by Carly Burton
"I hate you Dad!" Candice screamed at the top of her lungs as she flounced noisily out of the lounge, slamming the door behind her. Every step on the stairs was an angry stomp, intended to make an impact, indicating her disapproval of her dad's latest announcement. The burning anger of her teenage tantrum lasted until she slammed her bedroom door shut and threw herself face down onto her bed. Then, the tears took over and she sobbed uncontrollably into her pillow.
Her dad had just informed her that they were going to live in Hong Kong for two years so he could accept the promotion he had been offered from work. She was supposed to be delighted, apparently, according to her dad's expectations. Instead, she was horrified, she had no desire whatsoever, to live in Hong Kong. She was seventeen, had her own life, with no interest in living abroad. Her mum was more than happy at the proposed move ... after all, she was in the exalted position of not needing to work; Dad's income was sufficient to provide for his family so she simply did her voluntary work, swanned around on various committees and took more care of waifs and strays than she did her own daughter. Candice had no doubt that there would be many 'good causes' Mum could get involved with; Hong Kong must have similar needs to England in that respect.
Her pillow was soaking wet, her nose blocked, and her eyes red and swollen, her throat sore from her distressed wailing. She heaved herself up to a sitting position, and reaching for the box of tissues on her bedside cabinet, mopped up the mess she had made of her face.
"I won't go," she told the empty room, "I won't!" She stared at the door, in a way, hoping that one of her parents at least, would come to comfort her, just so that she could berate them for their selfishness in wanting to take her away from all she knew, and then order them to leave her alone. But deep inside, she knew that neither of them would come. They were not the type to offer comfort. She knew they loved her in their own way, but she also knew that they would not change their plans just because their daughter did not want to accompany them on their latest venture.
She stared at her ravaged face reflected in the mirror. Her long blonde hair was messed up, wet with her tears and tangled from her distressed thrashing around. Her startlingly blue eyes were blotchy and swollen. What have I ever done to deserve this? she asked herself.
Her parents had married young. Her mum was just seventeen when she found out she was pregnant; Candice was born just after her eighteenth birthday and they were married the same year. Her dad was nineteen, and they struggled financially for the first few years until he established himself in the high flying world of finance. Candice had fond memories of life when she was very young and money was short, but as she got older and the money came easily, she found that her parents were absent more than they were present.
She was far too often left with a long list of babysitters, sometimes her only grandma, which was ok, but she died when Candice was eleven. There were many others too, with whom she was less enamoured. Her parents had missed much of their youth with the responsibility of being parents so young and they seemed to think that they were entitled to catch up later in life, to the detriment of their teenaged daughter. Dad was only thirty-six, Mum was thirty-five and they had a chance to spread their wings. Well, they could fly away without her!
Downstairs, Gerry and Paula were baffled by their daughter's reaction to their plans for the future. They had simply not considered her negative feelings about the move, and had assumed she would agree with their proposal without argument.
"What on earth is wrong with that girl?" Gerry fumed. "She should be grateful for this opportunity." He paced around the room, frowning.
"She's a teenager Gerry. She's naturally ungrateful and uncooperative, I've been trying to tell you about her unacceptable behaviour for the past six months," Paula replied. Her exasperation with her daughter had been building recently and she was fed up with trying to convince her husband she was getting out of control. He seemed to be oblivious to her flaws, he wasn't even around her much, so he would hardly notice anyway.
"What are we going to do? We can't drag her kicking and screaming to Hong Kong, that's for sure!" Gerry stated, miserably.
"Let her sleep on it," Paula suggested. "She might reconsider."
Gerry's grunt of derision indicated the level of his optimism in this respect.
Once Candice had calmed down a little, she began to think about her options. She was not going to change her mind about going to Hong Kong, but she knew she would never be allowed to stay home alone. Her mind considered her close friends but dismissed them immediately; there were none she would want to actually live with for two years. Then, a revelation popped into her brain, what about her Uncle George?
Uncle George was her dad's older brother, a bachelor and quite amenable ... she had no doubt she could wrap him around her little finger if she went to live with him. He was old, at least fifty she thought, but he had always been kind to her. They didn't see him often, they were not a close family like that, but he was family nevertheless and he must be willing to help her, surely? She would ask if she could stay with him. Her decision made, she undressed, took a shower, brushed her teeth and slept surprisingly soundly.
