The Gymnasts

Lady Compton's School for Girls was well known for its
pupils's excellence in gymnastics.  The skilful school team,
headed by Lisa Gladwell, had won inter-school competitions
throughout Ryedale and the whole of North Yorkshire.  Their
most recent success had been at the Scarborough and District
Gymnastics Competition, where they had achieved first place in
both the floor and the vault events.  But no team can always
be on form, so there was disappointment but no recrimination
when the Lady Compton's team was, rather unexpectedly beaten
by a team from Leeds in a competition covering the whole of
Yorkshire.  

Not all the girls at Lady Compton's School were as keen on
gymnastics as Lisa and her team-mates.  Tricia Hammond, a
fifteen year old, hated it!  She didn't like gym lessons at
all and only attended because she had no choice.  One Tuesday
Tricia had a hundred lines to write out, which she needed to
take to the headmistress by half past three.  She knew that if
she didn't hand them in on time she would get the cane. 
Tricia already knew by painful experience what Mrs Laverick's
cane felt like, and she certainly didn't want a repeat dose! 
If she'd had any sense she would have done the lines the night
before, but she hadn't done so, preferring to enjoy herself
with her boyfriend at a disco.  She sought out Lisa who, as
captain of gymnastics, had authority to give her permission to
miss the gym class so she could write out her lines instead.  

But Lisa sternly refused.  Even when Tricia explained that she
had to do the lines and that if they weren't done she would
get the cane from Mrs Laverick the sixth former did not
relent.  Priggishly she commented that Tricia ought to have
done the lines already and that if she hadn't she deserved the
cane.  "It won't kill you!" she said "It's probably just what
you need!"  

Tricia walked away burning with anger and indignation.  She
bet Lisa had never had the cane, probably not even the
slipper.  She was still resolved to miss the gym lesson - she
would much rather risk the gym mistress's slipper than Mrs
Laverick's cane - but now she was also determined to get back
at that smug sixth form madam, who acted as though butter
would not melt in her mouth.  Tricia knew something about the
Lady Compton's School Gymnastic Team!  

Tricia duly skipped the lesson and did manage to write out her
lines.  She wasn't surprised when, towards the end of the
period, Miss Lewis, tipped off by Lisa, came looking for her
holding a large plimsoll.  The gym mistress marched her back
to the changing room and there, in front of her classmates as
they changed after the lesson, Tricia had to bend down with
her skirt rolled up to reveal her school knickers.  The
slipper smacked down hard six times on Tricia's rear, sounding
very loud in the small changing room.  Tricia took the
punishment stoically, but as she stood up and smoothed her
skirt over her sore bottom her lips were trembling and she
took deep breaths.  

Tricia's bottom was still stinging when she handed in her
lines to Mrs Laverick. The headmistress gave them a cursory
look and then told Tricia she could go.  Tricia walked away
thinking over the details of her intended revenge.  

*                           *                         *  

The next day Mrs Laverick was surprised to find an anonymous
note on her desk.  It was written in block capitals and made a
very serious allegation.  According to the note Lisa Gladwell
had placed a bet on favourable odds that Lady Compton's School
would lose to the Leeds girls and the whole team had
deliberately thrown the match.  Mrs Laverick could not believe
it at first, but the note was very specific and a little
investigation proved it to be based on fact.  Mrs Laverick was
furious.  The six girls of the Lady Compton's School Gymnastic
Team were summoned to her office.  

When the livid headmistress confronted them with the evidence
no denial was possible.  The five girls apart from Lisa were
told to report to her office at half past two, when they would
be caned.  This was bad enough but with eyes gleaming Mrs
Laverick turned to Lisa and informed her that she was to
receive a public caning at three o'clock.  

Pluckily Rachel Granting tried to tell the headmistress that
Wendy Chapel had not been involved in the scheme.  She
explained that Wendy had refused to take any money from Lisa
and had honestly tried to do her best in the competition.  But
Mrs Laverick said that she had known what was going on and had
not reported it and she had taken part in a contest knowing it
to be rigged.  She fully deserved to be caned, although in
view of the circumstances she would be dealt with less
severely than her team-mates.  

The headmistress then announced the details of their
punishments.  Lisa would receive twelve strokes of the cane on
her bare bottom in front of the entire school.  Donna Black
and Erica Shannon, the two other sixth formers in the team
would receive eight strokes each over their knickers, while
Rachel Spencely and Mary Young would both get six strokes.  In
view of her lesser involvement Wendy would be given three
strokes.  Mrs Laverick emphasised that Wendy was not being let
off lightly.  Three strokes of the cane was by no means a
trivial penalty.  

Mrs Laverick said that she would cane Donna and Erica herself,
and would also deal with Lisa.  The three other girls would be
punished by Miss Lewis, the gym mistress.    

