Red Notice Ch. 19

Every second was an aeon.

There was also, of course, a tremendous amount of shame for what I'd done to Jo. She was right -- she hadn't deserved that. Cherry didn't deserve what was inching ever closer. And I deserved everything that I'd gotten, and more, because I was still here with quiet, yearning excitement and uncomfortably damp underwear.

After a time, there came a knock at my door and, without waiting to be bid entry, it swung open and Ellsworth marched in. My heart sank at the mere sight of her.

"Good afternoon, Kelly," she said, business-like.

"Um, good afternoon, professor," I replied, softly, unable to dispel our last encounter from my mind.

"I noticed that you had to deal with another student, earlier. How did you find it?"

"Oh, it went fine," I said, trying to grasp at the language I hoped she'd want to hear from me, "I did as you said and made sure she was, like..." I paused.

"Naked?"

"Exposed."

"Well, exposed is acceptable," she said, her tone equivalent to a shrug. "I'm glad to see you're making progress. But this next girl, Miss Cardington, I'll expect you to use all the lessons I taught you earlier. That's quite clear, isn't it?"

"Yes, ma'am." Was it pronounced like 'ham' or 'harm'? I couldn't remember -- but I was sure I'd chosen the wrong one and further outed myself as Not Quite Belonging. Ellsworth leaned over me, smelling of chamomile and biscuits, to the computer screen, her necklace dangling off her and brushing my shoulder.

"I see this is her first red notice, too," she observed, clicking her way through Cherry's records. "So this should be quite the introduction."

"Yeah," I mumbled, staring at Cherry's smiley ID photo and wondering if I ought to divulge our friendship to Ellsworth. It wouldn't be worth it, of course -- in fact, she might revel in that fact. There was one additional fact to add to all the plentiful dread -- now Ellsworth was here, my window for warning Cherry away was tightly shut. The event horizon had been crossed and I was drifting, irreversibly, to the black hole.

It was barely a few minutes after Ellsworth's appearance that my phone pinged. Looking at it, I saw Cherry had texted me.

"Outside!" it read. I wanted to cry -- but there was excitement there, too.

"What is it?" asked Ellsworth, who was now sat at the sofa and must have seen my face change.

"I think Cherry's outside," I mumbled.

"Well, go and get her, then." I rose and went to the door, opened it, and peered around to find Cherry's beaming face. She was dressed in baggy jeans and white jumper.

"Nice digs you got here," she laughed. I smiled, weakly, and she regarded me with uncertainty. "You okay?"

"You should come in," I said, quietly, retreating back inside, and Cherry followed.

"What's up?" she asked, as she came in. "This your office, then? Impressive. In an unimpressive sort of way. But you're coming up in the world, ey?" Still, I wasn't responding as she thought I might, and her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What?" She looked around -- and, at the sight of Ellsworth, froze.

"Hello, Miss Cardington. I understand you've received a red notice."

"W... what is this?" Cherry looked from Ellsworth to me and then back again. "I thought..."

"What?" asked Ellsworth. "What did you think? That you'd be getting an easy time of it?" Cherry now stared at me.

"You tricked me."

"I didn't," I said, quickly. "I wanted to tell you. I did. But-"

"Oh, you two know each other," purred Ellsworth. "How delightful." She rose from the sofa -- both Cherry and I took a step back.

"Do you wanna tell me what the hell's going on?" Cherry demanded. "Why're you here?"

"Because young Kelly here has been having difficulties," Ellsworth replied. "She didn't quite understand her remit. So I thought I'd help her with the next lady to come through that door. I suppose that lady will have to be you."

"Right," Cherry sighed. "Great. And there was me thinking I'd just be hanging out with my mate for ten minutes. Serves me right, ey? And all for, what, badmouthing someone in a seminar?" At that, she turned, put her hands on the desk, and bent over, pushing out her shapely bottom, protected by thick jeans. "Come on, then. Get it over with." She looked at me. "You and I are having a talk after this." She winked and I felt better, if only for the tiniest fraction of a moment, as I looked away.

