NAOMI'S POV:
I sauntered behind him the entire time with tears in my eyes and apprehension stirring around in my stomach. He already administered a punishment in the car but I'm almost positive that was just the beginning of what is about to come. Honestly I probably wouldn't feel this bad if that last notification had meant something, I can't believe it was just a stupid message from a game. And now I fear that I won't see my phone for a very long time.
"Take a seat." He said in a very uncompromising tone while opening the door with his right hand on the handle and his body leaned forward.
I scooted past him, adverting his scowl and keeping my back against the frame of the wall so I could watch his every move. Easing my way into my chair, I watched as he put his wallet and keys into the top drawer of his desk. I didn't want to anger him but I got a little jolt of hope that my questions would be answered and my parents found, but this was just another hollow case.
"You're going to tell me exactly what was on that phone that was so important that you deliberately defied my orders." He laid his hands flat on his desk and leaned forward. "Because, aside from your blatant, rude and disrespectful attitude today, the incident in the car was unacceptable."
Hmph, he think's it unacceptable. Imagine how I feel.
"Not only did you act against a direct order but your reckless behavior could have resulted in a car accident, did you think of that?"
"Well if you wouldn't have tried to stop me..." I looked up because I didn't want to finish the sentence, he'll understand what I'm trying to say.
He stared point blank at me for a minute before his face turned red and he began shaking his head, "I'm going to spank this defiance out of you Naomi."
*Knock, Knock*
Thank God, something to break the tension in the room so I wouldn't have to respond to his last statement. He went over to the door and opened it wide, so wide that anyone standing in the hallway would be able to see right inside. I glanced over quickly and saw Mr. Patry standing outside the door.
"Happy Independence Day." He said nicely. "I was thinking we could have a drink tonight, catch up, you know." He suggested.
"Sounds good, I'll come by in a few hours. I have some things I need to handle with Naomi."
"Oh, does she need talked to?" That almost sounded concerning, as if he were genuinely concerned that today might be a delicate topic for me.
"No, she needs to feel my belt." Mr. Davis replied with a clear sign of annoyance.
"Oh, I see. I'll leave you to it then."
Even though everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, because all I could hear was the ticking of the second hand on the wall clock, it was as if Mr. Patry ran away because Mr. Davis was standing behind his desk within a matter of seconds.
"Are you going to tell me now or after the punishment?" He asked directly.
Sometimes I can't help but think that the Administrators are hiding something from me, they may be doing so with warming intentions, but I believe I deserve to know the truth. But if I reveal that I've been digging into it, he might try and stop me. For whatever reason.
I shook my head and picked down at my fingernails. "I...I just want to be left alone. Why can't you just leave me alone!"
He pushed himself back so he was standing straight, then he folded his arm across his chest and slightly shook his head at me.
"Fine, I'll leave you alone..." He waited until I looked up at him. "for about five minutes, that'll give you just enough time to go to your room and bring me your hairbrush."
"I'm good." I said in spite.
"Now Naomi!" He hollered. "You're going to get spanked for being disrespectful, reckless, and ignorant and then maybe, just maybe, you'll see that I've done my best to understand today."
With tears creeping to the corner of my eyes, I stormed out of the chair and into the hallway where I slammed his door behind me. Mr. Davis confuses me so much, he wants me to have a voice but then he immediately trumps that voice with his own. Occasionally I'll manage to get my thoughts expressed but then they're immediately shut down or compromised.
I reached my bedroom and took my hairbrush from my dresser drawer but I needed a minute to myself. Picking up my pillow, I screamed my rage inside of it. Thankfully there was no one in the Academy today so there would be no eyes to see and no ears to render judgement.
____________________________________________________________
MR. DAVIS' POV:
I've tried my best today to be considerate and understanding, but she really knows how to make my blood boil. I've given her warnings and asked her repeatedly if there was something bothering her and if there was anything I could do. For God's sake, I even assured her of my acceptance of her situation and commitment to work towards bettering it. So help me if a spanking is the only way to get through to her then so be it. ____________________________________________________________
NAOMI'S POV:
I reached his office but this time I felt as though my knees were about to cave, which made it extremely difficult to walked inside. Nevertheless, he must have realized that I was near because he did me a favor by opening it himself. Motioning me forward with a beckoning finger, he waited until I was directly near him before he grabbed the middle of my ear and guided me inside.
