I fixed my hair and put on a spray of perfume before I headed down towards Mr. Davis' office for the second time today. I wonder what happened that would make him want to see me before dinner rather than afterwards like we had planned. We normally meet after dinner because we know we won't be rushed nor disturbed because everyone would be settling in for the night since it was Friday and our "free time" doesn't start until tomorrow. Nevertheless, I remained cautiously optimistic as I passed everyone through the halls, some of whom were giving me curious looks. A lot of students here didn't know that I was adopted by Mr. Davis and that made it very suspicious that I spent more time than usual in his office. They more than likely think that I'm always getting punished, which wouldn't be entirely false.

I knocked on his door even though it was wide open and took a step inside. He was facing the windows, sitting in his chair, more than likely pondering something.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked somewhat cheerfully, trying to hide my concern.

"Yes, sit down." He spun his chair around so he was facing me and it was then I realized that his expression was nothing short of anger. "I want to show you something."

"O-okay?" I asked confused.

He turned his computer monitor around, placed his hand at the bottom of his chin, and stared at me as I watched it. It was a video from around two weeks ago, me and Kayla were outside in the backyard with my phone. Making a bunch of different phone calls.

"You have your phone," he paused the video and leaned forward in his chair. "but I distinctly remember grounding you from it that week. Am I correct in this?"

"Yes sir." I said quietly.

"Did you ask Mr. Patry to use it? Because you certainly did not ask my permission." He stood up, resting on his knuckles against the table.

"No sir, I didn't ask for it." I shrunk back in my chair.

"So tell me, where did you get your phone?"

I hesitated on that question because I knew the answer would for sure send him on a rage that would leave me six-feet under. Actually more like eight-feet because he would definitely go the extra two feet to make sure I knew how screwed I am. He cleared his voice, signaling his loss of patience for my silence.

"In your desk drawer sir"

He nodded his head, casually walking behind me and slamming his office door shut. I felt like the room was shrinking around me and I was suffocating from all the intensity.

"So we have three issues we need to address; disobeying a direct order, lying, and stealing." He leaned back against his desk.

"Lying? I didn't lie about anything...."

"Yes you did, because you took something from me without telling me."

That actually made me really angry at him. He's just trying to chalk up all these minor implications to get me more into trouble.

"I just didn't tell you something you don't need to know." I said defensively and bravely if I may say so.

His eyebrows raised and he stood up so he was towering over me. "Don't you dare sit there, after everything that I've done for you these past few months, and tell me what I do and do not need to know!"

I put my head down and remained quiet. He had done a lot for me lately, especially saving me from a foster home, and making sure I had everything I need to at least try to continue living my life as normally as possible.

The severity in the room was eventually broken with a ring. "Yeah Jim?"

He turned his back to me and nodded his head before saying "She's going to be here for a while. I was doing the monthly check-in with the security cameras and I caught Naomi on her phone, which she stole from my desk around two weeks ago."

Mr. Patry not surprisingly raised his voice and I could hear him say, "She certainly deserves to have her hind tanned for that! Do you want to handle this or should I?"

"No, no, I'll make sure the message sinks in when I conduct her punishment." He turned back and made eye contact with me, even though I quickly adverted my eyes.

Their entire conversation created goosebumps that spread down my whole body. I was about to get the worst punishment of my life and they were sitting there actually talking about how to make it more severe right in front of me.

"I'll see you at dinner, thanks." He hung up his phone and slammed it back on his desk.

"C-can I please say something?" I asked as he began rubbing his temples.

He looked surprised at first, more than likely shocked that I would voluntarily speak out against my wrongdoing. I know I'm already in a hole but this is my last attempt to defend myself before I suffer his wrath.

"I didn't technically steal it, the phone is mine and my parents bought it..."

"What did you just say? The phone is not yours, nothing is yours! Your parents may have bought the phone but it is I who continues to pay for its service and usability. You live by the grace of me so I would choose your words more carefully young lady. "

"This is stupid! I should not be punished for something I did two weeks ago."

