Mary Carson walked slowly down the empty halls of the girls' boarding school she attended. Most of the students had already returned to the dormitory for the evening to enjoy their evening meal and to complete their nightly homework. Mary, however, was headed to Headmaster Finch's office and she had a pretty good idea why.
The Hutchens School for girls was one of the nation's top boarding schools. It had rigorous standards and it was extremely difficult to get into. Mary had won a scholarship to the school and up until now her grades had been stellar. This past quarter her grades had fallen off due to her being worried about her mother who was ill. Mary did not have the funds to go home to visit her family, but she had kept abreast of her mother's health via nightly phone calls to home. Unfortunately, the depressing phone calls had troubled her and had made studying difficult throughout the last quarter even though Mary knew her scholarship might be at risk. She soon reached Headmaster Finch's office door and she knocked lightly on the heavy door.
"Come in," boomed a stern voice from behind the door. Mary entered the Headmaster's office and smiled weakly at the man seated behind the imposing oak desk. She glanced through the window and saw that is was dark outside making the office itself dim. A small lamp cast shadows on the Headmaster's massive desk.
"I was told you wanted to see me, Sir," said Mary.
"Sit down, Miss Carson," commanded the Headmaster. Mary quietly slid into the plush leather chair across from the Headmaster's desk. She carefully tucked her plaid skirt around her firm young thighs as she seated herself. She didn't know Headmaster Finch well, but for some reason he made her feel uncomfortable. Maybe it was the way he had always hugged her a little too tightly at the end of each year before the start of summer vacation, or perhaps it was the way he sometimes touched her shoulder when he was talking to her in the hall.
"Miss Carson, do you know why you are here?" the Headmaster asked in an authoritative voice.
"Headmaster Finch, I believe I do. I have seen last quarter's grade report and I know my grades have slipped some, but I can explain," stammered Mary as she watched the Headmaster's dark, brown eyes lock on her own.
"Mary, I don't care about your explanations. What I do care about is this school and its reputation. Your last quarter grades affected the school's average grades for the quarter and that does not make me happy. You of all students, who is lucky to be here in the first place should remember the importance of grades. You will be applying to colleges next quarter and do you think they will even look at your transcript with more grades like that?" asked the Headmaster in a cold voice.
Mary shifted in her chair and swallowed. She didn't dare look directly at the Headmaster.
"Headmaster, Sir, it was only one quarter and I promise I will do better. I have been under a lot of stress..." whispered Mary with her eyes downcast at her shoes. Silently she prayed that the floor in the Headmaster's plush office would open and swallow her up so when would not have to face his anger any longer.
"You know I could expel you this very moment Mary," said the Headmaster as he rose and walked around to sit on the edge of his desk facing Mary. His knees almost touched hers and she drew back in her chair.
"Oh, God please don't do that. It would break my mother's heart," pleaded Mary as a tear formed in her eye. Nervously she pulled at the hem of her green plaid skirt.
"Well, then what should I do? Just let you go on and take a chance on how you might perform this quarter?" asked Headmaster Finch as he reached over and lifted Mary's chin with his finger. His hands were large and they felt rough against her tender skin.
"Punish me then if that will compensate for my poor grades and allow me to stay in school. I am sorry, truly I am sorry. Whatever you do don't expel me," begged Mary as her eyes filled with tears.
"Are you willing to accept whatever punishment I give you so that we can forget this unfortunate incident, this lapse in your scholastic performance?" asked Headmaster Finch. Mary reluctantly shook her head to indicate yes. The Headmaster walked over to his office door to lock it.
Headmaster Finch walked back over to Mary's chair and pulled her up by her arm. He then pushed the heavy chair she had been sitting on away from his massive desk. He walked over to his center desk drawer and took out a long, thick leather strap. He returned to where Mary was standing. She was terrified but she said nothing.