Strictland Academy (7 page)

Every
inch of their bodies, both inside and out, throbbed painfully, as the three
were marched to Headmaster Judas's office.
 
Like all the other rooms, it was dingy and drab, furnished for
practicality and not comfort or warmth.
 
There were no family pictures, no carpeting, and the furnishings were
limited to a single desk, chair and bookcase.
 
A plain white-faced clock ticked on one
wall, and the Book of Declarations was laid open on top of the scratched,
worm-holed desk.

Attendant
Hazel set the files atop the scarred surface and positioned the girls with
instructions to remain at attention.
 
She administered swats with one of her readily available implements
until their stances conformed to her exacting demands.
 
Before she departed, she untied their
wrists and left them with a warning:
 
“
Wait
here for the Headmaster.
 
Do not
move a muscle.
 
Your backsides will
not be able to tolerate much more punishment today."

When
he entered, the Headmaster paused to silently study the condition of their bare
bottoms, not physically touching them as he demanded they bend over the edge of
the desk.
 
He made several comments
about their bruises, including the area covered, the different shapes of the
marks, and the various shades of red that had been achieved.
 
He ordered them to return to attention
and retrieved an enormous leather, guitar-shaped paddle from his desk drawer.

“
Remain
at attention, girls.
 
I want you to
lace your fingers tightly behind your head and spread your legs as wide as you
can without losing balance or falling forward."

Pain
and fear prevented their rapid compliance to his instructions.
 
Tsking, he swatted each of them with the
large implement, its considerable size catching both raw cheeks at once.
 
The three hastened to do as instructed, yet
he continued to slap their bottoms with casual indifference.
 
Each was corrected after receiving at
least three harsh smacks that caught the underside of their cheeks.
 
They struggled not to wobble and
repeatedly failed.
 
Finally
satisfied with their positions, the man placed the big leather paddle on his
desk and sat down.
 
He laced his
fingers together and leaned forward to talk, the light catching the clouded
scars in his eyes.

“
You
girls have each conducted a severe transgression that resulted in your
placement into the criminal justice system.
 
You're barely legal adults, and your
small misbehaviors have grown to amazing proportions.
 
Things such as staying out past curfew,
defiance and rebellion towards your parents or another authority figure, use of
foul language, use of alcohol, or taking up with someone of questionable
character, eventually graduated to worse things, didn't it?"

 
He glanced down at the files on his
desk.
 
"Let's see what type of
mischief you three conducted.
 
Molly
Petry was arrested for shoplifting.
 
Hmm, it seems that the entire act was not only caught on a surveillance
camera, but that she offered a very inappropriate gesture using her middle
finger as she left the area.
 
Patricia Franklin was placed in corrective custody after she had
physical contact with a law officer.
 
Why would she have done such a foolish thing?
 
Oh, I see!
 
She had consumed alcohol and had done so
under the age of thirty!
 
April
Compton was found guilty of theft and was out after sundown.
 
Where you inviting the boys to fornicate
with you, Compton?
 
Shame on all of
you."

He
took a dramatic pause before continuing.
 
“
Our
society follows strict rules and adhere to stringent penalties for a
reason.
 
We wish to raise a
civilization better than the one that was destroyed, and the only way that will
happen is if we produce men and women who abide and respect society
’
s laws.
 
There is no room for rebels in our fight
for food, clean water and the luxury of warmth. Because your crimes were
considered nonviolent, and you have some traits that might attract a man
looking for a wife, you were given a choice:
 
jail or here.
 
You
chose
here.
 
I admit that it took some powerful
convincing to both you and your mothers to make the right decision, but I
firmly believe you are exactly where you need to be.
 
Strictland Academy is a place where you
can pay for your crimes and learn how to avoid future ones.
 
Here you will be taught what society
demands of you to be a member of worth.
 
You are to never question authority figures, whether it be your mothers,
your teachers or a future husband, and you are to obey without hesitation.
 
Through the strict hands and the
dedicated, watchful eyes of women specially trained in reform, and who will
deliver frequent, swift punishment whenever they deem it necessary, you will
learn to behave with the utmost modesty and decorum.
 
The humility you experience through days
of long, hard labor and well-deserved punishments is specifically designed to
remind you that you have fallen and that you must depend on the care of your
superiors for any hope of redemption.
 
Any questions?" he asked, slightly breathless as he recited his
long-winded, run-on statement.

The
girls numbly muttered 'no, sir', knowing quite well that his inquiry was
rhetorical.
 
The headmaster nodded
with satisfaction.
 
He continued,
"During your stay here, you are expected to keep your eyes facing the
floor in a show of meekness and quietly accept any correction that is
considered necessary.
 
I assure you
that the Attendants and I will make very certain that you will learn all the
necessary dispositions of piousness and conformity before you are allowed to
leave this Academy and are given the privilege of marriage to a proper
spouse.
 
You have this one
opportunity to make a defense without consequences.
 
I strongly suggest you do so,
”
he said, as he stood
with the paddle in his hand.

