I crept down the boys corridor, trying to be as quiet as a mouse so I wouldn't wake anyone. The guys would have a field day if they saw me down here at this time at night and their wildness would surely alert the Administrators. I didn't wear any shoes, the pitter-patter of my bare feet was enough noise as is. Thankfully the boys corridor hallway was shorter than the girls because there was only four of them and six of us.

"Crap." I whispered to myself as I tripped on the area rug, nearly falling flat on my face.

I got up quickly and did a perimeter check, the coast was clear. I should have worn my robe to keep my teeth from chattering. It was so cold that my breath was visible in the air. Luckily I was nearly to my room, only up the stairs and to the left.

"Stop." I heard a deep voice emerge from behind me just before I could take one step up the stairs. "Naomi?" Mr. Davis asked.

"I-I..." I suddenly lost my voice.

"What're you doing out of bed? It's past midnight." He crossed his large arms over his wide chest and cocked his eyebrows, impatiently waiting to hear my poor excuse.

"I had to use the bathroom sir."

"You ventured all the way down to the common bathroom? What was wrong with the bathroom in your corridor?"

"It was occupied." I said quickly, Sarah had been in there for a while now. More than likely smoking again and blowing it out the window.

"If you used the common bathroom, why are you in the boys corridor?" He shot me a snide smirk, assuming he caught me in a lie.

"It's the quickest way to the common bathroom, otherwise I'd have to walk all the way around the building just to get there."

"Did you ask Mr. Patry? He's on duty tonight for your floor whilst I am down here with the boys." He leaned forward, closer to my face.

"No sir." I looked up and saw that he was unsatisfied. "I would have! But I couldn't find him in the hallway and I really, really had to go."

"I'll escort you back to your room." He placed his hand behind my left shoulder and narrowed his eyes.

Uh oh. It's never good when one of the administrators escort you back to your room, that is equivalent to a lecture or, worse, a punishment. I felt like I was shrinking as we climbed the stairs, I was walking as slow as he'd let me but what wasn't much. I was desperately trying to stall getting back to my room until I could mentally prepare myself for what was to come.

"Here we are," he opened my door, ignoring the large creek produced from the old wood. "Naomi, if I find out you're lying to me, the consequences will be severe."

"I promise sir, I am not lying." I said as steadily as I could.

"Goodnight then."

"Goodnight sir." I said surprisingly.

I instantly went straight to my bed, I got away with that but with Mr. Patry on duty tonight I didn't want to take any chances of screwing up. This is what has become of me; obedient - well mostly obedient, dutiful, and entirely cautious everyday fearful of what would happen to me if I put even a toe out of line. What's funny is that I'm not even supposed to be here. I never knew why my parents sent me to the Academy because I was always a good kid. I got good grades, was in academic clubs, don't get me wrong I would occasionally mess up but what kid doesn't? It wasn't until March that I found out why I was sent here. It's strange how an ordinary family can have so many unopened doors and how something can just disappear so quickly.

FLASHBACK:

I had all my bags packed, I am so ready to get the hell out of this place. I've only been here for three months and my bottom is permanently marked for life. All I had to do now was go down to Mr. Patry's office and collect my confiscated items and then my parents will be here to get me. I skipped merrily to the office, rubbing elbows with everyone who would be left behind here while I escaped with happiness. Most of the girls here are not my type of friends but they were nice to talk to since they understand what we all go through everyday.

"Mr. Patry?" I knocked on the door before opening it with his approval. "I'm here to leave." I was grinning from ear to ear.

"Naomi, why don't you take a seat?" He offered the chair in front of me.

"I won't be staying, thank you. My parents will be here soon and my bags are upstairs." I glanced in the corner and saw Mr. Davis standing there.

"Please, I insist." He leaned forward, indicating that it wasn't really an offer.

I sunk into the chair and noticed how concerned everyone in the room looked. Mr. Patry ran his hands through his blonde hair and then rubbed the back of his neck. Mr. Davis had his cell phone in his hand, casually tapping it against his leg while using the other hand to pick at his tie.

"When are my parents coming?" I asked, trying to break the silence of the awkward situation.

"Naomi, we're not entirely sure how to explain this to you but..." He looked up at my confused face and just stared at me for a minute. "your parents won't be coming back."

"W-what? What happened to them?" I turned to Mr. Davis.

"We're not quite sure. We've been trying for weeks to contact them but we've been unsuccessful." He closed his eyes and shook his head.

