Belinda Goldfinch pressed the button on her office intercom.

“Yes, Headmistress,” the young female voice answered.

“Could you come into my study for a moment, please Lucy?”

“Certainly, Headmistress.”

Almost immediately, the white painted door opened and an attractive young female entered. Her primrose yellow floral summer dress immediately distinguished her as a member of staff and not one of the school’s senior pupils where her young features might have caused confusion. Long blonde, wavy hair flowed around her slim shoulders.

“Ah, Lucy. How are you getting on with those reports?”

“About three-quarters the way through, Headmistress.”

“That’s very good, Lucy.” Miss Goldfinch’s natural owl-like appearance was only exacerbated by thin wire-framed spectacles perched half way down her nose and that, together with her name, earned her the nickname of ‘Birdy’ amongst the girls of St Clementine’s, even though none would dare ever utter the word in their headmistress’s presence. Silver-grey hair combed into a tight bun and fingernails so clean the tips were pure white served to emphasise the headmistress’s high standards.

“Your work during the three weeks you’ve been the school secretary here at St Clementine’s has been exemplary, Lucy.” The headmistress paused, allowing the pretty young woman to beam with satisfaction. “So much so that I think the time has come for you to take on another of the secretary’s responsibilities.”

“Yes, anything, Headmistress.”

“Tell me, Lucy, what is your attitude towards corporal punishment?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Corporal punishment, Lucy. What has been your experience of it?”

“None, Headmistress!” Lucy exclaimed. “No, I’ve never been spanked or anything like that.”

Miss Goldfinch smiled at the younger woman’s hasty denial. “I’m sure you were always a well-behaved girl, Lucy. However, you will know we, as a school, do use corporal punishment from time to time.”

Lucy blushed. “Actually, I did see a girl in one classroom bending over and getting smacked with a gym shoe, Headmistress. I think the teacher was Mrs Hendrick. I was on my way back from checking the caterer’s invoice with the cook.”

The headmistress chuckled. “Yes, Mrs Hendrick does like to keep good order in her classes. Why I’m asking is that one of our sixth form girls, Nicola Davies, has got herself into a spot of bother. Have you met Nicola? She’s one of our boarders.”

“I think so, Headmistress. Isn’t she the girl who scored five goals in the netball match with St. Mary’s last Wednesday? A tallish girl with long dark hair?”

“Yes, that’s her, Lucy.”

“I had a chat with her afterwards. She seemed very friendly.”

“Did she, Lucy?” Miss Goldfinch responded with a little less enthusiasm for Nicola Davies’ friendliness. “It appears she was also a little friendly with a couple of boys in the village yesterday evening. So much so that she ended up getting back late after ‘Lights Out’. Nicola is generally very well behaved so I’m not going to make a big issue out of it. Nonetheless, I think it very likely I shall be giving her a couple of strokes of the cane. Best to nip these things in the bud, I find.”

“Right, Headmistress.” Lucy replied, immediately sorry to hear one of the few girls she was friendly with was going to be punished.

“That means I shall need you to assist me, Lucy.”

“Assist you, Headmistress?” Lucy’s voice now had a nervous edge to it. It seemed not only was her friend going to be punished, but she would be taking some part in it too.

“Yes, Lucy. Obviously I shall give Nicola a fair hearing but, unless she has some very good excuse, I shall then require her to take probably three strokes of the cane as her punishment. If that is the case, I’ll ask you to bring me a cane and the school punishment book which you’ll find in the locked cabinet at the back of the stationery cupboard. The key is one of those in the top drawer of your desk.”

“Right, Headmistress.”

“There are two canes in that cabinet. For Nicola, I’d like you to bring me the longer, slightly thicker one. The shorter one is for when I cane girls on the palm of their hands, the longer one is what I use when I whack them on their behinds.”

“Right, Headmistress.” Lucy was shocked that not only was Nicola likely to be caned, but she was also likely to be caned across her bottom.

“Once you’ve found it, bring it and the punishment book, which you’ll find on the shelf to the left, into me and place them in front of me on my desk. It will do Nicola good to have a good look at the cane with which she is to be chastised.”

