Pittsburgh Adventure

Leah. 

It's winter break, and Leah and Nora are looking for something exciting to do before they have to go back to school. One of their favorite bands is coming to play in Pittsburgh, the closest they've ever come, and they don't know when they'll get to see them again. Guess it's time for an adventure. 

---

It was Sunday afternoon sometime in late December. I had just been upstairs in my bedroom talking to Nora on Skype as I was looking for concerts to go to, together before our winter break ended.  When we were younger, we’d spend hours at the local record shop, browsing the CDs. We were constantly exchanging mixtapes and playlists, and whenever we had extra money, we’d go to a local concert. Louisville had some pretty big bands come through, and some smaller indie ones that Nora and I were also interested in, so there was never a shortage of music festivities to go to. And sometimes, if we were lucky, we’d get to go to Nashville, and some of the bigger bands, or international bands, would play there.

We were in the middle of talking about the possibility of going to see Mary Lambert downtown that Friday night, when I stumbled across tour dates and places for Sigur Ros, a band that Nora and I had fallen in love with the moment we saw their first music video. They were also from Iceland, and rarely travelled to the States. When they came, they’d hit the major cities: Los Angeles, Seattle, New York… places like that. But this time, they were coming to Pittsburgh, the closest they’d ever been to Louisville.

 “Oh my God, Nora, you’ll never guess what I just found,” I said, a grin spreading wide across my face.

“What?” she smiled back. I laughed. “What is it?” she said in exasperation.

“Sigur Ros is coming to Pittsburgh!” I squealed.

“No. NO FUCKING WAY. You’ve got to be kidding me.”

I grinned. “Yep!”

“That’s only 6 hours away!”

“I know, it’s the closest they’ve ever been!”

Her smile faded, “There’s no way we can make it out there though.”

“Why not? We’ve both got savings, and a ton of Christmas money.”

“Who’s going to drive us out there?”

“I will, silly!”

She scoffed. “Yeah, right, like you’ll be able to get your brother to agree to that.”

“Just watch me work my magic, Nora. You’ll see.”

---

That night, a couple of hours after dinner, I knocked on the door to Shane and Anthony’s office, where my brother was working on some paperwork for a client. He turned around when he heard me knock; pushing his reading glasses back up. “Oh, come on in, Leah. I was just finishing this up.” He gestured to the armchair in the corner of the room, so I sat down.

“Can I ask you a question, Shane?”

“Sure. Shoot, kiddo.”

“So, there’s this band that Nora and I really love, and really want to go see. But they’re foreign so they don’t come to the States very often and they never come to any of the smaller cities. But, they’re going to be nearby this Friday, and well, I was wondering, if maybe, you would let me go.”

“Where’s the concert?”

“Uh, downtown, I think.”

“No, I mean, what city? You didn’t specify.”

“Pittsburgh,” I mumbled, slightly under my breath, hoping that if I was quieter maybe he’d confuse it for another city.

“Excuse me, did you say ‘Pittsburgh’, Leah?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s 6 hours away. There’s no way I’m letting you girls drive that far by yourself, especially at this time of year.”

“Nora’s parents are fine with it!”

“That’s great. I’m not Nora’s parents. You’re not going, Leah. I’m sorry.”

“Why can’t you or Anthony take us?”

“I have a business conference that entire weekend, you know that. And Anthony is in New York at an academic conference for the next week. He won’t be home until Sunday.”

“That’s not fair.”

“I’m sorry, kiddo. Sometimes that’s just the way things work out.” I crossed my arms and turned my head to the side, making sure he knew I was angry. “I’d take you if I could, Leah. But I can’t.” He paused. “Was that all?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“Alright, go upstairs and get ready for bed, then.” I sighed and rolled my eyes, walking out the door. “I love you, Leah.”

“Yeah, love you too,” I muttered, turning to trudge up the stairs and to take a shower, defeated, for now.

---

“No, listen, Nora, this is going to work. Shane is leaving for a business conference in Nashville Friday morning and he won’t be back until Sunday. We just wait until he’s gone and then we go. By the time he’s back, we’ll already be there and he won’t have suspected anything.”

“Do you remember what happened the last time you came up with one of these hare-brained schemes?”

“He won’t find out, Nora. I promise.”

She sighed, “Alright,” and even through the phone I could hear her smile. Come Friday, we’d be in downtown Pittsburgh, seeing Sigur Ros live for the first time.

---

“Emergency numbers are on the fridge. I left you 40 dollars for pizza or gas or whatever it is you might need. Make sure you keep all the doors and windows locked, and don’t answer the door for anyone you don’t know. Mrs. Wilson is right next door if you need anything—“ Shane took a deep breath in. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay here by yourself? You could come with me. It’s a pretty cool hotel. They even have an arcade.”

“Shane, I’m fine, seriously. Go, have fun, or whatever it is you do at business conferences.”

“I’m just worried about you, kiddo. I know you’re bummed about the concert.”

“Seriously, Shane, I’m fine. Go,” I said, forcefully, ready to push him out the door.

“Alright. Don’t do anything you’re not supposed to, okay?” He put an arm around my shoulders and gave me a kiss on the top of my head. “Have a good weekend, kiddo. Be careful.”

“I will.”

“Love you,” he said as he walked out the front door.

“Love you too.” I watched as he pulled out of the driveway and waved goodbye, then immediately called Nora, telling her I’d be on my way in 20 minutes, and then we would be on the road to Pittsburgh.

---

“Oh my God!” I screamed, gripping the steering wheel so hard my knuckles started to turn white. “That was amazing!”

“I know!” Nora squealed, as excited as me. “I mean, I knew they were good. But who could have thought a live performance could be that amazing!”

