Chapter 15: The Garden Party

Course 8 / Day 6: Course Progress Meeting

Participant Notes: Fifty

Jo: No reason why Fifty should not be involved in today's "open day". Her basic skills are sufficient for any of the service tasks envisaged for supporting the day, rather than any of the tasks for which we will use the more experienced, second-course trainees. Everyone is set up to let the people from Clegg Enterprises to see what we're doing with their investment.

Jenny's Recollections

Actually, now that I come to think about it, there seems to be something going on: I'm even more sure about my feelings later, when the shutter to my cell goes up and there is no communal breakfast, either.

Anna comes with a tray that she leaves outside the bars of my cell. I have to kneel down and reach through the bars to get at the food; some fruit, a bread roll and a glass of orange juice. By the time Anna walks by with the next tray for the cell beside mine I've already finished eating. She smiles and picks up the empty tray without saying anything. And, I notice that Anna's nipples are also pierced — though her rings have obviously been there a while, perhaps since her first visit here - but her arm is dressed like mine.

I wash and shave, It's become a morning ritual. Nothing happens for quite a while. That's unusual. Usually we are out of our cells and working by now.

Then, things get very busy indeed. Carrie, Sue and I are collected by Jo. There is no time for niceties.

We're taken out of our cells. As I go through the door of mine, I hear a short beep and I realise that there is a sensor on the door frame registering the RFID chip in my arm. I can't get used to the fact that somewhere a computer can record each time I go from one room to another, noting down every time the chip in my arm passes one of their sensors.

"Right, you three," she says when we arrive in the main hall. "We want twenty chairs put out in rows over there. Then we need five tables each with six chairs, laid up for lunch and another row of tables to hold a buffet out on the terrace. When you've done that Fifty-two and Fifty will be waiting at table for lunch. You, Fifty-three, are to report to Ylena." I'm confused by what's going on and jealous that Sue has been chosen for Ylena, for whatever it is. Jo must know that Ylena is my Gaspazha.

Jo can see I am hesitating. "What is it Fifty? Was I not clear? Or do you want some demerits?"

"Yes, Mistress, I mean, no Mistress," I babble and scuttle off with Carrie and Sue to find the things that are needed. With the three of us working, it doesn't take us too long. By the time Jo returns, the room is laid out as she has ordered and we've laid up the tables on the terrace. As she comes into the room, the three of us stand waiting, our hands behind our backs. Ylena is with her. Jo makes a swift inspection of the room and declares herself satisfied.

"Well done, slaves," she says. "Sorry, Ylena they've earned no more demerits this time."

Ylena smiles. "Never mind," she says. "It's Fifty-three that's coming with me isn't it?" She reaches out, grips Sue by her wrist cuff and leads her away.

I want to yell out, "No! No, it's number Fifty, number Fifty is your slooga, it's me," but I can see it would do no good. Sue just nods and follows Ylena as she leaves the room.

Jo catches me watching them leave. "Is there not enough to interest you here, Fifty?" she asks.

"Sorry, Mistress," is all I can manage.

"Right. Now listen to me the pair of you. We have guests for lunch. People that are coming to see how we do things here. You two will be waiting at table as I said. This is what you will be wearing."

She passes us each a box. I'm excited, I haven't worn anything since I arrived. Even some fetish waitress uniform will be a wonderful change, I think. As I open the box, I realise I shouldn't have got my hopes up. There's a pair of Greek looking sandals, a strappy thing I don't recognise and a badge with the words, "Hi, I'm Fifty How Can I Serve You?"

"Put on your sandals and I will help you with your muzzles, Jo says. "And hurry up. Our guests will be here soon."