Molly
glanced fearfully at her companions.
 
It was now or never.
 
"Thank you for giving us the chance to explain, headmaster.
 
I was with a friend at the junk store,
and she slipped that bracelet into my pocket.
 
I honestly did not know it was
there!
 
When the alarm went off, I
went right back inside.
 
I was
flipping off my friend, not the camera. I did not know they even
had
cameras. I mean,"

"You
choice of companions is faulty.
 
Why
else would you be looking at bracelets if not to steal them?
 
I was also led to understand that you
had intended to run off with a certain young man of whom the State had not
approved. That leads to the conclusion that you were planning on selling the
stolen item to finance your escape.
”

“
That
’
s not true! He was just
a friend and
…”

“
Your
sentence is as stands.
 
Franklin?
 
Your turn.
”

"I
had a sip of my dad's cognac.
 
Just
a taste, I swear.
 
I wasn't
drinking!
 
I went outside and walked
into a cop car because I wasn
'
t paying
attention.
 
He said he smelled it on
my breath."

"Due
to the rarity of alcohol, and the world history of abuse, the age limit for
drinking is set solidly at thirty.
 
You are eighteen.
 
Your
failure to be aware of your surroundings and assault an officer of the law
clearly indicates your level of inebriation."

"I
didn't assault him.
 
He shoved me
over the hood and threw handcuffs on me and said I would be a tasty morsel for
the judge to sample.
 
He did not
even use a Breathalyzer on me to support the charge that I was
intoxicated."

 
"Your sentence is as stands.
 
Compton?"

April
began to cry again, "There was nothing for dinner for my little brother
and I took money from our savings to go to the traders market.
 
I left my mother a note before I left! It
was not my fault she did not see it under the table.
 
I was hiding on the roof from a street gang,
which was why I was stuck out after sundown.
 
A police officer saw me and did not
believe I bought the bag of food and charged me with stealing.
 
He did not even bother to ask the trader
if I had paid! My mom tried to reverse the charges but they told her that her
denial of my actions would hurt me for the rest of my life.
 
The cops pursued these charges, not my
mother! They know there are gangs out there and
…”

"Theft
is theft, and even if you had her permission to use the money, you know the law
regarding curfew and could have left your home earlier. The fact that you took
the money without her knowledge, and then put her through the worry about what
happened to you after curfew, is reason enough to say that your sentence stands
as is."

He
allowed several minutes of silence to pass, giving the three girls time to
allow his words to sink in.
 
He
perched on the edge of the desk, drumming his fingers on the wood in a slow,
methodical cadence.
 
"While you
three might believe your actions are justified, that only clarifies the need
for you to be here.
 
I assure you,
after a year or two, maybe more, you will truly appreciate the life your
mothers gave you and will treat it, and whomever assumes your future care, with
more respect."

He
slid off the desk, the sound of his shoes clapping as they struck the
floor.
 
He wrapped his fingers
around the handle of the paddle and slipped it off the desk, swinging it
menacingly by his side as he walked behind their naked, shivering bodies.

"All
of you are to bend over and use your fingertips to balance yourself.
 
Raise your bottom well up, so that it
might receive the fullest extent of my efforts."

The
paddling they received was beyond comprehension.
 
The headmaster progressed down the line,
girl to girl, cheek to cheek, with each new red blotch quickly building on top
of the old ones.
 
The three knew
they were expected to remain silent, but their efforts crumbled
immediately.
 
They howled loudly,
while their screams of pain rattled the stark office walls.
 
Headmaster Judas made no comment as he
paused to take a short breath, raising hope that the horrid torture was over.

It
was not.
 
Beginning with Molly, he
planted two solid swats in the exact same spot before moving to the other
two.
 
All three moaned loudly, their
bodies exhausted from the ordeal.
 
Every bit of the flesh on their bottoms and down the backs of their
upper thighs was swollen and a solid, fiery red.
 
Mercifully, they had also become
surprisingly numb to the pain, as though every nerve had short-circuited.
 
Expecting this phenomenon to occur, the
man ceased their punishments as abruptly as he had begun.

He
resumed his sitting position behind his desk.
 
After several minutes, he spoke:
 
“
You may straighten up to attention with your fingers
laced and hands placed on top of your heads. When Attendant Hazel takes you
down to the dormitory area, you must each tell her that you have earned another
punishment for being so vocal during this one.
 
You may also tell her that it can be
deferred a day or two to allow your bodies time to recuperate and appreciate
the full impact of her discipline.
 
Don't look so surprised that I know you are not feeling anything
significant at this moment.
 
We will
not fight against your endorphins.
 
Instead, we will make use of them, by keeping you on the edge."

Each
girl bit her lip, stifling a groan at his pronouncement.
 
Moments later, they heard Attendant
Hazel's skirts rustling behind them as she entered the room.
 
They were led through the teeming hall
to a dormitory area and taken into a communal bathroom.
 
The room stilled of all sound and
movement when little April piped up with a request:
 
“
Attendant?
 
Ma'am?"