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#Post#: 16238--------------------------------------------------
It Happened One Christmas Chapter Six
By: Jack Date: December 5, 2019, 4:48 pm
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I was drying my face again, wishing I could stop crying like a
little baby. I got a drink of water, and it was good, but I
couldn’t help but think of the differences between Mom and Dad.
I couldn’t remember the last time Mom had spanked me. I think it
was after I’d quit wearing tighty whities, but not long after.
I know she’d already been using that damned hairbrush, and I
know I’d cried, so I wasn’t sure why she’d quit, but I was
pretty sure I was in sixth grade.
Dad didn't spank me anymore either, at least not technically.
Instead, he just used his belt now, which was not an
improvement.
It was actually pretty funny - funny ironic, not funny ha-ha -
that Dad got mad easier than Mom did, and his whuppings were
harder than Mom’s, but she did it more often. Yeah, Dad got
mad, but he never whupped me until he’d calmed down and thought
about it. Sometimes that meant I had to wait, but sometimes he
did calm down, decide he wasn’t really being fair, and I ended
up not getting whupped after all.
I was so mad at everything and everyone. I knew I’d taken the
money. Once they handed me the cash, I’d counted it, then put
it straight in my backpack. I’d only stopped to talk to Ms.
Russell for a moment and nowhere else. I’d given her a
Christmas card, then I went home. No homework, so I hadn’t
opened my backpack until the next morning. Aunt Carrie had
taken me for breakfast, and we’d stopped to pay for the snack
trays. When we got there, the money was gone.
I felt my shoulders sag. If I didn’t know I hadn’t taken the
money, I wouldn’t believe I hadn’t taken it. I didn’t know what
had happened to it. I suddenly felt like throwing up. I
slammed my hand down on the counter. It wasn’t fair!
“Why did you think you needed to steal something?” Dad asked,
not quite yelling at me.
“I dunno,” I told him. “I just, I kinda… I…”
“Well, maybe you don’t know why it was a bad idea, but I
guarantee you’re going to know why to never do it again. Get
your clothes off.”
“What?”
I mean, I understood what he’d said, but why…
“I said, ‘get your clothes off’”, Dad repeated. “I’m going to
whip your little butt, then you’re going to bed. Now move.”
I was only eleven then, but I still didn’t like having to take
my clothes off in front of somebody. Still, I could tell how
mad Dad was, and I didn’t want to make him more mad, or make him
decide to undress me himself, like when I’d been little.
It was so embarrassing for me to start undressing while Dad
watched, but I took off my shoes and socks, putting the shoes in
the closet like Mom expected. Socks went in the dirty clothes
hamper, and my t-shirt followed them.
I paused and looked up at Dad, but he was just staring at me.
My hands moved to the button on my shorts, feeling like one of
those dreams where no matter how fast you try to move, you just
don’t get anywhere.
I don’t know why I’d done it. I’d been out with some friends,
and we’d all decided to go into the convenience store. Everyone
else was getting a soda and candy bar, but I only had some
change - enough for a soda, but nothing else. Instead, while
everyone else was picking out their candy, I just grabbed a bar
off the display and stuck it in my pocket. I knew I shouldn’t
have done it, and I was pretty nervous, but I paid for my drink
and we were all leaving, and I felt better then this guy who’d
been out front cleaning the windows stopped me and led me back
in.
I shoved my shorts down and tossed them in the hamper. I
realized I could move almost normal if I just wasn’t watching
Dad. I couldn’t stop from looking up again as my fingers went
to the waistband of my briefs, hoping he’d changed his mind. I
didn’t move, and he didn’t say anything, but then I realized
something worse. His mouth wasn’t moving, but his hands were,
and he unfastened his belt. Then he pulled it out, and it came,
slowly, making this evil ‘thwip, thwip, thwhip’ sound as the
belt snapped out of each loop.
“Get ‘em off, Bailey Connor. Get ‘em off and get over the bed.”
I sobbed, but I minded him. The white shorts slid down my legs
and went into the clothes hamper after everything else.
It took a minute for Dad to get me positioned like he wanted me,
then he knelt down on the end of the bed, and put his left hand
in the small of my back.
“I am very disappointed in you, Bailey. I don’t even know what
to say to you. We’ll have a long talk when I do figure it out,
but right now, I’m going to make sure you have something to
think about before you ever do anything like this again.”
And he did.
I don’t know how many licks I got that time, but I screamed
myself hoarse. It wasn't just my butt, either. He whupped me
down onto my legs, and the belt snapped around the sides and
landed kind of in-between my legs, and it hurt so bad. Even
now, I twitched thinking about trying to get into bed and having
to find a way to sleep on my stomach. It felt weird, but my
butt was just too sore to lay on it.
