Marbury Plains Read online

  Martin nodded. “Thank you, Kathy. I think that will be of a great help to me.”

  Cecilia sighed and laughed. “That’s good, because I don’t think that Mrs. Beatty ever made it through an entire week without using the paddle.”

  The two women at the table laughed as Martin lowered his head and rested his forehead in his hands and shook his head back and forth slowly.

  When the laughter ceased, Kathy leaned closer to her companions and began to speak in a near whisper. “And just so you both know, I’ve already picked up rumors from one of the second year girls. A couple of them have already expressed that getting a paddling from our new principal may be kind of a rush. There are some dares going around, and for some of them it may turn into some kind of rite of passage.”

  Martin again lowered his head and buried his face, groaning theatrically as Cecilia and Kathy laughed at his reaction. He then felt Cecilia’s hand on his elbow. “I think that you understand, that means that when you have to do it, you need to make it memorable.”

  Once again to laughter, Martin lowered his head and moaned. They all finished eating, and while Cecelia headed to one of the three classroom buildings for a meeting, and Kathy headed to a dormitory to speak with one of the resident assistants, Martin went back to his office. What he did not know was that Kathy was going to be discussing a matter that had already surfaced with one of the students.

  Martin arrived back in his office to find Lily at her desk, and he stopped and leaned against the doorsill to speak to her. “Just wanted you to know, to help initiate me into the world of spanking grown women, the first time I have to do it Kathy is going to witness for me. Actually, she’s going to be coaching me.”

  Lily began to laugh. “I suppose I will find it somewhat intriguing if I’m sitting out here listening to it take place.”

  Martin laughed and began to open his door. “I’m sure that you will.”

  Martin went to his desk and sat down to go back over some sections of the policy manual that had been unclear to him regarding the grading curves used by the instructors. Some of the instructors had been high school teachers, while others had taught at the college level. Since classes at Marbury were not accredited for college courses, the school had come up with its own grading system.

  Martin turned to his computer and logged in, then began to examine the files that better explained the grading process. He settled into his chair and found himself quickly immersed in the complex system.

  *

  At the Sunset Dormitory, Kathy sat in the office as the Resident Assistant Cynthia Ward explained, “So, I found Polly sneaking in after curfew last night. In fact, it was forty minutes after curfew. And then, to top it off, I startled her and she dropped her purse and I heard glass breaking. She had a bottle of bourbon she was bringing in. She’s certainly not off to a good start. And to make it worse, she’s just eighteen, so even the possession of it was illegal.”

  Kathy began to laugh. “Alcohol in the dorm. That’s why I got my ass busted years ago. And I didn’t even have the curfew violation to go along with it.”

  Cynthia nodded in agreement. “Plus yesterday morning I found her smoking in the laundry room. I don’t know why she didn’t just go outside and smoke like she was allowed to. I guess because there was a light rain or something. I didn’t have time to tell you about that yet. But she is really asking for it.”

  Kathy closed her eyes and shook her head. “Needless to say, I’m going to recommend to Dr. Simpson that she gets a very generous dose of the paddle.”

  Cynthia sighed loudly. “I already told her to expect that. She says she’s not afraid of getting a spanking.”

  Kathy pulled out her cell phone. “I don’t think she understands what she’s in for. At least, not if I can help it. She reminds me a little too much of myself at her age, and I remember the cure as if it happened yesterday.”

  *

  Martin turned off his phone, glanced at the paddle on the wall and began to nervously pace the floor in his office. After a minute, he stepped outside to speak to Lily. “Okay, K-K… Kathy is bringing me my first pad-pad… paddling victim. They should be here in a minute, but tell Kathy to come on in, and tell this… Polly… to have a s-s… seat.” He began to run his fingers through his hair. “Oh, gosh.”

  Lily stood, and walked slowly toward him. “Hey, boss. She’s the one getting her bottom tanned. You’re the one doing the tanning.”

  Martin laughed nervously. “But she’s eighteen. She’s a grown woman. Besides, it’s one thing to suspend a student or give her Saturday school…”

  Lily laughed, and without either of them realizing it at first, she placed her hand on his shoulder to reassure him. “She’s a grown woman who needs a good paddling. And you need to make sure she gets one.”

  Suddenly, they heard footsteps in the hallway. Martin took a deep breath and began to disappear into his office, but turned around for a moment. “When this is over, you can give me a grade based upon what you hear.”

  Just as his door closed, the door to Lily’s office opened and Kathy appeared with a petite young woman with long brown hair at her side. “Dr. Simpson is expecting us.”

  Lily looked at the doomed woman next to Kathy and motioned to one of the empty chairs. “Polly, you have a seat. Kathy, you can go right in.” Kathy nodded and opened the door and went into Martin’s office, but Polly seemed to be the symbol of coolness and nonchalance as she sat down in one of the guest chairs and waited.

  Lily was astounded that the young woman about to receive the paddle seemed so much more collected and calm than the man about to use it on her. She found herself somewhat transfixed by the absence of any outward anxiety or emotion. She would’ve expected a distressed expression, at the very least hands being wrung and some rapid up and down motions of a foot or crossed leg, but Polly appeared to be waiting for a class to begin.

