| Chapter Sixteen A lesson Of Another Kind |
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Mark looked in the lunch room for Mr. Callahan but he wasn't there. He then looked in several of the rec rooms, but Mr. Callahan was no where to be seen. As Mark rounded the corner, he saw Mr. Callahan going the opposite direction with another child in tow. By the time Mark caught up to him, they were just about to head up the stairs of the boys dorm. �Andrew! You and I need to talk, now!! Mark said. "As soon as I deal with this disobedient miscreant, we will talk," he replied. "No! we will talk now, or the next time we talk, it will be in Mr. Parkers office." "Look, if your upset with the way I reprimanded your child, then you need to keep her in line.� "Andrew. This has nothing to do with Wendy. This has to do with the severity of the whipping that you gave Alex." "Alexandra is learning what all my kids know. If you disobey, you get whipped," he replied as he turned the little boy around and swatted his butt. �Go upstairs to your room.� The little boy looked at Mark then ran up the stairs. "The punishment was over the line and you know it. If you want her to learn to obey you, it is done through love, not beatings." Mark scolded. "That child wasn't beaten, and this discussion is over," Andrew replied, as he turned and walked up the stairs. Mark decided it was time to report this whole situation to Mr. Parker, and leave it in the hands of his father to make the right decision. Mark knew he wouldn't have to remind his father of the purpose behind the school. He felt Andrew was being abusive to the children that was entrusted to him. Mark went right to his office. They discussed the situation, and Mr. Parker said he would take care of it. Mark checked on his other children, then made a visit to the little boy that he saw with Andrew earlier. He knocked lightly on the little boys door but no one answered. Mark opened the door and peeked inside. The little boy was lying on his bed with his knees curled to his chest. His underwear were lying on the end of the bed and the welts that only a belt could make, were very visible to Mark. Mark took a seat on the bed beside the boy. �Billy. Are you ok son?� Billy turned his head toward Mark, then turned away. Mark took a blanket that lay on the end of Billy�s bed and covered the small boy. Mark knew he had to do something to stop this kind of punishment from happening again. As Alex and Missy were getting ready for bed, they were paid a visit by their dad. The girls stood beside their bed as their father paced back and forth in the room. Mr. Callahan told Alex that she was grounded to her room for a week and that she best not leave until he gave her permission. Alex cried herself to sleep. The next morning Wendy hurried down to the cafeteria to breakfast. Missy told her Alex had been grounded and couldn�t come out for a week. The angered Wendy and she stormed out of the cafeteria. She knew Mr. Callahan was eating so Wendy knocked on Alex�s door. She heard her friend whisper something so Wendy entered. Alex hugged Wendy and cried. Finally Alex calmed and began to relax a little. After all, she hadn�t left her room. �Do you want to play a game of cards?� Wendy asked. �Sure,� Alex replied. Wendy opened the door and went across the hall to the closet. Alex watched as Wendy dug through the closet for the cards. Suddenly a whole bunch of blankets fell from the top shelf and Alex ran across the hall to help Wendy pick them up. Alex suddenly felt someone yank her from the doorway of the closet as she handed Wendy the last blanket. Alex started crying as soon as she saw Mr. Callahan�s face. �I guess you need to be whipped again!� he scolded as he pulled Alex across the hall. Wendy grabbed Mr. Callahan�s arm and started hitting it. Mr. Callahan let go of Alex and spun her toward her room. He turned to Wendy and with one swoop of the hand, he slapped her across the face. Wendy fell to the floor. To shocked to cry, Wendy looked up at Mr. Callahan. �I don�t care what your dad says. I think I�ll whip you first!� Panic set in as Mr. Callahan reached for Wendy. She laid down flat on her back and started kicking at Mr. Callahan. Wendy struggled as best she could, but soon Mr. Callahan had her off the floor and started to drag her into Alex�s room. �You won�t ever disrespect me again by he time I�m finished whipping you.� Alex watched as Mr. Callahan held onto Wendy with one hand and removed his belt with the other. Wendy fought and flailed with all her might, but his strength was to much for her. Alex felt helpless and didn�t know what to do to help her friend. Her feet felt stuck to the floor, but as she watched her best friend being pulled closer to the bed, Alex turned and ran down the hall. She took the stairs two at a time and ran down the hall as fast as she could. By the time she entered the cafeteria, she could hardly breathe. She stopped in the doorway and quickly searched the room for Mark. When she saw him she ran as fast as she could. Mark saw a panic stricken Alex running from the other side of the room. He stood up and headed toward her. They met in the middle of the room. �What�s wrong?� he asked. �He�s gonna whip her!� she cried. �Mark didn�t need any more information than that. He knew his child was in the hands of Mr. Callahan. He knew Wendy was in trouble. �Where?� �My room!