by Peter Martin
Lucy could not believe she was walking in to school with her mum.
Lucy was twelve years old and dressed as required in her summer school uniform. A green and white check gingham dress with the buttons down the front and a white belt. She wore short white socks.
Her mum, Madeleine, was thirty-three years old. She wore a sleeveless pink and white dress with a hem well above her knee. It was summer and so she didn't need any stockings. Instead she had bare legs.
It was detention and punishment day at the school. New rules had been in force for a year now. The school was very much discipline orientated. It had found it difficult though to maintain high enough standards because, in the view of the Headmistress, the parents did not take enough responsibility for their children's discipline. They delegated that to the school, and even then kept too low disciplinary standards at home. It was put down to parents wanting to be friends with their kids rather than just parents.
So the school brought in the three strike rule. That meant that if a pupil got three detentions then one of the parents had to attend school and sit the detention as well. That certainly improved pupil's disciplinary records. Most parents hated the thought of having to sit for one or two hours in detention.
The Headmistress was happy for a while but once discipline plateaued she wanted to improve matters even more. So she brought in the new punishment regime. This was relatively simple. Spanking by teachers and the Headmistress was a common punishment. Each spanking was entered into a record book. The new regime meant that if a pupil were spanked at school then there was a requirement for the parent to give another spanking that night. Indeed this was a common feature of the majority of schools in the area. However, the Headmistress raised the punishment stakes. Once a pupil was spanked three times then the parent had to attend the school and be given a bare bottom spanking by the Headmistress. That improved discipline no end! More parents took up the discipline cudgels at home, and the children carried through that improved discipline at school.
It left an impression on the rump of parents and pupils whose standard of behaviour fell below the bar set by the Headmistress. So the Headmistress introduced another element of the regime: if a pupil received a total of twenty-four strokes of the cane then one parent would have to attend the school and be given six strokes by the Headmistress. Six was the maximum tariff for any of the pupils so they had to earn at least four canings. Not many pupils fell into that category, and the view was that if they did then there was a lack of discipline by the parents. The Headmistress believed the cane to be a perfectly valid punishment implement. It was only a small step from making it an implement of choice and extending the regime once again to the parents.
The Headmistress noted yet another improvement in the discipline levels within the school.
One rule stood out as being a little less usual. It was an extension to the three strike rule. It was noticed that some pupils failed to submit homework on a regular basis, so once a pupil did that three times they earned a spanking. The parent giving the second spanking in the evening continued to apply. The extension now was that the parent had to share in the responsibility and one parent had to attend the school and both pupil and parent were spanked by the Headmistress whilst each watched the other being spanked.
Lucy was one of the better behaved pupils. She was a form captain and always submitted her homework on time. She had only ever received two detentions since starting at the school. This, however, owed no thanks to her mum, Madeleine Masters, who pretty much left Lucy to her own devices. Luckily, Lucy was a strong-willed twelve-year-old who kept to the rules.
Lucy was aware of the impending problem, one that was very different to a pupil's failure. Her mum had been asked to come to the school for a meeting with the form teacher, Miss Reynolds, to discuss Lucy's performance at school. Madeleine had missed several open evenings and so a specific meeting was requested. Lucy took the request letter home each time. All three times in fact. Lucy was distraught because her mum had failed to reply to any of the letters.
After that, three more letters were sent home with Lucy. These set a specific time for Madeleine to attend school for the meeting. Each time Lucy reminded her mum to go, but each time Madeleine had a different reason not to go, but it was usually because she was going out with friends.
The Headmistress requested Lucy attend her study. Lucy sat anxiously in the outer office as two girls ahead of her disappeared into the study only to re-appear with red-rimmed eyes and rubbing their bottoms. They had both been caned, and Lucy sat listening to the girls telling the Secretary how many strokes they had received.
One girl, who Lucy knew to be fourteen, had reached twenty strokes, and was reminded that one of her parents would have to attend the school to be given their six strokes if she got four more strokes.
When it was Lucy's turn to go into the study she was very nervous. She had never had to go into the study before and knew that the vast majority of those who did ended up being spanked or caned.
"Hullo, Lucy," the Headmistress, Mrs Peters, said.
"Hullo, Miss," Lucy replied respectfully.
"Sit down, Lucy," Mrs Peters said formally. Lucy sat and waited.
Mrs Peters said in a serious tone, "Your mother has missed several open evenings and now missed three specific appointments to attend the school. Have you made any effort to get her to come to these missed appointments, Lucy?"
Lucy replied earnestly, "Oh I have, Miss. I kept reminding Mum and she kept saying she would go. I even thought she'd attended the last time, but when she left the house she just went to friends."
