The Lessons

This is the latest in The Lessons series. Among the five new stories I have submitted, this is the only one that is clearly within the original theme of The Lessons. I have classified it within the Mature theme (May/December) but there is also a theme of submission and a bit of spanking. I don't know if I should give that away but I did want to warn those who don't like that type of story. Please note that the titles for the other four make no reference to "The Lessons." I will be happy to continue to provide stories within the actual Lessons theme; your feedback will be helpful in reaching this decision. In any case, I do hope you like this one!

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Mr. Peters had been a recent addition to the faculty of Templeton College. He was hired by Templeton in large part because of his apparent success in improving student discipline at Abberville (see Chapter 1). He was known to employ rather unique and innovative techniques. His methods were perhaps somewhat perilous but they were also rather effective.

Mr. Peters' evening schedule of consultative discipline was in fact getting heavily booked. He was therefore encouraging certain carefully selected faculty to apply the techniques themselves so that his own schedule would not be overwhelmed, but the faculty were naturally reluctant. This evening he was scheduled to work with Jackie Sampler. Jackie was one of the cheerleaders whom Miss Bixley had caught sexually harassing Teddy (see Chapter 12). Mr. Peters scheduled an individual meeting with her in part because he had also been told by her history and Spanish professors that she was not completing her assignments. Jackie complained that she just wasn't able to balance all of the demands on her time. Cheerleading was itself a very significant responsibility. Besides, she had always had difficulty managing her time. When she was in high school her parents often had to sit down with her to help organize her schedule. She was involved in so many academic, social, and charitable functions. Jackie went to the counseling center of Templeton wondering if the college offered some sort of comparable assistance. However, they had never heard of such a request. The counseling center provided tutors but not persons who managed students' social and academic schedules. It was really her own responsibility to balance her schedule. Jackie though didn't think that she was really capable.

It wasn't really clear if she was just coming up with a ridiculous excuse to try to mitigate her academic irresponsibility or whether she in fact had a real problem. Mr. Peters suggested to Miss Bixley that this might be a good opportunity for her to implement his disciplinary methods. Miss Bixley, however, declined. She didn't feel that she was the right person for such an approach. Besides, she was concerned that she might not be sufficiently objective, given her negative predisposition toward the cheerleaders.

Mr. Harrington would have been very happy to take over. He had gotten wind of the fact that Mr. Peters was being referred cases that he felt were more appropriately handled more formally by the Student Disciplinary Board, for which he was the Chair. He was also not entirely reassured by Mr. Peters that his methods were not resulting in any inappropriate sexual contact. He was considering the possibility of having formal interviews with the cheerleaders once Mr. Peters was through to determine whether any boundaries had been crossed.

Jackie Sampler arrived at Mr. Peters' office at 6:30PM. She was very apprehensive. She knew that Mr. Peters used traditional corporal punishment to discipline students rather than simply having them write theses of atonement, spend time in detention, or do some sort of charitable work. She had not herself ever been spanked, even by her parents. They preferred an unconditional positive regard no matter their daughter's discretions, something they apparently learned themselves within college. Jackie knocked timidly on his office door.

"Yes, who is it?"

"Jackie Sampler, sir," she announced through the door.

"What?"

She cleared her throat and spoke more loudly. "Jackie Sampler! Sir. Um, I am to meet with you tonight."

Mr. Peters was pleased that she was apparently so apprehensive. It was a good sign. "Yes, please do come in Jackie."

She took a deep breath and opened the door. The first thing she noticed was the pillory by his desk. 'Oh my goodness, Polly wasn't joking,' she thought. Polly, the head cheerleader, had told her about the pillory. 'He can't be thinking of putting me in that, is he?' She looked at Mr. Peters, who was sitting behind his desk. "Yes sir," she timorously said as an introduction to herself. "Um, are you busy, sir?"

"No, no, not at all Jackie. Please come in." He got up from behind his desk to stand in front of it. The pillory was readily noticeable behind him to his left.

Jackie didn't move. Her eyes were fixed on the pillory.

Mr. Peters was so glad that some of his prior students from Abberville had purchased this for him (see Chapter 14). He was clearly getting a lot of mileage with it. "Jackie, I see that you are looking at the pillory. Rest assured that I have no intention of using it with you." Jackie felt a wave of relief sweep over her. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. She stepped further into the room.