“It has to be in our top 5 if not our number 1 for sure,” I said, looking over at her and then turning my eyes back to the road. We were initially going to get a hotel in Pittsburgh, but then we thought it would be better just to come straight home afterwards. Less chance of getting into trouble that way.

She sighed, smiling at me, “We have to do this again sometime, Leah. I had so much fun.”

“I know. Me too.” I turned on the radio, not wanting this moment to turn into love confessions on my end. “Let’s check out the weather. I heard there might be snow along I-71.”

We stayed quiet as we turned onto the highway, listening to music and waiting for the weather report. Everything was clear until we reached just outside of Columbus, and then snow started coming down like crazy. My windshield wipers could barely keep up with it. I couldn’t see anything. The road quickly turned from clear and dry to being caked with snow and ice.

“Leah, maybe you better pull over.”

“Nora, I’m fine. Just let me concentrate.”

“Leah, this doesn’t look good. You can’t drive in this. Pull over!”

“Nora…”

“Leah, please.”

I sighed, “I’ll get off at the next exit.” She was right. I couldn’t drive in this. Not when it was snowing like this, not this late at night. We’d have to get a hotel.

I got off and pulled into a Holiday Inn. Nora and I walked up to the front desk and asked if they had any rooms available.

“I’m going to need to see some ID,” the woman at the desk told us.

I handed over my driver’s license and she looked over it with scrutiny. “You’re only 16?”

“Yeah, is that a problem?” I asked.

“Where’s your parent or guardian? Are they with you?”

“No, they’re not. Is that a problem?”

“Ma’am, can I see your ID?” the woman asked Nora.

“She’s 16, too. It’s not going to make a difference.”

“I’m going to need to call your parents, ladies. Standard procedure if you want a room.”

“Uh, never mind. Thank you. We’ll just head back home.”

“Well, that was a bust,” Nora muttered under her breath.

“Yeah, tell me about it. We’ll just find a Walmart somewhere and sleep in the car.”

---

I woke up to a knocking sound against the window. Startled, I glanced up and saw what looked like a security guard, telling me to open my window.  I turned on the car and opened it. “Is there a problem, officer?” I asked.

“What are you girls doing out here this morning?” I looked around, and then at the clock, noticing that it was 4 in the morning.

I hesitated, but Nora spoke for me. “We got caught in the storm, and thought it would be best to pull off and find a place to stay for the night. We knew Walmart let people stay in their parking lot and we didn’t have money for a hotel, so we thought we’d stay here.”

“Can I see some identification, ladies?” he asked us

“Uh, sure,” we answered simultaneously. I pulled my license out of my wallet and handed it to him, then handed him Nora’s.

“Kentucky, huh? And I see you’re both only 16 years old. Not to mention out past the state curfew and far from home. I’m going to need to bring you into the station with me so we can call your parents.

“Sir, my brother is in Nashville this weekend at a business conference. That’s 6 hours away. There’s no way he can make it up here. Please, just let us drive back home.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, ma’am. You’ve gotta come with me.”

I sighed, and looked over at Nora, who could only shrug in defeat. We got out of the car and followed him to his car, locking the doors behind us and grabbing our belongings to take with us.

---

Nora and I sat in front of the officer’s desk at the police station, as he dialed first Nora’s parents’ number and then my brother’s.  Because my brother was in Nashville, Nora’s parents agreed they would come and pick us both up, taking me back to my car. Either her mom or dad would ride with Nora and me, so that I could take my car back to Louisville without having to have it towed.

When I made it back to my house, it was already late in the afternoon that Saturday and my brother’s car was in the driveway.  Nora gave me a sympathetic look. Her dad walked me up to the door, and rang the doorbell for me.

“Your sister’s back, safe and sound, Shane.”

“Thank you, Mr. Holloway.”

“Be a little more careful, next time, Leah, alright?”

“Yeah,” I whispered. Shane politely waved goodbye, waiting until they had left the driveway, then grabbing me by my upper arm and pulling me harshly inside the house, turning me to smack me on my bottom, not once, not twice, but three times.

“What was going through your head, Leah Marie McCutcheon!? After I specifically told you no, nonetheless!”

“I’m sorry,” I whimpered, rubbing my bottom. “I just really wanted to go.”

“I don’t even know where to begin. That concert was 6 hours away, in a city you don’t know and aren’t familiar with! The roads were icy! You barely have any experience driving yet, let alone on the highway! Do you realize what could have happened, Leah!? Do you even understand the seriousness of what you did!?”

“It’s no big deal. I’m okay. I’m fine,” I answered, still rubbing my bottom.

He grabbed me by my upper arm again and smacked my bottom again, once, twice, three times. “It most certainly is a big deal, young lady! You deliberately disobeyed me! You lied to me! You went behind my back and you put your life and Nora’s life in danger!” he shouted angrily.

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t say no to hear myself talk. I say no for your own safety. You are 16 years old, Leah. 16. You are not old enough to do things like this on your own yet. PERIOD. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, sir,” I muttered, hanging my head.

“Go upstairs to your room and wait for me in the corner. I will be up in a few minutes and we will continue this conversation there.” He pointed to the stairs.

I sighed, climbing the stairs and wiping my eyes. When I got to my room, I went to the one empty corner and stood there, leaning my forehead against the wall and wondering how I could have been so stupid as to think I would get away with this.

Barely any time went by before I heard my brother come in behind me and close the door. “Come here, Leah,” he said.

