From: SFPo8@aol.com Subject: The Secret Life of Young Hal 1. The Secret Life of Young Hal - kind of RL, kind of imaginary As a child, I had daydreams; not all the time, and not easily recalled today. But I know I had them, and I know what they were so often about, from as far back as I can recall until the present. This short story (with appreciation to James Thurber's "Walter Mitty") is an attempt to recapture the life of a young spankophile. I suspect it will touch a chord with other readers. The Secret Life of Young Hal The car pool had three fifth graders, two girls and a boy, bouncing up and down in the back seat behind him as Hal sat next to his mother on the morning drive to Brookside School. Probably because it was nearing vacation time, all the children were more energized than ususal, especially Janie, who was accompanying her seat-bouncing exercise with the ditty, "Danny forgot his homework, Danny forgot his homework . . . " "Janie," Hal's mother tossed over her shoulder, "that's enough of that. I don't want to hear anymore. Please sit down and be quiet so we can drive to school in peace." The broken center line on the road ahead seemed to rush towards Hal, dash - dash - dash - dash, and Hal's eyes glazed over as the the car bounced over a bump in the street . . . *** Janie's skirt bounced up over her back, revealing a pair of white cotton panties. She was struggling and twisting across Hal's mothers lap, but to no avail, as the first smack landed right across her lightly clothed, plump little bottom. "Oww!" Janie yelled, "Not so hard! I didn't do anything!" "Oh, you didn't?" Hal's mother responded, delivering a flurry of spanks back and forth across Janie's behind. "You didn't keep shouting and bouncing around when I told you not to? Well, I'll give you some reason to shout now, young lady, and you better lie there and take this spanking without fighting me or those panties are coming down right this moment . . ." *** " . . . Get out of the car right this moment, Hal, and stop your daydreaming," his mother said. "You've been sitting there in a daze ever since we got to the school." 'Yes, Ma'am," said Hal, quickly scurrying up the sidewalk to his homeroom. Hal never really got in trouble, but he did so often seem, well, out of touch with what was going on around him. Still, he arrived at room 5D before the bell rang and was in his seat, ready to go, when Miss Deavers began the morning lesson. It was almost five minutes before Billy Bates arrived; he was often late, and today almost ten minutes had passed, Hal noticed, as he watched the classroom clock going tick - tick - tick - tick and heard Miss Deavers tell Billy to take his seat . . . *** "Right on your bare seat, Billy," Miss Deavers was saying, picking up the yardstick. "You've been late one time too many, and this time you're going to have to pay for it with a bare-bottom spanking right in front of the class. Now come up here and get those pants down, and be quick about it. Billy slumped towards the front of the room, turned so that his back was to the class, and slid his trousers down, then his jockey shorts. Hal held his breath as Billy bent across the teachers' desk, his small, pink buttocks presented for all to see as Miss Deavers stepped to Billy's side and raised the yardstick high over her shoulder and brought it down . . *** "Take this down, class," Mrs. Deavers was saying. "The assignment for tomorrow is to finish Chapter 5: 'The Puritan Settlements.' There will be a quiz on Friday. Nancy, what can you tell us about the Puritans?" "Well, uh, they lived a long time ago, and , uh, in New England, and, uh, you know, they were very religious and all, and worshipped God and didn't believe in holdays or stuff. They raised their children to be obedient, and . . .and . . ." Hal watched Nancy as she swayed from one foot to another, back and forth, back and forth, deep in thought . . . ***"And so the elders in our village have decided that Hal and Nancy must be made examples of," the dark-coated minister was saying before the congregation. "The devil is ever ready to lead young people astray, and these children were found shamelessly unclothed, touching their nether parts, which God has forbidden to be touched by such as they. Thus, it is our decison that they shall both be soundly whipped here and now before the congregation, upon the bared buttocks, with a leather strap. Hal and Nancy, we order you to step forward and disrobe, placing yourselves across the front railing so that the entire congregation, but most especially the other young people here, may obseve your punishment and see how those who fail to observe the laws of God will suffer. For the strapping you will now receive is but a tiny, infinitesimal example of those hellfires which await all sinners, and I beg you not to harden your hearts but to accept this chastisment reverently and patiently, as we all must accept our fate in God's good time . . ." *** "It's lunchtime, Hal," Mrs. Deavers was saying. "My, your mind was certainly somewhere else, wan't it?" Hal picked up his lunchbox and strolled into the schoolyard, finding a seat besides his buddy, Brent. Brent was taller and more mature than Hal, a rather daring boy whose escapades, if true, went far beyond