by Adrian Caine
Jeanette Price had been late getting all her registration materials in for college, and now all the dorms were full. She'd never considered a sorority. Being an only child, the whole big sister/little sister vibe just wasn't her thing. Plus, despite the entire 'Greek' collegiate world's insistence to the contrary, she had a feeling those paddles on the walls weren't entirely decorative! She'd had enough spankings thank you very much. In fact, her last one had been at age 18, a humiliating secret that she guarded with her life!
Jeanette had always been a procrastinator, and this time it looked as if it was going to cost her. She hated the thought of living at home and driving 45 minutes to and from school every day. Most of her friends had either been accepted to out-of-state colleges or were living on campus at the local university. She'd miss most of the best social opportunities if she stayed at home, because her parents were old-fashioned and strict about her curfew. It would be a drag missing the best parties because she was expected to be home by 11:00 pm. on weeknights and midnight on weekends.
She wasn't a classic beauty, but she was quite cute. She stood 5'5'' barefoot and had red, shoulder-length hair that she usually wore in a ponytail. No one but a supermodel would consider her overweight, but she was curvy and filled out her clothes nicely. On this rather warm early September day, she was dressed in denim cut-offs and a tank top. She was lying on her stomach on the living room floor, waving her feet in the air as she pored over the classified ads in the local paper in search of a place to live close to campus. She was limited by what she could spend; her parents were paying her tuition, but hadn't counted on rent being part of the equation. There had been quite the dust-up when her parents had found out that no more dorm rooms were available, because they'd both been after her to get all her paperwork in on time. But it was the summer after her senior year in high school, and she'd been distracted by parties and other gatherings with her friends.
Suddenly, an ad caught her eye that read: Room available for female student. Breakfast and dinner included free of charge. Must be stable nonsmoker and nondrinker. Call Mrs. Eddington or Miss Stevenson for more info.
The rent amount quoted in the ad was incredibly low; it seemed too good to be true. Still, Jeanette felt she owed it to herself to check it out. She dialed the number.
"Good afternoon, Eddington House." The voice sounded like it belonged to a girl about her age.
"Hi, is this the number for the ad about the room?" Jeanette asked.
"Yes, it is. Are you interested in applying to live here?"
What an unusual way to phrase it, Jeanette thought. "Yes, I am. Are you ... Mrs. Eddington?"
The girl on the other end of the phone laughed. "Oh, no! I'm her assistant, Valerie Stevenson. And you are?"
"Jeanette. Jeanette Price."
"All right, Jeanette Price. Are you a student at the university?"
"Yeah, I'll be starting my freshman year this semester."
"Good! Let me tell you a little bit about Eddington House, and you can decide if living here is something you'd like to pursue."
"Okay," Jeanette replied.
Valerie gave her a brief history of the place. Mrs. Eddington was an alumnus of the university, and had been married to one of the professors there. For years, they'd rented an old three-story house just minutes from campus. When her husband died, his life insurance policy enabled her to buy the house outright, and she decided to turn it into a boarding house of sorts for girls in need of off-campus housing. At any given time, there were between six and eight girls living in the house, with Mrs. Eddington acting as a dorm mother and Valerie serving as her assistant. She charged the girls a nominal monthly fee to help her with household expenses, and provided breakfast and dinner for as many of the girls who wanted free meals. Since college students were often both hungry and strapped for cash, nearly all of them took advantage of the offer as often as they could.
"Mrs. Eddington was a sorority member here at the college, and she runs the house like a cross between a sorority house and a family home," Valerie said. "I'm a graduate student, and I've lived here for three years now. I help Aunt Beverly run the place."
"Aunt Beverly?"
"Oh, that's what all the girls call Mrs. Eddington," Valerie explained. "I need to ask, do you smoke or drink?"
Jeanette considered her answer carefully. She had actually done both, and had even tried smoking pot once. But she'd done all this on the sly, because her old-fashioned parents considered such things disgraceful behavior. Except, of course, for that one time when she was 16, and came home past curfew with both beer and tobacco on her breath. She hated thinking of that episode, and the hard, bare-bottom hairbrush spanking she'd endured as a result. Ever since, she'd been extra-careful not to be caught. This house, with its nominal rent and free meals, seemed like the answer to her prayers, so she decided to hedge a bit.
"No, I don't, except for maybe a beer or two at parties."
"Well, you'll have to give that up if you want to live at Eddington House," Valerie said seriously. "Auntie's very strict about that, and so am I."
"Oh, that's no problem!" Jeanette said quickly. "I need a place to live more than I need beer!"
"Good. We have just one bed available, since one of our girls changed her mind about living here at the last minute. If you'd like, we could set up an interview for some time this week. Would Thursday work for you?"
"Sure, what time?"
"How about three o'clock?"
"That'll be fine," Jeanette said, feeling her spirits rise. Maybe she'd be able to move out after all! Except for the odd prohibition against smoking and drinking, this seemed like a perfect opportunity to live, if not on campus, at least very close to it.
"Great!" Valerie replied. "You'll need at least two references, adults who know you well and who can vouch for your character."
Jeanette almost giggled. The phrase "vouch for your character" sounded funny coming from a girl not much older than herself.
"Do they have to write letters or something?" she asked.