The following morning was Saturday. Candice got up, quite confident in her plan, and went downstairs for breakfast. She knew she would have to tread carefully and not antagonise either parent or her plan would be doomed to failure. She was subdued, but determined to be respectful.
Both parents greeted her coolly. They had obviously not forgotten or forgiven her outburst and temper tantrum last night. She had to appear contrite.
"Dad, Mum, I'm sorry for how I reacted to your news last night," she began, her temper well under control. "It was just such a shock you see. Obviously I'm pleased that you have this brilliant opportunity to work in Hong Kong, Dad, you deserve it. But you must understand that I really don't wish to go to Hong Kong with you. Please may I go and live with Uncle George instead?"
Both parents stared at her, shocked at her proposal. She didn't even know George that well. He didn't visit often and he lived forty miles away, so she would still be leaving her school where she was at sixth form, and all her friends.
"Is that truly what you would prefer? To live with Uncle George rather than travel abroad with us?" Dad asked, incredulously.
Candice nodded vigorously, not trusting herself to speak, she was so nervous of their reaction.
Mum also stared at Candice in disbelief. Truthfully, George had always scared her as he appeared to be very strict, with a love of rules and regulations. Surely Candice would not like... then she smiled. Maybe this was precisely what Candice needed, and George would never tolerate her rudeness, or her bad behaviour. He might just be the answer to more than one problem. She smiled secretly.
"That's a great idea Candice," Paula agreed, "Gerry, why don't you invite George over so we can discuss the possibility?"
It all happened swiftly after that. George arrived the following day and was surprisingly amenable and agreed to have his niece stay with him while her parents were abroad. He did explain a few details to her, outlining the kind of behaviour he would expect from her, but she didn't take much heed. She was too pleased with herself for finding her own solution to her problem. There was just a small statement that made her a little nervous, but she dismissed it as being an idle threat.
"You must understand that I am a bachelor Candice, and used to my own space since your cousin Kelsey left home, so I will expect you to observe my rules. Any infractions will have consequences: specifically that I will put you over my knee and spank your bare bottom if you misbehave. That is a condition of you coming to stay with me," he announced with a slight smile.
Her eyes shot up to meet his. She knew he was a lecturer at a local college and sometimes appeared to be strict, but she didn't believe he was serious. His wink softened his comment and convinced her that he was only joking, so she smiled angelically and answered him.
"That's ok Uncle George, I'll behave impeccably, so you will have no cause for complaint," she promised him.
Both her parents grunted in disbelief at her statement and she scowled at them. Gerry and Paula exchanged glances with each other, then with George. They smiled conspiratorially. They had already discussed the subject of discipline privately and given George full and absolute authority over Candice, which most definitely included spanking rights! At this moment in time, Candice was blissfully unaware of what was in store for her, despite his warning. With her current track record, she was sure to incur George's wrath sooner rather than later. Gerry and Paula were only sad that they would not be there to witness her bent over George's knee getting her bare bottom spanked! Neither of them would ever be able to spank their only daughter, it was simply not in their nature.
Within a month, George came to collect Candice and drop Gerry and Paula off at the airport. The parting was amicable, but with no sadness or reluctance regarding the separation from either Candice or her parents. George took note of this peculiar lack of emotion, but said nothing. His brother had regaled him with complaints about Candice's behaviour, attitude, foul language, bad temper and her ungratefulness for all the material things he provided. He would get to hear her side of things in due course he had no doubt.
They continued their journey to his home in silence, both in a contemplative mood. George would give Candice the time she needed to get used to the idea of living without her parents. He could not accept that she was as unconcerned about their parting as she appeared to be, that would not be natural. He had managed to enrol her on a suitable course at the college where he worked as a lecturer. It was near enough the same as her previous course; she had begun studying earlier in the year. He had perused her previous school records of achievement, reports and grades; she seemed to be an apt student but lacked motivation in certain areas. He had already decided to 'motivate' her efforts to improve her grades in his own particular way, which she would find out soon enough.
As he turned the car into the driveway of his home, Candice could only gape at the intimidating appearance of the ancient, imposing house she realised she had never visited before. Uncle George had always come to visit them, They had never been invited to his home. It was a two story, four bedroomed house, including a loft conversion and she wondered why he needed such a large house when he mostly lived alone. It certainly looked impressive though, and she was intrigued by the ivy climbing up the walls, giving it a slightly sinister appearance.
"Wow Uncle George, your house looks ancient and it's massive! Are there any ghosts?" she asked, her excitement building as she scanned the front of the house with interest.
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