"Watch your tone!" He barked at me before taking a few steps forward and kneeling down to my height. "Remember who you are speaking to Naomi Taylor or so help me I will issue a weekly punishment for you!"

I've never had a weekly punishment before and I couldn't stomach the idea of going to Mr. Patry's every morning and then Mr. Davis every night for a punishment. I rolled my eyes and turned my head in frustration but that didn't work out so well for me. He grabbed the underneath of my chin and forced me to look at him.

"You did not ask permission for your phone nor did you ask to go inside of my personal desk to retrieve it. You are fourteen-years-old! I should not have to tell you that it is wrong to touch, violate, or take something that belongs to someone else."

Tears were welling up in my eyes as his voice grew. Each word he spoke intensified my fear of him and what was to come. He released my chin and backed away, trying to conceal the anger he was harboring inside of him. I looked over at his cabinet and began thinking of what he is going to use when he administers my punishment. The paddle. The belt. The yardstick. I didn't even want to think of when he would give it to me, my mind was screaming for it to happen after dinner and not before.

"Alright, I've made my decision." He turned back to me, repeatedly shaking his head. "You will receive half your punishment now and the other half after dinner."

"T-two spankings?" I shakily asked.

"Yes, consider the first a warm up for what is to come for your insolence and disrespectful attitude in addition to the other three issues I mentioned." He mocked. "You're to come straight here after dinner. You will not stop to speak to anyone, you will not go to your room to get anything, and you will not stall in any way possible."

My heart sank to the bottom of my chest. There's no way he can be serious.

"Now stand up and bring me the ruler from my cabinet." He walked to my chair, waiting for me to move so he can take my place.

I staggered, nearly fainting with every step I took, over to his cabinet where he kept his instruments and opened it. They were all neatly sorted so I had no trouble finding the ruler but I definitely had trouble grasping it and brining it to him. I could hear him rolling his shirt sleeves up and sitting down.

"The longer I wait Naomi, the worse it'll be for you." He spoke sternly.

I closed my eyes and dried my wet cheeks. I brought it to him shortly afterwards, to which he gave me a disappointed look before saying, "You hold on to it while you're over my lap, I'll let you know when I'm ready for it" He patted his knee.

I kept looking at the door, thinking about easy it would be to just run back to my room and lock my door. The last time I ran from Mr. Davis I couldn't sit for a week so I know it's not worth it but every inch of me wanted to find some way to escape and fight this right now.

"Move it!" He shoved, causing me to jump out of my skin.

I pulled down my pants and crawled over his lap for the second time today. He gripped my waist and didn't even give me a second to get ready before his calloused hand began landing smacks all over my backside. The stings from this morning were not helpful to my sobbing as he held nothing back. The sounds of the smacks echoed off his office walls leaving a ringing in my ears and a feeling of helplessness as he began to smack harder than I remember he could. Around fifteen smacks is where I started to whine instead of my usual silent cry.

"Quiet, it has only just begun." He taunted.

Without any struggle, he lifted my waist and tugged at the corner of my panties. I instantly felt a wave of embarrassment swallow my mind as my backside was now bare. Mr. Davis had never spanked me bare before. I stared to bend the ruler uncontrollably and thought about breaking it. It would be pretty easy like breaking toothpick especially during the situation I'm in right now.

"Now your bottom is exposed to get a harder spanking." He smacked me once more.

His words left a chilling coldness that traveled down my spine. It's true the Administrators were ruthless when it came to punishments but this was something he was doing especially for my situation.

"Ruler."

Without turning back so he couldn't see the tears in my eyes, I handed him the ruler and clenched myself. Bracing for the sting that is to come. SMACK. SMACK. SMACK.

"Mr. Davis please stop!" I yelped.

"Quiet Naomi." His voice sounded cold and unconvinced of my pain.

SMACK. SMACK. SMACK.

