The Misadventures of Samantha and Malcolm/Chapter 6 Working on the Weekend

15:28 Malcolm could not take his eyes off the class clock. It was Friday, and the weekend was less than two minutes away. Not just any weekend, but the weekend that the Cummings girls were staying over. His mom had explained it over breakfast. Mrs. Cummings had called last night, apparently Mr. Cummings’ great uncle was becoming a Medicalos after a long battle with a disease. Mr. and Mrs. Cummings were going up north to be with him before and after the treatment. Not wanting to coordinate Jadyee and Natalie during an unplanned trip, and considering that all four were assigned to the same group research project for school, the girls were spending the weekend at the Martin Household. 15:29 And while watching the clock his brain was also awash with possibilities for the weekend: ''If I misbehave, they’ll see me get spanked up close. But if they misbehave, I’ll see them…wait, if they’re guests, and guests always get treated better, would they get punished less? No, of course not, we’re all pennies here. There’s no way social consideration trumps our ‘need for rehabilitation.’ Oh, and I’ll probably stare at Natatlie as she is getting spanked and she’ll see me and she’ll think I’m some kind of…sex…jerk. And with three girls and one boy it’ll be impossible to-OH MY GOD there WILL be three girls and one boy, I’m going to be outnumbered! What if Samantha turns them against me, what if she starts some kind of wrestling tournament and makes me loose? No, mom would put a stop to that before it even started. OH NO! BATHTIME!'' 15:30 The bell tolled. “Class,” addressed Mrs. Fesse, “place your belongings in your backpacks and take your places on the walking rope.” “Thank you for having us over” Jadyee and Natalie said as they gave a polite curtsy to Mrs. Martin in the foyer. “You are perfectly welcome, girls,” said Alison. “Now, let’s get you settled,” she led all four children upstairs. “The children’s bathroom is on the right, the master bedroom is all the way down the hall, Malcolm and Samantha’s room is here on the left, and you two will be sleeping in the guest bedroom next to them.” She entered said room where the pennies saw two extra corner stools and an overnight bag on one of the twin beds. Each bed had a small step next to (a bit of consideration to the vertically challenged) “Now,” said Alison, “I imagine your mommy told you to be on your very best behavior while you are guests.” “Yes Ma’am,” they answered. “Well, Malcolm and Samantha have similar obligations to represent our household. So everyone here had better be on their very best behavior, because the consequences will be no less severe than they usually will be. Now, let’s see what your mom packed you,” Alison opened the bag and began exhuming the contents. “Weekend clothes, fresh changes of underwear, your very own paddles, pajamas, fresh socks…Oh…two pairs of pain-tees. You mother believes in being thorough.” Jaydee and Natalie whimpered. “And your school uniforms for Monday, your tooth brushes, your spanking Suzies, and your…” she extracted two stuffed animals “…your super hero moose and… what is this, some kind of squirrel?” “It’s Glomer,” said Natalie. “What’s a glomer?” asked Alison. “Nothing, what’s a glomer with you?” said Natalie (no one laughed, it wasn’t a very good joke). “Alright you two, I want the clothes your mother brought here in that dresser neat and organized, then the afternoon is yours to do with as you choose.” She exited. Jaydee and Natalie set to their assigned task. Alison sat down on her bed took up the control to the bedroom display. She had spent the entire day preparing for this. Taking Judge Moley’s advice that more pennies required more diligence, she had placed microcameras in the children’s bedrooms, the living and dining room, and in the backyard. If anyone did anything naughty that didn’t involve sound, she would know about it. The display hummed to life. With a few strokes to the remote, she was watching Jaydee and Natalie finish up her little chore. “Okay, now we’re done,” said Jaydee. “What do you want to do now?” asked Natalie. “Let’s get started on the research project,” said Malcolm. “But, its Friday,” said Jaydee. “We have the whole weekend to do that.” “Yeah…but we can start now,” Malcolm stated, as if the idea of procrastination was an alien concept. “There are times I’m glad we don’t actually share blood,” said Samantha. “Look,” said Malcolm, “If we get as much as we can done now, we’ll have the rest of the weekend off.” There was some more debate, but Malcolm, backed by Natalie who Jaydee voted with, won in the end and all four gathered up their school supplies and proceeded downstairs. Alison turned off the cameras and proceeded to the kitchen to get dinner ready, odds were nothing terribly naughty would happen while they did their homework. The coffee table in the living room doubled as an interface for the integrated home computer console. Each of the four children sat at a different side. “So…a report about a case that created a landmark in the penal system,” said Samantha. “How about the Penny Pincher case?” “Which one?” asked Malcolm. “The first one,” said Samantha. “What’s a pincher case?” asked Jaydee. “See,” explained Samantha, “a ‘penny-pincher’ is slang for a penitatas Parent.” “Actually,” continued Malcolm, “it is rather derogatory, since it implies that the parent is abusing their kids.” “The word was coined,” Samantha tapped the table twice and a keyboard interface appeared, she started typing in search queries, “By this case here…ah, State V. Cardimone.” Malcolm called up his own keyboard and did some separate searches as Samantha kept talking “Mrs. Cardimone was overdoing her punishments of Lucy, her assigned penny,” holograms of portraits of persons involved in the case (flattering and unflattering) appeared and disappeared above the coffee table. “In addition to the usual penny punishments, Mommy dearest was regularly pinching Lucy’s…girlhood.” “Eww” said Jaydee and Natalie in unison, their hands covering themselves as if they were in danger of becoming the next victims. “Mrs. Cardimone,” continued Malcolm, “argued that she had the right to punish Lucy anyway she saw fit. The court however ruled against her, finding her treatment fell under the legal definition of sexual abuse. Her parenting license revoked, Lucy got a new set of parents, and the mother was convicted and sentenced to 4 to 8 x4-10.” “I don’t like this one,” said Natalie. “Yeah, I don’t know if it fits the guidelines,” said Malcolm. “I mean according to this, they just enforced already existing laws. Nothing really changed. The case got a lot of publicity on sensationalism alone, but all we really got out of it was the slang term “Penny-Pincher.” He thought for a moment. “How about the Covered Wagon case?” he asked. “Oh my GOD!” gasped Samantha. “How do you even know about that?” “I did some reading while I was out on bail,” said Malcolm. “I wanted to be prepared. Thing scared the he…living daylights out of me.” He narrowly avoided saying ‘hell.’ “I heard about it from Rinni last cycle,” said Samantha. “She said after she heard about it she was afraid to go on to the playground.” “Why what happened?” asked Jaydee. Malcolm started tapping away. “The Covered Wagon Assault case,” said Malcolm “is one of the most brutal cases-“ “If not THE most,” interjected Samantha. “-to ever come before juvenile court,” continued Malcolm. “It all started with the conviction of…” he called up an image, “Wellington O’Brian for several counts of raping his kindern niece after she was placed in his care after her parents died.” “Oh, man,” said Natalie. “If there was ever a guy who deserved all this…” said Jaydee. “That’s what her classmates thought,” said Samantha. “Yes, Wellington became, Wilhelmina, sentenced to 5 to 10x3-8 all under y repression,” continued Malcolm. “When she reached first grade, apparently some of her classmates objected to her crime so much, they thought they should have a crack at punishing her. So one recess, they lined the inside of the jungle gym with sleeping mats to provide cover, and lured Wilhelmina inside. By the time a teacher actually looked inside to see what was going on…whoa,” the images stopped cycling, replaced by a rotating red X. “Okay, the parental restriction is keeping me from finding that part, which should tell you just how bad it was. But I can tell you that after that, there were a lot more restrictions on pennies, like the…um…” he gestured to his ear and then to his securband. “What? The microphones in the collars?” asked Samantha. “Shh! They can hear you!” said Malcolm. “Everybody knows about them,” said Samantha. Malcolm was visibly shocked. “Why didn’t you warn me about them before I got my mouth washed out, three times!” demanded Malcolm. “Because I hate you,” said Samantha. “Oh…!” Malcolm fumed. “You are LUCKY we have company.” “What happened to the students?” asked Natalie. “Oh-um…Just let me get past the squicky parts,” said Malcolm as he did some more scrolling. “Okay, Wilhelmina got two cycles of Psyclos added to her sentence to deal with emotional trauma. Her assaulters were convicted in juvie court of premeditation, conspiracy, and sexual assault… all got a bunch of cycles added under y repression…” a hologram of five children, handcuffed to a courtroom wall with censored rear ends appeared. “Is that blood on her leg?” asked a horrified Jaydee. “Oh, yeah,” said Samantha. “They were still using the judicial cane back then. Believe it or not, there was a time when penitatas had it worse.” “I don’t want to do this!” exclaimed Natalie with her hands over her eyes. “This is horrible!” Malcolm collapsed the data from the case. “Can’t we do something that isn’t traumatic?” pleaded Natalie. Malcolm and