Standing very much on display in front of him, feeling more like a prop or piece of set-dressing than an actual participant, Kerry felt grateful for Hunter’s hands on her shoulders, not exactly squeezing them but resting them with enough weight to be a comforting presence. Far from looking awkward, Katie appeared to be revelling in the attention and loving showing herself off to the extent that Kerry couldn’t help wondering how she had lasted as long as she had without ending up on the menu some way or another. Not that she was feeling too self-conscious about being nude in front of everyone now. Hunter’s words about how Sidney had viewed this outfit, such as it was, as a sort of uniform and the discussion about how she and Katie were not actually naked but wearing Sidney costumes had really hit home. Besides, what was the point of being shy when within the hour she was going to be roasting and by the end of the afternoon, anything recognisable as her body would be gone forever! Might as well let people enjoy looking at it if they wanted to before they enjoyed it a different way!

Given that he was never the most captivating speaker at the best of times, Kerry was finding Mr Harcourt’s speech impossible to concentrate on, the words becoming a sort of droning white-noise, very similar to the teachers in the Charlie Brown cartoons. Instead, her attention turned to the watching audience, most of whom were smiling with polite indulgence as they listened to his ramblings about the importance of this partnership for both schools, which from September would be combined into one, spread across the combined campus and making use of shared facilities, and his bright hopes for the future.

Rather than paying attention to the speech, Kerry was watching the people in the audience, their numbers swollen by passers-by who had stopped to see what was going on and people who lived in the street who had come out of their houses, attracted by the crowd. Some were unashamedly looking at her and Katie, clearly enjoying the change to see two young girls in their birthday suits, others, to her amusement, kept stealing furtive glances as if worried they might get in trouble if caught looking while others, even more entertainingly, seemed to be making a point of looking anywhere but at them. These groups did, in fairness, make up the minority and most people were simply looking around naturally between the different people in front of them, especially those who had arrived once proceedings had already started and were trying to work out what was going on!

Next to give her speech was Josie and she mercifully kept it short, as did Hunter, both giving condensed versions of the what they had said at the building site, then it was time for the sign to be unveiled. Although officially the schools would continue to operate as they had been until the end of the Summer term with most of the practical changes coming into effect in September, the official name change would be immediate. Kerry and Katie found themselves pulled forward to take the lead in the unveiling, standing in the middle of the sign, grabbing hold of the covering with one hand each while the other girls from their school lined up behind them, the head of the junior school standing by to assist on Katie’s side as not only were those girls smaller but there were fewer of them. Encouraged by Hunter, the audience counted down from five then cheered as the velveteen cloth was pulled away, temporarily covering the girls which was a source of obvious amusement for all those watching, to reveal a bold sign reading “Sidney’s Academy, Chistleton” with a picture of Sidney’s head and shoulders, cut off just before her nipples would be visible, in a red hat with a monogram of the letters S and C which would be the school’s new logo on the front. At the bottom was the school’s contact telephone number and email address as well as Mr Harcourt’s name and some small print declaring it to be an independent educational academy under the academic oversight of the borough council and sponsored by Roebuck International Inc.

With the ceremony complete, there were more photographs to be taken. The uniformed girls were dismissed back to their classes and a lot of those members of the public who had stopped to watch wandered off but the two meat-girls along with Hunter, Josie and the head teachers in various different combinations all posed in front of the sign for the cameras. Finally it was time to go down to the field. Josie led the girls down first while Hunter stayed to chat with the adults and, as a fairly well-known public figure himself, although he knew his fame and recognition could never even dream of coming anywhere close to his sister’s, posed for selfies with those who wanted them. Down on the field, Kerry assumed that the roasting prep would begin right away but instead they were ushered into the tent so that the makeup ladies could give them a quick touch-up while the workers made sure anything that was not supposed to be on display safely out of view. Then a number of bottles of sparkling wine were taken from a cooler and opened by the catering assistants then poured out into champagne flutes carefully arranged on trays.


To be continued...