I had, on a whim, dropped in to see my older sister. She'd moved out of home ages ago, as soon as she turned eighteen, and had been living in the unit for over three years now. Me, I turned eighteen and stayed safely at home. I had no objections to my parents continuing to pick up the bills for a while longer. I was taking this opportunity to save up a little nest egg. When I moved out I wanted to be ready.
For some reason Clarissa didn't seem too happy to see me. She was nice enough, and put on the kettle, but I couldn't help getting the feeling that she wanted me gone. Something was up, I just knew it, and I was sticking around out of perversity.
The problem surfaced when the doorbell rang. I was right next to the door when the chime went off and I automatically reached out and opened the door, hearing Clarissa's, "Don't answer that!" just a little too late.
These two guys just came barging in. Not bad looking but the way they were dressed tended to say hired muscle, and I wondered what the hell was going on.
One of the guys grabbed my arm and told me to be quiet and nothing would happen to me. Clarissa, he said, had been a bad girl and needed a reminder that this was not a good idea. I have to admit that the guy holding me, while older than me, was young and attractive, with a friendly manner and a nice voice. In another situation I would have been attracted to him, but in the current case - not so much.
The other guy, a virtual twin of the one holding me was standing in front of Clarissa, smiling.
"Ah, listen, guys," Clarissa said, a pleading note in her voice, "Bethany is my sister. She just dropped in to say hullo. Could you, um, come back later, when she's gone?"
"Now Clarissa, love, you know we can't do that. Our instructions were firm. No excuses are to be accepted, no matter how creative. The relative ploy is rather dated. Everyone has a relative they don't want involved."
"I'm not going anywhere until I know what's going on," I chimed in. "What the hell do you guys think you're playing at?"
The guy talking to Clarissa turned and looked at me.
"Call me Tim," he said. "He's Tom. Clarissa has been a naughty girl and certain penalties are called for. Don't worry. The penalties in this case won't require hospital treatment or even a doctor. It will be more of a subtle reminder that young ladies need to behave themselves."
"Tim and Tom? You expect me to believe they're your real names? And just what did she do, anyway?"
"Does it matter if they're our real names? You can call us Percy and Cecil if you like. Do you think I look like a Percy or a Cecil?"
From the 'you look like an idiot' look I gave him he must have decided my answer was in the negative.
"No? Then Tim and Tom it is. Now, what Clarissa did. She short-changed the till at work, again, and the boss has decided views about that. He did have a word about it last time, and was quite nice about it. But he did warn her that a penalty would be incurred if she screwed up again."
"Clarissa?"
"There were these shoes. I was a little short so I borrowed some money from the till. I was only borrowing it. I was going to put it back when I received my pay."
"Why didn't you."
Tim laughed. "Apparently the till was balanced before she received her pay and the boss was displeased. Clarissa has since paid back the missing money but the boss insists the penalty be paid. He points out that she was warned so she can't really argue about it."
Clarissa was glaring at Tim.
"Listen, now is not a good time. Bethany will be leaving shortly. Why don't you guys come back in half an hour?"
"No delays," said Tim, shaking his head. "Our instructions were clear. If we leave, you may not open the door when we return."
Clarissa was looking very frustrated but not scared, so I guess the punishment wasn't going to be anything too onerous. I couldn't help wondering what it was.
"Ah, exactly what are you going to do?"
"We are going to have Clarissa take off all her clothes so she is stark, staring, naked. Then I am going to put her over my knee and give her a good old-fashioned spanking. She is going to finish up with a nice warm glow to her bottom. Won't this be fun?"
"Um, Tim, can't you let Bethany leave first? Please."
"No. It will provide her with an object lesson as to what happens to naughty girls."
At the same time that Tim was insisting I stay I was also insisting I stay.
"I'm not leaving you here alone with these two animals. If I'm here they won't dare go too far and actually harm you. I'm staying."
Clarissa called Tim a rude word and he just laughed. She also told me I was an idiot but I ignored that, putting it down to stress speaking.
"Come along, Clarissa, no more delays. Let's see those clothes hitting the floor. Or would you prefer me to take them off for you? "
Clarissa gave us all a nasty look and started undressing. It didn't take long before she was standing there naked except for her shoes. I couldn't help wondering why she'd left them on.