  When the door finally opened, Polly did not react, but Lily jumped at the sound of the doorknob turning. That was when Martin’s handsome visage appeared in the door, and something about the scenario and the moment made Lily’s heart begin to race. She seemed frozen in place as she watched Martin open the door wider and motioned toward the waiting young woman. “Polly, I need to see you now.”

  The still transfixed Lily watched in silence as the attractive young woman rose from the chair in a most casual fashion and strolled, actually swaying with a sensual flair, past Martin and into his office. The door closed, and Lily shook her head and began to hold her breath.

  Inside the office, Polly was greeted by the sight of the paddle resting at ready on the desk, and an area wide open between the desk and the door due to the guest chairs having been moved to a corner. Martin had already taken off his sport coat and tossed it over the back of his chair.

  He picked up the paddle and held it in front of his chest as he spoke to Polly. “I understand that you broke curfew. Is that correct?”

  Polly put her hands behind her and swayed back and forth slowly. “Yeah… I did.”

  “And you were bringing alcohol into the dormitory?”

  Polly swayed once again, then tilted her head and smiled meekly. “I didn’t mean to drop my purse and break the bottle.”

  “And you violated safety rules by smoking in the dormitory?”

  More sways and a shrug, followed by a flirtatious smile and a turn of the head. “It was raining.”

  “Polly, I want to hear any reason that I shouldn’t give you a paddling.”

  Polly paid no attention to Kathy, who was filling out a small form. She shrugged again, still holding her hands behind her back and swaying. “I’m too old to be spanked.”

  Martin found himself becoming surprisingly impatient. “You’ll have to do better than that, Polly. Because I think you really need a good paddling.”

  Polly rolled her eyes, and then folded her arms in front of her. “Okay, okay. I hope you enjoy this.”

  Martin glanced quickly at Kathy, who was standin
g behind Polly with her hand to her forehead, shaking her head back and forth. “Nobody’s going to enjoy this Polly… especially you.”

  Martin turned toward Kathy, her own face red for a number of reasons, and gestured for her to stand several feet to the left of his desk. She walked around them, still shaking her head and came to stand with her arms crossed.

  Martin took Polly by her left elbow and turned her sideways, then slowly spoke in a quiet voice: “Bend over. I want you to place your fingertips on your ankles.”

  Polly once again rolled her eyes as she let her arms go limp at her sides, then sighed loudly and dramatically and began to bend over slowly. Extending her display of obstinacy, she made it a point to bend slowly, her fingertips progressing even more slowly as they reached near her ankles.

  By the time she had finally settled into her ordered position, Martin’s anxiety and reluctance to wield the paddle had greatly dissipated. There was little warning or preparation. He tapped the paddle lightly once against her lower bottom, then brought it backward in an arc, and immediately returned it to the curvaceous bubble butt that was just barely covered by the short yellow skirt.

  The loud CRACK and simultaneous squeal unnerved even Kathy who had experienced the fiery sting of the same paddle in the past. A couple of seconds later, the paddle slammed into its soft and tender target once again, with similar results. With very little hesitation, a third loud CRACK echoed in the room, this time followed by audible crying. Then another set of two brought about frantic cries of pain.

  The sixth time the paddle found its target, it generated a loud yelp, but then three more loud cracks followed in rapid succession, each of them louder and more frightening than the one preceding.

  Polly finally realized that her paddling was over, and she stood up slowly crying heavily and furiously rubbing her bottom.

  Martin handed her some tissues from the box on his desk. “Polly, do I need to say anything more?”

  As she wiped her face and blew her nose, she shook her head back and forth rapidly before finally speaking, “No, sir. I understand.”

  Kathy stepped forward and handed Martin a small red form and a pen. “Polly, I need for you to sign this, then you can go on your way.” The sobbing young woman scribbled her name with shaking fingers, and put the tissues to her face once more and virtually ran out the door.

  Martin watched as Polly departed, then placed the paddle back on his desk and turned slowly to find Kathy standing with her jaw hanging open. She shook her head slowly and began to laugh. “And I thought that the paddling I got was really hard. But, wow!” Without realizing it, she had reached her hands around and placed them protectively on the back of her own little yellow skirt.

  Kathy took another step forward. “Are you aware that you never looked at me for any signals?” She began to giggle.

  Martin took a deep breath and shook his head. “I guess I got lost in the moment. That young lady pressed too many buttons.”

  Kathy began to laugh once more and started to walk slowly toward the door. “I think that you and your paddle will be just fine on your own from here on.”

  As Kathy walked rapidly through the lobby and out into the hallway, Martin strolled slowly to the doorway and glanced at Lily, whose eyes were large as saucers. “Oh, my… I jumped every time you whacked her. Whoa.”

  Martin closed his eyes and shook his head. “Hers was an extreme case.”

  Lily laughed. “You mean, you won’t always paddle that hard?”

  He shook his head and folded his arms. “No, like I said, she was an extreme case. She had to be taken down several notches right from the get go.”

  He turned and began to walk back into his office. “Hey, boss?”

  He turned to look at Lily, who was leaning forward on her elbows. “I hope you don’t believe in paddling your secretary.”