"Do you want to tell her?" asked Ellsworth, face full of a dark pleasure I'd never seen when she dealt with me. "Or should I?"

"Huh?" Cherry straightened a little. "Tell me what? Kelly?"

"You have to be naked," I said, my whole body feeling hot.

"Naked?" Her face, which I didn't think could fill with more outrage, filled with more. "Are you joking?"

"Does she look like she's joking?" growled Ellsworth. Cherry stared at me, wide-eyed, perhaps for help -- I didn't say anything. I couldn't even keep eye contact -- but, still, the excitement bubbled away.

"How could you not warn me?" she asked, her eyes full of hurt. Already, her hands were at her jumper's hem.

"It'd just make it worse for you."

"That's not why you didn't tell me." Her eyes flashed, now, with anger. "You know that's not why."

Quickly, Cherry pulled up her jumper, the stripy shirt underneath coming up over her soft looking tummy with shiny pierced belly button, and threw it on the desk. The shirt came next -- I couldn't help but stare at Cherry's body as she peeled it off. Though I'd essentially seen her breasts before, given how freely she displayed them, still I watched while she tossed her shirt onto the desk and stood there in a lacy black bra, her tits struggling to be set free, her lightly brown skin rich and warm, a tattoo of hummingbird in flight on her shoulder. She looked at both of us.

"Stop staring at me," she mumbled at Ellsworth, who just crossed her arms, but not to me. Her hands went to her jeans, which she unbuttoned, pulled down, and awkwardly stepped out of, having to kick off her trainers to do so. "Yeah, don't help or anything."

Now Cherry stood half-naked, holding her arm nervously, her underwear matching her bra, black and vaguely transparent and tight on her curvy body across which stretch marks rippled. She looked at me, thinking this undressed enough.

"What?" she demanded. I didn't say anything and her eyes widened. "My underwear as well?"

"Sorry," was all I managed.

"It's fine," Cherry murmured. "I see how it is." She reached with steady hands to unclip her bra, which loosened before falling away from her body. She practically threw it, underarm, onto the desk, and I tried not to stare at her breasts with their pretty brown nipples. Her hands hooked into her underwear and she pulled them down -- my heart soared, in a strange way, at the sight of her stripped, her underwear turning inside out as it came down her chubby thighs and she stepped out of them to put them on the desk with the rest. Now she stood naked, freckles down her arms, hands over her tits and apparently unconcerned with keeping herself covered between her legs. I remembered how I'd contorted myself to try and stay covered -- but she didn't. Between her thighs, hidden in shade, I could make out fuzz over slick, dark lips. From outside, I heard music.

"Don't you ever turn the heating on?" Cherry mumbled.

"Kelly," asked Ellsworth, "do you have any instructions for Miss Cardington?" I swallowed.

"Yeah, do you?" hissed Cherry.

"Touch your toes?" I suggested, and Cherry smiled in disbelief. Ellsworth smiled in simple humour at this little newbie learning the ropes.

"That sounds like a good idea to me," said Ellsworth, and she nodded to Cherry, who still stood clutching her tits, pressing them together to form a deep cleavage. I'd have loved to bury my face there, I thought, then felt ashamed for thinking it. A little.

Slowly, Cherry backed up a couple of paces, then, in one easy motion, bent over and tucked her fingers under her toes. I was impressed -- she was curvier than me, which I thought implied less flexible, and this was showing how much I knew. Ellsworth stepped towards her and, as Cherry sniffed and wobbled, placed a hand on her bare back. Cherry shivered.

"Now then, Miss Cardington," she said, "why don't you tell me what's about to happen?"

"Why don't you just get it over with?" Cherry hissed.

"Kelly," she then said, regarding me, "would you like to tell Miss Cardington what's about to happen?"

"I..." Tears, unexpected, somehow, grew in my eyes. "I'm gonna spank you. For misbehaving." Cherry almost snorted.