Samantha took a few moments to think before Samantha spoke. “What about that Marakesh case?” asked Samantha. “That one hasn’t reached the Judiciary yet,” said Malcolm. “Does it have blood in it?” asked Natalie. “No, it’s about whether or not Penny parents can retain visual recordings of punishments,” said Malcolm, he started a new search, “Mr. and Mrs. Marakesh, during one of their five year reviews, admitted to having recorded themselves punishing their penny.” More portraits came and went. “But none of those punishments actually crossed any lines as far as regulation goes. They were governing their offender-daughter completely by the book.” “Keeping videos used to be illegal,” said Samantha, “because some less scrupulous parents used to trade them like bubble gum cards.” “But if the Judge rules in favor of the parents in this case,” continued Malcolm, “It sets the precedent that parents who are not crossing the line, nor making any effort to distribute or share the content outside the house, are allowed to record us getting spanked.” All agreed that this case was satisfactory for all, so they all started gathering data on the current case and older cases that set similar precedents. After that, Malcolm had everyone compile their notes into one document and began editing the final report. “Diner will be ready in thirty minutes…” said Alison in the kitchen. “Oh! Start cleaning!” said Samantha. “Everything has to be in its place by dinner time!” whispered Malcolm as he shoved his books into his back pack. Jaydee and Natalie did likewise. “Okay, look around,” said Malcolm. “Did we miss anything?” “No, that’s everything,” answered Samantha. “Okay, upstairs,” Malcolm ordered. All three girls followed him. Samantha and Malcolm stowed their book bags under their respective desks they started scanning their room to make sure that both sides were up to standards. Mom’s inspections were random, but frequent enough to justify caution. Jaydee and Natalie joined them. Natalie ran to Samantha’s side. “Oh! I love the colors,” she declared as she twirled around the pastel rainbows. “Well, that makes one of us,” growled Samantha. “So the…uh…unicorns weren’t your idea?” Jaydee asked as she gestured to the multi-color poster. “No,” said Samantha, “that was definitely Mom and Dad’s idea. As far as I’m concerned they’re just horses with cocks on their heads.” Malcolm, Natalie, and Jaydee gasped. Samantha clapped her hands over her mouth. All were frozen, hoping that maybe Mom didn’t hear that casual release of profanity. Then they heard Mom coming up the stairs. She stepped through the doorway, a look of consternation across her face. She placed her left hand on Samantha’s back and guided her out of the room and into the children’s bathroom. She took up the red tooth brush (the blue and pink ones belonging to Malcolm and Samantha, respectively) and squirted some mouth soap onto it from a dispenser. Taking a washcloth in her other hand, she turned down to Samantha. Malcolm had been subjected to Mom’s routine for discouraging profanity. Even as he and the Cummings sisters peeked around the corner, he knew what to expect. “I warned both you and your brother that you had to set an example for this family,” she said. “Yes, Ma’am,” said Samantha. “And what have you done?” she asked, forcing Samantha to admit her own crime. “I said a bad word,” said daughter. “And how do we get rid of bad words?” asked mother. “We scrub them off our tongues,” said daughter. “That’s right, now stick out your tongue,” commanded mother. Samantha closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and stuck out her tongue as far as she could. Alison took up a wash cloth and took hold of the tip between two fingers on her left hand, and with the right had she began thoroughly scrubbing Samantha’s exposed tongue. The girl winched and whined as the bitter suds charged over her taste buds, trying hard not to cringe her body so much that her mother lost hold of her tongue. Then Alison stopped scrubbing and rinsed out the suds, then led Samantha out of the bathroom. The three other pennies hastily cleared the way for them. Alison lead Samantha downstairs to the living room (obligated to observe every punishment and remember that it could just as easily be them, the three pennies followed). Speaking admonishments the entire time, Mother undid the button on Samantha’s skirt, letting it fall to the ground. She yanked Samantha’s pink panties down to her ankles. Then she sat down, took her daughter over her knee, and began applying the hairbrush with speed. WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! “BWAAAAAAAA! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! “I’M SORRY!” WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP!” IBGOOOOOD!” Soon Samantha’s pleads for mercy bled into one incoherent sob completely ignored by the cruel rhythm of wood upon girl flesh. The three other pennies found themselves self-consciously rubbing their own bottoms. Finally it was over, and Samantha was doomed to her corner stool until dinner was served. Dinner was chicken and mushroom soup with a side of overdone asparagus. Jet arrived half-way through, sincerely apologizing to his wife. He joined the meal and regaled the table with the story of today’s uncooperative witness and the stalling tactic that cracked him. After dinner, the children (with the exception of Samantha, who was sent to bed early for her swear word) congregated across the couch for an animated holo. It was a fantasy about a forest full of dryads, centaurs, leprechauns and other mythological creatures that had to band together to stop the evil logging corporation robots from destroying their home. When the robots made their debut, Malcolm started talking about the mechanical inconsistencies with their designs. “Look at that circular saw, there’s no drive train, no belt to move it, not even space for a basic servo. It looks more like a pin wheel than a piece of construction equipment. And there’s no way that a leg that small could hold the hydraulics necessary to support the weight of that torso chassis. Oh…no…robo-tentacles ending in chainsaws, now they’re just-” Natalie put her hand over his mouth. “Malcolm,” said Natalie, “I’m pretty sure that reality was out the door the moment that magical green girls started jumping in and out of trees.” “Or when the leprechaun pulled a keg of ‘root beer’ out from behind his back,” said Jaydee. “Or when the fairies played an entire musical number using flowers for instruments,” said Natalie. Malcolm pushed away Natalie’s hand. “Oh, never mind,” he conceded. “I don’t know,” said Jet. “This just may cross the line.” “I’m not recording their punishments, I’m recording their normal everyday activities,” said Alison. “I’m no fool, the cameras only come on when we turn them on, and automatically deactivate when either there are no pennies in the room for more than five minutes, or one of us enters the room. There is no hazard of us hoisting ourselves on our own petard.” Jet thought about that, it did seem reasonable. “Well,” he said, “what about Malcolm and Natalie, if they start to…do something foolish…” “That was exactly what I had in mind when I put this in,” she said. “What?” he asked. “If Malcolm and Natalie cross your line of acceptable behavior, they might not be so considerate as to give us much of a verbal warning,” said Alison. “This may be the best way to make sure they don’t go ‘exploring.’” “Huh, that’s…pretty acceptable,” said Jet. “Just make sure you delete the video after. No need to take chances.” “Yes, sir,” she said. Unless I catch Malcolm and Natalie kissing, then I will save it forever for it will be the most ADOREABLE THING I COULD SEE, she thought. Alison led the three children upstairs. It was bath time, and Malcolm was on the verge of a full panic attack. ''OH…MY…GOD, this is it, Natalie’s going to see me, and I’m going to see her. Oh God, how could mom do this to me? I’ll just have to not look. But what if she looks, does that mean I get to look too? I mean we’ve already seen each other at a distance, how can you not in penny school. But this is…oh God, I’m going to see all of Natalie!'' “Okay,” said Alison, “Jaydee and Natalie get the first shower, then Malcolm and Samantha.” She gave the Cummings girls a pair of pats on their bottoms. “Go get your pajamas and tooth brushes.” She said. Oh, first them…then us…that’s…completely reasonable, thought Malcolm. He was mostly relieved (but a small part of him was disappointed that he would not be seeing the Cummings girls completely naked after all). Samantha and Malcolm were both surprised when mother told them that they were washing tonight without her supervision. Previously, many a fight had started in the tub, and mom had responded by bending their bickering bodies over the bath tub and beating their bare bottoms with the bath-brush. Tonight, however, they washed themselves quickly, thoroughly, and without incident, Malcolm was determined to put on his best face for Natalie and Samantha was still nursing a very pink bottom. As they exited the bathroom wearing naught but pajama shirts, their mother guided them to the guest room. Jet was waiting with Samantha’s paddle. Jaydee and Natalie were both standing at attention sans pants, using their paddles covering their privates. Malcolm covered his own with both hands. “Malcolm, have a seat,” she guided him to twin bed on the right. He dutifully climbed up the step and sat on the bed, positioning himself so that part of him was obscured. “Now girls,” said Jet as he handed Samantha her paddle, “you all know the protocol.” He picked up each girl one at a time and laid them all stomach down on the side of the other bed, resulting in the three girls’ bottoms pointed more or less in the direction of Malcolm. Any curiosities he