"Very good, Jackie." Jackie was now standing in the center of the room, her right foot tapping and waving in nervous anticipation. Mr. Peters walked past her to lock the door. Jackie watched his every move. He went over to one of his book shelves and pulled off an academic text. "Jackie, you know why you are here?"

Mr. Peters was standing somewhat behind her and to her right. She turned her head to speak to him. "Yes sir. Well, I think so, sir." She looked very appealing in her school uniform: the white blouse, black tie, pleated plaid skirt, white socks, and black Mary Janes. She looked quite demure, even adorable, as she watched him apprehensively over her right shoulder.

"And what would that reason be?" Mr. Peters asked as he was leafing through the book.

"Um, the thing we did to Teddy?"

"Is that all?"

"No sir, no, it's also because of my study habits."

He closed the text. "And what seems to be the problem there?"

"I just have a terrible time balancing my schedule, sir. There are so many things I have to do. I can't handle them all."

"Well, Jackie, I'm not so sure that is true." He walked over to his desk and turned to face her directly.

"You don't sir? I'm really trying, Mr. Peters. Honest I am." She clasped her hands at her waist and gave him her best look of angelic contrition. It was effective, at least for most persons, as she was a strikingly attractive girl. She had long flowing red hair, fair skin, freckles, pretty large brown eyes, perky nose, and, one could even tell with the loose white blouse, rather than large breasts.

"Oh, I don't doubt that, Jackie. I believe you are being very honest with me. I just think that you don't really know yourself. You don't know what you are truly capable of. I think you have relied so long on having others manage your affairs that you haven't learned yourself what you can do."

"Really sir?" This was no longer even sounding like it was going to be a punishment. Maybe Mr. Peters was just going to give her a pep talk. Jackie was feeling more and more relaxed.

"I wonder if you would be willing to participate in a little exercise with me. Something I think could be very educational."

"Well yes, sir, certainly. I will do anything."

"Anything, Jackie?"

"Totally, Mr. Peters."

"Well, I must warn you that it won't be entirely fun. You know you are here for punishment as well."

'Boogers,' Jackie thought. She wasn't going to get away with no punishment after all. Still, he said that some of it will be fun, maybe even most of it. "Anything, Mr. Peters. I'm all totally for it." She tried to give an agreeable grin, but her apprehension was evident.

"Alright then. Well, this exercise was perfected by a Himalayan Buddhist sect. It's essentially a mixture of psychodrama and meditation techniques. It doesn't actually teach a specific skill, more than it helps to learn a principle metaphorically."

Jackie had no idea what he was talking about, but she was game. At least it wasn't going to involve the pillory.

"Excellent." He approached her. Jackie could feel the tension rising again. "First, I'm going to place this history book on your head."

Well, she thought, that isn't so bad.

"Hold still now." He carefully laid it on her head.

Her eyes were looking straight up, trying to see what was happening on the top of her head. She stifled a laugh.

Once he had it positioned, he stepped back. She looked cute, like a girl trying to improve her posture.

"Jackie, you're not in your cheerleading uniform."

"Oh, no sir, no, we only wear the uniforms on game days or when there is going to be pep rally, or something." Her young full breasts were pushing out the front of her blouse as she balanced the book on her head. "Should I have worn my uniform?" She instinctively looked down at her blouse. The book fell off her head and hit the floor with a slam. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Sorry, Mr. Peters."

"It takes a bit of concentration, doesn't it Jackie." "Yes sir."

"Pick it up and put it back on your head."

"Yes sir." She quickly complied. She knew she could do this. She carefully laid the book on her head to maximize its balance. She smiled at Mr. Peters once she had it arranged, looking for a compliment. Jackie was used to getting lots of compliments.

"Let's see if you can keep the history book balanced on your head as you walk the room."

"Alright," Jackie agreed. This was actually starting to be a fun little game. She remembered doing this with her friends. During a pajama party she and her friends used to do this, pretending that they were famous models walking down the runway.

