Subject: Report Card Day Part 1 (M+F+m/f)
From: Lurking Dragon <lurkdrag@nym.alias.net>
Date: 10 Dec 1998 22:21:41 -0800
Note: I will be 'off net' and out of town for Christmas, so I'm posting my Christmas stories a week or so early (but in order) so you won't have to wait until Jan. to see them...LD
Background: This story is set in the 28th century. Rejuvenation is common, and is used not only to extend life but as a punishment for criminal behavior. Melody is a fifty year old woman who was convicted of embezzlement last October. She was sentenced to three cycles from 6 to 12 years old. Like all convicted criminals, she is spending her first cycle(s) in the custody of 'spanko' parents, who are authorized, even encouraged to spank her as often as possible, AS WELL AS often as she deserves...
Note: This story contains the NC spanking of a (physically) six and seven year old girl. If you are under 18 or offended by such material DON'T READ IT AND GO AWAY!!!
Report Card Day Part 1, Dec. 17, 2748
It was Report Card Day. Thursday, since the report cards had to be signed and returned Friday Morning. Melody (and the other Penitatas) had a lot of trouble concentrating all day. Melody remembered what had happened at Mid Term. It had been back in October, just a couple of days after the fight in the schoolyard...
* * *
Melody had been very nervous all day. Finally, just before the end of the day at 2:30, the report card chips were handed out. Sealed in their large envelopes, of course. And even if a child managed to get it out undetected, he or she had no hope of getting at the encrypted data inside.
So Mel had no choice but to take the chip home and give it to her mother. Who set it aside while she had Melody go do her homework.
Josh got home early, so at four PM Melody was sitting down at the supper table with her folks. And the dreaded envelope was being opened.
When the chip was in the reader, Mary and Josh studied it intently. They were not smiling.
"Pleeeze! Mommy, Daddy how'd I doooo???"
"Not as well as I might have hoped, young lady!!" responded her mother. "An 'A' in reading, as expected. And in Ethical and Moral Behavior, fortunately for you. But you got an 'B' in Printing!!! That's what you get for forgetting homework, young lady!! But you ALSO got a B-plus in DEPORTMENT!!"
Melody winced. THAT grade would smart!! Deportment meant behavior! She'd been pretty good, but a schoolyard brawl in first grade was usually worth a full grade markdown, so actually they'd been pretty lenient.
"H-How did I do in Japanese, Mommy?? We had a mid-term yesterday, an' I, I'm not sure I did very well..."
"Apparantly not, Melody. You got a D-plus."
Melody gasped in shock. A D!! A D meant...meant...
"You know what that means, Melody. A 'D' means the switch, young lady, a pair of good switchings on your bare bottom!!"
"Now, Mary, It WAS in Japanese, which is a terrbly hard course. And it WAS a 'D'-PLUS. So, why don't you give her a good switching, and I'll just give her a good, sound paddling while her welts are nice and hot."
Melody was already beginning to sob quiety as her Mommy said "Hmm, No, dear, we promised her two switchings, and that's what we must give her. But why don't you switch to a paddle after a half-dozen licks or so, since it IS such a hard course??"
And so it was decided. Melody was sent upstairs to change out of her school clothes and into her Punishment Dress. And her Level III Pain-ties. Then report back downstairs to the living room, where her Daddy was already opening up the bay window drapes to let in the afternoon sun, and to let anybody who wanted to wander by see Melody's spankings.
Mary buttoned up the back of Melody's punishment dress, exposing the seat of her white panties, covered with pictures of hot, red bare bottoms. Melody winced again as another 'biter' stung her bottom. Then did more than wince as her Mommy popped the seat of her panties a half-dozen times before putting her face into the corner.
And Melody spent a solid five minutes staring at that corner before being called over to her Mommy.
Mary had brought in a straight-backed chair from the kitchen, and was motioning Melody over to her right side. A few seconds later Melody was over her Mommy's knees. Her Pain-ties were quickly tugged down, and Melody began a long, painful reacquaintence with her Mommy's hand.