“Yes, Headmistress,” Lucy answered, not at all sure Nicola would see it that way.

“I shall then enter the details in the punishment book following which I shall ask you to prepare Nicola for punishment.”

“Prepare her, Headmistress?”

“Yes, Lucy. This is the procedure I would like you to adopt for whenever we have to punish girls, so it would be useful if you could get used to it.”

“Yes, Headmistress.”

“In this case, as I said, I’m planning on giving Nicola the strokes on her behind. In such cases, I always cane the girls on their knickers. It means they can’t give themselves undue protection by wearing thick skirts or trousers.”

“Right, Headmistress,” Lucy replied, still struggling to take it all in.

“Once Nicola knows she’s getting her bottom smacked, I’ll expect her to take her blazer off. You should take it and put it neatly on the side table so Nicola just has to worry about her punishment. Then Nicola has to slip her trousers or skirt down, or, if her skirt is loose enough, to lift it up above her waist. Girls do tend to get rather nervous at that point and they struggle with zips and fastenings. In that event, I’d like you to help her so we can get her across my desk as soon as possible. It’s better for the girl to get the whacks without delay. Do you see?”

“Yes, I suppose so, Headmistress.”

“So is that all clear then? Do you have any questions?”

“Um, no, Headmistress. I think that’s all clear.”

Lucy felt she had the basics of her role, but emotionally she felt far less confident.

“Right, well, Nicola has been told to report to me at four o’clock. Buzz me when she arrives at your office.”

“Yes, Headmistress.”

Back in her own office, Lucy looked at the clock. It was ten to twelve, just forty minutes before the lunch break. As she returned to working on the reports she wondered how she should respond if she happened to meet Nicola in the dining hall. Should she say then what Miss Goldfinch had planned for her? No, she would keep quiet. Things said in the privacy of the headmistress’s study were confidential.

In the event, Lucy arrived in the dining hall before Nicola and took her place at the staff table with her back to the students. It was only when she had finished her meal and was heading for the door when Nicola stood up and spoke to her.

“I’m afraid I’ll be seeing you later, Lucy,” Nicola said.

“Oh?”

“Yes, I’ve been a bit of a naughty girl, I’m afraid. I’ve got a meeting with the headmistress after school.”

“Oh dear.”

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing much. Probably a lengthy lecture and some kind of punishment. I’m sure I’ll survive.”

“If there’s anything I can do?”

“Take my place?”

“Eh?”

“Just joking.”

“I’d better…”

“Of course. I’ll see you later, Lucy.”

When Nicola sat back down to finish her lunch, she reflected on her brief conversation with Lucy. Was Lucy feeling somehow awkward? Did she already know something? It troubled Nicola.

Lucy, too, felt uncomfortable as she returned to her office. She could have warned the poor girl what she was in for later that afternoon, but she hadn’t. Then, perhaps her loyalties should remain with the headmistress. Nicola was wearing quite tight-fitting grey trousers. How would she feel about taking them down in front of Lucy? What if Lucy had to help her take them down? Lucy preferred not to dwell on it as she returned to working on the reports.

She finished them at three-fifteen and buzzed the headmistress.

“I’ve finished the reports, Headmistress.”

“Oh, well done, Lucy. Bring them in, please.”

Lucy entered the headmistress’s study and was about to place the files on the desk when she was stopped.

“No Lucy, could you put them on the side table, please. I need to keep my desk relatively clear for when we deal with Nicola Stevens.”

Lucy felt herself blush, but diverted to the side table where she set the reports down.

“Not long now,” Miss Goldfinch continued, looking at her watch. “Thanks for the reports, Lucy,” she added by way of dismissing her young secretary.

Back in her office, Lucy had a general tidy-up and then sat at her desk with nothing much to do other than wait for Nicola’s arrival. Even so, at ten to four when she heard a light tapping on her door she was taken by surprise when Nicola came in.

“Here to suffer my fate,” Nicola greeted her.

Lucy smiled innocently. “Take a seat. I’ll let Miss Goldfinch know you’re here.”

