"Coach, we've got a problem with Erica, and we don't know what to do."
"With Erica, Helen?" Coach Jackson asked. "What problem could you possibly have with Erica? She's the best player on the team. If you don't believe me, just ask her," he added with a smile.
That comment earned him a sour look.
"We know she's the best and that the team needs her, but the trouble is so does she. And she can be a real bitch at times. We can handle that, and we can handle her stirring us about our boyfriends, but she's starting to go out of her way to cause trouble. Now to top it off, she's starting to pinch things from us. Only little things, but we all know it's her and she knows we know, but she just says prove it. And we can't."
The last came out with a bit of a frustrated wail.
Coach Jackson considered the problem.
"My advice would be that at the next team meeting, raise the matter with all the girls. Have them agree on a standard of conduct. I'll draw up a sample one for you that you can take as a starting point. Then let it be known that if anyone violates the standard, there will be penalties. Just get everyone to agree beforehand what the penalties will be. An example might be that the offender might have to stand down for a number of games, or might have to pay for the team drinks for a couple of matches.
Then you have to enforce the penalty, and it doesn't matter who the offender is. Don't make exceptions. Anyone who screws up has to take the consequences."
Helen nodded. "OK. Thanks, Coach. I'll discuss it with the rest of the team and see what we can come up with."
"You do that. I'll go along with whatever the team decides in this matter."
The coach watched Helen leave, pleased that she'd regained her bounce and was willing to tackle the problem with no further input from him. Things worked a lot better if the team could just agree on the terms.
It was a couple of weeks later that the coach was asked to drop in and see the girls in the changing room after a practice session. Unusual, but it happened occasionally, so Coach Jackson checked that everyone was decent and then entered to see what the problem was. He knew at once from the body language that the problem was Erica.
"Hey, Coach," Erica called happily. "Eager to get the punishment under way, are you?"
"Sorry, Erica, but I'm not sure what you're on about," returned the coach. "Helen?" raising a general query as to what was going on.
"Ah, we haven't told the coach what the punishments would be. The punishments that we all agreed on, including you, Erica."
"Oh, I've no objection," said Erica. "I just insist that you have to provide proof before you can say anyone is guilty of a violation of the standards."
The coach spoke up. "Would someone like to get to the point and tell me what the actual problem is?"
Helen sighed. "When we got back from practice we found that someone had been through all out things and had taken all out makeup. It's not that valuable, but it's a mean thing to do. Erica was the only one in here alone. She was the only one who could have taken it and she hasn't denied it."
"Clearly, if I took it, I would be in violation of the code," admitted Erica, "and I would have to accept the punishment as nominated."
At this point she shot a wicked look at Coach Jackson, making him wonder just what the penalty was.
"However," Erica continued, smirking, "suspicion isn't proof. No-one saw me take anything so that's the end of the story."
"I'm afraid Erica is right, Helen. I have to support her in this. However, Erica, to keep everyone happy, why don't you just open your locker and show the girls that you don't have their things."
Erica smiled. "I see no reason to do that. In fact, I'll stand on my rights and refuse unless you can get a search warrant?"
"Which is Erica's locker?" asked the coach.
On having it indicated to him, he turned again to Erica and asked her to open it. Receiving a bland smile for a refusal, he shrugged.
The coach the reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring of keys. Selecting one, he unlocked the locker.
"You can't so that," Erica protested. "That's illegal. You need a warrant."
"You seem to have mistaken a team meeting for a court of law," observed the coach. "The university, through its approved nominees, me in this case, have the right to check all premises on the university grounds."
Smiling he opened the locker, to reveal a nice little pile of cosmetics.
"Case proven," Erica was informed. "I believe you said that you'd go along with the approved punishment, so I'll leave you all to it."
Erica sniggered, while Helen blushed, looking tongue tied.
"I think Helen has something she wants to say to you before you leave," said Erica, sounding extremely smug for someone who had just been caught out.
"Helen?" Coach Jackson couldn't keep the suspicion out of his voice.
"You said that the team could set the punishments and that you'd go along with them," said Helen, an ambiguous tone in her voice.
The rest of the team was pointedly looking elsewhere, leaving explanations to Helen, bar Erica who was enjoying the scenario.
"What punishment did you set?" asked Coach Jackson softy.
"We all agreed," pointed out Helen. "Even Erica and she knew we were aiming them at her."
"What punishment did you set?" repeated the coach.
"We said that the offender would be spanked. Nude. By you. While we watch," Helen's voice faltered at the end of her explanation.
"We all agreed, coach, and you did say that you would go along," murmured Erica.
"Right now," thought the coach, "I wouldn't refuse to spank each and every one of them. Nude!"
"Do you seriously expect me to go along with this?" he asked, appalled as the team promptly agreed as one.
