Stacey's pov

I walked through the same fire exit door from which I originally left on cloud nine, grinning from ear to ear until I ran smack dab into, "Dr. Curtis!" I yelled out in shock.

He grabbed me by my arms to steady me so I wouldn't fall after I literally smacked into his rock hard chest.

"Care to explain what you're doing out at one in the morning, young lady?"

My mouth suddenly became drier than a desert as I struggled to find my voice. Dr. Curtis scared the shit out of me on a good day, let alone a night when he caught me red-handed breaking curfew.

"I uh, I um..." I stammered, trying to think of a good excuse, any excuse really that would get me out of this situation in as little trouble as possible.

Dr. Curtis stood rigidly and stared at me coldly with his arms crossed over his chest.

"It shouldn't take this long to speak the truth, Stacey." His voice was even colder than his glare.

"Ummm, I was just, uh..." I continued to struggle to find the right words.

"Let me stop you right there," he interrupted me. "If I hear anything other than a one hundred percent honest reply come out of your mouth right now, as God is my witness, my paddle will break before I'm through wearing out your behind."

I stood utterly speechless, my mouth gaping as I processed his threat.

"Have I made myself clear, Stacey Marie?" The fire in Dr. Curtis's eyes easily pierced through any trace of bravery that may have prompted me to lie.

I swallowed hard and nodded, still too afraid to form a coherent sentence.

"You should know better than to think I would accept a nod of the head. Answer me properly, young lady," he said sternly.

Swallowing again to find enough saliva to speak, I squeaked out a pathetically timid, "Yes sir."

"Well..." Dr. Curtis prompted me, but I remained silent, unsure of what to say. He frowned and cupped his chin in his right hand. "This is not an appropriate hour to try my patience so I strongly suggest you answer me immediately, Stacey."

"I was just out with a friend. We went to a party together," I lied, suddenly feeling optimistic. Fingers crossed, Dr. Curtis would have no way of knowing whom I was with tonight.

"We'll be discussing this situation with your guardians later this morning. Until then, I suggest you get some sleep," Dr. Curtis said sternly, looking at me and questioning the truth behind my response.

"Yes sir," I replied, before hightailing it to my room.

Later that morning

Mike's pov

Neil called me at 5:30am saying, "Michael, I want to see you, Donovan, and Stacey in my office in fifteen minutes. Don't be late. Understood?"

"Yes sir, we'll be there," I replied respectfully.

After letting Shane know about the call, I quietly walked into the girls' room as they were all still asleep.

I pulled Stacey's comforter off her and smacked her on the bottom while whispering harshly in her ear, "I want you up, dressed, and in my room in five minutes."

Stacey rubbed her bottom and replied, "Ow. Alright, I'll get up."

I smacked her bottom again, just hard enough to garner her attention but not so hard as to wake the others.

"Get moving!" I whispered in a severe no-nonsense tone, before leaving their room.

When Stacey entered my room four minutes later, I yelled, "WHY DOES DR. CURTIS WANT US IN HIS OFFICE? WHAT IN GOD'S NAME DID YOU DO, YOUNG LADY?"

Stacey's pov

"Uh, he kinda caught me sneaking in last night at 1am," I said quietly, while avoiding Mike's stern gaze.

Mike threw his hands up in disgust, disbelief, and defeat.

"Unbelievable, 1am," he muttered, more to himself than to me.

I continued to stare at the floor.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU AT 1AM, STACEY MARIE?" Mike yelled.

"Mike, I wasn't doing anything bad, I swear." I tried some preemptive damage control. Suddenly I felt a sharp sting on my behind. Turning toward the responsible party, I came face to face with Shane as he finished tying his tie and putting on his suit coat.

"Answer Mike's question and answer him now, young lady," Shane said gruffly, as he stared me down.

"I went to a party with Suzanne that her sister was throwing at this place she was house sitting at but I wasn't drinking or anything, I swear," I offered up lamely, turning my back to both my guardians.

Mike slammed his hands down on his desk.

