by Mike London
Mrs Bertram was becoming increasingly frustrated as she continued to teach her class of fifth year girls. She was the head of the History department at Greenbridge School and was trying to clarify the complexities of the English Civil Wars of the seventeenth century to her pupils who were due to sit their O-Levels in just over a month's time.
Most of the pupils were paying close attention and several sensible questions had been asked by some of the girls, which showed that they had been following what could sometimes seem a confusing series of events. But three girls, sitting at the back of the classroom, seemed intent on disrupting the lesson. Susan Hall and Rachel Marshall were sitting next to each other on a double desk and Alison Greenwood was just to their left. They were now ten minutes into the forty-minute lesson and all three girls had been chatting and giggling together since it had begun.
Mrs Bertram had told all three girls off and given them warnings several times. Then, just a few minutes ago she had seen Rachel offering some crisps from an opened packet. She had called Rachel out to the front, lectured her, made her throw the packet of crisps away and given her a hundred lines to do: 'I must not eat in class.' But it hadn't helped. When Rachel returned to her desk the giggling and chattering resumed.
So, she decided to treat them as she would naughty little girls at a junior school. She gave all three girls a hundred lines each to write out - 'I must not talk during lessons' - emphasising to Rachel that this was on top of those she had already earned, and she told the girls to stand up in their places and put their hands on top of their heads.
That did seem to work for a while but she then saw that the girls, while standing up and with hands on heads were continuing to talk unconcernedly to one another as if they were not part of the class at all. Mrs Bertram decided that she had to show the girls - and the rest of the class - who was boss.
She called the three girls out to the front of the class and made them all stand facing the blackboard; Rachel at the left-hand side, Susan at the right and Alison in the middle. She drew three small dots with chalk on the board just below the girl's foreheads. Then she told them that they were to stand there with their noses pressed to the chalk dots, and with hands on heads, for the rest of the lesson. And, she warned them, "If you don't keep your noses pressed to the dots you may be sure that I will see that and I will come by and I will slap your legs!"
Like the rest of the class the three unruly girls were wearing white school blouses with the gold and grey school tie. They had grey school skirts on that came down to just above their knees, white ankle socks and black school shoes. Susan and Alison had blue pullovers on over their blouses. Susan was the only one who wore glasses.
The lesson proceeded in a much more orderly fashion from then onwards. The three girls found it harder than they had expected to remain in the required position. It meant standing on tiptoe and it began to be very uncomfortable very soon. They also had to stand really close to the blackboard in order for their noses to touch the spots and this meant that their breasts pushed up against the chalky board. The thought that all the other girls were looking at their backs, watching as they were treated as naughty first-years was also very chastening. Mrs Bertram did not notice every single time that they strayed from position but she managed to spot quite a few.
The gap between the girls' socks and their skirts left their bare calves available for Mrs Bertram's slaps and she administered eleven slaps in all during the remainder of the lesson: five to Susan, and three each to Rachel and Alison. Each slap really stung. The rest of the class were paying full attention to the lesson now but that did not stop them from enjoying the sight of Mrs Bertram slapping the girls' legs as though they were nine or ten years old and appreciating the way Susan's left calf began to shine a bright cherry red. Susan and Alison kept stoically silent at each smarting smack but Rachel, the tallest of the three, yelped loudly every time.
When the lesson was over and it was time for break the teacher dismissed the rest of the class but kept the three naughty girls standing in disgrace, hand still on heads, until everyone else had left.
"Susan and Rachel! You will remain standing facing the blackboard with your hands on your heads. However, there is no need to keep your noses pressed to the spot now. Alison, you will go to Miss Jenkinson, give her my compliments and request the school cane. You will then bring it back here as quickly as possible."
"Please, miss!"
"No, please!"
"Oh no, we've learned our lesson."
Each girl protested in her own way. But the teacher was unrelenting.
"I don't like having to cane girls but you three could be the very definition of why the cane is sometimes needed. Be on your way, Alison and don't waste any time."
Mrs Bertram genuinely did not often use the cane. She had not done so for that entire term. But when she felt that a caning was the appropriate punishment, she had no hesitation in carrying it out and in doing so firmly and thoroughly.
Alison made her way to the secretary's office.
Gloria Jenkinson was a young lady in her early twenties and this was her first job since leaving school. She was friendly with most of the senior girls and on Christian name terms with many of them.
