Part 5. "PRISCILLA IS GOING TO BE CANED!" - DAY ONE

Priscilla and Anna had become a notable pair at St. Swithin's School for Girls, notable because of the closeness of their friendship, for their similarities and, especially, for their differences. They were both 18, in their last year at the school, and both daughters of parents who lived abroad. This last fact was one thing that brought them together and was also responsible for their remaining at the school for an extra year.

Anna was notable both for being a happy young woman and also for being obviously happy with what she was as a young woman. She had a lively intelligence and an even livelier sense of fun that often verged on mischief. She was good at schoolwork but not so good as to draw suspicion, likewise in sports. Many girls enjoyed her company and she was generous with it. She was also very well endowed physically, with a charming face and long blonde hair, and she was tall, with an increasingly remarkable curvaceousness that had resulted in her twice being elected "the girl most likely to succeed in Hollywood." She had also triumphed in some more informal polls, including first place in "the best tits in school" and second place in "the best bum in school." Besides her widespread popularity she was a member of a much more select group of older girls who had a reputation for testing the limits in a variety of activities and ideas. Her closest friend, however, was Priscilla.

Priscilla, at first sight, made a very good pair with Anna. She was also very good looking, tall and blessed with a fine figure, though not as startlingly curvaceous as her friend's. Her hair was dark and short, contrasting with her Anna's, and other contrasts were more remarkable. She was very bright and indeed very bookish also, a fact which made many of the girls suspicious. What is more, her bookish interests were in the classics, a subject that seemed especially remote to many. Her intense interest in the Greeks and Romans had led not only to an increasing expertise in their languages but even more into an imaginary world that she often seemed to inhabit in preference to that of the school around her. Such was her affection for the Ancient Greeks, that her masters often remarked quietly to each other that even her figure was that of an Aphrodite statue, with proportions that looked to be classically perfect even if not as exaggerated as current tastes seemed to prefer. Were it not for the fact that she was also very good at hockey, other girls might have regarded her with contempt. As it was, she was more usually regarded with envy, especially for her close friendship with Anna. Hardly any one could understand this relationship, but it was simply a fact that they thoroughly enjoyed talking with each other and that they shared a quirky sense of humor. Anna treated Priscilla's fascination in the ancients with good-natured indulgence, and Priscilla simply ignored the wilder side of Anna. The friends of Anna who clustered around this wilder side treated Priscilla with respect but they had little direct interaction. Both Anna and Priscilla should have been prefects, were it not for Anna's escapades and Priscilla's tendency to live in a world of her own imagination. There was another reason for the headmaster's decision not to appoint Priscilla a prefect, a reason that might have been obvious to anyone whose attention had been drawn to the evidence. Priscilla was one of the very few girls never to have been caned and the headmaster did not believe in appointing anyone who had not been educated in this experience. Anna had certainly been caned, but was too mischievous to be a prefect.

The headmaster's enthusiastic caning practices received a good deal of attention from most of the girls. This was hardly surprising, since anything that happened as part of the regular school activities attracted such attention. Girls who were caned, which was most of them, naturally paid very close attention at the time. But almost the entire school followed the sagas of the cane with an enthusiasm that strangely matched Dr. Stanton's own, though his was much less overtly expressed. When the (generally) weekly announcements were posted, making known to all who was in for a caning that week, the girls clustered around in large numbers and speculated on the offenders' fate, often with glee. When the canings had been administered, a view of the punished bottoms was eagerly sought by many, and particularly well-marked bottoms became a topic of excited conversation until both the excitement and the marks themselves slowly faded, to be replaced by a new cause .

Priscilla ignored it all. Anna had been caned three times and Priscilla found the fact extraordinary and Anna's readiness to talk about the experience incomprehensible. Even more incomprehensible to her was a vague rumor that Anna's other group of other close friends had sometimes deliberately let themselves in for a caning.

