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Partially based on true events, and I wanted to give it a happy ending. Really hope you enjoy it! ", "description_bbcode_parsed": "This is one of my older series of stories. Partially based on true events, and I wanted to give it a happy ending. Really hope you enjoy it! ", "writing": "\"You can’t do that, Audie,\" Greg went on. \"My folks are mad as hell at me. I’m going to get it good! You don’t want to be a part of that! Believe me! Dad might take the strap to you, too!\"\n\nAudie surprised both the other boys with his response to that. \"I hope he does, Greg,\" he said. \"I deserve a whipping for forging your note. I knew it was wrong when I did it. That’s just the way the world works.\"\n\nKevin dropped his fork and stared at his big brother as if seeing him for the first time. \"Are you crazy?\" he asked, letting his jaw gape open afterward.\n\n\"No, I’m not Kevie,\" Audie answered with conviction. \"When you do bad things, bad things happen to you. Or should. You’ve got to learn to accept responsibility for your actions. Ducking out and letting a friend take your punishment is the act of a bastard. We’re not like that, Kevie. Remember that. Greg, I’m coming home with you and that’s that. Friends stick together. I’m sticking.\"\n\n\"But, but, but...\" Greg sputtered.\n\n\"No buts, Greg. Done deal. Kevin, I’ll be home late this evening. I’ll take you to Mc Donald’s for dinner.\"\n\nNot even that promise placated Kevin, who just didn’t understand anybody’s asking for it like that. He gave out with his own string of buts.\n\n\"No buts out of you either,\" Audie said in his parental command voice. That ended that.\n\nAfter he had finished eating, Audie sent Kevin home with a reminder that he would be alone for a good while until Audie could make it back from whatever awaited him at Greg’s house and that he (Kevin) was to not let anyone in the house nor snack after 4:00.\n\n\"Yes, Sir,\" Kevin said after Audie finally finished. Audie couldn’t tell if the \"Sir\" was sass or not, so let it slide.\n\nAfter school Audie met Greg at the bus stop. Greg was clearly scared almost witless at what was going to happen when he got home. Surprisingly, Audie was not. He wasn’t even worried. Although he certainly wasn’t looking forward to this evening’s program, he just accepted it like he did an onerous homework assignment. Best to get it done and over with. The two rode home in silence.\n\n\"Mom, it’s me. I’m home.\" Greg spoke up upon opening his front door, but without the enthusiasm he usually put into it. He knew there’d be no milk and cookies waiting for him and his buddy this time.\n\n\"Well,\" his mother grumbled as she came out of the kitchen to confront her son, then seeing Audie, raised her eyebrows even further. \"What are you doing here, Audie?\" she demanded. \"Didn’t Gregory here tell you he was in a pack of trouble?\"\n\n\"Here we go,\" Audie thought to himself and stood up straight. \"Yes, Ma’am, he did,\" Audie answered as bravely as he could. \"And so am I. I faked Greg’s note. I’m here standing with my friend.\"\n\n\"Well,\" Mrs. Carmichael said again but in quite a different tone. \"I don’t know what to make of that, young man. I’ll have to think that one over. Gregory, take Audie to my bedroom and wait until your father gets home. Shut the door. Think about what you two have done. Get!\"\n\nAudie and Greg got. They sat down next to each other on the bed and said nothing for several minutes. Finally Greg stirred.\n\n\"I’ve never had a friend like you before, Audie,\" he said softly. \"I can’t imagine why you are doing this, I really can’t.\"\n\n\"To save you the ’extras’\" Audie explained. He wasn’t completely convincing.\n\n\"Well, thanks, buddy. I really mean that, but there’s got to be something more.\"\n\nAudie sighed. He would like to claim exclusive credit for saving his buddy from as much pain as he could, but Greg was clearly suspicious. Friends can see through each other at times. He decided to come clean. \"It’s Kevin,\" Audie explained. \"How can I teach him right from wrong unless I set the example?\"\n\nGreg stared at Audie and grimaced. \"You shouldn’t have to, Audie, that’s your parents’ job. You should just be a kid.\"\n\nAudie let his shoulders sag. \"Yeah, maybe,\" he groused, \"only Kevin and I don’t have any parents. We only have each other, so, for better or worse, I have to look out for him. It’s the least I can do.\"\n\nNow Greg slumped his shoulders. \"And I got you into all this,\" he whispered. \"I’m so sorry, Audie. I really am.\"\n\n\"OK,\" Audie responded full-voice. \"I accept your apology. Done deal. Say no more. When’s your dad get home?\"\n\n\"Soon,\" Greg replied. \"Real soon. Too soon.\" They waited.\n\nAlthough their senses were hyper-alert, neither of them heard Mr. Carmichael come home. The first they knew of it was when he opened the bedroom door. That startled both boys and they jumped to their feet.\n\n\"Dad!\" Greg cried.\n\n\"Yes, dad,\" the angry man repeated and slammed the door. He sat down on the bed. The boys remained standing. \"Tell me about it, Greg,\" he ordered.\n\nAudie looked over at his friend. He could see Greg visibly shaking. When Greg started speaking there was a quaver in his voice. He opted for the bare minimum. \"There was a movie being made at City Hall yesterday,\" he began. \"I wanted to watch. I’ve never seen a movie being made. The principal wouldn’t let us out so I cut class and went.\"\n\nHis dad waited for the rest. It didn’t come, so he prompted. \"And the note?\"\n\nGreg lowered his eyes and glanced at Audie. There was no use trying to cover for his stupid friend, since the idiot was confessing. Although he couldn’t understand, he accepted it as a fait accompli. He lowered his voice and stared at the floor. \"I asked Audie here to write a note and sign Mom’s name.\" He lifted his hands palms up.\n\nHis dad nodded once. \"I see,\" he said. Then he looked up at Audie. \"And you, Audie, you forged the note?\"\n\nAudie looked him in the eye. \"Yes, I did, Sir,\" he replied.\n\n\"Why?\"\n\n\"Because Greg asked me to.\"\n\nMr. Carmichael sighed. \"If he asked you to jump over a cliff would you do that, too?\" That was the standard parental cliché. The answer wasn’t.\n\n\"Yes, I would,\" Audie made the claim without a pause to consider.\n\n\"What!?\" both Greg and his dad ejaculated.\n\n\"He’s my friend,\" Audie explained. \"He stood up for me when nobody else would. He’s the only friend I have. I owe him. If he asked, I’d jump. He did. I did.\"\n\nGreg turned to Audie and dropped his jaw. \"Huh?\" he gibbered.\n\nSo did Mr. Carmichael. \"Audie, Audie,\" he intoned. \"What have we got here?\"\n\n\"We have two friends sticking by each other,\" Audie answered. \"Is that so strange?\"\n\n\"Yes, yes it is,\" Mr. Carmichael replied. \"Yes it is.\" He paused. \"So! What are we going to do about this, hummm?