� she cried. Mark took off out of the cafeteria. A few other adults from the lunch room followed Mark as he headed for the stairs. When Mark got to the second landing, he could hear Wendy�s cries followed by the snap of Mr. Callahan�s belt. Rage filled Mark as he flew closer to the sound of his child taking a beating that no child deserved. Mark burst through the door of the bedroom just as Mr. Callahan�s belt landed another stinging slap onto Wendy�s naked bottom. Mr. Callahan had Wendy bent over with his arm wrapped around her waist. Her feet were dangling as he had her lifted from the floor. Mark flew into the room and tackled Mr. Callahan. The two men fell onto the bed and Wendy landed with a thud onto the floor. Three other adults entered the room. One scooped Wendy up from the floor and the other two tackled Mark and Andrew as Mark threw another punch. The other adult quickly removed Wendy and headed with her across the hall. Tears streamed down her face as she was carried into another room and laid on another bed. �I want my Father!� she cried. �I know honey. We should wait in here though.� Wendy turned and buried her head into the pillow. She wasn�t even sure who�s bed this belonged to, but her bottom hurt way to much to even care. She figured they would understand. A couple minutes later, the door flew open and Mark entered. Wendy turned and when she saw her father approaching, she stood on the bed and fell into his arms. Wendy wailed as Mark comforted her the best he could. Alex stood at the door and watched as Mark held and rocked Wendy. She wished she could have a father as nice as Mark. After Mark took Wendy and Alex back to Wendy�s room. He headed downstairs to see where the other men had taken Andrew. �They took him to Mr. Parkers office Dad,� David said. �Thank you son.� �Did you make it before he got her?� �No son. I didn�t quite make it,� He stopped and looked at David. �Go on. You have my permission to go to your sister.� David smiled and ran up the stairs. Mark headed down the hall toward Mr. Parkers office. When he entered, The two men were standing on each side of Andrew as Mr. Parker yelled. �I�m ashamed of myself for not stopping you sooner.� �I can stop him!� Mark said. Mr. Parker, Mr. Callahan and the two men turned toward Mark. �I should just take you outside and beat the shit out of you for what you�ve been doing!� �Mark! That�s enough!� Mr. Parker scolded. Mark looked at Mr. Callahan as he sat in the chair with a half smile and a fat lip. Mark reached down and unbuckled his belt. �Maybe you should get a taste of what you�ve been dishing out.� He yanked it free and doubled it. Mr. Parker turned his attention back to Andrew. "I�ve been observing you for almost a month now. I have had several complaints from other staff members and after I was made aware of the situation that occurred between you and Alex, I went and talked with her that very night. What I saw on that child�s bottom was definitely excessive. "I don't see a problem in my discipline procedures," Andrew stated. �They are affective, and I hardly ever have a discipline problem. �You stepped over the line, and as the Dean of this school, I could have asked you to leave right then and there. Our goal in this school is to help these lost ,neglected and abused children heal. What you have done is make them fear you. I can't and won't have it. These children have been through enough," Mr. Parker yelled. "Are you asking me to leave?" Richard asked. "No Richard, I'm telling you to leave," Mr. Parker replied. "You have lost it, and their well being isn't your main goal anymore." "I will be gone first thing tomorrow morning.� Mr. Callahan stood up and left the Deans office. �Is Wendy in her room?� Mr. Parker asked. �Yes sir. Alex is there with her, and you might want to check on Billy because he whipped him also.� Mark walked with Mr. Parker up to see Wendy and Alex. He then went and checked on little Billy. He then returned to his office to think about how to handle this situation. He sent for Mark, then he sent for the two men who had escorted, Mr. Callahan to his office. The men had a meeting and at the close, Mark was very satisfied. As evening wore on, Mr. Callahan loaded many of his belongings into his car. He then retreated to his room for the evening. Mark pulled all of his children into one of the rec rooms along with Alex and Billy. They made popcorn and watched a movie together, but as bedtime approached, he sent the children on their way. He walked Wendy and Alex to their room�s and tucked them in. As evening wore on and Mark knew most of the children would be asleep, he left his own room and met with the two men who helped restrain Andrew. Mark and the two men decided to pay Andrew a visit. Around midnight, Mark and the two menwalked into Mr. Callahan�s room, pulled him from his sleep, by dragging him from his bed and standing him up. �I�ve come to give you a going away present, Mark said as he reached for his belt. Mr. Callahan watched as Mark pulled the belt slowly from the loops and wrapped it around his hand. �You touch me and I�ll sue your ass.� �This afternoon I took pictures of Alex, Wendy and Billy�s bottoms so you might want to think twice before you hire a lawyer. As a matter of fact, I�m gonna tell you the same thing you tell all your children. If you have a whippen coming, it�s best to take it. So lets see how much you can take.� At Marks instruction, the two men turned Mr. Callahan around and held him down over his own bed, just like he didd to his own children. Since Mr. Callahan slept in his underwear, all he had covering his ass, was a thin pair of cotton briefs. Mark held the belt high into the air and with great force, brought it down onto Mr. Callahan�s butt. Over and over, Mark used all his strength in hopes that Mr. Callahan would understand just how great the whippings were that he handed out. Andrew held his breath and gritted his teeth but by the time Mark finished, Mr. Callahan was sobbing beyond his own control.� �I hope you never forget this and I hope you�ll think twice before whipping another child.� The next morning bright and early, Wendy and Alex sat together in the window seat and watched as Mr. Callahan crawled into his car and drove away. |