✅ A Dose of Humiliation

84. Illegal Moves

You can all thank Brandon for getting this chapter posted a day earlier than it would have been. Thank you Brandon!

"You still want to run away?" Becker asked, disdain dripping from every syllable. How could this freak even know I would be here, after everything that he had done? But Dad didn't slow down, and his grip on my arm was tight enough that I couldn't just stop walking. What was going on here? I didn't know, but I also didn't have the choice.

"It's not an option," Dad growled in my ear. "I can't transfer you to a different pharmacist when you're still under treatment. I knew you wouldn't like it, but this is the only way. Just deal with it, and maybe you won't be so hasty to raise your hand to me next time."

"That's not fair!" I answered. "You shouldn't be able to–" and then my words died away as Becker grabbed my other wrist.

"Life isn't fair," Becker answered me. "But the law sets down rules. And you can be sure you're going to obey them, whether you want to or not. There's not an option for a little rebel who doesn't want to play along. So come with me, and let's see what you've earned by continuing with your bad behaviour."

I looked up and saw Dad's face, and I knew he didn't want this. He might be angry because I'd slapped him, and because Elspeth hadn't made any effort to hide her disapproval when they spoke. But he knew that this was a consequence of his actions, and I knew that in that moment, if he could have easily freed me from the pharmacist's grasp he would have done it. My dad didn't hate me; he just didn't know how to cope with not being the one in control, after his whole life had led him to that point.

The elevator ride was fast, at least, and came out just two minutes walk from Becker's shop. And then, to my surprise, there were other customers waiting inside when we arrived.

"Oh, hi," Serena said with a wicked grin. I couldn't even guess what she was thinking. "I've not got an appointment today. But I thought it was best to come in anyhow. My lawyer tells me that if I have a legal right to the HumiliX Generalised Antidote Treatment, I can come in any day I want and demand immediate priority."

The junior pharmacist behind the counter stammered and looked back and forth between them with terror in her eyes. She knew that Becker could fire her if she said anything he didn't like, but also that Serena had come in talking about her rights with the confidence of someone who had already spoken to an actual lawyer. The poor pharmacist only knew that anything she said now was bound to upset at least one of them.

"I'm sorry, that isn't important right now," Becker sneered. "If you think you've served your punishment, you might need to think a little deeper about what happened to make you deserve this. And you'll need parental approval, of course. Do your parents think it would be fair to let you escape a legal punishment? Come back to see me when you're serious. I've got more important things to deal with today. Like Miss Peen's further loss of privileges."

I wanted to yell back at that, and to lash out. But a part of me knew that my best option was to keep silent. I had no doubt that Serena was recording everything she heard, even if I couldn't reach my phone right now. And there was a good chance she would be able to prosecute him just on the basis of what she heard today. I just had to be meek and submissive, not argue, and give Becker enough rope to hang himself.

"Can we get this over with?" Dad barked, and then he and Becker were marching me into the back room. There was nothing I could do about it; I'd totally underestimated how much simple handcuffs could restrict my movement. Serena gave me a quick message, a burst of sign language that I completely failed to read the meaning of. What was she saying to me?