Casual
Fridays
©
1999 Mary Catherine Whitney
All Rights Reserved.
(multiple M/f, semi-cons, no sex).
12 September 97 (Friday)
Hot dogs—4 dozen
Hamburgers—15 dozen
Veggie burgers—13
American, cheddar, jack, swiss cheese
Hot dog and hamburger buns
Lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, etc.
Condiments including ketchup, mustard, etc.
Sodas, tea, lemonade Ice Salads including potato and . . .
“Knock, knock, knock . . .” Andy looked up from his list of items for tonight’s Back to School Barbecue and set down his pen. “Come in,” he says as he takes off his glasses and straightens his tie. It was just after morning chapel, a few minutes before the warning bell for class rang. Helen had an appointment at the dentist this morning and as it was the first week of the fall term Andy didn’t have anything scheduled on his calendar. He was surprised to have an unexpected visitor.
From the other side of the door Mary Catherine takes a deep breath, nods to herself and turns the knob, letting herself inside. “Good morning Dean Michaels,” she says as she crosses the room and stops in front of his desk. Andy looks at her with a smile on his face. “This is a surprise Mary. What are you doing here? Class starts in a few minutes and I wouldn’t want to see you wrack up demerits for being late your first week back,” he says as he motions her to sit down.
Mary sits in one of the two straight-backed chairs in front of Andy’s desk and sets a thick envelope and a small slip of paper on top of the polished surface. “I’ve already been to class Dean but Sister Constance sent me to see you.”
As she speaks the bell rings-a quiet echo out on the Quad. Andy picks up the items Mary placed in front of him and looks up at her, noticing for the first time that Mary isn’t wearing her tie and the top button of her crisp white oxford shirt is unfastened. Mary blushes slightly as his gaze focuses on her neck but keeps her eyes level. He finally looks up into her eyes and asks, “Want to tell me what’s going on Miss Whitney?” Her blush deepens and she wipes her palms on her skirt. “It’s a protest Dean,” she says quietly as she stops fidgeting and sits up straight. She looks over at the envelope then back at Andy. “I’m representing the ASB on this matter. The details are in the envelope.”
Andy pulls a thick sheaf of papers out of the manila envelope and smiles to himself. “Representing the ASB on this matter?!” Mary sounded so grown up! He looked at her more closely. She looked more adult this fall. In a mere three months she looked like she had blossomed quite a bit. Andy had a feeling that he wasn’t dealing with an uncertain schoolgirl anymore, but a confident young woman. “You look like you've grown this summer Sport,” he says casually as he begins to look at the papers Mary Catherine had given him. “I’d like to keep focused on the matter at hand if you don’t mind Dean Michaels,” she responded firmly. His smile reached his lips this time and he grinned broadly. “Of course Miss Whitney. Now what precisely is the matter at hand?”
Mary Catherine starts to stand, but Andy motions for her to keep her seat. She nods and drops back into the hard wooden chair. “Yes Dean, well as you know I’m the junior class representative to the ASB, as well as the junior class vice president.” He nods, this wasn’t news to him. “Go on,” he says. “I’m not sure what this has to do with . . .” he stops as he gets to the part outlining the ASB's formal request, understanding what her little protest is all about. "Amendment of the Saint Francis Dress Code?" he says slightly exasperated. "Now Mary, we discussed this last term. I promised that I'd revisit this issue with the Trustees this fall and you know I'm a man of my word. This is going to take time though. Until the matter is settled I expect you to follow policy. You're a leader on campus and the other girls follow your example. Right now you're not setting a very good one by being out of uniform." "I'm sorry you feel that way Dean, but you know that one of my campaign promises was to try and revise or abolish the Saint Francis dress code. I intend to keep my promise to all the girls who believed in me enough to elect me." He nods, understanding fully. For Mary Catherine, this would be a matter of honor. She'd made a promise and she'd do whatever she could to keep it. Still he had a job to do and hopefully Mary understood that as well.
Mary Catherine looks up at him, trying to gage his feelings and mood. It hurt a little bit that he seemed disappointed in her, that he didn't seem to understand her point of view. "The petition is signed by all the girls on campus Dean, as well as all of last year's senior class and a number of other alumni. There's also letters of support from five members of the faculty." He flips through her materials, surprised. The ASB was serious about this and by the looks of things Mary had been very busy considering this was just the first week of school. She must have worked on this over the summer break as well. Underneath the petitions were three proposals for amendment to the current dress code. One was for total abolishment. The second was for a move from the full uniform they wore now to a modified one . . . formal dress uniform on Thursday's like always, khaki's, oxfords and sweaters or polo's depending on the season for other days, open dress on Friday's. The third was for simply going casual on Friday's.
"You've been busy Mary and I'm impressed by your thoroughness," he says finally. "I promise that I'll present your request to the Board of Trustees at next month's meeting." Mary smiles, sitting up straighter. "Now I can tell you that I feel strongly about this issue too. I don't support total abolishment of the dress code, I think it fulfills an important role here at Saint Francis. It helps you girls learn attention to detail, discipline . . ." Mary's smile fades and her nose wrinkles as Andy lists all the reasons they should keep wearing a uniform of some kind. "It teaches us that individuality isn't something to be embraced," she says quietly. Andy shakes his head. "I don't agree Mary Catherine. I can see each of you girls as strong individuals, even when you're in uniform. Like I said I don't support total abolishment, but I do agree with you on the point of Casual Friday's. I know it's worked well at Linden Hills and Jordan Prep and a number of other schools. I would even consider supporting your modified policy with a few additions. For now though I need you to give me time to work on things with the administration, ok?" Mary Catherine nods. "Good girl," he says, slipping her information back into the envelope. "Now how about you button up that collar and put your tie back on and get to class? I'll give you a note to get back in without demerits just this once."
Mary looks up at him and slowly shakes her head. "I'm sorry Dean Michaels, but I can't do that. I'm not wearing my tie on Friday's in protest of the current policy and I won't wear it on Friday's until the matter has been resolved one way or the other. I've already spoken to the other girls and told them this is my protest so you don't have to worry about anyone following my lead on this but I WILL be protesting this policy from here on out." Andy isn't surprised. Mary held very strong convictions and once she'd made up her mind about something there was little anyone could do or say to sway it. "I understand your position Mary Catherine, but I want to make sure you're clear about mine. I am the Dean of this school and there are certain rules and standards that must be followed, even if I don't agree with all of them. You know the penalty for willfully breaking the Saint Francis uniform policy, right Mary Catherine? She takes a deep breath and nods, her ears beginning to ring.
He stands up and crosses the room to the sofa, beckoning Mary Catherine to join him. As he sits down he says, "Since this is your first offense of the term I think we can cover your demerits with a quick trip over my knee young lady. Let's get to it so you don't miss too much of Sister Constance's class. Before Mary Catherine could say a word she felt the Dean reach up and wrap his arm firmly around her waist, pulling her across his lap, bottom prominently raised, legs in the air, head low to the ground. Her face flushed hotly as she felt him neatly fold her skirt to her waist, exposing her snug white panties and the tails of her freshly ironed shirt. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, her throat becoming uncomfortably tight as she felt him tug her panties down to mid thigh, exposing her pale bottom, highlighted nicely by her deep summer tan. Mary might as well have been wearing her tie at the moment. She had that same breathless feeling as when she fastened it a little too firmly around her neck. Mary Catherine had nearly forgotten precisely how embarrassing it was to be turned over the Dean's knee and have her bottom bared like a child. It had been almost three months since her last spanking, but all the feelings suddenly flooded back and she felt as if she were six instead of 16! As for Andy this was the first spanking he'd had to administer this term and it felt a bit strange. Mary Catherine wasn't the little girl he remembered; she'd begun to fill out and her bottom had a curve and firmness to it that he didn't quite remember. He quickly focused on the task at hand. Mary wasn't a brat by any stretch of the imagination but she had a will of iron and thus was one of the most difficult girls at Saint Francis to spank.
"Ready young lady?" he asked as his hand patted her small, firm cheeks. She nods, her ponytail bobbing up and down, trying to compose herself enough to take her spanking gracefully. It would have been far easier to go across his desk for a couple of pops from Thor. Being bare bottomed over his knee like a little girl was embarrassing. Mary Catherine knew that was why the Dean chose to often spank girls over the knee. They thought twice about making mischief when it was likely that they'd end up across his lap bare-bottomed, squirming like a little girl as his hand landed on their bare cheeks. She'd vowed to look more mature in front of the Dean this year, yet here it was, the very first week of school and she was having her bottom exposed to him like an unruly child! His hand suddenly landed on her left cheek with a resounding smack. It didn't have much bite to it, but it sounded incredibly loud in the quiet office. "Smack, smack, smack . . ." Andy's hand quickly fell into a steady rhythm across Mary Catherine's cheeks. A lecture wasn't necessary in Andy's opinion, he knew why Mary had decided to go against him and that anything he said at this point wasn't going to do a lot of good. As for Mary, her eyes were firmly shut and she winced slightly whenever his hand came down twice in a row on the same spot. "Smack . . . smack . . . smack . . . smack . . . SMAAAAAACKKKK!"
It was over in just a few minutes, but to Mary Catherine it seemed an eternity. Her bottom was warm and she felt unbalanced, his arm wrapped around her waist holding her still, his hand making crisp smacking sounds across her bottom. Andy stopped as quickly as he started and Mary felt her panties yanked firmly up over her smarting cheeks. Lowering her skirt, he gently set her on her feet and patted the spot beside him on the sofa. Mary sat gingerly, red-faced but dry-eyed. "I hope you know that wasn't fun for me either Mary Catherine. I hated having to spank you for something I know you believe in, but I have to apply the rules to everyone," he says gently. Mary looks at him and gives him a rueful smile. "I know Dean, nothing personal, right?" He nods and adds, "I'll need your tie now Mary Catherine." Grimacing she pulls it out of her backpack and hands it to him. "I still won 't wear it today Dean Michaels, spanked or not." He nods again. "I know Mary, but that won't be an issue this week. We're dealing with a willful violation of the uniform policy. I'm afraid the new rule the Trustees enacted last spring is pretty clear on this. As Andy talks he buttons Mary's top button of her oxford shirt and smooths the collar out. He then slips her tie in his pocket and helps her stand. "You're to go without your tie and with that collar buttoned until next Thursday's formal assembly. You can pick up your tie after chapel on Thursday. Ok?"
Mary turns bright red and nods, barely able to meet his eyes. She'd forgotten that the Trustees had put some new rules into effect following their visit to three of Saint Francis' sister schools in Great Britain last spring. Girls who'd had bare bottom spankings at Saint Margaret's, Saint Vincent's and Saint Catherine's for willful disobedience had their ties taken from them for a week to let the entire school know that they'd been spanked on the bare like naughty little girls. What's more, they had to keep their shirt collars fully buttoned at all times. The Trustees thought it would make an excellent deterrent to misbehavior if the girls had to publicly wear evidence of their spanking. Andy walks Mary to the door and gives her shoulder an affectionate squeeze. This new rule was very hard for him, every bit as hard as he knew it would be on his girls. He hated having them embarrassed publicly. Andy firmly believed that discipline was best handled privately between him and the girl in question unless he was handing out discipline as part of a group stunt or he needed to teach the girls a stern lesson regarding safety. As far as he was concerned this new rule was nothing but a thinly veiled threat to keep them on the straight and narrow. He much preferred gentle persuasion when possible and a firm reminder when needed. "Keep your chin up, ok Sport?" he said as he led her out of his office and raised her chin which had been tucked to her chest ever since he fastened her collar. Mary Catherine nods, her eyes meeting his. "I'll try Dean," she says giving him a tentative smile.
