Braxton Academy

Chapter 6

"Disobeying orders, rolling your eyes, and shouting is not appropriate behavior and certainly not behavior that will be tolerated."

SMACK. SMACK. I put my hand over my mouth to silence my sobbing but that didn't do much. Tears were falling on my chair, inadvertently causing my hand to become wet. SMACK. SMACK. SMACK.

The hardest part of this punishment was the position. There was no way I could turn or buckle to escape the pain, and then there was the added pain in my knees. The more and more you fastened your grip onto the sides, the heavier your body felt and the more pressure was applied to your knees.

SMACK. SMACK. SMACK. He began hitting right in the center of each of my cheeks, alternating between the two. SMACK. SMACK.

"How dare you speak out against me." SMACK. SMACK. "I expect you to act responsible and respectfully when addressing others." SMACK. SMACK.

"I'm sorry." I hiccuped.

SMACK. "No, you are sorry you're in this position." SMACK.

I started breathing heavily because the spoon was brought down so quickly. He paused for a second at the end to let me gain my breath, or so I thought.

"These last final strikes will be for swearing. You're to spell out the word, letter-by-letter with every strike along with 'Swearing is inappropriate.'"

SMACK.

"B, swearing is inappropriate."

SMACK.

"U, swearing is inappropriate."

SMACK. SMACK.

"L, L, swearing is inappropriate."

SMACK. SMACK. I started wheezing from the double blows assaulting my behind and the words were becoming increasingly hard to get out.

"S, H, swearing is inappropriate." I whispered.

SMACK. SMACK. He delivered those final two to the top of my rear, reassuring that the welts would send a tense sting that crawled down the lower half of my body.

"I-I, T, swearing is inappropriate."

"Stand up." He went to my side, patiently waiting for me to remove myself from the chair.

I wiped my face with my nightgown and put my hands flat on my thighs so they wouldn't shake as much. Sniffling relentlessly, I turned to face the angry administrator that I had disappointed so many times. Barely glancing at me, he returned the chair to its initial place before leaning against his window.

"C-can I go?" I started sobbing.

Shooting me a look of complete dismay, he motioned his head towards the door. I took off as fast as I could, desperately trying to reach my room without a second to spare. Luckily I didn't run into anyone on my journey upstairs and I was able to retreat to my room unnoticed. Since my nightgown was soaked with my tears, I had to change into a new one. Picking up my pillow, I buried my face inside it's soft coolness and let out a harsh scream.
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"Naomi Taylor." Mr. Davis came inside without knocking, looking much more disappointed than Mr. Patry last night. "My office, ten minutes."

I quickly got changed, putting on the loosest pair of pants I could find and wearing flats so I wouldn't have to bend over and tie my shoes. Mr. Patry must have told him of the words exchanged last night because I cannot think of another reason as to why he would be so mad at me this early in the morning. I hadn't even gotten out of bed yet and I was already unwillingly being forced down to his office.

I looked in the mirror and saw that my cheeks were flushed but my eyes were a bright red from the lack of sleep and surplus of pain. Nevertheless, there was no way Mr. Davis would take pity of me if he was informed of everything that happened. I was about to receive a long lecture that hopefully will not result in another punishment otherwise I believe I'll pass out.

Avoiding all eyes during the trip downstairs, I hustled away to Mr. Davis office where his door was open. No doubt waiting for me. He was sitting at his desk with his hands folded over his desk calendar.

"Close the door."

I took a deep breath and obeyed.

"Mr. Patry told me of last night."

Nodding my head, I walked forward and gripped the back of the chair to halt my shaking.

"What in the world got into you? You got defensive when he reprimanded you for violating an Academy rule. Your respect for him should have prevented you from saying such things." He came around to the front of his desk because he noticed that I was adverting his glare.

"Sorry." I said quickly to avoid being touched.

"Respect is a value that should not be demanded, but I am positive that Mr. Patry and I have earned your respect through our authority. We discipline you along with the other attendees here at the Academy so you learn to respect the rules of this house, other houses, and of society." He began pointing at me.

"Yes sir." I answered to show my understanding.

"Therefore, nothing Mr. Patry could have done would justify you speaking to him in such ways." He put his hands on his sides.

"Mr. Patry confiscated my book." I snidely commented, tilting my head to avoid seeing his reaction.

"As he should have!" His voice increased. "Naomi, I am glad that you're enjoying the book and that you are excited for our arrangement but don't abuse this privilege. You were up well beyond your bedtime and then you rebelled against Mr. Patry's authority and swore at him. That is completely intolerable, as I'm sure you know now after receiving his punishment." He hinted, giving me a harsh reminder of my sore bottom.

"Yes sir I know but it was such a good chapter! I just couldn't help myself from reading." I attempted to appeal to his love of books so he would shift more to my side.

"I'm happy you find solace it but that is not an excuse to act unnecessarily unreasonable..."

"He was being unreasonable! He took my book and that's not fair..." I yelled hysterically.

He fixed his posture and walked closer to me, his towering tallness caused me to shrivel up like a hermit crab.

"Raise your voice to me again and you'll be over my knee young lady, is that clear?"

"Yes sir." I collapsed my chin to my chest in frustration.

He kept his piercing glare in tact before continuing, "And it was fair, you acted out by violating the curfew so he took away your incentive to do so."

"Okay." I said quickly so I could leave.

"You didn't even apologize afterwards." His voice lowered, showing his offense. "You just left. I suggest you march yourself down to his office and ask for forgiveness for your insolence. Then, and only then, can you begin to rebuild the relationship  you had with him.

I nodded my head and he turned away to regain his seat at his desk.

"That and if you ever want to see your book again."

He didn't sound very reassuring in the fact that I may be able to see my book again.

"But Mr. Davis..." I whined.

"No, don't 'but Mr. Davis me'. And if I find out that you are disobeying other rules because of that, I'll cancel our book club entirely. Understand?" He pointed his finger at me.

I sighed, "Yes sir."

"You're dismissed."