A Tennessee Education Pt. 03

The sound of footsteps refocused his mind on the now. Ms. K and Ms. Ashby appeared a moment later. Bobby made sure his head was bowed. He could feel Ms. K's presence directly in front of him and see her slender hips and legs standing directly before him. Although he didn't look at her face, nor did he want to, he could feel her eyes penetrating into his very soul. She uttered a grunt of distaste and then he was alone once more. He could hear them in another part of the house but just barely.

Twenty minutes later Ms. Ashby walked up to her newly acquired property and with unsteady hands attached a short length of cable to her slave's collar. He instinctively pulled back ever so slightly when the thin steel cord came into his view. Sharon was ready as Mariko had warned her he might react this way. She grabbed a hold of his balls and squeezed them hard until he shrieked.

"No one told you to move. Now stand still!" She hissed.

Bobby obeyed while she checked the clasp, making sure it was fastened properly.

"Slave, bend over and touch your toes."

After he did, Ms. Ashby fastened the other end of the 18" cable to the D-ring on his cage. Pulling him by the collar she marched him through the house and out the front door. Secured has he was, he was forced to walk like an elderly man, stooped and severely hunched. Mariko gave Sharon a thumbs-up and the two women spoke for a moment and hugged before parting. Dragging him down the steps she led him to her Ford Focus and guided him into the cramped trunk, closing the lid when he was inside.

Sharon backed out of the driveway and set off. As she drove out of the residential area she kept repeating Mariko's final words, "It's all about attitude. You are in control; he isn't" Again and again she repeated her words while her heart continued to race and her hands moistened from the internal stress she tried to control. She stopped at a store on the way home, made a purchase and lugged the large package back to her car and into the back seat.

Sharon lived in Maple Grove, one of the first suburbs of Riverton. It was some distance from Mariko and she had to travel through the city in order to get there. She had recently moved from a small two-bedroom apartment in central Riverton to an old bungalow that needed some repair. Built in the 1940's it was laid out in the usual way with a kitchen, dining and living area on the first floor and three bedrooms upstairs. There was a screened-in porch on the back and another on the front. The only other room in the house was a basement but it was dank and filled with cobwebs so Sharon rarely used it. Anything she stored she kept either in one of the spare bedrooms or in the small unattached garage adjacent to the house. The family she purchased the house from must have had a dog because a six foot high moulded wood fence completely enclosed the back yard.

She considered her options as her destination approached and made a decision. Parking the car in the garage, she pulled her purchase out, assembled it and secured it to a post in the back yard. She returned and fetched her slave. Once he was out of the trunk albeit hunched over, she forced him to his knees.

"Crawl and follow me," she said firmly.

Bobby internally sighed with frustration. She was no different than Ms. K. His knees hit the hard garage concrete where he followed her out the rear door and into the back yard moving as best as he could, given the restrictions of cable that kept him hunched over like an armadillo. Traversing the yard he took in what he could see in the darkness. The yard appeared small. There were patches of dirt and grass giving him the impression it was not well cared for. Making it to the far side, he came to a post, and behind it sat a dog cage.

"In you go," she said.

He stopped and looked up with pleading eyes.

"I said in." Sharon grabbed the steel collar and pulled him forward. He resisted only momentarily. Once he had his hands inside, she shoved his ass, forcing him in. Inside was a small blanket that he sat on to cushion himself from the hard steel grates that formed his new living quarters. He heard a padlock click shut and moved to look at Ms. Ashby. She squatted, peering in at him through the bars.

"Welcome to your new home," she said.

He could hear the cynicism in her voice.

"My guess is you couldn't wait to get away from Ms. K so you could stay with little ole' me aren't you? Well Mr. Lewis, this is your home. I'll let you get familiar with it tonight." She stood and walked toward the house stopping just before she opened the door. Calling back she said, "You know that the same rules apply here as they did at your other home. That means you do not talk unless I tell you specifically to speak. Trust me; you do not want to test my patience. Goodnight."

She unlocked the back door and went inside. Leaning against the doorjamb her body started trembling. No longer able to control the stress of the past hour she stood shaking. Tears filled her eyes. If she were honest she knew she was more afraid of what she had agreed to undertake than he was afraid of her. All he needed to do was obey. That was easy. She, on the other hand, had to figure out how to train a man to eventually want to obey. "How was she ever going to accomplish that even if Ms. K was there to help?"

