Cassidy started scrubbing harder. She stopped working on the same spot over and over and began doing the floor properly. Not that it mattered. The work didn’t need doing, and a cleaning robot could do it in a tenth of the time and far better. But it felt good to have finally asserted herself. She had been right. Beth could go fuck herself, and it was time somebody told her.
Then Beth came back, accompanied by a security robot. It had only been about five minutes since her outburst. “She would prefer to discuss it with you briefly in her office, and after that, she has made an appointment for you downstairs with Mrs. Bailey.” Cassidy got up and, slowly but surely, walked back to the elevator with Beth.
—
Cassidy hit the post. She had really wanted to score. The Amazons were the best team in their district, and she used to play for them. That was before she had been expelled. The only silver lining was that she was now the best player on her new team, rather than an average one on theirs. Her mother had had to pull a lot of strings to get her into her third private school, but she liked to think her prowess on the soccer field was a major contributor. The ball was cleared quickly, and before her defense realized it, the Amazons were counterattacking. Shelia didn’t hit the post. She was probably the best under-eighteen girl in the city. Cassidy hated her. It was six to two now, and the second half had only just started. They were getting clobbered. There was no point denying it: her teammates sucked.
Claire made a snide comment as they walked past each other. Cassidy knew she was about to snap. She was going to say something about her team and regret it. She hit Claire instead. Claire was expecting it. She hit back. It wasn’t even obvious that Cassidy threw the first punch. Both girls fell to the pitch, kicking and screaming. Mark broke them up, but not before Cassidy landed a few good punches. He was her former coach. Cassidy glared at Claire as he pulled them apart. Claire knew Cassidy was winning the fight at least, even if they were winning the game.
“You’re really a piece of work, you know that, Cassidy?” He said it angrily, but with a touch of fondness. He had always liked her. He told her once he could see her potential. She asked, “As a soccer player?”
“No, as a person. You’re never going to be a great player —I am sorry to say— but you could be a much better person if you tried.”
She told him she would prefer to be a great soccer player.
“Well, then you will be neither. But don’t worry, you can be a fine player and an even better person. You have lots of time to figure it out.”
He had gone to bat for her before she was expelled. Too bad the headmistress cared more about ‘the fabric of the school’ than winning the Trinity League. Unfortunately, Mark was right, though. The team didn’t need her to win the league. She was replaceable. The team was doing just fine.
The ref didn’t even bother giving them red cards. “I will see you in the fucking playoffs, Cassidy,” Claire yelled. “Oh wait, I won’t, because your shit team isn’t going to make them.”
“It doesn’t matter whether they are making them or not, Claire, because you’re not playing in them either after that.” Mark was never good at maintaining discipline. He would relent and let her play. She could tell by the look on all the Amazons’ faces: they all knew it too.
Cassidy looked for her mother. She was watching from the stands. She was expressionless as usual when Cassidy got into trouble. She didn’t have a persuasive performance rehearsed for that yet. She really should get one. She couldn’t really practice it. She also couldn’t properly understand it either. She got mad just like Cassidy, but she never lost control. They didn’t say anything in the private shuttle as they flew over the city on the way home. When they did get home, her mother finally said something. “If you’re expelled again, it will look bad for me. Very bad. If you are, I will write you out of my will.” She never punished her, except for making giant threats like that. She probably thought that mattered to her.
Her mother started watching the game highlights. She skipped straight to and past Cassidy’s goal. “They always show the player’s parents when they score,” she said. She only cared about how she looked on camera. She was cheering and smiling, looking very genuine, except that, while it probably wasn’t as obvious to anyone else, it was clearly false to Cassidy: her mother was looking right at the camera, not at her. “I am glad you’re on this team now. You score a lot more goals, instead of always passing to that other girl. That’s good. They put me up on the big screen, so everyone can see. Lots of important people attend these prestigious schools’ games.”