Andy watched Mary Catherine walk down the hall until she reached the stairs, then turned and walked back to his office and his list of things to do. By lunchtime the entire campus was buzzing about Mary Catherine's spanking. Andy felt himself grow slightly red as the entire dining hall went silent when he walked in. A number of the senior girls gave him hard looks and as much as he hated to admit, it their looks hurt. He'd worked hard to establish a rapport and sense of trust with his girls and now they felt as though he had betrayed them. He wanted to explain, to let them know that he was on their side but it was part of his job to enforce the rules when necessary. At Olivia's table Mary Catherine sat with her back facing the Dean but she could feel his eyes focused on her. She felt bad. Even though he had been the one to discipline her and subject her to this humiliation she knew he was just doing his job and that it had hurt him too. She remembered something Britt had told her a few years ago . . . the Dean was a stickler for the rules and no matter how much he liked you it wasn't going to save your bottom if you misbehaved. Every girl was treated equally. If anything he tended to be firmer with the girls he liked because he expected more of them.
She turned her attention back to the conversation. The girls at her table were really cutting the Dean down, saying how he'd been so unfair to spank Mary and worse to make her go without her tie so everyone knew it. It wasn't his fault, no matter how mad she might be at the Dean it was wrong for the rest of them to talk like that about him. He was really nice, sweet even. She thought about all the nice things he'd done for her and the other girls over the years. Suddenly Mary couldn't take it anymore and she pushed her chair back, and got up, racing out of the dining hall so no one would see her start to cry. Andy watched her run off and started to get up to follow, but he saw Olivia get up and hurry after her, after saying a few stern words to her other girls. He decided to let Olivia handle things.
Olivia came back a few minutes later, Mary Catherine in tow. Her cheeks were streaked with tears and she was blowing her nose with a Kleenex, but otherwise seemed to be ok. Andy watched from time to time-the girls at Mary' s table were pretty quiet for the rest of the meal. Following lunch Eleanor Fitzpatrick, senior class president, and Olivia Browning, president of the ASB, made a number of announcements. The girls listened attentively. Activities for the barbecue, sign ups for clubs and study groups, freshman elections which would be held in a couple of weeks . . . "One last thing before we go," Olivia said as she closed her notebook and looked up. "I'm sure you all know that Mary Catherine Whitney, junior class representative to the ASB was disciplined this morning for violating the current uniform policy." Mary began to blush as a number of girls began to talk in angry whispers. "She took our petition to the Dean as well as our request for either abolishment or modification of the current policy. As you can tell by the way she's wearing her collar Mary Catherine was spanked by Dean Michaels for her peaceful protest." The whispers grew louder and Andy began to blush slightly. "I'd like Mary Catherine to come up here and tell everyone the outcome of this morning's meeting with the Dean."
Mary slowly makes her way to the front of the room and takes the microphone from Olivia. "Thanks Liv," she says as she turns to face the other girls. "As Olivia said I gave Dean Michaels our petition and request for changes to the uniform policy this morning and I did get spanked for violating the current uniform policy." Mary blushes furiously as Brooke Edwards asks if she took the spanking on the bare. "The details aren't important," she says quickly avoiding the subject and the Dean's eyes, which she can feel staring at her. "I just wanted to say a few things."
Mary takes a deep breath then continues. "First the Dean has promised to take our request to the Trustees. He is opposed to abolishment of school uniforms." A flurry of groans and dirty looks descend on Andy. As much as he would like to stop this, it was Mary's right to speak her mind. "Ok everyone, that's enough," Mary says firmly. "We've all talked about this and it's not surprising that he opposes the elimination of school uniforms. That doesn't mean that he isn't on our side. He will support our request for Casual Friday's in front of the board and is willing to meet with the ASB on our proposal for a more relaxed uniform most days. With a few modifications he would be willing to consider lending his support for that proposal as well." The girls brighten slightly. "Now we need to keep strong on this issue to keep it in the forefront. I've written an editorial for the first issue of the Saint Francis Ledger and I'm also writing an article opposing mandatory uniforms in schools for the YWLC magazine. We'll also be debating this issue with Linden Hills next week and we need a large turnout to cheer our debating team on. Volunteers for posters are also needed." She looks over at Andy, there were several other things she had in the works with the other members of the ASB but she wasn't about to let him in on all their plans right now! Once again Andy was surprised how mature Mary Catherine sounded. She was speaking quietly, but forcefully-a natural authority seemed to surround her.
"I only have one other thing to say today about this matter," Mary said. "My spanking today and the Dean's confiscation of my tie were completely justified. No matter how much I disliked the consequences of my actions they were appropriate given my behavior. What I did today violated the rules as they currently stand and I fully expect the Dean to discipline me again when I repeat my behavior next Friday." Andy felt his throat tighten. He wasn't really expecting her to pull this stunt again next week no matter what she'd said earlier! He would have to spank her again, on the bare with his hand plus an additional set with a small paddle or hairbrush for a repeat violation. He'd also have to confiscate her tie again. Andy turns his attention back to Mary. ". . . so I don't want to hear any of you complaining about how unfair the Dean is. It's his job to enforce the rules and that's all he's doing. He may not like doing it but as long as I'm disobeying him he'll continue to discipline me in the manner the Trustees have deemed appropriate. I don't like getting spanked but I believe in this issue and if a sore bottom and some embarrassment is what it takes to have the Trustees consider our request it's a small price to pay. In the meantime please give Dean Michaels a break, he's only following the rules. Thanks." Mary walks back to her table to thunderous applause and Andy leaves the dining hall thoroughly stunned . . .
At the barbecue that night Andy made it a point to seek Mary Catherine out. He finally found her sitting alone in the dark on the dock, just out of the range of the bonfire. Mary's legs were drawn up to her chest and she had pulled her sweatshirt over her knees, warding off the cool night air. The fireflies were out in full force, twinkling like little yellow stars. Andy dropped down beside her and handed her a S'more. "Extra marshmallow, extra chocolate," he said, not sure what else to say. Mary looked at him and smiled as she broke the graham cracker in half and offered the other piece back to Andy. "You're welcome," she responds, knowing the offering of the sweet treat was his way of thanking her for what she'd said at lunch today. "I'm glad you understood why I had to do it Mary Catherine and you're right, I'll continue to follow all the rules at this school despite how I feel about some of them. For the record I opposed the rule about girls losing their ties and I plan to work on getting it rescinded. You made me very proud today though, taking responsibility for your actions." "Thanks Dean, that means a lot to me," she says as she bites into her dessert. "Mmmmmm, needs milk though," she says wistfully. Smiling he pulls a carton out of his pocket and hands it to her. He knew her too well. "I better move on for now Mary but I'm glad there's no hard feelings. Come join the party when you feel up to it, ok?" Mary nods and feels him ruffle her hair as he stands. She turns around and sits alone in the dark for a long time. Her heart pounded slightly as she watched him wander from group to group-talking, laughing with the girls. He was really special. She'd always had a bit of a crush on him but her feelings were growing stronger than that of a schoolgirl . . . they were beginning to mirror the young woman she was growing into . . .
18 September 97 (Thursday)
Mary Catherine hurried to Dean Michaels office immediately following chapel. She needed to pick up her tie before formal assembly. As much as she hated wearing the stupid thing it had felt strange these past few days putting on her uniform without it-as if it were somehow incomplete. The Dean's door was open and she knocked on the door jamb, waiting for him to invite her in. "Morning Sport," he says as he fishes her tie out of his top desk drawer. "Hi Dean," she says, frowning slightly as always over him calling her Sport. "Something wrong?" he asks as he gets up to walk over to her. "No, just thinking. I'm here to pick up my tie before assembly," she says, holding out her hand to take it from him. "Let me, Mary," he says as he unbuttons her collar and quickly turns up the flaps, slipping her tie around her neck. A couple of minutes later her tie is in place, the collar rebuttoned and Andy straightened it up for her. "Very sharp looking Mary Catherine," he said as they walked out of his office and down the stairs toward the main assembly hall. She gives him a wry smile. "Don't get used to it Dean, it comes back off tomorrow." He sighs to himself. Andy knew that, and he wished Friday would never come . . .
19 September 97 (Friday)
"SSSSSMMMMACKKKK . . . SMMMMAAAAACCCCKKKKK . . . WHAAAAPPP . . . CRACKKKKKK . . . SMMMACCKKK!" The freshman ruler landed smartly across Mary Catherine's bottom again and again, reddening her cheeks to a fiery crimson. Andy had already warmed up her bottom with a brisk hand spanking on the bare and he was now following it up with two dozen from the freshman ruler. She hadn't felt it in over a year . . . not since she was a freshman and her eyes flooded with tears of embarrassment as Dean Michaels firmly pulled her over his lap and bared her bottom once again like a six year old. It was horrible, she wanted desperately to show him that she was a grown-up now and for the second time in as many weeks she was over his lap, panties at half-mast. "Smack, smack . . . whap . . . crack . . . SMAAAAAAAAACCK!!!!" Mary's tears spilled over as the freshman ruler landed across the tender part of her cheeks directly over the previous spank. She managed to keep her cries silent throughout the spanking, but by the time Andy pulled Mary Catherine to her feet her tear-stained face was as red as her bottom.
"Shhhhhhh," he said as he pulled up Mary Catherine's panties and put her back on her feet. "I'm sorry Mary, come on, brave girl now . . . I know it hurt." He took her tie out of her sweat-soaked palm and placed it in his pocket before wrapping his arms around her. When she calmed down he reached up and fastened the top button of her shirt, effectively imprisoning her neck once again. He handed Mary Catherine his handkerchief and she wiped her eyes and blew her nose rather noisily. As mature as she wanted to seem in front of him it just wasn't possible at the moment. Her bottom smarted and it took all of her effort just to keep from rubbing the fire out of her cheeks. She'd been starting to fill out these past few months and for some reason, the fuller and more rounded her bottom became, the more sensitive it seemed to be. She'd taken much firmer spankings from him but this one really seemed to hurt.
She gave him a wavering smile. "Are we on the calendar with the Trustees yet?" she asked, wincing as she sat beside him. He reached over and gave her hand a small squeeze. "Not yet Mary Catherine. I meet with them next Friday and I promise to request your proposal goes on the agenda for our first formal meeting of the term." Mary groaned to herself. She'd have to endure at least two more trips across the Dean's knee before the Trustees even heard their case. Andy could sense her frustration even though she didn't make a sound. He wished things could be moved along faster as well, he hated the thought of Mary Catherine taking unnecessary spankings. He knew it was pointless but he still had to try. "You know there's no shame in giving up your protest and just waiting for the Trustees to meet. I think you proved your point to the other girls. They're all on your side in this matter. You don't need to sacrifice your bottom again or your pride Mary." He reaches over and smooths her collar, refastening the button that had come loose. "It matters to me Dean. I made a commitment and I'm sticking to it until the end." He nods, knowing that would be her answer. He even respected Mary Catherine for it. She wasn't the type of girl to throw in the towel just because things were rough. Honor meant a lot to Mary. "I thought I'd try Mary Catherine but I respect your decision. You ok to get back to class now?" Mary nodded, stood and went on her way, her hand on her bottom as Andy watched her walk down the stairs . . .
