Sherry's Test

It was the Monday morning weekly status meeting at the school and the principal adjusted and said "Before we start with the usual agenda, there is a matter of upmost importance that needs to be dealt with first" and paused for dramatic effect.

Having ascertained he had the staff's undivided attention, he continued "Sherry, you leaked the questions in your last test. About half the class knew the questions in advance and the other half didn't , thus making the test totally unfair. How could you do this?"

Sherry squirmed but pretended to be mildly outraged and said "I don't know what you are talking about!"

"Oh don't try to cover this up. I have all the proof I need. Do you want me to call the students who have already confessed?" Said Principal Roberts.

"Like who?" Sherry said, looking unsure.

"Like John. And Suzy. And Brian."

"I never gave them the questions. I would never!!" said Sherry confidently.

"Well, let's call them in and see where the trail leads" said Principal Roberts.

"Uh can we do this in private so that we can question them properly"? said Sherry, no longer looking so sure of herself.

"Nah I think all the other teachers need to hear this so that they won't even think of leaking test papers" said the old principal. "But you do have a point. They may not tell the truth in front of all the teachers. Let me interview them and get to the bottom of all this"

Sherry squirmed in obvious discomfort.

"Or you can save me and yourself a lot of trouble if you just come clean and tell us what happened. If I find out on my own, I have no choice but to fire you. If you confess, I might let you off with disciplinary action. Not that you will like the disciplinary action any better but at least you will have a choice. Your call. You have five minutes to let me know" said the geezer putting his watch on the table.

All the teachers staring at Sherry did not make it any easier for her. After two minutes, Sherry coughed and said "OK. I will come clean".

"Ahh" the good principal said "you might have to come clean in more ways than one!"

The staff looked at the principal quizzically but he remained inscrutable. One thing was clear though. He was pretty confident of proving out Sherry's guilt otherwise he would never have been so openly aggressive with her. And Sherry, smart and beautiful, always the model of self-confidence with a biting wit, looked ready to crumble and cry. She wasn't mean but her humor had an edge and she had offended quite a few of her colleagues. And they were all watching the situation unfold with fascination and a pleased look on their faces. Except for Matt, who loved her secretly, or so he thought, for it was kind of an open secret. Matt was the proverbial nice guy and a friend to almost everyone on the staff. He couldn't help be otherwise. Matt had hoped to win Sherry's affection as she got to know him better but it never happened and Sherry was often dismissive of him. Matt was easy to use when needed and ignore when not. He wasn't particularly good looking but had decent features and a genuine warm smile. Even now, despite being spurned by Sherry, he had nothing but sympathy for her.

"Whatever this thing is about, Roberts" he said "Can you not discuss this in private in your office? No need to embarrass her like this. Plus, this is uncomfortable for all of us". Sherry looked a bit stunned at his unexpected but welcome intervention and for the first time since she knew him, looked at him with respect.

Principal Roberts pondered the question for a moment and said "Ideally I would. You all know me. I have always dealt with your issues in private and with respect. But in this case, I am really outraged that a teacher would leak the papers like this. So outraged, that I can't find words to express myself here. This is a core offence and undermines our basic educational and ethical standards and must be dealt with in the most severe fashion. We are running a high-priced private school here that has a waiting list a mile long. What do you suppose would happen to our reputation of this gets out. Do you see this any differently, Matt?"

Matt, his usual fair and dignified self, said "I guess upon proof of the offence, the punishment must be proportionate to the offence. But so far we don't know the whole story. All I am suggesting is that you hear Sherry's story in private and decide on the corrective action".

Roberts said "Good thoughts. But like I said, in this case, 'No'. Embarrassment and humiliation is going to be a big part of this corrective action as you so euphemistically put it, and now is as good a time to start as any. A big part of this punishment is going to be its value as a deterrent".

"I will defer to your judgment on this, Sir. But before we go any further can I have a private word with you outside for a minute?" said Matt.

Roberts looked for any signs of insubordination or disrespect in Matt's face and voice and failing to detect any said "Matt, sometimes you are a pain in the ass. But you have our respect and I will humor you though you are kind of raining on my parade here".