—
They went straight to Judge Bragg’s office. “Take a seat by the door. She just started a meeting that was already scheduled,” Beth said coolly. The meeting went on for quite some time, at least forty-five minutes. Cassidy sat resolutely. The delay was probably a pretense. Did Bragg expect that by making her wait, she would slowly grow more and more anxious? Did she hope it would build into dread as she contemplated her impending punishment? If so, it wouldn’t work. Cassidy kept an ember of anger burning deep inside her. She was ready to reignite it when she needed it.
Finally, the door opened. The blonde ward started to leave, but she was looking back, smiling. Judge Bragg called after her, obvious warmth in her voice. “And don’t forget to do every part of those windows, Charlotte. Just because people don’t look out of the bottom corners doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be just as clean as the centers. Maybe it will be ‘bring your dog to work day’ tomorrow, and somebody’s poor little chihuahua isn’t going to be able to properly appreciate the view otherwise.”
“Yes, Ma’am, I will remember. I am not sure why you worry that I don’t like doing all the cleaning chores you assign me. I like washing windows just as much as working at my terminal for Mrs. MacDonald, even though you don’t pay me like she does.”
“Actually, it is us who pay you when you work for her —at least for now— and I can think of something else I can give you when you are doing the other jobs I assign you —if you need motivation, Charlotte.” The blonde tensed, just a little. Even though Judge Bragg remained jovial, she still wanted to remind the young woman of her place, apparently. Then, suddenly, Judge Bragg’s voice grew extremely firm. “You can come in, Cassidy. Close the door as you do,” Bragg called from inside her office. Charlotte, who had left the door open just a little ajar, jumped. She was surprised by Judge Bragg’s abrupt shift to near fury, even though she could no longer see her. For a second, she hadn’t fully registered that Judge Bragg had been addressing somebody else. Then she noticed Cassidy sitting and waiting. She looked at her with equal parts relief and sympathy.
Cassidy went in. Judge Bragg looked as stern as she had in her introduction. “You won’t need to sit down for this meeting, young lady. It will only take a moment, and it will be good practice for the rest of the day.” Cassidy began to speak, but Bragg cut her off. “No, first I am going to say something: you will under no circumstances speak to anyone here like that again. In a few minutes, you are going to be sitting on the Chair, and that point will be made abundantly clear to you. So much so that you likely won’t speak to anyone else anywhere like that ever again. Now, what do you have to say for yourself?” Cassidy glared, then turned to open the door.
“Oh, don’t you dare think of leaving before you are dismissed.”
“No, I have nothing to say for myself.” Cassidy turned back and crossed her arms.
“That’s most unfortunate for you, because your punishment is going to be worse if you don’t tell me the truth. I am going to give you a chance to change your mind and tell me what caused your outburst.”
Cassidy stared silently at her for half a minute. She was finally finding her courage. She was looking right at her, not flinching as before. It felt good.
“You were just about to say something, Cassidy. What was it?”
Cassidy couldn’t even remember what she was about to say, but it was just going to be about cleaning robots or some other trivial thing. She certainly wasn’t intending to admit her apprehensions about losing her informal command of Tegan and Amanda.
Judge Bragg waited close to another full minute. She clearly hoped Cassidy would break. She had noticed how she had been able to subdue her completely with just a look in their first couple of meetings. She was expecting to do it again. Cassidy held firm. She didn’t look away this time.
“There’s something that we both know is true, but you don’t want to admit to yourself. I am going to make you do it by saying it aloud, right now, or I am going to make you do it in an even harder way, but either way you’re going to do it. Trust me, speaking it is going to be better for you.”
Cassidy had let her arms fall to her sides. She crossed them again and continued glaring, even more defiantly.
“You’re dismissed.”
Cassidy left, her head held high for the first time in over a week.
The security robot Beth had brought with her was still there. “OK, Cassidy, let’s go get this over with,” Beth said quietly. They went back to the elevator. The security robot came with them.
“That was really uncalled for, Cass. I have been trying to be nothing but kind to you.” Cassidy stood in the elevator, scowling at her feet. “Do you know how many girls I have taken to do this? More than you will ever know, and each of you seems to think that you’re going to be the first young lady in history not to have pain nerves in her backside. Well, you’re going to find out that you do, and the moment you realize it, you’re going to look right at me, pleading, and I am not going to help you.”