Priscilla's refusal to pay attention to the headmaster's practice of caning, the evidence for which was so wide-spread and so frequent, was not due to any prudery. Indeed, her extensive study of the ancients, especially in the arts, had acquainted her with an acceptance of the naked body that was probably more enlightened than that of many of her fellow students. She had even come across the story of how a pair of Callipygian maidens, as the histories called them, chose to exhibit their bottoms to a male stranger and request a judgment of whose was the more beautiful. Priscilla herself, in fact, tended to agree with them that this portion of the anatomy had an especial perfection. Further, since she had sometimes been told that her own proportions were remarkably close to those of the Venus's and Aphrodites as revealed by Greek and Roman statues, she secretly believed that her own bottom was similarly beautiful. These thoughts, however, she never shared with anyone, not even with her best friend. Neither did she share the intense (and to her rather indelicate) curiosity that most of the girls had about each other's bodies. If Priscilla were to be considered in any sense prudish, it was in her refusal to participate in her fellow schoolgirls' prurience. Even Anna, she was uncomfortably aware, seemed to share this curiosity but, happily, kept it out of her conversation.

There came a day when Anna's sense of adventure finally caught Priscilla's fancy. It was in the first term of their last year and they had been predisposed to discussing with pleasure all the things they could do when school was over. Anna had discovered that the nearby county town was hosting a grand harvest fair, far more exciting than anything that ever happened in the miserable little town outside the school gates. Travel to the county town, of course, was strictly forbidden, unless accompanied by parents. Anna, however, felt she had worked out a foolproof plan. Priscilla, considerably less convinced, nevertheless agreed to join her, as long as no one else in the school knew about it.

The Sunday in question arrived and Anna and Priscilla set off for a harmless walk down the local high street, carrying school bags. They parted company shortly before reaching a public convenience at the local bus station. Priscilla went into a shop and Anna went into the public convenience. Five minutes later, Priscilla left the shop and also entered the public convenience, just as a gaily dressed young woman, face partly concealed by a hat, came out of it. The gaily dressed young woman went into the bus station and boarded a waiting bus. Five minutes later, another gaily dressed young woman, also wearing a hat, exited the public convenience and made for the same bus.

On the bus they chatted happily, making sure to include no references to the school whatsoever. Half an hour later the bus stopped at the fair ground and off they got. An hour later things were going wonderfully and Priscilla was beginning to enjoy herself. She was even keeping Anna company as the latter chatted up some local boys, who were clearly taken with the two charming young women. Some of the boys were staring to rib Priscilla, who was happy to leave most of the banter to her confident friend. "'Oose the shy one, then?! Cat got 'er tongue, 'ey?!" At this precise moment they were unfortunately not paying attention to some adults and some accompanying teenagers passing close by. A middle-aged man in the group and his daughter stopped, hearing voices that were oddly familiar. Staring at the two girls, their eyes suddenly lit up with glee. It was, unfortunately, Mr. Turner, a much disliked English master at the school, and his equally unpopular daughter, a student there. Mr.Turner pounced, demanding. "Anna and Priscilla! What in the name of heaven are you two doing here?!"

If they had had a moment to think, they might have pretended innocence and escaped. But they were caught by surprise, gaping at Mr. Turner with utter dismay. Their looks gave them away entirely and Mr. Turner knew he had made a splendid catch. Expressing great outrage and making arrangements with his own family to meet them an hour later, he soon had the two girls in the back of his antiquated car, happily driving them back to St. Swithin's. Priscilla and Anna sat in the back seat, shocked and silent, not daring to talk or even look at each other. Anna was staring at her lap, horrified at how things had gone wrong. Priscilla stared ahead, unbelieving.

When Mr. Turner arrived at the school gates, he drove in so rapidly and stopped so abruptly in front of the headmaster's residence that the two girls were almost bumped off the seat. Leaping out in his excitement, he ordered them out, marched them to the front door and rang the bell vigorously. A maid appeared, and Mr.Turner demanded admittance to see the headmaster. The maid looked doubtful and in truth she knew that her master was dozing on the couch in his living room. She hesitated and Mr.Turner demanded imperiously to see Dr.. Stanton, "Kindly inform your master that I am here with two of his students whom I have caught in the midst of criminal irresponsibility!" The maid did not actually remember who Mr.Turner was but, intimidated, she disappeared inside, woke up Dr. Stanton and relayed a garbled message. Dr. Stanton was not happy but instructed her to bring them in.