"Sir please." I was sobbing now. I could taste the snot running down into my mouth.

My cheeks were on fire, tears were flowing up my face and dripped off my forehead, my head was spinning in a thousand directions as I tried to make sense of the whole situation.

SMACK. SMACK. SMACK. SMACK.

I felt his grip on my waist become steady and it was then that I knew it was finally over with. When the room went silent, after the last smack echoed off the wall, I could hear how much he was panting even though it was my behind that was walloped. I wanted to jump off his lap but I couldn't find myself to move. He patted my behind, signaling me to get off. I did my best but it took me a few minutes to stand completely and I covered myself the minute I did.

"You're to stand in that corner with your hands on both ends of the ruler behind your back." He shoved the ruler into my hands because he noticed that my vision was blurry.

"I-I'm..." I stopped to bawl and get some of the pain off my chest. "I'm so sorry Mr. Davis." I mumbled.

"Save the apology for tonight after your next punishment. Now go do as you were told."

I shuffled to the corner, half naked and ashamed of myself for doing something so small and stupid. What was I thinking trying to back talk Mr. Davis. I leaned my forehead against the corner and started to think about my punishment tonight. Three punishments in one day. What the hell did I get myself into?

"Stand straight or I'll smack your hamstrings with the ruler."

"B-but sir I can't." I cried.

"Shh." I heard him open his desk drawer and shove something inside. "Have you realized what you did wrong now?"

"Yes sir."

"Tell me, what did you do wrong Naomi?" I heard him lean back in his chair.

"I shouldn't have been on my phone since I lost it as a punishment and I shouldn't have went into your desk without your consent." I was practically stuttering with every word but I think he understood me.

"This is the second time you've let me down today Naomi, your behavior was actually improving this past month. What has gotten into you?"

There was something inside of me that wanted to explain everything because I've had no one to talk to about it in months. He's been so busy with everything at the Academy that I don't want to bother him. But I guess it doesn't matter, I couldn't tell him. He wouldn't understand.

"Harold," Mr. Patry knocked on the door before coming inside. "I wanted to give you these." He handed him, what sounded like, a pile of papers.

"Thank you, I'll get these tallied."

"Ah, I see you've taken care of Ms. Taylor here." I could feel his presence getting closer and closer. He placed his hands to his sides, as depicted by his shadow on the wall.

"Well she isn't finished quite yet, we have another meeting after dinner. Don't we Naomi?"

I couldn't tell if that was a rhetorical question or not so I answered anyway. "Yes sir."

"You should have heard the way she spoke to me." Mr. Davis explained.

"Make sure you fix that attitude of hers pronto then." I could feel their piercing glares even with my nose pressing into the corner.

I started to cry even more this time. I even began hiccuping and gently yelping every few sobs or so. Mr. Patry left after a few minutes of discussing dinner with Mr. Davis.

"Naomi I know you think this is harsh, but we're trying to teach you valuable principles here. Can you understand that?"

I dangled my head, unsuccessfully attempting to wipe my tear-drenched cheeks on my shoulders. I was too upset and in pain to even answer that, a large part of me wanted to say hell no but that would definitely not be in my best interest now.

"Turn around."

I did and made sure to cover myself, even with the ruler in my hand.

"Put the ruler back and get dressed." He said while putting on his suit jacket.

I pulled up my underwear and everything, immediately regretting my choice of wearing tight pants, and walked carefully to the cabinet where I returned the ruler to its original place. I wiped my eyes and fixed my hair so it was more in my face than usual, I tried to slow my breathing but it was still bristly.

"Go to dinner, we'll reconvene afterwards."

_________________________________________________________

I tramped along upstairs to Mr. Davis' office for the second half of my punishment. Adverting everyone in my path, especially Jasper because I didn't want him to see the mess that I've become. Mr. Davis wasn't in his office but I went in anyway and stood near the door to show that I wasn't doing anything that I wasn't supposed to be doing in case Mr. Patry passed through the hallway.