"What time is your curfew on a school night?" he asked angrily.

"Mike, we only stayed at the party for a little bit," I said, trying to downplay the seriousness of the situation.

Mike slammed his hands down hard on the desk again, making me flinch at the harsh slapping sound that echoed through the room.

"What time?" he repeated, angrier than the previous time.

"Nine o'clock, sir," I replied.

"And what time is lights out on a school night?" Mike asked.

"10pm, sir," I replied.

"What happens when you violate curfew and lights out, Stacey?" Mike raised one eyebrow, challenging me to fight him on this.

"I get spanked or grounded or both," I mumbled.

"That's exactly right, young lady. You're grounded for one week."

"Two," Shane interjected. "Two weeks," he reiterated, as he frowned at me.

"Thank you, Shane, you're right, two weeks is much more appropriate."

Yeah, thanks a lot Admiral, I thought to myself.

"Your new bedtime is 8pm and so help you God, Stacey, if Shane or I come to check on you after 8:01pm and you're not in bed, you will be receiving a spanking you will never forget and I mean not ever. Am I understood?"

"Yeah, I get it, you're gonna treat me like a baby now 'cause I snuck out," I foolishly whined within striking distance of the Admiral, and he didn't hesitate to react. He landed five sharp swats to my left buttcheek. "Ow, ow, sh..." I tried to move out of the way after Shane's second swat but he grabbed my wrist. Damn, he spanks hard.

Mike continued with the conditions of my grounding as if nothing happened.

"You won't leave your room except for meals, school, or church. You'll have no friends over and no electronics of any kind. You can hand over your phone now too."

I obediently, but not too gently, placed my phone in Mike's hand, not wanting to receive any more penalty swats from the Admiral but unwilling to be completely complacent.

Mike glared at me as he put on his suit coat.

"Now let's get going to Dr.Curtis's office before we're late."

As we entered Dr. Curtis's office he directed the three of us to sit.

"I assume by now you know the reason for this meeting, gentlemen. Am I correct?" he asked.

"Yes sir, we have a pretty good idea," Mike answered, before giving me a disapproving glance.

"I trust the two of you to administer the appropriate discipline in this case," he stated, looking at Mike and Shane. "I wanted to let you know, Stacey..." Dr. Curtis gave me an icy look before continuing, "...that the fire exit door you, your cousin, and sisters have been using as an escape hatch, will be repaired by the end of the day. Perhaps you'd like to give them a head's up as well."

I swallowed hard and looked down at my feet, avoiding the stern looks from all three men.

"I trust we won't have another incident like this anytime soon. Correct?" Dr. Curtis asked, in an incredibly serious authoritative tone.

"Yes sir," all three of us echoed, fearing further reprimand from Dr. Curtis if we didn't respond properly.

"Good..." he said, standing up and buttoning his suit coat, "...because if I catch one of your charges sneaking in at 1am again, all three of you will find yourselves bent over my couch learning a severe lesson taught by my paddle." Dr. Curtis had a scary scowl on his face. "Meeting adjourned, see yourselves out." He dismissed us quickly in order to start his workday.

Shane pulled me aside in the hallway outside Dr. Curtis's office.

"I'd like a word with you, young lady," he snapped, as he backed me into the wall. Staring me straight in the eyes, he said, "As far as I'm concerned, you got off easy but I want you to know you're on very thin ice with me, Stacey Marie." Shane wagged his finger in my face. "If you step out of line one time in the next two weeks, I will be there with my Admiral's belt to swiftly usher you back into position. Understand?"

Kind of hard to misinterpret that I thought, but whatever. For some reason Shane's on a power trip and wants to play the badass.

Apparently, I was taking too long to respond because Shane gripped my jaw tightly in his hand and growled, "Answer me now!"

"Yeah, I get it. I just don't know why you're so upset with me when I've already been punished," I said, in a slightly pissy tone.