I turned around and walked towards where he was sitting on the bed. He pulled me in front of him and grabbed my wrists so I’d look at him instead of trying to cover my face. “I love you, Leah. And I want you to be safe. When I took you in, that was the promise I made, that I’d keep you safe, I’d take care of you and I’d protect you. That’s my job now, not just as your brother, but also as your guardian, and I don’t take it lightly. You are my responsibility, whether you like it or not. And when I tell you, you can’t do something or go somewhere, it’s not to because I’m trying to be an ass and it’s not because I like to hear myself talk. It’s for your own safety.”

I looked at him, tears starting to well up in my eyes.

“You are 16. You just got your license a couple of months ago. You have no experience in this kind of weather. You’ve never been to Pittsburgh. You’ve never driven that far by yourself. You’re not familiar with the routes or the cities along the way. You’ve never travelled anywhere by yourself before. And to be quite honest, it is dangerous for two 16-year-old girls to be downtown at night by themselves anyway, let alone in a city you’re not familiar with. You can wait until you’re older, and more experienced and more knowledgeable. You could have died last night, Leah. You could have killed someone else. You could have gotten mugged or robbed or raped.”

More tears started to stream down my face, “I’m sorry, Shane.”

“Do you understand why I said no?”

I nodded. “Yes.” I wanted to wipe my eyes, but he wouldn’t let go of my wrists.

“So you understand that I have to punish you for this?”

“Shane, please…” I whined, trying to pull away from him, but he pulled back.

“Leah, no. You deliberately disobeyed me. You’re getting a spanking, and I mean it. End of discussion.” He let go of my wrists. “Now pull down your jeans, please.”

I whined but unbuttoned and unzipped them anyway, pulling them down to my knees. Shane grabbed my hand and guided me over his lap, adjusting me before pulling down my panties. I reached my hand back, and he grabbed ahold of it, giving it a gentle squeeze, before raining down a flurry of smacks on my bottom. He whaled on my bottom, from side to side, even my thighs and my sitspots. He didn’t let up, and I couldn’t remember another time that he had spanked me this hard or for this long. Finally he stopped, and by the time he did, I was sobbing, burying my face into my pillow.

But then I felt him move behind me, and I realized it wasn’t over. I felt something smooth, like wood, on my bottom. “I’m going to give you one more spanking with the hairbrush and then we’re finished, okay? This will never happen again, Leah, is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good girl,” he said, before raising the hairbrush and crashing it down on my bottom. I bit my lip, trying not to scream anymore, but failed. Within moments, I was screaming again, and sobbing, and begging him to stop. Eventually, he did, finishing up with a barrage of swats to my thighs.

I only knew he was finished because he was rubbing my back, trying to soothe me. “It’s over, Leah. I’m done. I’m finished. You’re okay. Shh. You’re okay.” When I’d finally calmed down and stopped crying, he pulled my panties back up and lifted me to sit beside him. “Have you learned your lesson?”

I nodded.

“Then I’m not going to take your car away, Leah. Count yourself lucky.”

That almost set me off in tears again. “Thank you,” I said as he hugged me.

“You’re welcome.” He kissed my forehead. “You are grounded for the rest of break, though.”

“Okay,” I muttered, defeated.

“I love you sis. Get some sleep. I’m sure you need it.”

With that, he left the room, turning off the light to let me rest.

Procrastinator's Oblivion

Kristy is a Creative Writing major in college and she has problems with procrastinating, skipping classes, and in general, not taking care of herself. Her mentor, Heath, tries to help her correct those problems. Will Kristy learn?

----

“So what are you going to do?”

Heath’s words played through my mind on repeat as I sat in front of my computer screen, facing yet another blank page at 2:00 in the morning.

“Tell me”, he said, as he smacked me with that damn paddle over and over again. “What are you going to do?”

“I’ll do my homework on time! I won’t procrastinate!” I promised, screaming at the top of my lungs.

“And?” he asked, slapping me again with that damn thing. “What else?”

“I’ll take care of myself.”

“And how are you going to do that?”  I didn’t answer, but sobbed instead. I don’t think he liked that.  “How are you going to do that?” he asked again, this time enunciating more harshly. I still remained silent. “Hmm, Kristy? Tell me, what are you going to do?” He smacked me again with the paddle. “Do I have to get the belt?”

“No!” I screamed, “No!”

“Then tell me what you’re going to do.” He hit me again.

“I’m going to do my homework on time! I won’t procrastinate! I’ll go to sleep at a reasonable hour! I’ll eat healthier!”

“That’s what I want to hear,” he said, slapping me again and again. “Just a little more to drive this lesson home. I don’t want to do this again. Do you understand me, Kris?”

“Yes, sir.”

“If I find out that you haven’t improved, the spanking you get will be much worse. Do you understand me?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good,” he said, slapping me one more time with the paddle. “Get up. Stand in the corner. Don’t come out until I tell you to.”

It had been about 2 weeks ago that I’d gotten that spanking. And as I sat there in front of my computer at 2:00 in the morning, with a 7-page paper due in less than 10 hours and nothing written, I realized that if Heath found out he was going to kill me, which he would probably do anyway, as I’d been ignoring all his calls and e-mails checking in on me.

I mean, it’s not like my first drafts are that awful, and it’s not like it takes me that long to write a paper once I get started.  I’m an English major. I’ve mastered the art of bullshitting. I can write just about anything for a class and still end up with a C on it when I’m at my worst. The problem was, I was capable of being a 4.0 student. If I was actually motivated, I probably could have gotten into an Ivy League college. I could have gone to Brown or Harvard or Yale. But instead I ended up going to college an hour away from home. It wasn’t a bad school, but it wasn’t Ivy League. Like I said, motivation issues. And Heath, my mentor, was determined to turn me into the student and person that he knew I could be, that I knew I could be. So why was I sitting here at 2:00 in the morning with nothing written for a paper that was worth a fifth of my grade?

