“Have you finished your homework, Jess?” Caroline asked as her stepdaughter-to-be came into the open-plan kitchen and dining area.

“Yes, it wasn’t too bad tonight. There’s just a sketch for art class I might want to re-do.”

“Good. Dinner’s almost ready if you’d care to lay the places.”

“Okay.”

Jessica Templeton fetched the cutlery from the kitchen drawer and began laying out two places.

“Have you heard from dad, Caroline?”

“Not since yesterday evening. He said he might call later today, but he’s quite busy so may not have time.”

“Is he enjoying Australia?”

“I think he’s having to work pretty hard, so maybe not getting the chance to look around the place too much.”

“That’s a shame. Any idea when he’ll be back home?”

“Maybe the end of next month, hopefully. We have paella. Is that okay for you?”

“It smells nice. Yes, I like paella. And pancakes afterwards?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Caroline transferred the freshly cooked paella into a serving dish and placed it in the center of the table. They took it in turns to help themselves and started eating.

“Thanks for setting the table, Jess.”

“No problem.”

As the meal progressed, Jessica stopped eating and asked, “Caroline, you’re going to be my official stepmother when you and dad marry, is that right?”

Caroline paused, thought for a moment and replied, “I guess so. Why do you ask?”

“It’s just that, as you know, my real mom died when I was just three years old so I’ve never really had a mother figure I could turn to for advice and stuff like that.”

“Jess, I’ve always said I’d help you if ever I could. It’s just that I didn’t want to push. I know I can never replace your real mom.”

“So, if I had a problem then you’d be okay if I sounded you out about it?”

“Of course.”

“Okay,” was all Jessica said.

“So, do you have a problem I can help you with?” Caroline asked when Jessica stayed quiet.

“Not really. I just wanted to know you were okay with becoming my kind of stand-in mother, that’s all.”

“I’m fine with that, Jess. I really want to help you wherever I can. You already know that.”

“No matter what kind of help?”

“Sure,” Caroline replied without thinking. After pondering whether she might have answered a little hastily, she asked, “Did you have anything particular in mind, Jess? Is there something I need to know about?”

“Um, suppose I got bitchy one day and called you all kinds of names and generally abused you. What would you do then?”

“You never have, Jess.”

“No, but suppose I did. How would you handle it?”

“Why would you want to do that, Jess? Have I done something to offend you? Is it something I’ve said?”

“No.”

“So why ask a question like that?”

“Well, moms do all sorts of things. I was just wondering what your views were on stuff like discipline.”

“Discipline? Discipline? I guess I haven’t given that much thought, Jess. I mean, there’s never been a need.”

“No, but we can’t be sure there won’t be in the future. Right?”

“Maybe,” Caroline replied. “I guess that’s something I’d leave to your father.”

“Yes, but he’s just hopeless at that sort of stuff, even when he is around. I’d really like to know how you’d handle things.”

“Me? Oh, I don’t know. I guess grounding you would be the most likely thing.” Caroline hesitated. “Have you done something I need to know about, Jess?”

The paella now finished, Caroline got up and collected their plates. She started collecting together the ingredients for making a pancake batter.

“You still want pancakes, right?”

“Yes, please.”

“You want sugar and lemon juice or maple syrup?”

“Maple syrup, please.” Jessica went over to the cupboard where the maple syrup was kept and delivered it to the table. She then fetched two fresh plates. “So, grounding would be my likely punishment, Caroline?”

“I guess.”

“So, supposing you’d grounded me, what would you do if I disobeyed you and sneaked out when you weren’t looking?”

“Then I guess I’d double the length of your grounding. Something like that. Jess, where are you going with this?”

“But, if I continued to sneak out during the period of my grounding, you’d have to come up with something else, right?”

“I guess.”

“So, what would you do?”

“I guess I’d just have to discuss it with your father. What else could I do?”

Would you ever spank me?”

“Spank you? No.”

“Not even if I asked you to? Say, we both got to thinking grounding wasn’t making me behave. What if I asked whether you could give me some other punishment, like a spanking?”

