by Van ©2012
		Chapter 5

The three women and their male companion were customers.  They spent several minutes perusing the display cases and shelves of Sarand-ip's front shop.  Eventually, after purchasing three scented candles, a couple of postcards, and a kitchen towel, they climbed back into their van and pulled away.

Tiffany watched them go with a smile.  Now she could return to the Houdini Room and check on (meaning gloat over) the prisoner-of-the-chair, aka her BFF Ashley.  Naked and tightly strapped to the "therapeutic spa chair," Ashley would no doubt be grateful to have some company—meaning would stare daggers at Tiffany as she leered at her naked captivity.  Tiffany turned to go—and a UPS panel truck turned off the highway and into the parking lot.  Rats!

Tiffany sighed and opened the door to greet the driver/deliveryman.  She signed for four boxes.  The first was a shipment of more candles, the second was from a publishing company, the third was from a supplier of scented soaps, and the fourth, the biggest and heaviest, was from a company called "Rainbow Rope."

The truck pulled away as Tiffany carried the boxes into the shop and placed them on the counter behind the cash register.  Cassie's policy was to verify the contents of all shipments against their enclosed invoices as soon as possible after delivery, so Tiffany started doing just that.  She opened the first box and found the candles inside undamaged and the paperwork in order.  The second box contained six paperback copies of a local history and the third was a shipment of cedar-scented soaps.  They also matched their invoices.  She was just about to open the fourth box when two cars pulled into the parking lot.

"More customers," Tiffany muttered under her breath.  "Sales work would be so much easier if it wasn't for all the customers."  She was kidding, of course.  It was an old joke she repeatedly shared with Ashley.

One car disgorged a man and a woman, both in their thirties, and the other two women, both in their mid-twenties.  None of them were in anything you could call costumes, but the first couple announced they were bound for Silverberry Manor and required Steampunk goggles.  The second party revealed they were also bound for Silverberry and were interested in period lingerie.  Neither party had met before now and introduced themselves.

Tiffany knew that in such a situation Cassie invariably offered refreshments, so, after selling two pair of goggles to the first party and camisole and pantie sets to the second, Tiffany offered to brew some tea and led her guests (customers) to the café area.  They sat at the cafe tables in the back and chatted... and chatted... and sipped tea... and chatted... and nibbled biscuits (cookies)... and chatted.

And all the while Tiffany knew that behind the locked door of the Houdini Room poor Ashley was very lonely, all bound and gagged and naked and with absolutely no one to gloat over her fuming helplessness.  It was truly tragic.  Tiffany kept the hot tea coming and soldiered on.

And just when the four were finally getting ready to leave—Finally!—the bell over the front door jingled—Tinkle-tinkle-tinkle.  Tiffany excused herself and hurried to the front to greet a pair of fifty-something women who proceeded to sample Sarand-ip's entire collection of essential oils.

The tea-drinkers left and the newcomers continued delicately sniffing the sample bottles of oil, one-by-one.  Tiffany smiled 'til her face ached.  Would she ever get a chance to lord it over Ashley before Cassie returned from her run?

Apparently not.

After settling on four vials of oil—Jasmine, Bayberry, Passionflower, and (cliché of clichés) Patchouli—the women moved on to sniffing the scented candles.  Finally, they made their selections and Tiffany rang them up.  She watched them pull back onto US-101... then waited a few seconds to make sure several busloads of tourists weren't about to arrive or anything else was gonna happen that would keep her from the serious business of being a gloating bitch.  Nothing.  She turned away from the front door—just in time to watch Cassie emerge from the back of the house.

"Busy?" Cassie asked with her usual smile.  She'd showered after her run (using a shower-cap, apparently, as her hair was loose and dry) and had changed back into the same sandals, jeans, and blouse.

"Super busy," Tiffany sighed.  She favored her boss with a pathetic pout.  "I haven't had a single chance to gloat over Ashley."

"The poor dear has been undisturbed this entire time?" Cassie chuckled.

"Yeah," Tiffany confirmed.  She pointed towards the four boxes.  "UPS was here."

Cassie stepped behind the counter.  "Ah, the new Rainbow Rope has arrived."

"Rainbow rope?"

"Later," Cassie grinned.  "Let's check on Ashley."