At least he doesn’t know that I’ve been skipping classes, I thought. Then I shuddered, thinking about what would happen if he did. My spankings were bad enough as it was. I didn’t want to think about how Heath would react if he knew that I was also skipping classes almost every week.

“You know you can do better,” Heath told me. “You’re an intelligent young woman. Why aren’t you acting like it?”

“I don’t know,” I whispered.

“Don’t you want to be successful? Don’t you want to write for a living? Isn’t that why you came to college? So you’d understand your craft better?”

“Yes, sir,” I whispered again.

“You can do so much better than this. I want you to forget about what everyone else has ever told you and listen to me. You are an intelligent young woman and if you’d just put your mind to it, I guarantee you that you could be one of the greats.” He paused, looking me in the eye, “But what have you been doing instead?”

“Slacking off,” I said.

“And in the process you’ve jeopardized your future and your health. Well, we’re going to fix that today, Kristy. Over my knee, now, and no whining. You don’t want to make this worse than it already is.”

My phone vibrated. I looked down at it to see one text message, from Heath. Why hadn’t I noticed that before?

We need to talk. ASAP. Call me in the morning.  

I groaned, for two reasons. First, because I now realized that within the next 24 hours or so (because it was a weekend), I’d inevitably be receiving a far worse spanking than I’d gotten 2 weeks prior to this date. Second, because it dawned on me that with this new revelation, there was no way I was going to be able to get this paper done. So I opened my e-mail, sent one to my teacher asking for an extension and hoped for the best, going to bed afterwards because I knew that if I showed up at Heath’s place the next day also sleep-deprived, I would be in even worse trouble than I already was.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of my phone vibrating. “What?” I groaned, half asleep. Then I looked at the clock; it read: 12:30; and picked up my phone. Heath. “Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.” Not only had I overslept for my class but I’d also forgotten to call Heath. “Hello,” I answered, trying to sound as awake as possible.

“Didn’t I tell you to call me this morning, Kris? Why didn’t you?”

“Because I overslept.”

“How late did you stay up last night?”

“Um… not too late?”

“Kristy, how late did you stay up last night?” he said again, this time with more authority in his voice.

“I didn’t fall asleep until about 3:45, okay?”

He sighed, exasperated. “What time was your first class?”

“You’re gonna be furious,” I whispered.

“I’m already furious. You may as well tell the truth.”

“I missed it, okay. It was at 11:00.”

“Didn’t you have a paper due for that class?”

“Sorta.”

“How do you just sorta have a paper due for class?” He waited for me to respond and when I didn’t, “Wait, did you just not do it?”

“I asked for an extension,” I whined.

“And did she grant it to you?”

“I don’t know,” I whispered. “I haven’t checked yet.”

“Kristy, I want you to come here tonight, straight after your next class. Do you hear me?”

“Yes, sir,” I muttered.

“And don’t even think about missing your next class. Do you understand me, young lady?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Okay, I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Bye, Heath,” and with that he hung up.

I shuddered and started thinking about what had happened the last time. Why hadn’t I thought about what would happen until now? Was I stupid? Did I really think I could get away without even trying to improve? He was right. I was smart. So what the hell was I doing with my time?

Youtube videos. Crazy cat antics. Ellen DeGeneres. The books that I wasn’t supposed to read. Japanese mangas. Stardust. American Gods. Carrie. Eat Pray Love. National Geographic. Stories about the dying rainforest. Calvin and Hobbes. Facebook. The New Yorker. Literary magazines. The occasional fairy tale. Chinese dramas. He couldn’t argue that most of what I was doing was educational, could he?

I guessed that Heath would have a different answer to that.

“You are so much better than this.” I kept hearing Heath’s voice in my head, the entire day, replaying the last time I had seen him even as I was sitting in class. I tried to pay attention. But I couldn’t. It didn’t even matter that this was my favorite class. I just couldn’t get myself to participate in the discussion on The Picture of Dorian Gray, which was a book I loved. I hoped my teacher didn’t notice. If he asked, I’d just claim that I’d been having a bad day, which wasn’t really far from the truth. But it was about to get a lot worse.

“Get up,” Heath demanded, “and get me the paddle.”

“No,” I whined.

“Do you want something else too, Kristy? Because it’s about to be a lot worse if you don’t do as I say. Now go get me the paddle and come back here,” he smacked me twice as he stood me up. I complied and went over to the drawer where he kept his implements for me, drawing out the paddle I knew he would want, long and thick, 8 holes, 4 on each side, and handed it to him. “Good girl. Back over my knee.” He guided me over his lap and restrained my legs. I started crying, and reached out for his left hand for comfort. “I’m only doing this for your own good, Kris. I promise,” and with that he raised the paddle, and I screamed out in bloody murder, squeezing his hand and trying not to reach back.

“I expect you to be here by 5:00,” he said to me over the phone as I was packing my duffel bag. I’d undoubtedly be spending the night. “Call me if you’re going to be late. And don’t use your phone while you’re driving. I don’t want you to get into an accident, okay?”

“Okay, Heath. I won’t use my phone unless I’m off the road. I promise.”

“Good. I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Yeah, see you in a bit,” I whispered, and hung up the phone, already remorseful. Though, I doubted that being remorseful would matter any.

Heath lived about 30 minutes away from me, on the other side of town. We’d actually met in an English class. At the time, he was a super senior, having taken the fifth year to complete his degree, and I was a sophomore. We’d hit it off right away, becoming good friends in a matter of about a week. We started hanging out with each other and it was only by accident that the topic of spanking had come up. The fact that he might also be part of the community had never crossed my mind. People like me were so hard to find. I’d given up hope of ever finding a mentor who wasn’t also interested in taking advantage of me. It seemed like they didn’t exist. Then I found Heath and he started mentoring me. Now, I was a junior in college, and it felt like I’d known him forever. After all, there wasn’t much I could think of that he didn’t know about me.

