THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR

                              by 

                            Joe Doe


JUDGE ASHLEY HAS ALWAYS ENJOYED WATCHING THE PRISONERS BEING 
SEARCHED.  BUT NOW THE MATRON THINKS IT IS ASHLEY'S TURN. 



"There she is, Your Honor," the matron said.  "Her name is Natalie, 
and she's a 24-year-old graduate student and history teacher.  She 
locked her purse in her car, but, since she didn't have any ID, the 
police wouldn't open it." 

"Her cousin Holly arrived a couple of minutes ago with Natalie's 
purse and a second set of keys, so we COULD just release her," 
the matron said, with a smile.  "But I know what a stickler you 
are for detail...." 

The matron grinned as she watched Judge Ashley staring at the 
prisoner.  Natalie was just the way Judge Ashley liked them: 
beautiful, innocent, and helpless. 

Just like Ashley herself.... 

"Of course, if you'd prefer, I can release Miss Natalie and put 
you in there instead, Your Honor," the matron slyly suggested. 

"I don't understand," Ashley blinked, looking at the matron in 
confusion. 

The insightful matron knew that Ashley wasn't a lesbian, and that 
the staid judge watched the female searches strictly to explore 
her own fantasies of submission and humiliation.  "You are 
so...uh...interested in supervising strip searches that I thought 
you might want to see what a search looks like from the other side 
of the one-way mirror," the matron said, coyly.  "If I release 
Professor Careless there, then I could take you down to the exam 
room, and you could have a look around." 

The matron smiled.  "I would have to be careful not to leave you 
in the room too long, though.  I already told Bertha that a hot 
little number was waiting for her in the exam room.  She's in the 
cafeteria right now, but she's a two-fisted eater, and I think 
she's anxious to get started."  

The matron leaned in and whispered in Judge Ashley's ear.  "If 
Bertha found you all alone in the exam room, she might just 
decide to search YOU.  You'd be all alone down there, Your Honor 
-- totally at Bertha's mercy, utterly defenseless." 

Ashley shuddered at the thought of stripping in front of a butch 
prison guard like Bertha.   

But she also felt an indescribable tingle… 

She looked through the one-way glass at Natalie, who was nervously 
running her hand over the steel stirrups on the exam table and 
anxiously eyeing the drum of goo labeled "LUBRICANT." 

Ashley chuckled as she watched Natalie squirm in helpless 
anticipation.  It would be a pity to release a prisoner as 
lovely and intelligent as her, but Judge Ashley had a feeling 
she would be seeing her again someday.   

After all, someone as spacey as Natalie couldn't avoid the exam 
table forever.... 

"Please release the girl," Ashley said.  "We can teach our pretty 
little instructor a lesson some other night." 

The matron smiled and left the observation room to escort Natalie 
out to meet her cousin. 

Judge Ashley shivered slightly as she looked through the glass at 
the exam table and the ominously empty box used to store the 
prisoner's clothes.  The box wasn't very big.   

But she knew it was large enough to hold every stitch of her 
clothing. 

How many times had she watched the matron search some poor, 
innocent woman?  And how many naked men had been forced to 
bend over and put their palms flat on the ground for Ashley's 
amusement?  She had lost count. 

But tonight would be different.  Tonight Judge Ashley would 
experience the other side of the mirror....

Ashley's soulful introspection was cut short by the return of the 
matron, who quickly ushered Ashley into the hallway.   Before the 
matron closed the door, she discreetly pushed the "RECORD" button 
on the VCR. 

The matron smiled.  Tonight's search was definitely going to be a 
keeper. 

Ashley was overwhelmed by the odor of rubbing alcohol and 
disinfectant as she entered the strip search room for the 
first time.  She had never really thought about what the 
place would smell like. 

Or what it would feel like to actually stand in front of the 
exam table. 

She ran her soft, manicured hand over the shiny steel stirrups.  
The metal felt cold...impersonal...mechanical.  She had watched 
dozens of pretty young women put their bare feet into these 
pitiless stirrups, often for the most trivial offenses.   

(When Judge Ashley was on the bench, an attractive young lady had 
to be careful about participating in a peaceful protest or even 
just chewing gum on a city bus.) 

She had wondered what it would feel like to put her own bare feet 
into the stirrups.  Would she be brave?  Or would her panicked 
eyes betray her fear and humiliation as Bertha slowly greased 
the dreaded rubber glove? 

Ashley looked nervously at the one-way glass.  She knew that male 
police officers routinely wandered in to watch the matron search 
attractive female prisoners.  She shuddered as she imagined the 
horny policemen munching doughnuts, guzzling coffee, and joking 
amongst themselves as she herself slowly stripped naked for their 
twisted amusement. 

