Part of the Just Shannon series. Shannon's overdue library fine prohibits her from attending the Winter Ball without both Matt and the librarian's signature giving her permission. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and the librarian isn't planning on signing it anytime soon, so Shannon forges it herself. Will she get caught? I think you know the answer.
The Winter Ball, Part I
by Breanna Carter
I held the note in my shaking hands as I rode in the passenger's seat next to Erik on our ride home. "Shit, I can't believe this," I muttered, reading it for the seven hundreth time.
"Well, it's your fault that you didn't turn in the damn library books," Erik replied.
I glared at him. "Still, there's no fucking way that lady is going to sign this, nor will Matt. I'm so not going to be able to go to the winter ball!" I exclaimed.
Allow me to elaborate: the fall semester was ending and all library books were due in for the winter break. I didn't fail to turn mine in, the problem was that I'd waited so long that I owed over $100 in late fees. I'd been called to the office where the assistant principal of discipline gave me a note that said I wouldn't be able to attend the winter ball unless both the librarian and my brother signed it. I'd already taken it to the librarian and she didn't even allow me to explain. I just had to go to that dance! Erik had asked me and it'd be our first chance to actually dress up all pretty and go out together, like a real date!
"I'm sure you'll be able to go. I'll buy our tickets tomorrow," Erik told me, giving me a reassuring pat on the head.
However, nothing we tried actually worked. The ticket-sellers knew my name and Erik's. I asked the librarian again and she still refused. You can see why I did what I did...
I didn't tell Erik... if there's something he doesn't like, it's dishonesty. Actually, it was Lisa who gave me the idea.
"Just forge it," she said one bland afternoon as we sat in Matt's apartment while he was at his night class. "It's not like they'll ever know, or that they'll care..."
Hmm... I let the thought sink in for a minute. "You have a point," I admitted. "But what would happen if I got caught?"
"Worry about that later, Shannon. Do you wanna go to the dance or not?"
That did it. I took out the note as well as another note that her signature was already on and scribbled her name down messily. I also decided to go ahead and add Matt's name as well, though I'd eventually have to tell him about the fine I owed. I'd rather live to make it through the dance first, though.
"She signed it?" Erik asked happily the day before the dance.
I smiled. "Sure did! I promised her that I'd pay the fine as soon as possible if she just signed it. She could tell I was getting desperate."
"Very awesome!" Erik exclaimed as he walked me to the table where they were selling tickets.
The senior behind the desk almost refused us again until I held up the note. He gave a surprised smile and handed us a ticket, writing our name down. Lisa is a genius!!
So we went to the dance on the next night and it was AWESOME! I'd never had so much fun in my life. I just hung out with Erik and some of our friends from school, we ate a nice dinner then half-ass danced, though neither of us really wanted to. By the end of the night I was exhausted and my feet were killing me cause I'd been wearing very very high heels. Things were going so well I didn't think anything could go wrong...
Until Monday morning when I was called to the office during first period and saw the librarian and my brother sitting down in the office.
I almost walked right back out the door. "Shannon, how nice to see you," the vice principal said. "Come on in."
I gulped. "Y-yes? Is there a problem?" I asked.
"I don't know, you tell me," he said, pretending to be as clueless as I.
I shrugged, glancing at my older brother who stood there, arms folded.
"Do you remember getting this note?" Mr. Jarrow asked me.
"Um, no," I stammered, hoping that lying would get me out of this. I should have known that it wouldn't.
"Shannon Kate, you're better off telling the truth," Matt warned.
I gulped again. "Well, er, I might remember the note..."
"Well, Miss Waters seems to remember you having it," Mr. Jarrow concluded. "She says you've been bringing it to her all week and she has refused to sign it."
"But the week just started."
I felt three sets of eyes glaring at me. He didn't answer my smartass comment, but instead continued on. "What I don't understand is that, if she refused to sign it, how come it's signed?" he asked, pointing to the badly forged signature.
"I guess she forgot that she signed it?"
Nobody spoke, just gave me this look of death. Damn. How come this always happened to me.
"Any day now, Shannon," Matt urged.
"Any day now, what?" I asked, trying to play innocent.
"Any day now you can start telling the truth," Mr. Jarrow said, sitting down.
"What's there to tell?"
"Well, Miss Waters says she didn't sign this form, and somehow it's signed."
"She might have been highly intoxicated when she signed it. Obviously she doesn't remember. How else would it have gotten signed?"
"I don't know, Shannon. You tell me."
I shrugged, folding my arms.
"Shannon, I am giving you one minute to spit out the truth, or I'll get to the bottom of this, right here in this office," Matt said.
I gulped again. Matt was giving me that look that made my stomach churn and the other two were studying me fiercely. I didn't doubt that Matt would spank me right there in that office in front of everyone. The longer I waited the more I realized that he was ready to pull me over his lap and get the confession out of me. That's why I admitted it, fifteen seconds before my minute was up.