On being admitted, Mr.Turner marched ahead to the headmaster's living room, with which he was of course familiar, with the two girls following nervously. He entered the room with a flourish and triumphantly announced his catch. Dr. Stanton was still bleary eyed and stared at them all in stony silence for a few moments. Mr.Turner was visibly upset. "I see," Dr. Stanton eventually remarked, rather unconvincingly, "Hmm." Having sized up the group that had entered his living room, however, his mind was beginning to work ahead of his tongue. But he still looked extremely irritated. "So, Miss Anna, you took yourself to the county fair and broke a large number of school rules?" Mr. Turner tried to insert himself back in the conversation, "I have just explained, Dr. Stanton, what I found ..." "Quite so, quite so, Mr. Turner, I understood you perfectly, but I need a confirmation from these two young ladies here." "Well, Miss Anna?" Anna's face was the only answer that the headmaster needed. "And you, Miss Priscilla, you did the same?" Priscilla's face was also a silent answer. "I see," murmured Dr. Stanton again, with increasing appreciation of the situation, followed by another silence as he ran through some documents in his head. "Your conduct is execrable, and I advise you to consult the school notice board tomorrow morning." A pause, " Miss Anna, you will receive eighteen strokes of the cane! Miss Priscilla, you will receive twelve!" For a moment his irritation seemed to increase peculiarly and then, as the two girls stared in dismay, he added, "Of the best! Of the very best! You may go -- and return to your house immediately to remove those highly irregular garments!" Mr. Turner tried to speak again but Dr. Stanton cut him short again, although with some degree of gratitude, "Yes, Mr. Turner, your alertness is very much appreciated. It is most helpful to school discipline and I thank you for it most warmly! You may return to the rest of your day of rest and give your family my apologies for the fact that you have been obliged to sacrifice their entertainment for the good of the school!

He did not, however, sound very warm and Mr. Turner seemed to be expecting some further comment. Not receiving any, he left the room, impatiently hustling out the two miscreants with him. They thereby missed the thoughtful look that passed across Dr. Stanton's face as his eyes lighted on the rear view of the two departing girls, rather more revealing of their shapeliness than usual because they were still in their illicit dresses. "I bet I know what that old fogey is hoping," Dr. Stanton remarked silently to himself. "He's hoping that I'll give him a chance to cane these two girls - well, he's going to be disappointed this time - maybe I'll offer him a chance when the prize is not so good!" He no longer appeared irritated. Not only did he now have a reason for looking forward to the next day, but he had also realized that he would finally have his opportunity to examine -- and cane - a bottom that he had long noticed as both worthy of such attention and also peculiarly lacking it so far. With Anna's bottom he was already very pleasantly familiar, having caned it on three occasions -- he never forgot a bottom once he caned it. Anna's he had classified as a very fine example of the peach shape, one of the best in the school indeed. But Priscilla's bottom he thought would turn out to be an apple, and the apple was his favorite shape. He snapped his fingers in another passing moment of irritation, however, wondering why he had designated them for the rather modest number of strokes, eighteen and twelve respectively. They certainly deserved more. His irritation was brief, however, because he never had any difficulty in increasing a punishment through the application of his very well developed technique with the cane.

Outside his front door, Mr. Turner had stalked off to his car barely speaking, muttering something about how his self-sacrifice should be better rewarded, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke and a burst of gravel. Anna glared after him with profound distaste. Dr. Stanton was hardly sensitive to the feelings of most of the older girls in the school, who were disagreeably used to the way that some of the older masters tended to stare at where tits and bums made uniforms bulge and to sneak glimpses down blouses and up skirts, but his and Anna's experience overlapped just enough to result in a shared perception of Mr.Turner. "Dirty old man!" she spat out. Seeing a look of incomprehension on the face of Priscilla, who was actually about to explode out of her state of shock, Anna thought an explanation was expected and continued, "Haven't you ever noticed?! Most of the male teachers look as though they can't wait to get inside our knickers, and the real perverts among them think that a chance to cane us would be almost as good! They're all as envious as hell of old Fuzzy Face because he gets to see so many bare bums and cane them as well! Let's go behind his house -- over there - we can hide away among the trees and talk."