As I drove, I listened to NPR, hoping that maybe I could focus my mind on something other than what I knew was about to happen. On any ordinary day, I’d find the interviews, eclectic music and stories of Middle Eastern conflict fascinating. Growing up, I’d always been the girl with my nose in a book, the attentive listener. I was fascinated with learning everything I could and usually soaked up information like a sponge. Unfortunately, I also had issues with accepting authority. If someone told me to read something or to do something, I automatically didn’t want to do it. That’s something else Heath and I had been working on. I’d recently become more compliant in my spankings, but only because I wanted to be better and didn’t want to disappoint Heath. I’d looked my entire life for someone like him and I didn’t want to screw that up. Not now.

I sighed as I turned down Heath’s road and pulled up to his driveway. Unbuckling my seatbelt, I looked at the clock on my phone. 5:00. Right on time. “Here we go,” I muttered as I grabbed my duffel bag from the passenger side of the car and walked up to the front door of his house. I didn’t even have to knock. He was already standing there, a look of disappointment spread across his face. “Come in,” he said, opening the door to his living room.

“Hi,” I said, giving him a slight smile and looking up at him as if to say, I’m sorry.

He hugged me and rubbed my back, kissing the top of my head. “Go put your stuff in the guest room. Wait for me there. I’ll be in in just a moment.”

I nodded and walked down the hall to a room that was essentially mine. Heath didn’t have any other mentees. If anyone else ever used this room, it was his family when they came to visit, maybe another friend here or there. But seeing as I spent more time with him than anybody else, I doubted if there were too many other people who slept in this room and definitely no one else who got spanked in it. Ugh, that word. I sat down on the bed and started biting my fingernails, realizing what I had coming to me.

“You’re better than this. What happened to the Kris I know?”

“I don’t know.”

“You know what you’re worth, Kristy. So go out and get what you’re worth. Stop fooling around like this,” he lifted his hand and started spanking again.

The door opened and I almost jumped out of my skin. “Oh, hi,” I muttered.

Heath lifted my duffel bag off the bed and sat down next to me. “What am I going to do with you?” I didn’t answer, assuming it was a rhetorical question. “So why haven’t you been answering any of my calls or e-mails?”

“I’ve been busy.” I looked down at my hands, refusing to look him in the eye.

“Really? Too busy to have a few 5 minute conversations with me here and there? I was just calling to check up on you. Were you afraid of something?” I didn’t answer. “Could it be that you haven’t been doing what we agreed upon?” Again, no answer. “I asked you a question, Kristy.”

“No.”

“No? No what, Kristy?”

“No, I haven’t been doing what I’m supposed to be doing.”

“You’ve been procrastinating?” I nodded. “Did your teacher give you the extension?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, at least you have that going for you.” He paused. “What else haven’t you been doing? I heard you stayed up late again last night. Is that pretty typical?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And how late have you been staying up on a regular basis?”

“Until 4:00 some days. 2:00 on others,” I whispered.

“Is that because you wait to do your homework until the last minute?” I nodded. “Well that stops today. Do you hear me?” I nodded again. “What about eating?”

“Heath, please, do we have to talk about this?”

“Kris, I’m not going to ask you again. Have you been eating like you’re supposed to?” I shook my head. “And why not?”

“I don’t know. I don’t have time.”

“Make the time. Do you hear me?” I nodded. “Okay. Stand up. Go to the corner, hands on your head. Feet against the wall.” I stood up but hesitated. He grabbed my arm and smacked me a few times over my jeans. “You heard me. To the corner, now.”

“Heath, please,” I begged, turning around, “be reasonable.”

“If this isn’t reasonable, Kris, then I don’t know what is. You’ve deliberately disobeyed the rules we agreed upon. And you’ve jeopardized your school, your future and your health yet again. Now stand in the corner, hands on your head, thinking about the punishment I’m about to give you and how you’re going to avoid it in the future. Don’t make me tell you again.” He smacked my bum one more time.

I whined but obeyed him, hands on my head, and stood there, waiting for my imminent doom, thinking about what was about to happen. As I stood there, I heard him rustling around in the drawer, probably trying to find a suitable instrument. 15 minutes went by and I was shaking the whole time.

“You can do better than this. You know you can do better.”

“Okay, Kristy, come here,” he said.

I turned around and walked towards him, only to see that god-awful hairbrush and the evil spoon sitting next to him on the bed. “No,” I whined, stamping my foot on the ground.

“Shh, Kris,” he said, putting a finger up to my lips to hush me. “Stop your squirming. Listen to me, okay? This is what’s going to happen. I’m going to take you over my knee and give you a warm up over your jeans. I’ll lift you up and take your pants down. I’ll spank you over your panties but after that, everything is going to be bare-bottomed.” I whined. “Don’t even try to get out of this. You’ve known you had this coming for a long time. Didn’t you?” I nodded. “Then take it like a big girl, okay?” I nodded again. “I’m also going to spank you with the hairbrush and the belt.” He picked up the spoon. “And I’m going to give you a few strokes with this to remind you of what’s going to happen the next time we have to go over this. But there’s not going to be a next time, is there?”

“No, sir.”

“Okay, come on. Over my lap.”

“Heath, I’m sorry!”

“I know you are, but that doesn’t change anything.”

“But,” I started.

“Do you want extras?”

“No, sir.”

