The University was looking for families to take in exchange students for a year. My parents talked it over and decided that as they had a spare room it would be a nice thing to do. So they put their hands up and eventually we were given an exchange student. All ours, while she completed her course at Uni.
Well, all our parents, anyway. Neither my sister nor I were really consulted apart from being asked if we had any violent objections. I didn't and apparently neither did Katy. As far as I was concerned it was my parent's house and I wasn't going to tell them who they could or couldn't have staying there. Katy, typical teenager, was too concerned with her own life to worry about passing strangers.
At the start of the school year Amber fronted up. She was from Austria or Germany, somewhere like that. Apart from the initial introduction I rarely saw her. From comments my parents made she was working hard and doing very well. A charming girl and absolutely no problem.
Actually, when I say I rarely saw her I was probably playing it down a bit. When a lovely young nubile blonde takes up residence in your home it's hard not to notice her. Amber was eighteen, quite pretty and her hair was that whitish blonde that so many German and Nordic girls have. Platinum blonde I think they call it.
Everything went smoothly for the first nine months or so. Then my parents went on holidays for a couple of weeks. This supposedly left me in charge of the house and the inmates, but I wasn't stupid enough to start ordering my sister around. She had her head screwed on right and I didn't think that she'd get into much trouble as long as I just kept one eye on her.
Halfway through the holidays I arrived home from work to find Katy in a rare old stew. She was pacing back and forth and muttering under her breath, obviously waiting for me. She pounced as soon as I walked in the door.
"You're supposed to be in charge," she snapped. "You deal with her. If you have any sense you'll get a big stick and beat her. Silly bitch. I'm going out for dinner."
With that she grabbed her purse and jacket and departed in a huff.
Reasoning that she wouldn't be calling me a silly bitch I decided that she'd had some sort of argument with Amber. I also guessed that I was supposed to sort out whatever the problem was and hand out a penalty as required. Thank you, Katy. I could see a penalty heading her way as well. I wondered how she'd take to being grounded for the next week.
Whatever, I wasn't rushing into anything. I got changed and had a cup of coffee and relaxed a little. Then I headed down to Amber's room and knocked. She called for me to come in and I did.
Would Amber be so kind as to explain what the hell was going on? I'd had Katy yapping at me but I would appreciate being told her side of the story.
Amber blushed and said it was all her fault. She'd been having a disagreement with Katy and had lost her temper. She regretted it. She knew it was wrong and was ready to accept her punishment.
I pointed out to Amber that she still hadn't really told me anything. Would she care to go into details?
The details turned out to be that she was studying and Katy had her music too loud. Amber had requested that Katy turn it down a bit as it was a bit distracting. Katy was rather offhand and didn't care. In the ensuing argument Amber had picked up the noisemaker and thrown it on the floor. Rather forcefully. It would never make another sound. Amber said she would replace it, which was fair enough.
I could see myself having a few pointed words with Katy about common courtesy and respect for others rights. If she wanted to argue the point I would be quite willing to ground her until the parents could adjudicate.
The killer, of course, was Amber. Replacing the amplifier was one thing. It had been a cheap one anyway and Amber could probably afford it, but some sort of penalty needed to be exacted for wilful damage to someone else's property. I didn't need to give a lecture. She knew she'd screwed up. I just had to work out some sort of penalty.
If you're wondering why I didn't bother to just ground her it was because it wouldn't mean much to Amber. She didn't often go out. I was damned if I knew what to do, so I put the question to Amber.
What, I wanted to know, would she consider acceptable as a punishment. It would, I added, have to be something that I would also consider acceptable. If we couldn't agree I would have to pass the buck to my parents. After all, Amber was really there responsibility.
Amber tentatively suggested being grounded but didn't seem too surprised when I just brushed that one aside.
"Katy," Amber said carefully, "seemed to think that you would beat me. That's what she told me was going to happen."
"An interesting idea," I admitted, "but without your co-operation it's a non-issue. I am not going to try to wrestle you over my knee and try to spank you. Far too hazardous to my health."
"What if I do co-operate?"
"Bend over and get your bottom tanned? Maybe you're a little old for that?"
"Maybe, but I've been spanked before. A spanking is immediate and then it's over and done with."
"Ah, so you've been spanked before," I observed. "How recently?"
Amber um'ed and ah'ed a bit and finally admitted that the last one had been about ten years ago.
"Yeah, well I think you'll find that there's a bit of a difference between being spanked at eight and being spanked at eighteen," I told her.
"Not really," Amber said. "It's the same principle. When Katy said you'd beat me I thought you'd just barge in and do it and I got ready. I'll admit I was feeling a bit scared, but I don't think you'd beat me viciously, now would you?"
"No, I wouldn't, but I can assure you that you'd know you'd been paddled. And what do you mean you got ready? Stuffed some padding down you panties?"
"No. I took them off. See."
Amber hitched up her dress to show me that she was bare butt and ready to be spanked. I'm only assuming that she was bare butt because she was facing me and it wasn't actually her bare butt I was looking at. And I'm quite sure she knew precisely what she was doing. She wasn't that naïve.
I gave her a cold look, letting her know that I wasn't impressed by her flashing me. She flushed and dropped her dress again.
"That's one of the differences between eight and eighteen," I told her. "While I'd still be spanking your bare bottom, I'd insist that the rest of you be naked as well. Still feel like getting a beating?"
"Why would I have to be naked?" Amber protested, indignant. "That's not necessary."
"Because you know damn well that I wouldn't have made you drop your panties for a spanking. You did it deliberately, to embarrass me and hopefully get out of any punishment. Tell me, did you also shave to emphasise your nakedness?"
She blushed. It seems that I'd guessed correctly.
"My, my. The biter bit. You do realise that after that little stunt you can't really claim modesty as an excuse to avoid stripping?"
Amber's affability decreased significantly. I could hear her muttering under her breath as she lifted her dress over her head and then reached behind to undo her bra. Naked, she stood there, glaring at me.