"There" was a rather secluded place in the school gardens, where a bench was hidden among some shrubs and trees. Mr. Stanton never went there and neither did the girls in general, since it was too near his residence. It was, however, often used as a first retreat by those who came out of his back door with hands clutching a just-caned bottom and it was in such circumstances that Anna knew it. She hurried Priscilla down a path, not knowing that an explosion was imminent. It came just as they reached the bench. Before Anna could sit down, Priscilla exploded with rage. "You ... you ...what have you gone and done?!! I can't believe this! It's a complete nightmare! Your stupid plan's got us into this horrible mess and now ... now ... the headmaster's going to cane us!! Why did I ever listen to you?!! Why did I even think I liked you!! You're horrible!" I bet you did it all on purpose, right?!! You and your stupid friends who keep getting caned all the time!! You thought it would be fun to get me caned!! That's what you want, isn't it! I hate you all!!"

Anna was stunned. Indeed she felt very bad, but had been so shocked herself by the series of events that she hadn't realized what a state her friend was in. Luckily, she had a very sympathetic personality and understood almost immediately. She started to repair the damage, something she was very good at. Her genuinely distressed response and her natural kindness slowly persuaded Priscilla that there had been no dastardly plan, that no one else knew any thing about it, and that it had been just a very stupid mistake and some very bad luck "You've got to believe me Priscilla! I know we're in a real mess but it's a mess for me too - I'm going to get a worse caning than you are -- and we'll get through it together - I promise!"

Priscilla began to calm down, although she was indeed enormously upset, especially as she tried to focus her mind on something that it had always avoided. A caning! The very idea horrified her. Someone was going to beat her bum with a cane to make it hurt! It was not only outrageous but also very peculiar in a way that her mind was refusing to accept. "You mean," she demanded of Anna, that I'm going to have to bend over and old Fuzzy Face is going to beat me across my bum with a cane?" Anna looked even more astonished than usual at her friend, whose naivete was unique in some matters, even though she was so smart in many others. "Well ... yes ... that is what happens ... you must know at least that!?" As Priscilla started to get her mind's eye to focus on such an event, she was becoming increasingly frightened at what a caning would mean. Anna was trying to comfort her by saying that Mr. Stanton's prescription of twelve and eighteen strokes seemed rather mild, even though she knew that he often gave more strokes than he had said he would. "So what did he mean by adding 'of the best - of the very best' - did he mean anything?" Priscilla demanded. Anna knew that indeed he did, and reluctantly decided that she should be as honest with Priscilla as possible. "Yes, I'm afraid he did ..." "So what? Tell me if you're such an expert!"

Anna explained by a summary of her own caning history. "Well, the first time he caned me he gave me six strokes and the second time he gave me six strokes again ... but they seemed much harder. So I asked a friend about it and she said Fuzzy Face must have just said 'six strokes' the first time because that's what he usually gives a girl who hasn't been caned before, but the next time he'd probably said 'six good strokes,' I hadn't been listening carefully, but I think that's what he'd said. When I got caned the last time I paid more attention, and I know he said "twelve of the best" ... you probably remember ... actually I think you were in the sick room when it happened, but I showed you my bum when you came out ... those were 'the best.' I'm ... I'm nor sure whether "the very best means something worse. It probably does!" Priscilla did remember. She'd had the 'flu and had come back to classes four days after Anna had been caned. Her friend had shown her the marks. She hadn't wanted to look but Anna had insisted. She'd been horrified by the still red and blue streaks across both cheeks and had then done her best to forget it. Now she was having to remember.

She exclaimed, "So he usually gives six the first time, just 'six strokes' as you so nicely put it ... but ... I'm going to get twelve, and they're going to be of the very best!! I can't believe it!" Anna was looking at her speechlessly for a moment, unable to think of what to say. Priscilla suddenly blurted out, "So... so ... does it hurt?" Anna blinked as she struggled to understand the degree of her friend's s ignorance and decide how to deal with it. Knowing that their fate was inevitable, she chose honesty again.