“I can’t see that happening.”

“Why?”

“I guess because I think of you as a friend. I enjoy your company, Jess. I wouldn’t want to spank you. Pancakes are ready.”

Jessica and Caroline sat down at the table again and started eating the pancakes. Caroline found herself wondering if Jessica had a reason to bring up the subject of discipline.

“Jess, am I missing something here? All this talk about discipline and spanking has me thinking there’s something up, something you’re not telling me.”

“Like a mother’s instinct?” Jessica smiled.

Caroline grinned back. “Maybe.”

“Okay, so here’s the situation. Nancy, that’s Nancy Briggs, you’ve met her, Nancy and me had a little fun with a couple of girls a couple of years our junior. We kind of teased them a bit and our vice-principal, Mrs Davis, came along and kind of got uppity about it.”

“What sort of teasing?”

“Oh, we just sneaked in after they’d had a sports session and turned the shower water from warm to cold and threw their clothes into the showers after them. That sort of thing.”

“Hold on, let me get this straight. They were taking a shower and you fixed it so they got real cold water instead of warm, and then threw their clothes in after them? That would be their sport clothes they’d just taken off, right?”

“Actually, no, it was the clothes they would be changing into after their showers.”

“So, they had to leave in wet clothes? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes, that was the joke, only Mrs Davis didn’t see the funny side of it. I guess she just doesn’t have much of a sense of humor.”

“And these girls were how old? Fourteen or fifteen?”

“More like eleven.”

“Eleven? That’s bullying, Jess. Plain and simple bullying! That’s terrible!”

“Yes, that’s something like the way Mrs Davis saw it.”

“So, what action is Mrs Davis proposing to take? Are you suspended for a month of Sundays or something? Is that what all this talk of discipline is about?”

“This is where it kind of gets a little complicated.”

“That’s okay, Jess. I can do complicated.”

“You see, we could serve a five-day suspension. That would mean being banned from the whole school campus and losing grades for the entire week. I really can’t afford to lose those grades, Caroline. And it would mean missing two soccer practices and photography club too.”

“You’re saying you could serve a five-day suspension, like there’s other possibilities?”

“Yes, we could take five licks with the paddle.”

“Anything else?”

“Not really. No.”

“Okay, so Mrs Davis gave you a choice. What are you going to do?”

“There’s more to it.”

“How?”

“You see, this being California, even in private schools like ours, giving out paddlings isn’t so simple any more.”

“How so?”

“So, they like a same-sex parent to come into school and either assist as a witness or even do the spanking. Nancy’s mother has said she’ll attend and actually spank Nancy, but the only kind of mother-figure I have is you. We’ve never discussed stuff like this so I don’t know what your views are.”

“Hence what we were talking about earlier?”

“That’s right.”

“I see. So, have you decided you want to take the paddling option for sure? Is that really something you want to do?”

“I guess so. Nancy has already decided to go for the spanking, so we’d be together, and she might think I’m a bit of a coward if I didn’t follow suit.”

“I’m not sure that should be a consideration. By all means take the spanking, but only if it’s your preferred option.”

“I think it is,” Jessica confirmed. “And you’d be okay with that, would you, Caroline?”

“Yes, I think so. I’m just wondering if this isn’t something we ought to run past your father, though.”

“I was kind of hoping to keep him out of it.”

“Because, you don’t want him knowing what a horrible thing you did to those poor girls?”

“Well,” Jessica hesitated. “Yes, I guess so.”

“So, you want me to come into school when you’re due for your punishment. Presumably, you want me to come into school and witness you getting paddled? I guess I could do that.”

“That’s the thing. Nowadays, they much prefer the parent to do the paddling, and for the staff member to be the witness.”

“Hold on! Are you asking me to come into school and spank you? Using their paddle?”

“That’s kind of it, yes.”

“And they know I’m not your real mom, and not even officially your step-mom either, at least not yet?”

