Donna explains the auction

"Tell us about this auction you mentioned last night," Mason asks Donna. "Is that as weird as it sounds?"

"It's more the optics of the thing that concern me," she replies. "A bunch of teen girls being sold to rich middle aged men to perform menial tasks, isn't a big leap for someone to start imagining sexual slavery. I don't think that's actually happened, at least I hope not. There's a lot of double entendres during the auction and most of the girls wear bikinis or paint their dresses on for the auction. There's a distinct sexual overtone and I'm not sure that's the right image in the current climate."

"How long has this been going on?" Darnell asks.

"Oh, since the nineteen twenties or so. A lot of schools and sororities used to do something similar, and a few still do, but increasingly the practice has been dropped. Like a lot of things here it's become set in stone, one of the 'traditions' that dinosaurs like Miss Swanson defend. There's no doubt it raises a lot of money for charity, and the local business people love it, but I think it's an idea whose time has passed."

"How many girls get auctioned? And who chooses who gets picked? Are they volunteers?" Mason asks.

"They're volunteers, but there's never a shortage. I think the least we had was five a few years ago, but when I first started teaching here there were as many as twenty or twenty five. Last year there were nine. They submit a letter volunteering, and listing the things they're prepared to do, and it goes from there. It's always stuff like washing a car or baking cookies or light housekeeping, but when you see the rich old buggers bidding, you know what they're thinking, even if they never do anything but think."

"Some of these rich white girls get off on the notion of being sold as slaves," Lorri interjects. "Wouldn't be surprised if their pussies get wet when they're being auctioned. They got no idea what real slavery was about. Ain't no black girl, or brown one for that matter, getting sold off to rich crackers while I'm here."

"You mentioned sororities earlier, do any of them have chapters here?"

"No. We're a two year school and most national sororities can't be bothered," Donna says. "The girls who do go on to college probably join one, but there aren't any here. Some of the girls start up little clubs, sort of mock sororities, but they never last past the participants graduating. That little snot Valerie tried to start one among the softball and soccer player but I don't think she got many takers."

"This Valerie sounds like a real piece of work," Darnell laughs sarcastically. "I just can't wait to meet her."

"She's right over there," Lorri McKay says, nodding towards a table of girls. "The brunette sitting next to the chubby blonde. She's one of the biggest problem students here, although my personal 'favourite' is young Miss Chanel. She's sitting two tables back with her clique of rich bitches. She's the curly haired light brunette. Hmmph, notice she's not looking her usual snotty self. Maybe she's coming down with something. Nothing trivial, I hope."

"What's her problem?" you ask.

"Way too much money and way too much arrogance," Lorri says. "Her family has been rich since, oh about since the Jurassic Era, and we're not talking a second house in the Hamptons rich, we're talking hundred million dollar endowment to Harvard, islands in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean rich. Like Scrooge McDuck shit. Most of the girls sitting with her come from families who aren't far behind hers. All of them are world class bitches. Valerie really wants to be one of them, but they scorn her for being new money. As far as I'm concerned you could sew all those bitches in a bag and throw them in the lake."

You nod thoughtfully and sip your coffee, looking at the pretty rich girl who doesn't look dangerous or mean at all. She just looks miserable and scared.