"Yes, I'm afraid it does. A lot!" "How much is a lot?" "It's different ... it depends on what you're used to ... and what he's doing." "Like ... ?" Anna tried to think her way though an answer, "Well, the first time he caned me I thought it was so painful that I nearly jumped out my skin. But the next time it was a lot harder and I realized that the first time it hadn't really been that hard ... it was just such a surprise because I didn't know what the cane felt like ... then the last time it was harder still and he gave me twice as many strokes, actually even more ... and I hadn't thought anything could possible hurt that much ... but I survived ... and then I asked another girl who'd been given a really severe beating ... she got thirty-four strokes in all ... and I realized I'd been lucky ... she ... she said it was like floating off into another world where there was nothing but her bottom hurting like hell and explosions that kept going off inside it and making it even worse, sort of like sticking your bum into fire with huge thumps every few seconds. She said you couldn't imagine it ..."

Priscilla was looking aghast and Anna realized that her efforts to think through the answer had gone much too far, "But she survived ... she was fine three weeks later, that's what matters!" Priscilla, however, was determined to find something more definite for her mind to focus on. "How does it hurt? What did YOU feel?" Anna blinked again. What DID it feel like? "Well, the first time it just stung like fury ..." "Yes, but my first time's going to be different! You heard what he said!" Anna was only too well aware of this and it was causing her much concern, "Yes Priscilla, I do realize this, and I'm just hugely sorry, and I'm trying to be honest with you!" "OK! So be honest! What did it feel like the last time?" Anna thought back. She could remember the searing pain very well but was searching for words, "It's ... it's sort of like slamming your finger in a door - but it's your bottom!" Priscilla stared, half comprehendingly, for she certainly knew the excruciating pain of slamming her finger, but her bottom?" Anna continued, trying to clarify this rather startling simile, which she had never thought of before, "You know, it just suddenly explodes and you can't think of anything else for a few moments, then it sort of starts to ebb away and leaves a really hot, sort of throbby feeling. It's sort of like that, except that it's more burning." Priscilla was still staring, "But honestly Priscilla, I know it sounds horrible ... and it is ... I suppose that's exactly why they do it ... but even while it's happening you kind of get used to it in a strange way... and when it's over your bum still hurts a lot, obviously, but you get used to that and it's usually only a bit tender the next day ... it doesn't really keep on hurting."

Priscilla was already trying to absorb more disconcerting information than she could really manage, so after a pause she changed the subject, at least somewhat. "So what did he mean by watching the school notice board?" "Oh Priscilla! How can you not know about this? Every one knows!" "Well I don't, I just haven't wanted to pay any attention - and now I apparently have to! So what about it?" Anna sighed, as she tried to make up for her friend's willful ignorance about things that the whole school lived with. "Well, when Old Fuzzy Face wants to cane some girls, they put a notice up on the school board in the morning. It's always there by 9:00 am. So that you can see it when you come out of chapel." "So what does it say?" Anna sighed again, "It gives the girls' names and says they have to report to the matron's office at 12:00." "To the matron's office? What on earth for? Does she cane them?!" "Oh Priscilla! You're so impossible, even though I love you for it! No, of course she doesn't - though she's always there when you get caned." "She is? Why?" "Well, I suppose it's to make sure that every thing's ... well, proper, if you can call a caning proper, and if it's a severe beating then she usually checks the girl's bottom to see if it's still O.K. for Fuzzy Face to continue ... some girls think she enjoys it."

Priscilla's mind was reeling again but she realized that she hadn't yet had an answer, "But why do girls have to report to her office?" Anna sighed again, "Well, you know that Old Fuzzy Face always canes on the bare ... you do know that, don't you?" Priscilla sort of knew but, as with everything else to do with caning, she had tried to ignore it. "Yes, I suppose so. It must be so ... so ... embarrassing. I mean, what can he see?" Anna's sense of humor almost returned at this question. "What can he see? Well, everything! Everything that matters! You're just there, bending over, and he usually makes you put your legs apart, so he can look at whatever he wants to ... which usually seems to be everything!" Priscilla's look of horror grew even worse, "I think I'll die of embarrassment!" "Well," retorted Anna slightly caustically, most girls think they're going to die ... but not of embarrassment!" Priscilla looked puzzled and Anna continued, "They think they're going to die of pain! Most girls say that after the first stroke it hurts so much that they forget all about their private parts and can only think about the cane. I mean, I don't want to make you feel even worse, but that's what everyone says ... and everyone survives, that's what you have to remember".