\"\n\n\"Are you going to spank me, Dad?\" Greg asked, his voice really shaking now.\n\n\"Don’t you think you deserve it, Greg?\" his dad asked. \"Cutting class and then getting your friend in trouble forging a note to cover for your crime? Well?\"\n\nGreg hung his head. \"Yes,\" he admitted in a whisper.\n\n\"OK, then,\" his dad said. \"Go bring me the strap.\"\n\n\"Uuummm,\" Greg uttered and started crying. He went over to the dresser and pulled open the top drawer. Reaching in he pulled out a leather spanking strap, about 2 feet long, as many inches wide with a tapered handle and a split business end. Letting the tears flow down his face untouched he handed it to his dad.\n\nMr. Carmichael took the strap and held it for both boys to see. \"Take off your jeans, Greg,\" he ordered.\n\nWith a big sob, Greg reached for his belt buckle and started to undo it. As Greg was shedding his jeans, Mr. Carmichael turned to Audie. \"And what are we going to do with you, Audie?\" he asked.\n\n\"Spank me, too, I suppose,\" Audie replied, although after seeing the strap that was going to be used, he started having second thoughts.\n\n\"Well, I don’t know, Son,\" Greg’s father said at that. \"That’s a job for your father, not me.\" Then the man shook his head as he remembered. \"Your mother, I meant,\" he corrected himself. And with that Audie became convinced Mr. Carmichael knew everything. That made the decision easy, spanking strap or no spanking strap.\n\n\"I’d rather get it from you, Sir,\" he said, \"and leave my mother out of it.\"\n\nMr. Carmichael snorted at that. \"No doubt you would, Son, no doubt. But what would she do. really. Do you think she’d spank you for what you did?\"\n\n\"Huh?\" Audie gasped. \"Of course she would!\"\n\n\"For helping a friend?\"\n\n\"I jumped over that cliff with both eyes open. I’m lucky I didn’t break every bone in my body. I mean, the school still doesn’t know I forged the note. I’d like to keep it that way. So can you just spank me too and forget about it?\"\n\n\"You’re something else, Audie,\" Mr. Carmichael said shaking his head. \"OK, take off your jeans.\"\n\nWith a sigh, Audie reached for his belt. He glanced at Greg standing there with his shoes scattered in two directions and his jeans in a pile at the foot of the bed. The boy’s baggy T-Shirt hid his underpants from view. Big tears were dripping down his face. Audie undid his belt then reached down to untie his shoes. Pulling off his sneakers, Audie threw them on top of Greg’s and stood back up. He unbuttoned his pants, unzipped them and pulled them down. Grabbing each leg at the cuff he slid them off and piled them on top of the other pair on the floor. His shirt didn’t cover his red and black boxers - the standard issue for boys’ underpants of the day. He folded his hands in front of him and looked Mr. Carmichael in the eye.\n\n\"Right,\" Mr. Carmichael said and went over to the bed. Undoing the bedspread at the top he took out a pillow and placed it in the center of the bed. \"Greg,\" he ordered, \"Come over here, Son, and lie face down on the bed with your fanny over the pillow.\" Greg started bawling out loud as he slowly walked over to the foot of the bed. He raised his right knee and climbed up on top and laid down as ordered. He reached up and out with his hands and gripped the bedspread tightly. He buried his face in the other pillow and his sobs were muffled. His dad walked over and raised the boy’s T-shirt up around his shoulder blades. Then he laid the spanking strap across Greg’s ankles and grabbed the boy’s underpants in both hands and gave a tug, sliding them down to Greg’s knees.\n\nAudie stared, his arms remained folded in front of him as he watched his friend getting prepped for his spanking. Except for his brother’s, it was the first time he had seen another boy’s bare fanny. It didn’t look all that different from Kevin’s, especially since Greg had clenched his cheeks tight just like Kevie had when Audie had given him his whipping.\n\nMr. Carmichael picked up the strap in his right hand and stood upright next to the crying boy on the bed. The strap was raised and without any warning brought down hard, striking Greg’s buttocks dead center.\n\nCRACK! The noise was surprisingly loud. Audie winced. Greg’s scream was muffled by the pillow, the embarrassed boy deliberately pushing his face into it to prevent Audie from hearing him cry. Greg had felt the outrageous sting of the first lick. He had wanted to \"take it like a man\" as the old saying went, and not embarrass himself in front of Audie, but the pain was too much to take in silence. He felt his throat involuntarily yelling, so he pressed his face into the pillow as hard as he could and let the scream escape. It felt marginally better to yell. The sting radiated down his legs. His father raised the strap again.\n\nCRACK! Audie saw Greg grasp the bedspread tighter and jerk his fanny up after the strap made its mark. There was an angry red stripe where the first lick had hit. Greg felt the pain start again from the middle of his rump radiating up his spine and down his legs. He involuntarily grabbed tighter with his hands, not really knowing that he did so. His world had compressed itself to just his hind end. His dad raised the strap yet again.\n\nCRACK! Audie heard the muffled scream this time, even through the pillow. Greg pulled back his hands, gripping the bedspread all the tighter and puling it out from where it had been tucked in at the head of the bed. Audie could see the red stripe forming from the second lick across Greg’s fanny and down his thigh. Greg felt that one like both the others put together. The unconscious part of his brain tried to bring his hands back to cover his exposed and vulnerable fanny but the conscious part of him forbade it, since it knew that action would only get his hands whipped and then the spanking would start over. The result was him pulling up the sheet. He didn’t even realize that he was crying. Mr. Carmichael kept it up.\n\nSLAP! Right across the tops of Greg’s legs. Audie knew that that one had to hurt, but there was little reaction from Greg compared to when the strap had hit him on the fanny. Audie didn’t even try to figure why, he was now concentrating on the fact that he was going to be next to feel that leather at work. He winced at the thought and for a moment wished he had kept silent, but only for a moment, until he realized that there were much worse things than a spanking, even a hard one like Greg was getting. The sting from his legs had caught Greg by surprise. He had clenched his butt in anticipation of another stroke across his fanny-crack, so the blow to his legs was all the more painful for the surprise. He tried to suck in a gasp at the sting, but got a mouthful of pillow for his effort. His visit to the movie set wasn’t worth it, he decided. Not at all. The next time the movies came to town he would get permission to go or give it a pass for sure! He barely had time to formulate that thought when...