Everyone knows that Class XI is a vexing year to be the new girl. Everybody else goes back as classmates to at least Class IX. The Hindi and Punjabi i... the schoolyard would leave an American feeling left out. They don’t wear uniforms in that country -- as I said, the fortunate girl -- so our attire would be different. St. Mary’s was excellent in many respects, but not so good in schoolwear, even if you worship St. Mary.I, like my classmates, watched our newcomer over the first week. Tall,. Sitting on a bench across from the park, she had that look of guilt on her face that I could tell she had been doing something naughty and she was trying to collect herself before she had to go home and face her hubby. She had on a pair of polyester slacks, flats, and a blouse that looked like it was something she got from the junior’s department straight from Wal-mart and she looked like she was on her way to pick up the kids from soccer practice. I casually strolled up to her and sat down. One day I was hitch-hiking from London up to Scotland and had just been given a lift to a “services” along the highway, where I grabbed a coffee and then walked back to the slip road to thumb another lift. It was a freezing day and looked about to start drizzling. To my great luck, no sooner had I dropped my pack than a car whizzed out of the services centre and pulled to a halt in front of me. The driver, a late middle aged guy, said he’d seen me having a coffee and liked to help hikers, so I. She was wearing only a black bra and bikini, having apparently not had time to change into her ‘uniform’, but this barely registered in my mind. The pillory was based off the old medieval design – basically a large slab of wood with circular holes for the neck and wrists. You see them a lot of the time at renaissance fairs or old touristy castles, although most of those are just holes you stick your limbs through, and can’t actually hold squat. This one – a utilitarian iron design – obviously.