Priscilla struggled to regain her train of thought under this renewed assault of horror, "So ... what has this got to do with the going to see the matron?" Anna sighed yet again, "Well, obviously if you're going to have to stick your bare bum out for him to look at, let alone cane, there some days when that just wouldn't be a nice idea ... right? So the matron asks you whether today's OK, and if its not then she works out a day when it will be, and Fuzzy face has to wait. Some girls tell a fib to try and put off their caning, but matron usually knows and you get extra strokes if you lie." Priscilla was looking horrified once again, but managed to whisper, "And so then what?" "Well, if matron tells Fuzzy Face it's alright, then they put another notice up by 1:30, which tells the girls to report to the headmaster's back door at 5:15 ...and when you see that you know that's it." "So ... when you report there, that's when you get the cane?" "Yes, I'm afraid so. That's when you ring on his buzzer, go up to his study, he tells you to bare your bum and stick it out, and he canes it. And I'm really sorry Priscilla, but that's what's going to happen to us tomorrow ... unless it's a wrong day for you?" It was Priscilla who sighed this time, "No ... I suppose that I'll just have to believe this!" "Priscilla, you are a brick ... and you really are my very best friend, you know? ... I think we'd better be heading back to the house before someone sees us here and we get into any more trouble. No one else will know, yet."

They got up from the bench, hugged, dusted off their illicit clothes, picked their bags and, holding hands, started off towards their house. The school residences were divided into five "houses," a hundred girls to a house, and theirs was a separate building adjacent to the main quadrangle. House prayers and supper were soon after they arrived. Seating in the dining room was unfortunately designated and they sat at different tables where they could see each other but not talk. Anna kept exchanging sympathetic glances with her friend during dinner. When this was finished, various house activities kept them separated and Priscilla joined her dorm mates for pre-bed showers at 9:00. The house was divided into five dormitories and, unfortunately, theirs were different. Priscilla had been in a state of great anxiety all evening and was looking forward to her shower. The timing of evening showers was staggered by dormitories to prevent overcrowding in the shower room, which had twenty shower heads, but there were usually three dormitories present at once, one finishing, one showering and one getting ready. Priscilla enjoyed showers, although she enjoyed them even more if she was alone. She enjoyed soaping her body, taking ever more pleasure as its curves and hollows developed and their firmness increased. Although she admired both the shape and the firmness of her own bum - or buttocks as she sometimes called them to herself, in deliberate acknowledgement of her study of classical art -- she was secretly just as pleased by her now well-developed tits, or breasts as again she called them to herself for the same reason. But, and very unlike Anna, she still felt somewhat embarrassed by them and when showering she would stand facing the wall as she gently massaged herself with soapy water. She also liked to soap her quim at the same time (her classical studies provided no alternative name for this most personal part of her anatomy).

She had not expected that this particular session of showering would prove very discomforting. But, immediately after she had undressed and entered the shower room, she found herself looking straight at the bum of a girl who had received a moderately severe caning only three days before. The sight seemed to shock her in the pit of her stomach. She was horrified to see how the cheeks were still vividly crossed by red and blue marks, with very unpleasant looking tinges of greenish yellow . She could even see that some of the marks still looked slightly swollen. She heard another girl remark, quite casually, "My goodness, Elisabeth, your bum still looks really bad!" Elisabeth seemed quite unembarrassed by this and felt her own cheeks, twisting backwards to look as she did so. "You don't say! It's pretty tender ... he really laid into me and I can still feel the bumps ... feel for yourself!" The other girl accepted the invitation readily and ran her fingers gently over Elisabeth's bum. "My goodness! I can feel them ... they're so hard, like ridges! Hey! come and feel this!" Three other girls accepted the suggestion, running their fingers up and down over the red and blue striped bottom cheeks. Elisabeth stood there apparently untroubled, looking back over her shoulder at her curious friends, though at one moment she exclaimed, "Careful! It's still really tender if you press too hard!" Other girls were cheerfully joining in the conversation but Priscilla could not stand to either look or listen and moved around them. As she did so, she caught glimpses of a couple of other bums that had been caned somewhat less recently. Bluish bruises were still visible under the skin. A nightmare seemed to be developing around her.