Taking several deep breaths she relaxed a little. She wished she had wine in the house to calm her nerves and made a mental note to pick some up at the store tomorrow. She could use a glass now. She wanted to sleep but it wasn't at all late and she had so much adrenaline pumping through her system there was no way she'd be able to doze.

"I need to go read my book," she said finally.

Some minutes later she had slipped out of her clothes and into a night shirt and climbed into bed. She grabbed her book and started to read but couldn't get her mind off of Bobby. Finding a pen in the nightstand she grabbed a piece of paper. On it she wrote, "Things I want him to do; Training ideas." She wrote both phrases across the top of the page and drew a vertical line down making two columns.

"I need to think. What do I want?"

She began to write: Obey me. Keep the house clean. Iron my clothes. Do the wash. Respect me. Worship me? (That brought out a giggle). View me as his owner/View himself as my personal slave? (An even louder giggle).

She put the pen down and found the bookmark where she had stopped reading last night. She had been reading a sort of romance novel. Like the others she had read previously by this author the plot seemed to take on the same predictable path. A girl living a boring life, eventually meets the man of her dreams and they fall in love and live happily ever after but have to go through a series of struggles before they are finally free to do so. Thoughts of Jonathan came to mind but she pushed them aside. The irony of the story and the events surrounding her breakup made her ooze with mock contempt for men. But the book was a page-turner and she was too interested in this tale to not read it in full.

"Why did I agree to bring him home," she said aloud. "Just so he could be my whipping boy while I took all my Jonathan-anger out of him?"

A tear filled her eye. She brushed it aside and forgot about life and began to read. An hour later she reread one passage. The she read it again; and then again. The male character, Matthew had been kidnapped by the third wheel in this love triangle. The third wheel had sedated Matthew and carried him off to some vacant warehouse where the he was held prisoner. There was a section in which the third wheel kept thinking how he was going to break Matthew's will; to make him confess and tell all so he could win the heart of the woman who had rejected him for some unknown reason. The salient point the author penned that caught her eye was this, "It's easy to break some. Harder to break others, but in the end everyone has a breaking point. The trick to breaking the will is to give them hope and then remove it, then return it and remove it once more. By doing so the spirit is both raised and lowered so many times that eventually it won't even recognize if it is up or down. When it lacks a measure of its own feelings those feelings become yours to manipulate as you wish."

Sharon read that passage many times letting the words seep deep inside. They were so appropriate. It was as if she had not picked this book up for the past few nights for this very reason; to have saved these words for this very moment. She thought to Ms. K's comment regarding 'teachable moments'. She couldn't have read this passage at a better time. She turned her idea sheet over and copied the passage verbatim. She thought aloud, "Give and take; raise and lower; confuse until he doesn't even know what is normal. Is this how Mariko does it? Will this work?"

Closing her book she laid back thinking. "OK, where he is now should lower his spirit. How long do I need to keep him there?" She continued to contemplate, trying to place her mind where his was. He was pretty cramped and although he had a blanket it was a small one. Comfort would become an issue. Staying warm would become another issue. The blanket was too small to meet both needs. And then there was that cable. She sat up suddenly. "How is he going to pee or poop? What about food and water?"

She lay back hugging the book on her chest. A smile crossed her face and she grabbed her phone and sent a text off to Mariko. A minute later she received her answer. It was what she had hoped. "Good," she thought. "It helps having people with connections."

...

At 6 PM the following afternoon Sharon exited the garage door and strolled over to Bobby. She was dressed nicely and he noticed she was wearing makeup. He, on the other hand felt filthy. It had been an extraordinarily hot and humid September day and his body had baked in the sun for hours. He felt thirsty, hungry and filthy.

His cubical was a mess and the smell of urine was obvious. She noted the few nuggets of dog food she had tossed in there before she left for work was gone. She hadn't left him much; just enough to give him a bit of nourishment but still keep him hungry and wanting more.

"You thirsty?"

He shook his head.

Sharon came back with the garden hose and turned it on fully. The jet stream of water pummeled his face. She shot it directly into his open mouth. Bobby gulped whatever he could for the minute or so she pelted him with it. The fact that the stream hurt upon impact was a secondary nuisance. He needed to hydrate and all too soon the flow stopped. Besides getting a needed drink, the hose cleaned some of the filth off him. Too bad his blanket was soaked but it would dry in time.