“Then over my lap. Now.” He helped me over and restrained my legs with his. Rubbing my back for a bit, he began his lecture again. “Do you remember when you told me what your professors were saying about you?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then you know that you can do better. You’re barely managing a 2.8 and yet your teachers are still telling you that you’d do well in graduate school and that you’re an asset to the department. Can you imagine what they would say if you actually put effort into what you were doing, Kristy?” He began spanking me, from one side to another. I started whimpering. “And what is it with the sleep deprivation and starving yourself? How many hours of sleep should you be getting, Kristy?”

“I don’t know, sir,” I whispered.

“You don’t know, really?” I could tell he was shaking his head at me. “Well, we’ll see if you know after this.” He gave me some really hard spanks. “Do you want to try that again?”

“More than what I’m getting.”

“Let’s try about 6 to 8. How many are you getting now?”

“Probably about 3 to 5.”

“That’s also stopping today. Do you hear me? You’ll be going to bed early tonight.” He started hitting my thighs.

“Heath! Please, stop! I’ll do better! I promise!”

“I know you will, especially after I’m through with you.”

“Heath…” I whined, reaching my hand back to block the spanking.

“Kris, stop it right now.  I can go all night, and I will if you don’t stop.”

I put my hands back in front of me and bit down on my lip, trying to stifle my screams as Heath slammed his hand against my backside over and over again.

“Get up,” Heath said after a couple of minutes, grabbing my hands and lifting me up on his own. “Pull down your pants.”

I reluctantly complied, standing on my shaky legs, quivering as I unbuttoned my jeans and pulled them down to my knees. “That’s good,” said Heath, pulling me gently back towards him. “Come on, back over.”

Heath pulled me over his knee, and lifted his hand up again, palm hitting against my already tender flesh repeatedly and I was reminded once again of my last spanking and how I’d managed to end up here, once again. I was getting too old for this crap.

For a moment, I felt him stop, but only to pick up the hairbrush that was sitting next to him. He rammed it down on my backside, and I let out a scream of bloody murder. It was as if I had seen the ghost of Hamlet’s father. “You will start taking care of yourself. You will not wait until midnight to start your papers. You are going to go to sleep early, and you’re going to eat 3 meals a day. Do you understand me?”

I whined, crying into my still trembling hands. He hit me on my right thigh with the hairbrush, with more force than I thought he was capable of mustering. “I said, do you understand me, young lady?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good.” He picked the hairbrush back up and hit me a few more times, before standing me up and having me lean over the bed. At this point, I was racked with sobs, too exhausted to even entertain the thought of fighting him. I just fell into the mattress, waiting for him to lay the first blow of the belt onto my flesh.

Behind me, I heard the sound of his belt jingling, sliding it through the loops of his jeans, the rustling of the leather as he folded it and then the snap as it landed first on my left thigh.

“Ahaooo!” I shrieked, jumping up and reaching my hand back to block the lashes from coming.

Heath pushed me back gently onto the bed. “Stay still, Kris.”

I buried my face in my hands and bit my lip, preparing myself for the next blow. It came, and then quickly after that, the next one. It felt as though time sped up and slowed down all at once. I pushed myself further into the mattress, briefly hoping that maybe if I pushed far and hard enough, I’d find myself elsewhere. No such luck. It was all I could do to keep from reaching back or kicking my legs. Heath, hitting me with the belt, over and over, and my screams, piercing the room… louder than the sounds of the snapping belt against my naked flesh.

And just like that, the slaps stopped, but my screaming continued, piercing the night. “I’m sorry, Heath. I’m sorry,” I sobbed. His hand, gently touching my back, different now, calmer… the anger gone from it. “I’m so—so—rry.” I buried my face in the sheets. “Please,” I struggled to get out as he brushed my hair out of my eyes. “I can’t take anymore.”

He sat down next to me, pulling my hair back and looking at me, concerned. “Okay, we’re done,” he answered. “I’m done.” He rubbed my back, trying to calm me down.

Heath saw me broken and he stopped. Eventually my screaming stopped. I fell asleep with my pants around my legs and Heath’s voice, trying to calm me down.

That year, I finished with a 3.5 GPA, somehow managing to make it to the Dean’s List, despite everything.

First Party

Leah goes to a party and gets drunk. Neither Shane or Anthony are happy about it.

----

“She walks in beauty, like the night

   Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that’s best of dark and bright

   Meet in her aspect and her eyes;

Thus mellowed to that tender light

   Which heaven to gaudy day denies.”

Lord Byron “She Walks in Beauty”

I am suspended at the edge of a light beam. All that glows around me is made of gold. She walks in beauty before me, and I am reminded of that day in class when we read Lord Byron. She walks in beauty, like the night / Of cloudless climes and starry skies. Nora stands in front of me in a long flowing dress. I hear her voice, distant, like an angel’s and my vision, hazy. Leah. Her hands reach towards me and I wonder for a brief moment if she’s going to kiss me. Then I feel a shake, like an earthquake

“Leah!”

“What, huh?” I focus my eyes. “Oh, Nora. How you doing? You enjoying this party!?”

“Listen, we need to go home,” she says, looking me in the eyes.

“Woo-hoo! Don’t you wanna keep partying!?”

She hands me her cell phone. “Call Shane,” she says.

“Blech,” I roll my eyes. “Shane’s no fun. But fine, for you,” I say, bopping her nose, “Just for you,” and make a pitiful attempt at dialing the number before she sighs and takes the phone from me, dialing it herself.

“Shane? I’m sorry. It’s Nora. We went to a party after the dance and… uh, I had a little to drink. But Leah’s completely wasted. Neither of us can drive, can you pick us up?”