The punishment room was right by the elevator. Beth knocked and then opened the door. The room wasn’t big. In the middle was a sturdy metal chair with padded restraint straps. The chair was fixed to the ground. Its seat was a thin cloth. There was a projector underneath it. An older, middle-aged woman in a white uniform stood next to it. Cassidy felt her resolve crumbling. It was so much more intimidating now that it was real. She took a deep breath. She could do this.
The new woman spoke. “Alright, come here.” Cassidy approached. She kept her head up. “Turn around to face me.” Cassidy did as she was told. “Lower your pants and underwear to your knees and sit down.” She hesitated. “Now, young lady. We can have the robot’s help if we need it.” She dropped them and sat. The woman quickly set the straps tightly. “This is going to hurt. That’s the point.” She looked to Beth, who was waiting by the door, holding her tablet to take notes, and nodded.
Beth looked right into her eyes. “Alright, Cassidy, it’s time for you to have a good cry, and Judge Bragg would like you to remember this the next time you are frustrated and need to speak to somebody else.” She nodded back to Mrs. Bailey. Cassidy clenched her fists and steeled herself for the pain. She went as rigid as she could. She would endure her punishment, just like Tegan had. The woman pressed a button on a control panel next to the chair.
Cassidy could not believe the searing pain. It immediately shattered any hope of resistance. She cried out. Her whole bottom was burning. She couldn’t get free. She wrenched herself against the restraints, but they didn’t budge. She looked right back to Beth, desperately panicking, “No, no, no, please, Beth, make her stop. I can’t. I can’t. Beth, make her stop. BETH PLEASE. MAKE HER STOP. BETH, HELP ME. I AM SO SORRY. NOOOO.” She lost her words. She was just crying now. Just like Beth told her she would be. She tried to kick her legs, but her ankles were held too. It was nothing like the frantic fear and anger of a fight or the terror with Paul. Those situations were numbed by adrenaline, brought on by ferocious counterpunches and kicks or the desperate attempt to escape from the much faster and stronger Paul. She could at least act, even if it was just to put her hands up to block.
This was torment. She was being held in place, desperately trying to wiggle free, and the burning pain was concentrated right on her ass alone. She was crying uncontrollably now, pleading to be released and for the spanking to stop. Beth didn’t help. Just like she told her she wouldn’t. She looked sympathetic, but also satisfied. She thought Cassidy was getting exactly what she deserved.
Somehow, the pain got worse. How could Tegan endure this? How could anyone? It wasn’t possible. She squirmed as hard as she could, but nothing helped. The pain was so intense. “BETH, PLEASE, I AM SO SORRY.” Still, Beth did nothing. She just watched and nodded slightly, so that Cassidy knew she heard and understood. Her being there, with that look on her face, but doing nothing to help, made it worse. BETH PLEASE, she screamed in her mind. She couldn’t speak at all anymore. The agony made only crying possible, until suddenly it stopped.
Mrs. Bailey began undoing the restraints. Cassidy was sobbing. “OK, you’re done, young lady.” Cassidy jumped up as quickly as she could, almost tripping on her pants around her knees. She pulled them up and leapt away from the chair. “Whoa, whoa, settle down. It’s OK, you’re finished.” Mrs. Bailey soothed her, stepping after her.
Cassidy ran straight to and behind Beth, using her as a shield between her and this other terrible woman. It wasn’t only for protection, though. Beth was right: she was the only person there who had shown her any kindness. Beth spoke, “It’s fine, Cassidy. You’re fine. Calm down. Good girl.” She was entirely dejected. Her earlier rebellion had been crushed. She kept wailing.
Beth let her cry at first, then gently began to soothe her. “That’s a good girl. Let it all out. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but that will do you a lot of good. You’re going to be a good girl from now on.” Cassidy kept sobbing, but it finally began to subside.
