| Chapter fourteen The Not So Perfect Plan |
�He doesn�t like me!� Wendy said as she walked into her bedroom and slammed the door. �Who doesn�t like you?� Jessica asked. �My teacher. He kept me after class today and scolded me. He says I�m talking to much and not paying attention to class instruction. He wants to have a meeting with Daddy.� �Well are you talking during class?� Wendy starred at Jessica. �Sometimes, but not a lot.� Wendy, you�re not suppose to talk in class unless it�s open discussion. You know that!� �I know, but I can�t help it. All these things come to me and I just have to get them out.� When is Daddy meeting with your teacher?� Before Wendy could answer, a knock came to the door. Wendy turned and opened the door. �Wendy! I was just down in the office helping and your father is or was just going to meet with your teacher. Your dad told me to tell you that you are to come down and wait outside the class room until he comes out.� Wendy turned and looked at her room mate. Jessica sat her homework aside and went to Wendy. �Don�t worry. I�m sure it�s not what your thinking. Just go down and do as Daddy says. Tell him you will not talk in class anymore and that you will obey your teacher from now on.� Wendy smiled a half smile at Jessica, but inside all she could see was her father taking her over his knee for a good sound spanking. As she walked down the hall with the girl, Wendy remembered the time she had to cut a switch. She hoped he wouldn�t make her do that again. All kinds of thoughts ran through Wendy�s head as she stood outside her class room and waited. She could hear her teachers voice speaking, then her fathers voice with its replies. She stood out there for a very long time and wondered just what they could be talking about. Wendy hoped their visit only contained discussions of her talking and not listening. She hoped her teacher hadn�t discovered her real deception. Finally the door opened and when Wendy looked up, her father stood over her looking down. His face looked disappointed and his eyes looked cross. �Hi Daddy,� Wendy said in a soft voice and a small smile. Her father didn�t smile back. Wendy�s smile quickly disappeared. She knew the meeting with her teacher had covered more than just her behavior of the past few days. �Let�s you and me take a little walk,� Mark said as he held out his hand. Though she really didn�t want to, Wendy took hold of her fathers hand. They walked down the hall and through the front doors of the school. Mark took a seat on the front steps and Wendy sat down beside him. �I just had a very interesting meeting with your teacher. Do you have any idea what we talked about?� �Yes sir,� �Well?� Wendy looked around the grounds before looking at her father. �I guess I�ve not been listening very much and I�ve been talking to much too.� Mark turned and faced Wendy. He lifted her chin like he always does when he feels a child isn�t being obedient when they are being talked to. �If you wish for any kind of leniency from me in this matter, you had best start talking young lady!� Wendy�s eyes widened. For her father to take such a tone and for her teacher to talk to him for such a long time could only mean one thing. Her teacher had shown her assignments to her father. Wendy wasn�t sure what to say because she wasn�t exactly sure what her father knew either. Suddenly she remembered the advice she had gotten from Jessica. �I�m sorry Daddy. I�ll stop talking in class and I�ll listen to my teachers instruction from now on. I promise.� �Yes you need to do that and I�m happy to hear you are going to make a greater effort, but Wendy, we have another problem. Your teacher called me in because he is a bit curious as to why your math and history homework is 100% correct lately, but you can�t pass any of the tests.� Wendy�s tummy suddenly confirmed what she feared the most. Both her teacher and her father knew. Wendy looked down at the stone steps that led up to the school. �Your teacher showed me your homework papers, then he showed me your tests. What I want to know is who has been doing your homework Wendy, and I want to know now!� Wendy sat silent. She knew how much trouble she was in and she knew a spanking wasn�t to far away, but she decided she wouldn�t reveal who had been doing her work. �The work is really hard and I don�t understand most of it,� Wendy cried. Mark took hold of Wendy�s hand and pulled her from the steps. He turned her around with a little yank and they headed back into the school. They walked down the hall and back into Wendy�s class. Mark placed Wendy in front of her teachers desk. �Wendy has confessed to not doing her own homework, so you may punish however you see fit.� Her teacher opened the grade book and scanned down the list of students until he reached Wendy�s name. He scanned over her math grade, through the D�s and C homework until he reached her first A+. Wendy watched as her teacher took a black marker and drew a line through all of her 100% grades. He repeated the same act on her history grade. I�m going to fail you on both subjects for this term Wendy. I�m sorry to have to punish you this way, but you must learn cheating won�t be tolerated in my classroom. Wendy�s heart sank and tears fell from her eyes. �It�s important to do your own work and if your struggling, it�s best to ask for help than it is to let someone else do your homework,� the teacher scolded. �I am also sending you to the principals office. You may go there now!� Wendy�s eyes widened and she quickly looked at her father for rescue. �I love you, but I won�t go with you to see the principal.� Wendy�s teacher handed her a note to take with her and Wendy headed out the door. She had no desire to get there, so she walked as slow as she could. When she handed the note to the secretary, she hope to be told that Mr. Parker had left for the day. �Take a seat on the bench and I will let Mr. Parker know you�re waiting.