The next few weeks . . .
The fall term fell into a comfortable, predictable rhythm. Classes, homesick girls, squabbles over closet space and worries over places on teams filled Andy's days and nights. On Friday mornings after chapel Andy had a standing appointment for Mary to be turned over his knee, have her bottom bared and spanked for violating the dress code. They'd progressed in severity this week to the hairbrush—much hated by Mary Catherine. It had a wicked sting and as hard as she tried she couldn't stop herself from sobbing across his lap like a little girl. It was the first time she'd broken down during her spanking and he felt horrible. Mary had to be really hurting to cry like that. By the time he was through she was a mess . . . bawling her eyes out, just moments away from begging him to stop. She'd see the Dean again on Thursday morning in order to get her tie back. She had showed remarkable strength under pressure this past month. Andy was relieved that they'd be meeting with the Trustees next Friday morning. They'd asked Mary Catherine to speak at the meeting as well so with luck this would be the last spanking he'd have to administer to her for violating the dress code.
Gradually Mary Catherine's sobs died out and Andy gently eased Mary off his lap and helped her stretch out face down onto the sofa, her skirt still raised and her panties snugly wrapped around her thighs. He knelt down beside the sofa and rubbed the small of her back. She was so lost at the moment she didn't even realize her bottom was still bared. "That's it Mary Catherine, slow deep breaths, you've got it . . . now close your eyes and relax." Andy pulled a small tube of sunburn lotion out of his pocket and he placed it in her hand. "Mary, I want you to put this on. I'll go outside and give you some privacy, ok?" Mary Catherine slowly opens her eyes and raises her head, the tears still streaking her face, her eyes bloodshot and glazed over with pain. Rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand she asks, "Do you have some Visine too Dean? I think my eyes are probably as red as my . . . her voice dies out and she blushes bright red as she realizes her bare bottom is still on full display for the Dean. She buries her head back in the sofa cushion and reaches around trying to pull her skirt over her bare bottom. Seeing her discomfort Andy gently lowers the hem of her skirt so her cheeks are hidden from sight. "I'll get you some eye drops Mary. Just let me know when you're ready for me to come back."
She hears the door close and she awkwardly gets off the sofa and slips her panties off, carrying them to the bathroom. Mary Catherine washes her face and buttons her collar. She takes her tie out of her pocket and slips it around her neck, knotting it in place. Mary stares at her reflection for a moment, then disgusted yanks the knot loose and stuffing the tie back in her pocket. "Coward," she says to herself. "You almost gave in. It's just a sore bottom and dented pride. Next week the Trustees will hear you out and everything will be fine." Mary quickly yanked up her skirt, inspected the damage and applied a layer of the soothing cream to her still burning bottom taking some of the fire out of her cheeks. She dropped her skirt and pulled her panties back on and walked out of the bathroom. Crossing over to the door she opened it and let the Dean back in. He looked her over. "Feel better?" he asked as he looked her over. Mary nodded. "Much better, thanks Dean Michaels, sorry about earlier." She hands him her tie and he hands her the eyedrops. By the time he walks her out of the office she's nearly her old self-a small bounce in her step and a backward glance to give him a smile. "See you at the ASB meeting at 4:00 pm?" she asks. "You bet Sport, see you then."
He wanders back into the small front office where Helen's desk is located. "Weren't you a bit tough on her Andy?" Helen asks him pointedly. His face flushes at Helen's accusation. He HAD spanked Mary Catherine particularly hard this morning. The conduct code dictated it, she'd broken the same rule several times now and even though he knew why she did it he couldn't change her punishment. "Helen, don't start . . . the student handbook clearly states . . ." "Hmmmmmphhhhh . . . don't you give me that 'The student handbook clearly states' nonsense Andrew Michaels. I could hear Mary Catherine clear out here. She didn't do anything so bad that . . ." It was Andy's turn to cut Helen off. "I know Helen but it's her fourth offense in as many weeks. I like Mary Catherine—a lot . . . she's a very special young lady. I can't go easy on her just because I like her; I can't play favorites, you know that. She's breaking the rules every single time she doesn't wear her tie to class and until the Trustees say otherwise I have to discipline her."
Helen knew that, but she also knew that Andy tended to be the most stern with the girls he liked the most. He expected the most out of them—to be examples to the other girls, to uphold the rules, to work harder, study harder, be well mannered. Helen blamed Brittney Daniels for a lot of the Dean's rigidity. She'd really let him down with her behavior and Helen knew Andy felt it was his fault for her not straightening up. He'd felt as though he failed with Brittney and he made sure that he didn't make that mistake twice. He was never mean or cruel, but Helen knew that he was very firm with the girls that he expected the most out of. When girls like Mary Catherine got into mischief they received firmer spankings, more lines, more unpleasant chores, longer times on restriction . . . anything and everything to keep them on the straight and narrow.
Finally she says, "I know you have to spank her, but give the girl a break Andy, that's all I'm saying." He sighs, "It should all be over next Friday but I'll go back to the freshman ruler if I have to discipline her again for it, ok Helen? I hated making her cry like that too and I know she dreads the hairbrush more than even Thor. I was just . . ." " . . . following the rules. Yes Dean Michaels, I know. Maybe you'll learn some day that rules were made to be bent—if not broken—from time to time." Helen goes back to her work smiling to herself as Andy walked back into his office. She knew she'd give him a lot to think about for the rest of the day . . .
Showdown (Next Friday)
Mary Catherine was in her room brushing her hair when Andy knocked on her door. "It's open," Mary and Mandy chorused in unison. Andy asked, "Ok for me to come in girls?" and opened the door as he heard them say yes. "Good morning girls. Mandy, socks, shirttail, collar button," he says almost automatically as he walks inside their room. Mandy quickly fixes her uniform, grumbling under her breath that she knew her socks needed to be pulled up and her shirt still had to be tucked in. She was still getting dressed! Andy walked over and gave her swat on the seat of her skirt. "Just trying to keep you out of trouble Mandy. One girl in this room getting spanked for uniform violations is more than enough." He looks at Mary Catherine who is pulling up her hair in a high, tight ponytail. Mary turns her gaze toward him in the mirror and meets his eye, blushing slightly. "How about you head down to breakfast Mandy. I'd like to speak with Mary Catherine privately for a few minutes. Mandy looks at Mary and she nods slowly in the mirror. "Sure Dean . . . uhmm, I'll see you later Whitney." Mary nods and turns her attention back to the mirror as Mandy says goodbye to the Dean.
Andy waits for the door to close then walks over to Mary Catherine. She pulls her ponytail out of its scrunchie for a third time in exasperation. She needed to look perfect this morning and she just couldn't get her hair right! Andy put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Hey Sport, the butterflies getting to you?" he asked as she began to brush her hair again. "They feel like moths Dean Michaels," she said, trying to keep her voice light. It was difficult though, the words kept getting stuck in her throat. He reached around and took the brush out of her hand and began to brush her hair. Mary Catherine stiffened, the last time he'd held a hairbrush she'd sat uncomfortably in class the entire day. Andy saw her tense and he realized what was wrong. "Relax Mary, I just came to give you a little moral support. I figured you'd be a bit uptight this morning." She nodded and relaxed slightly as he brushed her hair in long, even strokes. "It's silly, I know. I've gone over what I'm going to say about a 100 times. Everyone's counting on me Dean and if I mess up and let them down . . ." Andy put the brush down and turned Mary around. "You're going to do great today Mary Catherine. I read your editorial and you're very articulate. I'm sure the Trustees are going to be very impressed by your maturity." Mary gives him a big smile, "He thinks I'm mature!" she thinks to herself. A wave of confidence suddenly flooded over her. She could do this . . .
Mary was so lost in thought she barely realized that he'd turned her back around and pulled her hair into a smooth, neat ponytail. "There, all done Sport. You look very nice this morning by the way." Mary Catherine blushed, dropping her eyes at his compliment. He looked from Mary Catherine to her dresser and back again. "Thinking of wearing the tie this morning Mary?" Her blush grew deeper and she shook her head slightly. "Sorry Dean Michaels, you know I can't do that." He nodded, picking up the tie and putting it into her hand. "I know, but I thought I'd ask. He squeezed her hand as he stared at her neck. "Do me a favor Mary, turn around and close your eyes, ok?" Confused, Mary Catherine complied and she felt something cold and hard slip around her neck. She started to reach up, but Andy whispered, "Wait just a minute Mary, don't be so impatient." She clasped her hands in front of her and waited until she heard him say, "Ok, you can open them now."
Mary opened her eyes and saw a delicate gold chain with a small medal hanging from it. She reached up to touch it and leaned closer to the mirror to take a closer look. Her brow knit in confusion. It was a Saint's Medal of some sort. "It's a Holy Spirit medal Mary Catherine-Patron Saint of fortitude and knowledge." He smiles at her and adds, "It'll give you a little extra courage and since you're not wearing your tie today, you can just reach up and touch it if you feel yourself getting nervous." Mary Catherine turns and gives him a hug. "Thanks Dean. I know this is going to be a hard fight but it means a lot to me that you're on my side." He hugs her back and they walk out of her room and head over toward Old Main.
As they walk across the Quad Andy explains precisely what will happen when they meet with the Trustees. He'll introduce the topic, Mary Catherine will have her chance to present the student's side of things, and then members of the Board of Trustees would have a chance to ask questions. They would decide today whether to vote immediately or put the issue on hold while they considered it. "What's the chance that they'll vote on it today Dean?" she asks as he leads her into the large boardroom on the third floor. Mary had never been in there before and the sight was quite impressive. It had large oak double doors intricately carved with the Saint Francis crest. Inside there was a long oak table with enormous leather chairs . Neatly placed folders were in front of each chair. There was an enormous fireplace at the far end with a comfortable grouping of sofas and chairs and a large buffet laden with fruit and fresh pastries along with juice and coffee against the wall. The hardwood floors were covered with beautiful oriental carpets and sunlight was streaming in through the stained glass windows. "I'm not sure," Mary Catherine; I hope so," he responds.
Mary's attention is drawn to a large photograph of Benning Hall, circa turn of the century hanging over the fireplace. There were six girls in Victorian style gowns with tightly cinched waists, large hats, gloves, and button-hooked shoes. Behind the girls was an older woman and four men all formally dressed. Mary stares at the photograph intently. "That's the big six," Andy says as he comes to stand beside Mary Catherine. "I know," Mary Catherine says looking at the photograph. After a pause she adds, The second from the left was my great, great-grandmother Mary Margaret Riley. Andy looks at her surprised, "I never knew that." "Yeah, first in a line of Mary' s to get shipped off here. Mary smiles suddenly. "Maggie Riley was a hell raiser you know. She was the original bad girl of Saint Francis. I've read her journal. Some of the things she did are still against the rules!" "So it 's genetic, huh?" Andy says laughing. "I think you're holding up the family tradition of raising hell just fine Mary Catherine. Now the Trustees will be here soon. How about we get some breakfast in you before they show up?" She shakes her head. I don't think I can Dean, the moths are back again!" "Sure you can Sport, just a little to settle your stomach. I don't want you fainting halfway through your presentation!" She giggles slightly, touching her medal and lets him steer her over to the buffet . . .
