by Ryan Rowland
Elmhurst Academy was a private high school dedicated to high standards in education. The founder had come to the U.S. from England and, discovering the public education system did not meet his requirements for his own sons, he had established the institution in the traditions of a strict English boys' school. But after the elder gentleman's passing, the school had gradually become a bit more modern and liberal. It had become co-ed and now the faculty and Board of Directors, as well as the student body was an almost equal mix of genders.
One thing had not changed: students were expected to be well-behaved and respectful. And no student was admitted unless his or her parents gave permission for that expectation to be enforced with a cane, strap, or paddle on the backside of the errant pupil.
But now there was a new development. The school year had just started when the aging headmaster, who had occupied his position for many years, was suddenly forced into retirement due to health problems. And when the Board of Directors needed to quickly select a replacement, the most qualified candidate was a much younger educator. But though only twenty-eight years old, the applicant had a PhD in Education, stellar references, and an excellent record during the past two years as assistant principal at another high school. Her name was Miss Karen Wood.
A couple of the older men on the board were concerned about choosing a woman. As administrator, it would be her duty to administer corporal punishment to the male students as well as the girls and that might be a problem, they said. The women on the board stifled that sexist objection, pointing out that the headmaster had been punishing the girls as well as the boys ever since the school became co-ed; so what was the problem? A woman could swing a cane just as well as a man and if those who raised the objection had any doubt of it, they would be happy to provide a personal demonstration.
The school was abuzz with rumors. It was said the headmaster was going to be replaced by a woman. And a young woman at that! The girls were ecstatic. They felt they had been discriminated against and would have someone more on their side. The boys had mixed emotions. Some thought it would be great. Others weren't so sure. On the morning the new administrator was scheduled to arrive, several of the senior boys were standing outside when they saw a car they didn't recognize pull into the headmaster's parking space. They stared in amazement as the occupant got out.
"Oh, My God!"
"That can't be her! Can it?"
"No way! She's not old enough."
"She is fucking gorgeous!"
"Are you sure that's not a new student? Maybe she just parked in the wrong place."
"THAT'S the new headmaster!?
"'Headmaster' is a male term. I guess she's the headmistress."
"She can give me head and be my mistress anytime!"
"Ha! I heard they're changing the title to 'Principal', like in other schools because of that.
"Damn! I want her to be my 'mistress'."
"Look at those tits!"
"What's her name?"
"Miss Wood, I think"
"Well, she's giving me a 'wood' right now!"
"I'm gonna come in late tomorrow and sass the teacher so I'll be sent to see her. Maybe I can get a date."
One of the seniors, Ryan Bradford, stood off to the side of the group. He was quiet and shy, and didn't take part in the banter. But he nodded and grinned at the comments. He admired the new administrator as much as any of the others.
Karen Wood spent her first day at the school meeting with the faculty and organizing her new office. The next morning, she called an assembly of the students to formally introduce herself. She expressed her satisfaction at being their new principal, and her desire to assist them with any problems they might have as they worked on their education. She also let them know of her intention to continue all previous school policies and to not tolerate any foolishness.
Of course, there were a few who had to test the limits and see if the new principal was as strict as she claimed. Some, especially the older boys, thought an attractive young woman like that couldn't possibly mete out harsh discipline like the old headmaster. Miss Wood knew she would have something to prove and wasn't about to let any of the students take advantage with ridiculous excuses for substandard performance or behavior. Those foolish enough to try left her office rubbing sore backsides and regretting their error. There was no favoritism. Boys and girls learned that the principal was fair, but if they broke the rules, they paid the price. When all the students were convinced of that fact, things settled down to normal and the new principal received the same respect as the previous administrator. But of course, the boys still looked and admired while they made jokes and suggestive comments behind her back.
Most of the school year passed normally. A month before the end of classes, Miss Wood arrived at school a little late one day. She had been caught in a traffic jam and already was not in the best of moods. When she approached the door, there was a crowd of students gathered around, pointing. Seeing her coming, they quickly dispersed. She stopped and stared. Someone had used a can of red spray paint to scrawl a vulgar comment about her. Next to the words was a crude drawing that apparently was supposed to represent a woman's genitalia. The principal felt her face flush as she continued to her office. It was the kind of thing that didn't happen at Elmhurst.