"Thank you Sir" said Matt following the principal out of the room.

"What kind of disciplinary action do you have in mind, Sir?" asked Matt coming straight to the point.

"Good choice of words, Matt. Discipline is exactly what I have in mind. Corporate punishment, as a matter of fact" said the principal.

Matt was horrified. "You can't be serious, Sir!" he exclaimed before he could control it.

"I am very serious. Of course, she doesn't have to go through with it. She can just resign and walk away. Her teaching career will be forever over, though. No school will ever want to hire her".

"Oh come on!" said Matt "That's hardly a choice. And you know that"

"Then she will have to go through our punishment then won't she?" said the Principal.

"Our punishment? You are not proposing to do this in public?" asked Matt incredulously

"I sure am. As I said, embarrassment and humiliation will be a big part of this corrective action. And frankly I have been waiting to take her down a peg or two from the high horse she rode into town on. And why are you standing up for her? She has always treated you like an idiot and all because you let on that you had a soft corner for her. She probably told all her friends and ruthlessly made fun of you" said Roberts.

Matt wondered if the whole fricking staff knew about his feelings for her and was definitely annoyed that even the Prinicipal knew about despite the fact that he had been discreet and subtle about it. He had never overtly asked her out. He had merely hinted at it when the occasion arose leaving sufficicient room for ambiguity. Nonetheless Sherry's response was uniform. She always managed to avoid situations which could even remotely be construed as a date. In fact once they happened to have lunch just by themselves and when Matt casually tried to pick up the tab, she insisted on paying her share saying "This is not a date" and laughing at it.

Coming back to the present, Matt said "Be that as it may. We should still be fair to her. What do you have in mind?"

"She is going to be punished in front of all the teachers. I think I might even call in some of the students in question" confided the Principal. "As far as the details, I want to let it evolve and enjoy the whole process".

This was far worse that Matt had expected. He tried for the only concession that he thought he could get obtain. "Sir, will you at least promise one thing?"

"What?" said Roberts getting a little annoyed and wanting to get on with the staff meeting and the punishment he had planned.

"Can you at least ensure that the punishment will not involve sex? I can see this going downhill and resulting in non-consensual sex. Surely she does not deserve to be violated in that way" pleaded Matt.

The Principal looked at him curiously. Matt was one of his best teachers and always his 'go to guy' for all kinds of issues. And Matt had never let him down. He had smoothed innumerable delicate situations. He had covered for his colleagues' mistakes often spending his own time. Much as the thought of Sherry giving him a public blowjob excited the Principal, he knew it would break Matt's heart and would lead to his resignation. Plus he was genuinely fond of Matt as was most if his staff. And Matt was not laying down any conditions on nudity or any other aspect of the punishment. He was just requesting that she not be violated. He cleverly used the word non-consensual leaving room for Sherry wantonly offering herself to all and sundry. Surely nobody would grudge him this and everyone would honor it.

"For your sake, Matt. For your sake!" said the Principal. "But I do have to let them know that this at your behest so that my staff doesn't get pissed with me for denying them what must be a dream for a lot of them. But bear in mind that the 'No Sex' injunction will imply 'No sexual penetration' and will not preclude a fair amount of groping or bodily contact. Like I said, I want the punishment to evolve spontaneously and can't lay down too many rules"

"Absolutely" said Matt. "I will owe all of you big time and repay your favors".

With that, they re-entered the room.

Sherry squirmed as they entered. Not that the period when they were out of the room was any better because her colleagues were just staring silently at her making her feel very uncomfortable and quite a few she could have sworn, were letting their fantasies run away with them.

"Well here is the deal, Sherry. You will either subject yourself to a series of corporal punishments or you can resign. The punishments are meant to humiliate you and teach you a lesson and not to harm you or leave any lasting marks. Nobody is going to force you to have sex with them. Of course, if at some point, you get turned on and would like to offer that, I am sure there will be a few takers" Roberts said with a smile. Till now, nobody had realized what a letch he was. But then in time, the same would be proved of most of his staff. The fact that only Matt had protested this unusual punishment was ample testimony to that fact.