had about Natalie and Jaydee’s rear ends were now satisfied. Blood was already in his cheeks (he couldn’t see it but Natalie’s face was embarrassed with blood as well). “Let’s begin our four steps,” said Jet. “I was a naughty girl, I was hurting people for money,” said Samantha. “I was a naughty girl, I trespassed where I shoudn’t a been,” said Jaydee and Natalie. “I took what wasn’t mine and left people hurt and afraid,” said Samantha. “I coulda infected other people and the coulda died,” said Jaydee and Natalie. “And I need a good bare bottom spanking to make me a good girl,” sobbed Samantha. “Please ‘pank me and help me remember,” choked Jaydee and Natalie. SMACK!....WHACK!....SPANK!!....WHAP!....CRACK!....SHWHACK! Jet started with Jaydee’s paddle on Jaydee on the most left, gave the next spank to Natalie in the middle, and the next to Samantha on the right, and then started back with Jaydee. The children began to whine and wiggle under the burning sting of the cruel implement. SPANK! WHACK! SMACK! THWHACK! SMACK! SPANK! Eventually he set down Jaydee’s paddle, and started again with Natalie’s paddle. The poor little girls kicked and bucked in vain as Jet’s cruel waltz continued. WHACK! SMACK! THWHACK! WHACK! SMACK! THWHACK! Then he took up Samantha’s paddle and commenced the third and final act. The tears and snot flowed all the way down their faces, their bottoms bright pink balls of burst blood vessels, their voices a discordant medley of sobs. WHACK! SMACK! THWHACK! WHACK! SMACK! THWHACK! “I think that’s enough now girls.” Jet signaled the conclusion of their ordeal. Alison took up Samantha in her arms and Jet embraced both of the Cummings girls to him (his lap was THAT broad). “Come on, Malcolm,” said Alison as she carried Samantha into the kids’ bedroom. Malcolm followed, regretting that he could not embrace and comfort Natalie in her hour of sorrow. After all four were diapered and tucked in, all four children slept soundly under the influence of delta waves. To be continued… Saturday 8:00 The speakers emitted a digitized version of the William Tell Overture, rousing the Martin siblings. “Saturday!” Samantha announced as she bolted upright, grabbed a set of clothes, and dashed out the door. Malcolm dropped out of bed, set aside Gonzo (his stuffed…whatever), and emerged from their room with significantly less enthusiasm. “Hey, Mal,” said Jaydee, meeting him in the hallway. “I never took Samantha for a morning person.” Natalie was close behind Jaydee, rubbing her eyes with one hand and clutching Glomer with the other. They heard Mr. and Mrs. Martin downstairs. “If she’s dressed herself and ready by 9:00, she gets to watch her favorite show, ‘Quantum Rangers’” Malcolm explained, then he realized this was the first time he had seen them without their trademark pigtails. For that matter, Jaydee’s hair was a fright. “Goodness, your hair is a fright,” he said. Jaydee glared, Natalie laughed. “Well in an hour, mine will be pretty. You can’t say the same,” she ran her hand over his perpetually spiky hair. Samantha burst out of the bathroom, fully cleaned, fully dressed in a white with pink polka dot T-shirt and a pink skirt, and raised her arms in triumph. “Clear!” she announced and raced downstairs. “How…that was…” stammered Jaydee. “Yeah, too fast, I know,” confirmed Malcolm. “I’ve been over it like, a dozen times in my head. I don’t know how she does it. Hey, you two go ahead.” He gestured to the bathroom. “Oh, no, it’s like your house,” said Jaydee. “No, no,” insisted Malcolm, “I’m dry this morning, you go ahead.” After all were cleaned, dressed (Jaydee and Natalie in purple and orange shirts and khaki shorts and Malcolm in a red shirt and overall jeans), and had a filling breakfast of Fiber Oats 101 (the only cereal boring enough to come in a gray box) all four children were assembled in the living room by 8:55, where upon Malcolm’s morning four step began. Alison set the chair so that all three girls (set on the couch) would get a view of Malcolm’s bottom to match the sight he had seen last night. “Mrs. Martin,” asked Natalie, “do they get their four steps at morning, or evening?” “We used to do two a day,” said Alison. “You know, Malcolm thought the four steps should be in the evening, but Samantha thought they should be in the morning. Well they just argued about it so much they actually came to blows! So we give them both one four step in the morning, and one four step in the evening. That way everyone was happy!” Samantha and Malcolm rolled their eyes. “We’ve taken down to one a day with alternation started, they really needed to learn a very harsh lesson about fighting. Now let’s hear some four step.” Malcolm repeated the anthem of the first three steps that had been wrought into their muscle memory. "I was a naughty boy, I was going where I wasn’t supposed to, I could have broken something that wasn’t mine, or broken the quarantine, and I need a good bare bottom spanking to make me a good boy," choked Malcolm. He handed the paddle to his mother, and undid the buckles on his overalls, but he hesitated when he began to pull them down, conscious of the Cummings girls both viewing him as they sat in the big comfy chair to the left of the couch. “Having trouble Malcolm?” asked his mother. “Here, I can help.” She took his pants and underwear in her hands and yanked them down. Malcolm’s hands fled to his privates. Alison hauled the boy over her lap. And the punishment commenced. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! Malcolm clenched together his legs and bottom to keep his naked parts hidden from Natalie and Jaydee’s view. But soon his thoughts of modesty were lost as he bucked and whined and gripped the chair legs in pain. His overalls were not so easily kicked off, basically making them leg cuffs. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! Then he started crying SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! He hammered his little fists on the chair legs, but nothing could stop the onslaught of that terrible paddle. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! But finally it was over. The Alison pulled her boy into an embrace to let him cry. “All right,” cooed Alison, “let it out. It’s okay to-NINE O’CLOCK! Time for Quantum Rangers!” She snatched up the remote and turned it to her desired channel, upon which she found a theme song with an electric guitar and rather repetitive lyrics mixed with images of five uniformed superheroes performing over-theatrical acts of violence upon various monsters. Alison allowed Malcolm off of her knee and he began setting his clothes in order. She sat down on the couch and Samantha climbed into her lap. “So…you like this show?” asked Jaydee. “Oh, it’s a penny parent’s obligation to monitor their children’s activities,” explained Alison. Also, Kenji Kugashira, the male lead, is like the hottest thing EVER, Alison thought to herself. “If anybody needs me,” said Malcolm as he made his way to the stairs, “I’ll be getting real work done.” “Um,” said Natalie. “Is Malcolm not allowed to watch?” “Oh, no dear,” said Alison. “But Malcolm doesn’t really like this show and around here, pennies only get one Saturday morning holo. He prefers that Age of Chibi…whatever…show. It’s on later.” Malcolm stood at his desk (he wouldn’t be sitting on that hard chair for another two or so hours) compiling the last of the notes on cases into a timeline. It was remarkable how much they were able to get done yesterday. If he buckled down right now, there wouldn’t be any more work to do- “Hey, Malcolm,” said Natalie. Malcolm started. She had just walked in the door way. Natalie was in his room, with him, alone. While he stumbled on trying to say something, Natalie plopped herself down on Samantha’s bed like it was her own. “Are you doing homework rather than watch TV? I am suddenly having doubts about you.” “There are many things I would rather do than watch “Quantum Rangers,” he said. Remembering his hatred of Quantum Rangers focused Malcolm’s thoughts. “The music is annoying, the plots are obvious, the acting is lame, and the writers have absolutely NO idea how quantum physics actually works. Listening to all of their scientific inaccuracies makes my ears want to vomit.” Natalie’s face screwed itself up. “That may be the most disgusting image I have EVER had in my brain,” she said. “I…I…” stuttered Malcolm. “I have to go to bed with that in my head,” she said. Malcolm sensed that a change of topic was necessary. “I…just wanted to get this done,” he said. “If I can, we’ll have the whole rest of the weekend to play.” Thunder rolled outside. Rain started rapping on the window. “Inside, we’ll play inside.” He turned back to his work. She rolled onto her stomach and rested her chin on her hands. “Butt still sore, huh?” she asked, referring to the fact that he was standing. His first impulse was to be sarcastic about the obvious, but he suppressed it. “Uh, yes, yes it is.” She reached back and rubbed her own bottom. “Your dad spanks harder than my dad,” she said. “We used to get two a day,” said Malcolm. “Yeah, your mom said,” said Natalie. “Right,” said Malcolm. “Y’know, I heard something about you,” said Natalie. “Yes?” said Malcolm. “Is it true that you got caught in an AIR VENT?” she said. “Yes,” Malcolm sighed. “Because I had a copy of the blue prints and that was the only unmonitored-“ “Nobody goes in through the air vent!” laughed Natalie. “I’ve got like, five year experience at infiltration, and I have NEVER gone in through an air vent.” “Well, how would you have done it?” he asked as he abandoned his desk and pulled himself up onto the bed. “Off the top of my head,” she said as she sat up “impersonate maintenance personnel (nobody ever looks the janitor in the eye).” “I’d have trouble not noticing you,” said Malcolm. Natalie gave