"Ow." I started to bend my knees as pressured formed on my lobe.
"I figured I'd save you the trouble of slamming the door again." He mocked. "Congratulations, you just made this much more worse on yourself."
After letting me go, I edged as far away as he would let me. Extending his hand, I relinquished the hairbrush and rubbed my palms against my pants to get rid of some of the sweat accumulating there.
"Here's what I have decided: after your punishment you're going to sit on the bench," he motioned to the bench in the corner parallel to his sitting area. "with your pants down. How you respond and act after the punishment will dictate whether or not I decide to give you another. Understand?"
"Yes sir."
I've never had been placed on the bench before but I knew all too well that it's only purpose was to exemplify the pain after a punishment because there was a wide layer of sandpaper glued on top. The bench was in both Mr. Davis' and Mr. Patry's office, clearly used as one of the most obvious forms of punishment because there was no possible way to escape discomfort. If you moved, your skin would be scratched that added a stinging infliction but even if you somehow remained perfectly still you could feel the sand poking up at you.
"Pants down, over the arm chair." He came around to the chair and patiently waited for me to comply with his instructions.
I tried to do so quickly so I wouldn't pester him any further, not that I thought that was really possible right now. Bending over, I interlocked my fingers tightly together because there was nothing around for me to hold on to, not even one of his decorative pillows. He reached to the top of my underwear and pulled the bottom curves inwards so my bottom was more exposed.
Smack! He laid the first one down on my right cheek, causing me to flinch instantly. Smack! Smack! Smack! He alternated between both sides.
"Where has this rebellious attitude come from?"
I wasn't sure if that was a rhetorical question or not. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure why any parent would ever ask their kids that. Smack!
"Answer me!"
"Ouch!" I yelped. "I don't know." I cried continuously and rubbed my nose against my arms.
"Keep your knees tucked inward, no sloppy positions." He barked at me, resulting in my instant compliance. "If I have to be more firm with you Naomi then I will do so, we will go back to the beginning when you first arrived at the Academy." Smack!
I immediately felt a shiver crawl throughout my whole body as I remember how often I was reprimanded and how firm both Administrators were. Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
I started smacking my hands on the seat cushions of the chair because I couldn't find an escape. Smack!
"Don't do that, find another outlet." Smack! Smack!
Smack! Smack! He landed the next two to my sit spots and then another two to my hamstrings. At this point my entire face was drenched with my tears and my throat was constricted with hiccups and the pressure from holding in my yells.
Smack! "Bench."
It took me a minute to process what he said and that resulted in another smack since I wasn't moving a quick as he wanted me to. I staggered over to the bench and glanced down at the sandpaper, hoping my desperate plea for mercy would be recognized.
"Sit down or you'll be back over the arm chair." He growled.
"Okay sir." I answered, though I doubt he could understand it.
I went to the right side of the bench and sat down as gently as I could, I took a deep breath but all that did was trigger my brain to process the pain. It was as if I could feel every one of the swats all over again. I wiggled my ankles to try to get my pants down so my legs wouldn't be conjoined but that already created a wave of pain that resulted in a loud gulp. I looked over at Mr. Davis but he was busy staring out his window.
"Naomi." He glanced back and caught me edging forward to rub my sore behind.
I immediately, and carelessly, sat back down to try to dissipate some of his anger but he already had other intentions.
"Stand up." He barked as he grabbed the hair brush.
"No, no, wait. I won't do it again." I pleaded.
"I said stand up." He said in a more stern voice.
I rubbed both of my eyes but did as he said. "Turn around and put your hands on the bench." He motioned with the brush.
I felt like my head was about to explode, I've never been so conflicted during a punishment before. Nevertheless, I turned around and bent over except I kept my feet close to the bench so my back wasn't arched as much.
Smack! Smack! He landed two piercing blows right to my sit spots and with each welt I could feel the left over sandpaper bits rubbing into my skin.
"Sit, and do not stand up again." He replied in a steady voice, his Administrator attitude setting in place.
"Yes sir." I sat instantly so he couldn't change his mind. ___________________________________
I kept my eyes focused on the clock so I wouldn't fall asleep. There was a significant portion of room between the wall and the bench and the bench purposely had no arms so there was no leaning that I could do. It's been forty minutes since I was last off the bench and I was ready to burst to release the pressure accumulating in my head . Mr. Davis would occasionally look over but I had no purpose in looking at him.