The news of what was going to happen to the gymnastics team
spread around the school like wildfire.  Several girls had
heard rumours about the fix and everyone agreed that girls
prepared to make bets on and then deliberately lose a school
match deserved a severe punishment.  There was some surprise,
though, that Lisa, who had always seemed to be rather a
favourite of Mrs Laverick was to be publicly caned.  The last
public caning had been over five years before and few girls
who still remembered that were still at the school.  Lisa was
one of them.  With a shudder she recalled how Geraldine
Lambert, who was obviously a very tough girl had taken the
first part of her punishment very bravely, but had had to be
held down for the last few strokes.  

At half past two Mrs Stewart, who was taking 6A, told Donna
Black and Erica Shannon to report to Mrs Laverick.  Lisa saw
them go and realised that the other three girls would also be
on their way.  She felt sorry for them, of course, but most of
her thoughts were wrapped up in contemplating what was going
to happen to her.  

At three o'clock 6A were taken to the school hall.  The rest
of her class went in but Lisa had to wait outside until she
was told that she could enter.  As her colleagues filed in
they saw the rest of the gymnastics team already lined up on
the stage, obviously having already been caned.  They were
standing side by side facing the back of the stage, hands on
their heads, with their skirts pinned up to the backs of their
blouses.  Marks of their canings could clearly be seen around
their knickers.  Most of the girls had taken the canings well. 
They were obviously very fit, being gymnasts.  

But Erica Shannon was apparently not so tough as the others. 
She was still crying quite loudly and was hopping from foot to
foot.  Her hands were pressed convulsively to her short brown
hair and she was obviously wishing desperately that she could
clasp them to her outraged behind.  Donna Black and Mary Young
were also still crying, although more quietly.  

Tricia Hammond, sitting in the audience, was sorry that her
plans had needed the other girls to get the cane.  In
particular it had been a shame that Rachel, who was in her
class and was quite friendly with her, had had to be caned. 
However Tricia had no sympathy for Wendy Chapel, whom she
regarded as a stuck up little cow.  Wendy lived in the same
street as the Hammonds and Tricia's mum was always telling her
that she should be more like Wendy.  She wondered what her
mother would say when she told her that her wonderful Wendy
had had the cane!  

Mrs Laverick climbed up onto the stage.  She ignored the
sounds of distress from behind her and made a short speech
explaining why the girls had been punished.  Flexing a long
cane between her hands she said "I have not had occasion to
use this on many of you, and I am sure that we all hope that
it stays that way!  But remember this - it hurts!"  She turned
and pointed her cane at the line of punished girls: "I don't
think these young ladies will be sitting down comfortably for
some time!"  Erica sobbed loudly, as if in confirmation.  

Mrs Laverick went on to say that the worst culprit was Lisa
Gladwell, whose idea it had been, who had actually placed the
bets and who was the team captain.  Lisa was to receive a
public caning, a full twelve strokes on the bare.  Mrs Talbot,
the deputy head, was asked to go out and fetch Lisa in.  

As Lisa trudged through the crowded hall she wished the earth
would open and swallow her up.  She was aware of everybody
looking at her, obviously knowing that her naked bottom would
shortly be exposed to the headmistress's cane and wondering
how well she would deal with the intense pain.  She looked the
picture of misery as she trailed down the hall in complete
silence.  

When they reached the stage the deputy went up as well as
Lisa. Mrs Laverick wanted her there in case the girl needed to
be held in position.  Lisa was made to remove her blazer and
then told to bend over a high backed chair which had been
placed in the centre of the stage.  The teenager obeyed,
leaning her slender body forward with the practised grace of
the first-rate gymnast.  The back of the chair was towards the
audience so they could all see the girl's long legs trembling
as her blue skirt was pinned to her blouse.  The headmistress
then put her thumbs under the waistband of Lisa's knickers
and, in one smooth movement, drew them down to gather in a
ruck around her ankles.  

There were gasps and one or two giggles at the sight of her
firm white buttocks contrasting with the golden brown of her
tanned calves and thighs (not to mention the tufts of pubic
hair which could be seen between her legs) but these were
quickly silenced by a stern glance from Mrs Laverick.  The
horribly humiliated seventeen year old pressed her legs as
tightly together as she could.  

The headmistress recapitulated the reasons for Lisa's
punishment.  Of course everybody already knew it but she
thought that it would do the shivering, half-naked girl good
to have another pause for anticipation.  Indeed poor Lisa was
so terrified that she actually wished that the headmistress
would get on with it!  Eventually Mrs Laverick reached her
peroration and lifted up the cane.  She swished it fearsomely
through the air, making such a loud noise that Lisa's legs
trembled even more than before.  The noise even upset Tricia
Hammond, who had been looking forward to this moment all day.  