\n\nCRACK! Back to the buttocks, dead center this time. Another pillow-dampened yell from the boy. Audie saw the red stripe forming on Greg’s legs. Audie was surprised that Greg didn’t try to twist away or cover his stinging rump with his hands, but just lay there and took it, albeit with some yelling and crying and squeezing of the bedspread. Audie wondered if this was the normal routine, or a show for his (Audie’s) benefit, not that it mattered any. It wasn’t a show. Greg had forgotten all about Audie, or anything else for that matter except his poor stinging fanny.\n\nCRACK! A bit lower than the last one, and harder. A rather loud scream came from the pillow. Greg couldn’t help it. It HURT! BAD! Even Audie winced. For a brief second Audie thought maybe it wasn’t so bad not having a father after all, if when you made a mistake you got that. But only for a second. If you had a father, all you had to do to avoid something like this was to behave, and that was a trivial price to pay to avoid being a bastard. Audie said to himself that if he only had a father he’d take the lickings! Maybe. He’d find out in a few minutes how bad they really were, then maybe he’d revise his ideas. For the moment he’d still count Greg one of the lucky ones, despite his reddening rump.\n\nCRACK! SLAP! SMACK! CRACK! CRACK! Five fast and furious blows that Greg felt as one single horrible sting. He left off screaming simply because his brain couldn’t attend to anything else after that fusillade. Audie wondered when it would stop. Greg had already paid a terrible price for his movie-going, and it wasn’t over!\n\nMr. Carmichael paused for a minute after the barrage to let the sting do its work. Greg could be heard crying in the pillow. He clenched and unclenched his butt waiting for the next stroke. Audie thought of the wig-wag railroad lights that warned of a train approaching a road crossing. Finally his father raised the strap one final time and smacked Greg diagonally across all the other welts.\n\nCRAAAAAK! Greg lifted his head off the pillow and bellowed. \"OwwwiEEEE!\" he screamed. He had felt the diagonal stroke and knew that the spanking was finally over. He hadn’t bothered to count, although it felt like a full dozen. He’d only gotten that many once before, a year ago when he had hit his mother after an argument. He flopped his head back down in the pillow and sobbed.\n\n\"OK, Gregory,\" his dad told him. \"It’s over. Get up.\"\n\nGreg heard the words, but made no sense out of them, his stinging bottom interfering with anything going on above it, like ears and brain. He remained laying face down on the bed, all but smothering himself pressing his face as hard as he could in the pillow as if that would make him stop crying.\n\n\"Get up, I said,\" Mr. Carmichael repeated. Greg didn’t hear that, either, or rather didn’t comprehend it. He remained as he was, clenching his buttocks in and out. Audie began to worry that the spanking had been too much for his friend, who seemed to be ignoring his angry father, something Audie didn’t feel was too smart a thing to do. Greg looked to be out of it.\n\n\"UP!\" Mr. Carmichael bellowed and smacked the little red fanny on the bed with his hand. SLAP!\n\nThat, Greg finally comprehended. Fearing the spanking was going to start up again (as well it might - even Audie feared it would) and he simply WILLED himself to stand. Jumping off the bed, he fought for balance, then stood facing Audie and his dad. He reached behind him and started rubbing for all he was worth, while crying full bore. \"Ah-HAAH, hoo-oo, SNIFF!\" He began to shift his weight from foot to foot, giving the man and boy in front of him a look at this version of the naughty-boy dance. His underpants fell to the floor. He kicked them away.\n\n\"Did you learn your lesson, Gregory?\" his dad asked the bawling boy.\n\n\"Ye---s!\" Greg managed to say between sobs.\n\n\"Are you going to ditch school ever again?\"\n\nGreg added a wig-wagging head shake to the up-and-down motion of his dance. Audie almost laughed. \"No! NO!\" Greg exclaimed. \"Never again. It hurts, it HURTS! Boo-hoo!\"\n\n\"I’ll bet it does!\" his dad roughly answered. \"Are you going to forge notes again?\"\n\n\"No, Sir, no! It stings! It HURTS!\"\n\n\"Well, you remember that, Gregory, the next time you think of misbehaving at school. Go to your room until you finish crying. Now. Get!\"\n\nGreg glanced at Audie for a second and took advantage of the order-offer to escape. Without a word to either of the other two except for his blubbering cries, and without even thinking of his underpants on the floor where he had kicked them, Greg rushed out of the room. Audie got a good look at the red behind as Greg had to remove a hand to open the door. Poor Greg, he thought for a second, but then the door slammed shut again and it was Audie’s turn.\n\nAudie turned to face Mr. Carmichael. It was time. His heart started racing even faster than it was already going. He felt his mouth start to go dry. He began to shake slightly. Mr. Carmichael thrust the strap at him a few inches.\n\n\"OK, Audie, your turn,\" he said. \"Lay face down on the bed with your rump over the pillow like Gregory did.\"\n\nAudie felt he just had to say something. He wasn’t a bastard, despite what the dictionary said! He had misbehaved, though, and that was what bastards did. He didn’t want Mr. Carmichael to make the connection. \"I’m sorry I got Greg in trouble, Sir,\" he managed to say without letting his shakes mangle his words. \"I know I’ve got this coming. Give it to me hard.\" The harder the better, if that was what it took to erase the bastard in him. Although he was so afraid of what was coming, he wanted it! He needed it! He wasn’t a bastard. He wasn’t. He wasn’t. He kneeled on the foot of the bed and hoisted himself up like Greg had done. He paused for a second on both knees before the pillow and reached up to the waistband of his skivvies and quickly pulled them down to his knees and flopped over the lower pillow and buried his face in the upper one, just like Greg had done.\n\nHe was shocked at the cold. Greg’s tears had soaked the pillow, making it wet and there had been sufficient time since Greg had left for the air to evaporate enough of the wetness to cool down the pillow considerably. Audie could understand that, but his groin was cold, too. Greg must have sweat on the other pillow, he thought to himself as he grabbed the sheet in his fists and squeezed. He clenched his buttocks tight and waited for the first stroke, wondering just how bad it was going to hurt.