It wasn’t just the pain: it was the betrayal. She couldn’t believe it. They had hurt her. They caused her more agony than she imagined was possible, and they did it on purpose. She looked at Beth again, tears streaming from her eyes. How could you let her do that to me? How can you look at me so sympathetically, yet want it to have happened at the same time? Her tears intensified again. The pain was building again now. So was everything else. Her whole world was unraveling. “That is what happens to girls with bad attitudes and who refuse to do their work properly here, Cassidy. We give them good spankings, just like that. Remember this, OK?” Cassidy nodded.
Mrs. Bailey spoke again. “Your punishment session is complete. Your bottom will hurt for the rest of the day and through tomorrow. Your skin will be quite pink there. That’s normal. There will be no lasting injury or ill effect.” Cassidy was finally starting to calm down.
“Alright, Cassidy. Let’s go. Come on.” Beth gently steered her toward the door. They got back into the elevator and headed up. Cassidy looked at Beth again. She couldn’t help it. Beth had been complicit, even in favor of her being punished that way, but she was still supporting her. She could tell that Beth cared for her. Hot tears started running down her cheeks again. She had only just stopped crying a moment ago.
Beth put her arm around her. “Alright, Cass, it’s OK. You’re going back to work on the fifty-ninth floor with your friends. Take a deep breath. You’re fine now. Just remember this so we won’t need to do it again.”
She wasn’t fine. She couldn’t let the other two see her like this. “No, please, Beth, let me go to my room. I won’t do it again. I promise. I am sorry about what I said before.” Beth looked at her sympathetically. “I know, Cassidy, but it’s not my decision.” Beth stopped hugging her just before the elevator doors opened.
Amanda was down the hallway. She had decided to place herself right where she would see her come back. They made eye contact. Amanda could see. She knew. The punishment had been too much for Cassidy. It broke her. It was just the kind of vulnerability that Amanda could exploit, if and when she wanted to. Tears were still streaming down Cassidy’s cheeks.
She should have just admitted it to Judge Bragg, as she insisted. This was worse: Cassidy was losing her leadership position, and they all knew it. She started crying even harder. Amanda just looked at her, expressionlessly. Cassidy went straight to where her brush lay. She knelt down and started scrubbing. Beth came with her to make sure she started. “OK, Cassidy, I am sure you don’t want another spanking, so do a good job, like I told you before.” She said it loudly, so the other two would hear. She did it on purpose. It was a warning for them, but mostly Cassidy had hurt her a little. She wanted her to know it.
Nobody said anything when they stopped for lunch and got back in the elevator. It wasn’t until they stood by the dining room door, taking turns washing their hands at the sink beside it, that Amanda finally did. Cassidy held her breath. “Well, I guess you were right, Tegan. The two of us probably should leave the Chair for you.” There was a sly smile on Amanda’s face. She was still holding them together. Cassidy let the breath out in relief.
“What are you looking at? Do you have something to say?” Amanda suddenly snapped at the young girl with the speech impediment who had been eavesdropping from a couple of spots further back in line. “Actually, don’t bother telling me. I probably wouldn’t be able to understand you anyway.”
“Fuck off bitch. Nobody cares what you think.” Charlotte yelled from the line to the other dining room.
“Charlotte, I hope that was worth it, but I doubt it will be.” Beth had just come around the corner of the hall, and she was obviously quite annoyed by Charlotte’s outburst. She was showing a new girl around, who wore a big smirk. “That is not how I recommend you ever speak to anyone in here, Betty. As Charlotte is almost certainly going to be reminded.”
“Beth, it’s not like you think. It’s more compli—”
Beth cut her off. “Well, aren’t you lucky it’s not me that you’re going to need to persuade Charlotte, because if it were up to me, you would already be marching straight to you-know-where.”
“Beth, come on, please. I am sorry, but you didn’t hear what happened. Let me explain.”
Beth put her hand up, dismissively. “That’s enough, Charlotte. I already told you it’s not up to me. You can do all the explaining Judge Bragg will let you —to her. Right after this, I am sure she is going to want to have another meeting with you.” She turned back to the new girl. “OK, Betty, let’s keep going so you have a little time to eat your lunch. We’re already running late, and I am probably going to have an appointment to make for Charlotte in a moment.”