Two hours later Mary Catherine is wrapping up her remarks to the Trustees. "Thank you for your time ladies and gentlemen, Dean Michaels. On behalf of the ASB and the students of Saint Francis I hope you will seriously consider our request." With that Mary Catherine reaches up and touches her medal and looks over to Dean Michaels to see how she did. She smiled with relief as she saw him nod his head slightly and give her a little wink. She took her seat at the board table and took a sip of water. "Great job Mary," Andy whispered in her ear. "You were focused, concise and presented your arguments very well. I'm proud of you." Mary smiled and whispered her thanks back, then turned her attention back to Harrison Fletcher, head of the Board of Trustees. "Thank you young lady for presenting the student's point of view on this matter. I think you answered all of our questions today. Does anyone have anything to add before we decide whether to vote on this matter today or postpone it pending further consideration?" A well-manicured hand at the end of the table goes up. "Yes, Mrs. Preston-Smythe, you had something to say?"
"Indeed I do Mr. Fletcher. I must say I am utterly appalled by the goings on here today. Letting this ill-mannered brat try to dictate to us what she thinks the appropriate clothing for schoolgirls should be. When I went to school here that uniform was something to be proud of and this girl is making a mockery of it. Where is your tie young lady?" she asks Mary Catherine pointedly. Mary blushes slightly and says in an unwavering voice, "I'm not wearing it on Friday's Ma'am to protest the current policy." "To protest? Is that so? Well it's blatant disrespect, pure and simple. Let me tell you Miss, in my day a girl willfully breaking the uniform policy would have her knickers, not panties mind you Miss, but knickers taken down and she'd be given a sound spanking on the bare in front of the entire student body to teach her a lesson!" Mary turned pale, she couldn't be serious!!! "Judging by the way you look right now young lady I'd say you haven't even had that pretty little backside of yours reddened today for breaking the uniform policy, have you?" Mary Catherine shakes her head silently, shooting a panicked glance at the Dean. "Mary Catherine has been well spanked every week she's broken the dress code, I can assure you all that. It's true, I haven't spanked Mary today for not wearing her tie. I chose to wait and see what the outcome of today's meeting would be." "Well I can tell you that I will not go any further until that girl's bottom has been appropriately blistered." Mary Catherine feels the Dean slip his hand into hers and give it a little squeeze of reassurance under the table and he sighs. "Very well Mrs. Preston-Smythe," he says pushing back his chair. "If you would all excuse us for a few minutes I'll take Mary down to my office to clear the slate."
Andy gets up and helps Mary Catherine stand. She was so humiliated, but her shame deepened when Mrs. Preston-Smythe stopped them dead in their tracks by saying, "You can take care of that just as nicely over there on the sofa Dean Michaels." All the color drained from Mary's face and she nearly crushed Andy's hand as her grip tightened fiercely. "Dean?!" she whispers, completely panicked. "I'm sorry, I won't allow that," Andy quickly says. "I refuse to discipline one of my girls in front of all of you. "Fine," Mrs. Preston-Smythe says, "then I guess it's up to me to straighten her out myself." Before either one of them knew what was happening Mrs. Preston-Smythe had gotten up and walked over to them, quickly taking Mary's hand from the Dean. "No!" Andy said in a quiet but forceful voice, "I won't allow this. Mary Catherine is one of my students and I will not have her humiliated by being spanked in front of the entire Board of Trustees." Harrison Fletcher had gotten up by now and he stepped between Andy and Mrs. Preston-Smythe. "Andy, I'm sorry, you know it's within her rights as a Trustee." Mary's eyes grew wide and she looked at him pleading silently with her eyes . . . "Please don 't let her do this . . . please Dean . . . PLEASE!!!" Andy could practically hear her silent screams and he sagged slightly. It was true; Trustees COULD spank his girls. "Would you at least let me talk with her a moment?" Harrison nods and Andy takes Mary Catherine's hand back and leads her to the furthest corner of the room. Quickly Andy starts to speak in a low voice. "I 'm so sorry Mary, if I ever thought something like this would happen I wouldn't have let you speak this morning or I at least would've spanked you myself before we came up here, honest." Mary looks up at him shaking, "You mean they can do this Dean? That woman can just . . . just spank me?" He nods, not sure what else to say. "It never crossed my mind that they'd do something like this Sport." "I know Dean." Mary reaches up and touches the medal around her neck then nods at him, making a decision. "I . . . I don't want you to stay while she does it." This was going to be embarrassing enough as it was without the Dean being here as well. "I'm not going to leave you all by yourself Mary," he answers. Andy felt like he'd gotten her into this mess and if he left it would be as if he'd abandoned her. She touches the gold disk at her neck again. "You'll still be here Dean. Please . . . it will be easier for both of us if you wait outside."
Finally nodding he leads Mary back over to the table. "I'll wait outside," he says simply, giving Mary Catherine a final glance of support. "I'd like to state for the record that I am vehemently opposed to this and I will be proposing a change in policy at our next meeting." "Objection noted Andrew," Harrison Fletcher says. "I'll come get you when we're done with Miss Whitney."
Andy regretted leaving the boardroom the moment the door closed behind him. He was worried. If Virginia Preston-Smythe (Veronica's Aunt) wanted to she could make an example of Mary Catherine. Andy paced up and down the hall outside the double doors, straining to hear what was going on behind them but they were too sturdily built for any sound to penetrate. He'd had a lot of dealings with Virginia Preston-Smythe and he was not happy that she had been named a Trustee last spring. She was the one spearheading a lot of the efforts to increase the severity of discipline on campus. She was stuck in the 1960s when she had been a student at Saint Francis.
Finally Andy walked to the far end of the hallway and stared out the large picture window. The sunny morning was clouding over. In fact, the sky was rapidly darkening and the wind was picking up noticeably. The thunderstorm that was expected to arrive tomorrow looked as if it was going to make an early appearance. Just as a bolt of lightning crossed the sky a hand clapped Andy on the shoulder. He jumped at least a foot. "Relax Andrew," Harrison says lightly. "You can come back in now. It's over." "Is Mary Catherine ok?" Andy asks as they walk back toward the boardroom. "Of course Andrew, it was a spanking, not the Spanish Inquisition. It sounded loud but I doubt it hurt her very much. She didn't even make a peep." "You didn't watch?" Andy asked, not so sure about how much it did or didn't hurt Mary Catherine. He'd known her take a lot of blistering spankings without making a sound over the years. Mary hated to cry, particularly in front of other people. She was very stubborn and it would be just like her to hold in the tears just to spite Virginia Preston-Smythe. "Of course I didn't watch. I wouldn't do that to you Andrew. I knew you objected to it. You were right too, Virginia stepped over the line insisting you spank her in front of the Trustees." "Thanks Harrison. Tell me, what's the chance we can vote on this today?" They get to the door and Harrison sighs. "Virtually none. I think the Casual Friday thing might pass but the board is going to want to think about it a couple of weeks. You know how conservative they are. Change takes a while to happen." He stops and adds, We need to discuss that though Andy. This is, what, Mary's fifth spanking of the term for willfully violating the uniform policy?" "Yeah," Andy says. He stops suddenly. "Oh hell. Would Virginia enforce . . ." Harrison cuts him off. "She'll probably want a front row seat Andrew. Let's talk about it later. I'm sure Mary Catherine would like to get out of that stuffy boardroom." Another crash of thunder boomed loudly and a bright flash of lightning illuminated the entire hall. They quickly pushed open the doors and went back inside the boardroom.
The room is very subdued when they walk back inside. Everyone is in their seats, including Mary Catherine. She's sitting very still and straight, her face pale and slightly strained. Andy can tell just by her body language that her spanking had hurt—and hurt a lot. He took his seat beside her and reached over to give her hand a little squeeze of reassurance under the table. He felt her stiffen up and when he looked over he could see the blank look in her eyes, even though she was staring straight ahead at a point on the far wall. "It won't be much longer Mary. You going to make it?" he whispers. Mary nods her head almost imperceptibly. Andy can see a single tear begin to fall down her cheek and he quickly makes a motion to vote on the uniform issue immediately. In a 7-5 vote the motion fails and they schedule a follow-up meeting for a week from Thursday, precisely what Andy and Harrison feared. There'd be one more Friday before they voted on modifying the Saint Francis dress code. He'd have to tell Mary Catherine precisely what that meant to her, but not right now. He wanted her out of that room so he could see what sort of damage Virginia had inflicted upon Mary's bare bottom.
They wrap up quickly and most of the board walk out, eager to make it to the State College Airport before the thunderstorm unleashed with its full fury. It was already starting to rain quite hard and the wind was whipping around the trees. Andy didn't blame them. The airport was small and built into the side of a mountain. Only small propeller planes were able to take off and land there. He certainly wouldn't want to fly out of there in a storm, particularly one as fierce as this one was expected to be. As Andy said goodbye to Harrison, promising to have lunch with him in town next week (Harrison lives in State College) Mary Catherine sat at the board table, still staring blankly at the wall. She'd managed to wipe the tears from her eyes when no one was looking, but she was afraid to blink for fear they'd start to fall again. Harrison shakes Andy's hand and says in a low voice, "She's pretty impressive Andy. I don't care what Virginia thought. Mary Catherine made some excellent points and was quite eloquent. She's got my vote on the Casual Friday's issue. That's all I can commit to right now without some more thought. I'll work on a couple of members that could go either way. I think that spanking might have hurt more than I first thought. She doesn't look too comfortable at the moment. Get her off that overheated bottom of hers." Andy nodded and they both jumped as the entire building shook. "Damn Andrew, that sounded close. I'd better get going. I hate driving down the hill in this kind of weather." "You can stay Harrison, there's always room you know." "Thirty-fifth wedding anniversary tonight, the wife would kill me if I missed it to spend the night surrounded by a bunch of teenage girls in plaid skirts! She's the only Saint Francis girl for me . . ." Laughing Andy says goodbye and walks back to the table.
"They're all gone Sport." Andy watched Mary Catherine relax slightly and he put his hands on her shoulders and began to knead them gently. "You did a great job today young lady. I was very proud of you," he says. Andy could hear Mary's breathing grow labored and she began to sniffle. "Come on, let's get out of here Mary Catherine." Andy pulled out her chair and Mary stood stiffly. The tears were falling down her cheeks once again and she was careful not to look up at the Dean for fear he'd see her crying.
Andy knew tears were rolling down her face and he also knew that she didn't want him to see them fall. "Stubborn little thing," he thought to himself. There was nothing he wanted to do more at the moment than wipe the tears away and give her a huge hug. Andy knew he had to wait though. She'd let him in when the time was right. Another clap of thunder hit and Mary jumped, bumping awkwardly into Andy, nearly tumbling in a heap at his feet. He caught her arm and steadied Mary Catherine just before she toppled over. For a moment she forgot all about her smarting bottom. "Thanks Dean," she said. Andy knelt down and looked her over, straightening her sweater and looking at her buttoned collar. "You ok Sport?" Mary looked at him and nodded, "I wasn't expecting that big boom. It sounded like it was right behind me!" Andy smiles. "I know, it wasn't supposed to storm until tomorrow. Looks like we're in for a wet weekend. I was a little more worried about the other thunder and lightning . . . the one you felt on your bottom." Mary blushes, "Oh, that. I'll be ok Dean. It doesn't hurt too bad." "You sure? I thought I saw you trying to hold back some tears." She shakes her head, as she wipes the remaining traces off with her shirtsleeve. "I just . . . had something in my eye Dean." "Hmmm, ok, but you know, I'd feel better if we checked the damage out and got some sunburn lotion on it." They began to walk down the stairs and another booming crack of thunder hit, shaking the building to the foundations. The lights flicker slightly, always a problem in the older buildings on campus . . .