\n\nMr. Carmichael paused, looking at the strange boy’s bare buttocks quivering on the bed. Had he heard right? The boy actually asked for it to be hard? Unbelievable! The poor lad must really feel bad about what he had done. Mr. Carmichael became angry at his own son for forcing Audie into this predicament, for that was how it must have been. Surely a boy who feels this bad wouldn’t have done this unless forced into it. Audie’s friendship with his son must be a strong bond. Strong indeed. Strong enough even to take the blame for something his friend had done. Mr. Carmichael knew that Audie hadn’t gotten his son in trouble, despite what Audie had claimed. Just the opposite! Mr. Carmichael then realized that Audie’s friendship must be something of value. Real value. He felt sorry for what he had to do, but misbehavior had to be punished. He raised the strap and brought it down, but not nearly as hard as he had for his own son.\n\nCrack! Audie felt the sting and was shocked. That wasn’t bad. Not at all. Uncle Jack’s belt had hurt worse! \"OW!\" he said into the pillow. He didn’t scream it - didn’t need to. Mr. Carmichael raised the strap again and slapped Audie’s butt a second time.\n\nCrack! \"Ow!\" Audie said in the pillow. He was the only one who heard it. This couldn’t be what Greg had felt. Greg wasn’t THAT much of a sissy! Even Kevie could take this without crying! Mr. Carmichael raised the strap a third time.\n\nCrack! Audie didn’t say anything at that. He was getting mad. He had asked to get it hard, he needed it to wash away the bastard in him, and Mr. Carmichael was deliberately doing just the opposite! He felt insulted, betrayed.\n\nSlap! The fourth stroke almost went unnoticed by the boy on the bed. It was conclusive, now. Mr. Carmichael was taking it easy on him. So easy that this wasn’t even a spanking at all. Surely no boy would think twice about getting it like this. This was no way to correct bad behavior. It had to hurt to do that. The boy had to dread getting it again. This didn’t hurt, it only tingled. In fact, it almost felt good!\n\nCrack! It tingled again. Audie felt the warmth grow in his fanny. A funny sensation slowly made it’s way up Audie’s body. It felt good. Audie almost started crying at that. Not the physical pain, there wasn’t any of that, the psychic pain. Mr. Carmichael didn’t feel Audie was worth caring about. This \"spanking\" was for show! Given only because Greg must be punished by thinking he got Audie spanked, too. Mr. Carmichael must really think Audie was an unredeemable bastard. Damn, he thought to himself. Damn! Damn! He pounded his fists on the bed out of frustration.\n\nMr. Carmichael saw Audie fist the sheets. Mistaking the gesture for one of pain, he winced to himself. This poor brave boy didn’t deserve this. It was Greg’s fault, not Audie’s. Let there be justice! He raised the strap one final time and gave Audie his sixth of the best. Only it wasn’t of the best!\n\nSlap. Audie didn’t even feel it, he was so mad-sad at the degrading condensation.\n\n\"OK, Son, get up,\" Mr. Carmichael said quietly. There was no need to shout. \"It’s over.\"\n\n\"WHAT?!\" Audie bellowed in the pillow. Not only did Mr. Carmichael not even make it hurt, he only gave Audie half of the number of strokes he had given his own son. Audie felt cheated, shorted, insulted beyond imagination. He got up off the bed and scowled at Greg’s father.\n\n\"I’m not your son,\" he said petulantly, the first time he had made that reply to that so-often quoted phrase. \"Apparently. You didn’t even care enough about me to punish me for what I did to your real son!\" He pouted.\n\n\"Huh, what?\" Mr. Carmichael said, taken aback at such an unexpected response.\n\n\"That spanking!\" Audie went on, \"it didn’t hurt. Not a bit. Why didn’t you give it to me hard like I asked?\"\n\n\"I don’t understand, Audie,\" Mr. Carmichael replied, confused beyond all reason. \"I’ve never heard of a boy that WANTED a spanking to hurt!\" Certainly his own son never did!\n\n\"But it’s GOT to hurt!\" Audie retorted, \"or else it’s not punishment. I deserved to be punished for what I did. I don’t want to get away with being a bastard. I don’t want to be a bastard!\"\n\nSuddenly Mr. Carmichael saw a side of Audie he never knew existed. Seeing the world through Audie’s eyes for the first time he realized what a terrible place it must be for the poor boy. He knew, of course, by now, or strongly suspected what Audie’s situation was; father unknown, mother a tramp at best, a little brother to care for and stuck among cruel kids who must certainly taunt Audie with it every single day. No wonder he believes some of it himself. The man kneeled down and, on Audie’s eye level got really serious.\n\n\"You are not a bastard, Audie,\" he said gravely, \"at least not in that sense. The fact that you have no father is certainly not your fault, son, not your fault at all! You screwed up, that’s all. Everybody does it from time to time. You will again... and again and again until you die. What you have to do is learn from your mistakes and not make them again. We adults help you kids by making the consequences of your mistakes serious to you, but shield you from the REALLY serious consequences, like jail or worse. A spanking is the substitute. It’s meant to assure that you know there are consequences but not lasting ones. I’m sure that you did what you did because my Gregory made you. That’s why I gave Greg such a hard whipping. You didn’t deserve one like that. I think you learned your lesson none-the-less. Am I right?\"\n\nAudie digested all that slowly. After a few seconds, almost so long that Mr. Carmichael was afraid the boy would say no, Audie answered. \"You are. I won’t forge notes for Greg again, even if he asks me to!\"\n\nMr. Carmichael coughed. \"Nor anybody else, either,\" he admonished the boy.\n\nAudie hung his head slightly. \"Nobody else would ask. Greg is my only friend.\"\n\nAnd with that, Mr. Carmichael understood almost everything. \"Life hasn’t been easy for you, has it Audie?\" he quietly asked.\n\nAudie held up his head. Mr. Carmichael was still kneeling at Audie’s eye level. Audie looked him square in the eye as he answered. \"It’s no more than I can handle, but, no, it hasn’t been easy.\" Mr. Carmichael nodded. It was as he expected. Audie, thinking about what was being said, relieved to think that his friend’s father didn’t consider him a bastard (and he didn’t press the issue for fear that his assumptions might just, after all, be wrong), allowed himself to remember his brother. Alarmed, he hurriedly asked, \"What time is it, Mr. Carmichael?\"\n\nThe man looked at his watch. \"It’s almost 7:00, Audie.\"\n\nAudie snapped to. \"Ohmygosh! I gotta get home. I have to take my little brother to get some dinner before he starves to death. Can I go now, Mr. Carmichael?\"\n\n\"Go? How?\" asked the man. \"Surely you don’t intend to walk. At night, too. It’s too far. I’ll drive you. Get dressed and come on.\"\n\n(to be continued)", "writing_bbcode_parsed": ""You can’t do that, Audie," Greg went on. "My folks are mad as hell at me. I’m going to get it good! You don’t want to be a part of that! Believe me! Dad might take the strap to you, too!"