� Wendy took a seat and waited. As Mark left Wendy�s class, he ran the faces of his older children through his mind. He tried to figure out which one of them would have done Wendy�s work. He couldn�t see any of them doing such a thing. Mark knocked on the door of Wendy and Jessica�s room. �Come in,� Jessica said. �Oh hi Daddy,� she said as Mark entered the room. �I just wanted to let you know that Wendy is in trouble with her teacher and she has gone to visit the principal.� �What!� Jessica said in surprise as she jumped off her bed. �Someone has been doing her homework in math and history. Her teacher has failed her for the quarter and has sent her to see Mr. Parker. What I would like to know is who did her homework for her. Don�t the two of you do your work here at that table together?� he asked as he pointed to their work table in the corner. Jessica starred at the small table. She recalled the afternoon when Wendy cried in frustration over her math and history work. She hadn�t intended on doing all the assignments but she didn�t like to see Wendy cry over such an easy task as Math and History. Jessica also knew the jig was up. She knew her father would eventually find out the truth. Jessica knew if she came clean now, her punishment would be less severe than if she kept quiet. �I�m sorry Daddy. I�m the one who has been doing her assignments.� �What! You did Wendy�s homework?� �Yes sir.� �Well young lady! I think we should go and see the principal.� Jessica sat down her book and slowly approached her father. Mark took Jessica by the scruff of the neck and they headed down the hall toward the principals office. Wendy sat and starred at the door that had the words �Principal� painted on it. Suddenly the door opened and Mr. Parker appeared. �Wendy, you may come in now.� Wendy walked across the hall and entered the room. She took a seat in the chair and Mr. Parker returned to his seat on the other side of the desk. He read the note again that her teacher had written. He then looked at Wendy. �If you were struggling in your subjects, why didn�t you ask your teacher for help?� �I don�t know,� Wendy replied. She didn�t want to tell Mr. Parker she didn�t ask because she didn�t like the teacher. �Well I�m sure your father knows you�re here to see me?� �Yes sir.� I hope by receiving the failing grade, it will deter you from further cheating?� �Yes sir. I�ve learned my lesson and I�m going to do my homework from now on.� �Well I�m happy to hear that Wendy, but as you know cheating is frowned upon. I should administer five wacks with the paddle, but I know you�re remorseful. Instead, I�m going to give you three days of detention.� You will attend regular class and you will be obedient to your teacher. Follow directions and do your own homework. Your detention starts right after school at four and ends at six. You will then go for your dinner, but you will eat at the detention table. Any punishment after dinner is at the discretion of your father. Come with me. There is still enough time for you to go to detention today.� Mr. Parker stood and walked to the door. Wendy followed without a word. She was so thankful that she hadn�t gotten wacked by Mr. Parkers paddle, still she couldn�t help but wonder just what her father had in mind for a punishment. As they walked out of the office, Wendy saw Mark standing next to the bench. Wendy�s heart fell to her knees when she saw Jessica sitting on the bench with he head down. Wendy looked up at Mr. Parker and said. �Please be lenient with Jessica. She only wanted to help me.� Mr. Parker took Wendy by the back of the neck. �I will be with you in a minute Mark. I need to take this child to the detention room.� Wendy passed a sympathetic look to Jessica. She wished she hadn�t asked her to do her homework for her. Wendy followed Mr. Parker down a long hall and through a narrow doorway. Mr. Parker opened the door and led Wendy in. Wendy cringed when she saw Mr. Callahan sitting behind the desk. Everyone in Barrington Hall knew he was the most strict of all the parents and now Wendy would be under his supervision every afternoon for the next four days. After Mr. Parker left, Wendy stood at Mr. Callahan�s desk and waited. �The rules of detention are simple. There is absolutely no talking once you step inside that door. You sit in your chair and keep your face forward.� Mr. Callahan took Wendy to a desk and pointed at the chair. As Wendy took a seat, she glanced at the three other children. They were all sitting in cubicles starring at the wall before them. They weren�t doing homework or reading. They weren�t doing anything but starring at the wall. �What are we suppose to be doing while we�re sitting?� Wendy asked. �You sit and think about why you were sent to detention.� Wendy took her assigned seat and took to starring at the wall. �Well Mark, I have given Wendy three days of detention from the time school is released, until dinner. I think three days with Mr. Callahan and detention will cure her of any more cheating. Now what can I do for you?� Mr. Parker asked. Mark looked at Jessica. �I think this discussion would be better if we went to your office.� Mr. Parker turned and started for his office. �Jessica, go on!� Mark ordered as he gave Jessica a little push. I�m not going in with you but I suggest you tell the entire truth young lady!� Wendy turned and looked at her father as she slid into Mr. Parkers office. Jessica took her places in front of Mr. Parkers desk as he walked around and took a seat. �Mr. Parker. I�m the one who did Wendy�s homework for her.� Mr. Parkers eyes widened. �Oh I see. And just how do you think Wendy benefited by you doing her work for her?� �I guess she didn�t sir.� �No she didn�t and If I am correct, this is the second time you�ve been in my office for such an offence. So am I wrong in saying that you haven�t benefited either?