"Because I know you lied," Shane whispered in my ear, as he pulled me back from the wall and slapped my behind firmly. "Now get yourself ready for school. There's a car downstairs that will take you back to the Center. I have work to do."

Shane left me standing there, slightly stunned by his response as he walked down the hall to his office.

Later that afternoon at school

Lisa's pov

"Hey, watch it." Someone just shoved me as they passed by, pushing me into my locker door as I'm trying to open it. I turn to see who it is. Uggh, it's that bitch Lauren.

"Watch where you're going, idiot," Lauren sneers.

I'm so not in the mood for her today. Lauren's one of those girls who most people like but I really hate and I can't quite put my finger on why I hate her or more importantly, why most people like her. I mean, aside from the fact I think she's a fake stuck up spoiled bitch. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with me though.

"Get the fuck away from me, Lauren, before I curb stomp you."

"Yeah, right," Lauren snorts, "As if!"

"What do you want, Lauren?" I ask. I'm exasperated by this annoying waste of space currently standing in front of me.

"I heard your slut of a sister Stacey is Sean's new fuck toy and I just wondered if it was true."

I exhale loudly as I slam my locker shut.

"I will end you if you talk shit about Stacey again."

"Ooooh, I'm scared. Figures you'd threaten me. You're just as trashy as your whore of a sister. Always shootin' your filthy mouth off." Lauren sneers at me before turning and chuckling with one of her stupid wannabe friends. "Although, I heard Stacey's mouth does a lot more suckin' than shootin'."

"Go fuck yourself, Lauren." I'm this close to slapping that stupid grin off her ugly ass face. I swear if she says one more thing about Stacey, I'm gonna haul off on her.

"Truth hurts don't it, Lisa. Don't worry though, Sean'll tire of your nasty sister soon enough. I mean everybody's taken a turn on that easy ride from what I've heard."

Lauren looks back smiling at her friend, only to be greeted upon return by my fist smashing into her smug privileged face.

"You bitch!" Lauren yells, grabbing my hair before punching me in the side and pulling me to the ground as chants of, "fight fight fight," ring out in the hallway.

Before I know it, one of the math teachers comes out of his classroom, after hearing the ruckus outside his door, and roughly yanks us to our feet.

Holding us apart, he growls, "Knock it off you two!"

"She hit me," Lauren whines, trying to garner his sympathy.

"You deserved it," I spat back.

"Save your story for the dean, ladies," the teacher says, while dragging us down to his office.

Dean Banfeld's office

Lisa's pov

Dean Banfeld calls Lauren into his office first, giving me time to sit and reflect upon my actions. Instead, I spend the time panicking while anticipating the punishment Mike and Shane will be doling out. Fuck! What have I done? I can't believe I let that little bitch goad me into punching her. I could get expelled for this or at the very least suspended. Shane and Mike are gonna kill me. I can kiss my ass goodbye.

About ten minutes later, a man comes into the office and identifies himself to Dean Banfeld's secretary as Lauren's father. She sends him into the dean's office and five minutes later he emerges with his very unhappy daughter in tow. After they walk past me, I turn to see a very foreboding Dean Banfeld standing beside his open door with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

He tilts his head and motions me toward his open door as he says, "Come."

I gulp audibly, recognizing my cue that it's time to face the music. I slowly stand and enter his office, hanging my head in shame.

"Take a seat, Lisa," Dean Banfeld says, while closing his office door. I quickly comply. Dean Banfeld terrifies me. I've only been in his office maybe a dozen times in these past three years and this is by far my worst offense to date.

"You want to tell me what happened out there today?" he asks, unbuttoning his suit coat and sitting behind his desk.

I know he's not so much asking as he is mandating I respond but I don't honestly know where to begin, so I stall for time.

"Um, uh..." I bite my lip as I stare at my feet, trying to think of the verbiage that will put the best spin on this very bad situation, but I got nothin'.

"Um, is not an answer, Lisa. Don't try my patience as you won't be pleased with the outcome."

Not wanting to anger Dean Banfeld any further, I start talking.