<Spank-Smack-Spank-Smack-Spank-Smack-Spank-Smack-Spank-Smack-Spank> went Mommy's hard hand, all over little Melody's six-year-old bare bottom. Melody yelped and sobbed and squealed and wiggled as her Mommy sternly said "This spanking is for geting a 'B' in your writing class Melody. I know it's the hardest work, physically, and I know you've had some problems, but that just means you need to work harder at it!!!" <Spank-Smack-Spank-Smack-Spank-Smack-Spank-Smack!!!>
Melody cried and kicked her little ankles up and down, but mostly lay quietly and accepted her punishment. And before too long, Mary helped her little daughter up off her knees...
And sent her over to her Daddy, her Pain-ties awkwardly binding her knees, making her shuffle-stumble over to where he sat on the couch.
Melody had been warned. A 'B' would earn her a good, bare-bottomed hand-spanking from her Mother and her Father. So Melody was soon crying even harder as Josh's hand spanked all over her poor bottom, while the hover-cam carefully recorded everything.
When Melody was finally allowed off her Daddy's lap, she happened to look out the bay windows at the street. Melody hadn't been too concerned about her modesty; after all, it was report card day, and most of the neighborhood Penitatas could expect SOME parental displeasure with their performance.
But one local little boy didn't have to worry. He got perfect grades, and wasn't a Penitatas anyway.
And he'd chosen Melody's spankings to watch. Lots of kids were getting spanked in the neighborhood, but Johnny Devine was looking in her window.
But now Melody's Daddy was escorting her back to her corner, to cry out her first spanking.
While her Mommy was going to the door and inviting Johnny in for milk and cookies, "Since Melody won't be eating them."
As Johnny came in, he remarked to Melody "Well, Mel, that was a very sound pair of spankings I just saw. What were they for, on your report card??"
"<sniffle..sob> I-I gotta 'B' in printin' Johnny, and got two bare-bottom spankin's for it, too!!! <Snif...Waaaaaa>" Melody cried.
"Well, you deserved them. I warned you you weren't practicing enough, Melody. Whenever your hand started to hurt, you'd just lay off. You'll never build the muscles OR reflexes that way; no pain, no gain, as the Atomic's used to say, eh??"
Johnny's gentle scolding was far more piercing that either Josh or Mary's, even if their's were accompanied by hard spanks and his weren't. Melody felt like she'd let Johnny down.
After a quick snack ("Just one, madam, I wouldn't want to spoil my supper, eh??") Johnny came back into the living room with Mary. he was ensconced in a plush armchair, with an excellent view of the proceedings.
This time Melody was ordered over to her Daddy on the couch first. Somewhat to her surprise, she was allowed to pull up her panties before leaving the corner. She realized why as a biter stung her well-spanked bottom as she walked over to her Daddy for her next dose of bottom-medicine.
"Tell Johnny what this spanking is for, Melody." instructed her father as his hard hand began to spank Melody's panty seat.
Correction, her Pain-tie seat. Which caused a minor explosion of 'bites' all over her fanny. But she sobbingly complied: "I gotta 'B+' in Deportment, Johnny, so I gotta get spanked for it."
"So did I, actually. Mother was quite upset, though it was hardly unexpected. I imagine it was for the same incident. Of course, as I am not Penitatas, I won't get spanked for it. But as it was deportment, I'll be doing a few lines this weekend as penance."
Boy, Melody was SO sorry for Johnny's punishment -- as her Daddy's hard hand continued to spank biters out of her bright Pain-ties into her bottom. But finally the burning sting of the biter's ended, as Melody's daddy paused just long enough to pull her panties well down, then continued her sound hand-spanking -- this time on her little bare bottom!! Melody's crying took on an anguished note. Of course, Johnny had seen her bare little bottom spanked before, at school. And he'd even seen her spanked at home before. But it was still terribly embarassing to have a little boy, her own age (actually a little younger) watch her as she cried and squirmed over her Daddy's knees, watch as his hard hand spanked her bare bottom over and over, watch as the burning pain reduced her to a bawling baby.
Finally it was over. Well, almost. "Johnny, would you like to give Melody a few good spanks??" asked Josh. "No sir, not for a grade I shared. Wouldn't be cricket. With your permission, I'll participate in her next punishment. Unless this ends it???"
"No, but first she needs the second half of THIS punishment. Over her Mommy's knees." And Josh proceeded to stand up, Melody in his arms, and carry the crying child over to the stright-backed chair. Where he deposited her over her Mommy's lap.