“Yes, they know that. I did ask, and it isn’t a problem. I stopped by Nancy’s house on my way home from school and Mrs Briggs would be prepared to spank me along with Nancy if you didn’t want to do it. Whether it’s you or Mrs Briggs, the school are okay with it.”

“Okay. So, why do you want me along if Mrs Briggs is willing to do it?”

“Because they’d still need a parent figure witnessing on my behalf.”

“So actually, I just have to turn up and witness. Is that all you need from me?”

“Not really. I really want you to spank me.”

“Why me?”

Jessica pushed her plate to one side, her pancakes now finished.

“I’m not really sure. Nancy’s my best friend and I’ve been to her house many times, so I know Mrs Briggs. She’s nice, and I’m sure she’d be as kind as she’d be allowed, but I’d just prefer it if I knew you were going to do it.”

Caroline nodded thoughtfully. “Okay. Look, are you really sure you want to take a spanking, Jess?”

“Yes. It gets it done all nice and quick. I don’t lose grades, and I don’t miss out on stuff I enjoy. And maybe those two girls get their revenge. They’ll be told what punishment we’ve chosen, so they’ll know we’ll be getting sore butts. I guess they’ll tease us about that, and maybe that’s fair.”

“I can see some sense in that,” Caroline nodded thoughtfully. “And it’s me you want to paddle you? Maybe I could be more use to you if I just was there with you and supporting you while one of the other ladies administers the punishment?”

“No, I want you to paddle me.”

“I’m sure there will be some kind of supervision to make sure we don’t go soft on you girls, so it’s going to be much the same whoever does it, Jess. If I come in and do it, I’m thinking I’ll have to do it properly. You do realize that, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course. I don’t know exactly how it’s going to play out, but I’m guessing Mrs Davis will be present to supervise and act as witness. I’m sure any swat she thinks is too lenient won’t be accepted and she’ll ask for it to be done again. It’ll be something like that. Mrs Davis made it clear she wants us seriously spanked.”

“Okay. Well, if you’re sure?”

“You’ll do it?”

“Well, I’ve never spanked anyone before, but I’ve seen a few so, I guess it shouldn’t be too hard. Five licks, you said?”

“That’s right.”

“I guess I can manage that. So, what’re the arrangements? When is this all happening?”

****

The following day, breakfast was strained. Jessica, still in her pajamas, had little appetite and declined when Caroline offered her a cooked breakfast.

“Just a small portion of cornflakes, thanks.”

“Okay, your choice.”

“What do you think I should wear for school today, Caroline?”

“That’s a dumb question,” Caroline remarked with a shrug of her shoulders. “Wear what you normally wear.”

“Caroline, you’re going to be spanking me with a hard wooden paddle later today! It’s a little different from a typical school day.”

“True.” Caroline took a few moments to mull things over. “Oh, I don’t know. I guess wear pants rather than a skirt. You don’t want to be showing your panties when you bend over.”

“Durr! I already realised that!”

“That’s not sarcasm, is it, Jess?” Caroline asked, joking. “It’s probably not a good day to get on the wrong side of me, knowing what I’ll be doing to your butt later today.”

Jessica’s face reddened.

“How about I wear my white cords?”

“Might be too warm in today’s heat. Remember you’ve still got classes to attend.”

“So, what do you suggest?”

“How about your denim dungarees? They’re thin enough to not be too hot.”

“But they don’t have back pockets.”

“What difference does that make?”

“Back pockets? An extra layer of material? Maybe a little more protection?”

“Honey, you’re getting spanked today. It’s going to hurt and what you do or do not wear won’t make a whole heap of difference. Besides, you chose to take a spanking, so you ought to be going into this without dreaming up ways to lessen your punishment. Be ready to take what you’ve agreed to.”

“Huh! You’re a big help.”

“Let me put it this way, the thicker your clothing, the more force I’m going to use. Okay? Just accept it’s going to hurt and your bottom will be sore afterwards. That’s just the way it is, and you can’t avoid it. Nor should you. You deserve this punishment, Jess.”