"How long have you been here?" Mr. Davis appeared behind me, startling me silly.

"O-Only a few minutes sir." My coarse voice prevented me from speaking loudly and this probably irritated him but it doesn't matter to me.

"Do I have to go through my drawers and make sure nothing is stolen?" He ridiculed, scooting me further into the room and then shutting the door.

"No sir. I won't ever touch anything of yours without your permission again, I promise." I folded my hands together, just wanting this agony to be over with and to retreat back to my room.

"Well we're going to make sure of that right now." He walked to the right side of the room, where there was a wide opening strategically structured for disciplinary practices.

He kept his eyes on me as he unbuckled his belt and slid it through the loops of his pants. I haven't had the belt in a month or so but I know it'll be a large contribution to the stinging on my behind. I looked down at how thick and heavy the belt seemed now that it was about to be used to inflict a lot of soreness on me.

"Mr. Davis, p-please don't. I said I was sorry and I really am! I'm already sore..." I tried pleading but he held up his hand and shook his head.

"No, it is not my fault that you chose to act this way nor was it my fault that you were caught doing something wrong on the same day you've already been punished for another wrongdoing." He motioned me towards him with two beckoning fingers.

I took a deep breath and slumped over towards him. He stood directly in front of me, with only a few inches to spare, and leaned down so I would look him directly in the eye.

"Now, you're going to bare yourself and place both hands on the end of my desk..."

"B-but I'm so..."

"...and," He emphasized to speak over me. "if you're unwilling to do this then I will be forced to tie you down which I'm sure you wouldn't enjoy."

I glanced at his desk and down at the red-tapped line on the floor which indicated where my feet should remain. No doubt the line was especially far away as this would force me to bend over more but it seemed to be too far to where I couldn't reach. Nevertheless, I did as he said and bared myself before placing my toes on the line and extending to reach the end of the desk. He went to my left side and placed his hand on the small of my back, forcing me to raise my bottom.

"I'm going to give you twenty licks with the belt and after every lick you're to count and say 'thank you for correcting my wrongdoing sir.' Do you understand?"

My voice shriveled down into the size of a mouse as I attempted to say, "Yes sir."

I heard the belt buckle crash together as he raised his fist and landed the first one down. THWACK! My knees uncontrollably bent together as I tried to alleviate some of the pain.

"Ah! One, thank you for correcting my wrongdoing sir." THWACK! "Two, thank you for correcting my wrongdoing sir." THWACK! "Three, thank you for correcting my wrongdoing sir." THWACK! "F-four, thank you for correcting my wrongdoing sir."

He continued to spank and spank, leaving me with only second-long pauses to catch my breath and try to spit out the script he gave me. I was moping as my bottom felt like it was throbbing and Mr. Davis was becoming impatient as he had to hold me up through most of the punishment. which ironically resulted in him landing down the licks harder and harder to event out his frustration.

THWACK! "Fifteen...thank you for correcting my wrongdoing sir." THWACK! "Sixteen, thank you for correcting my wrongdoing sir."

He stopped to reposition my feet as they crossed the line, literally speaking, and continued on with my horrible punishment. THWACK!

"Ow! Seventeen, thank you for correcting my wrongdoing sir." THWACK! "Eighteen, thank you for correcting my wrongdoing sir."

"I'm going to let you go, hold the position on your own or you'll receive an additional five licks. Is this clear?" He asked as he took a few steps back and stretched his arm.

"Y-yes sir." I sobbed uncontrollably into the pocket of my arm.

THWACK!! "O-OW! Nineteen, thank you for correcting my wrongdoing sir."

"Last one." He whispered more to himself than to me.

THWACK!! "Twenty, thank you for correcting my wrongdoing sir." I spit that line out as fast as I could so the punishment was over. There was nothing resting on my chest now that it's over.