Aftermath from the meeting with the Trustees
They get to the Dean's suite and Helen greets them quickly. "Storm's bad Dean and getting worse. Benning's lost power already. I had the ground crew bring over extra firewood and I sent for extra batteries from the student union. We really need to get a new electrical system in there. A good breeze and it seems to go out these days." The power flickered again. "A couple of trees have fallen and one of the old oaks at Saint Seb's has been hit by lightning. They're canceling classes for the rest of the afternoon. We might want to do the same. Keep the girls off the Quad and inside where it's safe." "What about lunch and dinner?" Andy asks. "The girls are eating lunch in the dining hall right now and I asked them to send over something for us. Most of the staff went down, might be the last hot meal we get if the power goes."
She glanced over at Mary Catherine who was delicately trying to rub her bottom without Helen or the Dean noticing. Andy caught a glimpse of Mary out of the corner of his eye as well. It reminded him that he wanted to inspect the damage. "Mary, how about you let me take a quick peek and . . ." Mary Catherine shakes her head. "It's fine, really fine." Helen looks between the two of them and interjects, "Dean, the kitchen must be backed up. They should have had lunch here by now. Would you mind dashing over and getting it? You could make the announcement about classes being cancelled this afternoon and remind the girls about storm procedures. First big storm of the year, the new girls won't know what to do. Oh, and while you're over there could you check on the arrangements for supper? They're going to do mostly cold plates but I thought the girls could roast hot dogs on sticks over the fire like we did last spring when the picnic with Saint Seb's got rained out." Andy nods, taking another glimpse over at Mary Catherine. He could see she desperately wanted to rub her bottom again, but was too embarrassed to do it in front of him. "Let me go grab my raincoat. Helen, why don't you and Mary lay some kindling in the fireplace?" Helen nodded, understanding. Apparently the Dean hadn't been the one to spank Mary Catherine today and she wondered precisely what had happened in the boardroom. Putting her arm around Mary's shoulder, Helen walks Mary into the Dean's office and Andy grabs his raincoat and umbrella off the coat rack and hurries downstairs toward the dining hall.
"Meeting go ok Mary?" Helen asked as the door closed behind them. "I guess," Mary Catherine replied as she began to stack firewood in the grate. "Did they vote?" "A week from Thursday," Mary said as her hand subconsciously went to the seat of her skirt again. "There's lotion in the bathroom sweetie," Helen says kindly as she sees her obvious discomfort. Mary Catherine blushes furiously. "Is it that obvious?" Mary asks quietly. "Only because I know you and I know Dean Michaels. He had that worried look on his face that he gets when one of you girls are hurting. He's really concerned you know." Helen looks at Mary. "You could let him take a quick look and . . ." Mary quickly shakes her head. "NO! I know he's worried, but it's SO embarrassing. I mean, it's bad enough that he sees my bottom when he's the one . . . well, you know . . . when he spanks me, but, uhm . . . well . . . to just show him . . ." she runs out of words and busies herself with lighting the kindling in the fireplace.
Helen looks at her appraisingly then gently asks, "Precisely who spanked you up there?" Mary turns bright red, Helen can even see the color on the back of her neck and on her ears, but she doesn't answer. "Was it Harrison Fletcher? I wouldn't have thought he was the type . . ." "No, not Mr. Fletcher, he was really nice to me." "Who then?" Helen asks. Mary's blush goes from a bright red to a deep scarlet crimson. Staring at the flames she finally mumbles, "Mrs. Preston-Smythe." Helen's eyes narrow. "Virginia. I should have known. Go put the lotion on Mary and take a couple of Advil. There should be a bottle in the medicine cabinet. I went to school with Virginia and she spanked really hard 30 some odd years ago. She's probably got a hand of steel by now." Mary gave up trying to rub her bottom on the sly and stood so she could rub with both hands. "She has a hairbrush of steel too." A spark of anger ignites in Helen. "Was it a big wide black ebony Mason-Pearson hairbrush?" she asks. Mary shrugs. "I don't really know. I mean, I made its acquaintance but we didn't exactly meet face to face if you know what I mean. It sure felt big though."
Helen looked at Mary, then walked over to her and put her hand gently on Mary Catherine's shoulder. "I know you said you're fine, but I know the Dean would feel better if you let him see firsthand. It would give him peace of mind." Mary shakes her head furiously. As far as she was concerned, the Dean had already seen her bare bottom far too often this term and it was only October! Expecting Mary's answer, she says, "How about I take a look? That way I can assure him that you're really ok." Mary blushes slightly but slowly nods. Helen was almost like a mom-way better than one if you compared her to Mary's mother. Carefully Mary brings her hands underneath her skirt and slips her panties to mid thigh. She then raises the hem of her skirt, giving Helen a quick peek. It was horrible; much worse than Helen could have imagined and it was all she could do to keep from exclaiming aloud. Mary's bottom was a deep mottled red across both cheeks. There was little doubt that Mary would be sporting a fair number of bruises on her bottom this next week. The marks went all the way down to her thighs, lightening as they went, but still bright. They ended just above the hemline of her skirt. From the looks of things Virginia had spanked the backs of Mary's thighs and added a number of swats to her tender inner thigh. Helen remembered that little trick ruefully from her own encounters with Virginia during her school days. Virginia liked to spank the thighs to assure the girl unfortunate enough to be spanked would be absolutely miserable when she sat, crossed her legs or walked in the days following her spanking. Obviously little had changed since Virginia's days at Saint Francis.
Keeping her temper Helen tells Mary to go ahead and pull up her panties and get some lotion on her cheeks. "Let me know if you need more, ok sweetie?" she says as Mary Catherine walks over toward the bathroom. Helen knew the instant Mary applied the lotion to her burning bottom. She heard a loud "Ohhhhhh!!!" followed by a sigh of relief from the other side of the door. Helen's eyes closed as she listened painfully to the soft moans of discomfort as each new area was coated with lotion. Finally the moans stopped and Helen heard the water running. She was about to knock to make sure Mary was doing all right when she heard Andy walk back into the outer office and she hurried to get his office door.
Andy walked in and quickly set down the basket packed by the kitchen staff. He peeled off his soaking raincoat and hung it on the coat rack. "I cancelled classes, it's absolutely pouring and the wind is so strong I practically blew back from the dining hall. There's trees down everywhere." "Where are we going to put them all?" Helen asks. "I've got the freshmen girls camped out in the big common room on the second floor of Benning. They were making plans to turn the entire room into some sort of fort when I checked in on them. They're loving it . . . it's just a big adventure to most of them, although a couple of the girls were a little afraid of the storm." "And the other girls?" Helen says as she starts to unpack the basket containing their lunch. "Some of the older girls are going to be in the auditorium, the rest of them are planning on holing up in the common room of Grier Hall. They're signing in as they get to the rooms. I figured that was easier than just assigning them locations and having them switch back and forth because they'd rather be with their friends. I'm putting up the ASB and Student Council in here, figured we could do some brainstorming for Parent's Weekend."
He stops as he hears the water running in the bathroom. "Did she let you look?" he asks. "Yes and you were right to worry Andy, the poor little thing is going to have bruises all across her bottom and thighs." "Bruises?!" he exclaims, "I need to see . . ." "No Andy, she's really embarrassed. I gave her sunburn lotion and she's taking something for the pain. I'll get some vitamins from my desk that might help with the bruising and we'll use ice packs to reduce the swelling. She'll be fine, Andy honest. There's no skin broken. It's painful but she'll be ok. Now how long before the other girls arrive?" "An hour or two," he says, looking at his watch. "They're packing a few things . . . sleeping bags, jammies, things like that. Mandy's getting Mary Catherine's stuff so she doesn't have to go back to the dorm."
Just then Mary came out of the bathroom. She looked a bit better-not so pale and tense. "ASB and Student Council is going to crash in here tonight Mary Catherine. Mandy will bring over your gear with hers. Anything in particular you want? I can call over to the dining hall and catch her before she heads back to the dorms. She was on 'after' duty today." Mary thinks a minute and says, "Just sweatpants and a tee shirt instead of my jammies Dean, they're more comfortable." He nods and quickly calls the dining hall, asking Ms. McKay to pass the message along to Mandy. "Lunch is ready," Helen says. Mary looks over at the Dean's desk where Helen has placed a platter of grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches and big mugs of soup down on the highly polished surface. Mary Catherine looks at the hard wooden chair, grimaces slightly and says, "I'm not that hungry." Understanding, Andy picks up a tray and puts Mary's lunch onto it and sets it down in front of the fire. He pats the floor. "Is that better?" She gives him a small smile, blushing slightly. "Yes, thanks Dean," she says as she lies on her tummy and eagerly picks up a sandwich. "I think I'm more hungry than I thought. Mmmmmm, tomato soup, my favorite!" Smiling at her he walks over to his desk so he and Helen can eat and make arrangements for the weekend. A sandwich and three mugs of soup later, Mary is stuffed. The fire makes her warm and sleepy and she quickly dozes off.
Helen quietly removes the dishes and Andy walks over to slip a pillow under Mary's head. "You think it's ok to leave her there?" he asks. "I could move her onto the couch." Mary stirs as he gently lifts her head. "Oh, sorry Dean, I must've fallen asleep," Mary Catherine says as she starts to sit up. "No, shhhh, it's ok, classes are cancelled this afternoon. You want to stretch out on the couch or you comfy down there on the rug?" She extends her hand so he can help her stand. "Couch," she says as she slips off her shoes. "She should have that icepack," Helen says. "Why don't I get that while you go check on the girls in the auditorium?" The power flickers again then goes out altogether. "There's a flashlight in your desk Dean," Helen says as she moves to the outer office for the ice pack. He quickly grabs the light and says, "You do whatever Helen says ok Mary?" She nods sleepily. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night worrying about the meeting today. "The other girls will be here in a bit. We're going to brainstorm and work on things for Parent's Weekend.' Ruffling her hair he says, "See you soon Sport."
As Andy goes to check on the girls bunking in the auditorium, Helen brings Mary Catherine a slender icepack wrapped in a towel. "This will make you feel better sweetie," Helen says as she sits on the edge of the sofa. Mary smiles and tries to put it on top of her skirt. "It'll do more good underneath." Mary blushes, but nods and slips the icepack inside her panties with a groan. "Ohhhh . . . god Helen it's cold! My bottom will freeze!!!" Helen laughs, "The towel should keep it from doing that but we'll do 20 minutes on 20 minutes off, ok?" Mary nods and despite the cold quickly falls back to sleep . . . A few hours later the Dean's office was filled with girls on the ASB and Student Council. The girls brought the office to life, laughing, talking, playing games, working on the details for Parent's Weekend, The thunderstorm was fierce, power was out all across campus now and Andy used the two-way radio's to keep in constant contact with the seniors in Grier and Benning Hall, venturing out every few hours to do a visual check-in. Saint Seb's was holding strong too, though their hockey field and the Colonnade (the Saint Seb's version of the Quad) was beginning to flood. According to the radio forecasts the storm was expected to last until sometime on Sunday. He hoped whatever damage the storm inflicted could be cleaned up before the girls' parents visited Saint Francis in a couple of weeks . . .