The bell for food chimed. Charlotte walked up, furious. “Oh, you’re going to get it too. Just you wait,” she whispered.
Amanda smiled sweetly. “You really should watch your tone. And your language.”
Charlotte went to her dining room. They went to sit in theirs. Cassidy let out a yelp as she did. She was sore, surprisingly so, just as Mrs. Bailey had warned her. Amanda and Tegan laughed. But it was a sharp reminder. Only an hour or so ago, she had been completely devastated. The situation wasn’t nearly as manageable as the other two believed.
After lunch, Amanda was assigned to do chores by herself, but Tegan, Cassidy, and this new smirking girl, Betty, were sent to work in the main lobby, with the large bathroom that had many stalls, again. Beth came down with them. “Betty, you will have a cleaning robot to show you if you’re making mistakes. It won’t help you, but pay attention to it. It will teach you to clean properly, and you will only have it for a couple of days. After that, too many mistakes will result in punishment —just ask Cassidy here.”
Beth left as soon as they started working, and Cassidy moved in a few minutes after that. This girl could be useful, and recruiting a junior member might be the best way to bolster her command.“Don’t worry too much about this dumb little robot, Betty. I haven’t actually seen anyone punished yet for poor work. In my case earlier, it was really for telling her to ‘fuck off’. She didn’t like that.” Cassidy did her best to epitomize bravado. Betty hadn’t seen her in the elevator crying her eyes out and being hugged by Beth. No one had, luckily.
Betty was on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor around several benches. She looked up. “I don’t need or want your help. I can take care of myself, but thanks for your concern.” Cassidy turned and went back to work. Screw the little bitch.
A few minutes later, Betty’s water bucket was dumped across the floor. It splashed all over her legs. Tegan was standing over her. “Hey, watch it. Go ahead, just try to trip me with that again.” Cleaning robots swarmed the puddle immediately. It was running right into the middle of the lobby. The little girl looked straight back at Tegan, spitting mad. She didn’t back down, apparently.
“Me? You walked right into it.” She got up to retrieve her bucket. “Tell you what, I am supposed to follow this idiot robot around, so why don’t you watch where you are going instead?” She was pretty feisty. You had to give her that. But Cassidy’s bum had suddenly started burning more than it had been for a while, and it was hard to care about anything else. Tegan gave Betty a shove. The girl was undaunted. She took two steps back because Tegan was twice her size and had pushed her hard, but she looked her right in the eyes, fearlessly.
Beth arrived a moment later, accompanied by a security robot. Apparently Tegan’s shenanigans of spilling other wards’ buckets hadn’t gone unnoticed. “OK, Tegan, let’s go. Mrs. Bailey is going to get overtime at this rate, not to mention how many punishment reports I need to write. Come with me. Judge Bragg will speak to you first, and then you can have your session.” Tegan followed her. Betty waved enthusiastically. What a little brat, Cassidy muttered to herself. Let’s see how she handles Bragg. Tegan waved back and then blew a kiss.
It was a long afternoon shift. Her ass hurt the whole time. Betty was an insufferable little bitch, and she couldn’t help but think Tegan’s second trip to the Chair wouldn’t go nearly as well as her first. And although she would never admit it, she hoped it wouldn’t. She wanted her knocked down a peg.
She was right, but far too right. When she got back to the common room, Amanda’s face made it clear the situation was grim. Tegan was in her room, lying face down on her bed, absolutely sobbing. All the other wards had noticed, and most of them were not hiding their delight in her comeuppance.
The dinner chime sounded, and Cassidy gestured for Amanda to join her. Charlotte also walked into Dining Room A, in front of them. She glared at Amanda as she went to a table carrying her dull food. She sat down very gingerly beside the girl with the speech impediment. Cassidy knew how she felt. She wasn’t sitting so comfortably either. “At least you can finally have your dinner with me,” the younger girl said, grinning at Charlotte.
