Chapter 1

Patient Narrative - Christina Melendez - entry one: fighting and corporal punishment at school

Yvonne and I totally hated each other. The deal was, our school was really cliquish. Everything was all about the cliques. And we belonged to rival cliques. And, looking back, I realize the other girls, they kinda ... set us up to fight. We didn’t realize it until later, but they got us working on each other so they could have fun watching us. And here we were, both of us going along with it so we could be part of their scene.

Our first fight was in the shower after gym class. It took the gym teacher and the assistant to pull us apart, ‘cause we were evenly matched. Yvonne was tougher, but I had some martial arts training. And we got each other pretty good. She gave me a black eye and I got a good hit on her nose and mouth and made her bleed. We both got suspended for a week.

The District notified my parents, but they didn’t give a shit. They were gone. Out on one of their stupid cruises. They sent an e-mail to Dad, but he was like: ‘yeah dude, whatever. Leave me alone. I’ll talk to her when I get back.’ And I knew he wouldn’t. But he signed the parent notification and scanned it back so I could get back in class.

We were in the hallway when we got into it the second time. I don’t really remember how it started, but we were grabbing at each other and kicking and ripping at each other’s hair and clothes. She ripped off my skirt and I totally tore up her shirt. I mean, we were so pissed we were trying to kill each other. And I’m serious about that. We were gonna kill each other. So Mr. Skaggs, you know, the Vice Principal, comes running up with two security guards. They grabbed us and maced us, both of us, right in the face. Then they threw us on the ground and cuffed our wrists and hauled us into the detention room, with all other girls screaming and cheering, like it was a fucking football game or something.

The guards made us sit on the floor next to each other with our hands cuffed behind our backs. And we just sat there all afternoon with the snot and tears from the mace going down our faces. The security guys told us:

“One word, just one word from either of you, and we get to blast you with pepper spray.”

One of the security guards held a canister in front of my face, and pointed it right at my eyes:

“This is the good stuff. Pure concentrated pain. I’d just love to use it. So you do it. Try me, you stupid little cunt. I fucking dare you. Say something.”

And then he turned to Yvonne and told her the same thing. That kept me and her real quiet. I mean, we got really scared. Finally, the school nurse came in and cleaned us up. But they didn’t take off the cuffs and didn’t let us move until after the last bell.

After the school closed, Mr. Skaggs and the other Vice-Principal, Mrs. Washington, came into the room. Mr. Skaggs had a paddle. Mrs. Washington had papers, which turned out to be arrest warrants and expulsion paperwork. Mr. Skaggs took the papers and waved ‘em around and told us they were gonna give us a choice.

“OK, you two. we warned you, and don’t even try saying we didn’t. You know the school policy about fighting. Zero tolerance. We even gave you a second chance, and you blew it. So ... we’re gonna fix our little situation, in the hallway, right where you had your last fight.”

“But Mr. Skaggs, it was she who...”

“Hey! Just shut the hell up! We don’t care how it started! We just care how it’s gonna end! OK? So, you wanna spend couple of months in County Lock-up? I can call my brother, the Sheriff, and have his cops pick you up! Got all the paperwork right here! And then you’d get to see about trying to make bail. I guess you’d have to talk to your parents about that one. So, is that what you want? Huh?”

“N ... No, Mister...”

“No, sir...”

“Good. Then, if you wanna stay in school and not go to jail, we’re doing this my way. There will be no more fights. I can guarantee it.”

The security guard pulled Yvonne upright and took off her handcuffs.

“OK, young lady. Looks like it’s show-time. Get everything off.”

“What?”

“Everything off. You’re getting paddled, and we’re gonna make this as embarrassing for you as we possibly can. So, your clothes are coming off. Here’s a bag to put ‘em in.”

You can’t imagine how scared I was. I mean, I had heard rumors about some pretty messed up punishments after hours when the school was closed, but no one ever wanted to talk about it. Now I knew why. And now I knew the rumors were true.

There was another surprise. Yvonne took off her clothes and just stood there, like it was nothing, with her arms at her sides. She didn’t try to cover up. I could tell she was scared, but she was trying not to show it. Our eyes met.

It was my turn. I guess it was a good thing she had to go first, ‘cause I would have started crying and tried to keep my clothes. But I realized she had accepted what was gonna happen, and that I needed to accept it too. We both fucked up, and there was only one way we could fix it. Our eyes met again. She didn’t say anything, but I could see it in her face.

“Christina, we’re in this together. We just gotta get through it. The rest of what happened doesn’t matter anymore.”

My eyes were all teary, but when they un-cuffed me I didn’t say anything. It was Yvonne who gave me the courage to go through with it. I took off my clothes and dropped them in the bag. I did try to cover myself with my hands. That I couldn’t help. But I didn’t say anything and I managed to stop crying.

“In the hallway. Both of you. Over there, right where you had your fight. Good.”

Yvonne and I were totally naked in the hallway, with the vice-principals and the security guards watching us! I couldn’t believe this was happening, and it only got worse! Mrs. Washington handed the clipboard to one of the security guards and pulled out a camera.

“Now, stand next to each other. Look at me. This is for your school record.”

She took a couple of pictures. Mr. Skaggs spoke next.

“Ladies. Here’s the way we’re doing this. You’re gonna be taking turns. 10 swats each turn. You’ll keep your hands on the lockers and keep your butt sticking out. If you move either your hands or your butt, you’ll get the swat over. So, let’s try to keep it to 10 swats. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Yvonne, we might as well start with you. Over there. Hands on the locker, butt sticking out ... and spread your feet.”

Yvonne did what she was told, while I stood watching in horror. But, even with as scared as I was, I also kinda got excited, you know, looking at her. She had a runner’s body, skinny and muscular. And she had a nice ass, even though she was so skinny.

Mr. Skaggs tapped Yvonne’s butt with the paddle, and then rubbed it around to increase the tension. Yvonne closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

POP! ... POP! ... POP!...

Mr. Skaggs landed three hard swats, one on each bottom-cheek, then one across her entire bottom. The swats were clearly more painful than she was expecting. Her body jerked slightly, but she didn’t make any sound. She took a deep breath and nerved herself for the next swats. Mr. Skaggs rubbed Yvonne’s bottom with the paddle and landed three more hard swats.

POP! ... POP! ... POP!...

Mr. Skaggs kept up the pattern for the next round, and then laid the tenth swat across the spot where Yvonne’s thighs met her butt. That one seemed to hurt the most. Yvonne was starting to sweat and her knees were shaking slightly.

“Good start, little gladiator. We’ll see if you can keep it up for the next round.”

My heart jumped into my throat. “The next round.” How many rounds was he talking about? How many swats, total? How long was this gonna last?

“OK, cage fighter. Time for a break. Christina, you’re up. Hands on the lockers, feet spread, bottom out.”

Yvonne moved away from the lockers, her face full of tears and her hands rubbing her butt. She was completely exposing her front to the vice-principals and the security guards, but was in too much pain to care about that. I took her place and reluctantly put my hands where hers had been. I felt the paddle caressing my butt. I thought waiting for the first swat was the worst, until it actually landed.

POP! ... POP! ... POP!...

I was shocked by how much it hurt. He gave me enough time to let the sting and heat build up before hitting me again.