“Yo, is that Shane? Yo, yo, yo. Hand me the phone.” I tilt the phone away from Nora’s ear so I can shout. “It’s a party in the USA, Shane! Woo!” and take another gulp of my beer.

“Leah, stop it!” Nora half shouts, half whispers, and grabs the beer away from me, placing it on the counter behind her. “Yeah, it’s on Evendale. Please get here soon, Shane. Thanks.”

She hangs up the phone and I grab the beer again, taking another gulp. Party music is blasting in the background. People are dancing. It’s loud and there’s some girls passed out on the couch. Nora seizes the beer from my hand. “Seriously, Leah. Stop it.” And dumps the rest of the beer on the floor.

“Hey, what the fuck? That’s good beer!”

“Yeah, and now it’s good beer on the floor. You drank too much. Come on, let’s go,” she shouts, sharply, and grabs my hand, pulling me through the crowd and outside to the curb, a few doors down, to wait for Shane.

“What are we doing, here?” I ask, leaning my head on her shoulder.

“We’re here to wait for Shane. Too many stupid mistakes for one night,” she mutters.

I groan. “Mneh, okay,” placing my head on her shoulder and dozing off for awhile, when I hear a man’s voice, telling me it’s time to go and a foot gently tapping my leg.

“Oh, hey Shane,” I say, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to pick you up, kiddo. Get in the car.”

“I don’t see a car,” I mutter, stumbling to my feet. “Where is it?”

Shane sighs and grabs my arm. I can feel Nora’s hand on my back, gently pushing me forward, and I’m being helped into my brother’s car. By the time the engine is put into gear, I’ve already fallen back into sleep and find myself suspending once again on the edge of a light beam.

---

Leah… Leah. Somebody’s shaking my arm, but I don’t want to move. It’s so warm and comfortable—“Leah!!”

“Wha—what,” I mumble, like I’ve just been woken up from a dream. I look up and see what looks like my brother’s face, but it’s so blurry, I can hardly make it out, “Where are we?”

“We’re home. Come on, inside,” he says, holding out his hand to help me out. I topple face first towards the pavement, but he catches me before I hit the ground. I giggle, “Some party, huh?”

“You’re drunk, Leah.”

“No, no, I’m just happy.” I poke my brother’s chest and look up at him, “You could use a little of that couldn’t you? You look kinda grumpy.”

“Alright, inside, Leah. Now,” he enunciates, as he half pushes, half carries me to the front door.

---

I wake up the next morning, delirious and dizzy, stomach churning and growling. My face is stuck to the floor and my head is pounding. Somehow, I manage to lift my head and find myself in the bathroom, next to the toilet, which I had apparently thrown up in all night, judging by what it looked like. I rubbed my eyes and groaned, trying to remember what had happened, how I had gotten back home.

“Oh shit.” I paused, shaking my head, “No. No. There must be some other explanation. Maybe this is Nora’s bathroom. Maybe she brought me back to her place.” But it was Shane and Anthony’s towels, and Shane and Anthony’s toothbrushes and Shane’s electric razor and Anthony’s blowdryer, and their shower and their bathtub and the walls were the same light blue as Shane and Anthony’s bathroom. And, oh shit, I was dead. I was really, really dead.

I looked frantically around me for my phone. I tried to check my pockets, but I wasn’t wearing the same jeans as the night before, just my pajamas. I guess Shane had helped me into them the night before. There was even a pillow and a blanket,that I had somehow managed to kick off in the middle of the night, on the other side of the bathroom.

“Ugh,” I groaned, slapping my hand to my forehead. “How could I be such an idiot!? They’re going to kill me.”

At that moment, I heard a gentle rapping on the door and buried my head into my knees, trying to hide my face from whoever showed up, Shane or his husband, Anthony.

“Leah,” he said softly.

I looked up, confused when I saw it was Anthony instead of Shane. “Where’s Shane?” I asked.

“He had a conference in Lexington today. Don’t you remember?”

“ I guess not,” I muttered, pulling my knees closer to my chest.

“You got yourself pretty trashed last night.” I buried my face into my knees again. “What were you thinking, Leah? Huh, can you tell me that?”

I didn’t say anything, just tried to make myself as small as I could, shrinking further and further into myself, pulling my knees closer and closer, burying my face deeper and deeper and turning it away from Anthony. “I don’t know,” I whined. I felt like shit. My stomach was empty but somehow I thought I might throw up again. My head still pounded, like my heart had somehow crept its’ way into my temples.

He sighed. “Shane will be home later tonight. I want you to take a shower and get dressed and come downstairs for breakfast.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, looking up at him, my eyes beginning to water.

“We’ll discuss it downstairs. Shower, now,” he demanded, pointing and giving me a stern look as if to say, “You’d better if you know what’s coming to you.”

I nodded, wiping my eyes, as he closed the door to give me some privacy. I could have gone to my bathroom, but my head was pounding and I couldn’t bare the thought of walking down to the other end of the hallway before having to climb into the other tub. So I turned on the water all the way until I could see the steam rising from the showerhead, took off my shirt and pajama pants and underwear piece by piece and stepped in, letting the water rush over me and ease at least some of the pain that was radiating throughout my body.

When I was finished, I grabbed a towel to dry my hair, then wrapped it around my body and walked down to the hall to my room to get dressed—sweatpants, a t-shirt and a hoodie—I wouldn’t be feeling up for anything else today, and walked downstairs to the kitchen where Anthony was sitting at the table with a plate of eggs and a stack of papers, grading. He looked up upon hearing me come downstairs, and gestured to the chair across from him for me to sit.

“So, Leah, tell me about what happened last night,” he said, leaning back and folding his arms.