We do as she tells us. It doesn't take long. Then, Jo goes to work with the straps. First, she pulls a shaped leather piece across my mouth and the lower half of my face. There's a strap around my forehead, two others run up across the top of my head from just in front of my ears, two more straps go up either side of my nose to meet in the middle of my forehead and a single strap from there runs up over the top of my scalp. My head is caged in leather straps that hold the muzzle across my mouth very firmly in place. As Jo tightens the straps, it's clear that I can't even flex my jaw, much less say anything recognisable. It's a curious sensation. My whole head feels closed in, clamped tightly by the leather. This of course is typical of Inward Bound. Breakfast was quite a while ago, our tummies will be reminding us that we should be having some sort of lunch, mean-while we are going to be surrounded by much more interesting food that is given to us and we are going to be kept from temptation and even from conversation by a muzzle. Able to serve others, but kept securely in our places.

Once the muzzle is on, a belt goes around my waist and then she clips my wrists cuffs to it behind my back. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to wait at table, if I can't use my hands. But, with the muzzle across my mouth I can't ask, either. She follows this up with a strap around my elbows. Ouch! It's painful as she pulls it tight. It's good for my posture though, I guess, as it pulls my shoulders back.

Jo looks at me and nods with satisfaction before doing the same to Carrie. She has the two of us stand side by side and looks us over. I see her look down at the boxes. She realises that we aren't wearing our name badges and picks them up. She clips Carrie's badge to her collar and then turns to me. She's about to do the same but then she gets a worrying twinkle in her eye and she grins. She reaches up and clips it to my nose ring instead; the badge is just dangling in front of my muzzle. I don't know why I should feel this looks any more ridiculous than the rest of my outfit looks anyway, but I do. I manage a grunt of protest which Jo, of course, ignores.

"Good," says Jo. "Now we'd better get your trays." She leaves us for a moment and comes back carrying two trays and a series of lengths of chain. She starts off by fitting a tray onto me. The arrangement is quite ingenious. Two clips on the back edge of the tray fasten to rings on my belt, chains from the front two corners of the tray run up and clip to my collar. Jo fits a tray on to Carrie as well. "Now," she says. "Your job is simple. Just go to the servery over there. They will load your tray. You then walk out to the terrace and go around the tables, pausing at each to allow them to take anything that they want. I'm sure I don't need to tell you the consequence of dropping things, spilling things or upsetting our guests. I know you saw how disappointed Ylena was that none of you had earned any demerits yet." There's the sound of people chatting from outside the hall. "Right. Out of here. Go into the servery. You're waitresses, go and wait."

The two of us shuffle out as best we can, the trays swinging awkwardly from the waist clips and chains. I'm sure we'll not be able to carry anything to the tables. In the servery food is being organised, bottles of wine are being opened. The two cooks look up with an approving grin as we enter. I watch Carrie walk up and down, trying to get the hang of keeping her balance and keeping the tray steady. I decide that's a smart move and do the same thing myself.

Through the door from the servery, I can hear a presentation going on. Jo and Gerry are talking, describing the regime that we have here and how they expect their charges to behave. There is another young woman that I have not met, although I have seen her in the house. She seems to be in overall charge. I try to get a bit closer to hear more of what's going on. As I reach the door there's a beep — another sensor, detecting my chip, I realise. Moments later, one of the "keepers" is at my side.

"I don't think you're needed here, are you, Fifty," he says. "Why don't you get back to what you're supposed to be doing?" I realise he's been alerted by the RFID monitoring system. They really do know where I am and where I should, or shouldn't be. He takes me firmly be the arm and leads me away from the presentation room.

Eventually, the presentation finishes. There's a round of applause. Charlotte appears at the door of the servery and gives a thumbs up sign to the cooks. One of them nods and beckons Carrie and me across. "Right, you two," he says. "Time to go to work. I hope you've got the hang of those outfits." He starts to load food onto my tray, bowls of tasty looking nibbles. It's all I can do to stop myself drooling, but my muzzle at least makes sure I don't. So much of the food we've had has been rather Spartan, still, I'm loosing my puppy fat and that can't be a bad thing.