Charlotte looked like she was going to hit her for a moment, and then broke out laughing. “You’re right. Beth couldn’t have been more wrong. It was totally worth it.” Cassidy glanced at Amanda. She was not looking good.
They ate quickly and headed for their rooms. Amanda stopped at her doorway and looked right at Cassidy. She went over to see what was wrong. Amanda’s terminal was flashing. Amanda went and checked her messages: she had a meeting with Bragg tomorrow, right before lunch. Cassidy had a sinking feeling in her stomach. The situation was approaching dire.
The next morning, Tegan didn’t join them for breakfast. She left to do her chores without eating for a second time in a row. Cassidy had solo work again. That was lucky. She didn’t want company. And while at least the pain was mostly gone, she was more worried than she ever had been. Tegan and Amanda were working together, though. That was lucky too. That way, she could get updates from both of them on the other.
At lunch, though, again, Tegan still didn’t join her. She ate, but she just stood nearby. She was still in severe pain. It was obvious. The Chair clearly had even greater capabilities than Cassidy had been subjected to, if Judge Bragg cared to use them. Amanda wasn’t back from her meeting with Judge Bragg either, which worried her, too. She realized she was probably going to have to do something, something drastic.
Amanda walked in at last, but before getting her food, she went straight to the girl with the speech impediment. “I am sorry I have been making such a big deal out of the way you talk. It’s really not that bad, and I am going to stop now. It won’t happen again.”
The girl looked up, surprised. “Oh, uh, th—th—th… thanks.”
Amanda went to get her food, then sat down next to Cassidy, but she looked away. She didn’t say anything. Tegan snorted. They weren’t just breaking. They were splintering. This was it. The end of their resistance was upon them. All Judge Bragg needed to do was give any one of them a tiny push, and probably all three would disintegrate. Cassidy took a deep breath and started considering a plan. She had had the idea almost from the start, but it seemed far too risky to even contemplate. Now, it was too risky not to. They had to escape.
—
The elevator door on the back wall closed. An especially defiant, angry young woman was in it. “Well, that Liz is a real brat. Judge Bragg’s going to have her little rear end in the Chair before the end of the week. I will bet you five credits —fold her clothes for her properly— would you please, honey? I don’t know why none of you can’t ever figure out how to do that. You know you’re going to get them back when you leave, right? Wouldn’t you rather they be nice and neat instead of spending the next several weeks to months crushed into a ball?” Cassidy listened attentively, pretending surprisingly persuasively like she hadn’t heard that particular observation a dozen times already.
Judy smiled. She loved it when Cassidy was assigned to assist her. She was such a lovely girl now. Judge Bragg was a miracle worker:she would always tell anyone who would listen, but Cassidy truly was something special. That would not have been a turnaround she would have put money on.
“I just think she was terrified, and didn’t know how to express it properly. I know how she feels. Tell you what, I will bet you five credits that by the end of the week, I am going to quite like her.” Judy looked at her sideways. “Just like I quite like you, after I got to know you.”
Judy burst out laughing. “Oh, now don’t you go sassing me, young lady. I have a lot of clout around here, and if you’re not careful, I will be suggesting to Judge Pamela Bragg that your cute little caboose could do with a fresh coat of red paint.” Cassidy rolled her eyes. “It really is amazing how many friends you make in here. Those other two girls you came in with were a really bad influence on you, honey. You know, Amanda left weeks ago. You must be getting very close to leaving yourself.”
Cassidy thought for a long time before she answered. “We were all a very bad influence on each other. And Judge Bragg already said she is satisfied with my progress. She booked a review with another judge as soon as I was allowed to have one. I asked her to wait. I am almost ready, but not quite. I have got another plan I want to try first.” She winked at Judy.
“Oh no, believe me you don’t, honey. Let’s remember what happened the last time you had a plan.”
Cassidy rolled her eyes again. Judy went back to writing up her notes for the latest ward, Elizabeth. “I am going to put that you thought she was frightened, for Judge Bragg, if that is OK. She said she wanted me to include your impressions too. Anything to add?”