She quickly took possession of a vacated shower, soaped her hands, shut her eyes and tried to dissolve her anxiety in the spray of hot water. She was not very successful and had eventually to emerge and allow another girl to take the shower. As she was drying herself, surrounded by a crowd of other naked bodies, she saw Anna entering the shower room with the girls of her dorm and she remembered her remarks about how embarrassing it was to bend over and know that you were showing the headmaster your private parts. This inevitably made her notice the sight presented by a number of girls around her who were adopting this position for various harmless reasons, such as picking up soap and drying feet. Priscilla had never so much as considered this before, but now she could not help noticing that, indeed, when these girls were facing away from her then they were indeed showing their privates with, of course, no concern for the fact. Glimpses of quim between open thighs came and went all around her. So acute was the expectation of embarrassment that began to well up inside her that she could not even bear to bend over this way, even among the other girls.

She hastened out of the shower room, quickly dressed and joined those going upstairs to the dorms. Entering the door of her own, another shock awaited her. Some of the girls in her dorm were good friends, even though none were as close as Anna. But some of them considered her peculiar and treated her with dislike. As she entered the dorm, three of these latter greeted her with a gleeful chant, "Prissy Priscilla is going to be caned! Hee hee hee! Priscilla is going to be caned! What a joke! Now she's going to get it at last!"

Priscilla was completely bewildered for a moment and stood immobilized. Understanding suddenly dawned. It was Mr.Turner's daughter. She was good friends with the girls who were taunting her, and mean like them. She must have told them. Priscilla didn't know what to do and found herself yelling, "Oh shut up! Shut up you, you harpies!" The reference didn't help, but some of the girls were almost as shocked as she was and started to jump on the gleeful yellers. Then another cry went up. The dorm prefect had been seen and everyone hurriedly quietened down, a shaken Priscilla going to her bed. The prefect had heard the noise, however, and knew the reason for it because news of Priscilla's and Anna's predicament had just that moment began to spread. But the prefect was no enemy of Priscilla and immediately told the noise-makers to shut up and behave themselves. Priscilla knew that glances and whispers were being exchanged and was even aware that some of the girls were trying to signal her their support. As quickly as possible, however, she got into her pyjamas and buried herself under the bedclothes. The lights were turned out but one of Priscilla's enemies couldn't resist a last dig, hissing "Swish swish! Ohh ohh ouch!" The prefect heard and jumped out of her bed to turn on the lights again. "Deidre! That was you!" Deidre glared, which merely confirmed the prefect's identification. "Well, you have a lesson to learn as well! So you had better look at the school notice board tomorrow morning for your own good, because you're going to get a tawsing from the head prefect!" Some other girls tittered. The tawse wasn't nearly as bad as the cane, but it wasn't a joke either. "Quiet!" ordered the prefect and turned out the light on a silenced room.

Priscilla had barely taken in this last development and at that moment was certainly incapable of feeling the satisfaction that some of the other girls were enjoying. She curled under the bed clothes, her hands slipping under the elastic of her pyjama bottoms and going to her bum, feeling the warm, smooth, roundness that usually gave her so much pleasure. What would it feel like? Her mind went round and round helplessly, searching for a reassurance that it couldn't find. How much would it hurt and what sort of hurt would it be? Her fingers ran along her cleft and her mind went back to her agonized conversation with Anna. What had Anna said? That after the first stroke girls just forgot about their private parts showing because all they could think of was the pain? How much pain? Eventually, she cried herself to sleep.