Chapter 24

Anna’s ‘dressing lesson’ had continued for another hour before finally Miss Jackie had tired of making her change from pyjamas to school uniform and back again, each time having to neatly fold the garments she had taken off. And each time Anna failed to complete the process within the sixty seconds time limit allowed – which was almost every time – she was made to bend over in her pyjamas and receive two more strokes of the warden’s paddle across her backside.

Anna lost count of the number of times she had dressed and undressed out of her hated schoolgirl uniform: rough cotton blouse with rigid starched collar and tie, bottle green wool stockings held up by a stiff, deep suspender belt, all securely encased in thick elasticated-leg navy bloomers worn under a dark green serge gymslip. The clumpy school shoes and a grey felt hat worn with elastic behind the ears and under the chin that completed the humiliating outfit. After a while she no longer cared how ridiculous she looked as she struggled in and out of her clothes, trembling fingers fumbling to fasten the buttons of her blouse and tie her tie. The faster she tried to dress, the more awkward and ungainly she became as she attempted to pull on her bloomer-style knickers, all the time being urged by Miss Jackie to go faster.

“I can’t go any faster,” Anna protested, begging to be allowed to stop. After a while, she had been reduced to a state of pleading, weeping exhaustion, longing for her ordeal to end. “No more, please, I can’t go any faster,” she implored again and again, but to no avail. Again and again she was made to change from uniform to pyjamas and then back again into uniform, stepping into and out of her knickers and pyjama bottoms, pulling on and taking off her blouse and pyjama jacket, each time buttoning and unbuttoning each garment with trembling hands.

To add to her misery, each time she failed to complete the process in time, she was ordered to bend over in her pyjamas and receive two or three strokes of Miss Jackie’s paddle. When at last the dressing lesson came to an end, Anna was left slumped on her knees, red-eyed and sobbing with fatigue, her bottom red raw and stinging. It was a lesson she did not want to repeat.

****

After her ordeal Anna made her way along to the classroom block, dressed in her schoolgirl uniform, for afternoon class was due shortly. Miss Cleo was the Form Mistress, a pretty, bright-eyed girl several years younger than Anna. Someone who had happily made Anna suffer, day in, day out, for months. The more attractive a prisoner was, the more Miss Cleo liked making them suffer. And Anna was very attractive.

That was something of which she had once been proud but, since coming to Redesdale, she bitterly regretted.

Miss Cleo came striding cheerfully into the classroom. As usual, she was wearing a full-length dress of powder blue satin. In her hand was a cane which flickered whippily up and down. She removed the one which hung by the easel and put the new one in its place.

‘You may sit down,’ she said. ‘Well, girls ... I see we have a new member of our class today!’

Miss Cleo was referring to Virginia Bradley-Jones, the ex-MP who had arrived at Redesdale that morning having been sentenced to six months for fraudulently claiming expenses. Her arrival had caused quite a stir among the other inmates, not least because at 39-years-old she was several years older than everyone else and her fall from grace as a former politician was more acute than anyone else.

The class settled itself in silence. The silence of resignation. And of dread. Several hours of each day were spent in the classroom of Miss Cleo. She was much to be feared ... even if the instruments she was empowered to use were lighter than those used during the evening Punishment Detail.

'Right,’ said Miss Cleo. ‘Classical History. Get your text books out.’

Many hearts sank in that room, but none more than Anna’s. It was a difficult subject for all, but perhaps Anna’s worst.

Although Miss Cleo would have been the first to admit she enjoyed punishing anyone at any time, she would also have admitted she liked punishing women like Anna most of all. The shapely ones. The sexy looking ones. The ones she felt possibly more attractive than herself.

Accordingly, it would amuse her to see to it that Anna was the first one to experience the new cane. Needless to say, that was not something too difficult to arrange!

Towards the end of the class, with six errors in her test on Classical history, Anna found herself kneeling on the trestle stool in front of Miss Cleo’s desk, bending over that desk ... pulling up her gym slip skirt high .. and pulling her knickers down to her knees.

‘Six errors, Anna,’ said Miss Cleo, flexing the new cane and running her fingers over its smooth hard end,’ what do you think that merits?’

Anna had been positioned often enough before where she was. She had even learnt to take both strap and cane with no more than clenched teeth gasps. Something which, at one time, she had never thought it possible for her to do. Now she was facing something new ... different ... more painful. Her lushly rounded buttocks gave an involuntary twitch .. for all to see.

‘Six ... I suppose, Miss,’ answered Anna.

‘You suppose correctly,’ said Miss Cleo.

The arm rose and fell. The cane whistled and hit. The bright weal leapt up across the twin curves.

‘Agghh ... owww ... aagghh!’

Anna’s cry was uninhibited and she jerked violently. The stinging, burning pain of the cane seemed twice as bad as usual.

Sssswweee ... craacckkk!

‘Owww ... oowww ... aahhh ...’

Anna’s shapely bottom squirmed frantically. Round and round, as well as juddering up and down. Miss Cleo observed it with evident relish.

‘Hurts more, eh Anna?’

‘Y-Yer .. esss ... y-yes ... Miss ...’

‘Good!’

Sswwweee ... craacckkk!

Another series of breathless yelps from Anna. More convulsive contortions of her bottom. The class looked on in shocked dismay. All were aware that Anna could take the normal cane with relatively silent stoicism. What must this new one be like!

Anna’s yelps and writhings continued unabated until she had received her ration of six. Then, with a smug smile on her lips, Miss Cleo ordered the tall blonde to pull up her knickers and return to her place in class. The new cane was replaced on its hook.

There was a strangled gasp from Anna as she resumed her seat.

Miss Cleo smiled even more smugly. ‘I think it was evident to all,’ she said, ‘that Anna found those six rather more painful than usual. Yet I gave them to her no harder than usual. All of you, if you don’t watch your step, will soon be finding the same. Now let’s get on with the next lesson. Get out your Mathematics books.’

Within minutes the class had settled down to another couple of hours of slogging mental grind.

Yet every mind was keen and alert to its task. Putting in maximum effort.

Perhaps Anna, with six brand new, throbbing weals across her bottom, was the most keen and alert of all!