My parents were pretty ordinary people, dad was a lawyer and mom was a teacher so there was nothing dangerous about their lives. We weren't those people; the kind that bad things happen to and we were all very close. There has to be something wrong here.

"No...no, I don't believe it. They wouldn't just leave me! There must be an explanation."

"Trust me honey we've been looking for one for weeks now, we've even called the local hospital to see if there were any presence of them." Mr. Patry chimed in.

I buried my face in my hands. This was supposed to be a good day. We were supposed to be reunited. A big, happy family just like we were before "How could they do this?"

"Trust me Naomi, I'd do anything within my power to take away the pain." Mr. Davis came to me once I started crying and wrapped me in his arms.

"What's gonna happen to me?" I whispered into his comforting chest.

"We'll file to keep you here so you don't have to go to an orphanage." Mr. Patry assured me, even though it wasn't as comforting as he meant it to be.

_______________________________________________________________________________

"Naomi!"

I jumped off my bed and tried to pull focus of my vision on who was screaming my name this early in the morning. It had to have been before eight since I was still asleep and my alarm never went off, I started panicking as I remembered last night but I definitely was not lying to Mr. Davis. There was no way I could be in any trouble. I finally woke from my sleepy daze and saw him standing just before my door.

"Young lady, do you have any idea what time it is?"

Standing there like a mute, I glanced at my alarm clock behind me. It was 10:30 a.m. I slept through breakfast and I missed the chores I was supposed to do for this morning. Here at the Academy, wake-up is at 8:30 a.m. everyday, except on weekends, breakfast is at 9 sharp and two random chores are assigned to you in the morning. Then you have until lunch to get your individual responsibilities done such as cleaning the room, laundry, and so on. He took a step towards me and placed his hands on his hips.

"I asked you a question and I expect an answer." He took another step.

"I'm sorry, I slept in sir."

Irritably tapping his foot he said, "You have precisely half an hour to get yourself ready for the day and then meet me in my office." He glanced around my room and saw how out-of-place it looked. "And bring me your hairbrush!" He exclaimed before shutting the door.

My hands started to shake as I pulled out my uniform. I ironed it last night after remembering my past meeting with Mr. Patry where he was frustrated that my blouse was wrinkled and he made sure to show his distress during my punishment. I've been here for seven months and I am somehow still in trouble as often as I was when I first arrived. Even though I was adopted by them, I am still not eligible to leave the Academy until I come of age. Which means I unfortunately am stuck here until I turn eighteen. Four. More. Glorious. Years. Thankfully the kids here were not home-schooled so we got to escape this harsh reality for eight hours a day but we're all on summer vacation right now.

I brushed my hair, purposely leaving it down and in my face so I could avoid the judgmental stares and embarrassment I'll be facing when I carry the brush to Mr. Davis' office. Everyone would know what I was about to receive. I took a look at myself in the mirror and checked to make sure my blouse was tucked in and my uniform was neat.

Assuming everyone was doing their chores, I peeked my head out into the hallway. Luckily no one was around to see me. Although, I did bypass Mr. Patry and was greeted with his disapproving head-shake as he noticed the hairbrush in my hand. I reached Mr. Davis' office but was not prepared whatsoever. I quietly knocked, hoping he wouldn't hear it or I would have a few more minutes to regain my composure.

"Come in." He answered quickly.

I opened the door. He certainly was already prepared. He was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, his shirt sleeves were rolled to his elbows and his jacket was dangling on the back of the chair. He gave me a stinging look as if he were waiting for me for so long but I know I'm well within the time limit he gave me.

Before he could tell me, I closed the door to limit the ability of my crying being heard or, god forbid, seen. I noticed my tears were soaking the collar of my blouse since my chin was glued to my chest, trying to keep my head down and avoiding his glare.

"Stop your crying Naomi, I haven't even started yet."

"It-it's going to hurt so much."

"As it should, you slept in this morning and that cannot go ignored. You also did not complete your chores because of this. What will happen when school starts this year and neither I nor Mr. Patry will be here to wake you or to make sure your do your assignments?"

"I'm sorry sir." I wiped my face with the back of my hand, exposing the hairbrush.

"Hand me the hairbrush, let's begin so we're not late for lunch." He signaled me to come forward as he sat straighter in the chair.