While she walked over to recoil the hose she whispered, "Give him hope and then remove it; raise his spirit and then lower it again." She knew her presence alone gave him hope and the brief drink even more. It was time to take it away and she did so by leaving him without so much as a goodbye. Her interaction was brief and to the point and no more. She wanted him to come to see they were no longer colleagues and equals. Not any more they weren't.

The night was a beautiful one and Sharon came and sat on the back screened-in porch just as the sun set and darkness claimed the day. Sitting in a lounge chair with a glass of red wine on the table next to her she read under the soft glow of a clip-on lamp. She knew Bobby heard her and she wanted him to know she was out here. She spent the next hour enjoying her book as well as a second glass of refreshment before calling it a night.

Bobby lay cramped in his cage. The drink had been both a blessing and a curse. The water quenched his thirst but it also soaked his blanket and turned the dirt beneath into mud. Now as the cloudless night dominated the sky, the heat from the day rapidly dissipated leaving him cold and unable to warm. He sort of sat, sort of laid, in as tight a ball as he could manage to keep whatever heat from escaping into the coolness of the night.

His legs and back ached from the cramped quarters and the dam cable that kept him curled. Yet, even without the cable there was so little room in the cage that it probably wouldn't have made much difference. The cable pulled his balls up rather than pulling the cage down on them as Ms. K's cable arrangement had done but the effects were identical. Both caused his traumatized testicles to be pinched between the retaining ring and cage tube and both sent equally poignant shots of pain throughout his groin.

Bobby slept little that night. By morning he was freezing and starving. He had been dozing in a restless slumber when he heard the door open. Sharon appeared dressed and ready for work.

"Put this on," she said handing him a metal dog leash through the grate.

Bobby did so quickly and Sharon opened the cage door. He scampered out but she kept him on his knees. Retrieving the hose she washed him with the freezing water, eventually making him stand to get most of the muck off his body.

"In you go," she said pointing to the house. "Your clothes are on the back porch. Get dressed. I don't want us to be late for work."

He found a towel, dried off and dressed. The problem was the cable. He was able to fully dress but the cable got in the way. If he secured his pants and belt, the cable made him bend even more. He didn't know what to do at first but remembered her order, "get dressed" and so he did. When he came out she smiled.

"How about I let you stand up? Would you like that? Feel free to speak."

"Yes Mistress," he said immediately.

The salutation both surprised and pleased her. When he stood, he almost cried with relief. He couldn't believe how good it felt to be able to do something as simple as stand. Yet his body ached and he felt so tired and was so hungry.

Sharon let him enjoy the moment while she went to the front door, checking to make sure it was locked. Returning she grabbed the leash and headed down the back steps. Bobby followed. When he got to the garage the trunk lid was already open.

"In you go. Breakfast is in there. Hurry!" She snapped.

He hopped in quickly, so quickly that he wasn't able to locate the food. The door slammed and once more he was in blackness and confined to yet another cramped space. During the drive he located the paper bag. In it were ten nuggets of dog food. He gobbled them up like candy. He was thankful but there were so few that it left him wanting more. His throat remained parched from lack of water.

At school Sharon informed him to report in to Ms. K immediately and then to return to the conference room where she would discuss what he was to do next.

With much trepidation Bobby walked quickly toward the office complex while Ms. Ashby watched, her arms folded across her chest. When she saw him disappear in the office door she returned to her area in the conference room smiling. She had not communicated with Mariko that he'd be coming but thought his presence would be a welcome start to what would probably be an ordinary day.

Bobby never did know what to do with Ms. K. He simply could not figure her out. Pausing just around the corner from her office door he stopped, wondering if he should knock, enter, stand in the doorway in present position or enter like any other person wanting to see her. He immediately eliminated the last possibility and chose the first. He knocked. She looked at whoever it was that wanted her and when she saw it was him smiled.

"Come," she said motioning for him to come around the desk. "Get under there and lick my toes."

Bobby hurriedly crept under the tight confines of the desk. Ms. K slipped off her shoes and he took one into his hands and dutifully began with her smallest toe, taking it into his mouth.