“Nicola Stevens is here, Headmistress,” Lucy said over the intercom.

“She’s early. I’m just finishing something off. I’ll buzz you when I’m ready.”

“Yes, Headmistress.” Lucy knew Nicola must have heard, so simply smiled at the now seated sixth form girl.

“So, what am I in for, Lucy? A good telling-off or a smack on the hand?”

“I really don’t know,” the young secretary lied.

“What? Not even a clue?”

“Sorry.”

“This waiting is always the worst part,” Nicola said with a shiver.

“I suppose so,” Lucy answered, feeling Nicola was speaking just to help with her nerves.

“I’m so sorry you’re here for a, what would you call it, a disciplinary matter?”

“My own silly fault. I got permission to be out, but was told very firmly I had to be back before ‘Lights Out’. I was enjoying myself so much I simply forgot the time.”

Sally smiled. She wanted to keep Nicola occupied with chat, but it was hard without giving the game away.

They both jumped when the intercom buzzed.

“Bring Nicola in, please Lucy.”

“That’s a bad sign,” Nicola commented as she and Lucy both stood up and approached the door to the headmistress’s study. “She usually says to show us in, not come in with us. Can I leave my bags here?”

“Of course.”

Lucy tapped briefly on the door and pushed it open, allowing Nicola to enter first. The sixth former walked up to the headmistress’s desk and Lucy stood next to her.

“Nicola,” Miss Finch looked up from behind her desk. “You know why you’re here. Forty-five minutes late after ‘Lights Out’. That’s not good enough. Have you any excuse for it?”

“No, sorry Headmistress. I’m afraid I forgot to keep an eye on the time.”

“Thank you for your honesty, Nicola. Right, well, there’s no point on dwelling on the matter. You will, however, have to be punished, both as a warning to you and to the other girls who might be tempted to do something equally silly.”

“Of course, Headmistress. I understand that.”

“Three strokes, Nicola.”

Lucy looked at Nicola and saw the girl bite her lip before she nodded her acceptance of her punishment. But the headmistress hadn’t finished.

“I shall be applying the strokes across your behind, Nicola.”

Suddenly, Nicola’s expression changed to a look of horror. Lucy wondered if the sixth former actually knew all that entailed, or was there even worse news to come for the girl.

“Lucy, would you fetch me the appropriate cane and the punishment book, please?”

“Certainly, Headmistress.”

Lucy left Nicola standing in front of the desk and hurried to her outer office where she got the key from her desk and entered the stationery cupboard. The key unlocked a tall metal cabinet and she immediately found two canes hanging on hooks. One on the left seemed thinner than the other and was also shorter. She took the one on the right, both longer and thicker, and also an A4 sized book with a red cover and the words ‘Punishment Book’ typed on a white label that had been glued to the book’s front cover. She returned to the headmistress’s study and placed both cane and punishment book on the desk.

As Lucy stood back, she noticed Nicola staring down at the cane and wondered just how much the girl knew about the procedure.

“Over to you, Lucy,” Miss Goldfinch said as she pushed her chair back.

Nicola looked nervously at the young secretary.

“Um, I’m afraid, that is, you need to take your blazer off, Nicola,” Lucy stuttered, and avoided the bit she felt would upset Nicola the most.

“Sure,” Nicola replied briefly as she slowly removed her blazer.

Lucy took it from her, folded it and placed it on the side table she’d earlier placed the report files. As she returned to Nicola’s side, Lucy noticed the girl’s small pert bottom tightly encased in the trousers.

“Now you need to slip your trousers down, please Nicola.”

The look of horror on the girl’s face showed she was not aware of the procedure. She looked anxiously at Lucy, who nodded to confirm the girl had heard her correctly.

“I’ll help you if you need it,” Lucy added.

“N-no, I can do it.”

Very slowly, Nicola unbuttoned the waistband of her grey trousers and slid the zip down. With the garment now loosened, Nicola pushed the trousers down until gravity deposited them around her ankles.