Crap! I forgot about lunch. Everyone's going to see me in the lunchroom after this is over, they'll know what I got and more than likely laugh at me. I've been here the longest and yet I'm still incapable of staying out of trouble. Not to mention that I'm also going to have to answer to Mr. Patry later this evening when he comes to my room for inspection.

"Don't keep me waiting Naomi." He held out his hand.

I gently put the hairbrush in his palm and unbuckled my pants, pulling them down to my knees. I walked as steadily as I could to his right side and bent over his lap, instantly gripping the legs of the chair. He shifted to adjust my position, moving me forward so I was forced to raise my bottom, practically burying my nose in the carpet, and then he rested his free hand on the small of my back.

SMACK. He began with his hand as he laid down a piercing blow right to my left cheek. I took a deep breath through my nostrils and gripped the chair legs tighter. SMACK. SMACK. SMACK. SMACK. SMACK. He didn't say a word, which only made this so much worse because I couldn't direct my attention on anything. There was nothing here but the pain. At least Mr. Patry will lecture during the spanking so I can focus on his words. SMACK. SMACK. SMACK. SMACK. My eyes were starting to burn with my tears coming down my cheeks.

"That was a sufficient warm up." He shifted a bit once more and then sat the backside of the brush towards the bottom of my rear-end. Right on my sit-spots.

SMACK. I couldn't help but throw my feet up to prevent some of the assault on my backside. SMACK. SMACK. I reached back and started to pant heavily now that I had time to process the pain.

"Naomi move your hand now." He spoke sternly but I couldn't bring myself to listen.

I started sobbing over his knee. I wanted to listen to him but the pain was becoming too unbearable to not attempt to stop or even ease it.

"Stand up." He took my shoulders and guided me off his lap.

I stood there in front of him, sniffling and breathing heavily. He shook his head at me and grabbed my wrist to pull me closer.

"Hold out your hand."

I did as he said, I made a mistake by giving him the opposite hand that he wanted and he took offense to that. He aggressively grabbed my other hand, the one I used to reach back, and brought the hairbrush down on it. Creating both a smack on the flatter parts as well as a soreness in my knuckles. He did so once more and when he released it, I started rapidly waving it trying to get it to cool down.

"Get back over my knee, we're not finished."

Not surprisingly, this made me sob even harder but I quickly went back over so I wouldn't provoke him any further than what I already had. I felt a drop in my stomach and instantly got dizzy when I saw his shadow raise the hairbrush high.

"I'm going to add five swats," he grabbed my waist to hold me firmly. "you would have only of had two more but you choose to act irresponsible during your punishment."

"Yes sir." I whispered.

SMACK. SMACK. SMACK. SMACK. SMACK. He went fast and somehow managed to lay them down harder than before. I could feel the heat radiating off my rear end but he didn't give me any chance to calm down. SMACK. SMACK.

"Alright. Stand up."

I jumped off his knee immediately and wiped all the tears off my face, even though they were easily replaced with new ones. Afraid he would change his mind, as he has a tendency to do if you even utter a wrong word, I pulled up my grey slacks and buckled them. Unsuccessfully attempting to fix my blouse in the process.

"Well you have twenty minutes before lunch," He checked his wrist watch. " so I suggest you return this to your room," he handed me my hairbrush back. "and then pull yourself together before joining us in the lunchroom."

"Yes sir." I nodded my head because my words were a little hard to understand. "C-can I..." I stopped to catch my breath and then to correct myself. "May I use your restroom?"

He sighed and looked me in my eyes, "Naomi I told you some time ago that neither I nor Mr. Patry will grant you special treatment." He stood and turned the chair back to face his desk. "If you're embarrassed about being seen like this out in the halls then you shouldn't behave in a way that will cause this. You may use the bathroom in the girls corridor."

That was harsh, but I expected nothing less when he's in his disciplinary mode. He's actually a really good man, smart and educated, and a complete gentleman but a giant hard-ass when acting as the disciplinarian.

"Right, of course. Yes sir." I rubbed my sore behind because my pants were starting to cause an uncomfortable burn like sandpaper.

"You are dismissed." He sat down in his regular chair and began sorting paperwork.

I went to the door but before I could push it open, I wanted his forgiveness. "Would it be okay if I came back here tonight?"I turned back to him.

He studied me for a few before calmly replying, "Of course honey."

I wiped my eyes one final time before leaving his office and hurrying to the girls corridor where I wanted to wash my face and trying to calm down so my face wouldn't look so red.