“I know I do. But that doesn’t make me it any easier. Hell, if I was one of those girls whose clothes we soaked, I’d want me spanked real hard. You should really be hard on me and scorch my butt real good, only I hope you don’t. You’re not going to do that, are you Caroline?”

“I guess that’s something we’re both going to have to find out, Jess. It’s going to be something of a learning curve for both of us.”

****

Later that afternoon, Caroline parked her car in one of the school’s parking lot spaces designated for visitors. She walked across to the main entrance and went up to the reception counter.

“May I help you, ma’am?” a short middle-aged secretary asked.

“I’m here to see Mrs Davis. I believe I’m expected? I have my stepdaughter, Jessica Templeton, here.”

The secretary smiled knowingly as she tapped some keys on a computer.

“Yes, you are expected. If you care to take that hallway and follow the signs to the senior administration area, someone there will be able to help you, ma’am.”

“Thank you.”

It was a long walk to the senior administration part of the school complex. Caroline located a door with a sign that told her she should go through for the principal’s and vice-principals’ offices. Inside, she found another secretary sitting at a desk and Jessica sitting next to a blond-haired, quite pretty girl that Caroline recognized as being Nancy Briggs. Next to Nancy sat an attractive, also blond-haired woman, that Caroline guessed was Nancy’s mother.

“Hi, mom,” Jessica called from her chair.

Caroline noted with surprise that she was suddenly being referred to as ‘mom’, but found it quite appealing. Jessica sounded pleased to see Caroline, but a frown suggested she was also apprehensive.

“Are you Mrs Templeton?” The secretary, an attractive dark-haired woman wearing a pale blue pants suit, asked from behind her desk.

“I’m Jessica’s stepmother,” Caroline answered, neatly sliding around the question of her not yet being married to Jessica’s father.

“Take a seat, please ma’am.”

“I’m Helen,” said the woman sitting next to Nancy. “I don’t think we’ve met.” She leaned forward and stretched her arm across the fronts of Nancy and Jessica, and the two women shook hands.

“No, I don’t believe we have,” Caroline said as she sat down next to Jessica. “I’m Caroline. So, what are the arrangements here? I’ve not done this sort of thing before.”

“Me neither,” Helen Briggs replied. “Well, not in school anyway. I’m sure Mrs Davis will advise us. She always seems very efficient.”

“I believe you are going to, you know, deal with Nancy. Is that still the case, Helen?”

“Yes, I’m going to spank her, Caroline. In fact, I’m quite looking forward to spanking Nancy’s butt, considering what these two did to those poor girls in the shower. Bullying younger kids indeed! You know, I might even follow up with another spanking when we get home this evening.”

Nancy screwed her face up at hearing that. Caroline looked at Jessica, who decided avoiding eye contact was her best option.

Moments later, a grey-haired woman came out from an office along the short hallway and approached them.

“Mrs Briggs? Mrs Templeton? I’m Honor Davis, vice-principal overseeing Nancy and Jessica’s education and pastoral needs. “Would you care to come into my office, please? Jessica and Nancy, you come too.”

They followed Mrs Davis into her office, where the vice-principal sat at her large desk. It was made of a light-colored wood, possibly beech, and looked expensive. Jessica and Nancy stood in front of the desk with Helen Briggs and Caroline just behind them. They all looked discreetly around the room, hoping to catch an early sight of the paddle that was to be used, but they were disappointed. The desk, though, had everything like paperwork, telephone and laptop computer all pushed to one end, leaving the other end totally clear. No one spoke, but it was obvious why Mrs Davis had arranged her desk this way.

“I won’t dwell, ladies,” Mrs Davis began. “I’m sure Jessica and Nancy have told you about drenching those two younger girls, haven’t they?”

Helen Briggs and Caroline both nodded.

“Good. Now, we don’t tolerate any kind of bullying here, as these two girls both know. It’s also clearly stated in both the students’ and parents’ handbooks, both of which are available to you online, as are the possible penalties for infringing that policy. Correct?”

Again, Helen Briggs and Caroline both nodded, although Caroline had never felt the need to examine the school’s policies on anything.

