Dannii Duncan parked her car in the teacher's car park and had to physically force herself to get out of it and start her work day. She was not enjoying work at all at that point and in truth she doubted she had ever really enjoyed it. Was she really cut out for it? She had to wonder.
As a teacher Dannii was a walking contradiction. She was a very sexy 31 year old yet she dressed and behaved with extreme conservatism. Her beautiful long, dark hair was always pulled back severely. Her twinkling blue eyes were always fronted by her thick framed glasses. Her 36-32-34 figure was always covered by the least revealing blouses, jackets and either long skirts or trousers. She did not suit her look at all and the biggest joke was that she presented such a stern, severe image when she was the softest, most timid teacher ever likely to be allowed to deal with unruly teenagers. Certainly the Head, Mrs Osbourne wondered what on earth her predecessor was thinking employing this doormat five years ago.
And her boss's scorn was not the only problem that Dannii had to face on a daily basis. Her classes had figured out soon enough that Miss Duncan was a soft touch and her classes tended to descend into anarchy most of the time. And the more it happened the less likely it seemed Dannii would do anything about it. And then yesterday she had, finally, taken a stand.
It had been the last class of the day and hadn't taken long for her to lose complete control, the kids shouting out cheek and abuse and her and each other. It had been a hot, sticky day and Dannii was boiling in her heavy, dark clothes and she had finally snapped when one of her worst pupils, Louise Laing, answered her question with the immortal retort.
"Fuck off speccy!"
It had been too much for Dannii and she almost shouted at Louise, telling her she was on detention that evening.
"Detention?"
Louise spoke the word like it was alien to her. No one got detention from Miss Duncan, everyone knew that. Yet the teacher was serious and managed to hold her nerve to the end of class and the blonde pupil had to stay back after school much to her annoyance. And then, just as Dannii was feeling a bit better about herself her boss had gone and destroyed her fragile confidence all over again.
Mrs Osbourne had just marched into the classroom and summarily dismissed Louise without even consulting Dannii and the young teacher's cheeks burned with humiliation and indignation. She was going to speak to her Head right there and then but Mrs Osbourne had just stormed out leaving the teacher to boil and stew overnight about it. Normally she would have calmed down but she was determined to have it out tonight after school was finished. She made an appointment with the school secretary then fretted about it all day long until finally four o'clock arrived.
Mrs Osbourne was a real hard case and deliberately left Dannii waiting in the reception area outside her office for twenty minutes while she read the days newspaper before finally she buzzed her subordinate in to see her. Dannii was flustered already and stuttering as she entered the room, nervously sweeping her long, dark hair from her face to behind her ear.
"Well Miss Duncan to what can I owe this dubious pleasure?"
The Headmistress's voice held enough derision and scorn for an entire school and her harsh tone and glare at the young teacher was enough to break her fragile resolve.
"Mrs O-Osbourne, I w-wanted to speak to you about yesterday. I feel..."
She was bluntly cut off.
"You really are a pathetic little creature aren't you Miss Duncan? I mean absolutely pathetic. It makes me sick seeing you trying to be nice to the pupils, trying to be their friend. And what do you get in return? You're a laughing stock! Seen as a joke by everybody in the school, kids as well! And it all reflects on me and do you know, it just won't do! You need to be shown what real discipline is, what real strength is."
Mrs Osbourne was like a force of nature and it was difficult not to be swept away by her words or actions. She was just so forceful, so dominant and a timid woman such as Dannii could never hope to withstand her.
"Y-Yes Mrs Osbourne, I'm sorry, I. You see, I.."
"Shut up you pathetic fool! Shut up and listen to me. You are pathetic. You do not deserve to teach in MY school. You are an embarrassment to me and I cannot think of one reason why I should re-new your contract for next year. And I cannot think of one single reason why I should not give you the worst possible reference, you do not deserve to teach!"
Each word hit Dannii like a hammer blow and smashed away her fragile confidence and self belief, she was nearly in tears by the time the Head Mistress had finished.
"P-Please Mrs Osbourne, don't do that. Please. I'll improve. I'll try harder. I'll do anything!"
Miss Duncan had said the magic words, 'I'll do anything'. They were exactly what the Headmistress had wanted to hear from her and her face softened immediately all the while her mind celebrated as another weak young woman succumbed to her.
"I think perhaps Dannii that you have never been shown what real discipline is. Like so many young people nowadays you did not have to face the stern discipline my generation did. And I have always found that unless you have faced real discipline then you are poorly placed to dish it out to your charges."
It was all codswallop, the Head was just saying it to get the sexy young teacher bent over her desk but it seemed in the state she had worked herself into Dannii was not seeing that. Instead she wiped a tear from her eye and nodded at Mrs Osbourne, desperate to find some common ground to agree upon with the harridan.
"I see you agree Miss Duncan. Good. That is at least a positive sign that you're willing to learn, willing to 'suffer' for your profession."
Again the young teacher sniffed and nodded, now just wanting to please the older woman and keep her job and avoid her anger.
"Well there's no time like the present is there? Why don't you bend yourself over my desk while I get me cane out of retirement."
Dannii froze as the significance of the words hit her. Bend? Desk? Cane??? But she could not find her voice, one look at the Headmistress froze her heart and she did as she had been ordered, she got up from the seat and carefully leaned over the desk towards Mrs Osbourne. Mrs Osbourne had been preparing for this earlier that afternoon, tying two leather straps around the legs of her heavy desk on her side and fastening the loose ends into slip knots. With Dannii over the desk she lifted the straps up and swiftly placed them around Dannii's wrists effectively trapping her there. The young teacher gave a yelp when she realised what had happened but by then it was too late, the more she struggled her wrists the tighter the straps attached themselves.