him a look. Malcolm fumbled for a recovery, thinking he had said something wrong. “Not ugly, I mean that you’re too pretty-I MEAN!” Malcolm stammered, realizing that he had revealed more than he wanted too. Natalie just laughed. “Thank you,” she said. They were both silent for a bit before Natalie spoke. “Malcolm, do you want to be my boyfriend?” asked Natalie. That stymied Malcolm for a second, he hadn’t expected the question put forth so simply. “Yes,” he said. “Okay, cool,” she said. “Yeah, cool,” he said. “Oh, and so we’re clear,” she took up his collar in her fist, “I ever catch you mackin’ on another girl, I’ll clobber yah.” “I-I can’t-wouldn’t do that,” this was the first time he had heard the word ‘mackin’ but he guessed its meaning. “Good,” she leaned next to him. He obligingly placed his arm around her shoulder “Oh, by the way,” Malcolm had seen this line in a holo once and he thought it was a good one to use, “You gave me something once and I wanted to give it back.” “What’s that?” asked Natalie. He gave her a kiss on the cheek. They both blushed. “Oh, Malcolm,” she finally said, “before I forget, what’s with your hair?” “My…Hair,” he ran his fingers through his spiky hair. “Yeah, I mean, does your mom play a lot of Square-enix RPGs or what?” “Square-what?” he asked. “Oh, right, you don’t have them here,” she said. “Square is a Japanese software company back on Earth, most of their game characters have spiky hair. They had just released Final Fantasy 98 when we got pinched.” “Oh, no, my hair has been this way since I was, like, eight, as a kindern” he said. “Really?” she asked. “Yeah, I thought the rejuve would fix it, but no. It all started the day I was playing with an electro-spanner…” “You gotta understand, this is, like three hundred years after that series I told you about,” said Malcolm to Natalie as the pair sat in the big comfy chair watching ‘Age of Legends: Chibi.’ Alison sat in the living room couch. “Malcolm,” said Natalie, “I’ll just figure it out as I go and I’ll ask you if I don’t get something.” “Okay,” said Malcolm. The show was a steam punk fantasy and this episode had the main characters, a group of private investigators, attending a fancy dress ball. Then Alison (seated in the big comfy chair) placed her finger upon her ear for a moment, then she started leaving the room, then she stopped, waited a bit, then dashed back to her chair, held up her finger to her mouth to signal Malcolm and Natalie to be quiet. After a bit of time, Jaydee and Samantha came down the stairs and approached Alison. “Mommy,” said Samantha. “We got into a fight.” “And what was this fight about?” asked Alison. “We were playing with Melvin and Eyore, “ said Samantha “and Jaydee grabbed Gonzo to play with, and I told her she had to ask permission first. I tried to make her put it back, and I pushed her kind of hard-“ “And I pushed back kind of hard,” said Jaydee. “And then Jaydee realized we realized we were fighting and had to stop,” said Samantha. Alison breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth. “Are either of you hurt?” asked Alison. “No Ma’am,” they said in unison. “Well,” said Alison, “it’s good that both of you had the sense to not allow things to get out of hand. It is bad that you started something in the first place. I think you both deserve…ten hard spanks each. And since Jaydee started it by infringing upon Malcolm’s stuff,” she undid Jaydee’s shorts and pulled the girl up over her lap, “she can go first.” Alison slid the shorts down and yanked a pair of pink panties down her knees. She patted the small cheeks before her three times, raised her hand high and brought it down hard in four hard spanks. WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! “AEEEYYAAA!” exclaimed Jaydee. “You’re getting off quite light,” said Alison, matter-of-factly. WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! “Yes-” WHAP! “MA’AM!” WHAP! WHAP! Alison let the girl off her lap. Jade started rubbing her pinkened bottom. Mommy then reached out and arrested the hand of the waiting Samantha, pulling her over her knee. She dusted the pink skirt from Samantha’s bottom and yanked down her pink panties, thus dismissed of her clothing, Alison Gave Samantha the same treatment. WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! “SOOOOREEEEE!” WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! “SOOREE MOMEE!” WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! Samantha stood before the full length mirror on the back of her bedroom door. She let her skirt fall to the floor, and dropped her panties. Turning around, she inspected the state of her bottom. It was warm to the touch and still tingling, only a light shade of pink. She bent over for another look. The door opened. “Hey, Sam-Woah!” said Jaydee as she got a full view of Samantha’s under carriage. Samantha stood up and turned a cold shoulder. “Take a picture, it will last longer,” she jeered as she wiggled her bottom at Jaydee. Jaydee stepped inside and closed the door. “I really am sorry I got you spanked,” said Jaydee. “I thought I got you spanked,” said Samantha, “besides, it was far from the worst spanking I’ve ever had.” Jaydee stepped up to the mirror and dropped her own shorts, comparing the shades of pink of each bottom. It struck Samantha that this might closest she had been to a naked female since she had been become a y-rep. “I think mine’s more pink,” said Jaydee. “I got a head start on you by a couple of months,” said Samantha. Jaydee took a gander at Samantha’s front. Samantha, in turn, took a sarcastically obvious gander at Jaydee’s front. “It just looks so real,” said Jaydee. “It is real,” insisted Samantha. “If I were to grow to full womanhood, I could have babies and everything.” She pulled up her panties and put her skirt back on. “Does it make you like guys, now?” asked Jaydee as she pulled up her own shorts. “…I don’t know,” said Samantha. “I mean, I haven’t met a guy that makes me…well…like that, but come to think of it I haven’t met any girls like that either. Course, it was my first cycle and I was REALLY a brat, so I didn’t get to play with other kids THAT many times on account of how many fights I started.” “I see,” said Jaydee. “I mean,’ continued Samantha. “I remember liking the ladies when I was a man, and even now when I think of the ladies I’m still like all ‘Huhuhuh boobs,’ so I guess, yeah, maybe I’m still into girls…wanna play with dolls?” “Yeah!” “Okay!” After lunch was eaten and home work had been triumphantly finished all four pennies gathered around the coffee table under Alison’s supervision as rain rapped on the window. “There aren’t many games that are rated for pennies,” said Malcolm as the game loaded, “but ‘Age of Legends: Chibi,’ is my favorite. It’s a steam-punk fantasy with a lot of variety.” The game opened, Malcolm selected the option for creating new profiles. “First we have to make your characters, there are four class types: attack, defense, magic, and support…” Jaydee made herself a far eastern martial arts tomboy dressed in Shaolin robes (or at least what the game designers thought a shaolin monk would wear) and Natalie waffled a bit between the street urchin thief and the magical girl bard, but she went with the bard because her costume was more colorful. “I find I’m at my happiest when I’m wearing at least five separate colors,” said Natalie. The introduction began, Jaydee and Natalie’s Characters were students who were accused of vandalizing their dorm. If they did not discover the true culprits within the specified time, their characters would be caned. After they got the hang of the controls moving their characters around the crime scene picking up clues, they exited the dorm and Malcolm and Samantha were allowed to add their characters (Samantha with a wild west gunner and Malcolm with an armored steam punk mechanic) to the game. “Okay,” said Malcolm, “your first group of witnesses are right over there. Now remember that this is a penny game.” “What’s the difference?” asked Jaydee, rather dismissively as she sped her character towards the witnesses. “It means” said Alison, cutting off Malcolm before he could talk, “that there will be a bunch of moral choices for you to make, and there will be consequences if you make the wrong one.” Jaydee’s character was already threatening to pummel the witnesses that would not talk. “Well let’s see,” Alison looked over the results of the prologue adventure. “You successfully discovered the pug-ugly bandits who thought there was hidden treasure under the dorm, unfortunately Jaydee still got a caning because she kept using the threat of violence, and actual violence, in pretty much every encounter. “I kept telling you to wait until it was self defense,” insisted Malcolm. “It’s just a game,” said Jaydee as her character was bent over a desk on the screen. Alison placed a hand on Jaydee’s shoulder. “Just a penny game,” said Alison. She swept the girl over her lap. “You’re spanking me for what I did in a GAME?” said an aghast Jaydee. “You get to keep your clothes on,” explained Alison, patting Jaydee’s clothed bottom. “But you need to learn that there will always be consequences to your actions.” She began to spank. SPANK! “Malcolm!” SPANK! “Why” SPANK! “didn’t” SPANK! “you” SPANK! “tell” SPANK! “ME!” “You mean,” fumed Malcolm, “like when I told you NOT to break into that shop? Or when I told you NOT to steal the policemen’s helmet, or when I told you NOT to use a lantern as a projectile IN A LIBRARY!” After Jaydee’s punishment was over, the kids spent the rest of the afternoon, playing the racing mini-game. Both Malcolm and Samantha knew where the shortcuts were but Samantha was better at expoiting them, so Samantha kept coming in first with the other three fighting over who got second, third, and fourth place. “It crosses