Julie's pov

After we get off the bus we see Shane waiting for us in the lobby.

"How was everyone's day at school?" he asks.

We each respond with, "Fine, good, or okay," as we head to our room.

"Get started on your homework," Shane calls after us.

We all say, "Ok" and keep walking.

Shane's pov

I grab Julie's arm before she gets out of reach.

"I'd like to have a word with you about what happened this morning."

I'm not sure how long I can keep my temper at bay. It was bad enough she was the reason Neil ripped me a new one, not once but twice, this morning. First, by phone in the car with Julie hearing every word. Second, via the live version I received in Neil's office after the meeting. For over ten minutes he berated me as I sat in that uncomfortable chair watching his face get redder and hearing his voice get louder as he paced back and forth behind his desk. I was thoroughly chastised for not only being late but also for my incredibly irresponsible, reckless, and disappointing choices. I haven't taken a tongue lashing like that since basic training in the Royal Navy. I sat there and took it, just like I stood there and took it then, because I have a lot of respect for both Neil and my former commanding officer.

Little did Julie know, I was about to teach her a very hard lesson on the subject of respect. A lesson she wouldn't soon forget.

"In my room now!" I say, ushering her down the hall while keeping a firm grip on her arm.

Julie's pov

My heart stops when Shane grabs my arm and sternly says he, "wants a word with me." I start to panic until he says he wants to talk about what happened this morning. That makes sense. For a minute I thought he knew about the notes at school this afternoon. I take a calming breath and tell myself I can get through this. It'll be okay. It's a little disconcerting he hasn't let go of my arm, even though I'm not resisting him, but I shrug it off.

"Sit down," he says, pointing to a chair by the door.

I swing my backpack off my shoulder and place it on the floor before taking a seat.

He walks over to his desk and bends slightly, placing the palms of his hands on the desk. His back is to me so I can't read his facial expressions. I know he's upset. I just don't know how upset.

"I think we can both agree this morning's sequence of events should not reoccur and certainly shouldn't be a recurring theme. Am I correct in that assumption?" Shane stands up brushing his suit coat aside as he places his hands on his hips.

I'm not sure I understand everything he just said but I am 95% sure I should agree with him, so I do.

"Yes sir."

"I'd like to know why you missed the bus since that was the catalyst for this morning's disastrous chain of events." Shane turns to face me, sitting on the corner of his desk with his hands clasped in his lap, waiting expectantly for my answer.

"I guess I just overslept."

I'm still having trouble discerning his mood.

"I find it hard to believe that none of your sisters bothered to wake you up since all of you need to be up around the same time. Is that in fact what you're saying, that neither Stacey, Carrie nor Lisa tried to wake you? Because if that's the case, I'm going to have a talk with each of them."

"No sir. They told me to get up and get ready to go but I didn't listen. I told them I wasn't hungry and wanted to skip breakfast so I could sleep longer. When I fell back asleep, I never heard my alarm and I didn't wake up until you came in."

"Come here." Shane beckons me over to stand in front of him. I still can't determine how upset he is with me. His tone of voice is more matter of fact than angry. I stand in front of him somewhat nervous, fearing his unknown demeanor. Shane is still sitting casually on the corner of his desk, hands clasped in his lap.

"I need you to understand that your actions can affect other people. Take this morning for example. Your laziness caused you to miss the bus, which in turn forced me to drive you to school, causing me to be late to my meeting, which in turn angered Neil and a potential donor, possibly delaying funding for an important project and resulting in me receiving not one, but two verbal beat downs, resulting in a sour tone to my entire day and I'm guessing yours as well. Correct?"

I nod in agreement.

"And now, here we are needing to have this conversation. Do you understand now how your misbehaviour can have negative consequences for others?"

Shane seems genuinely concerned I understand his point of view.

"Y..es sir," I say, somewhat hesitantly.

"Good. Why don't you tell me about your day now."

Still can't read the man.

"There's not much to tell. Just the usual ya know." I shrug my shoulders acting casual.

Shane gets up from sitting on the edge of his desk and walks across the room to shut the door. That's odd. I wonder why he's worried about the door being open now. I have a feeling I'm about to find out.

Still facing the door with his head resting on his left forearm, he questions, "Really? I thought you agreed that your day went sour as well."

"Oh, yeah. I, umm, just meant it wasn't great that's all," I say, somewhat relieved, but my relief quickly fades as his mood is about to become clear.

Shane walks over to my backpack and picks it up. He's about to unzip it .

"So you're saying if I open your backpack right now, I won't find four notes from your teachers that need to be signed?"

He turns to face me and I instantly know his mood. Beyond livid. His eyes are dark and cold. His nostrils flared. His jaw rigid. The veins in his neck are pulsating as his blood boils with anger.

I suddenly can't catch my breath. My face flushes, red and hot. My mouth hangs open in shock. How did he know about the notes? I've never seen this side of Shane before and I'm terrified. He's almost as scary as Mike but not quite.

He pulls the notes out of my backpack and I suddenly realize things are about to go from bad to worse. When he reads the notes, he'll see his forged signature at the bottom of each page. I am so dead. So so dead. I can't take my eyes off the notes as Shane clutches them tightly in his fist and waves them around while he unleashes on me.