“Well done, Nicola,” Miss Goldfinch rose from her desk, took hold of the cane and came round to the front. “Bend over. Rest your forearms on the desk and stick your bottom out.”

As Lucy watched the girl comply, she noticed that the tail of her white blouse still covered the top half of her bottom and wondered if she should step in. The young secretary looked at the headmistress and noticed a slight nod.

“Just tucking your blouse out of the way, Nicola,” Lucy explained as she folded the tail of the blouse well up until the girl’s white bra could just be seen.

“Excellent,” Miss Goldfinch confirmed. “Better stand back. I don’t want to catch you.”

Lucy stood to the side, but kept a good view of Nicola’s slim bottom that was only half-covered by brief white knickers. Miss Goldfinch drew the cane back and quickly whipped it down to impact the centre of the girl’s barely covered bottom. A second stroke followed almost immediately, followed by a third.

“Right, that’s you done, Nicola,” the headmistress said as she returned to her chair behind the desk. “Pull your trousers up and put your blazer on. You may leave when you are ready.”

Miss Goldfinch busied herself with making an entry on the next vacant line of the punishment book while Nicola gave her bottom a rub over the seat of her white knickers and then pulled her trousers back up. Lucy was ready with Nicola’s blazer and held it up so Nicola could easily thread her arms in.

“Look after Nicola, please Lucy,” the headmistress ordered. “You can collect the cane and punishment book when you’ve dealt with her.”

Lucy could see tears in Nicola’s eyes and put an arm around the girl’s shoulders as she led her back into her outer office.

“How are you feeling, Nicola?”

“How do you think?” Nicola snapped.

“Sorry, silly question.”

“That bloody hurt!” Nicola exclaimed as she vigorously rubbed her bottom.

“Yes, I bet it did.”

“Did you know?”

“I’m afraid I did, yes. Miss Goldfinch told me you were getting three whacks and that she intended to do it across your bottom. And I was supposed to help you get your trousers down if you struggled with the zip or something.”

“You might have warned me!”

“Sorry, I thought it best you didn’t know until you got it.”

“You might be right,” Nicola conceded. “Otherwise I’d have been really nervous and you might have had to pull my trousers down or something.”

“She whacked you really quickly. I thought it would take longer.”

Finally, Nicola managed a smile. Probably did it like that so I didn’t have time to jump up and protect my bottom. Do you have a tissue?”

“Of course.”

Lucy opened a lower drawer of her desk and pulled out a box of tissues.

“Help yourself.”

“Thanks.”

Nicola took a tissue and wiped her eyes and face.

“Is my make-up all smudged now?”

“I’m afraid so. How old are you, Nicola?” Lucy asked while the sixth former stood and repaired her make-up.

“Just turned eighteen. Why?”

“Only three years younger than me. I’d have hated having that done to me.”

“I expect you would. Then, I’d have hated getting a detention; very embarrassing when you’re in the sixth form. At least I got my punishment in private. You don’t happen to have a larger mirror than my little make-up mirror, do you?”

“There’s one in the stationery cupboard. I’ll fetch it.”

“Why don’t you take the cane and that book from Miss Goldfinch’s study while you’re at it?”

“Good idea.”

Lucy tapped once more on the headmistress’s door, went in and returned with the cane and the punishment book. She saw Nicola grimace as she passed her. The young secretary replaced the cane and book in the metal cabinet and returned to her outer office with a mirror measuring about eighteen inches by twelve.

“What are you doing?” Lucy asked as she saw Nicola had removed her blazer and was undoing her trousers.

“I just want to see what that bloody cane has done to my bum.”

“Oh.” Before Lucy could say anything else, Nicola had pushed her trousers and her brief white panties down so her whole bottom was exposed. Three vivid red and very sore-looking horizontal lines stretched across most of the lower buttocks. Lucy held the mirror so Nicola could see for herself.

“Damn! netball practice tomorrow after school. The girls will know I’ve been whacked.”

“Lucy, could you put these letters into…”

Nicola and Lucy both looked stunned as they saw Miss Goldfinch standing in her doorway.

The End

© Kenny Walters 2009 (Revised 2025)