Sherry turned pale and then blushed and then got outraged.

"You can't be serious, Sir!" she exclaimed.

"Oh I am very serious. I spent all weekend salivating at this prospect. Too bad you had already left on Friday before I found out, otherwise we could have started this Friday itself".

The pretense of upholding educational standards was fast dropping away, replaced by a more reprehensible yet honest desire to exploit a woman in distress. And Matt much as he would have liked to be a knight in shining armor and whisk her away to safety was unable to do anything more. He looked around the room to see if he could garner any support but failed to detect any sympathetic face except, understandably, a couple of her woman friends. But there were other women who were jealous of her looks and the attention she commanded and were looking pretty pleased at the prospect of Sherry getting her comeuppance.

"Are you proposing to punish me in front of all my colleagues or in private?" Sherry asked.

"In public. Not only your colleagues but at some point I may invite some of your students to these session too. Like I said, humiliation is going to be a big part of all this and there is nothing more humiliating than public punishments" explained Roberts calmly as if he was explaining some school policy that he was laying down.

"This is crazy" Sherry said in a crestfallen tone. "Can I sleep over it and let you know tomorrow?"

"No can do. While revenge may be a dish served cold, punishment is best struck when the iron is hot" said the bard of RiverView High pleased at his ability to mix metaphors. "But tell you what you can do" he continued, "You can go kneel in the corner facing the wall while we continue with the meeting and ponder over this. We will need your decision by the time the meeting is over".

At this Matt leapt up and pleaded "Sir, you can't possibly think of punishing her after the meeting and holding up the classes. Surely you plan on waiting till the classes are over? Why not give her time till 3 PM to think about this?"

Principal Roberts said "As usual, a perfectly rational and reasonable suggestion from you, Matt" and Sherry looked relieved and thankful. "However", he continued to her chagrin, "I have spent the weekend in suspense over this. And I can't have the rest of the teachers distracted in class over this. Sherry too will feel much better after she makes her decision. I cannot have her go about her class preoccupied with this. Plus if she does not intend to take her punishment like a lady, I would rather not have her teaching anyway. I had planned a short meeting in order to be able to get her punishment started in the meeting hour".

You could see Sherry going red and she was about to get up and slam her fist on the table and walk out but she know she was not thinking clearly and needed some time to think however surreal it seemed to kneel in the corner. She resigned herself to her first humiliating task and got up.

"Wait" pleaded Matt. "Let me talk to her in private for 5 minutes".

"Damn, Matt" said the Principal "You are getting to be a regular pain in the ass. And you are delaying Sherry feeling the pain in her ass. But go ahead and be quick about it".

Sherry eagerly followed Matt into the Principal's private office adjoining the staff room, welcoming a respite however brief it may be.

"You don't have to do this, Sherry" Matt paused and continued "It may be better for you to go ahead and resign. This may seem to be bad timing and sound crazy to you but I have always loved you and will do anything possible to help you get through this. And I won't ask anything in return either. You can pay me back in your own time later. I will help you get back in college somewhere and explore alternate careers".

Sherry couldn't help but break down and cry at this insanely sweet but ridiculous offer.

"That's very sweet, Matt. But I cannot accept it. In addition to regretting my foolish indiscretion over the test questions, I have spent the past few minutes kicking myself at not showing more interest in going out with you" Sherry said in between sobs while Matt was holding her and patting her head gently.

"But let me ask you something" she asked looking at Matt hopefully, "If I go through with these ridiculous punishments however humiliating it may be, would you still be interested in a romantic relationship with me?"

Matt looked surprised. He had always heard that once a woman says 'No', she does not change her mind despite all the romance novels and movies to the contrary. But he was exhilarated at Sherry's change in heart nonetheless.