"I really wanted to go to the winter ball and I decided that the only way I'd get to go would be to forge the signatures."
"And the reason you didn't listen to me was...?" the librarian said.
"I didn't listen to you?"
"Obviously not. I said I'd sign it once I got the money for the books. Wouldn't it have been much easier just to get the money and then ask me to sign it?"
"No, 'cause then I still wouldn't have been able to go!"
"But at least you'd be able to sit tomorrow," Matt scolded, giving me that evil look.
I knew I deserved to be embarrassed like that.. you know, with all the trouble I'd caused and the lying and stuff. But, geeze, my face must have turned at least 19 different shades of red and I was fuming with anger from him telling me that.
"Yeah, whatever," I muttered, slumping in my seat.
Mr. Jarrow shook his head. "Well, Shannon, as you know, forgery is grounds for suspension."
"Nope, didn't know that," I said, emotionless.
"You should have, it was in the handbook," Matt replied.
"I'm never bored enough to read the handbook," I said back in a smartassy tone.
He gave me the look of death.
Mr. Jarrow, wanting to break up our confrontation, finally spoke. "As the handbook states, any student found guilty of forgery shall be suspended for no less than three days. I find three days of suspension to be an appropriate punishment, since it seems that your brother will be punishing you as well."
"Oh yeah," Matt answered, still staring at me.
"In that case, I will see you Friday."
"Whatever," I murmured, rising from my seat and heading out the door.
Matt was furious as could be when we got outside.
"Shannon Kate!" he yelled. "You have no right to disrespect adults the way you just have. Young Lady, I am NOT impressed with your behavior."
"Who cares?" I said under my breath, but he heard and grabbed my arm, stopping me.
"This better stop," he said, pointing at me. "All of this attitude, Shannon. That's something I can't put up with. You know how I feel about that and you know how I feel about lying. It's all going to stop, do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," I muttered, not brave enough to make another smartass comment.
He shook his head at me then walked off.
By this time, I'd lost the attitude and my body was quivering with fear. I guess I hadn't exactly realized what the hell was going through my head when I was being all smartassy and stuff. I mean, I'd always been the type of girl to think stuff, and say half of it... but this time I was saying everything that I was thinking. What the hell was wrong with me?
There was a bitter silence in the car as we drove back home. The ride seemed endless, but not endless enough. I didn't like the silence piercing me in the way it did, but I'd rather have sat in that car than facing my impending punishment.
I followed Matt inside and sat down on the sofa (that's what he was pointing to).
"I can't believe you, Young Lady," he started. I tried to keep my exasperated sigh soft enough to where he couldn't hear me. "Not only did you forge signatures, but you acted like what you did was absolutely nothing and lied to me with your smartass comments. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Nothing. What I did was completely and utterly stupid. I guess I didn't realize that at the time... But Matt, I really wanted to go to that dance and I knew that if I'd have given you the slip to sign you wouldn't have let me go. It was the first time that Erik and I were actually dressing up and going somewhere as a couple. Don't you remember high school?"
His face softened a little. "Yeah, kid sis, I do remember high school. And I remember my first dance with the girl I liked. It really wasn't that long ago, ya know?"
I nodded. "Sometimes it's just hard to believe, though, because you can be really strict on me."
"The thing is, I remember high school enough to know the kind of trouble you can get into, and I don't mean trouble with me. I remember going to parties and having friends be arrested, hurt, and pregnant. If it were mom and dad, they wouldn't know as much of what's going on, so they would probably be more lenient. I just worry about you. I don't want something bad to end up happening to you."
"But I can't end up arrested, hurt, or pregnant for signing your signature to a note."
"Sure you can. You can end up arrested. And besides, it could also mess up your chances of getting into colleges. How's this suspension going to look when you apply to college?"
That statement hit me in the pit of my stomach. "I guess you're right. I didn't really think about that much when I was signing it. I just really wanted to go to that dance."
"And ya know, I probably would have still let you go, just made you earn the $100 I'm going to have to pay in library fines, which, for the record, you're still going to have to earn."
I pouted at that statement.
"And now you're in a bigger mess than you were to begin with. I wouldn't have had to spank you if you'd just given me the note."
I winced. "You still don't have to spank me?"
"Ohhh yeah, believe me, I do. I can't let you get away with deceit, forgery, and attitude. What kind of brother would I be then?"
"A nice one?"
He smiled. "Nice try. Not getting out of this." He sat down. "Pants and panties down, Shannon Kate, and not a word of argument or I'll start out with my belt and no warm up."
I decided that it'd be better to comply for once and I stood up, slowly unbuttoning my pants and slipping them down, then taking down my panties as well, still shaking with fear. He helped me over his lap, positioning me in the right place so he could light my bum on fire (or at least make it feel like he had).
"I am very disappointed in you, Young Lady," he began, slapping my bottom in the middle and HARD as hell, causing me to squeal like a little mouse. "This behavior is going to stop. I won't tolerate it, do you understand me?"