“You know you were grossly in error when you soaked those two girls, don’t you?” Mrs Davis said, looking sternly at Jessica and Nancy.

“Yes, ma’am,” Jessica conceded.

“Sorry, ma’am,” Nancy added.

As the vice-principal continued her admonishment of the two girls, Caroline looked down at Jessica and Nancy’s bottoms. Jessica’s blue dungarees fitted loosely around her bottom, whereas Nancy’s choice of pale gray leggings were already molded snugly around her neatly rounded backside. Jessica wondered whether Nancy had chosen the thin leggings herself, or whether Mrs Briggs might have had some input.

“So, are we all ready?”

Caroline awoke from her thoughts just as she realised the vice-principal’s reprimands were at an end.

“Mrs Briggs, do you intend to administer Nancy’s paddling, or do you want me to do it while you witness?”

“I’ll spank her, Mrs Davis.”

“Fine. How about you, Mrs Templeton? Will you spank Jessica or shall I?”

Caroline coughed nervously. “I’ll do it, Mrs Davis.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Caroline saw Jessica turn and look at her, but the stepmom-to-be kept her eyes looking straight ahead.

“Who would like to go first?”

Caroline shrugged. Mrs Briggs seized the opportunity.

“Let’s get you done, Nancy.”

“Okay, so Jessica and Mrs Templeton, would you please go back to sit with the secretary, just along the hall?”

Jessica was not slow to take advantage of the at least temporary reprieve and headed immediately for the door, leaving Caroline to follow in her wake.

“I’m getting really nervous now,” Jessica confided as she sat next to Caroline, back where they’d been seated a few minutes earlier. “I wonder what’s going on in there.”

“What’s to wonder, Jess? You know what’s happening.”

“How long do you think we’ll have to wait?”

“I’m pretty sure there won’t be much delay, Jess,” Caroline replied. “I reckon Nancy will be bending over that desk as we speak. Best take this short time to mentally prepare yourself.”

“Like how?”

“I don’t know. I mean, you’ve chosen to be spanked, so trying to delay things isn’t going to make it any easier. You might as well walk in there, bend over when you’re told, and hold nice and still while I apply the paddle to your bottom. You told me you didn’t want to appear cowardly by not taking the spanking when Nancy agreed to it.”

“Yes, I did say that, didn’t I?” Jessica paused to ponder. “I guess it can’t be long now.”

“I’m nervous too, you know,” Caroline said.

“Why are you nervous? You aren’t getting spanked.”

“I guess I’m worried I won’t make a decent job of it.”

“Like not spank me hard enough?”

“Or maybe too hard. I don’t want to hurt you more than I have to.”

“I know, but remember I deserve this after what we did to those two girls.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Caroline noted the attractive secretary was clearly taking an interest in their conversation.

“Don’t worry, ladies,” the secretary called across from her desk. “I’m sure everything will be just fine.”

“How much longer will we have to wait, ma’am?” Jessica asked.

“I reckon you’ll be on in less than five.”

Jessica shivered.

Just then, a loud bang was heard from Mrs Davis’ office. It could only mean Nancy’s spanking was underway.

“Oh god! Sounds like Mrs Briggs is laying it on real hard,” Jessica whispered loudly as she panicked.

Four more similar thuds echoed along the short hallway, and Jessica’s heart pounded against her chest.

“Oh god,” Jessica muttered under her breath.

“Calm down,” Caroline urged. “I’ll be with you.”

“You’ll be spanking me!”

“A little advice, honey?” The secretary said as she stood up and came round the desk to be near to Jessica. “Bend over, hold still, let your mom spank your behind, and it’s all done. There’s no point in jumping up or trying to protect yourself or anything like that. It’ll just delay the inevitable and won’t hurt any the less. You’re getting spanked whether it takes two minutes or twenty. Okay?”

“I guess,” Jessica responded, just as the door opened and Mrs Briggs and Nancy emerged from the office.

Nancy was crying openly and clutching her bottom with both hands.