Audie surprised both the other boys with his response to that. "I hope he does, Greg," he said. "I deserve a whipping for forging your note. I knew it was wrong when I did it. That’s just the way the world works."

Kevin dropped his fork and stared at his big brother as if seeing him for the first time. "Are you crazy?" he asked, letting his jaw gape open afterward.

"No, I’m not Kevie," Audie answered with conviction. "When you do bad things, bad things happen to you. Or should. You’ve got to learn to accept responsibility for your actions. Ducking out and letting a friend take your punishment is the act of a bastard. We’re not like that, Kevie. Remember that. Greg, I’m coming home with you and that’s that. Friends stick together. I’m sticking."

"But, but, but..." Greg sputtered.

"No buts, Greg. Done deal. Kevin, I’ll be home late this evening. I’ll take you to Mc Donald’s for dinner."

Not even that promise placated Kevin, who just didn’t understand anybody’s asking for it like that. He gave out with his own string of buts.

"No buts out of you either," Audie said in his parental command voice. That ended that.

After he had finished eating, Audie sent Kevin home with a reminder that he would be alone for a good while until Audie could make it back from whatever awaited him at Greg’s house and that he (Kevin) was to not let anyone in the house nor snack after 4:00.

"Yes, Sir," Kevin said after Audie finally finished. Audie couldn’t tell if the "Sir" was sass or not, so let it slide.

After school Audie met Greg at the bus stop. Greg was clearly scared almost witless at what was going to happen when he got home. Surprisingly, Audie was not. He wasn’t even worried. Although he certainly wasn’t looking forward to this evening’s program, he just accepted it like he did an onerous homework assignment. Best to get it done and over with. The two rode home in silence.

"Mom, it’s me. I’m home." Greg spoke up upon opening his front door, but without the enthusiasm he usually put into it. He knew there’d be no milk and cookies waiting for him and his buddy this time.

"Well," his mother grumbled as she came out of the kitchen to confront her son, then seeing Audie, raised her eyebrows even further. "What are you doing here, Audie?" she demanded. "Didn’t Gregory here tell you he was in a pack of trouble?"

"Here we go," Audie thought to himself and stood up straight. "Yes, Ma’am, he did," Audie answered as bravely as he could. "And so am I. I faked Greg’s note. I’m here standing with my friend."

"Well," Mrs. Carmichael said again but in quite a different tone. "I don’t know what to make of that, young man. I’ll have to think that one over. Gregory, take Audie to my bedroom and wait until your father gets home. Shut the door. Think about what you two have done. Get!"

Audie and Greg got. They sat down next to each other on the bed and said nothing for several minutes. Finally Greg stirred.

"I’ve never had a friend like you before, Audie," he said softly. "I can’t imagine why you are doing this, I really can’t."

"To save you the ’extras’" Audie explained. He wasn’t completely convincing.

"Well, thanks, buddy. I really mean that, but there’s got to be something more."

Audie sighed. He would like to claim exclusive credit for saving his buddy from as much pain as he could, but Greg was clearly suspicious. Friends can see through each other at times. He decided to come clean. "It’s Kevin," Audie explained. "How can I teach him right from wrong unless I set the example?"

Greg stared at Audie and grimaced. "You shouldn’t have to, Audie, that’s your parents’ job. You should just be a kid."

Audie let his shoulders sag. "Yeah, maybe," he groused, "only Kevin and I don’t have any parents. We only have each other, so, for better or worse, I have to look out for him. It’s the least I can do."

Now Greg slumped his shoulders. "And I got you into all this," he whispered. "I’m so sorry, Audie. I really am."

"OK," Audie responded full-voice. "I accept your apology. Done deal. Say no more. When’s your dad get home?"

"Soon," Greg replied. "Real soon. Too soon." They waited.

Although their senses were hyper-alert, neither of them heard Mr. Carmichael come home. The first they knew of it was when he opened the bedroom door. That startled both boys and they jumped to their feet.

"Dad!" Greg cried.

"Yes, dad," the angry man repeated and slammed the door. He sat down on the bed. The boys remained standing. "Tell me about it, Greg," he ordered.

Audie looked over at his friend. He could see Greg visibly shaking. When Greg started speaking there was a quaver in his voice. He opted for the bare minimum. "There was a movie being made at City Hall yesterday," he began. "I wanted to watch. I’ve never seen a movie being made. The principal wouldn’t let us out so I cut class and went."

His dad waited for the rest. It didn’t come, so he prompted. "And the note?"

Greg lowered his eyes and glanced at Audie. There was no use trying to cover for his stupid friend, since the idiot was confessing. Although he couldn’t understand, he accepted it as a fait accompli. He lowered his voice and stared at the floor. "I asked Audie here to write a note and sign Mom’s name." He lifted his hands palms up.

His dad nodded once. "I see," he said. Then he looked up at Audie. "And you, Audie, you forged the note?"

Audie looked him in the eye. "Yes, I did, Sir," he replied.

"Why?"

"Because Greg asked me to."

Mr. Carmichael sighed. "If he asked you to jump over a cliff would you do that, too?" That was the standard parental cliché. The answer wasn’t.

"Yes, I would," Audie made the claim without a pause to consider.

"What!?" both Greg and his dad ejaculated.

"He’s my friend," Audie explained. "He stood up for me when nobody else would. He’s the only friend I have. I owe him. If he asked, I’d jump. He did. I did."