They headed for the Houdini Room.  This is gonna be good, Tiffany thought as she pulled out her keys.  With Cassie at her back, she unlocked the door, pocketed her keys, and opened the door.

Tiffany's eyes popped wide—and she screamed!

"AHHHHH!"

Cassie rushed past the stunned Tiffany and hurried to the chair.

Ashley was sitting in the chair.  No surprise there.  However, Ashley was strapped in place with at least triple the number of restraints as had been in place when Cassie last saw her, including a ball-gag and a tight strap across her forehead!  This was no surprise for Tiffany (the perpetrator of the dastardly deed), but was a surprise for Cassie.

Also, Ashley's skin was flushed and dripping with sweat, and she was panting and her bosom was heaving as if she'd just sprinted a mile!  The gears of the machinery under the chair's seat were turning and spinning and something somewhere was making a rhythmic buzzing sound.  This was a big surprise to both Cassie and Tiffany (or rather, a total surprise for Tiffany and a surprise for Cassie that the "Throne of Excelsior" had been activated).

Ashley forced a weak, pathetic whine past the ball-gag as Cassie rushed to the chair and released its buckle.  "Mrrr."

Tiffany was frozen in the doorway.  "Oh-m'god, oh-m'god, oh-m'god," she chanted over and over.

"Tiffany!" Cassie barked as she unlocked the control panel behind the chair's headrest.  "Snap out of it!  Get over here and release her."

Tiffany blinked, hurried forward, and began unbuckling straps.

Meanwhile, Cassie had lifted the cover and thrown a switch.  The machine abruptly locked in place with a metallic ping and the buzzing sound stopped.  Cassie unbuckled and removed Ashley's forehead strap and noted the blue ball was still in Ashley's mouth,  Apparently the poor girl's jaws and tongue were too weak for her to push it out on her own.

"Are you all right?" Cassie asked with an anxious smile as she gently tugged on the ball-gag's straps.  The glistening rubber sphere emerged with a wet pop.

Ashley licked her lips and worked her jaw before answering.  "I'm okay," she sighed, then focused on the blushing and obviously very contrite Tiffany.  "You, on the other hand, are dead!"

Tiffany gasped like a fish out of water.  "I-I-I d-didn't know it was a..."  She blinked at Cassie.

"Therapeutic spa chair," Cassie supplied.

"No!" Tiffany gasped.  "I didn't know it did the, uh, stuff it does."

"Well," Ashley growled, "it does stuff, all right.  It did me!  For an hour!  It teased my twat and tickled my feet and I think my pussy is broken!  And you're dead!"

"I'm sorry," Tiffany whined, blinking back tears.  She was kneeling at Ashley's feet and unbuckling the ankle cuffs, the last of Ashley's restraints.  "I didn't know."

Cassie lifted Ashley's limp, sweaty, exhausted form off the chair and held her in her arms.  "I'm sorry this happened, Ashley.  I had no intention whatsoever of testing the 'therapeutic' functions of the chair.  Are you really okay?"

Ashley sighed and managed a weak smile.  "Yeah."

"Good girl," Cassie sighed, and kissed the top of Ashley's head.  "Now, let's get you cleaned up."  She carried her sweaty, naked burden towards the door.

"I'll help!" Tiffany yelped and hurried in their wake.

"No, you'll watch the store," Cassie ordered, "and lock that door.  After we close I want you to wipe down the chair, clean the straps and cuffs, and return them to the display case."

"Yes, ma'am," Tiffany mumbled as she reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out her keys.

Tiffany was sitting on the stool behind the display case next to the cash register and leaning forward with her elbows resting on the glass and her hands supporting her chin.  She felt terrible.  If she looked up "glum" or "idiot" or "traitor" in the dictionary... she was sure she'd find her own picture.  What had happened to Ashley may have been meant as a prank, but it had gone horribly wrong and she felt terrible.

There had been no customers in the hour since Ashley's rescue, so there had been nothing to distract her from her misery.  It figures.

Cassie strolled into the shop and joined Tiffany behind the counter.

Tiffany's eyes were welling, again.  "I'm sorry, Cassie," she said as she sat upright.

Cassie smiled and opened her arms.  "Come here."

Tiffany stood and stepped into Cassie's embrace.  "I'm s-sorry," she sobbed, blinking back tears.

"Curiosity and initiative are good things, Tiffany," Cassie said, "but only when tempered with good judgment and restraint."