Neither looked at Jessica and Caroline as they passed and continued back towards the school exit.

“Jessica? Mrs Templeton? When you’re ready?” Mrs Davis called from the doorway to her office.

“Oh god,” Jessica mumbled, showing no sign of moving.

“Come on,” Caroline responded, taking Jessica’s hand and pulling her up.

Jessica found herself being dragged towards the office. She didn’t try to escape Caroline’s firm grip, but didn’t surrender herself easily either.

Inside Mrs Davis’ office, Jessica did manage to regain some control of her emotions as she stood and stared at the cleared end of the vice-principal’s desk. A pale wood paddle, some eighteen inches in length, eight inches of which had been narrowed into a kind of handle, and maybe three-and-a-half inches wide, lay on the desk.

“Best not put this off any, Mrs Templeton, for Jessica’s sake,” Mrs Davis said as she stood in front of her desk. “I’m sure she’s nervous enough already. The paddle is there. I need you to apply five firm swats to Jessica’s backside. This is her chosen punishment, so she knows what to expect. Jessica, I need you to bend over the end of my desk. Get right down and place your forearms flat on the desk. Stick your bottom out and make it easy for your mom to spank you.”

Both Jessica and Caroline remained frozen as they stood next to each other and took in the vice-principal’s instructions. Caroline was first to react by moving in front of Jessica and picking up the paddle. The handle still felt warm to the touch.

“You heard the lady, Jess. Go round to the end of the desk and bend over.”

Jessica looked into Caroline’s eyes, trying to gauge her future stepmother’s thinking, but the green eyes just held a steely resolve. The teenager knew what she had to do. There was no way out now.

“Okay.”

As soon as she’d taken the few steps to position herself at the end of the desk, Jessica immediately bent over. She wanted to prevent herself thinking about it, and knew any delay would simply increase her anxiety and make it even more difficult to surrender to the punishment. It took a little fiddling to find a position where her forearms could lie flat on the desk, and then she had to turn her face to one side, the side facing Caroline, before she could rest her head on the desk with any degree of comfort. After a little more fidgeting, she felt her bottom was pushed back as far as she could manage. She just hoped her efforts would be to the satisfaction of Mrs Davis.

“Is that okay?” Jessica asked apprehensively.

Caroline looked down at the thin blue denim material now stretched tightly across Jessica’s backside, and then at Mrs Davis, who nodded.

“That’s fine,” Caroline replied. “Don’t worry, let’s just do this.”

Holding the paddle just a few inches from Jessica’s bottom, Caroline contemplated the swing she would need to apply a good spank. She slowly drew the paddle back almost horizontally, took a deep breath, and launched the paddle forward with as much force as she could muster. The wooden blade slammed into the seat of Jessica’s dungarees with a loud bang, just like they’d heard earlier.

“Aah! Oh god!” The teenager moaned.

“It has to be done, Jess. Next one coming up.”

Even as she spoke, Caroline was drawing the paddle back again. Her eyes focused on a spot a little lower on the seat of Jessica’s dungarees. When she swung the paddle, the paddle landed just where she’d aimed.

“Unnh!” Jessica grunted.

Caroline was so concentrating on delivering the spanking that she forgot about giving any warning of the next swat. The paddle crashed into the tightly stretched thin denim with a resounding bang.

“Oww!” Jessica jerked upwards in surprise as the paddle suddenly walloped her bottom.

For a moment, Caroline thought about the secretary in the pale blue pants suit sitting just along the hall and listening to the loud bangs emanating from the office. How many times had she heard those same telling sounds?

Then Jessica looked round, wondering why the next spank hadn’t come. Caroline stared straight back into the teenager’s eyes, and then a simple slight nod had Jessica placing her head back down on the desk. With the paddle drawn back maybe even a little further than before, another spank slammed into the seat of the thin denim.

“Yeeoww!!” Jessica called out, not expecting it to hurt that much.

“Final swat,” Mrs Davis advised quietly.