"Ooooowwwwwww, yesss sirrr!!" I howled, wishing that he would ease up a little on the spanking. This didn't feel like the warm up... and that scared me. If this was the warm up then that meant....
"And if you ever, EVER, lie to me again, Shannon Kate, I will scrub your mouth out with soap and spank you until your bottom is black and blue and you can't sit for weeks, got it?"
"Y-yessss!!!"
He spanked me twice as fast as he had been spanking, ignoring my kicks and pleas, concentrating on my sitspots and thighs and not letting up to save my life. I felt like he'd been spanking me for hours, but it probably had only been minutes, and he let me up, marching me to the corner.
"You stay right there and don't so much as move an inch," he ordered and shivering, I nodded to let him know that I wouldn't.
I must've stood there with my knees shaking for at least twenty minutes, because by the time he allowed me to move, my sobs had died down some and I wasn't shivering as much.
"Come here," he said and I turned to see him sitting on the couch.
As I saw what was in his hand, I began to sob again. "Noooooo, please noooo," I begged.
He held up a cutting board that would make a really good paddle... It was the kind that was wide and sort of long, with a handle at the end. It was supposed to be used for cutting onions, not burning my backside!
"Now you see what happens when you're dishonest?"
I nodded, still crying and covering my bottom.
He just pulled me towards him and threw me over his lap, pulling my hands away from my bum and twacking me with the damn cutting board so hard that I moved my hand back to cover again and yelped in pain.
"Move your hands," he ordered, not giving me much of a choice as he grabbed my wrists and pinned them down.
Keeping a steady grip on my squirming body, he twacked it down again and I howled again, trying to wiggle free from the pain but not succeeding.
"O-oowww! It hurtsss!!" I gasped, as he smacked it down again and again, finding a definite rhythm and not giving two shits that I was in pain. I guess that was the point in this punishment... duh.
"Why am I spanking you?" he asked, as if he didn't know already!
"B-because I... ooowwww!!!... l-lied to you a-and ACH! forged that oooowww signature!!! And I had an attitude!"
"That's right, Shannon Kate. And what's going to happen if you ever lie to me again?"
"Y-you're going to s-spank OW me til I'm b-black and b-blue," I murmured, blushing and kicking crazily.
He didn't stop spanking me after asking me those damn embarrassing questions. I really thought I was dying and wondered what a "black and blue" spanking would feel like if this wasn't considered one of them. Obviously it wouldn't feel very good, so there'd be no chance in hell that I'd be lying to Matt again, ever!
After my hell of a spanking, he finally let me up and sent me to my room to think about what I did, reminding me that he loved me and all that sappy stuff that no one really wants to hear about. I don't think I actually thought about what I'd done, just the pain that had been inflicted and promised myself that it wouldn't happen again. Not with that damn cutting board. That hurt like a bitch.
Finally, Matt came into my room and hugged me, making sure I was okay and telling me to get some rest, cause the next few days I'd be learning what a maid's job was. In other words, I'd get to do bitch work while Matt was at class and I was suspended.
I'd decided to rest as Matt had ordered, but couldn't really get any sleep, especially when my phone made that familiar noise telling me that I had a message.
heard u got suspended?
Yikes... now Erik was going to be mad at me, too, since I'd lied to him about lying to people. Geeze! How'd I get into so much trouble from lying!!
yah
what happened?
long story
Then the phone rang. Dammit! Why'd he have to want to know the story!
"Hello?"
"Hey Shannon," Erik said on the other line, sounding slightly aggitated.
"Hey Erik..." I answered, wincing as I rolled over on my back, then deciding to lie on my tummy instead. "What's up?"
"Waiting to hear your long story."
"Oh... that. Well, ya know... it's not really that important." I could tell by the tone in his voice, though, that he already had an idea of what had happened.
"Well, I'd like to hear anyway," he replied.
"Hm... well, I kinda forged something, but it's really not that important. So how was school today?" I said quickly, hoping that he'd forget about the whole thing.
"You forged that letter, huh? The one so you could go to the dance?"
I bit my lower lip, ashamed of myself. "Yeah."
"And lied to me about it... you know how I feel about dishonesty, Shannon."
"I know, and I apologize... sincerely."
"I guess you got in trouble, huh? Grounded or something?"
I shrugged as if he could see me. "Something like that."
"Obviously Matt wasn't too hard on you, seeing as you're on the phone..."
"Hey!" I said, taking offense. "He was a lot harder on me than you think!"
"Oh? I doubt it. I think that you really just need a good spanking..."
Oh my gosh, I almost died when he said that. "N-no... I don't.." I insisted.
"Yeah, ya do. AND I think I should give you one for lying to me like that. That's not cool... not at all."
I gulped. "I know," I answered.
"I'll talk to you tomorrow or something."
"Okay. I really am sorry for lying to you.."
"Not as sorry as you're going to be.." And with that, he hung up the phone.