anything Hal would even consider. He was already regaling other boys with a tale of sneaking cigarettes and smoking them in his back yard over the weekend, inviting others to join him in this sinful exploit on the Saturday to come. Hal listened and chewed his sandwich slowly, chew after chew, chew . . . *** "All right you two," Brent's father was saying as he loomed over them, "come out of those bushes right now! I can smell the smoke from here, and there's going to be a good more bit of smoke in just a minute. Your backsides are going to be smoking when I'm through with you. Hal, I am especially shocked at finding you smoking; I always thought you were a good boy. Well, I guess every boy gets in trouble now and then. Now, you stand there and wait while I show you what's in store. Brent: get those trousers off and get that bare butt right over my knee this minute. And don't try to cover up; this is going to hurt, and you'll just have to take it. You, too, Hal; while you watch Brent get his bottom warmed, you can think about how you will feel in about five minutes when you're where he is now . . " *** "Where are you now, Hal?" asked Mrs. Deavers. "Off in space again? Lunchtime ended five minutes ago, and we have been waiting for you. It's not like you to keep the class waiting." Hal took his seat and watched Mrs. Deavers clean the blackboard, the eraser going swish, swish, swish . . . ***"A good swishing, I'm afraid, is what you need, Hal and that's what you are going to get. Go out in the yard and cut some branches from the tree, and then get back in here. I'll want you bent over, holding your ankles , for a good dozen at least. Then maybe you won't keep the class waiting. Maybe a sore, stinging bottom will teach you to pay attention. Maybe . . ."*** "Maybe we should all do some thought problems in teams today. Everybody find a partner, and work together to figure out this problem: If there are more people in the world than there are hairs on anyone's head, how can we show that there must be some people who have exactly the same number of hairs on their heads? You have ten minutes to work on this problem . . . everybody understand? Understand the problem ? Do you all understand . . ." *** "I'll make you two understand that cheating in school is something which will not be tolerated," the principal was saying. "Now, which one of you wants to go first? You'll get five smacks with the paddle, and it will be on your bare bottoms. Debbie . . . you want to go first?" Hal's eyes bulged and he felt a writhing sensation at his crotch as Debbie saucily stripped down her panties and bent over the edge of the principal's desk. The first pop of the paddle created a bright red spot on her left cheek, but the second one, right across the crack, caused her to jump and reveal the secret slit between her thighs which caused Hal to take a deep breath and stare even harder. Oh, God, when his pants came down in a minute she would see . . . it would be right here for her to notice. . . sticking up, hard . . ." *** "Well, maybe that problem was too hard," Mrs Deavers explained. You can work on it as homework tonight. It is almost dismissal time anyway. Hal, would you please pay attention? At dinner that night, Hal discussed the math problem with his father and mother, and they tried to make it clear to him how the logic of it worked, but it still all seemed rather obscure, and who cared how many hairs one had on one's head anyway? "It's a dumb problem," Hal said. "I don't care." "Really, Hal," his mother answered in a slightly shocked tone. "That's not like you at all. You've always been such a conscientious student. And a good boy, a very good boy; I know you really want to do well. Now, let's brush up on the situation one more time: everybody has only so many hairs on their head, and there are so many people, but there are more people than hair, so the hair . . ." ***" The hairbrush, I am afraid, is what you need," Hal's mother was saying, "and the hairbrush is what your are going to get. I simply will no longer tolerate your behavior, and if you can't learn your lessons at one end I will teach them to you at another. On the bottom, Hal; on the bare bottom; let me slip those pants down, and . . .oh, you nasty boy, how dare you . . over my knee this instant! Yes, the hairbrush will teach you a thing or two (smack) and it won't (smack) be something you soon forget (SMACK) because before this spanking is finished (SMACK!) your little bottom (SMACK!) is going to be good and sore! (SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!) And you know what? (SMACK!) I think you're going to be getting (SMACK!) another good sound spanking every night this week (SMACK!) until you shape up (SMACK!) and stop daydreaming at school!" *** "Daydreaming again, Hal?" his mother said gently. "Ah, you really are such a sweet boy. We'll worry about the math some other time. Look father, look at that smile on Hal's face. What do you think he daydreams about when he gets that way?" And Hal, in his own world, smiled happily as he thought about his bottom turning to fire, night after night, as he lay naked and contented across his mother's lap and the hairbrush descended. "Hal" - who had to wait more than 40 years to realize the dream