"Are you kidding me? You have no idea how much I adore you. And if it helps you, I will ask myself to be excused from your punishment sessions so that our relationship can blossom more naturally" Matt said in an excited voice and continued looking puzzled "But this makes no sense. If you are open to idea of being in a relationship with me, why not take up my offer?"

Sherry, again touched by Matt's unstinting support, explained "It would be too much stress on the relationship right away, Matt. It would be put me under so much obligation, despite your assurance to the contrary. Neither of us will really know how much my willingness to be in the relationship was dictated by your financial support. I would rather start as equals and have the relationship grow on equal terms. Plus I couldn't stand the scandal in the newspapers and my parents knowing about it".

At this point there was a knock on the door. "Matt, your time is up. Don't call in all your favors all in one day" thundered the Principal.

Matt opened the door and led Sherry gently back in the room. Sherry dried her tears as she walked to the corner. Looking at Matt she said, "I still need a few minutes to let all this sink in".

She sniffed and knelt in the corner, grateful to be facing away from the principal and all her colleagues and Matt.

Matt gazed at her lovingly and noticed how adorable she looked in her crisp navy blue suit dress.

The principal concluded the staff meeting in another ten minutes. Everyone hurried through their report in anticipation of what was to come.

In the meanwhile, Sherry processed the events of the crazy morning at warp speed. To her surprise, in addition to the humiliation of kneeling before all her colleagues, she felt a little bit of excitement or even thrill. "This is crazy. I can't possibly be getting excited at the prospect of facing abject humiliation in front of all my colleagues, not to speak of my future boyfriend" she thought. But Sherry was self aware enough to know that a part of her was indeed feeling an insane sense of liberation at the prospect of surrendering to her colleagues.

"Well" asked Roberts, "Have you made your decision, Sherry?"

Sherry was understandably silent.

"The prisoner will please rise and face the court" joked Roberts. Matt stared at him, angry at his inappropriate levity but some of the lesser evolved members of the staff guffawed.

Sherry rose faced the group, bowed her head and said "I will submit to your punishments in exchange for my job and secrecy on the matter. As you have already promised, there will be no forced sex and you will not leave any lasting marks or hurt me seriously. In addition, you have to promise that my promotion prospects will not suffer due to this. You have to also promise that your behavior towards me outside of these punishment sessions will not be untoward and no mention of these sessions will be made".

"For a girl in your predicament, you do have a lot of demands" mused the principal. "However, I admire your spirit in the face of all this and do accede to your demands".

"I have more conditions" Sherry continued. Roberts looked at her bemused.

"You mention sessions. How many 'sessions' are we talking about?" she demanded.

"I have no idea" said Roberts wearily. "Like I said spontaneity is a big part of my plan and I want these sessions to evolve."

"Strange that you should mention evolution at the precise moment that you are acting like apes" countered Sherry.

"Wow! You are still feisty! I am going to enjoy this even more. Let's see how sassy you are with your butt sticking up in the air and my palm landing on it firmly" laughed Roberts.

"Be that as it may" Sherry said blushingly, half-regretting getting Roberts riled up again. "I do need some sense of closure. I cannot agree to something indeterminate".

"That sounds like a reasonable request, Sir" said Matt.

"Oh well, let's say a year" said Roberts.

"No way! That is way too long. Let's say a week" said Sherry.

"Three months", said the Principal. "Take it or leave it".

Sherry thought of countering with a month but decided against it. "OK" she said resignedly.

"So, let the games begin" he announced.

Matt stood up and looked at Roberts and said "I cannot bear to be a party to all this. Please excuse me from all these deplorable sessions".

"Matt" exclaimed Sherry. "Please! Don't do this. As embarrassing it will be to go through all this in front of you, I could use a friendly face during my ordeal. In fact", she continued, turning to Principal Roberts, "I have one more condition. I need Matt to be present during all my so called punishment sessions".

Roberts looked quizzically at Sherry intuiting her change of heart towards Matt. He did really like Matt and almost felt sorry for what he was going to put his sweetheart through. "Alright", he said "You have your wish. In fact I would not have it otherwise either. I need Matt as much as you do, to make sure that things don't really get out of hand."