the line,” said Jet as he rummaged through boxes in the attic. “It’s educational,” insisted Alison over his shoulder. “It crosses the line,” reaffirmed Jet. “The kids learn a valuable life skill, and they overcome their embarrassments,” said Alison. “I am not going to let you teach the children about diaper changing by having them change each other’s diapers,” proclaimed Jet. “Mrs. Hampton did it when she had a sleepover at her house,” said Alison. “Well, maybe you should go and live at Mrs. Hampton’s house,” said Jet. “Ha! Here it is!” He exhumed a box. “What’s that?” asked Alison. “This, if the children are very good, is tomorrow’s afternoon activity, I just have to scratch off a label.” To be Continued… Sunday 7:00 am The Alarm sounded, and Alison bolted upright out of bed. “Oh, thank God!” she said. “It was all a dream.” “What?” asked jet as he rose with her. “What’s wrong?” He placed his arms around her. “I dreamed that Malcolm built a star ship in the basement, and we were getting prosecuted for negligence,” she said. Jet exhaled though his nose to keep from laughing. “It was scary,” she insisted. They both got out of bed and Alison checked the monitors. “All five child signatures read nominal.” She pressed the wake up button and made her way to the bathroom. It took a few moments for Jet to process what she said. “Wait…five?” he asked. “Five?” she asked. Samantha started screaming. (moments earlier) The William Tell Overture chased the dreams away and Malcolm opened his eyes, quite surprised to find a red haired, brown eyed, tan girl’s face staring back at him. The sheer shock overrode his thoughts. The girl grinned a huge grin and grabbing him into a violent hug. She was a stick figure of a twelve year old wearing naught but a loose t-shirt and a pair of tight black bicycle shorts. “BRAN MUFFIN!” exclaimed the intruder. Recognition flooded Malcolm’s brain. “ED! Oh my god!” he said. Samantha was screaming. Ed was laughing as Malcolm struggled against her grip. “ED,” he pleaded, “If there was ever a time I needed you to not be YOU!” “WHO IS SHE!” exclaimed Natalie. She and Jaydee stood aghast in the doorway. “THAT’S A GIRL?!” yelled Samantha. “SHE’S-I-JUST-IT’S-“ Malcolm was babbling as he struggled in vain against Ed’s grip on his body. Jet and Alison charged into the room. “WHO IS…EDAWRD!?“ Jet started furious then ended in shocked recognition. Ed turned her head towards him, her face lit up with glee, and she released Malcolm so she could glomp Jet. “JET PERSON!” she exclaimed, her arms wrapped around his waist. “WHO IS SHE!” demanded Alison. “She-uh-did surveillance and hacking for us a while back,” Jet stammered. “WELL WHAT’S SHE DOING HERE!” demanded Alison. “The door was open,” said Ed. “No it wasn’t!” insisted Jet. “It’s locked every night!” “Same thing to Ed,” said Ed. Jet grabbed his head in despair. “Besides,” Ed let go of Jet and somersaulted onto Malcolm’s bed in a hand stand, “Ed wanted to see Bran muffin.” She set herself on the bed, Indian style. “You want a bran muffin?” asked a confused Jet. Ed reached out and tickled Malcolm. “Hey,” said Malcolm as he reached out and grabbed her tickling hand by the wrist, then she started ticking with her other hand which Malcolm grabbed, then Ed lunged towards Malcolm and he had to hold her off by placing his right foot on her chest. “Please, not now,” he begged. “You call Malcolm BRAN MUFFIN,” asked Samantha, grinning sadistically. Natalie stormed out, Jaydee followed her. “Natalie! Wait,” Malcolm slid off the bed, tumbling Ed to the ground. Before Malcolm could leave the room, Alison took hold of him by the arm. “How do YOU know her,” demanded Alison. “She was kinda my girl friend in college,” Malcolm struggled against her grip, trying to reach Natalie. He heard the sound of a door slamming. “Did you call her here?” accused Alison. Ed wrapped her arms around Malcolm’s legs. Malcolm kept trying to get out of her grip one foot at a time and she kept grabbing at his legs. “I have NO COTROL OVER THIS WOMAN!” Malcolm insisted. “Edward. Stop.” Jet commanded. Ed stopped playing with Malcolm and bolted up right to attention. “YESSIR!” she saluted. “Edward, did anyone here call you to come,” asked Jet. “Nope,” said Ed. “Ed was tired and Bran-Bran was near, so Ed put Ed into the computer and the house let Ed in.” “What?” asked Alison. “She must have hacked the home console and added her profile, making the door locks think she was a member of the house hold.” He took hold of one of Ed’s hands, turning it over to reveal an M. “Edward used Edward’s proper name,” said Ed. “Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky the 4th.” “Is her Nano-web faulty or something?” asked Alison. “No, she was always like that,” said Jet. “Yeah, this is all par for the course,” said Malcolm. “Ed, where are your assigned parents?” asked Jet. “Superfluous,” said Ed. “You ran away from home, didn’t you?” asked Jet. “You betcha,” said Ed. “Where’s your secureband?” asked Jet. Malcolm only noticed now that she didn’t have one. “It was itchy, I took it off,” said Ed. “How!” asked Malcolm, he had been failing to think up a way to remove it for months. Ed pulled him close. “Can you keep a secret,” she asked. “Yes,” he said. “So can Ed,” she said. Malcolm slapped himself in the face. Jet took Ed by the hand. “Come on, I can get your ID off the micronumber in one of the legs in the M your hand,” he lead Ed out. Alison followed. Finally left alone, Malcolm went over to the Cummings girls’ room and knocked. “Natalie, are you in there?” he asked. “Look, I’m sorry about Ed. I didn’t invite her. I mean I only knew her for three months and she left without even a warning. I never thought I would see her again. I have no-” “Malcolm,” said Natalie. He whirled around. She and Jaydee were dressed in Orange and red shirts and blue denim overall dresses. Apparently she was in the bathroom the whole time. “Bathroom’s free,” she walked past him and after Jaydee was in the room too, she slammed the door shut. Malcolm broke down. He ran back to his room, shoved his head into his pillow and cried. "Trouble at home Bran Muffin?" mocked Samantha as she gathered up her clothes and underwear. “Shut up!” he cried. “I never get to have anything.” “Yeah, just like the bathroom you are not going to have,” she said as she walked out. About half way down the hall, she slowed down, held back by an invisible chain of guilt. She remembered half way through her last cycle, the woman she/he had been living, sleeping, and fucking with had sent an insultingly brief text to inform Samantha/Samuel that she was getting married. In that moment, Samantha learned the full meaning of the phrase ‘broken heart.’ Broken nothing, it felt like a theft, like there was a cold void where there aught to have been joy, she cried, she screamed, she broke things. Then she received the very worst paddling, strapping, and caning of her sentence to date, stretched out over three days with paintees, tucked up skirts, and extra caustic soapy enemas prolonged over time with the aid of cruelly large plugs morning, noon, and evening. But she also remembered all the snuggle talks in between, the long talks about her feelings with Mrs. Sonya (her counselor), and how the people around her actually helped her through her feelings. She cast her eyes to the god in the skies. I have to do the right thing here don’t I? She turned around and walked back into her room, Malcolm was still buried in his pillow. She gathered up a set of clothes and underclothes for him and prodded him. “C’mon bro,” she said. “Shower time.” He was more receptive to her instructions than usual, obediently sliding off the bed and following her to the bathroom. “Sci-Fi convention?” asked Samantha as she used one of the two shower hand nozzles in the tub to rinse herself off. “Yeah, a bunch of us went down there in costume and that’s where I met her,” said Malcolm as he used the other nozzle. “She was like, twenty, twenty five years old. At first I thought she was in character or something, but as the weekend wore on, I realized that was she wasn’t acting, she really was like that. It wasn’t until we got home that we realized she had stowed away in our car.” “And then she hooked up with you?” asked Samantha as she toweled off. “Well, she was kind of squatting in my dorm room,” said Malcolm as he finished rinsing. “We slept in the same bed, actually, sometimes I would just find her sleeping on the floor…but we never…y’know. I think she had some kind of aversion to it.” “So, who broke it off? You or her?” asked Samantha as she pulled on her pink underwear. “Three months later I opened my door and she was gone, along with some of my lab equipment,” said Malcolm as he toweled off. “That’s it?” asked Samantha as she buttoned up her lilac short sleeve shirt. “Yeah,” said Malcolm as he pulled on his underwear. “She co…um…blocks you in the sack for three months then takes off with your stuff?” Samantha said as she zipped up her purple skirt. “That’s not a girl friend, that’s a moocher.” “It wasn’t like that,” said Malcolm as he pulled on his short jeans. “She was fun to be around, and she was brilliant, she had suggestions for computer systems I never would have thought of.” “Still,” said Samantha as she pulled on her socks, “SHE walked out on YOU, and now she just walks back in. What is your life like a…” she struggled for a good metaphor “a revolving door to her?” They were both dressed now. Malcolm was beginning to see things in a new light. Ed abandoned him, and now she expects him to roll out tea and dumplings? No SIR. He was going to set her straight. “Yeah,” he said. “This is MY life, MY house, and that doesn’t get in without a signed invitation.” “That’s right!” agreed Samantha. “BREAKFAST!” called Jet from below. Malcolm went down the down the stairs