Jackie didn't have much difficulty. She walked very carefully, her arms outstretched to help keep her balance. Cheerleading did help with some things in life. Her biggest difficulty might have been simply the impulse to laugh. When she returned to her spot, she could see Mr. Peters smiling for her. She smiled back.

"Good girl, Jackie. I thought you could do it."

She grinned. "Thank you Mr. Peters." However, she then instinctively nodded her head in reply and the book slipped off, crashing to the floor. "Boogers!" she exclaimed.

Mr. Peters reached down to retrieve it. "It's harder than it looks, isn't it?"

"Yes sir, it is," Jackie agreed.

He handed the book back to her. She replaced it carefully on her head.

"Alright, this time I want you to give me a little curtsy. You don't have to go down far, but do lift up your skirt as you curtsy."

"Alright, sir, but that's going to be hard."

"Well, that is the point."

Jackie did as she was told. She kept her eyes focused firmly in front of her as she slowly bent her knees, pointing them out somewhat to the left and right. She clutched the hem of her skirt, lifted it up, and curtsied. She looked very cute doing this, like she was introducing herself to a nobleman. Mr. Peters particularly enjoyed the brief glimpse of her thighs as the skirt was raised and knees were bent.

"Ok, you've had some practice, let's now increase the responsibility."

She had been afraid of that.

"From now on, whenever the book falls off, you will get spanked."

"Yes sir," Jackie replied softly. That was precisely what she was worried about. She really did not want a spanking, particularly from one of the professors at the school. It seemed so demeaning and humiliating to be spanked at her age. She checked the placement of the book on her head. "Ok, I'm ready sir."

Mr. Peters stepped up to her. He smiled sweetly and said. "Now, maintain your concentration on balancing the book. Do not be distracted by whatever is happening around you. Concentrate on the history book. It is just you and the history book. Nothing else that happens around you matters."

She was careful not to nod this time. "Yes sir."

Mr. Peters then reached for the fourth button of her blouse. As soon as he touched it Jackie jumped back. The book hit the floor.

"Mr. Peters!" she squealed. She brought her hands to the front of her blouse, protecting herself from being further touched.

"Jackie, what's wrong?" asked Mr. Peters.

"Sir, what were you going to do?"

"Well, I think that was kind of obvious. I was going to unbutton your blouse."

"But, Mr. Peters, I'm a girl and one of your students. You shouldn't do something like that."

"I know that it's awkward Miss Sampler but you're old enough now to make these decisions and it's a necessary component of the meditative lessons. Do you have a boyfriend, Miss Sampler?"

"No, not right now, Mr. Peters." She clutched at the buttons of her blouse with her left hand.

"Well, do you times find it difficult to concentrate on your studies when some boy is vying for your attention."

"Yes, sometimes," she admitted.

"That is one of the metaphorical components of this exercise. You must maintain your concentration on your history text despite the advances, the distractions, of a man. My hands are a metaphor for the distractions of life." "But it's your hands, Mr. Peters. That's so much more difficult to ignore. I can't ignore that. I mean, you're old enough to be my father and you're unbuttoning my blouse; right here, like, in your office and everything."

"That's why the exercise is effective, Jackie. It needs to be a powerful stimulus precisely because it's not the real thing. It's only metaphorical, and so it must be more difficult, more awkward, more embarrassing, perhaps even humiliating, than in real life. Now, we've wasted enough time. I have further students to see this evening. Let's get that book back on your head. I won't spank you for this one as I will give you some consideration for the fact that it was so apparently surprising to you, but there will always be surprises down the road, outside of this office, that you must overcome."

Jackie picked the book up off the floor and carefully returned it to its position on her head. Her face was now flushed red with apprehension. Once she had it in place, she closed her eyes and said, "I'm ready, sir."

"Good girl." Mr. Peters again reached for the fourth button of Jackie's blouse. As he did so he explained to Jackie how "interesting it is that blouses and other female garments button in a manner favoring the left hand, whereas men's shirts and other garments favored the right." Mr. Peters didn't stop with just one button. Jackie audibly groaned as he went to another one. He continued his lecture.