He wasn't going to budge, I would have to give him something but I was still unsure of whether or not I wanted to come clean entirely. One thing was sure, I am not going to surrender the puzzle of my parents so easily. Even Mr. Davis won't be able to stop me. These past seven months have put me through a wild circle of emotions, and even now I'm still in the seventh circle of Hell, but the one that is clear is perseverance.
"Are you ready to talk?"
"Yes sir." I said apathetically. "Just don't get mad."
He turned his head and showed an ironic smile, "We're way past that Naomi."
"Well you're always mad at me so please don't be mad this time." I started to fidget, craving the minute to where I can get off the bench.
"Don't be dramatic," He flashed his eyebrows at me, He then raised his hand and motioned me forward. "Come in front of me."
I jumped up in a flash, pulling my pants up in the process and trying to stop shaking from my tears. I went to the tissue box on my way to his desk and wiped my eyes before blowing my nose. Believe it or not, I was crying more due to my fear that he might become angry or attempt to stop me from searching for my parents rather than the spanking I just received.
"I'm waiting Naomi." He pushed his chair in and stood straight.
"T-today is the first week of July." I used the same tissue to wipe my eyes again, even though my efforts were futile since they kept coming down.
He shrugged his shoulders, "Yes, I have a calendar."
"Our um, our family always goes on vacation, to this lodge we have in the mountains, during the first week of July for my dad's birthday and the holiday." I stopped there, Mr. Davis would understand the rest.
He folded his arms and nodded his head, I could sense a bit of remorse in his expression when he contemplated a response.
"I was not aware of that. So this is why you've been in a fowl mood lately."
I nodded my head, mostly because my throat was too busy hiccuping with the emotional and physical pain.
"Alright, listen closely to what I'm about to tell you." He held out his hand for mine and, when I gave it to him, he brought me over to his side of the desk where he assumed his chair. "Despite the influx of emotions you are processing today, you deserved the punishment I administered just now.
I narrowed my eyes, not really sure what the point was of telling me this. "You know Mr. Davis, shockingly, that doesn't make me feel any better." I took my hand away from his to wipe my eyes.
Hearing him let out a small chuckle settled me some. "Your emotions can not dictate your life and you definitely should not behave negatively towards others because you're having a rough time. You could have told me this from the beginning but instead you decided to express it through attitude and disrespect, which is what earned you a spanking."
I nodded this time, understanding his point even though it still did not make me feel even the slightest bit better.
"They're probably on their way there right now, enjoying the road trip or all sitting by the campfire outside the lodge while I'm stuck here." I wiped my eyes for the hundredth time and it was then that I noticed his disappointment with my use of the word 'stuck' but I'm not wrong. "I miss my family, I miss my friends. I'm constantly walking on eggshells even though it never helps and I always have the feeling that I'm starting my whole life over with no one by my side." The strain in my voice had become overwhelming to the point of where I started sobbing. "I want to go home."
Instead of responding, he threw his arms under mine, forcing mine around his neck, and he guided my head onto the inside of his shoulder. He hugged me somewhat tighter than usual and gently rubbed my back.
"I know, I know you do. I know this is an adjustment but you have to know that I'm doing the best I can Naomi...and I promise you I will do whatever I can to make everything alright for you."
I nodded my head into his shoulder, where his hug made me feel safe and provided a sense of comfort.
"I want you to go to your room and change into your pajamas, then come back here and we'll talk about it." He edged me back and dried my tears with his own thumbs.
_____________________________________________________________
MR. DAVIS' POV:
"Mr. Davis, do you stay here at the Academy always? Or do you have a home?" She suddenly changed gears.
"I have a home." I sat back in my chair and put my hands behind my head.
"How come I never see you go there?" She positioned herself under my couch blanket and rubbed her hands underneath.
"Um," I took a deep breath, we were approaching a very sensitive subject for me. "when Audrey passed...I never had much of a reason to go home. I have a bed here and this is where my priorities are now." I motioned slightly to her.
"Am I ever going to see it?" I could tell she meant to express her longing to get out of the Academy and I can't say that it's not a fair point.
"Of course you will. During holidays, not today because my family does not do much for Independence Day, when the Academy shuts down you will join me for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all the others.
"I'm looking forward to it." She gave me a subtle smile.
"As am I." I returned the favor.