He didn't get a real chance to talk to Mary Catherine alone the next couple of days, but he kept an eye on her. She bounced back quickly, though he noticed she spent very little time sitting. Mary tried to keep moving as much as possible, right at the center of things, taking her turn to brave the storm and check on the horses down at the stables. On Sunday afternoon the storm broke, the sun reappearing just as quickly as it had disappeared. The power came back to life and the girls packed up their things to head back to the dorms. "That was the best storm ever Dean!" several of them chorused as he walked them outside. They looked at the scene outside in awe, trees were down everywhere-some snapped in two, and others completely uprooted. It was going to take a lot of work to whip the grounds back into shape before Parent's Weekend. Fortunately, Saint Francis was on higher ground than Saint Seb's. From what he heard from Harold Patterson, the Head at Saint Sebastian's, the boys' campus was quite flooded. "Ok girls," he said as they headed toward their dorms, "I want everyone to keep away from the trees and stay inside as much as possible. Dinner is going to be early tonight. It's going to be pizzas from town. The kitchen said everything in the freezer that we didn't eat was spoiled or melted." The girls cheer at the sound of pizza, tired of franks and beans and the canned foods they'd eaten the past couple of days. "Meet at the Dining Hall at 5:00 pm sharp!" he calls out as the girls head toward their dorms.
After conducting a quick tour of campus Andy heads back toward his cottage. He calls in for the pizza's, along with huge bowls of salad, sodas and assorted desserts. It was a huge order, but Antonio's was used to Saint Francis and Saint Seb's placing monster-sized orders, particularly after the power went out on campus. "You're lucky Dean Michaels," Nate said as he took their order, "Mr. Patterson at Saint Sebastian's hasn't called in yet. I'll get your girls fed first. We've had power back since this morning and we've been making dough and salad's for the past few hours just waiting for you all to call in. You make it through the storm ok?" "Sure, the campus is a little worse for wear but nothing serious." "Good, good, we'll see you in a couple of hours Dean." Saying his good-byes Andy takes care of some odds and ends around the cottage, killing time before he has to head into town. As he 's ready to leave, Andy remembers that he needed to talk to Mary Catherine. She needed time to prepare for next week; she needed to know her options. He knew deep down she wouldn't, but he hoped for once she'd back down, swallow a bit of her pride, take the easy way out. Grabbing his raincoat he heads over to Trustees Hall to invite Mary to come into town with him . . .
Mary Catherine eagerly accepted his invitation. She was a little restless after spending the last couple of days cooped up and even a short Jeep ride into Tyrone would provide a little excitement. "Thanks Dean Michaels," she says as he helps her into the passenger seat. "I was going a little crazy in the dorm. There was so much noise, everyone was playing their CD players . . . I guess not having electricity for a couple of days made them all anxious to bring back civilization!" "You didn't miss it Sport?" he asks as they drive through the gates of Saint Francis. She thinks a minute then says, "Not really. I was kind of surprised. I love music and I always like watching movies on Friday and Saturday nights in the common room but I guess I like doing other stuff just as much-reading, playing all those silly board games in front of the fire. It was a lot of fun, even though your office was a little small with all of us crowded in there." He smiles and says as he gets on the highway. "I'm glad you girls all had a good time and you're right, it was fun-but I'm not looking forward to cleaning up campus. I've got the groundskeepers coming first thing in the morning and they're going to be working around the clock to get those trees removed. I'm going to need you girls to help pitch in for a spruce up weekend next Saturday and Sunday to make sure the campus looks great for your parents." "Sure Dean, I'll talk to Olivia to muster up volunteers through the ASB. We have a special meeting tomorrow after class to talk about how the board meeting went.
Andy takes a deep breath. He'd wanted Mary Catherine to bring it up, but now that she had, he was dreading telling her what another willful violation to the dress code was going to mean . . . He had to do it though, Mary deserved to be prepared . . . "About the board meeting Mary Catherine. I'm really sorry what happened and . . ." she quickly stops him. "I know Dean, it wasn' t your fault. It was nice that you tried to stop it and all. I really appreciate it." "No problem Mary and I'm sorry that Mrs. Preston-Smythe spanked you . . . and even sorrier that she spanked you so hard. Does it still hurt?" "No, all that ice and lotion and stuff you and Helen gave me helped a lot . . ." she stops and laughs, "but my bottom still needs to thaw out after all that ice!"
Mary Catherine looks out the window at the trees and power lines down along the highway and looks at the angry, swollen river far below the bridge as they crossed over to the outskirts of Tyrone. "Wow . . . the reservoir must have overflowed!" she exclaims. Andy slowly drives around a fallen limb on Main Street and they stop behind a long line of traffic at a blinking red light. "I'm glad your bottom feels better Mary. I wanted to talk to you though. We've got a little bit of a problem. The board doesn't meet again until a week from Thursday." Mary Catherine makes a face. "I know, trust me, I wish they had voted Friday. I understand that you have to . . . uhm, well, you know, spank me again. It's ok, I understand it's your job . . . and it's the last time, I can take it, honest." He reaches over and pats her knee. "It is my job, but right now it's not one I like very much. I haven't made a secret of how much I dislike spanking you for this. It's more than just another spanking . . . there's a rule Mary, an old one but if one of the trustees decide they want it enforced I have to go along with it." He pauses, swallowing hard again. His throat felt incredibly tight at the moment. "If . . . if you don't wear your tie next Friday . . . you'll have committed your six willful violation of the school's uniform policy in a term. Your spanking . . . I don't even know how to say this . . ." finally he breaks down and blurts it out.
Mary Catherine gasps. "NO! They can't . . ." She stops a moment and thinks, then asks, "It's Mrs. Preston-Smythe, isn't it? She's the one that would insist!" "Yes," Andy says quietly, "and I'd have to do it Mary, no matter how wrong I think it is because it's the rule." He stops and adds, "I don't want to do it, I've never hated something so much but I won't get a choice-unless you decide to wear your tie on Friday." They finally pull up to the pizza parlor and as he shuts off the ignition he says, "Please wear your tie Mary Catherine. I don't want to have to discipline you like that." Mary fights back tears and quietly says, "I don't want you to have to either Dean. I gave my word, I swore to the other girls I wouldn't give up . . . I swore it on the Honor Code . . ." He nods and goes around to the other side of the Jeep to help Mary Catherine out. "I was hoping you hadn't, but I admire the fact that you're a woman of your word. I'm proud of you Sport, remember that, ok?" Mary nods, her throat tight. She wished right now she were a child still . . . that she could take back her promise to the other girls, but she'd given her word and she intended to keep it, no matter what . . .
A special meeting of the ASB and Student Council (Monday after class)
"Ok everyone, settle down," Liv says as the girls all take their seats in the ASB lounge on the first floor of Old Main. "I think you all know the purpose of this meeting so we're going to get right to it. Mary Catherine is going to tell us what happened on Friday with the Trustees." Mary looks up from her notes. "It's pretty simple. They're going to vote on it a week from Thursday. I think Casual Friday's has a real chance to pass. Including the Dean there were five people that looked like definite yes votes. A couple more seemed like they could go either way. Six is the magic number for us. I checked the rules governing the Trustees. They need a majority on any issue they vote on in order for it to pass, but there was a section. Here . . . listen to this, 'Any tie vote of the Saint Francis Board of Trustees on an issue pertaining to the student body as a whole may be broken by the president of the ASB.'" Mary Catherine looks up and smiles. "That means if it ties at six votes apiece Olivia gets to break the tie one way or the other!"
The girls start to cheer and give each other high fives. Mary waits until they quiet down and adds. "We haven't won yet. We've got to get at least one more board member on our side in the next week and a half. I'd prefer two though. Let's face it, a clear win will make things much easier when we try to pass the modified dress code and the total abolition of the uniform policy." "I thought we were pushing for that now Mary," Arianna, the freshman class secretary said. "We are, but it's a long shot at best. Students been trying to get the uniform policy changed for the past 30 some odd years and this is the closest we've ever gotten to getting it modified. We're pushing for getting rid of it altogether but I think I speak for everyone when I say that we'd consider our fight a success if we get Causal Friday's on this go around." The other girls agree. "Wow, I don't think I could get spanked every week just so we can have Casual Day's." Mary smiles at her. "I believe in this, that's why I'm willing to really fight for it Ari." She grows serious. "There's something everyone should know though. I want you to pass the word now so no one's surprised this Friday. I'm going to get spanked again for not wearing my tie. I think you all know that by now and it's not going to change until after they vote. There's this rule though. The Dean told me about it because one of the women on the board is pushing to have it enforced and he doesn't want me to go through with it . . ."
The girls listen, shocked at what Mary Catherine tells them. "Dean Michaels' wouldn't do that, would he?" Mandy asks. "He doesn't have a choice. He doesn 't want to do it, he asked me flat out to wear my tie so he wouldn't have to . . ." "You could Mary," Olivia says, "I know you gave us your word, but no one would ever hold you to it, especially since it would mean . . ." Mary closes her eyes and holds up her hand. "A promise is a promise; I swore on the honor code. Besides, I think it would really weaken our case if I backed down. This says we're willing to go all out, that we REALLY are willing to fight for this. I'm going to do it, spread the word in the dorms to the other girls . . . quietly." Everyone nods and makes plans to get the Saint Francis grapevine going. It would reach every student by dinner tonight." "Ok, that's it," Olivia says as she stands up. Don't forget to post those signup sheets for a special spruce up weekend. I expect all of you out there and want to see a huge turnout-100 percent participation if possible. The campus needs to be made shipshape for Parent's Weekend." Everyone assures Olivia that they'll be there and they head out . . .
Olivia holds Mary Catherine back as the other girls leave. "You really ok with this Squirt?" Olivia asks. Mary's ears turn bright red. "Come on Liv, I 'm nearly 17 years old, isn't it about time you stopped calling me Squirt? I swear . . ." Olivia laughs. "Sorry Mary, I forget sometimes. Seriously though, you really ok with this? I mean . . ." Mary Catherine turns bright red. "I know, trust me, I don't like it one bit. Getting spanked is bad enough, but having to . . . you know . . ." Olivia thinks for a moment. "I didn't want to mention this in front of the other girls, but, well . . ." she pulls out her Franklin Planner and points to one line in particular on Friday. Mary turns pale. "I forgot that was this Friday," she says quietly as her stomach begins to churn. "I figured you did. It's not too late, you can still back out and wear your tie. You heard the other girls, they'd understand." Mary shakes her head. "I gave my word and that's that." Olivia nods, making plans to take care of this latest snag...
Thursday Morning
Mary Catherine allowed Dean Michaels to fix her tie for her in his office after chapel. "Big day tomorrow Sport. You sure you want to go through with this?" Mary frowns, "No, but I'm going to do it anyway." He sighs, "I'd hoped you would change your mind but I knew you wouldn't." Andy looks at her. "You going to forgive me once it's over?" She shakes her head. "There's nothing to forgive Dean, I told you I understand it's your job." She extends her pinky. "Promise." He extends his pinky with a smile and says "Promise." Andy looks at her a minute and says, "You know you remind me so much of . . ." his voice dies out, he nearly said how much she reminded him of Patrick!" "Remind you of who Dean Michaels?" she asks. "Who? Oh . . . just a friend. Anyway, good luck tomorrow Mary, I know this isn't going to be easy . . ."