Now Caroline used the paddle to gently pat the seat of Jessica’s dungarees several times before drawing it back and launching it forward on the hardest swing of the five. It smacked the seat of Jessica’s blue denim dungarees with the loudest bang of all.

“Ooosh, that seriously hurt!” Jessica exclaimed as she reached back and grasped both buttocks.

“Good job, Mrs Templeton.” Mrs Davis moved forward and took the paddle.

“Am I allowed up now, ma’am?” Jessica asked.

“Of course. You’re done,” the vice-principal acknowledged.

Jessica immediately stood upright and began ferociously rubbing her bottom.

“A lesson learned?” Mrs Davis asked the teenager.

“It sure is, ma’am.”

The vice-principal smiled. “You may leave when you’re ready.”

Caroline put a hand on Jessica’s shoulder and encouraged her to head for the door.

“Let’s hope we don’t have to do this again in a hurry,” Caroline murmured in Jessica’s ear. “Goodbye, Mrs Davis.”

“Goodbye, Mrs Templeton, and thank you for your cooperation.”

Out in the hallway, Caroline asked, “Are you okay, honey?”

Jessica smiled weakly. “I’ll live. I certainly won’t be dousing anyone in cold water again, that’s for sure.”

“All okay?” the pale blue pants suited secretary asked as they reached her desk.

“I guess so,” replied Caroline when Jessica didn’t answer.

“I was expecting Nancy and her mom to wait for us,” Jessica commented when they were further along the hallway and out of earshot of anyone.

“Yes, I was too. Perhaps Nancy was so upset she didn’t want to wait.”

“I guess. She was in tears, wasn’t she? I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Me neither, although I guess it’s okay to cry if you want to, Jess.”

“No, I’m okay. I did feel my eyes starting to water after that third smack though.”

“Yes?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Do you think her mom will carry out her threat?”

“What threat?”

“To spank her again when they get home.”

“She might. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll phone Nancy later and ask her. I guess we’ll both be wanting to sympathize with each other and compare notes on our spankings.”

“Compare notes?”/p>

“It’s what girls do, mom. We like to share experiences.”

“You’re calling me ‘mom’?”

“Do you mind if I start calling you that? I kind of feel our relationship has developed now you’ve given me a little discipline.”

“I don’t mind. It’s up to you.”

By now, school was over for the day and they were nearing Caroline’s car. They had just managed to avoid the throng of students heading for their own parking area. Caroline pressed the button on her key fob and the SUV’s doors unlocked.

“Do you mind if I lie down on the back seat, Caroline?”

“Don’t you want to sit up front next to me? And what happened to the ‘mom’ bit?”

“Right now, I don’t want to sit anywhere,” Jessica replied as she dived along the car’s back seat and lay face down. “Just give me time with the ‘mom’ bit. Okay?”

“Okay.” Caroline paused before starting the engine. “Are you really that sore, Jess, or are you just looking for the sympathy vote.”

“Durr! You just whipped my ass with five hard licks, mom! How could I not be sore?”

“Undo your dungarees and slip them down. Let me see the damage.”

“In the middle of the parking lot? Are you serious?”

“Jess, it’s near to deserted now. No one will see. I’ll keep a look-out.”

“Okay.”

Jessica unfastened the top buttons and then the four side buttons to release the dungarees. She slid the denim material down below the level of her backside.

“There! Can you see?”

Caroline looked over the back of her seat and saw Jessica lying face-down along the back seat with her dungarees pushed down to the middle of her thighs.

“Can you slip your panties down too?”

Jessica pushed her thin lemon-yellow panties down below her bottom. With her naked bottom fully exposed, both buttocks showed red and purple bruising that contrasted vividly with the surrounding pale creamy-white.

“How does it look, Caroline?”

“It looks red and sore, Jess,” Caroline answered. “Actually, I might paint the front door that color. Maybe we could stop by the DIY store and get them to color-match?”

“That’s not funny, Caroline!”

“Hi Caroline,” Mrs Briggs said as she and Nancy both watched Caroline checking out Jessica’s naked bottom.