Questions were asked, but no-one had seen anyone who might have been responsible. The day's classes were just starting as the custodian set to work scrubbing off as much of the paint as possible and then putting a new coat of paint on the door. As he was returning from that chore, he noticed a funny smell. He followed his nose to a row of students' lockers where the odor of liquor was strong. Looking down, he noticed a thin trickle of liquid coming from under a locker door.
The principal was notified and a check of the records showed that particular locker was assigned to a senior named Ryan Bradford. Ryan was summoned from his math class and when he arrived at the locker where the principal and custodian were waiting, he looked surprised and professed to know nothing about it. He removed the combination lock and opened the locker as instructed.
Lying on its side in the locker was a bottle of whiskey. The plastic cap had been cross-threaded and was allowing a steady drip of liquor to escape from the bottle. Next to the whiskey was a can of red spray paint the same color as the graffiti on the school door. A smear of still-wet paint on the side of the can showed it had been used recently.
Ryan stared in horror and looked up to see the principal giving him a look that would curdle milk. His eyes were wide as he stepped back, shaking his head and vehemently denying knowing how the whiskey and paint came to be in his locker. The custodian examined the lock and the locker and found no signs that anyone had tampered with or forced open the locker. Ryan acknowledged getting books from the locker that morning but again denied knowing how the items came to be there.
"Have you ever given anyone else the combination to your locker?" the principal asked.
He shook his head. "No, ma'am."
"Go and wait for me outside my office."
In fear and dismay, Ryan headed for the office while he tried to figure out what he could say to Miss Wood when she arrived. He had to admit to himself, the evidence was damning. He didn't see how he could convince her of his innocence.
Miss Wood directed the custodian to dispose of the paint and liquor and to clean up the mess.
Ryan was standing outside the door and started to speak another denial when Miss Wood arrived. But she ignored him as she entered the office and closed the door, leaving him still waiting outside.
Karen Wood shook her head as she pulled Bradford's file from the cabinet. He was the last one she would have expected. She knew him to be a good student with above average grades and she hadn't had any trouble with him before. She remembered talking to one of his teachers about the fact that he was quiet and painfully shy. A check of his file showed he had an absolutely perfect record of conduct through his nearly four years of attendance. She went to the door and called the young man inside.
Ryan stood nervously in front of Miss Wood's desk as she sat down and again referred to his record. He appeared to be on the verge of tears.
"Mr. Bradford, I see that up to now you've had an excellent record here at Elmhurst. It's really a shame that you had to go and destroy it so close to graduation."
"Miss Wood, I didn't do it!"
"The evidence says otherwise."
"I know what it looks like, but I honestly don't know how those things got in my locker."
"Do you really expect me to believe that?"
His voice cracked and he did start to cry. "I can't help what you believe. I didn't do it!"
"Don't you think you should be man enough to take responsibility for your actions? If you were looking for any mercy at all, that might help you."
"I'm not going to lie and say I did it when I really didn't! I swear I don't know how those things got in my locker!" It was getting hard to understand Ryan's words as he was fairly sobbing now.
There was a box of tissues on Miss Wood's desk and she offered him one. He took it and wiped his red tear-stained eyes. Miss Wood looked down at the record and frowned. She hadn't expected a senior, almost eighteen years old, to break down and cry like this. Obviously, this was the first time he had been in trouble and it was a new experience for him. He was really scared. He was a shy and sensitive young man and just the humiliation of getting caught was serving as part of his punishment. She felt a small bit of sympathy, but justice had to be done.
"Mr. Bradford, I'm sorry you can't own up to it, but the evidence speaks for itself. In view of your excellent record up to this time, I'm going to be as lenient as I can. I'm going to ignore your personal insult against me. For the offenses of defacing school property and bringing alcohol into the school, I'm going to give you two dozen strokes of the cane. That's one dozen for each offense."
"Miss Wood, no! Please! You can't! I didn't do it!"
"Since this is your first caning, I won't do it all at once. You will receive one dozen today and return one week from today to receive the second dozen."
"That's not fair! I didn't do anything!"
"Mr. Bradford, that's enough!" She stood up and took the cane from its hook on the wall behind her desk as she pointed to the spot where she wanted him to stand. "Lower your trousers and assume the position. You may either touch your toes or hold on to your ankles."
Still sobbing and protesting his innocence, Ryan moved to the indicated place and unfastened his trousers. His buttocks were covered only by the thin fabric of his briefs as he bent over and held onto his ankles. The principal considered his emotional state and decided not to require him to count the strokes.
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