Jenny Stokes walked towards Room 6, having been given a double detention. Jenny was thirty-seven and Emma's mum. Emma was sixteen.
Today was parent participation day when six parents were invited to sit at the back of the class and so get a better understanding of how their sons and daughters were doing.
As Jenny walked towards Room 6 she thought over how come she was making this walk to sit her double detention.
It had been an hour earlier that Jenny Stokes walked into the school and went towards her daughter's classroom. She was wearing a sleeveless white and blue patterned dress with a hem halfway up her thighs and it was summer, so she had bare legs.
Jenny wasn't the only parent who was attending today. Every afternoon this week six parents would sit at the back of the classroom and watch as their sons and daughters were taught one lesson.
Jenny had attended the class once before and still could not see the point of them. However, her daughter, Emma, wanted to show her mum how well she was doing and Jenny felt obliged to go along.
Emma Stokes was sixteen and was in year twelve. The next class was a history lesson.
The parent participation scheme had its potential issues for parents because as they were sitting in a classroom, they had to remain quiet so as not to interfere with what the teacher was doing. If a parent disturbed the class, then the teacher could issue the parent with a detention, and it was quite common for three or four parents a month to have to sit a detention. Jenny hadn't done so far although had come fairly close because she did keep chatting to any of the other parents who would talk to her.
Today, Jenny had sat at the back of the class with Priya, Nikita's mum. They were close friends and in fact lovers although neither of their girls knew that.
Priya was there to see her own daughter in class and was far more interested in her schoolwork than Jenny was about Emma's and didn't appreciate it when Jenny tried to engage her in a whispering conversation right from the start of the class.
Emma heard her mum whispering and turned around to try to make her stay quiet but all she got was a smile from her mum, who immediately turned back towards Priya to get her to respond and huffed when Priya shook her head.
The teacher, Miss Mead, was keeping a careful eye on Jenny. She knew from parents' evenings that Jenny was more interested in herself than her daughter's education and that was why she had invited her along again with five of the mums who were much more interested in their daughter's education. It was no surprise to Miss Mead that Priya, Mrs Kumar, didn't want to chat.
Priya really was interested in her daughter's education but was also aware of what could happen to parents who chatted in these classes, which was a school detention or worse. One lady she knew had even been caned, so she was intent on staying quiet and not responding to Jenny, who she knew could be trouble on occasions like this when she was bored.
Miss Mead was about the same age as Jenny and was wearing a short-sleeved white blouse and blue skirt and as it was summer, she also had bare legs.
Jenny knew she shouldn't be trying to disrupt the class but like a naughty schoolgirl just could not behave in accordance with the rules, and it didn't help that she had mainly got away with it when she was at school and reckoned that she would again now. She just wanted the class to be over so she could leave the school and go home to get ready for the theatre that evening, with Priya.
Miss Thomas was the classroom assistant. She was just twenty-two and slightly in awe of the parents, but, under instruction from Miss Mead, she was also keeping an eye on Mrs Stokes as well as the other mums. However, she could see that the noisiest of the parents was Mrs Stokes by far.
After half an hour Miss Mead had had enough of Jenny's chattering. There were only fifteen minutes of the lesson left but she was fed up with the continuous interruptions, so she walked to the back of the class and stood in front of Mrs Stokes and said sternly, "Please do be quiet as this is a serious class and you are disturbing everyone."
Jenny looked up and blushed as she replied, "Sorry, Miss Mead."
As Miss Mead walked away Jenny leaned towards Priya and said, giggling, "Naughty me."
Miss Mead was furious at being made to look foolish in front of her class, so she turned and, looking at Jenny, said in a still-stern voice, "Then take a detention, Mrs Stokes. It will start right after this class has finished."
Jenny was suddenly contrite and said, "Sorry, Miss Mead, I'll stop talking. Anyway, I can't stay after the class too long as I have the theatre this evening."
Miss Mead did not appreciate her authority being questioned like that, and, still annoyed, said, "In that case make it a double detention as that way you will only need to stay about ten minutes after the class has finished." Miss Mead added sarcastically, "Is that okay with your schedule, Mrs Stokes?"
Jenny certainly didn't take kindly to the tone of voice that Miss Stokes was using but supposed that ten minutes was okay. "Sure, Miss Stokes. I can wait ten minutes."
Miss Mead was still fuming as she looked to her class assistant and ordered, "Please take Mrs Stokes to Room 6, Miss Thomas, and give her three hundred. I'll be there as soon as the class ends."
"Of course, Miss Mead," Miss Thomas replied. She looked at Jenny and ordered, "Please come with me, Mrs Stokes."
Jenny made a grimacing face towards Emma, who gave her mum a disparaging look.
Jenny wondered if her daughter knew what was at Room 6, as she didn't.
Jenny had stood up and collected her handbag and, looking nervously at Priya, said, " See you later."
Priya pursed her lips and shook her head in despair as Jenny walked towards the door which was being held open by Miss Thomas.
Jenny then wondered if Priya knew what was at Room 6.
Jenny noted that Miss Thomas was wearing a short-sleeved floral dress with a hem just above her knees and, like Miss Mead, had bare legs. She thought it was very sedate for a woman Miss Thomas's age, which Jenny gauged was her very early twenties.
"Please follow me, Mrs Stokes," Miss Thomas said sternly.