"I know," Tiffany sighed.

Ashley breezed into the room.  Her hair was still damp from the shower and she'd changed back into her jeans and blouse.  "Restraint," she chuckled.  "Oh, she used restraint... on me!"

Cassie released Tiffany and the contrite redhead hurried to her BFF.  "I'm sorry."

A smile curled Ashley's lips and her eyes sparkled.  "I know, but I'm still gonna kill you."

"Okay," Tiffany sighed, "but make it quick and painless, okay?"

Still smiling, Ashley opened her arms and the friends hugged.

Cassie smiled and watched the girls embrace.  "No capital punishment," she chuckled.  "It's against company policy."

"Okay," Ashley said, "but I want her punished, and I get to watch."  She released Tiffany.

"Huh?" Tiffany gasped, taking a step back.

Cassie was still smiling.  "Explain yourself."

"I want you to do something non-lethal and nasty," Ashley said with a wink, "and I want to watch."

"I didn't get to watch you on the chair," Tiffany objected.  "Much."

"I know about the bondage lessons," Ashley continued.  "I want her punished and I want to watch."

"Ashley!" Tiffany hissed.

Cassie's smile was now focused entirely on Tiffany.

"Uh, I told her," the blushing redhead admitted.

"So I gather," Cassie purred.  "I think you do need to be punished, young lady."

"Oh, goodie!" Ashley laughed.  "Want me to get some stuff from the Leather Room?"

"No," Cassie answered, then pointed to the unopened box from Rainbow Ropes.  "Please take that to my bedroom, then you may rest until it's time to cook supper."

"Yes, Cassie."  Ashley picked up the box and turned to leave.  "Later, geek," she said to Tiffany as she left.

Tiffany stuck out her tongue at her departing BFF, then turned to Cassie.  "I have a big mouth," she sighed.

"You do," Cassie agreed.  "I'd keep you gagged at all times as a precaution, but some of our customers might misunderstand."

"I'm sorry," Tiffany whispered.

Cassie lifted the blushing redhead's chin and kissed her lips.

"Don't worry," she said.  "We'll give Ashley her closure, but your 'punishment' will be nothing more than a modest leap forward in our curriculum."

"Oh," Tiffany responded.  "That's, uh, reassuring... I guess."

Cassie laughed and headed for the door.  "At closing time, do the dusting and the vacuuming, then cleanup in the Houdini Room, like I told you."

"Yes, Cassie."  Cassie left and Tiffany was alone.  She went back behind the counter and resumed her former pose: butt perched on the stool, elbows on the counter, and chin in her hands.  "At least Ashley forgives me," she muttered to herself.  "She wants me tortured, but she forgives me."

Dinner was excellent, but the girls were preoccupied.  Tiffany's imminent "punishment" hung in the air like... like... Impending Doom.

Anyway, that's how Tiffany felt.  Okay, she knew neither her BFF nor Cassie would do anything drastic to her, but that didn't prevent her from indulging her inner drama queen.

Ashley was taking things better... in a gloating, infuriating (but entirely predictable and understandable) sort of way.

And Cassie...  Cassie was Cassie, wise and knowing, smiling and beautiful.

Finally, the evening meal was over and the kitchen was clean—another cruel, crushing solo task foisted upon poor Tiffany—and then it was time... unless Tiffany could delay the inevitable.  "Uh, who's up for some TV?" she suggested.

"Nice try," Ashley chuckled, then grinned at Cassie.  "Are you sure we can't strap her to the spa chair, turn it to high, and leave her there 'til morning?"

Cassie's answer was a patient smile.

"Okay, okay," Ashley sighed.  "So... what are we gonna do to her?"

"We?" Cassie purred, still smiling.

"Uh, you?" Ashley responded.  "What are you gonna do to her?"

"My bedroom," Cassie said, then nodded towards the kitchen door.

Tiffany sighed, then trudged in the direction indicated.

"Dead geek walking!" Ashley chuckled as she followed.

"Shuddup," Tiffany muttered.

Still smiling, Cassie brought up the rear.

The only apparent change in Cassie's bedroom was the box from Rainbow Rope waiting on the foot of the neatly made bed.

"Student uniform," Cassie said as she closed the bedroom door behind them.

