Once again, Charlie had Bailey by the upper arm, now leading him up the stairs to the bedrooms. When they were inside Bailey's room, Charlie closed the door. The brothers stood facing each other.
"First, when I got in trouble, he grounded me. The next day, when it happened again, he spanked me. The next day, he whipped me. And he whipped me every day after that that I continued getting in trouble. Finally, on that ninth day, he came to school and spanked me in front of Principal Stickley."
Bailey's jaw dropped.
"Wait...what? …Dad whipped you? And he spanked you in front of Stickley?"
Charlie chuckled at Bailey's shock. But he quickly grew serious again, "Yeah, he said he wasn't about to let me throw away my future. He said being cool or being a clown or whatever it was that I was trying to achieve with my stunts, he was going to make sure it was not worth the trouble I'd be in if those stunts continued. Mission accomplished. I didn't spend another day in Stickley's office."
After a moment, he added, "The night before I started 12th grade, Dad pulled me aside and said, 'You remember that last conversation we had in your principal's office?' Yes, sir, I said. 'Well, nothing's changed. What I said still stands. Got it?'"
"What had he said?" questioned Bailey.
"That he'd pull my pants down and spank my backside in front of Stickley or my whole class, possibly, if I got in any more trouble."
"Noooo…." whispered his little brother.
"Yep, so you can imagine how concerned I was when Stickley called me to her office just before I graduated. I was about to cry and thought about just running home. But I was too afraid. When I got there, Stickley just smiled and shook my hand. She told me how proud she was of my transformation and that she had noticed how my grades and attitude had improved. She asked what my secret was."
Charlie chuckled again, remembering. "I told her that Dad had hired a tutor to help me study. And that he'd threatened to give me a bare-behind spanking if I ended up in her office again." Both boys laughed.
Then Charlie was quiet for a bit. "You know, I was never a good student. Sometimes it was easier to get kicked out of class than be asked to read aloud or explain a math problem and possibly look stupid in front of everyone. Dad understood that. But he wasn't going to let me be a delinquent just to get out of class."
"Bailey, I know you want to impress that girl—" Bailey shot him a hard look. "Okay, Jill," Charlie corrected. "I know you want to impress Jill, but this is not the way. Dad knew it. I know it. And you know it."
Bailey nodded. "So... I am just grounded this time?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"How long?"
"Until you've worked enough to pay back the cost of the sunglasses."
"Okay. That's fair," Bailey said, relieved. "Man, I was afraid you were going to spank me, Charlie."
"So was I, Bailey. I can't even imagine. The thought makes me want to throw up and…." Charlie broke off and sat down abruptly on the bed. He was suddenly overcome with grief. How could he be the one in this role? Why was his father not here to handle this situation? It was so unfair. Charlie buried his head in his hands and cried. Bailey immediately hugged him, crying too.
"I love you, Charlie. I am so sorry for causing trouble."
"I love you too, Bay. It's all gonna be okay."