all gung ho about telling Ed off, but she was in the dining room with the rest of the family with distributing flapjacks for one and all, it just didn’t seem the time or place. He sat at his place (Natalie was in between Alison and Jaydee, so no hope of speaking to her just yet), ate his breakfast resolving to take Ed aside after the fast was fully broken. “Ed’s rightful family will be along soon,” said Jet. “Turned out she split last night.” Ed had rolled up a flapjack and was using it as a telescope. “In this house,” stated a fuming Alison, “we do not play with our food.” Ed dropped it back on to her plate and laid on the syrup. “Mmm, no one cooks better’n Jet-person,” said Ed after her first bite. Jet smiled, Alison glared at him, Jet became stern in response. “Ed, this is all a very serious matter,” said Jet. “If Malcolm had been assigned to a father who did not already know you, you might have ended up in juvie court over this.” Malcolm and Samantha shuddered at the thought. Ed showed no sign of fear, she picked up the syrup bottle, squeezed it so hard it squirted a glob into the air, and caught it in her mouth without spilling a drop. Alison yelped and yanked the bottle away from her. “No more sugar for YOU!” “Meanie!” accused Ed. “ED!” scolded Jet. “I expect you to show my wife the same respect you show me.” “OKAY” said Ed. She shoved her face into her plate and ate her flap jacks like a Labrador retriever licking dog food out of a bowl. This is worse than when she got a hold of a bottle of bourbon at that house party, thought Malcolm. After breakfast, Natalie withdrew quickly to her room and Jaydee followed close behind. Samantha followed them and knocked on the door. “Nat, I gotta talk to you,” said Samantha. Jaydee opened the door. Samantha entered to find Natalie with her pig tails undone, brushing her hair while seated on the bed. “Malcolm still likes you and he’s telling Ed off right now,” said Samantha. “Oh good,” said Natalie as she finished brushing and did up her left pigtail. “So there’s no reason to break up with…” she started. “I already gave her this speech,” said Jaydee. “Yeah it’s all cool, I’m not breaking up with him,” said Natalie. “You’re not,” asked Samantha? “Well, he’s not the only one with a crazy ex or two out there,” laughed Jaydee. “Yeah, mine almost got me killed when he exposed me during an undercover op,” said Natalie. “This is like…sitcom level next to what I’ve seen.” “So, you’re not breaking up with him?” asked Samantha. “Nah, I’m just gonna jerk him around a bit before I tell him it’s cool,” said Natalie as she finished her second pigtail. “What!” said Samantha. “I’m just holding out for some nice compliments,” said Natalie. “UH-NO!” said Natalie. “On behalf of men everywhere, I am giving you until the end of five minutes after he tells Ed off to make up with that boy!” “Settle down,” said Natalie. “Right now,” Samantha grabbed Natalie’s arm and yanked her out of her room. “You put him in TEARS this morning and you are fixing this!” “Tears?” asked Natalie, surprised. Samantha released her “He’s NEVER had a proper girlfriend,” said Samantha. “He’s a virgin. He was mortified enough and now he thinks he has lost you.” “Oh, man,” said Natalie, she dashed down the hall and down the stairs a bit. Jaydee walked up beside Samantha. Eventually, Natalie poked her head around and gave the girls a set of hand signals that Samantha did not know. ''They have hand signals? That’s awesome, I gotta learn some of that,'' she thought. Jaydee took her by the hand. “Proceed dark in file formation,” said Jaydee. “What?” asked Samantha. “Quite, single file,” said Jaydee. “Oh cool,” they went as instructed and tucked themselves on the stairs behind Natalie, who had tucked herself on the stairs just high enough to not be seen in the living room but easily hear as Malcolm talked to Ed. “Do you understand?” asked Malcolm. “Yup,” said Ed. “Bomp shicka wa-wa.” “I don’t know what that means, but we can at least agree that my old girlfriend giving me breath stealing hugs in front of my new girlfriend is a bit of a problem. “What old girlfriend?” she said. “You,” he said. “Ed?” she said. “Yes,” he said. “Ed’s not your old girlfriend,” she said. “What?” he said. “Bran-muffin is best friend, not boyfriend,” she said. Natalie’s mouth was wide open. “But, why did you sneak into my bed last night?” he asked. “Cuz your cuter now!” she said. Samantha heard the sound of hand striking flesh, she imagined that Malcolm had slapped himself in the head. “So, could you go up and tell Natalie that everything is cool?” he asked. The three girls exchanged glances. “Sure,” said Ed. “Okay, let’s go,” said Malcolm. “Best friend make up hug,” said Ed. “Oh this is…right,” said Malcolm as the sound of flesh meeting flesh through cloth echoed. Natalie rolled her eyes. “Best friend make up wedgie!” said Ed. “Wha-AHEEEEEEEEE!” exclaimed Malcolm. Natalie’s eyes went wide. Natalie dashed down the stairs and saw Ed suspending Malcolm in the air by his blue briefs and bouncing him like a yo-yo as he shrieked. Natalie was about to dash into the room, tackle that skinny bitch and put all of her training in Krav Maga into practice, but a mother’s rage beat her to the punch. “GET YOUR COTTON PICKING HANDS OF MY BOY!” screamed Alison as she charged forward. Ed jettisoned Malcolm on the floor to facilitate escape. As Alison chased Ed around the living room, Natalie came to the aid of Malcolm. “You okay?” she asked. “I’m a long way from okay,” said Malcolm with his hands between his thighs. Alison had caught Ed in a leg lock on the floor and had managed to get the preteen’s bicycle shorts down to her knees and was laying into her exposed bottom as Ed wiggled and squirmed with all her might. SPANK! SPANK! SPANK! “YOU MUSTA LOS” SPANK! “YO GOTAMED MIND!” SPANK! “SHOVIN YO HANDS” SPANK! “INTO MAH” SPANK! “BOY’S” SPANK! “PANTS!” SPANK! SPANK! Es was shrieking Bloody murder. “ALISON,” yelled Jet as he came in the front door with a blonde woman dressed in a green jumpsuit. Everyone froze. The blonde woman looked at Alison and Ed, then looked at Malcolm with his underwear sticking out in the back. “You’re spanking her for giving the boy a wedgie,” she guessed. “Yes,” said Alison. “Carry on,” she said. Alison resumed. “MOOOOOOMEEEEEEE!” Ed pleaded as her spanking continued. “Oh, now I’m your mommy?” asked the blonde woman. Ed apologized (albeit under direction) and hugged Malcolm goodbye, then she hugged the other three girls goodbye, hugged Jet, and ran from Alison. Finally Ed was gone, and Malcolm turned his attention to Natalie. “Natalie,” he said as he approached her in her room. Jaydee made herself scarce. “About Ed-” “You don’t have to explain about Ed,” said Natalie. “I don’t?” he asked. “She’s crazy,” she said, “I’ve had a crazy ex myself. His name was Gary Tarmack. I was working undercover and needed a date to a social function, I asked him and after the night was done he wouldn’t let it go. He was completely obsessed. I mean he wasn’t an ex, he became my stalker, which was bad because he stalked me so much he found out I was an undercover agent and outed me on his public video log. I barely got out of that city alive.” “Wow,” said Malcolm. “Yeah,” said Natalie. “So your little ADHD girl is nothing I’m worried about.” “So, we’re cool?” asked Malcolm. “Yeah, we’re very…cool,” said Natalie as Samantha, Jaydee, and Alison entered, Alison carrying Samantha’s very own paddle. “Oh, today is an even day, isn’t it,” said Natalie. “Yup,” said Alison. “Last five, Natalie,” promised Alison to the weeping girl over her knee as she sat in the straight backed chair in the middle of the living room. Jaydee and Samantha had taken refuge in each other’s arms on the couch, their exposed bottoms a bright shade of red. Malcolm sat wide eyed on the big comfy chair. “Five.” SPANK! “WAAAAAAH!” “Four.” SPANK! “WAAAAAH!” “Three.” SPANK! “WAAAAAH!” “Two.” SPANK! “WAAAAAH!” “And a great big ONE!” SPANK! “WAAAAAHOOOoooh!” Alison shifted the poor bawling little girl into an embrace. “Now I have to get Lunch ready,” she said as she set down Natalie in the big chair next to Malcolm. She exited to the kitchen. Malcolm was a bit lost on what to do with the crying girl curled into a ball next to him. He reached out and put his arm around her. She responded by wrapping her arms around him. He did likewise. As she cried into his shoulder, Malcolm thought about his own powerlessness. He wanted to tell her he would make it all stop, that he would protect her from all the pain, that he would fly him and her away to a place where they would never get hurt, but he couldn’t, it was all just fantasy. He crying was starting to make him cry as well. “Punky,” mumbled Natalie. “What? What was that?” asked Malcolm. “My real name,” said Natlaie. “It’s Punky.” “Punky?” asked Malcolm. She nodded. “My real name is Brandon.” She raised her head, looked him in the eye, and started laughing through her tears. “What?” asked Malcolm. “Brandon was my dog’s name,” she said. “You’re named after the dog?” asked Samantha from the sofa. She started laughing. “No!” objected Malcolm. “Two different planets! There is no-” Natalie kissed him on the cheek. Malcolm was immediately silent. “That’s how you shut him up?” asked Samantha. “I’ve been wracking my brain trying to think of something.” Meanwhile, it was all Alison could do to not squeal out loud. She had watched the whole thing from the kitchen display via her microcamera. She was so glad she recorded it. Now she was just whispering “ka-wa-ii” over and over again. Where is everyone? thought Jet as he walked out of the kitchen through the first floor of the house. He heard the voice of laughter upstairs. He followed the voices to the guest room and poked in his head. “Hey, what’s all the huBAAAAH!” He could not contain his shock