“We got invited to this party and I really wanted to go. So Nora picked me up and we went.”

“After you explicitly told Shane and I both that you were just going to the movies and then to spend the night at Nora’s house.”

“So maybe it was a little white lie.”

“That’s a little more than a white lie, Leah. What happened after that?” he asked, choosing to ignore the white lie for the moment.

“We got there, and there was beer and some wine coolers and some other stuff. I don’t remember what. Some guys offered us some beers and I decided it would be alright if I just had one but then one turned into two and two turned into three and it just got out of hand.”

Anthony unfolded his arms and leaned forward looking me in the eye. “Listen, Leah, Shane and I understand that you’re curious and that you’re going to want to drink from time to time. But if you’re going to a party, we want you to tell us. And if you’re curious about alcohol, we’d rather it be under our supervision. You are under NO circumstances to drive after you’ve been drinking, do you understand me? I don’t care if it’s one shot of whiskey or 1 sip of beer. You are to call either Shane or me and we will pick you up, okay? And I know if Nora hadn’t called last night, you would have driven yourself.”

“No I wouldn’t have,” I argued.

“Do not lie to me, young lady. Shane told me you were trying to convince him to let you drive when he got there and that you were planning on it.”

I looked down at my hands. “Maybe I did. I don’t remember. It’s a blur.”

“That’s what happens when you get passed out drunk like that, Leah. Do you like how it feels?”

“No,” I whined.

“Good. Hopefully that will be a deterrent, then.” He paused, letting a few moments of silence pass between us. “Do you feel up to eating anything?” I shook my head, holding my hand to my stomach. “Alright, go upstairs to your room then and take it easy. We’ll talk more when Shane comes home.”

---

“Knock, knock.” I heard my brother say from outside my door, waking me up from my nap. He opened the door, and sat down next to me on my bed.

“We need to have a talk, kiddo,” he said, patting my knee.

I looked at the clock beside my bed. 7 PM. Had I really been asleep that long?

“Do you know how foolish and irresponsible what you did was?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“You really understand, then? How utterly dangerous and disrespectful and irresponsible that was? First of all, you lied to Anthony and me. You told us you were going to the movies and then to spend the night at Nora’s. Then you went to a party where you got drunk and you were planning on driving home. Had Nora not called, and gotten me there, you could have killed yourself or someone else, do you realize that?”

I buried my face into my hands, trying to hide from him. “Look at me when I’m talking to you, Leah.”

“I’m sorry,” I cried.

“I know you are. I know. And I know you’re curious about alcohol. But if you’re going to drink, I want it to be under my supervision. You’re to tell me if you’re going to a party where there’s alcohol involved. And if you do drink, I want you to call me. You might be in trouble for going to the party, but it’s better than ending up dead in a ditch somewhere.” He paused. “Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good, but none of that changes what you did. Stand up. You’re getting a spanking, Leah Marie.”

“Shane, no! Come on, I learned my lesson! I won’t do it again!”

“I’m glad to hear that. But I’m spanking you for what you did, not for what you might do in the future. Stand up, pants down.”

I stood up, but that didn’t mean I stopped whining. “Shane, please, no.” I covered my bottom with my hands.

“Leah,” he warned, “Pants down. NOW.”

“Noo.”

“One… two…”

“Shane, please, I’m 16 years old. Can’t we solve this any other way?”

“Three…”

“Shane…”

He grabbed my arm and turned me around, smacking me three times on the seat of my pants. “I mean it, Leah. Pants down now, unless you want me to take them down myself.”

I whined. “Fine,” I muttered, pulling them down and lying across his lap before he could yell at me again.

He rubbed my back. “I love you, Leah, but I’m not going to tolerate this sort of behavior.” With that, he lifted his palm and started smacking my bottom from side to side, left cheek, right cheek, left sitspot, right sitspot, left thigh, right thigh, before pulling my panties down and continuing the same pattern. He spanked me for 5, maybe 10 minutes, straight without stopping.

I was panting by the time he stopped and I made the mistake of trying to get up but he pushed me back down. “Oh no, we’re not done here, Leah. You lied to me, went to a party behind my back, got wasted and tried to convince me to let you drive home. You are not finished.”

I felt him move behind me to pick something up. “Shane, what are you doing?” I asked.

He smacked me, once. “Shh,” he answered. “Not a word.”  I felt him turn around again to pick whatever it was up and then what felt like wood on my bottom. “I’m giving you a final spanking with this paddle. When we’re done here, you’re going to write me a paper on the dangers of drinking and driving and explain to me exactly why what you did was wrong and why you’re never going to do it again, do you understand me?”

“Shane…”

He hit me once with the paddle. “Do you understand?”

I screamed. “Oww, yes, I understand!”

“Good.” He lifted the paddle high in the air and continued the same rhythm as before, over and over again, from left to right, up and down. I kicked and screamed, until I was crying and then sobbing and limp over his lap. He didn’t speak much during the spanking. If he did, I couldn’t hear him, just my own cries. He spanked me for what felt like hours but was probably only 10 minutes and then stopped, rubbing my back as I sobbed.

“Was it worth it?” he asked me. “Was the party worth it?”

“No, sir,” I sniffled.

He sighed and I pushed myself up from his lap, accepting his hug. “You worry me, Leah,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry,” I answered.

He kissed the top of my head and let go of me. “I know. You’re forgiven.” He handed me my pants back and started walking towards the door. “You can give Anthony the paper when you’re finished. If you’re hungry, he made you some chicken noodle soup. It’s in the fridge.”

I smiled slightly. “Thanks, Shane.”

He nodded. “You’re welcome,” and closed the door.