Jenny wondered who Miss Thomas thought she was. After all, she was just the class assistant so not even a proper teacher. However, she followed Miss Thomas as she knew she would have to follow her instructions, but at least it would only be an extra ten minutes after the class finished, she told herself.
So, now Jenny was walking with Miss Thomas to Room 6 and her double detention. As they walked Jenny did wonder how come a double detention was shorter than a single detention. It did seem strange, but even so, she decided not to ask Miss Thomas as they walked quickly along the corridor.
Jenny saw the sign over the door which simply stated: Room 6. However, she also saw the sign on the door that said, 'Free,' and there were four chairs outside the room, which seemed strange to Jenny as well.
Miss Thomas opened the door and, glaring at Jenny, ordered, "Please go in, Mrs Stokes."
Jenny walked past Miss Thomas but just saw her flick the cover to the sign sideways, leaving the other half of the sign showing. 'In Use,' it now read. Did that mean she would be sitting double detention by herself, Jenny wondered?
Jenny looked around the room and saw a cupboard, a table with the surface slightly at an upwards angle, three wooden high-backed chairs, and one desk with a leather chair behind it, and wondered what kind of detention room this was.
Miss Thomas went and sat in the one chair behind the desk and got out a pad.
Jenny gasped when she saw the title on the front of the pad, which read in large letters: 'Punishment Log.' It was becoming clearer to her what was going to happen, more so as Miss Thomas opened the pad and wrote her name at the top of the page and under her name the words: 'Double Detention.' Jenny was increasingly shocked with thoughts flying around in her head. Was this really happening? Did parents really get disciplined when attending their kids' classes? It looked like they did, she realised, and not just that, but she was about to be disciplined herself.
Miss Thomas glanced up and saw the surprised look on Jenny's face. She was now sure that Jenny had not fully read the papers that went with the invitation to attend the class and kept a straight face as she explained, "So, Mrs Stokes, you will know from the explanatory notes that a single detention lasts an hour?"
Jenny shook her head in wonderment. She recalled seeing the notes but hadn't bothered to read them and was starting to regret that omission. Anyway, she wasn't going to have to spend a whole hour here, according to Miss Mead.
Miss Thomas continued, "A double detention means corporal punishment, so it is quicker although, naturally, more painful. However, it tends to get the message to behave across much better."
Jenny gasped and put her hand over her mouth and squealed, "No way, I'm not going to be punished."
Miss Thomas expected the reaction as she had seen it before with other parents who also hadn't read the explanatory notes. She stayed calm and explained, "The notes are quite clear, Mrs Stokes. Either you accept the punishment or Emma gets expelled."
That really shook Jenny as she knew her daughter loved the school and was aiming to go to uni and this was the best school in the local area, so there was no way she could risk her daughter's future and quickly realised that she had no choice.
"What punishment?" Jenny asked contritely.
Miss Thomas allowed herself a smirk, again knowing the look on Mrs Stokes' face was the same as other parents who realised they had no choice but to accept the punishment and explained, "I will be giving you a spanking. Miss Mead said three hundred so that is three hundred spanks with my hand, but I am quite proficient so it will hurt. After that, Miss Mead will come to the room and give you four strokes of the cane."
Jenny was horrified and said in a horrified tone, "I'm thirty-seven so way too old to be spanked, especially by someone as young as you."
Again, Miss Thomas was used to the rebuff, and, in fact, she loved it when one of the parents compared her age to theirs as she was always younger and much closer to their kids' age than their own. She replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "Well, like I said, you do have a choice."
Jenny scrunched up her face when she remembered the choice was that Emma could be expelled, which calmed her down very quickly, at least made her stop arguing.
Miss Thomas allowed herself another self-satisfied smile as she saw Mrs Stokes thinking through what she had said so clearly.
Jenny now knew that she had no choice and so looked at Miss Thomas and, whilst she wanted to say some very direct things to her, realised that she was in no position to vent her anger. Not now, anyway.
Miss Thomas could tell from the look on Jenny's face the fight had gone out of her and so she ordered, "Right, Mrs Stokes, please raise your dress above your waist and lower your knickers to below your knees."
Jenny winced as she did as she was told. It was still ludicrous in her eyes that a woman her age was going to be spanked, let alone that the person spanking her was way younger than herself and easily and a lot closer to her daughter's age than her own. Even so, she again told herself she had no choice, and, worse, was that she told herself that it was wholly her own fault because if she had read those explanatory notes, she would have known not to chatter the way she did.
Presumably, it was also why the other mums didn't chatter as they must have read the notes, Jenny told herself, although she realised as soon as she said it that it was more likely that the other mums didn't chatter because they were more interested in their children's education. Priya was, she knew for sure.
Miss Thomas stood up as Jenny was adjusting her clothes and getting ready for the spanking and went sand at on one of the high-backed chairs and flattened out her dress. When Jenny was ready, she ordered, "Please lower yourself across my lap and hold on to the legs of the chair to make sure you don't try to cover your bottom. If you cover your bottom, you will get extra strokes of the cane."
Jenny had forgotten about the cane as she eased herself down across Miss Thomas's lap and, as instructed, once she lowered her full weight across Miss Thomas's thighs grabbed a chair leg with each hand as she certainly didn't want more than the allotted four strokes which would be bad enough, she reckoned.