"I was getting some books out of my locker when Lauren shoved into me. We exchanged some words and then she started bad mouthing one of my sisters. I tried to hold my temper but she was lying and saying some pretty awful things, so I hit her."

Dean Banfeld looks at me expectantly, knowing there's more to the story, waiting for me to continue. When I hesitate, he raises one eyebrow as a warning.

I swallow hard trying to garner up some saliva to combat my dry mouth.

"I hit her in the face." I mistakenly make eye contact with Dean Banfeld and shrink back in my seat upon seeing his eyes darken. I decide to quickly continue and just get this over with. "Lauren grabbed me and pulled me to the ground and we continued fighting until a teacher pulled us apart."

"I see." Dean Banfeld leans back in his chair, staring at the wall, lost in thought yet clearly disappointed in me. "You know fighting is unacceptable, Lisa, and you could be expelled for this."

"Yes sir, I know." My eyes start to well with tears as I come to the realization of just how much trouble I'm in.

"What exactly did Lauren say that made you upset enough to strike her?"

"I'd rather not say, sir."

"Well, you're not really in a position to deny my request now. Are you, Lisa?" He gives me a stern look, causing a chill to run through me.

"If I tell you, will you promise not to tell Mike or Shane?"

"You know I can't do that, Lisa."

A tear rolls down my cheek.

"Well then I can't say, sir, because it would get my sister in trouble but I can assure you Lauren deserved it."

"That's not the answer I want to hear, Lisa!" He stands and slams his right hand down on his desk, making me jump. He turns his back to me, brushing back his suit coat and placing his hands on his hips before he continues admonishing me. "I should be hearing an apology right now, Lisa, not a feeble attempt at justifying your actions. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir. I am sorry I lost my temper. Please don't expel me, Dean Banfeld."

"We'll discuss that when your guardian gets here." I hear him exhale loudly and slowly. Clearly he's becoming frustrated by my lack of remorse. His intercom buzzes, breaking the awkward silence in the room. He turns and presses the button on the phone.

"Sorry to interrupt, sir, but Dr. Michael Horton is here now," his secretary informs us.

"Thank you, Pamela, please send him in."

Mike walks in, much angrier than I've seen him in a long time. I look away, avoiding his soul piercing glare. He and Dean Banfeld shake hands and exchange pleasantries before they each take their seats. Dean Banfeld fills Mike in on the situation at hand and I can feel Mike's eyes boring holes into me during the entire conversation.

"I've already spoken to the other girl's father and he's in agreement with my recommendation. Since neither of the girls have been in serious trouble before and both of them are guilty of putting their hands on each other in anger, I feel expulsion is unwarranted in this case. So I'm recommending in-school suspension instead. If you're agreeable to handling this in-house, Michael, I propose a four day in-school suspension for Lisa along with two weeks of office detention since she initiated the physical altercation. The other girl will be receiving exactly half the same sentence. What are your thoughts on my proposal, Dr. Horton?"

"I think your terms are more than fair, sir, and we gladly and humbly accept them unconditionally. Don't we, Lisa?"

"Yes sir." I breathe a sigh of relief, thankful Dean Banfeld didn't expel me. Apparently though, he's not done with me yet.

"Lisa, I want to make it very clear to you that violence is not an acceptable response to someone saying something that you don't want to hear. You know very well you could have simply walked away, effectively putting an end to the confrontation but instead you chose to escalate the situation by putting your hands on her. If I EVER hear of you getting into another physical altercation on school grounds or at a school sanctioned event again, make no mistake about it, Lisa, I will not hesitate to expel you. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR! "

Shit, that man is scary when he yells.

"Yes sir," I reply timidly.

"I assure you, Dean Banfeld, that I will make Lisa understand the error of her ways. Without a shadow of a doubt, she will realize the consequences for fighting are both swift and severe. We do not condone nor tolerate fighting and Shane and I will personally and thoroughly IMPRESS that upon her."

Why do I get the sinking feeling that impression's going to be made with one or both of their belts?