Greg turned to Audie and dropped his jaw. "Huh?" he gibbered.

So did Mr. Carmichael. "Audie, Audie," he intoned. "What have we got here?"

"We have two friends sticking by each other," Audie answered. "Is that so strange?"

"Yes, yes it is," Mr. Carmichael replied. "Yes it is." He paused. "So! What are we going to do about this, hummm?"

"Are you going to spank me, Dad?" Greg asked, his voice really shaking now.

"Don’t you think you deserve it, Greg?" his dad asked. "Cutting class and then getting your friend in trouble forging a note to cover for your crime? Well?"

Greg hung his head. "Yes," he admitted in a whisper.

"OK, then," his dad said. "Go bring me the strap."

"Uuummm," Greg uttered and started crying. He went over to the dresser and pulled open the top drawer. Reaching in he pulled out a leather spanking strap, about 2 feet long, as many inches wide with a tapered handle and a split business end. Letting the tears flow down his face untouched he handed it to his dad.

Mr. Carmichael took the strap and held it for both boys to see. "Take off your jeans, Greg," he ordered.

With a big sob, Greg reached for his belt buckle and started to undo it. As Greg was shedding his jeans, Mr. Carmichael turned to Audie. "And what are we going to do with you, Audie?" he asked.

"Spank me, too, I suppose," Audie replied, although after seeing the strap that was going to be used, he started having second thoughts.

"Well, I don’t know, Son," Greg’s father said at that. "That’s a job for your father, not me." Then the man shook his head as he remembered. "Your mother, I meant," he corrected himself. And with that Audie became convinced Mr. Carmichael knew everything. That made the decision easy, spanking strap or no spanking strap.

"I’d rather get it from you, Sir," he said, "and leave my mother out of it."

Mr. Carmichael snorted at that. "No doubt you would, Son, no doubt. But what would she do. really. Do you think she’d spank you for what you did?"

"Huh?" Audie gasped. "Of course she would!"

"For helping a friend?"

"I jumped over that cliff with both eyes open. I’m lucky I didn’t break every bone in my body. I mean, the school still doesn’t know I forged the note. I’d like to keep it that way. So can you just spank me too and forget about it?"

"You’re something else, Audie," Mr. Carmichael said shaking his head. "OK, take off your jeans."

With a sigh, Audie reached for his belt. He glanced at Greg standing there with his shoes scattered in two directions and his jeans in a pile at the foot of the bed. The boy’s baggy T-Shirt hid his underpants from view. Big tears were dripping down his face. Audie undid his belt then reached down to untie his shoes. Pulling off his sneakers, Audie threw them on top of Greg’s and stood back up. He unbuttoned his pants, unzipped them and pulled them down. Grabbing each leg at the cuff he slid them off and piled them on top of the other pair on the floor. His shirt didn’t cover his red and black boxers - the standard issue for boys’ underpants of the day. He folded his hands in front of him and looked Mr. Carmichael in the eye.

"Right," Mr. Carmichael said and went over to the bed. Undoing the bedspread at the top he took out a pillow and placed it in the center of the bed. "Greg," he ordered, "Come over here, Son, and lie face down on the bed with your fanny over the pillow." Greg started bawling out loud as he slowly walked over to the foot of the bed. He raised his right knee and climbed up on top and laid down as ordered. He reached up and out with his hands and gripped the bedspread tightly. He buried his face in the other pillow and his sobs were muffled. His dad walked over and raised the boy’s T-shirt up around his shoulder blades. Then he laid the spanking strap across Greg’s ankles and grabbed the boy’s underpants in both hands and gave a tug, sliding them down to Greg’s knees.

Audie stared, his arms remained folded in front of him as he watched his friend getting prepped for his spanking. Except for his brother’s, it was the first time he had seen another boy’s bare fanny. It didn’t look all that different from Kevin’s, especially since Greg had clenched his cheeks tight just like Kevie had when Audie had given him his whipping.

Mr. Carmichael picked up the strap in his right hand and stood upright next to the crying boy on the bed. The strap was raised and without any warning brought down hard, striking Greg’s buttocks dead center.

CRACK! The noise was surprisingly loud. Audie winced. Greg’s scream was muffled by the pillow, the embarrassed boy deliberately pushing his face into it to prevent Audie from hearing him cry. Greg had felt the outrageous sting of the first lick. He had wanted to "take it like a man" as the old saying went, and not embarrass himself in front of Audie, but the pain was too much to take in silence. He felt his throat involuntarily yelling, so he pressed his face into the pillow as hard as he could and let the scream escape. It felt marginally better to yell. The sting radiated down his legs. His father raised the strap again.

CRACK! Audie saw Greg grasp the bedspread tighter and jerk his fanny up after the strap made its mark. There was an angry red stripe where the first lick had hit. Greg felt the pain start again from the middle of his rump radiating up his spine and down his legs. He involuntarily grabbed tighter with his hands, not really knowing that he did so. His world had compressed itself to just his hind end. His dad raised the strap yet again.

CRACK! Audie heard the muffled scream this time, even through the pillow. Greg pulled back his hands, gripping the bedspread all the tighter and puling it out from where it had been tucked in at the head of the bed. Audie could see the red stripe forming from the second lick across Greg’s fanny and down his thigh. Greg felt that one like both the others put together. The unconscious part of his brain tried to bring his hands back to cover his exposed and vulnerable fanny but the conscious part of him forbade it, since it knew that action would only get his hands whipped and then the spanking would start over. The result was him pulling up the sheet. He didn’t even realize that he was crying. Mr. Carmichael kept it up.

SLAP! Right across the tops of Greg’s legs. Audie knew that that one had to hurt, but there was little reaction from Greg compared to when the strap had hit him on the fanny. Audie didn’t even try to figure why, he was now concentrating on the fact that he was going to be next to feel that leather at work. He winced at the thought and for a moment wished he had kept silent, but only for a moment, until he realized that there were much worse things than a spanking, even a hard one like Greg was getting. The sting from his legs had caught Greg by surprise. He had clenched his butt in anticipation of another stroke across his fanny-crack, so the blow to his legs was all the more painful for the surprise. He tried to suck in a gasp at the sting, but got a mouthful of pillow for his effort. His visit to the movie set wasn’t worth it, he decided. Not at all. The next time the movies came to town he would get permission to go or give it a pass for sure! He barely had time to formulate that thought when...