Friday morning . . . Assembly
Mary Catherine finished getting dressed and looked at herself in the mirror. Shirt freshly ironed, not a hair out of place, loafers highly polished. Except for her missing tie and open collar she was the picture-perfect vision of a Saint Francis schoolgirl. The breakfast bell had sounded 10 minutes ago, but Mary was having trouble facing it. Breakfast, then chapel, then her spanking . . . spanking . . . SPANKING! "Come on Whitney, I'm starved!" Mandy says as she pulls up her socks again. Mary looks at herself in the mirror one more time. "Ok, sure, yeah . . . let's go."
Before she knew it she was waiting in the Dean's office. Her face was pale and she was dizzy and nauseous—perspiration beaded along her upper lip. Andy wasn't feeling too hot himself. He was scared—of what this spanking would do to Mary Catherine, to the other girls, to himself. Walking over to Mary he took her hand in his and led her toward the auditorium . . .
Reaching the door they could hear the loud buzz inside. "You still sure Mary?" he asks. She nods, her mouth too dry to speak. "Ok, go find your seat. I'll see you soon." Giving her a hug he watches her walk down the long aisle with her head down, avoiding eye contact with anyone in the room. He waits until she takes a seat in the front row between Olivia and Mandy then slowly walks into the room, up to the stage and climbs the stairs.
Approaching the podium Andy adjusts the microphone. "Good morning everyone. I know we have a busy calendar this morning so let's get to it. First off I' d like to welcome Mr. Patterson and student body of Saint Sebastian's. It's nice to see you all for the first joint assembly of the new term. We also have Mr. Fletcher and Mrs. Preston-Smythe from the Saint Francis Board of Trustees here with us this morning. First on the agenda is Alexander McMahon, who is here to issue an invitation to you girls. Alex . . ."
Before he knew it the last item on the agenda had been covered. "There's just one last thing this morning and then you're free to go. We'll be having an extra long break and Saint Francis would like to extend an invitation for the student's of Saint Sebastian's to join us for lunch today. A few cheers go up from the crowd, but for the most part the room is subdued, obviously everyone knew what was coming next. "I need Mary Catherine Whitney to come up on stage please."
He looks at Mary, who's been sitting with her eyes closed throughout the assembly. She takes a deep breath, opens them and slowly stands, walking over to the stage and climbing the stairs. She stops in front of the Dean, her eyes riveted to the floor. Andy looks at her a moment then out into the crowd and says, "As most of you know Mary Catherine has been willfully breaking the Saint Francis uniform policy for the past several weeks. I'm sorry to say this is her sixth offense of the term and as per Rule 39, Section C of the student handbook any member of the board of trustees has the right to request that the student in question be formally disciplined in front of her peers at assembly. One of the board members has invoked this right and therefore I'm left with no choice but to discipline Mary Catherine this morning. I am sentencing her to one hand spanking with along with two dozen from the freshman ruler on the bare over my knee."
Andy heard the gasps of shock and angry voices rise from the crowd. He silently gave thanks that Harrison said he could at least choose how to spank Mary instead of strapping her to the ancient discipline horse for six of the best, which is what Virginia wanted. "In addition, the board has handed down the following punishment. Mary Catherine, you are to go without your tie until next Thursday's assembly. Thereafter, you are to wear your complete formal uniform every day for the remainder of the term, including weekends. The only exceptions to this are when you are sleeping or participating in athletics. Do you understand?" "Yes Dean," Mary says clearly still staring at her shoes.
He led her over to the straight-backed chair that had been set in the middle of the stage and sat down. Mary's back was to the audience, but Andy smiled to himself as he slowly drew her over his lap. Almost in unison every boy from Saint Sebastian's stood up and turned their backs to the stage. Obviously word had spread to the boys. Andy was VERY proud of the boys at the moment. They could have watched, made jokes, caused Mary such a deep embarrassment that it damaged far more than her pride. Instead they decided to act like gentlemen. The girls were glued to their seats and he could hear several of the girls, most of them freshmen start to cry. Steeling himself, he raised Mary Catherine's skirt and hooked his fingers into her waistband, smoothly tugging her panties to her knees. Helen watched from the back of the room then closed her eyes as she saw Andy's hand begin to rise . . .
Mary shut her eyes as tight as possible. She felt like she was going to pass out. Her head was turned away from the students but she could feel hundreds of eyes glued to her and she started to blush all over. The room suddenly became overwhelmingly hot. Mary wasn't even aware of the fact that the boys had turned their backs on her spanking. Suddenly Mary felt the rush of cool air as the Dean suddenly yanked her panties down, baring her bottom was bared. She gasped for air, nearly breathless.
"Smack . . .smack . . . smack . . . smack . . . smack . . . smack . . . smack . . . SMACK!!!!!!' Mary gasped, then quickly clamped her mouth shut as her spanking began. Andy alternated his spanks from cheek to cheek. She shifted, nearly sliding off the Dean's lap and Andy tightened his grip, anxious to get this over with as soon as possible. "SMACK . . .SMACK . . . SMACKKKKKK . . . CRACKK . . . WHAAPPP . . . SMAAAAAAAACKKK . . . SMACK!!!!!" "UUUUMMMM . . . Ohhhh . . . "SMACK . . . SMMACCCCCKKKK . . . WWWWHAAAP . . . CCRACK . . . SMMMMMMMMAAAAACKKKKKKK!!!" Mary's eyes started to tear, she could feel them forming and leaking out from beneath her eyelashes. She bit her tongue to keep from crying out. This was her worst nightmare come true, even worse than that nightmare where she showed up in class in her underwear! It was real, but it didn't feel real, except for that rapidly building heat across her bottom. That CERTAINLY felt real enough. Everything else though—it was like a bad dream!
"SSMMAACK . . ." Mary was suddenly jolted back to reality as the freshman ruler landed for the first time across her now blushing cheeks. "SMAAAAACCCK . . . SMMMAAAACCCCKKKK . . . CRAAAAAAKKKKKK . . . WHHAAAAP . . . SMAAAACKKKKK . . ." Mary could no longer keep silent, every spank was now accompanied with a sharp gasp of pain. “SMAAAAACKK . . . Oooooh . . . SMAAAAACKKK . . . OWWWWCH . . SMAAAACK . . . CRRAAAACKKKKK . . .”
At 10 strokes the tears were flowing freely and by 19 Mary Catherine was sobbing like a little girl across his knee. She had held out much longer than Andy had thought would be possible. Her bottom was a fiery red. Through her sobs, Mary Catherine tried to gulp in deep lung-fulls of air. She knew she'd lost the battle of the tears, but she was still determined not to plead for the Dean to stop. "SMACK . . . SMAAAAAACKKKKKK . . . CRACKK . . . WHAAAAPPPPP . . . SMACKKKK . . ." There seemed to be a long pause, then it came, a hard, final spank . . . "SSSMMMMMAAAAACCCCCCKKKKKK!!!!!" As soon as the 24th spank fell, Andy set down the ruler and gently rubbed Mary Catherine's back and gave her bottom an extremely tender pat of reassurance. Most of the girls in the audience were now crying too, their eyes glued to Mary's reddened bottom. As carefully as possible Andy lowered Mary's skirt over her bare cheeks.
As Mary cried, she became dimly aware of her surroundings. It had happened and she survived. How she would ever look Dean Michaels or anyone else for that matter in the eye again she wasn't sure but she'd done it, she kept her word to the other girls. She could hear the Dean's voice in the background, reassuring her quietly. Mary was deeply embarrassed though, particularly over the fact that she had broken down and cried. It had been a hard spanking-though she'd taken MUCH harder without crying out loud. It was knowing the boys were watching the Dean bare her bottom that had pushed her over the edge.
Mary struggled, but managed to compose herself. Andy set her unsteadily to her feet. Shielding Mary Catherine from view Andy allowed her to tug her panties painfully back into place and then he gave her a gentle hug. "I'm sorry Sport," he whispered. "I know," she whispered back. Her eyes were down as he buttoned up her collar. She brought her finger up and tugged on it, trying to loosen it slightly. For some reason it felt much tighter than normal. When she brought her hand down and her tears had stopped he quietly said, "Look out into the audience Sport." Mary shook her head. She had gotten through it, but it didn't mean she was any less embarrassed at the moment. "Please Mary, it's ok, honest. I want you to see this." She took a quick peek from under her eyelashes and dropped her eyes again. Then, disbelieving, she raised her eyes again and looked carefully at the boys side of the auditorium. They hadn't watched! All she could see was row after row Saint Seb's grey blazers. The boys' backs were to the stage! Suddenly a lot of her embarrassment faded. They'd heard her spanking and worse, her cries, but she'd handled herself pretty well overall, and most importantly they hadn't watched!
Andy walked over to the microphone and simply said, "That's the final item on today's agenda. You're all dismissed." Slowly the boys turn around and the room comes to life. Quiet whispers replacing the normal boisterous voices of the students. Andy led Mary Catherine down the stairs and through the crowd. He was glad to see that she hadn't dropped her eyes again as they walked into the crowd. Olivia and Mandy and a few other girls try to approach, but Andy asks them to give Mary a little peace and quiet. "She'll be at lunch if she's up to it, ok girls?" he says. They look at each other then Olivia nods. "Sure Dean," she says. "We'll save you a place Mary Catherine at the ASB table . . ."
He quickly gets her out of the auditorium and leads her up the stairs to his office. As soon as they arrive Helen takes control . . . she's in a pure "mom" mode . . . quiet, comforting, loaded with aloe and ice. "You did SO well Mary," Helen says. "Now don't be brave, come on, we're going fix you right up. Andy, give us some privacy . . ." She closes the door to his office, leaving him in the reception area and points Mary to Andy's sofa as she says, "Bottom's up sweetie. I want you to relax while I put something on to take away the sting, ok? Now, here's some Advil . . ." The tears dampen Mary's cheeks again as Helen helps her ease her panties down and she puts a thick application of aloe on Mary Catherine's burning bottom. "Ahhhh, ohhh . . ." Mary exclaims as the heat begins to cool to a manageable level. Resting an icepack on each cheek, Helen eases Mary's panties back up to hold them in place as she says, "You let me know if that gets too cold. You'll feel better in no time . . ."
Helen gently lowers Mary's skirt and goes to the outer office to speak to Andy. He's with a boy from Saint Seb's, Helen recognizes him slightly. "A junior," she thinks to herself. He had a worried look on his face and was holding a single red rose in his right hand. "Helen, this is Doug, he wanted to see Mary Catherine but I told him I thought he should wait until after lunch." She thinks for a moment, looking at the door. The boy was handsome—tall, blonde, broad shouldered. Obviously he had feelings for Mary and Helen knew she wasn't dating anyone at the moment. Dennis Fitzpatrick had broken up with her just before the end of last term and she hadn't seen anyone since. This could be just what she needed to cheer her up after this morning's events. "I think it might be ok Dean, let me just check that Mary' s feeling up to having a visitor." Understanding, Andy nods and Helen goes back into the office . . .