The gaping spectators in the observation room would have a perfect 
view of the exam table.  Ashley instinctively clenched her legs at 
the thought. 

She took the clipboard off the wall and scanned the order form 
with a sense of nervous anticipation.  It looked like the type of 
routine document that might be used to order office supplies...or 
lunch at a deli. 

But this order form was for a strip search. 

"As you can see, I marked the check-boxes for 'preliminary frisk' 
and 'removal of all clothing,' the matron explained. 

"Is that really necessary?" Ashley asked, nervously.  "If a 
prisoner who wasn't expecting a search just stripped to her 
underwear, it's highly likely that you would discover any 
contraband that was to be found."  

"Skin searches are more efficient, and, besides, Bertha prefers 
them," the matron replied, casually, as if she were discussing 
Bertha's favorite color.   

Ashley shuddered.  An innocent woman would be groped by Bertha and 
then stripped absolutely, 100%, stark naked.  How could the matron 
be so lackadaisical? 

"I didn't check the boxes for 'cavity search,' 'pubic shave,' 
'shower,' or 'delousing,'" the matron added, maintaining her 
perfunctory, indifferent attitude.  Her tone was nonchalant, as 
if she were discussing why she didn't get mustard on her hot dog.   

Listening to the matron in amazement, Ashley realized for the first 
time how easily a woman's dignity could be crushed by the routine 
bureaucracy of the judicial system.  The ominous processing form 
made the strip search seem routine...almost trivial. 

"Why didn't you check the other boxes?" she asked, nervously. 

"Well, Bertha tends to enjoy the cavity searches a little TOO much, 
if you know what I mean," the matron chortled.  "All the Professor 
did was lock her keys in her car -- it wasn't like she joined the 
Manson family." 

"The shower, shave, and delousing would be done in the room at the 
end of the hall.  There are some male inmates mopping up the 
hallway, and I didn't want Bertha to march the Professor down the 
corridor, buck naked, with her hands cuffed behind her back."   

The matron shrugged.  "That's just the sort of thing Bertha loves 
to do, especially with the sweet, innocent ones...." 

Ashley felt a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach as she 
imagined Bertha parading her naked in front of the hooting 
male convicts.  How awful!  How terrible! 

How...exciting. 

She weighed the evidence, and made her decision.  It was now or 
never. 

"Why don't you show me how you would check the form," she suggested. 

"I don't understand," the matron said, confused.  "All I would do 
is check the boxes.  What's to see?" 

Ashley nervously cleared her throat and moved closer to the matron. 
"Please check the boxes," she said, softly. 

The matron suddenly realized what Ashley wanted and took the pen 
from her pocket. 

"Cavity Search?" she asked, in her best "Want-fries-with-that?" 
voice. 

Ashley anxiously bit her lip and nodded.   

She shuddered as the matron chuckled, shook her head, and checked 
the box. 

"Shower?" the matron asked.  "Be careful!" she warned.  "I'd hate 
to see some poor, innocent girl forced to prance down the hall 
butt-naked in front of a bunch of drooling scum-bags!" 

The matron gave Ashley a sly wink.  "Still, cleanliness IS 
important, isn't it?" she said, sweetly, as if she were 
discussing lemon wedges in the refrigerator. 

Ashley nodded again, and the matron checked the box with a 
flourish. 

"As long as we are doing the shower, we might as well do the pubic 
shave and the delousing, too," the matron added, moving her pen 
over the last two empty check-boxes.  "After all, we don't want 
some disgusting, randy little slut stinking up our prison with 
her soggy, undisinfected pussy, now do we?" 

Ashley was soaking wet, and she blushed hotly at the matron's 
humiliating reference to her arousal.   

Though she wanted to be searched, she really didn't want to be 
shaved.  And she definitely didn't want to be deloused.  "I don't 
think that's necessary," she objected. 

"Too late!" the matron said, in a chipper voice, as she quickly 
checked both boxes.  "And, if you think this place smells bad, 
wait'll you get a whiff of that delousing spray!" 

"There's one other part of the form that needs to be filled out," 
she said, slyly.  "Sometimes the convicts in the hallways try to 
talk Bertha into letting them take the female prisoners into one 
of the interrogation cells, in exchange for a pack of smokes.  But 
Bertha always checks the form first, to make sure that the inmate 
isn't some big shot who'd be able to make a fuss.  When I think 
it's okay for Bertha to give the inmates some R&R, I always draw 
a little smiley face on the corner of the form, like this." 

Ashley watched in horror as the matron teasingly drew a cheerful 
little smiley face in the lower right hand corner of the form.  
She began to panic as she imagined herself being locked in a cell, 
stark naked, with her hands cuffed behind her back.   

