Laura didn't like school. It was tough enough with all the studying and the homework, but, what made it almost unbearable was her mother. Laura loved her mother dearly, but her choice in men left a lot to be desired. It was her mother's fault that she didn't have a father. And it was her mother's fault that they were poor. That Laura didn't have nice clothes like the other girls. That she wasn't able to go to after-school activities. But most of all, it was her mother's fault that she had no ride home from school. That she was reduced to begging almost every day.
Laura felt like crying as she looked out at the school parking lot. It was empty save for one car. Well, there were always the few teachers that were left, but they would ask questions. Like, "Where's your parents? Why didn't you ride the bus?"
And there were answers she didn't want to give. Her mother was at work and they had moved into a new apartment, which was out of the school district. When they moved, Laura chose to keep going to the same school even though it was across town. Her best friend Betsy didn't mind taking her. It was only a mile or two out of her way. The only problem was, Betsy's father got laid off, and Betsy and her whole family moved two weeks into the school year.
Just then, Laura saw someone exit the gym. She cursed inwardly when she realized who it was. It was Kim Morris, stuck up bitch extraordinaire. Well, there was no help for it. She took a deep breath to calm her nervous butterflies, and set off at a pace to bring her to Kim's car, just as the girl opened her door.
"Hi Kim."
"Oh Hi Laura."
"Listen," said Laura. "My ride fell through today, and I was wondering. . ."
"Sure," Kim said. "Get in."
Laura couldn't believe her luck. Kim drove a Ford Explorer, and it was almost brand new. People like that never let anyone ride with them. Their rich parents were too worried about getting sued to allow their kids to tote anyone else around.
"Thanks," Laura managed to say, before getting in the vehicle.
"So," Kim asked. "Where do you live?"
Laura could feel her insides clench as she told. Another reason girls like Kim didn't give Laura rides, was that she lived on the poor side of town. Well out of the way from where Kim would be going.
"That's a little out of my way," Kim said. "You mind if we swing by my house first?"
"Sure," Laura said. Her mom wasn't due home for hours. Besides, it would be nice to see how the other half lived.
When Kim pulled into the drive of a very large brick home, Laura couldn't help but feel jealous. The garage even had an automatic door.
"Come on in," said Kim. "What time do you have to be home?"
"Not for a couple of hours," said Laura.
Laura did her best to contain her sheer amazement at the lavish house, but she couldn't help but let it show. The kitchen floor had real stone tile flooring and the appliances were stainless steel. There was even a fresh flower arrangement. "This is really nice," she said, running her hand over the smooth stainless steel surface of the refrigerator.
Kim winced. "You're not supposed to touch that," she said. "It leaves fingerprints."
"Sorry." Laura blushed. She realized her social status was showing like a red flag.
"There's stainless cleaner under the sink," Kim said. "You mind cleaning your prints off?"
"No," Kim replied. Actually, she did mind. She thought it was very poor form to ask a guest to clean, but she still needed a ride home. Besides, they were her fingerprints. It wasn't easy finding the supplies in a strange house, but eventually she found the cleaner and the paper towels and cleaned the surface of the refrigerator.
"Finished?" Kim called from the living room.
"Yes," Laura yelled back.
"Will you bring me a Diet Coke?" Kim said. "Cups are in the cabinet beside the 'fridge and the coke is inside. Watch the fingerprints. Do you know how to work the icemaker?"
"Yes," Laura replied. 'Do I look stupid?' she thought to herself. The lever on the front said press for ice. Although she did feel a little stupid when ice and water filled the cup. She dumped it out and tried again, this time moving the lever from ice and water to ice only.
"Thanks," Kim said, taking the cup from Laura without turning from the TV. "You like the Bold and Beautiful?"
"Yes, but I don't really get time to watch it."
"Oh that's right," Kim said. "You don't have a car do you? You probably don't even have Tivo. Anyway, have a seat." Kim pointed to the small footstool at her feet. "There's something I want to talk to you about."
"Okay." Laura sat down on the footstool. It felt a little weird sitting there on the uncomfortable stool when there was so much nice furniture around.
"Look, I know you don't have a car or anything. I've seen you out bumming rides from people everyday. So what I'm thinking is that maybe I can give you a ride . . .and you, you are going to have to pay me."
"I can pay you like two dollars every day," Laura said. She could brown bag her lunch and give her lunch money to Kim. Anything would be better than the current situation.
"Do I look like I need your lunch money?" Kim asked.
"No," Laura replied, blushing. Wondering how Kim knew it was her lunch money.
"Here's the deal," Kim said. "But first, I want you to promise that anything that goes on here . . . stays between *us*. Sort of like Vegas."
"I promise." Besides, since her best friend moved away, there was no one to tell.
"Good, cause if I hear about you telling, I will ruin you. You have not idea how bad I'll ruin you. Besides, no one would believe you anyway." Kim took a sip of soda before continuing. "When I was at cheerleading camp this summer, one of the girls had a birthday. Well, it was someone else's idea, but she ended up bare-bottom over each of our laps for three licks.
I'll be honest. I enjoyed it. The only thing was, three licks wasn't nearly enough. That's where you come in."
"Ah . . .Kim. . ." Laura tried to interrupt.
"Let me finish," Kim said. "I've got a car, which I can use to take you to and from school. I've got a pool you can use when we come back to my house. I've also got a Playstation and tons of other cools stuff. Really, I think I can make things much nicer for you, but it will cost you a spanking."
"I-I-I can't," Laura stuttered. God, it did sound nice though, rides for the rest of the year, to and from, a pool, and a friend. But a spanking? That would be like taking money for sex or something.
"Sure you can," Kim said. "What's the big deal? A few spanks. Look, I'll tell you what. Let me spank you five times right now. Just to let you see what it'll be like. I won't say anything. You won't say anything. It will be like it never happened. Then tomorrow, if we have a deal, all you have to say is, can I have a ride? And look, if it'll make you feel better, we won't even call it a spanking. We'll call it, a *ride*. Hmmmm?"