CRACK! Back to the buttocks, dead center this time. Another pillow-dampened yell from the boy. Audie saw the red stripe forming on Greg’s legs. Audie was surprised that Greg didn’t try to twist away or cover his stinging rump with his hands, but just lay there and took it, albeit with some yelling and crying and squeezing of the bedspread. Audie wondered if this was the normal routine, or a show for his (Audie’s) benefit, not that it mattered any. It wasn’t a show. Greg had forgotten all about Audie, or anything else for that matter except his poor stinging fanny.

CRACK! A bit lower than the last one, and harder. A rather loud scream came from the pillow. Greg couldn’t help it. It HURT! BAD! Even Audie winced. For a brief second Audie thought maybe it wasn’t so bad not having a father after all, if when you made a mistake you got that. But only for a second. If you had a father, all you had to do to avoid something like this was to behave, and that was a trivial price to pay to avoid being a bastard. Audie said to himself that if he only had a father he’d take the lickings! Maybe. He’d find out in a few minutes how bad they really were, then maybe he’d revise his ideas. For the moment he’d still count Greg one of the lucky ones, despite his reddening rump.

CRACK! SLAP! SMACK! CRACK! CRACK! Five fast and furious blows that Greg felt as one single horrible sting. He left off screaming simply because his brain couldn’t attend to anything else after that fusillade. Audie wondered when it would stop. Greg had already paid a terrible price for his movie-going, and it wasn’t over!

Mr. Carmichael paused for a minute after the barrage to let the sting do its work. Greg could be heard crying in the pillow. He clenched and unclenched his butt waiting for the next stroke. Audie thought of the wig-wag railroad lights that warned of a train approaching a road crossing. Finally his father raised the strap one final time and smacked Greg diagonally across all the other welts.

CRAAAAAK! Greg lifted his head off the pillow and bellowed. "OwwwiEEEE!" he screamed. He had felt the diagonal stroke and knew that the spanking was finally over. He hadn’t bothered to count, although it felt like a full dozen. He’d only gotten that many once before, a year ago when he had hit his mother after an argument. He flopped his head back down in the pillow and sobbed.

"OK, Gregory," his dad told him. "It’s over. Get up."

Greg heard the words, but made no sense out of them, his stinging bottom interfering with anything going on above it, like ears and brain. He remained laying face down on the bed, all but smothering himself pressing his face as hard as he could in the pillow as if that would make him stop crying.

"Get up, I said," Mr. Carmichael repeated. Greg didn’t hear that, either, or rather didn’t comprehend it. He remained as he was, clenching his buttocks in and out. Audie began to worry that the spanking had been too much for his friend, who seemed to be ignoring his angry father, something Audie didn’t feel was too smart a thing to do. Greg looked to be out of it.

"UP!" Mr. Carmichael bellowed and smacked the little red fanny on the bed with his hand. SLAP!

That, Greg finally comprehended. Fearing the spanking was going to start up again (as well it might - even Audie feared it would) and he simply WILLED himself to stand. Jumping off the bed, he fought for balance, then stood facing Audie and his dad. He reached behind him and started rubbing for all he was worth, while crying full bore. "Ah-HAAH, hoo-oo, SNIFF!" He began to shift his weight from foot to foot, giving the man and boy in front of him a look at this version of the naughty-boy dance. His underpants fell to the floor. He kicked them away.

"Did you learn your lesson, Gregory?" his dad asked the bawling boy.

"Ye---s!" Greg managed to say between sobs.

"Are you going to ditch school ever again?"

Greg added a wig-wagging head shake to the up-and-down motion of his dance. Audie almost laughed. "No! NO!" Greg exclaimed. "Never again. It hurts, it HURTS! Boo-hoo!"

"I’ll bet it does!" his dad roughly answered. "Are you going to forge notes again?"

"No, Sir, no! It stings! It HURTS!"

"Well, you remember that, Gregory, the next time you think of misbehaving at school. Go to your room until you finish crying. Now. Get!"

Greg glanced at Audie for a second and took advantage of the order-offer to escape. Without a word to either of the other two except for his blubbering cries, and without even thinking of his underpants on the floor where he had kicked them, Greg rushed out of the room. Audie got a good look at the red behind as Greg had to remove a hand to open the door. Poor Greg, he thought for a second, but then the door slammed shut again and it was Audie’s turn.

Audie turned to face Mr. Carmichael. It was time. His heart started racing even faster than it was already going. He felt his mouth start to go dry. He began to shake slightly. Mr. Carmichael thrust the strap at him a few inches.

"OK, Audie, your turn," he said. "Lay face down on the bed with your rump over the pillow like Gregory did."

Audie felt he just had to say something. He wasn’t a bastard, despite what the dictionary said! He had misbehaved, though, and that was what bastards did. He didn’t want Mr. Carmichael to make the connection. "I’m sorry I got Greg in trouble, Sir," he managed to say without letting his shakes mangle his words. "I know I’ve got this coming. Give it to me hard." The harder the better, if that was what it took to erase the bastard in him. Although he was so afraid of what was coming, he wanted it! He needed it! He wasn’t a bastard. He wasn’t. He wasn’t. He kneeled on the foot of the bed and hoisted himself up like Greg had done. He paused for a second on both knees before the pillow and reached up to the waistband of his skivvies and quickly pulled them down to his knees and flopped over the lower pillow and buried his face in the upper one, just like Greg had done.

He was shocked at the cold. Greg’s tears had soaked the pillow, making it wet and there had been sufficient time since Greg had left for the air to evaporate enough of the wetness to cool down the pillow considerably. Audie could understand that, but his groin was cold, too. Greg must have sweat on the other pillow, he thought to himself as he grabbed the sheet in his fists and squeezed. He clenched his buttocks tight and waited for the first stroke, wondering just how bad it was going to hurt.

Mr. Carmichael paused, looking at the strange boy’s bare buttocks quivering on the bed. Had he heard right? The boy actually asked for it to be hard? Unbelievable! The poor lad must really feel bad about what he had done. Mr. Carmichael became angry at his own son for forcing Audie into this predicament, for that was how it must have been. Surely a boy who feels this bad wouldn’t have done this unless forced into it. Audie’s friendship with his son must be a strong bond. Strong indeed. Strong enough even to take the blame for something his friend had done. Mr. Carmichael knew that Audie hadn’t gotten his son in trouble, despite what Audie had claimed. Just the opposite! Mr. Carmichael then realized that Audie’s friendship must be something of value. Real value. He felt sorry for what he had to do, but misbehavior had to be punished. He raised the strap and brought it down, but not nearly as hard as he had for his own son.