  He closed one eye with a wink and tilted his head. “Only if she deserves it.” He smiled, turned and went into his office, closing the door, while Lily sat motionless as a smile crept across her face.

  She loved the fact that her new boss had such a free and easy sense of humor. She could not believe how, in such a short period of time, she had come to feel so at ease around him. She only wondered if he sensed that she had quickly become so attracted to him.

  Chapter 3

  During the remainder of the week, Martin had been able to spend most of his time on the more expected administrative work. Kathy had referred two young women from her dormitory for minor infractions, but they had only risen to the scolding and pep talk level.

  As Kathy had sensed, the severity of Polly’s paddling had become widely known in the rapid fashion that only gossip can provide. The two young women who had been instructed to visit his office were obviously and visibly unnerved by the experience, and each seemed greatly relieved at being dismissed with her tail unblemished.

  The weekend gave him some time to reflect, as there were no school activities that required his presence. He was able to spend some time on that Friday evening driving around and getting acquainted with the town of Marbury, and found it to be a somewhat quaint although still typically Texan town. There were enough vestiges of the old West to be seen to make him feel comfortable and remind him of home, but the atmosphere seemed laid-back and relaxed.

  It was his first leisure time since he had received the call from Cecilia. With each hour that passed during the quiet weekend, he also realized that he had made the right decision in accepting the position. He liked working with Cecilia and Kathy. Most of all, he liked working with Lily.

  In his free moments, and sometimes even in his busy ones, Lily was foremost in his mind. He also knew that, in his former position, having a relationship with a subordinate would have been frowned upon. But he was at a place very different than his former school, and as Saturday afternoon rolled around he decided that the question needed to be asked. He would just have to give it time.

  *

  Things continued to go well at school. To his relief and Cecilia’s delight, a full two months had passed since Polly had left his office with her backside on fire. And in the following weeks, there had not been a single infraction requiring Kathy to bring someone to him with the expectation of her being paddled.

  He was also enthralled that he and Lily had seemed to have worked together for years. But even more, there was an unspoken but indisputable attraction growing between them, and Martin felt that it was no exaggeration for him to look at it as being a simmering sexual tension.

  It was another Saturday, and he once again could not get the lovely red haired woman out of his mind. He took a deep breath, deciding that it was time for action.

  He pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled down to Cecilia’s cell number. After a nervous and hesitant beginning to the conversation, he finally was able to express to Cecilia his desire to ask Lily to go to dinner with him, provided it would not be a problem with Cecilia or the Board of Directors.

  Cecilia sounded almost happy to hear the question. She went on to inform Martin that the school had no specific regulations forbidding such a relationship. The school was in fact a private enterprise, so there was nothing prohibiting what he had in mind.

  A relieved Martin thanked Cecelia, then turned off his phone and summoned up some more courage.

  Cecilia pumped her fist in triumph as she called out to her husband in the other room: “Hey, Eddy. Guess who’s playing matchmaker again! Remember how I told you that I thought our new principal and his secretary would make a good…”

  *

  Martin had almost neglected out of forgetfulness to exchange cell phone numbers with Lily. To his relief, when she answered after seeing his name appear on her phone screen, her hello was cheerful and upbeat. After several initial seconds of stammering, he was finally able to convey his message.

  Three hours later, Martin pulled his Impala into a parking space in front of an apartment building that bordered a small city park. He stepped out o
f his car and watched for a moment as children threw pieces of bread and crackers into a pond as eager ducks splashed the water furiously to race to the bits of food.

  He so appreciated the scene of wholesome family fun that he did not at first see Lily walking out of the front door of the apartment building. “Saw you pull up.” His head snapped quickly to the left and he smiled and walked to meet her, he was immediately entranced by the vision of her in the short black dress that tended to flatter the curves he had immediately come to appreciate upon meeting her.

  Lily gestured toward the pond where the children continued to feed the ducks under the close supervision of their watchful parents. “I couldn’t help but see the smile on your face when you were watching them.”

  Martin nodded. “I want some of those sometime.”

  Lily shrugged as they continued to watch. “You could do that. Ducks don’t cost very much.”

  Martin bit his lower lip and shook his head back and forth. “You have quite the sense of humor.”

  Lily laughed and laid her head against his shoulder. “Being a parent would be special.”

  Martin shrugged and laughed. “I’m sure that I’ve told you. I don’t have any of my own, but I have some little nieces and nephews that I enjoy. I don’t see them often, and watching that scene reminds me of them.” They observed for several more seconds, and then Martin took Lily gently by the arm. “Shall we?”

  They went to a restaurant just a couple of minutes from Lily’s apartment, a quiet place with simple, traditional American food. Before and after they ordered, Lily told Martin all about the town of Marbury. She spent about ten total seconds talking about her ex-husband, a Marbury police officer who had moved away and was working for the FBI.

  Although it was a very small city, Marbury was the biggest town Martin had ever lived in. Where he had grown up and subsequently worked as a principal was not much more than a hamlet. The school district included farms and ranches in the surrounding countryside. Even when he had gone to college, it was a small school in a dusty town in northern Texas.