"Well I don't think that is good enough, Lucy. I expect more from my pupils and especially form captains like yourself, so I have decided to initiate a variation to the three strike rule."
"What does that mean, Miss?" Lucy enquired. After all it wasn't as though she had missed three appointments. It was her mum who had missed them.
"Well," Mrs Peters explained. "When you read the rules I know it is implied the three strike rule applies to failings by pupils and that parents only have to attend the school if the pupil breaches the rule. However, it doesn't specifically state that. It implies that the same applies if a parent breaks the three strike rule." Mrs Peters allowed the explanation to sink in before continuing. "That means, Lucy, that your mother must attend the school to be disciplined, and that you as the pupil must join her and be disciplined as well."
Lucy was flabbergasted. "What punishment, Miss?" she asked anxiously.
Mrs Peters waited a moment before replying. "Six strokes of the cane, Lucy."
"What? Me as well?" Lucy replied in a horrified tone.
"I know that sounds mean, but it is a question of taking responsibility. In this case I hope that when your mother realises that her missing those appointments has led to you getting the cane that she will change her attitude."
Lucy swallowed hard, not believing for a second her mum would comply.
"I have a letter for you to take to your mum. Unfortunately, it says that if she, or you, fail to attend the appointment then you will be suspended and then expelled."
"No," Lucy shrieked.
"I'm afraid so, Lucy. So please make sure your mother understands that."
A distraught Lucy took the letter home and faced up to her mum. "You will have to attend this time, Mum. I don't want to be expelled."
Madeleine glanced at the letter and poo-pooed the threat. "They won't expel you, sweetie."
"Read the letter again, Mum. It definitely says I will get expelled."
Madeleine re-read the letter and looked a bit more concerned. It did make that very clear.
"We'll see," Madeleine said as she went to the kitchen and started doing some emails which were mainly to make arrangements to meet up with her friends at the very time set for the school appointment.
Twenty minutes later, Madeleine went back to the living room and found Lucy. "Erm, I've just had an email from the school. It is an invite to attend with you saying we are both to get six strokes of the cane."
Lucy sighed. "Yes, Mum. You broke the three strike rule and that means we both get disciplined."
"But I'm a parent. Parents don't get caned unless their child is at fault," Madeleine pouted.
"Yes they do, Mum, under the school rules." Lucy explained what Mrs Peters had said, about how everyone thought it applied to the pupils breaking the rule but that it also meant when parents break it.
"I've never been caned," Madeleine said pensively looking off into the distance.
Lucy wondered if the message was getting through as she saw her mum was rubbing her bottom absent-mindedly.
So Madeleine cancelled the meeting she had arranged with her friends and inserted the school meeting in her diary.
Even so, Lucy kept reminding her mum about the appointment and again even on the day itself.
So that was why Madeleine and Lucy were both walking into the school on detention and punishment day.
Madeleine noticed the sign. There was an arrow to the detention room and several pupils, boys and girls, were going in that direction. She looked in wonderment though as three parents walked with their children. They looked embarrassed, but accepting of their situation.
The sign pointing the other way directed the others to the punishment room. Madeleine and Lucy were alone as they walked towards the door near the end of the corridor. As they got there Lucy told her mum, "We have to sit outside and wait to be called in, Mum."
Madeleine didn't argue but sat uncomfortably on the bench.
It was three minutes before Miss Reynolds walked along the corridor. She stopped in front of Lucy and Madeleine, looking quite stern in her dark blue short-sleeved dress. "Follow me please," she ordered as she opened the door to the punishment room and walked inside.
Madeleine had forgotten just how young Miss Reynolds was. About twenty-three years old she reckoned. She was several years her junior in fact.
Lucy had never been in the room before but some of her friends had so she knew pretty much what to expect. Madeleine had no idea so was taken aback to see the caning table.
Miss Reynolds didn't dally. "You have both been called here as you, Mrs Masters, failed to attend the school on so many occasions for appointments. That wasted lots of people's time as well as being rude and disrespectful."
Madeleine was quite taken aback by the scolding and all she could say was, "Sorry."
Miss Reynolds gave a pout and said sternly, "Really?" Well Sorry doesn't do it, Mrs Masters. So I'll cane you first and then Lucy."
Madeleine felt a strong pang of conscience for her daughter. "Surely caning me is enough, Miss Reynolds. Lucy didn't do anything wrong."
"Not according to the rules, Mrs Masters. There is joint responsibility. I agree it is normally the pupil who fails and the parent who suffers. It just happens to be the opposite case today. So Lucy has to suffer for your wrongdoing."
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