"Stop talking about what you're gonna do and do it," she muttered, staring down at her feet. "My boobs hurt." I stepped forward, positioning myself behind Cherry, trying not to stare at her butt, bare and round and firm. I thought I sensed her sigh and wondered how much embarrassment was coursing through her -- she'd told me, on our way to Sainsbury's that one time, about signing up for a student union nude calendar. She'd done it last term, she said, and been surprised by how exhibitionist she could turn out to be. "Long as no-one saw my arsehole, I was basically fine," she'd laughed. I couldn't see hers now -- but I bet, if I wanted to, I could. That freedom -- that power -- excited me beyond simple words.

Standing at Cherry's side now, and with one hand on her hip, holding her against me so she didn't topple over, I began with Ellsworth's eyes on my every move. Each smack elicited a soft grunt and a loud, pleasurable slap, Cherry's bottom like jelly against my hand. I kept going, ten smacks per cheek, and every now and then looked up at Ellsworth who would only gesture for me to carry on. Her arms never uncrossed, her eyes never changed from stern and cold and calculating. It was as if whenever dealing with me she became some detached, old-school, robotic headmistress. And when dealing with Cherry, the pleasure came. My hand hurt, a lot, and it only hurt more with each hit, Cherry and I sharing in the same sting. After one too many, I whimpered at the pain -- that it was me who made that noise before Cherry was almost as embarrassing as if we'd swapped roles.

"You have two hands, Kelly," said Ellsworth, smirking.

"Yes, professor," I said, switching to Cherry's other side, as she shuddered.

"How much longer?" she whimpered. Ellsworth smiled.

"Until I see tears streaming down your face." I stared at her.

"You're a fuckin' psycho," Cherry said to the ground, and I was inclined to agree. Ellsworth just looked at me.

"Continue," she instructed, and I did, Cherry's bottom jiggling again at each hit, her coffee-coloured cheeks turning pinker and rawer with each hit. I heard her hold in a yelp and, though I couldn't see her face, imagined she was biting her tongue all the way through it. Yet, eventually, she broke -- as my second hand began to hurt, too, so much so I thought the skin would break, I heard Cherry squeal in pain at last. Ellsworth smiled. Cherry's shoulders rose and fell as sobs overcame her. I stopped, my hand still outstretched for the next hit, and regarded Ellsworth.

"Stand up, please," she said, stepping towards Cherry, and Cherry did so, her hands shaking and mascara running in black stripes down her cheeks. Still, she sobbed, and I flooded with pitiful remorse which I couldn't even begin to believe made up for this.

Ellsworth stood close to Cherry, studying her face, as Cherry glared back through her tears, trying to rub them away with a hand while her other arm crossed over her chest to cover it. I just stood behind, staring at Cherry's bare rear, pink and sore from my pink and sore hands. I was impressed she wasn't rubbing at it -- I suppose she didn't want to provide the satisfaction.

"Now then," said Ellsworth, "have you learned your lesson?"

"Yes, professor," Cherry whispered, poison in her voice, and Ellsworth smiled in an equally poisonous way.

"Get dressed. I'm sure you've got another lecture."

Cherry dressed quickly, wincing as she pulled her underwear back on, not saying a word. I almost missed her bare body once it was safely hidden under her clothes again. The remorse, though, was more powerful -- and a burning furious shame that I wouldn't be leaving this office anytime soon. It would take more than this to make me quit. Maybe this was why I didn't quit.

"Cherry..." I said, stumbling on my words, but she ignored me and whisked herself out of the door.

"Well," said Ellsworth, the two of us now alone, "I think we've sorted things out a little bit there, haven't we?"

"Maybe," I sighed. "There goes a friendship."

"I'd advise you not to bother making friends with students," Ellsworth said. "Once they get a red notice, that friendship doesn't last long."

"Yeah."

"How are your hands?"

"They hurt."

"You'll want some cream for them, I should think. Now then, I have other appointments, so I'll leave you. How's your bottom, by the way?"

"Sorry?"

"Your bottom. How is it?"

"Oh. Um... stings. A bit." She nodded, approvingly.

"Let it be a reminder, then. Until it fades. It's a shame it doesn't last forever." At that, she left.

I returned to my desk. After a while of just staring into space, I turned on my phone and pulled up the chat with Cherry. I stared at the screen for a while, before turning off my phone. What was there to say?