She would be totally at the mercy of the drooling scum that she 
herself had locked away.... 

"You have to erase that!" she yelped.  "You have to erase it NOW!  
We need to change that form, so...." 

"Too late," the matron repeated, crisply, returning the clipboard 
to the wall.  

"It's time for my break, so we'd better leave now, Your Honor," she 
said, diverting Ashley's attention from the clipboard on the wall.  
"I'm sure Bertha is almost through eating, and I wouldn't want her 
to catch you in here...all alone." 

Ashley felt a cold chill run down her spine.  The prospect of being 
turned over to the male convicts was terrifying, but she could 
always change the instructions after the matron left. 

"Why don't you just leave me in here?" she suggested.  "I'd like a 
few more minutes to look around, and I'm sure you'll be back before 
Bertha arrives." 

The matron smiled as Ashley nervously fidgeted in front of her.  
"You're probably right, Your Honor.  I'm CERTAIN you'll be safe.  
Bertha will check the ID in your purse against the form, and, when 
she sees the names are different, she'll call the warden." 

Ashley hesitated for a moment, before taking her purse off her 
shoulder.  "Actually, I was going to ask you to take my purse 
with you.  I don't feel safe walking around a prison with such 
an expensive purse, and I'd hate to lose it." 

"Excellent point, Your Honor," the matron said, as she took the 
purse out of Ashley's trembling hands.  "But there's still the 
matter of your name-tag.  It clearly says 'VISITOR.'" 

"But it doesn't say 'JUDGE,'" Ashley quickly countered, unclipping 
the tag from the breast of her expensive designer jacket.  "I'd 
like you to take this to the entrance of the prison and have them 
write the word 'JUDGE' across the top."   

"But that's on the other side of the prison," the matron protested, 
feebly.  "I'd never get back here in time."  She took out her pen 
again and said, "Maybe I should just write the word 'JUDGE' on the 
tag myself."   

She matron smiled and teasingly held the pen inches away from the 
tag.  "After all, if Bertha finds you in here alone, without a 
name-tag, and she reads that strip search order on the wall, she 
might get the wrong idea." 

Ashley had momentarily forgotten about the strip search order, and 
the matron smiled as the judge stared nervously at the clipboard 
that was now hanging casually on the wall. 

"I think you'd better take my name-tag...down to the front 
desk...and get it corrected," Ashley murmured.  "That would be 
more official.  But, if you'll leave me your pen, I would like 
to make some changes to that order form." 

The matron took Ashley's name-tag and dropped it into her purse.  
"I think the order form is fine the way it is, Your Honor.  But I 
think I'd better take charge of that gold Cross pen you keep in 
your pocket.  I wouldn't want some criminal to break into the 
room, steal your pen, and try to alter the form." she said, archly. 

Ashley glared at the smiling matron, who stood with her hand 
outstretched for almost a full minute before Ashley surrendered 
her pen, her final chance of escape.  

She looked anxiously at the clipboard.  She still had a few 
minutes to figure out some way of changing the form before 
Bertha arrived.... 

As if reading her mind, the matron removed the clipboard from the 
wall.  "I think I'd better hang this form on the hook outside the 
door -- after I lock you in, of course."  

"But I think...." 

"No buts, dear," the matron said, giving Ashley a patronizing pat 
on her cheek.  "After a search form has been completed, it must 
be executed -- COMPLETELY and FULLY."   

The matron smiled.  "After all, I remember what a stickler you are 
for detail."

Her expression was deceptively bland. 

"Don't worry, Your Honor.  Maybe the convicts in the hallway won't 
have enough cigarettes.  Then again, there are eight of them, and 
I think they are all from the segregated 'sex offenders' wing.  
Statistically, they tend to be poor, uneducated, and heavy 
smokers...." 

The matron carefully double-locked the door behind her and hung 
the examination order form on the hook outside the door.  She 
noticed Ashley peeking through the tiny window in the door, 
staring at the form with frenzied, panicked eyes.   

The matron smiled when she saw sweat forming above Ashley's lovely 
brow.... 

The matron strode down the hallway to meet Bertha, who was waddling 
towards the exam room.  She generously offered to buy Bertha a 
doughnut, and Bertha eagerly accepted. 

The matron chuckled as she imagined Ashley's wild eyes frantically 
staring at the damning form.  The clipboard was agonizingly close, 
and the matron giggled as she imagined the proud jurist's fists 
pounding on the door in helpless frustration.  The anticipation 
would be unbearable...but the matron was determined to make it 
last as long as possible. 

Besides, she still needed time to turn on the video camcorders in 
the interrogation cell and the shower room....



Edited by C. Lakewood