when he saw the children gathered around little Jaydee, on her bed, struggling against shibari rope style arm restraints. “WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!” he demanded. All the pennies with free arms pointed at Alison, who Jet realized was in the rocking chair with a stop watch. “It was her idea,” they said in unison. “WHAT!” said Jet. “Honey, relax,” said Alison, rising. “We just have a wager going as to whether Jaydee can escape my arm bindings.” “A wager! What wager!” he asked. “Winner gets the other’s desert at diner tonight,” she said. “Yeah it’s cool,” said Jaydee. Jet grabbed Alison by the arm. “With me. With me. With me,” he said as he hauled her into the hallway. “Have you taken a giant leap out of your senses, woman!” asked Jet. “She challenged my skill,” said Alison. “I didn’t spend three years studying hojojutsu for nothing.” “I don’t care if she paid you, this is COMPLETELY unacceptable,” said Jet. “I’m not-“ Alison started to speak, but Jet cut her off. “You go get the scissors and cut that girl loose right now!” he ordered. “Here’s your rope back,” said Jaydee. They both looked down to find a free Jaydee offering Alison the same ropes she had been tied up in. “WHAT!” now Alison was shocked. “How did you do that?” she demanded as she snatched the rope from her hand and examined it. “Please,” said Jaydee dismissively as she turned back into her room. “I’ve been getting tied up since before my first training bra.” She vanished beyond the door. Alison looked at Jet in shock and held up the rope to him like it was her favorite teddy bear with an arm torn off. “Well,” said Jet, patting her on the back, “there’s always someone better. Oh, now I remember what I wanted to talk to the kids about.” He entered the room. “Who wants Ice cream?” he asked. There was a chorus of positive response. “All right come on down to the kitchen.” He guided all four children downstairs, and into the kitchen where he gestured to the grocery bags on the counter. “Where’s the Ice cream?” asked Samantha. “We’re going to make it,” said Jet. “These are the separated components for making vanilla ice cream.” He started removing the contents of the bag, one at a time: “Milk, heavy cream, eggs, sugar, and a vanilla bean.” “It comes in beans?” asked Jaydee. “Yes it does,” said Jet. “And after you are done mixing the ingredients, we can use this,” he indicated to a round tub with a lid that had a device with a crank attached. “An old fasioned ice cream maker.” He picked it up and showed it to all the kids “It’s hand powered, so you’ll have to crank it yourself.” “But, there’s a motor,” said Malcolm. Jet flinched. “I mean, I can see it right there through that vent. I mean, is it broken or something?” “Good kids get to use the motor,” explained Jet. “Pennies have to crank their own Ice cream.” The parents did the dangerous stuff, like splitting open the bean with a knife and handling the stove, but the children were in charge of all the mixing, measuring, and cleaning up after each step. Soon enough, the flash freeze device had chilled their mixture to specifications, and the children were taking turns holding the large tub and turning it. “I was hoping the kids would not notice the motor until this stage,” said Jet as they watched them on the bed room view screen. “Then they would have the big choice between following the directions or taking the easy way out.” “But Malcolm beat you to the punch,” said Alison. “The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley,” said Jet. “Gang of what?” asked Alison. “It’s Scottish,” said Jet. “Byrd wrote it.” “That trumpeter you like?” asked Alison. “No, that’s Charlie “Yardbird” Parker,” said Jet. “Robert Byrd with a Y is the guy I’m talking about. Oh, they’re finished.” They left the room to help the kids serve the ice cream. “My parents were good to me,” said Malcolm as all four reposed in the back yard with their portions of ice cream. “My Dad is the best mechanic on the planet. His shop does repairs on atmospheric craft these days, but he really misses working on proper star-ships. I mean, he was a hard man, but he was fair and honest.” “How’d he feel about you getting sent down?” asked Samantha. “I thought he’d be mad, but he was, like, shockingly cool about it,” said Malcolm. “I mean, when he came down to bail me out, it was one of the few times I’ve heard him laugh without drinking.” “Oh, was he a drunk?” asked Natalie. “He was a drinker, not a drunk,” said Malcolm. “Every Friday, Mom would give him an allowance and he’d walk down to the tavern, eventually he’d come back, smelling of spirits and quoting Mark Twain. But the reason he was so cool with it, and that was the day he told me, was that he met my Mom while they were both completas.” “WHAT!” exclaimed Samantha. “BOTH your parents?” “Wha’d they do?” asked Jaydee. Malcolm grinned. “Dad tried to pull the BIG one,” he said. “Murder?” asked Samantha. “Wha-NO! God no!” said Malcolm. “He tried to rebuild a ship with a warp drive to get him off planet.” “Oh, oh, when you said ‘big one,’ I thought…” said Samantha. “Wha’d your Mom do,” she suppressed the urge to say ‘besides everyone.’ “She was a manager for the news and she was caught getting kickbacks from a crooked mineral investment firm,” said Malcolm. “Man…that’s still way cooler than my parents,” said Jaydee. “What were your parents like?” asked Samantha. “Just a typical salary man and house wife,” said Jaydee. “In fact, I made so much trouble at home, they shipped me to another continent to live with my uncle when I was eleven, hoping it would calm me down. They really should have called him and asked about it first, because it turned out my uncle was in spec-ops!” “WHAT?” exclaimed Malcom and Samantha. Natalie rolled her eyes. “I could tell you more but, then I’d have to kill you,” said Jaydee. “You’re lying, you’re a lying liar,” accused Samantha. “Believe what you want, it’s your turn,” said Jaydee. “Kipling road was a typical street,” said Samantha. “They were in and out of each other’s houses with each other’s property at all hours of the day. My father, Arthur Piranha, a scrap metal dealer and TV quizmaster, was well known to the police, and a devout Catholic. My mother was Kitty Malone, an up-and-coming East End boxer. I was born on probation, and my twin brother, Dinsdale two weeks later; and again a week after that.” “You’re making this up,” stated Natalie. “I’m not making it up, I’m ripping it off of Monty Python, totally different,” said Samantha. “You go now. What’s your story?” “My mom abandoned me,” said Natalie. There was a palpable silence. “I don’t remember my dad that well, he split early. When I was six, we got evicted, we were living out of our car for about two weeks, then one day mom takes me to the mall, tells me she’ll be back in an hour… That was the last I ever saw of her. After that I started squatting in an empty apartment, building manager found me and he took me in, which was good because he was just all kinds of decent. Money was never falling from the sky, though, so I joined the armed forces to get in on the GI bill, their aptitude tests said I was good for spec-ops work, and here I am.” She paused to let out a sigh. “I mean, maybe that’s why I’m going along with all of this. I know if I put one toe out of line, someone going to strip me of my dignity and beat me until I cry and then fix me up just so they can do it again,” she was getting choked up, “but hey *gasp* I have a mommy now.” She started crying. Malcolm set down his ice cream so he could hug her. Samantha and Jaydee did the same. Natalie held onto Malcolm’s arms as she let it out. Soon Alison came out of the house. “Natalie, honey,” said Alison, “are you okay.” She reached in and took hold of Natalie’s hand. “I’m fine,” said Natalie. By then most of the cry was out of her. “It’s just…stuff…y’know.” “Team style PP&C?” asked Jaydee. “Yeah, you both get to share answers and we both get to share answers,” said Samantha as Jet was unfolding the contest table in the living room. Alison was reclining on the couch, eager to watch the festivities. “The total number wrong given is given to each team member for final spanks with the multiplier, as usual.” “Rinni told me about this game, we haven’t played it yet,” said Jaydee. “Cool,” said Samantha. She grabbed Malcolm by the arm. “C’mon Malcolm, let’s go get our chairs and paddles,” she yanked him up the stairs. Once they were in their room, she brought his head close. “Malcolm,” she whispered. “We have to loose the first round.” “What?” asked Malcolm. He had been planning to miss a couple on purpose, just to make Natalie feel better but this was a surprise. “Just loose the first round for me, please,” said Samantha. “Have I ever asked you for anything? “There was that time you asked me to stick my-“ “OKAY! I’m sorry,” said Samantha in her loudest whisper. “But please, can you just do this for me?” she pleaded. Malcolm decided it was okay to let them win one and then win one for real. “Yeah, okay,” said Malcolm. “Thank you,” said Samantha. “WE’RE WAITING,” said Jaydee’s voice from downstairs. “Final count,” announced Jaydee. “Twenty questions asked with our thirteen correct to your twelve correct. We win!” she high fived Natalie. Jaydee picked up the die and cast it. “Four!” She declared. “We got you both for twenty four!” She grabbed Jaydee by the arm. “You’re first!” Samantha rolled her eyes and obediently raised her skirt. Jaydee yanked down her pink panties to the ankles. Jaydee yoinked Samantha over her own little knees. Samantha placed her hands on the ground for balance. Jaydee took up the paddle and re adjusted Samantha’s skirt, fully exposing the bottom still pink from their late morning penny spanking. “Spanking time,” declared Jaydee. She counted out each strike, clearly enjoying having