"The gender difference in buttoning appears to date only until the first half of the 19th century. That is itself rather curious, given the long history of clothing. One theory is that it reflects a masculine favoritism. Letting women know that they were in a lower position by forcing them to use the generally inferior hand." Mr. Peters went to a third button. He could see that Jackie was beginning to shake a bit. He could also see a bit of her brassiere through the increasing opening of her blouse. "I myself prefer an alternative theory that the influential upper class set the fashion standard and the truly upper class women had maids who often buttoned their garments for them. So, unbuttoning your blouse for you, as I would if I was your maid, feels very natural to me."

"Not to me, Mr. Peters," Jackie complained.

"Well, that is again the point though, isn't it dear." He went to a fourth button.

"Mr. Peters, must you undo all of them?"

"Actually, what happens next in life is often unclear." As he unfastened the fourth button, he explained, "A third theory is that the shift actually reflects increasing emancipation or independence of women during the course of the 19th century. It was perhaps a symbolic gesture to indicate that they had their own distinct garments, their own rules." He stepped back to admire his handiwork. He couldn't actually see very much. He had not unbuttoned the top button, as he couldn't get to it because of the tie, and the blouse was still fully tucked in. Her large breasts were pushing the blouse out somewhat, but all he could see was her white center strap. He carefully took hold of her blouse so as not to be the one to knock off the book, and gently, slowly, pulled her blouse free from her skirt.

Jackie closed her eyes in embarrassment, grimaced, and whined "Mr. Peters."

"Almost there dear, just one more here." As he gently worked at removing her blouse from being tucked beneath her skirt, he continued his lecture. "A fourth, less dramatic, theory is simply that it was a way to help men and women avoid wearing the clothes of the other gender, as that was considered to be somewhat embarrassing and in some instances immoral. As women were beginning to prefer styles that resembled more traditional masculine attire, having a characteristic buttoning style was very helpful in making the distinction, although that perhaps doesn't explain why it was the feminine garments that favored the left hand. Well, would you look at that." He had now fully extracted her blouse from her skirt, both in front and in back. "All but one of your buttons are undone and you still have the history book balanced well on your head, and, on top of it, you have even learned some history in the process."

Jackie opened her eyes. She wasn't quite ready to celebrate or even smile. "Am I done?" She somehow doubted that she would escape his office without even one spanking.

"No, we need to get to this last button under your tie, and I'm afraid that if I try that button I might jar you and be the one who dislodges the text. So, I would like you to remove the tie."

"Yes sir." Jacked reached for the knot of her tie. She bit her lower lip as she cautiously undid the knot. Fortunately it was not tied tightly. However, it was clearly very difficult to undo the tie while keeping her head firmly still. It was when she was trying to pull the tie through the knot that she inadvertently, but understandably, tilted her head and the book hit the floor.

"Oh no!" She looked at Mr. Peters fearfully, her hands still on the tie. She frantically finished untying it, as if by undoing the tie she could undo the falling of the book.

"Well, my dear, I believe that requires a spank." He walked around behind her. "Bend over, and grasp your hands behind your knees."

She did as she was told. The position was very embarrassing for her. She could tell that her bottom was fully thrust out. It was even raised up a bit. The last time she was posed like this it was for a boyfriend who liked to do it from behind. She had even been embarrassed with him, as she knew he could see her little rosebud. Posing like this for Mr. Peters was even more shameful. At least her panties were covering her fanny.

SMACK!

"Yikes!" Jackie squealed. She hadn't expected him to whack her that hard. But, she was grateful that he hadn't asked her to pull down her panties. Polly told her that they had been spanked on their bare bottoms.

Mr. Peters resumed his position in front of her. "Alright, Miss Sampler, pick up the text and we will continue."

Jackie was very surprised. "Only one?" As soon as she spoke she knew she should have kept her mouth shut. Why question his leniency? She was just so surprised, the question naturally slipped out.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't explain that. Each time the number of spanks increases exponentially. The first time it is only one. The second time it is two. The third time it is four, and so on."

She had to ask! She would much rather not have known. She unclasped her hands, picked up the book, and resumed her position. As she stood back up her blouse opened up somewhat. Mr. Peters got a nice peek at the large white cups. Jackie saw where his eyes were focused and pulled her blouse shut. However, with the tie undone and only the top button left, her large breasts were now more effective in keeping the blouse at least somewhat open. The inside curves of her round, white cupped breasts were provocatively exposed to view.