"Sent you a surprise," read the text.

Mariko returned another, "worshipping my toes today."

Sharon: "Finally let him out of the dog cage. Was the first time since taking him."

Mariko: "Excellent! You are doing fine."

Sharon: "Wish he would screw up. I have an idea."

Mariko: "I can arrange that"

Sharon: "You're the best Mariko!"

For the next hour Bobby's tongue moved over, under and around every part of her ten digits. His oral pedicure of sorts, felt quite pleasing and in fact this was one task Mariko often used on newbie's. She loved a man with a strong tongue that could please her 'other parts' for hours. Having one work on a foot that required it to move in all directions and change shape to accommodate the varied shape of her toes and feet served as one of the best workouts in achieving that goal. Soon he tired and it was at that point when she pounced.

"Up you go!" She said startling him.

Bobby jumped to his feet and presented even though she hadn't ordered him to do so. Ms. K grabbed him by the ear and marched him past several open offices and out into the hallway. Pulling him along, they made their way to the conference room.

"In."

She closed the door behind them. Sharon looked at them, honestly surprised at the sight of them standing there. She was about to speak but Mariko spoke first.

"All I required him to do was to lick my toes. He did fine at first but then disobeyed me."

"How?"

"He started slacking. Taking breaks. I gave him strict orders to lick me continuously."

"Slave," Sharon asked, "Is Ms. K correct?"

Bobby said nothing. Instead he looked down, not knowing if he was permitted to speak or not.

"Slave, I asked you a question. You may speak."

"Yes Mistress. She is correct."

"You disappoint me. I told you that you should never disappoint me, didn't I?"

"Yes Mistress."

"Disappointments always have consequences. You need to understand that. Now come. Stand in front of me. Loosen your belt and pants."

Bobby did as he was told. Sharon pulled the short cable from her purse and attached it to his cage. Feeding the other end up under his shirt, she pulled his body forward and attached the other end to his collar.

"Now adjust your pants, apologize to Ms. K and sit. We have things to do.

After he had apologized several times and kissed Ms. K's feet as commanded she left and Bobby's day of work began. Sharon approached the situation just as she would have any other day. She reviewed material with him from yesterday, considered his feedback and reflected on some of his more observant thoughts. They had only visited about a fourth of the classrooms and so for the next few weeks they would continue to do so. Sharon sent Bobby to Mr. Sherwood, one of the geometry teachers, and told him he would be writing a lengthy report summarizing and critiquing the educational process in the math and science departments that she wanted by the end of the week.

Sharon waited for the bell to ring and students to fill the halls before sending him on his way. She watched him go, stooped over like one with severe scoliosis. He carried his briefcase in one hand and should have held a cane in the other.

"Let his spirit be lifted and then crush it," she said quietly while watching him move down the hall. Students turned to stare at Mr. Lewis wondering why he walked so slowly and awkward. Sharon wondered how he would handle the inevitable questions but didn't overly concern herself with what he'd say. That was his problem, not hers.

She smiled and reminisced, "Let out the line and then reel him in. The day couldn't have started out more perfectly." She closed the conference room door and headed off in the opposite direction.

...

For the next three weeks Sharon established somewhat of a routine, although it was randomly altered. She kept the principle of raising and lowering his spirit in the forefront of all she did. She deliberately spent time making Bobby's life although miserable although she also interspersed that misery with times of brief reprieve where he could almost experience life as a normal human - almost. Most every night she forced him to sleep in his cage. On two of those occasions she set her alarm for 2 AM, got up and doused him with water. Just before going to bed on another night she dumped a bucked containing a mixture of tomato and orange juice over him. She quickly learned that it was the simple things, if done in the right context that worked so well. It was treating him as if he really was worthless and devoid of value that had the greatest benefit in achieving the goal she now so badly wanted. She could see him yielding his will to hers. Often she used the cables, both the longer one that forced him into an extreme present position and the shorter cord that bent him forward. When she used the shorter one again at school a group of senior high girls stopped and questioned him. Sharon wasn't there to observe but Bobby told her later how humiliating he felt when one of them noticed the vertical line of the taut cord under his shirt. Having to explain truthfully that Ms. Ashby made him wear this because he had not opened the door for her drew both laughter and criticism. News spread throughout the school like wildfire.