Willow Academy (Spanking Story)

Chapter 3, Part 2: Owen's POV

After I left art, much calmer than I had entered—the familiarity of the relaxed environment had soothed me greatly—I walked with Danny and some other sophomores to the cafeteria, chatting about our shitty schedules. As I walked in, a salty aroma invading my nostrils, I instantly spotted Penny sitting with some freshmen. They weren't the "popular" crowd I'd envisioned her with; these people actually looked nice. I waved in her direction, but she didn't notice me. My little sister seemed to be worried about something.

I didn't dwell on the fact for too long, though. The scent of cheese had my black trainers zipping toward the pizza line, despite the fact I was all but forbidden from it. My well-rounded brothers unfortunately advocated nutrition- hell, I wasn't entirely convinced Dana wasn't a hypochondriac- and after my sugary breakfast, pizza would most definitely be out of the question. Once again, however, the beauty of brother-free meal times had me disregarding all healthy choices the school so generously offered.

My argument about the outcome of the World Cup was interrupted by an announcement over the loud speaker. I would have ignored it, had a familiar name not sent off warning bells in my head.

"Penelope Kherrington, please report to room N307," the announcer said over the intercom. "Penelope Kherrington, please report to room N307."

So, Dana was getting his just desserts in early. I swiveled around in my chair, eyes searching for the table I saw my sister sitting at when I came in. Sure enough, she was there, conversing anxiously with the girl next to her.

Why wasn't she getting up? When our middle brother resorted to the intercom as means of communication, it meant he was absolutely serious. I eyed Penny closely, noticing her hunched shoulders. Her back was to me—so I couldn't see her face—but I could picture what it looked like. Brows lowered, a worry line between them. Her lips would be pointing down, teeth almost surely latched onto her bottom lip.

I resisted the strong urge to take her to Dana myself when it was obvious she wasn't getting up. I held myself back, however, as my conscience reminded me that she had to make her own decisions. Sometimes I wished Penny would have never grown up; it was hard watching your little sister make mistakes, and even harder watching her learn from them.

A poke to my shoulder had me turning back towards my food. Danny was eyeing me worriedly.

"Dude, Dana's calling your sister down to his class. What the hell did she do?" My best friend cared for Penny also, thinking of her as a surrogate little sister.

"All she told me was that she was late. He wouldn't have given her lunch detention for that. Whatever she did must have been bad... and she isn't even going!" I exclaimed, letting some of my calm exterior slip.

"Man, does she have a death wish or something? Sometimes I think you guys dropped her on her head too many times..."

"Tell me about it," I muttered, resting my chin in my hands tiredly.

"Let's go outside before fourth period. You look miserable, Owen." Danny's concerned eyes moved to my haggard face- I probably looked worse for wear at the moment.

I nodded amiably, dumping my tray and following him towards the doors. We passed by Penny's table again, and I couldn't resist approaching her. I wouldn't drag her to Dana myself, no, but I would damn sure try to convince her to just accept fate and go to him herself. She knew as well as I did that if he had to come to her, there would be hell to pay.

I shrugged Danny off as I rounded the table to her chair. My sister noticed me this time, looking up at me with the same facial expression I had imagined. This comforted me a little; no matter how much she grew up, we would always be close, and I held that to me like a life support. Therefore, I tried not to look to upset as her anxious eyes fell upon me.