"Yes, Alison, what is it?" she asked as the girl entered her office.
"Mrs Bertram's compliments and she wants you to give me the cane," the schoolgirl said sullenly.
"Oh dear! I am sorry, Alison! Is that for you?"
"Yes! It's bloody well not fair either!" Alison said angrily. "She's been slapping my leg for the whole fucking lesson and now she wants to cane my arse on top!"
She held her leg up. Gloria could clearly see the red hand prints.
Though she wanted to be on good terms with the pupils she knew that she shouldn't go too far.
"Please don't use language like that here, Alison. I wouldn't want to have to report you to the headmistress."
"I'm sorry, Gloria. I know it's not your fault. But is there anything you could do? Maybe tell the headmistress you think it's unfair or something?"
"I can't Alison. It's just something I can't get involved with. I really can't help and I'm sorry but I am going to have to ask you a few questions and make some notes." She pulled her spiral notebook out.
"Your name is Alison Greenwood, of 5A and Mrs Bertram has sent you to me for the cane. Is that right, so far?"
"Yes. I am sorry for being rude to you but I'm really upset and I'm also scared. I've never had the cane before. Do you know if Mrs Bertram canes hard?"
Gloria did know that, despite Mrs Bertram only rarely resorting to the cane, she had the reputation of being ferocious with it. But she didn't see how it would help to tell Alison that.
"I don't know, I'm afraid. I just have a few things that I need to note down before I can let you take the cane. Is it just you that she is going to cane or are other girls getting it also?"
"Two others. Susan Hall and Rachel Marshall."
"Right. I am really sorry for all three of you, but do you know what I should put down for the reason for the canings?"
"I don't know, I don't think any of us deserve it!"
"That's all right. I am gong to have to go through all this with Mrs Bertram later anyway because it all gets put into the Punishment Book. It's just that the more information I can note down now, the easier it is later."
Alison didn't see why it was up to her, a schoolgirl about to be unjustly caned, and who had already had her leg slapped red-raw, to help Gloria Jenkinson to do her job. So, she remained silent.
"Okay, Alison, that's the paperwork out of the way."
She took a key from her handbag and unlocked a long drawer running beneath a bookcase. She rummaged through the canes. Alison and the others were fifth formers, so she had to hand one of the senior canes over. Those were the ones marked with red sticky tape. She found one and passed it over to the waiting girl.
"There you are, Alison," she said. "After the canings either you or one of the other girls must return this cane to me. That is very important. Good Luck! I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think."
Alison took the cane nervously, as if she thought it might explode. Without thanking Gloria for her good wishes, she turned on her heels and walked out of the office cane in hand. She had never even seen a cane before. This one did not look much like the ones she had seen cartoons of in comics. Those always seemed to have crook handles and lots of ridges. It was also lighter than she had expected. Nevertheless, she had seen other girls - including Susan - after they had been caned and she was sure it would be able to cause a lot of pain. She tapped it gently on her leg as she walked along and even that slight contact seemed to sting.
It was break-time and many pupils were out and about in the corridors. What with Alison's mournful expression and her carrying a cane it was not hard for the girls to guess what was shortly going to be happening. Some of the younger girls giggled as she passed or made whacking noises. Alison was tempted to strike some of the little first years with the cane but she resolutely ignored them and walked on.
She reached Mrs Bertram's classroom and knocked. As she entered, she saw that her two friends were still standing hands on heads facing the blackboard. They were standing closer together now, at the middle part of the board. The other girls having left, Mrs Bertram had deemed it safe to allow then to stand closer to each other. The teacher herself was seated at her desk but she stood up when Alison came in and walked towards her.
"Hand the cane to me, Alison," she said. "You two, remain at the blackboard."
Alison bit her lower lip as she handed the cane over.
"All three of you seemed to be enjoying yourself tremendously during my lesson before I had to call you out to stand at the front like infants. It is not a bad thing to enjoy lessons, in fact it is admirable. But you three were consistently disrupting the lesson and preventing other girls from studying. You all had several warnings. I have had to give all three of you lines to write out. But, despite everything you continued to disrupt the lesson and to take apparent pleasure in so doing.
"I have decided, therefore, that I have no alternative but to cane all three of you. I hope that this extreme measure will make clear to you just how out of place and blameworthy your actions have been.
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