Crack! Audie felt the sting and was shocked. That wasn’t bad. Not at all. Uncle Jack’s belt had hurt worse! "OW!" he said into the pillow. He didn’t scream it - didn’t need to. Mr. Carmichael raised the strap again and slapped Audie’s butt a second time.

Crack! "Ow!" Audie said in the pillow. He was the only one who heard it. This couldn’t be what Greg had felt. Greg wasn’t THAT much of a sissy! Even Kevie could take this without crying! Mr. Carmichael raised the strap a third time.

Crack! Audie didn’t say anything at that. He was getting mad. He had asked to get it hard, he needed it to wash away the bastard in him, and Mr. Carmichael was deliberately doing just the opposite! He felt insulted, betrayed.

Slap! The fourth stroke almost went unnoticed by the boy on the bed. It was conclusive, now. Mr. Carmichael was taking it easy on him. So easy that this wasn’t even a spanking at all. Surely no boy would think twice about getting it like this. This was no way to correct bad behavior. It had to hurt to do that. The boy had to dread getting it again. This didn’t hurt, it only tingled. In fact, it almost felt good!

Crack! It tingled again. Audie felt the warmth grow in his fanny. A funny sensation slowly made it’s way up Audie’s body. It felt good. Audie almost started crying at that. Not the physical pain, there wasn’t any of that, the psychic pain. Mr. Carmichael didn’t feel Audie was worth caring about. This "spanking" was for show! Given only because Greg must be punished by thinking he got Audie spanked, too. Mr. Carmichael must really think Audie was an unredeemable bastard. Damn, he thought to himself. Damn! Damn! He pounded his fists on the bed out of frustration.

Mr. Carmichael saw Audie fist the sheets. Mistaking the gesture for one of pain, he winced to himself. This poor brave boy didn’t deserve this. It was Greg’s fault, not Audie’s. Let there be justice! He raised the strap one final time and gave Audie his sixth of the best. Only it wasn’t of the best!

Slap. Audie didn’t even feel it, he was so mad-sad at the degrading condensation.

"OK, Son, get up," Mr. Carmichael said quietly. There was no need to shout. "It’s over."

"WHAT?!" Audie bellowed in the pillow. Not only did Mr. Carmichael not even make it hurt, he only gave Audie half of the number of strokes he had given his own son. Audie felt cheated, shorted, insulted beyond imagination. He got up off the bed and scowled at Greg’s father.

"I’m not your son," he said petulantly, the first time he had made that reply to that so-often quoted phrase. "Apparently. You didn’t even care enough about me to punish me for what I did to your real son!" He pouted.

"Huh, what?" Mr. Carmichael said, taken aback at such an unexpected response.

"That spanking!" Audie went on, "it didn’t hurt. Not a bit. Why didn’t you give it to me hard like I asked?"

"I don’t understand, Audie," Mr. Carmichael replied, confused beyond all reason. "I’ve never heard of a boy that WANTED a spanking to hurt!" Certainly his own son never did!

"But it’s GOT to hurt!" Audie retorted, "or else it’s not punishment. I deserved to be punished for what I did. I don’t want to get away with being a bastard. I don’t want to be a bastard!"

Suddenly Mr. Carmichael saw a side of Audie he never knew existed. Seeing the world through Audie’s eyes for the first time he realized what a terrible place it must be for the poor boy. He knew, of course, by now, or strongly suspected what Audie’s situation was; father unknown, mother a tramp at best, a little brother to care for and stuck among cruel kids who must certainly taunt Audie with it every single day. No wonder he believes some of it himself. The man kneeled down and, on Audie’s eye level got really serious.

"You are not a bastard, Audie," he said gravely, "at least not in that sense. The fact that you have no father is certainly not your fault, son, not your fault at all! You screwed up, that’s all. Everybody does it from time to time. You will again... and again and again until you die. What you have to do is learn from your mistakes and not make them again. We adults help you kids by making the consequences of your mistakes serious to you, but shield you from the REALLY serious consequences, like jail or worse. A spanking is the substitute. It’s meant to assure that you know there are consequences but not lasting ones. I’m sure that you did what you did because my Gregory made you. That’s why I gave Greg such a hard whipping. You didn’t deserve one like that. I think you learned your lesson none-the-less. Am I right?"

Audie digested all that slowly. After a few seconds, almost so long that Mr. Carmichael was afraid the boy would say no, Audie answered. "You are. I won’t forge notes for Greg again, even if he asks me to!"

Mr. Carmichael coughed. "Nor anybody else, either," he admonished the boy.

Audie hung his head slightly. "Nobody else would ask. Greg is my only friend."

And with that, Mr. Carmichael understood almost everything. "Life hasn’t been easy for you, has it Audie?" he quietly asked.

Audie held up his head. Mr. Carmichael was still kneeling at Audie’s eye level. Audie looked him square in the eye as he answered. "It’s no more than I can handle, but, no, it hasn’t been easy." Mr. Carmichael nodded. It was as he expected. Audie, thinking about what was being said, relieved to think that his friend’s father didn’t consider him a bastard (and he didn’t press the issue for fear that his assumptions might just, after all, be wrong), allowed himself to remember his brother. Alarmed, he hurriedly asked, "What time is it, Mr. Carmichael?"

The man looked at his watch. "It’s almost 7:00, Audie."

Audie snapped to. "Ohmygosh! I gotta get home. I have to take my little brother to get some dinner before he starves to death. Can I go now, Mr. Carmichael?"

"Go? How?" asked the man. "Surely you don’t intend to walk. At night, too. It’s too far. I’ll drive you. Get dressed and come on."

(to be continued)", "pools_count": 1, "title": "The Tale of Two Little Bastards - Chapter 6", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "text/plain", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "2", "rating_name": "Adult", "ratings": [ { "content_tag_id": "3", "name": "Violence", "description": "Mild violence", "rating_id": "1" }, { "content_tag_id": "4", "name": "Sexual Themes", "description": "Erotic imagery, sexual activity or arousal", "rating_id": "2" } ], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "f", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "2", "views": "177" }