I let go of the desk and tried to stand straight but I ended up falling down on my knees. I buried my head in between my knees because I was ashamed of the state I was in and especially in front of Mr. Davis. He put his belt back on and then took my hands to help me stand up. Dressing me himself, he sighed heavily before he wiped his tears away with his thumbs and handed me a tissue.

"I'm sorry Mr. Davis. I won't ever d-do it again." I cried, wanting nothing more than for him to hold me right now.

"I know Naomi, I know. Go on to your room and I will speak with you after you've settled."

I nodded my head and ran out of the office. I saw at least six people through my journey from his office to my room but I was too distraught to even care of what they were thinking or what I looked like in the moment. When I finally arrived to my room, I didn't even bother turning on the lights. I only had enough strength to collapse on my bed and pull the covers over my head. Thankfully I made the wise decision of electing to have an internal weekend, which at the Academy means that I want to be left alone for the weekend, aside from meals of course, to do whatever I wanted to do. I didn't want to participate in any group activities so I can get caught up on some of the things I've been neglecting to do. ________________________________________________________

*Knock, Knock*

"Come in." I said quietly, my voice still not fully recovered from a few hours ago.

I was laying on my bed, reading Bless Me, Ultima trying to distract myself by any means necessary from the pain that was radiating on my bottom. Mr. Davis came in and I got off the bed to stand in his presence.

"I can see you've elected to remain inside this weekend." He said, trying to make conversation despite the awkwardness in the room. "We should talk about what happened today." he buried his hands inside of his pockets.

"Do you want me to come to your office?' I sighed, just wanting to be left alone.

"No, we can talk here." He came inside and shut my door. "I want to make sure that you understand why I did what I did."

"I understand sir, I promise." I said as sincere as I could.

He tilted his forehead to me, indicating that he was suspicious of whether or not I actually understood him or was just saying whatever he wanted to hear.

"I also need to know why you broke into my desk for your phone. You had to of known the repercussions Naomi, so why did you do it? What could have been so important on that phone that you needed to do something so inconsiderate such as that?"

I started to feel tears forming in my eyes again, causing a stinging in between my eyes from all the emotions I've felt today.

"J-just to..." I stopped to catch my breath. "To see if my parents contacted me."

He looked taken back by this. "Naomi, both Mr. Patry and I have promised you that if we ever hear from your parents we would tell you immediately."

They say that but I just wanted to see for myself. Sometimes I wonder if this was arranged from the beginning and that they both were in on it. Neither of the Administrators struck me as liars but somewhere, deep down, I know they know more than they're letting me in on.

"Please tell me there's something there that I can hold onto." I closed my book and looked down at my hands. "This would be so much less painful if I only knew what happened."

He sighed and only gave me a sympathetic look.

"Dad always said that you never turn your back on family, unless it was was someone who was detrimental for the wellbeing of the family..." I started to sob, becoming extremely hot as my face was turning red. "I'm not a good person Mr. Davis! I was never good enough for them. That has to be it."

"Naomi you are not, nor have you ever been, a bad person. You are a wonderful little girl and it has meant so much to me just getting to know you." He attempted to make me feel better but it wasn't working.

My morose tone turned suddenly to rage.

"What else is there? Are they dead? Hurt? Lost? Are they fucking vacationing somewhere, enjoying their freedom from me?" I turned around and buried my face in my hands. "They didn't forget about me did they?" I stopped to ask him this because I wanted an answer. "I miss them but I hate them because I'm going to be stuck here wondering why I'm not good enough."

With that, he pulled me into a hug. Comforting me, and pressing my head against his chest, I took solace in the fact that he recognized the pain that I was in. I felt bad that my tears were soaking his shirt, more than likely leaving an uncomfortable wetness on his chest. I felt his arms clench as he held me tighter and put his chin on the top of my head.

"You've been adopted for three months and that's a very short time for me Naomi, but now I can see that it feels like a lifetime for you and I'm sorry I haven't been a very dutiful guardian."

"You have been, just too much on my hide."

He chuckled, "Unfortunately that will never go away honey."