"Did you really think I wouldn't find out, Julie? Seriously! I cannot believe you could be this irresponsible. Wasn't this morning enough of a wake-up call for you to be on your best behavior?"

Wake-up call. That's funny because it literally was a wake-up call since Shane actually woke me up.

Shane snaps me out of my side thought.

"Do you think this is funny?" he asks, with an icy tone.

Crap, I must have been smiling at my literal vs figurative comparison without realizing it.

"No sir, I don't think it's funny." I really kind of think it's funny but I'm pretty sure Shane wouldn't agree.

"You know what I don't think is funny?" Shane starts reading the notes out loud. Oh shit! He's going to see the signatures. "Julie didn't bring her completed homework assignment to class. Julie wasn't paying attention in class. Julie disrespected the gym teacher. Julie disrupted music class."

He still hasn't seen the forged signatures. I wish he would just see it already. The suspense is killing me. I know the bomb is going to explode. It's a question of when, not if it's going to happen. Shane's so angry he's short of breath from trying to rein in his temper. He's so worked up, his face is beet red and his arms are shaking.

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

I stare at him blankly. I don't know what to say. Nothing I say will make this better.

"That was not a rhetorical question. I want an answer, Julie, and I want it NOW!"

I can feel Shane's angry glare burning holes through me.

"I don't know what to say."

Shane covers his mouth with his left hand and takes a slow deep breath, trying to calm his temper.

Suddenly, his eyes turn dark as night.

My eyes become wide as saucers as I see him reach for his belt. Please, God, no.

Shane's pov

I'm so angry with Julie for not only disrespecting her teachers but refusing to own up to her behaviour. She had no intention of showing me those notes. Wait a minute. I look at one of the notes more closely. Are you kidding me? She actually forged my signature. That's it. I have had enough. I reach for my belt ready to unbuckle it and tan Julie's hide, but I stop myself when I see her scared little face. What am I doing? She's too young to be spanked with a belt. I could seriously hurt her, so I grab my desk chair instead and ceremoniously place it in the middle of the room. I take off my suit coat and lay it gently on my bed. I loosen my tie and roll up my shirt sleeves as I stand behind the chair. It's time I teach Julie a lesson in respect.

Julie's pov

I breathe a sigh of relief when Shane leaves his belt on. I've never been spanked with a belt and I hope I never will be. I'm sure it would be really painful. I think Shane reached for it when he saw I had forged his signature. I've definitely fallen through that thin ice now.

My relief vanishes when Shane gets his desk chair. I know he's going to spank me for the first time and I'm really scared. Why did he take his suit coat off and roll up his sleeves? I don't like that. What if he spanks harder than Mike? What if he spanks a lot longer or uses something other than his hand? I don't like not knowing because it could be so much worse than what I do know.

"I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS. HOW DARE YOU TRY TO HIDE THIS FROM ME. AND FORGING MY SIGNATURE? REALLY JULIE? YOU'VE GONE WAY TOO FAR. YOUR BEHAVIOUR TODAY HAS GONE FROM BAD TO WORSE. YOU'VE BEEN IRRESPONSIBLE, DISHONEST, AND DISRESPECTFUL. I CANNOT AND WILL NOT LET THIS GO UNPUNISHED. THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES FOR YOUR ACTIONS. GET OVER HERE NOW, JULIE ELIZABETH."

Shane sits in his desk chair and slaps his thighs. The cold look in his eyes paralyzes me. I know I shouldn't be stalling but I can't make myself go to him.

"SO HELP ME GOD, JULIE, IF I HAVE TO COME GET YOU, I WILL DOUBLE YOUR PUNISHMENT. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

My mouth is so dry, I can't speak. I nod my head yes and slowly walk over to his side. Shane pulls me over his lap and holds me in place by wrapping his arm around my waist, then he starts spanking me. Hard. Really hard and really fast. It already stings like crazy. He doesn't pause between strokes and he hits the same spot three or four times in a row, amplifying the burning sensation. He rotates from left cheek to right cheek, to just above the thighs, to the sit spots and finally to the spot just below the waistline. Tears are rolling down my cheeks. The pain is becoming overwhelming and I don't think I can take much more of this. I need to do something to make him stop.

"OW, OW, PLEASE STOP! OW, SHANE, IT REALLY HURTS PLEASE!"

I beg him to stop but he doesn't even slow down. I try to wriggle away but he's holding me tightly. I start kicking my legs but Shane swiftly tucks them under his. He continues relentlessly raining down swat after swat not letting up in severity or intensity.

It's not working. I need to try something else, so I stop fighting it and sob freely. I grip his pant leg tightly with both hands squeezing hard with each stroke in an effort to endure the blistering pain on my bottom. He still hasn't stopped. After ten more strokes I simply go limp over his lap. I've given up.

Shane delivers three more hard swats on my sit spots before standing me up. I immediately start rubbing my bottom but it stings so much I quickly pull my hands away. I can't stop crying.

Shane's pov

After I take Julie off my lap, I bury my head in my hands.

"Go to your room!" I say, without even looking up. Julie wastes no time leaving. I slowly remove my hands from my face. "Well, I guess now I know her breaking point," I say sadly.