"No, just bring their contact information, and we'll get in touch with them."
"Okay, great! I'll see you Thursday, then."
"Thursday at three," Valerie replied. "Be on time."
"Sure! Later."
Jeanette stood outside the stately old house with butterflies in her stomach and holding an envelope in her hand. So, this was "Eddington House." It looked much like any number of other houses she'd passed while driving through this neighborhood. She would soon discover that it was actually quite unique.
It had been an easy sell, she thought, much easier than she expected. Apparently, her parents had heard of the place, and were quite positive about her applying there.
To the cute little 18-year-old, the idea of applying to live somewhere seemed kind of funny. Sure, she'd applied for a part-time job, and she'd applied to colleges, but applying to live in a privately-owned house? Pretty strange!
She rang the bell, and the door opened almost immediately. Standing before her was an Asian girl about her age with long black hair. She was wearing an apron over her clothes.
"Yes, Ma'am?" the girl asked.
Jeanette had never been called Ma'am before, and she found it rather amusing.
"Hi, I'm Jeanette. Jeanette Price? I have an appointment."
"Oh, yes, Miss Price, please come in," the dark-haired girl said.
Miss Price was a first, too. Jeanette walked through the door and into a rather elegant parlor. The girl indicated one of the chairs.
"Please have a seat, Ma'am. Miss Stevenson will be with you in just a minute. Would you like something to drink? Coffee, tea, or a soda?"
"Uh, do you have Coke?" Jeanette asked.
"Yes, Ma'am. I'll get it for you."
The girl disappeared around a corner, and Jeanette sat in a beautiful old wooden chair that looked like an antique. She looked at the magazines on the table next to her, and looked through them to see if they had her favorites, Vogue or In Style. All she found were Woman's Day and House Beautiful. She picked up the latter and started leafing through it.
"You must be Jeanette," she heard a voice say. Looking up, she saw a beautiful, tall young woman with short, brunette hair, impeccably dressed.
"Yes, are you Valerie?" she asked, standing up.
"Yes, Valerie Stevenson. We spoke on the phone," she smiled warmly as she shook Jeanette's hand. "Did Martha offer you something to drink?" she asked.
"Yeah, I asked for a Coke," said Jeanette.
"Fine. If she doesn't find you out here, she'll know to come find you in the parlor. Please follow me."
The woman turned and walked past several doors, Jeanette at her side.
"Here we are," said Valerie, opening a door to a spacious sitting room. There was a baby grand piano in one corner and an antique-looking roll-top desk in another. What captured Jeanette's attention, however, was the blonde girl standing in the third corner. She had her arms folded behind her back, and was wearing what looked like a pajama top. Below that, there was nothing at all, except for a pair of thong panties, and the girl's bare bottom was bright red! Valerie noticed Jeanette staring at the girl, quite dumbfounded.
"Oh, don't mind Vicky. Last night, she decided the house rules didn't apply to her, but she found out she was wrong about that. Didn't you, Vicky?"
"Yes, Ma'am," the girl said dutifully without turning around.
Jeanette was too flabbergasted to speak. Valerie was acting like it was the most natural thing in the world to have a half-naked, well-spanked girl on display in the parlor corner! Valerie indicated a chair, and sat down in one directly across from it.
"Please, sit down. Welcome to Eddington House! Did you bring your references?"
"Uh, yes. Yes, they're right here."
Still nonplussed by the sight in the corner, Jeanette handed over her envelope.
"Oh, very good," Valerie said, looking at the contacts inside. "I see that one was your swimming coach and the other ... let's see ... your History teacher. Were you on the swim team long?"
"Um, yes, kinda. My Junior and Senior year in high school."
"Good for you! And was History your favorite subject, or just your favorite teacher?" Valerie winked.
"Oh, both, actually. I loved History, and Ms. Adams was, like, the best teacher in the whole school."
"Were you in Advanced Placement in any of your classes?" Valerie inquired.
"Yeah, actually. AP English and History," Jeanette replied, trying to keep the sight of the well-punished girl in the corner from crowding her thoughts.
At that moment, the girl who'd answered the front door appeared with a large glass of Coke with lots of ice. "Here you are, Ma'am," she said, handing Jeanette the glass and a coaster.
"Oh, thanks." The girl left, and Jeanette took the glass and took a long sip, her eyes drawn again to the unfortunate girl in the corner.
"I see you're a bit taken aback by Vicky," Valerie said, smiling warmly.
Jeanette blushed. "Her name's Vicky? Yeah, well... it's kind of strange, ya know?"
"In society at large, yes, I suppose it is," Valerie replied. "But here at Eddington House, it's not strange at all. Our girls know the rules, and they know what happens if they choose to break them. Mrs. Eddington and I run a strict household here, as those who break the rules quickly find out. The last girl I interviewed wimped out when she heard about our discipline plan. That's why a bed is available at the moment. But those who follow the rules here have nothing to fear. Except for Initiation, of course." Valerie's eyes twinkled.
"Uh, Initiation?"
"Yes. Living here is a quite a privilege, considering the fact that the rent is negligible and meals are free. Mrs. Eddington has high standards for her girls, and to show that they're serious, each applicant must submit to the Initiation process in order to qualify as a resident."
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