Tiffany sighed (milking her Innocent Martyr routine for all it was worth), then pulled her blouse over her head.

Ashley smiled and watched as Tiffany continued removing and neatly folding her clothing.  Then, she noticed Cassie's smile was focused on her.  "Uh, what?"

"You said you wanted to join the class," Cassie reminded Ashley.

Ashley couldn't hide her nervousness.  "Uh, yeah, but..."

"I don't allow auditors," Cassie explained.  "Either you're my student, or you're not.  And the student uniform is... birthday suit."

Ashley hesitated for a couple of more seconds, then began unbuttoning her blouse.

By this time, Tiffany was nude and her jeans, blouse, bra, and panties were in a neat stack on the floor next to the door.

Cassie pointed to the center of the bedroom, the largest open space.  "Kneel," she ordered.  She was still smiling, of course, so it was as much a suggestion as an order.

Tiffany trudged to the position indicated, dropped to her knees, settled her weight back on her heels, and rested her hands on her thighs.

Very soon, Ashley was also naked and her clothes neatly stacked next to Tiffany's.

Cassie beamed at Ashley.  "Come," she beckoned with a crooked finger.  Ashley padded over and she pointed at the box.  The sealing tape had already been slit.  "Please open it and neatly arrange the contents on the bed, then put the box by the door."

"Yes, ma'am," Ashley said and followed her teacher's instructions.  She felt like she was back in high school and Cassie was her teacher, except for the birthday suit part.  The contents in question turned out to be two dozen neat coils of rope.  They were of various lengths and all were the same natural shade of light brown.  As she unpacked the coils and placed them on the bed, Ashley found a note card.  She was able (surreptitiously) to read what had been printed on the card in a neat, unknown hand.

Cassie, Here's the new synthetic hemp. 6mm, 3-strand. Let me know what you think. Luv, Trudy

Ashley carried the empty box to the bedroom door, folded down the flaps, and placed both sets of folded clothes inside.  She turned and watched Cassie pick up one of the smaller bundles of rope and release the coil.

"It doesn't feel quite like natural hemp," Cassie said as she ran the doubled rope through her hands and found the center, "but it's very soft."  She smiled at Ashley.  "Come."

Ashley stepped towards the bed.  Her eyes widened as Cassie took her by the shoulders, gently turned her around, and pulled her hands behind her back.  "Uh, I thought you were gonna tie up the geek?"

"Watch it," Tiffany muttered from her kneeling position in the center of the room.

Cassie chuckled.  "Lucky for you, Ashley, you're only one lesson behind."  She crossed the short brunette's wrists and began binding them with the rope.  "I'll catch you up, then deal with Little Miss Curiosity."

"Two birds with one stone," Ashley muttered, then smiled.  "Or in this case, two birds with one box of rope."

"Hilarious," Tiffany sighed.

Cassie finished cinching the rope and tied a square knot; however, two long free ends remained.  She spun Ashley around, gathered the ends to the front from either side, and tied a square knot over Ashley's navel.  "That should hold you," she said, then returned to the bed for another short coil of rope.

Ashley twisted and tugged on her bonds.  Her crossed wrists were solidly lashed to the small of her back, and the key knot was, of course, in front and over her tummy.  The bondage was tight and obviously inescapable, but not too tight around her waist.  "Wow," she muttered under her breath.

"You didn't do that to me," Tiffany said.  "I mean the belly rope."

"There's a very practical reason for belly ropes," Cassie responded.  "I'll explain another time."  She shifted her smile to Ashley and pointed to the bed.  "Sit."

Ashley sat on the foot of the bed and watched as Cassie knelt at her feet, grabbed and crossed her ankles, and bound them together.

Tiffany was watching as well.  "Now that you did do to me."

"There's also a practical reason for the ankles being crossed," Cassie lectured as she cinched the final knot, "and this I will explain."  She stood and took a step back.  "Ashley, please hop over and open the bedroom door."

Still sitting on the bed, Ashley frowned up at her smiling teacher.  "I'll do a face-plant on the carpet."

"Exactly," Cassie nodded.  "It is possible but very difficult to hop with your ankles crossed.  Better to crawl on your knees if you want to get anywhere, which is much slower and more awkward."

"I can see that," Tiffany said.