That wasn’t the last time Dad had whupped me, but it was the
only time he’d whupped me with his own belt. I looked at the
belts hanging on the back of my closet door. They were different
sizes but none of them were nearly as big or wide or thick as
some of Dad’s. I knew they hurt, but not as bad as that first
time. And I’d only been eleven then. What did he even plan
with my ‘worst whupping ever’? What was he going to use? I’d
already been whupped once today, and my butt was still tender.
I sniffed, then held my breath. I wasn’t going to cry again. I
dashed the back of my sleeve across my face and sniffed.
It wasn’t fair!
No, it wasn’t fair, and I didn’t have to take it. Maybe I
couldn’t stop Dad from whipping me if he got hold of me, but he
couldn’t get hold of me if I wasn’t here.
I went upstairs and started to dress. I stopped long enough to
check the weather, then glanced out the window. It was only 35
degrees outside, and it was supposed to drop below freezing in
the next hour or two. It was already starting to snow again,
and the forecast said it might go all night.
I laid out my warmest snow clothes, then shoved some clean
boxers and socks, several packs of hand warmers, a light
blanket, and my Kindle and Switch all into my backpack, then
went downstairs and made a couple of sandwiches and grabbed some
snack stuff. I went back upstairs and got all the money I had
left after Christmas shopping, then got dressed. I started to
leave, but stopped just long enough to write a note to Mom and
Dad so they’d know how unfair this all was. Then I left.
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#Post#: 16245--------------------------------------------------
Re: It Happened One Christmas Chapter Six
By: Zyngaru Date: December 6, 2019, 8:10 am
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Oh! Bailey. "Out of the refrigerator and into the freezer."
Now you have disobeyed, by leaving the house. Facing up to
problems, instead of running away from them, can be a hard
lesson to learn. Poor Bailey, you have now set yourself up to
learn this lesson.
#Post#: 16248--------------------------------------------------
Re: It Happened One Christmas Chapter Six
By: Jack Date: December 6, 2019, 8:30 am
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For those who saw it, Adric has been helping me with editing the
past couple of days, and we're still working out our system. He
had sent me a correction after I posted last night, and instead
of 'modify', I hit 'quote', which is why there were two copies
of the stories up for a while. The one now posted should be
correct.
For those who didn't see it... Move along, nothing happening
here ;)
#Post#: 16251--------------------------------------------------
Re: It Happened One Christmas Chapter Six
By: No Way Out Date: December 6, 2019, 11:50 am
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I did see it, but didn't have much time to post, and I thought
you'd notice it sooner or later.
Just want to let you know I'm still here, and I just hope that
Bailey's escape will get his parents to think about why he might
be so desperate that he runs away from home. Of course his
action is not well thought out, but it clearly shows a lack of
trust, and that should be something a caring parent would want
to fix, right?
#Post#: 16252--------------------------------------------------
Re: It Happened One Christmas Chapter Six
By: David M. Katz Date: December 6, 2019, 3:36 pm
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[quote author=No Way Out link=topic=1607.msg16251#msg16251
date=1575654614]
Just want to let you know I'm still here, and I just hope that
Bailey's escape will get his parents to think about why he might
be so desperate that he runs away from home. Of course his
action is not well thought out, but it clearly shows a lack of
trust, and that should be something a caring parent would want
to fix, right?
[/quote]
Well said! I know this is all fiction but I have already become
invested in this boy and do not like the way any of this is
being handled by his dad or the school.
Still waiting on some positive news.
[emoji320]
#Post#: 16258--------------------------------------------------
Re: It Happened One Christmas Chapter Six
By: Zyngaru Date: December 6, 2019, 8:39 pm
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[quote author=No Way Out link=topic=1607.msg16251#msg16251
date=1575654614]
Just want to let you know I'm still here, and I just hope that
Bailey's escape will get his parents to think about why he might
be so desperate that he runs away from home. Of course his
action is not well thought out, but it clearly shows a lack of
trust, and that should be something a caring parent would want
to fix, right?
[/quote]
Or a parent can look at running away as a sign of guilt. He
knew what he did was wrong and now has been caught and is afraid
to take the consequences of his actions.
Just the other side of the coin.