"Sweetie, there's someone outside to see you," Helen says as she sits on the edge of the sofa and strokes Mary's hair. "Mandy?" Mary Catherine asks as she lifts her head and rolls over onto her hip. "No sweetie, it's a boy . . ." she pauses a moment then adds, "a pretty cute one in fact." "Really?!" Mary Catherine exclaims, forgetting all about her burning bottom for a moment. "What does he want?" she asks. "I think he wanted to make sure you' re ok. He seemed really worried." "Oh," Mary says as she blushes slightly. "Do you know who he is?" "His name is Doug. I didn't get his last name but he's tall—blond hair and green eyes. I think he's a junior like you."
Mary's face fell. "Oh, it's just Doug. I thought you meant it was a real boy . . . not that he isn't real, but Doug's just a friend." "Hmmmmm," Helen says thoughtfully. "The way he was acting he seemed like more than just a friend—like maybe a boyfriend or a possible one anyway." Mary's blush deepens but she shakes her head. "He's really nice and I like him a lot and all. I mean he's so much fun and really handsome—nearly all the girls have a crush on him, but we're just friends. I mean he's asked me out before, but just to stuff like the freshman mixer because we weren't seeing anyone and we sit together at the joint ASB meetings or when we go on hayrides. You know what I mean? Not real dates."
Sure sweetie," Helen says, "but you know sometimes boys like that . . . the one's who are 'just friends' with you realize they've been missing out on something great. Because you're friends he gets to see the real you instead of some girl who's trying to impress him by being something she's not." She stops, then adds, "that's neither here nor there though. All I know is that he's outside and he's definitely worried about you. Do you feel up to seeing him or should he wait until lunch like everyone else?"
Mary Catherine thinks a minute then says, "I'll see him now if you think I look ok." Helen quickly nods. "Of course, you look great sweetie. Do you want to wash your face and brush your hair really quick first?" She pauses, then adds, "and maybe you'll want to take those ice packs out of your panties before you see him." Mary blushes furiously now, giggling as she says, "Definitely!" She hurries to the bathroom and fixes herself up, then goes back to the couch and gingerly sits on a throw pillow. "Ok, I'm ready." Helen nods then goes to get Doug.
"She's feeling up to a visitor I think," Helen says as she walks back into the outer office. "Can I Dean?" Doug asks anxiously. He'd been wanting to ask Mary Catherine out for ages, but first they were friends, then when he finally got his courage up to ask her out on a real date, Dennis Fitzpatrick (Mary's first major crush) had asked her out. He'd had to wait all last term for them to break up. Now he finally had another chance . . . "May I," Andy says, automatically correcting Doug's grammar. He stops, remembering just how hard it was to be a sixteen-year-old guy asking out a girl. "Sure Doug, go ahead." Andy and Helen watch Doug straighten his tie, put the rose behind his back and open the door to the Dean's office, closing it behind him. Andy looks at the closed door. "Do you think it's ok that I let him see her alone?" Helen nods, "Relax Andy and stop being so overprotective. Mary's not a little girl and all Doug's going to do is ask her out, maybe steal a kiss. They're not going to do anything with you 10 feet away, and in your office no less!" He relaxes and they sit and talk about the morning's events as Mary and Doug visit . . .
"Hi," Mary Catherine said shyly as Doug crossed over to the sofa and sat down beside her. He gives her a smile, and slowly brings the rose from behind his back, handing it to her. Mary blushed furiously, turning as red as the rose. She couldn't believe it, she'd never gotten flowers from a boy before! "Thanks Doug, that's so sweet. You didn't have to." She brings the rose up to her nose and breathes deeply. Reaching up he tucks a lock of Mary 's hair behind her ear so he can see her eyes more clearly. "I wanted to Mary Catherine. Actually . . . well, I've been waiting for a long time to ask you out." Mary's mouth forms a silent O. Helen was right, Doug liked her like THAT! It wasn't as if she hadn't thought about what it would be like to go out with Doug, but either she was involved or he was or both until now. "You have?" she finally says, still a little stunned. "Sure, I just never had the nerve. You were so brave today though and I figured if you could go through that, I could work up enough courage to ask you out. I've always liked you as a friend but . . . well, I'd really like to add girl to friend."
He leans over and tips her chin upward so he can kiss her softly. Drawing back he says, "How about it Mary Catherine? Will you be my date at the Saint Seb's homecoming dance in two weeks? I know it's short notice, I would've asked sooner, but . . ." Mary nods, as she feels a tingling sensation run through her body—a lingering from the kiss, then she stops suddenly frowning . . . "I'm sorry Doug, I can't." His face falls. "You probably already have a date for the dance, huh? I knew I shouldn't have waited so long." Mary shakes her head, putting her hand on his shoulder. "No Doug, that's not it at all . . . it's . . . it's just that I can't go . . . you heard the Dean this morning . . ." He looks confused, "He didn't say you were on restriction, at least I don't remember him saying that." Mary's eyes tear up, "He didn't, but he said the board was making me wear my uniform . . . EVERYWHERE," she says for emphasis. "I can't go to your homecoming wearing my uniform. I'll look so dumb and . . ." Doug leans over and kisses her again, effectively shutting her up. When he finally draws back he says, "I don't care Mary Catherine, honest. I'll wear my uniform too, it'll be fun, you'll see . . ." She looks at him and nods, kissing him back. "Is that a yes?" he asks. "Yes," she responds, "definitely yes!"
The lunch bell starts to ring and Doug helps Mary Catherine up from the couch. He kisses her one final time and her body presses into his slightly. Doug was a lot taller than Mary and she had to stand on her toes in order to reach high enough. Suddenly his hands wrapped around Mary Catherine's waist and he picked her up to kiss Mary Catherine properly. "Doug!" she exclaimed as she felt herself literally lifted off her feet. "What?" he asks, smiling. "You're my girlfriend now and I can do things like that." He kisses her again, "I could carry you down to lunch if I wanted to . . ." "NO!" Mary says giggling now as he sets her back down, "you wouldn't dare Doug Abbott and if the Dean catches you kissing me in his office, you'll have a bottom as red as . . ."
"Knock, knock . . ." the two of them turn and Mary blushes, straightening her skirt and hair, quickly reaching up to wipe a trace of her pale pink lipstick off Doug's face. "Come in," she says innocently. Andy pokes his head in, "You two ready for lunch? I'm sure everyone's anxious to see you Mary Catherine." Mary nods and they walk out. Andy notices that Doug's holding Mary's hand and as they get to the outer door Doug quickly moves ahead to open it for her. Judging by the smile on her face Doug's visit really perked her up.
Under his breath, Andy asks, "You feeling ok now Mary?" Her smile gets even brighter if that's possible, "He asked me to Saint Seb's homecoming Dean!" she whispers. "He doesn't even care that I have to wear my uniform!" Andy slips his arm around Mary's shoulder and gives it an affectionate squeeze. Obviously she's on cloud nine at the moment and even the blistering spanking he'd had to hand out this morning couldn't put a dent in her euphoria. "You two go on ahead, we'll talk later." Mary nods and gives Andy a quick hug before going through the door and catching up with Doug. Andy watches a little wistfully as Doug takes Mary's hand again and walks her downstairs and out of Old Main toward the dining hall . . .
The vote . . .
Mary Catherine bolted out of her seat the moment the bell rang, signaling the end of her final class of the afternoon. "Au revoir, Madame DuMonde!" Mary calls out over her shoulder as she races for the door. Mandy, Alex and Kristin are off like a shot after her, all racing out of Newman Hall and running top speed across the Quad toward Old Main.
Helen can hear them coming up the stairs and she has the door open before they are halfway down the hall. "Well?" Mary asks as they crowd into the Dean's outer office. Olivia and several of the other girls are already there. They all shake their heads. Mary Catherine looks at Helen, "How long have they been up there?" she asks. "A little over an hour sweetie," Helen says. Mary frowns, she's not sure whether that's good or bad. "I was just telling the other girls that you all might as well go to your regular afternoon activities. The Dean will make an announcement at dinner tonight. No sense waiting around here wondering if they said yes or no."
The girls agree and they all start to head off for clubs and sports. Mary hangs back. "You should go too Mary, the Dean wouldn't want you sitting around all day when you could be outside enjoying the day." Mary sighs, this was her first day under formal uniform restrictions. She didn't have tennis or field hockey or riding today and her yearbook staff meeting wasn't until after dinner. There wasn't much fun she could have wearing her uniform. "Why don't you go for a walk around the lake sweetie? If the Dean comes back early I'll send him after you, ok?" Mary nods and slowly wanders off, looking back over her shoulder at the third floor windows of Old Main. She wished she could be up there right now . . .
About 20 minutes later Andy comes down from the boardroom and walks into his office. Helen looks up from her desk. For once she can't read him. His face gives absolutely nothing away. "Well?" she says when it becomes obvious that he's not going to give anything away himself. He sighs, "I owe it to Mary Catherine to tell her first, before she hears it from someone else." Helen's face falls. She had been so sure Andy and Harrison would've been able to muster up another vote after Mary took that spanking at assembly last week. "She went for a walk around the lake." Nodding Andy walked back out of his office and went to his cottage to change into jeans and a sweater before tracking Mary Catherine down.
He walks out the door then goes back, grabbing a sweatshirt for Mary . . . Andy knew Mary Catherine well and she, like most of the girls had her favorite places on campus. If she was headed for the lake, there were two spots she liked the best. The pier was too likely to be occupied and chances were that she was looking for a place to be alone. That left the stone gazebo on the far side of campus. It was private, quiet, and out of the wind. It had a spectacular view of the lake and Saint Francis behind it. As he approached he could see Mary, head bent intently over a book. "Hi Sport," he says quietly, not wanting to startle her. Mary looks at him. "Well?" she asks. 'Eight to four," he says simply. Mary's face fell. She'd been so sure, she felt it all day . . . she couldn't believe her feeling had been so wrong. She'd tried though and hadn't backed down. At least she wasn't a quitter.
Andy hands her the sweatshirt. "Here Mary, you'll be needing this," he says. "Thanks Dean, but I'm not cold," she says, carelessly folding the sweater and setting it down on her lap. "That's ok," Andy responds, "you can't wear it until next term anyway." Mary looks up at him, then down at the sweatshirt. It was brand new and had a small Saint Francis crest embroidered on it. It'll look good with khaki's, even better with jeans I suspect." Slowly she starts to smile. "It passed?!" she says, disbelieving. "Yes Mary Catherine, Casual Friday's passed eight votes to four. They'll consider a modified dress code after they see how this works out. Khaki's and no ties are allowed on Friday's starting tomorrow. I'll put out a memo to be posted on the floors covering what's appropriate—sweaters, oxfords, polo's, etc." he pauses then adds, "They also agreed to let you girls wear jeans the last Friday of the month." Mary's smile grows even wider, they'd gotten what they were hoping for on this go around and with the open dress day on the last Friday of the month, a little bit more!
He looks at her smile and says, "I wish you didn't have to wait until next term to dress down on Friday's but they won't budge on your punishment though Mary Catherine. I thought you might like to make the announcement though." "Could I?" she asks. "You earned it, Sport. This is your victory, not mine." Mary throws her arms around Andy and gives him a huge hug. "I couldn't have done it without you Dean, you made me believe I could do it . . ." He gives her a kiss on the forehead and helps her up and they walk back to campus, Mary already going over in her mind just how she'll tell the other girls the news . .
© 1999 Mary Catherine Whitney, All Rights Reserved.
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