Cassie began sorting through the coils of rope.  "And now for naughty little Tiffany," she purred.  "I'm going to demonstrate the Japanese art of Kinbaku, commonly referred to in the West as Shibari.  Don't worry about the fine details.  We'll cover the technical aspects of Japanese and Western bondage in future lessons.  On this occasion I want you both to appreciate the complex beauty of the final result.

She picked up one of the largest coils and strolled towards Tiffany.

Over the next several minutes she turned Tiffany into a work of art.

Both girls, the already bound brunette watching from the bed and the red-haired work of art in question, could attest to that.

Tiffany's arms were folded behind her back and neat, flat strands of rope pinned her arms to her sides, yoked her shoulders, were cinched between her upper arms and torso, and bound her forearms and wrists.  The ropes were also cinched between Tiffany's breasts, imparting a mild squeeze to the pert globes.

Cassie lowered Tiffany to the carpet and tied multiple horizontal bands above and below her knees and around her ankles, lashing her legs together.  Then, turning and rolling her prone student as required, she crafted a series of diagonal diamond hitches that tightened around Tiffany's slender, pale body from shoulders to ankles.

The final result was a symmetrical web of multiple horizontal and single lateral strands, cinched and hitched together and secured with flat, elegant knots.  Tiffany could tell she was completely helpless and the synthetic hemp, especially the single lateral strands, dimpled her peach-pink flesh.  However, nothing poked or pressed or caused her any real discomfort... not yet, anyway.

Cassie stood, strolled to her walk-in closet, and returned with a short length of hemp cord.  "This is supposed to be punishment," she explained, "so..."

Tiffany watched as Cassie tied her big toes together.  "They aren't gonna turn blue and fall off, are they?" she muttered.  Of course, Cassie was doing her usual expert job of making the bondage tight and inescapable but maintaining her student's circulation, but Tiffany figured she might as well pout and try for some sympathy.

"You know better than that," Cassie chided, then reached into her back pocket and produced a ball-gag.  Both the ball and the closed loop that served as the gag's strap were of translucent, natural rubber.

Tiffany dialed up the level of her pout to maximum.  "You aren't gonna gag me, are you?  Mrrrf!"  Suddenly, there was something in Tiffany's mouth, but it wasn't the ball-gag.  It was Cassie's tongue!  "M'mmpfh."

Ashley watched in awed silence as the kiss continued.  Her elaborately bound BFF wiggled and quivered in her ropes and returned the kiss.  Ashley considered making a witty remark like "Get a room," but nothing truly appropriate came to mind.  They had a room.  This was Cassie's room.  Besides, she didn't really want to spoil the moment.  And she wasn't jealous, not even a little!

Tiffany continued wiggling.  "Mrrrf."

Cassie had broken the kiss and popped the ball-gag into Tiffany's mouth.  She stretched the rubber tubing strap over Tiffany's head, then freed her ginger hair from under the rubber loop.  The ball was in to stay, but it was only something like an inch-and-a-half in diameter and while the strap was tight, it wasn't that tight.  Tiffany found she could move the ball around in her mouth, a little, but there was no way she could force it out.

Meanwhile, Cassie had strolled into the master bath and returned with a brush and some hairpins.  She lifted Tiffany's upper body until she was sitting on her rump, knelt behind her, and began brushing her hair.  She then coiled the straight, fine, fiery red mass into a tight bun and secured it with a few pins.  Next, she stood, walked over and sat on the bed next to her other student, and did the same to Ashley's brown tresses.

Ashley sat perfectly still as Cassie fussed with her hair.  She still couldn't think of anything clever to say.

Task accomplished, Cassie stood and walked into her closet, brushing her own hair as she went.

Ashley smiled at her elaborately trussed and ball-gagged BFF.  "Enjoying yourself?"

Tiffany's reply was a withering stare.

Cassie returned from the closet and now both girls were staring... in wonder.  Cassie's hair was now in a bun.  And oh-by-the-way, the teacher was now as nude as her students!

A tiny thrill rippled through Ashley's crotch as she watched Cassie stroll to the bedroom door.  She turned off the overhead lights, then walked to the bed.  She turned off her bedside reading light, but turned on a nightlight.  It was a swirl of multi-colored glass in the shape of a forest mushroom, an Art Nouveau reproduction if not a genuine antique.  It was quite beautiful—but not nearly as beautiful as Cassie's tall, tan, graceful, and very feminine body.