#Post#: 16259--------------------------------------------------
Re: It Happened One Christmas Chapter Six
By: Adric Date: December 6, 2019, 10:12 pm
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[quote author=Zyngaru link=topic=1607.msg16258#msg16258
date=1575686352]
Or a parent can look at running away as a sign of guilt. He
knew what he did was wrong and now has been caught and is afraid
to take the consequences of his actions.[/quote]
I don't think that action is indicative of either guilt or
innocence. It just indicates desperation. Sometimes, for
whatever reason, runaways don't ever return and their parents
never see them again. That's a high price for a parent to pay
just because he won't take the trouble to listen.
#Post#: 16266--------------------------------------------------
Re: It Happened One Christmas Chapter Six
By: Jack Date: December 7, 2019, 7:28 am
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[quote author=David M. Katz link=topic=1607.msg16252#msg16252
date=1575668179]
...(I) do not like the way any of this is being handled by his
dad or the school.
[/quote]
I can't argue with the way you feel, but I am going to take a
moment to say this. The school is an institution. One of the
reasons I'm pretty uncertain about CP in schools is that they
rarely deal with the child as a person, tending to see things in
black or white, and the rules as all-important. On the other
hand, with his Dad, you have someone who was called from work to
pick up his kid, who's told what sounds like a ridiculous story,
and who is in a rush to get back to work. I see Dad as reacting
without having had a chance to process - not good, buy maybe
understandable.
#Post#: 16267--------------------------------------------------
Re: It Happened One Christmas Chapter Six
By: Zyngaru Date: December 7, 2019, 10:58 am
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I guess maybe I'm the odd man out. I don't see anything wrong
with what the school did. I believe in rules and structure. I
believe they help children by providing security and boundaries.
I believe they help adults for the same reason, especially when
dealing with children.
Thus far in the story, I believe that Bailey has received
exactly what he should have expected to receive and what he
deserves. As for the readers reactions, it's about POV (Point
of view) We are seeing things through Bailey's eyes and from
his thinking. So we are automatically assuming Bailey didn't
take the money, because we know what he is thinking. No one in
the story knows what Bailey is thinking but him. The school
doesn't know his mind. His dad doesn't know his mind. They
only know his actions. Bailey wasn't able to provide one theory
as to where the money could have gone. He swears it was in his
possession the entire time and no one else had access to it. So
honestly what are the adults going to think? What conclusion
other than, Bailey took the money and now can't account for it,
can they come up with?
Bailey has only been punished, thus far, for that breech.
Negligence and he has admitted he was negligent, when he states
he had the money and now it is gone and he don't know where it
went. That is negligence.
So I understand the schools response. I understand dad's
reaction. He was called from work by the school. The school
explained the circumstances as they knew them and what their
response was. Dad took Bailey home, because he had to, because
Bailey couldn't stay at school, he told Bailey to stay in the
house and do chores to kill the time, until Dad could return
home and sit down with him and get to the bottom of things.
Yes, dad threatened Bailey with the whupping of his young life.
What kid has not been threatened with that before. And that
only came from Bailey not being able to give his dad any theory
as to what happened to the money. Hey, "Maybe the tooth fairy
stole it, because he couldn't get to the bank last night and
needed lots of money to swop out for teeth and intends to
replace it tonight?" Bailey just kept saying, "I don't know."
Nothing infuriates adults more than when a child says, "I don't
know" when asked why they did something. Been there done that.
So I understand the why's and how's of the story thus far and
have no complaints as to how anyone, even Bailey have reacted.
I believe this to be one of Jack's best stories as to the
believability of the story and how humans interact with each
other during a situation. I am loving getting inside Bailey's
thoughts, emotions and reactions.
#Post#: 16268--------------------------------------------------
Re: It Happened One Christmas Chapter Six
By: Adric Date: December 7, 2019, 12:02 pm
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[quote author=Zyngaru link=topic=1607.msg16267#msg16267
date=1575737931]
I guess maybe I'm the odd man out. I don't see anything wrong
with what the school did.
...
Bailey has only been punished, thus far, for that breech.
Negligence and he has admitted he was negligent, when he states
he had the money and now it is gone and he doesn't know where it
went. That is negligence.
[/quote]
I have been thinking the same thing, but haven't said so. One
can argue about the severity of the punishment Bailey received
for negligence, but it was negligent to have the money entrusted
to him, not have it later, and have no explanation for why he
doesn't still have it. Whether he lost the money (as it seems
he did) or stole it (as we think he didn't) either way the money
is gone and that is a breach of trust. The punishment was for
failing to take whatever care was necessary to keep track of the
money. So I agree with Zyngaru that his negligence/carelessness
was a failure that deserves some kind of consequence even though
it was not intentional. (A milder consequence would be that he
is not entrusted with money again, but they didn't choose a mild
consequence.)
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