Try to figure out how the curtain works.

It occurred to Ralli that when she'd inspected the curtain before, she'd learned it didn't part the way she'd expected. That said, she'd never actually figured it out. To prevent some strange mishap during her class, she decided to spend a moment on that.

She headed to the corner, where she sensed a tassel that she had to assume acted as a drawstring. She'd never bothered messing with something like this before, but she had read a book on it once (she did a lot of reading on a lot of mundane topics). She yanked on the tassel to try it out.

As she had expected, a forceful yank like that pulled the curtains all the way open. Rather than parting from the sides, these rose like blinds, disappearing into the canopy above. Of course... that meant that Ralli was now completely exposed in the classroom. "What carelessness... The window is unconcealed. I am lucky nobody was there to see." Hurriedly, Ralli decided to conceal herself again by closing the curtain.

Only...

"There is no second drawstring. There is no mechanism on the top rod. There is no other device on the bedpost. There is no other device anywhere! I don't understand. How does it close?"

The sergeant's concern turned to panic. She tried tugging on the same drawstring, which somehow walked down only one corner of each wall of the curtain, not nearly enough to conceal her. She continued fiddling with it furiously and fruitlessly as precious seconds passed. "Do I just reach up and pull the curtain back out by ****? No... No, if I tear it, my situation will be even worse and Bella will be furious." Ralli's mind began to race as she considered the indignity of not only appearing naked in front of her students, but also surrounded by a cheap trick she had clearly intended to use and was clearly too dumb to adjust.

But the blasted thing just wouldn't come down... As Ralli was continuing to try and massage the curtain cord just right to get more than a corner of the sheet released... footsteps in the hall outside were approaching the door!

"Forget the curtain. I have to hold the door!" The captain bolted from the shattered safety of her curtain, her bare feet pounding the floor as she raced to try to reach the door. If she could just reach it in time, she could at least hold it shut... She might be naked, but between her strength and her authority, she would surely be able to keep the intruder from barging in!