someone over HER knee for a change. By strike six little Sam was kicking her legs a bit. By strike twelve, she was growling through her teeth. By strike eighteen, she bucked her head back to gasp. On the final strike, she reached back and massaged her sore buns. She rose still rubbing and let out a long breath. “I like this game,” said Jaydee as she stood. “You won’t after I get done with you,” Samantha surprised Jaydee with grabbing her and yanking her over her own knee. She brushed Jaydee’s skirt aside and pulled down her pink panties. “This bottom is mine,” said Samantha as she grabbed her paddle off the table. She patted the also pink cheeks to get a feel, and then laid into her victim. Jaydee struggled to keep her composure under the light sting and embarrassment, but soon enough she was breathing hard and her pink bottom was turning a light shade of red. By the twenty first strike, she was saying “ow” over and over again. “And twenty-ONE!” declared Samantha. Jaydee rose, massaging her bottom and sticking out her tounge at Samantha. “Your turn Malcolm!” said Samantha as she rose from the seat and pulled her panties back on. “Oh, boy,” said Malcolm as Natalie dragged him over to the chair. She sat down and started giggling as she fiddled with his fly and dropped his denim shorts down to his ankles. His face turned beat red as she eased his briefs down too. She bent him over her knee and he started breathing fast when he thought about how close his naked…thing…was to her. “Time to pay the price,” said Natalie. Malcolm felt the cool paddle tap his bare white bottom. She let him have three fast ones and he inhaled fast. As the hot sting mounted with each strike Maclolm rocked his body back and forth ,trying not to think about how embarrassing this all was. But before he knew it… “That’s it,” said Natalie. “My turn.” Malcolm rose and looked over his shoulder at his now pink bottom. ''Well, that wasn’t so bad. It was more humiliating than painful,'' he thought. Natalie stood up. Malcolm sat down and was surprised by how fast Natalie yank up her own skirt for him, presenting him with her pink panties. He placed his thumbs inside the elastic waistband and paused. “Something wrong?” asked Alison. “I just…can’t believe this is legal,” admitted Malcolm. “I’ll do it!” said Samantha. “No! I –uh…” he took a deep breath and pulled down Natlaie’s panties, exposing all of her to him. Oh boy, Thought Malcolm as Natlie draped her half naked body over his half naked body. This was the most intimate that he had ever been with a female. He took up the paddle from the table, and started lightly spanking Natlalie. “Come on, Malcolm,” said Alison. “You should spank harder than that.” “But-” started Malcolm. “She needs to learn a lesson about failing to study,” insisted Alison. “Malcolm, it’s okay. I spanked you hard now please spank me hard,” insisted Natalie. Malcolm felt his face flush as his girlfriend asked him to spank her bottom. “Um, right.” He said. He struck with renewed force, soliciting yelps from the girl. Natalie placed her right hand on Malcolm’s left ankle and squeezed as he spanked. “Okay, that’s twenty one.” “Round two!” declared Samantha. “Hey, Jaydee, come over here,” she pulled Jaydee into the dining room. Malcolm made a move to follow her after he had pulled his pants back up, but Natalie took him by the hand. “Malcolm, be honest. Did you get all those questions wrong on purpose?” she asked. “I-uh,” stammered Malcolm. “I mean, it was sweet and all,” said Natalie. “But win or lose, I really want to play this honest. So please, just answer the questions honestly. Okay?” “I…can…alright,” said Malcolm. Samantha grabbed his other arm. “Gotta talk,” she yanked him into the foyer. “Okay, Malcolm, I’ve set everything up, now answer every question right.” “I…right...okay,” said Malcolm. “Okay?” asked Samantha. “Yes, honest like,” said Malcolm. “Good!” she yanked him into the living room. “This time,” she dealt out more cards as the pennies gingerly took their seats, “We ask thirty questions instead of twenty and the losers have to go without skirts and panties for the rest of the night. “WHAT!” asked Malcolm and Natalie in unison. “That’s what we agreed on,” said Samantha as she gestured to herself and Jaydee. “You…moron…” Natalie said to her sister. “We can take them,” said Jaydee. “When is that last time you saw Malcolm get anything less than a hundred on a math test!” said Natalie. “Uh…” said Jaydee. “Yup I got a ringer!” said Samantha. “I! Uh-Mr. Martin!” Jaydee reached out to the governing parents. “Oh, Jaydee,” Jet knelt down and looked Jaydee right in the side of her head. “There’s something in your ear.” “What?” she asked. “Cider!” said Jet. Nobody laughed. “Cider?…Guys and Dolls?...Brando and Sinatra…oh never mind.” He sat back down on the couch. “Um, maybe this isn’t quite fair,” suggested Malcolm. “What?” Samantha stared at her brother. “You heard him!” said Jaydee. “It’s not fair to everyone. I want out.” “Well I just mean that-” said Malcolm before Samantha cut him off. “You know that Natalie wasn’t really mad at you at all this morning? She was just playing with your emotions,” said Samantha. Malcolm turned to Natalie with a sour look. “Reeeeeaaaaally?” asked Malcolm. Natalie looked on him with remorse. Malcolm looked on Natalie with a scold. Jaydee looked on Samantha with terror. And Samantha looked on this whole situation in triumph. “Let’s PLAY!” “Final count,” announced Samantha with pride, “with our thirty correct to your twenty correct, in other words, ten wrong questions to NONE, WE WIN!” “You didn’t even bother to answer any,” said Jaydee to Samantha spitefully. “Gotta play your strengths,” said Samantha as she cast the die. “FOUR!” she declared. “We got your both for…forty, and you only got us for four.” “Zero,” corrected Malcolm. “What?” asked Samantha. “We got zero wrong, four times zero is zero. Any number times zero is zero.” “OH! Even better,” said Samantha. “There are times I’m glad we don’t actually share blood,” said Malcolm as he rose and took Natalie by the hand. “I’ve been yanked around a lot today,” he said as he reached under Natalie’s skirt “and now I’m gonna do some yanking.” He yanked down her panties and pulled her over his lap. She only whimpered, she really did feel guilty about that whole mind game thing this morning. He tapped the paddle on her bottom a he had seen and felt his mother do dozens of times. “Are you ready?” he asked. “Yes,” she answered. Malcolm laid down five quick ones, soliciting a gasp and a whine from Natalie. She grabbed his ankle again and squeezed as he paddled her tender rump in increments of five. Upon swat twenty, he took a breather. He wanted to say something admonishing like Jet or Alison always did, but he couldn’t think of anything, so he just got back to spanking. “AYEyiyiyiyi,” said Natalie as she kicked her legs under the hot sting of the paddle. She was breathing hard as he alternated each cheek. Soon tears were coming down her face. “And a great big FORTY,” said Malcolm as he delivered the final stroke, but he got worried when she didn’t rise right away. She just lay there and-Oh god! She was crying. He dropped the paddle. “Oh, Natalie! I’m sorry!” She rose sniffling. He stood with her and took up her hands. “Is okay,” she sniffled. “I’m just really sorry.” He hugged her close and she hugged back. “I forgive you,” he said, she was starting to choke him up. “Oh no you don’t,” interrupted Samantha as she grabbed a Jaydee that was trying to tuck out while everyone was enthralled with the drama. “I got your butt for forty lashes.” Jaydee growled as she was led to the small chair. Samantha reached up Jaydee’s skirt and dropped her panties to the ground. Jaydee had a mean pout on her face as she was laid over Samantha’s knee. “Think of it as a learning experience,” said “Never go in against a Y-rep when girl-butt is on the line.” She started spanking. “AYEYAAAH!” said Jaydee as Samantha paddled her and laughed with sadistic glee. “I will make your bottom as red as your face!” promised Samantha as Jaydee bucked and wiggled, then she fell off. “Hey! You get back up here,” ordered Samantha. “Your lap’s too small,” complained Jaydee as she draped herself over Samantha’s legs again. Samantha started again. Jaydee promised vengeance as she did. SPANK! “I” SPANK! “Will” SPANK! “Get” SPANK! “You” SPANK! “For” SPANK! “This!” SPANK! SPANK! SPANK! “Sticks and stones love,” said Samantha. Last ten! SPANK! SPANK! SPANK! “AYEEE!” SPANK! SPANK! “OHHHHH!” SPANK! SPANK! SPANK! “YEEEE!” SPANK! SPANK! “So,” asked Samantha in a clear imitation of her mother, “are we going to have better behavior out of you young lady?” “Definitely not,” promised Jaydee. All four children watched a holo from Alison’s ‘Classics of Earth’ collection. Jaydee and Natlaie were lying on the floor on their stomachs, their naked lower halves concealed by a blue blanket Malcolm had offered them. Malcolm was laying next to Natalie and Samantha was laying on the couch. “Hey, Jaydee,” said Samantha. “Yeah,” answered Jaydee. “Is the giant, many-legged, cat-bus thing something out of Japanese mythology or something?” asked Samantha. “Why are you asking me?” asked Jaydee. “Aren’t you Japanese?” asked Samantha. “Naw, I’m Chinese,” said Jaydee. “Oh,” said Samantha “What’s the difference?” The question took Jaydee back a bit. “Jaydee,” said Alsion who was sitting on the couch next to Samantha, “Remember that we don’t have a China and a Japan on this planet.” “Oh riiiight,” said Jaydee. “Well, China is much bigger, has a much larger diversity of people, and we have much better fight scenes in our movies.” “Sweet,” said Samantha. Malcolm would have complained that they were talking over the movie, but he was too busy thinking about he and Natalie were holding hands under the blanket.