The headmistress stopped her swishing and laid the rod across
Lisa's nude buttocks to take aim.  The girl flinched at this
first faint contact of the cane.  Then Mrs Laverick slowly
raised the cane above her shoulders and brought it
accelerating down with all her strength across the girl's
unprotected haunches.  

SWISH!  CRACKK!  

There was a squirm and a gasp from Lisa as the cruel weapon
bit into her naked flesh but the victim stayed in position and
did not cry out: she even thrust out her bottom for the next
one!  But Mrs Laverick was too experienced a caner to fall for
that one; she knew that too rapid a succession of strokes
meant that the earlier ones would anaesthetise the bottom so
that later strokes would not have their full effect.  So she
waited a good while, until the line across the girl's buttocks
had changed from white to a vivid crimson, before raising her
arm once more . . .  

SWISH!  CRACKK!  

Again a sharp gasp and an even more frantic jerk as Lisa's
bottom collected another line just below the first.  But she
didn't try to move away (ten more like that this!  How would
she stand it?).  Mrs Laverick raised her arm . . .  

SWISH!  CRACKK!  

This time Lisa did cry out, but she didn't try to move away
from the chair.  Mrs Laverick smiled grimly, she was beginning
to get through to young Miss Gladwell!  

SWISH!  CRACKK!  

Lisa yelped and jumped up, clasping her striped bottom for an
instant.  But she quickly bent back down over the chair before
the headmistress could do anything.  But Mrs Laverick had seen
the tears starting to trickle from Lisa's brown eyes.  

The next three strokes were similar, but the eighth was so low
- top of the thighs - and so vicious that Lisa screamed,
straightened and ran away from the chair, not caring how much
she was showing.  Rachel Granting, who had got over the worst
of her own caning, half twisted round to see what was going
on.  She was glad that Lisa was getting it worse than the
others - really it had all been her fault.  

Eventually Lisa resumed her place, only to be rewarded by
hearing Mrs Laverick say that she wouldn't count the last
stroke and that the next one would still be number eight. 
Determined to teach Lisa a lesson she would not forget the
headmistress landed this next stroke right  on top of the
previous weal, now glowing a bright crimson.    

The effect on the girl was electric!  She jumped up and,
clasping her outrageously stinging bottom in her hands, ran
away from the chair - he knickers had already fallen off her
ankles - to squirm in a corner of the stage howling and
sobbing.  Rachel and Mary turned round - the other girls were
still too intimidated by their own recent canings to dare to
do so.  Despite her throbbing bottom Rachel was seen to smile
at the sight of her erstwhile friend's distress.  Several
little first and second years in the audience, who until now
had not realised just how serious a punishment a caning could
be, had started to cry in sympathy with Lisa.  

It took all the combined strength of the headmistress and Mrs
Talbot to force Lisa back over the chair.  This time the
deputy took hold of Lisa's upper arms to keep her in position. 
She was still crying loudly.  

Still refusing to count the stroke Mrs Laverick drew her arm
back to deliver a third 'number eight', this time crossing the
other two!  Lisa threw her head back and shrieked, trying to
break away; but she was held too tightly.  Instead she tried
to relieve her agony by drumming her feet on the floor, all
the while screaming loudly.  The headmistress waited until she
had screamed herself out.  When she finally stopped she
continued sobbing interspersed with low moans and entreaties
of "No more!  Please!"  The next three strokes had similar
effects - increasing the girl's distress - but the last. . .  

This was the lowest and hardest yet, allowing Mrs Laverick to
wreak all her pent up fury - she had trusted and admired this
girl and her trust had been betrayed.  Lisa howled louder than
ever, tore herself away from the deputy's grip on her arms and
once more cowered in a corner of the stage.  The headmistress
and her deputy dragged the weeping girl back across the chair
where she continued to howl for almost a minute before
managing to gasp "No more!  Please!  I can't take it!"  

"But that was the last one!" said Mrs Laverick!  The pain had
caused Lisa to lose count.  "However I want you to remain over
the chair until the girls have all gone."  

Mrs Laverick made everyone leave by the side entrance so that
they had to file inches past the sobbing girl and her
shuddering crimson striped buttocks.  As Tricia walked past
she whispered quickly "Well, it didn't kill you did it!  It's
probably just what you needed!" but she wasn't sure if Lisa
had heard her.  

When all the other pupils had gone Mrs Laverick walked down
the line of caned girls and unpinned their skirts, letting
them fall back down over their painful bottoms.  Then she told
the girls that they could take their hands off their heads. 
Four pairs of hands - the exception was Rachel - were
immediately clasped to the back of blue school skirts.  Then
they too had to file past the still-sobbing Lisa before
leaving the hall.  

Mrs Laverick surveyed the well-punished girl with a faint
smile of satisfaction before telling her that she too could
get dressed and go.