Jessica quickly pulled her panties and dungarees up to hide her bare bottom from their view.

“Looks like Jess got the same kind of spanking I gave Nancy,” Mrs Briggs continued. “I was wondering whether you might have been a mite soft on her. Good to see you weren’t.”

“I was paddled at school back in Kentucky, Helen. I just aimed to give Jessica something similar.”

“Looking at her bare butt there, I reckon you did it just right.”

Nancy, standing next to her mother, grinned at Jessica, who scowled back.

“Um, would you and Nancy care to follow us home for coffee? I have a freshly made sponge cake that needs eating,” Caroline offered.

“Sounds delightful, Caroline. We’d love to accept, wouldn’t we, Nancy?”

“Yes, please.”

It took less than twenty minutes before both cars pulled onto the Templeton household’s front drive. They went inside and Caroline started preparing the coffee. The two girls went up to Jessica’s room while Helen Briggs helped Caroline.

“Helen, when we were sat by that secretary in the blue pants suit you mentioned you were thinking of giving your Nancy another spanking at home. You didn’t really mean that, did you?”

Helen chuckled. “Well, at the time I was pretty upset at what Nancy had done, and I was even more upset about being dragged into school to spank her. No, I gave her a fair paddling, just like you done with Jessica. I guess that’ll do her this time. Why?”

“It’s just that it seemed only right the two girls got the same punishment. If you were really going to spank Nancy a second time, then I was concerned I really should do the same with Jessica.”

“Tell you what, let’s have a little fun at their expense, just like they done with those two young girls.”

They finished preparing the late afternoon treat and called the girls downstairs. Jessica had changed out of her dungarees into a pretty white floral dress.

“Help yourselves to coffee and cake, girls,” Caroline said.

When they were all sitting in the large lounge area, Helen announced, “We’ve been talking over whether you two should get another spanking to follow up what you got at school.”

Both Nancy and Jessica stopped eating and sat open-mouthed.

“Mom, you’re joking. Right?” Nancy finally found her voice.

“Mom, you can’t mean that?” Jessica added, looking pleadingly at Caroline.

“Don’t worry, we’ve decided your bottoms are sore enough,” Helen Briggs continued with a smile, much to the relief of the two girls. “However, you’re both going to do five minutes corner time as a gentle reminder of the way you humiliated those young girls. That’s fair, isn’t it?”

“Corner time?” Jessica asked. “What does that mean?”

“It means we have to spend five minutes standing facing a corner of the room, probably with our naked backsides on view,” Nancy explained.

“You’re kidding, right?” Jessica looked anxiously at Caroline.

“It’s an old way of doing things, Jessica,” Helen Briggs cut in before Caroline could speak. “The idea was, get punished at school, get a spanking at home. It was to reinforce the message the school was trying to impart.”

“We both thought your bottoms were quite sore enough,” Caroline added. “So we came up with just five minutes corner time instead. Of course, if you ask us nicely, I guess we could spank you instead.”

“We’ll settle for corner time, ma’am,” Nancy responded, catching an angry glare from Jessica. “Come on, let’s do it, Jess.”

Nancy led Jessica across to a corner of the room opposite where Helen and Caroline sat. Nancy pushed her pale gray leggings down to mid-thigh, followed by her brief white panties. Her bare bottom was bruised just like Jessica’s.

“Lift your dress up above your waist, Jess,” Nancy whispered as her friend stood next to her. “Don’t forget to slip your panties down.”

“Huh!” Jessica responded as she lifted her thin cotton dress clear of her bottom. She held it up with her left hand while her right hand pushed her lemon-yellow panties down.

“Satisfied, mom?” Jessica called back to Caroline.

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Caroline stood up and looked out of the window.

“It’s Mrs Davis. I wonder what she wants.”

“Probably checking the girls are okay after being spanked. I’ve heard she does that,” Helen Briggs suggested.

“I’ll answer the door,” Caroline said.

“Meanwhile, you two girls stay right where you are!” Helen cautioned.

The End

© Kenny Walters 2023