Ashley watched as Cassie lifted Tiffany's helpless form into her arms and carried her to the French doors that led out onto her back porch.  She opened the doors and carried her red-haired burden outside.

"Uh, Cassie?" Ashley called from the bed.  "A little chilly for moon-bathing, don't ya think?"

A few seconds later, Cassie returned without Tiffany and strolled towards the bed.

"Cassie?" Ashley muttered.  "Outside?  Really?"

"Hush, Blue Eyes," Cassie purred as she lifted Ashley into her arms, then carried her through the open doors and out onto the porch.

Ashley surveyed her surroundings.  The sun had fully set and night had fallen.  Cassie's porch was better described as a deck.  To either side, vertical screens of wooden lattice and stretched canvas provided privacy.  A low railing with more canvas screened it on the ocean side.  Anyone walking along the beach would see little or nothing of what might be happening on the deck, and especially at night with the bedroom lights turned off.  There were a pair of Adirondack-style lounge chairs, a small table with four straight chairs, and under the extended overhang of the roof, a redwood hot tub.  The tub was circular, half-submerged in the deck, and about six feet across.  The water inside bubbled and churned and was dimly lit from below—and inside the tub was the elaborately bound and ball-gagged Tiffany.

"I'm making Naughty Girl Soup," Cassie chuckled as she carried Ashley to the tub, stepped over the rim, then lowered them both into the water.

"Hot!" Ashley gasped as she was engulfed by the roiling water.

"That is the general idea," Cassie said as she settled Ashley onto the low seat running the circumference of the tub, then squeezed herself between her bound students and placed an arm over each of their shoulders.

Too hot quickly became hot... which became pleasantly hot.  Steam-like mist carried the scent of wet redwood and chlorine to Ashley as she stretched in her bonds and wiggled against Cassie's left side.  She peered over the rim at the open deck.  "This is where you sunbathe?" she asked.  "Tiffany noticed your lack of tan lines."

"Mrrf!" Tiffany complained.

"Yes," Cassie answered with a smile.  "It's also where I practice my Yoga asanas, unless it's overcast or the wind is blowing.  Even in midwinter it's reasonably comfortable out here."

Ashley nodded.  "This feels good," she sighed.

"Also the general idea," Cassie chuckled.

They gazed out at the ocean... and up at the night sky.  Countless stars wheeled overhead and they could hear the low, regular rumble and sigh of waves lapping the shore.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you in the chair this afternoon," Cassie said quietly.

"I know," Ashley responded.  "It was... okay."

"Only okay?" Cassie purred.  "Maybe I ought to tell Cody Archer her design needs work."

Tiffany forced a giggling guffaw past her gag.

"Shut up, geek!" Ashley snapped, then focused on Cassie.  "It was really, uh, effective."

"And there's no damage?" Cassie whispered.  She lifted her right arm over Tiffany's head and shoulders, then slid her right hand between Ashley's thighs.

Ashley flinched and opened her mouth to protest—"M'mpfh!"—but whatever she was going to say was absorbed by Cassie's tongue and mouth.  She shivered in her bonds and tried to squeeze her thighs together, but couldn't stop her teacher's strong, firm hand from stroking her labia... not that she really wanted her to stop... not really.

Ashley managed to turn her head to the side and break the kiss.  "W-what about Tiffany?" she squeaked.

"What about her?" Cassie purred.

"She's right there," Ashley gasped, continuing to writhe in the hot water and Cassie's embrace and against her gliding hand.

"I can only teach this kind of lesson to one student at a time," Cassie chuckled.  "Besides, she's being punished, remember?"

"Oh, Cassie," Ashley sighed.  She was still squirming, but not really struggling to evade her teacher's "lesson."  She was moving because she had to, because of what Cassie's hand was doing between her legs.  She turned her head back towards her teacher—"Mrrf"—and the kiss resumed.

Cassie paused and locked eyes with Ashley.  "During our lessons, you will address me as Mistress.  Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mistress," Ashley whispered, and the kiss continued.

With wide-eyed, ball-gagged wonder and awe, Tiffany watched what she could see of Cassie and Ashley's activities.  It was clear what they were doing, but the bubbling, churning water and Cassie's wet, tan body were in the way.

Mistress, Tiffany mused.  And here I thought I was teacher's pet.