. The last board of education regulation has us in a bind, we don't rely on them for funding, but if we don't comply with their gender equality bill they won't recognize us as a teaching institution and the diplomas we issue won't be worth the paper they are printed on. "

"As you must have learned as a student or at least when becoming a board member, 198 years ago when Elizabeth Cuntingtons founded the trust overseeing our school she clearly indicated that our funding from the trust would only last for as long as we keep in line with the original code of conduct. The money from the trust is nearly all our funding, the fee we ask from students is pocket change in comparison and most students we admit couldn't afford to pay for what we spennd on them without it." explained the dean.

"I'm fully aware of that, but listen to me. The code has a lot of things in it that makes admitting boys problematic to admit boys, but despite the name above the gate, nothing in it forbids boy to attend. Trust me I spent hours reading that thing front to back."

"What? What are you saying? Of course it does. How could it not?"

"No, really. It was so evident back then that they omitted it. There are restrictions on the uniform, sentence about teaching the students everything a young lady needs to know to be successful and a lot of things in the same vein. But the thing must have been written by a clerk or a lawyer, students are never referred as anything else than students. Even the part about admission talks about children, family or relatives of former students, no mention of daughters or female relatives. It might involve a bit of creativite thinking to make it work in some regards but absolutely nothing in the rules as they are written forbids us from admitting a boy as a student." argued Jill.

"Jill, we can't do that. The trust's representative audit us by surprise multiple times per year, we get only a tiny bit of funding docked for minor infractions, but if they come in and find a bunch of boys in infraction to the code of conduct, the game is off."

"Which is the beauty of my plan. We will placate the board of education, we will announce that we are launching a pilote program to study how well to integrate male students in our establishment and that K-T here will be the first test subject. once he is registered we suddenly are no longer a gender segregated establishment and we don't have to worry about this bit of regulation before K-T graduates or another boy asks to apply. You know full well that so far no boy has asked to join in two centuries. There's still college for girls above the door and we don't advertise, no reason for this to change."

"That deals with the board of education, but what about the trust, one or twenty boys makes no difference, we will get nailed when they show up and he's in infraction to the code of conduct."

"And this is the beauty of what I propose. Have you seen how tuition has exploded in our competition? K-T here can't afford to go anywhere else, we are his only hope to go to college. on top of that he's my nephew and I know him, he's been raised to always follow the rules and submit to authority in these matters, I'm sure he will be easily convinced to follow the code of conduct to the letter."

"Can we even make it work?" asked Maggie.

"As long as he isn't technically in violation of any of the rules in the code, the trust can't do anything about us, no matter how it end up looking. And for the rest, everyone is an adult on campus and he'll be protected under the law no matter what he is wearing as long as he is complying with our dress code, remember that suit involving a strip club."

"I don't know how you intend to having him decent while following the code."

"Well, I never said anything about that."

"Really?"

"Have you seen what he's wearing to meet you?"

"I never saw a boy wearing shorts so short you can't see them under a t-shirt before, maybe you're right."

"The reason that you can't see the shorts is that he's not wearing any Maggie. There's nothing else on his body than this t-shirt.

" What?! No way!"

"Have you brought what I asked?"

"One full uniform set in what I assume is his size. But it won't work, you studied here, you know the dress code and the code of conduct. You know we can't make it work."

"I guess we won't know until we try. Should we ask him to join us so that we know what we are working with?"

"You mean... you want him to wear it?"

"Well, if he studies here he'll have to wear a uniform and we need to know what is allowed or not."

"You really think he'll accept to do that?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure of it," said Jill. "K-T, please come in, we need you here!" she added a lot louder.