� As Mr. Parker spoke, Jessica kept her eyes tuned to his activity. Mr. Parker opened the drawer of his desk, pulled out a thin oval paddle and sat it on his desk. �No sir, I guess I haven�t.� Mr. Parker stood, picked up the paddle and walked to the other side of his desk. �I don�t think we need to discuss the moral issues of cheating. You�re old enough to understand why it�s wrong and the cost weighed on a person who does cheat as well as one who contributes. The last time I showed lenience and it looks as though that was my mistake. I�m giving you the same amount of time in detention as Wendy, but each day before you go, you are to stop by my office. I�m going to give you four wacks with the paddle. I hope sitting in detention on a stinging backside will help deter you from future activities in the field of cheating.� Mr. Parker reached over and took hold of Jessica�s arm. He pulled her from the chair and turned her around. �Place your hands on the seat.� Jessica bent slightly forward and placed her hands in the center of the chair. Her knees shook as she felt Mr. Parker flip up the skirt of her jumper. Jessica couldn�t remember the last time she had been in this position in the presence of Mr. Parker. Suddenly she felt the paddle make contact with her bottom. Jessica jumped at the force behind the first swat. She started crying. The second landed in the exact same spot as the first and a refreshed cry loudly filled the room. Mr. Parker gave the last two swats swiftly. Jessica jumped up after the forth swat and threw her hands over her bottom. Jessica? Jessica tried to answer, but with the tears and cries, she couldn�t. �I expect you in here tomorrow right after school lets out. We will get your swats over quickly so you can get to detention. Now I know I won�t have to look for you. Will I?� �No sir,� Jessica cried. �Very well then. Lets get you to detention.� Sitting in the hard wood chair that faced an empty wall was hard for Jessica. The sting of the paddle stuck with her for close to an hour. Though Mr. Callahan was known for his strictness, he didn�t scold Jessica when she continued to cry. Wendy had a hard time concentrating on the wall before her. She sat and listened to sniffles and an occasional sob from her room mate. Though Wendy felt lucky to have gotten away from receiving swats, she felt bad for Jessica. When the time came and Mr. Callahan dismissed the kids in detention, Mark stood just outside the door. He escorted both girls to the dining hall. He placed Wendy on one end of the detention table and Jessica at the opposite end. �When you two are finished, I want you in your rooms and in your pajamas.� Mark left the girls to make his rounds to visit with his other children. Wendy ate quickly then asked the detention monitor if she could be excused. After Jessica finished, she too asked to be excused. �I�m sorry I got you into trouble,� Wendy said as she watched Jessica slip out of her uniform and into some pajamas. Wendy had already changed and had taken up residence in the window seat. �It�s not your fault. I should have told you to ask Daddy for help.� �Speaking of Daddy. Do you think we are going to be punished?� I mean I know we are already being punished by Mr. Parker, but I mean by Daddy.� �I don�t know if Daddy is going to spank you, but I know he�s going to spank me.� �What makes you think that?� �Because I got paddled by the principal and if you get wacks in school, you get wacks at home.� Wendy started to speak, but her words were cut short as their bedroom door started to open. Jessica straightened up as she watched Mark walk through the door and close it behind him. With out speaking he walked over to Wendy and took hold of her arm. He pulled her from the window, seated himself, then pulled her over his knee. He wrapped his arm around her and held her tight. �Daddy no! I�m sorry.� �You�ve earned this and you know why you�re getting it, so there is no need for us to discuss it further.� Mark reached for Wendy�s pajama bottoms and pulled them down. Before Wendy could beg again, Marks hand landed with a loud smack. He lifted and lowered his hand with great force. Wendy twisted, wiggled her bottom, yelped and kicked her feet as her father continued to spank her. After fifteen spanks, his hand stopped. He pulled Wendy�s pajamas back up and placed Wendy in her bed. He then turned and reached for Jessica�s arm. Jessica wanted to ask for leniency since she had already gotten her spanking, but she didn�t want to take a chance on receiving more than just her fathers hand. Mark pulled Jessica from her bed. Mark pulled her over his knee and pulled down her pajama bottoms. Suddenly the sting in her bottom that had once been a dull pain, was now being revived. Jessica lay strewn over her fathers lap as he continued to punish with his firm hand. Mark gave Wendy twenty five spanks before pulling her pants up and tucking her into bed. �If this ever happens again, I�ll put both of you in different rooms. Do you understand?� Both girls answered through their tears. �Both of you are in bed for the night now. Don�t visit. Go to sleep.� Mark turned and left the room. Wendy wanted to desperately tell Jessica how sorry she was for getting her into this. Jessica wanted for Wendy to know, it wasn�t her fault, but both girls knew it would be wise not to talk after their father told them not to. Both girls continued to cry until the sand man came to visit. For the next four days after school ended. Wendy walked with Jessica to Mr. Parkers office. Wendy continued on to detention, but her mind stayed with Jessica. For the first few minutes of detention, Wendy�s stomach stayed in knots, but when she heard Jessica�s soft cries as she entered the room, Wendy�s heart felt heavy with guilt. She knew for all to be right, it should have been her getting those swats each day and not Jessica. She had truly learned a lesson and would never as anyone to do her homework ever again. |
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