When Mommy's first spank bit into Melody's bare bottom, she howled out "NOOOOO!!!"
Not because it stung. Although it did; terribly!
But because it came from her Mommy's little 'helper paddle'.
"MOMMY!! Waaaaah! You said HANDSPANKIN'S for 'B's!! An' it was a 'B' PLUS!!!! Don' use the paddle, pleeeze!!"
"Melody, we told you you'd get a good handspanking from both your father and I for ONE 'B'. This is your second 'B' we are punishing you for, and <SPANK!!> it is for deportment. I think I'm being generous to simply give you a good spanking with this little paddle young lady!! By rights, I should be using my HAIRBRUSH BACK on your naughty bare bottom. But I've decided a good, sound paddling is just what your little fanny needs right now!!"
And that's what Melody's bare bottom got. A good sound paddling. Swat after stinging burning swat. Until her Pain-ties went flying across the room. Until Melody was reduced to the bawling little child she was. When the paddling was finally over, Melody's bare bottom was a solid bright crimson red, and she was crying her eyes out. Ordinarily, the good sound spanking would have been followed by a half-hour or so sitting in the corner.
But with Johnny there, the Johnson's decided on something different.
Melody was indeed sentenced to a half-hour of sitting down. But she was to spend it sitting down on Johnny Devine's six-year-old lap. Melody cried even louder as her hot, bare bottom was deposited gently on Johnny's slender, bony knees. The boy pulled little Mel's head up against his breast, and comforted the child as best he could. They looked so incredibly cute together.
A half-hour later, Melody expected dinner. "No, Melody, you're being sent to bed early without supper for those grades, so we're going to hold off on supper until after your punishment." Uh-oh!!
"What about Johnny?? Johnny, aren't you hungry??"
"Well, no actually. We eat a bit later than you Yanks; Mummy will have supper ready at eight, and I'll be sent off to bed shortly thereafter. Mr. Johnson called her and told her where I was, so she shan't worry herself."
"No, Melody, I'm afraid you can't weasel out of what you have coming. Now, come with me upstairs so I can give you your bath." With a sigh, Melody got off Johnny's lap. Her punishment dress insured him an excellent view of her hot pink bare bottom as she trotted over to where her Daddy stood at the foot of the stairs. As he took her firmly by the arm, he asked Johnny "Well, son, are you coming? Or wouldn't you like to watch me give Melody her bath??"
Johnny bounced to his feet with a wide grin, as Melody squealed that is wasn't FAIR. But a couple of swats to her sore seat got Melody moving up the stairs.
And her bath proved quite interesting. Especially as her Daddy was careful to wash everything. And even more so as the bath was briefly interrupted twice, as Josh 'settled Mel down' by turning her over his knees as he sat on the edge of the tub, then spanked her wet bare bottom a dozen times -- hard!!
Melody was further humiliated by her Daddy's careful drying of her little body, and then his dressing her.
Melody was put into a little white babydoll-nightie that just barely reached to the TOP of her hips. The nightie was designed to be worn with little matching panties.
Melody was not dressed in the panties.
There would be no trouble baring her bottom for her final spankings. Once she was bent over a lap, the bottom would be bare.
When the three reached the bottom of the stairs, Melody's wrist held tightly in her Daddy's hand, they were faced with Melody's Mommy standing next to the corner stool, which had been moved into the center of the room.
One of the throw pillows was on the top of the stool.
Next to the stool sat Mary, on the straight-backed chair. In her hand was the peeled hickory switch Melody had gotten for Christmas months ago, still limber and whippy from being kept in the Preservator, still capable of thoroughly stinging a little girl's bare sit-down with hot, red welts.
"Melody, a switch!! What did you DO??" asked Johnny.
"Got a 'D+' in Japanese. Guess takin' that language wasn't such a good idea, huh??"
"Melody!! Well, I've heard that certain ancient languages ARE quite difficult, but surely they can't be harder than Drakonian!!"
"In its own way, it's harder -- at least the writing is!! Besides, I've gotta learn to speak Japanese as well as understand it. Between that and its oddball writing, it's been really really hard!!"
"Hmmm. Perhaps some of the memorization techniques I learned at the Academy would be of use. I'll come over and teach you some of them this weekend!!"
Well, Mary and Josh had (properly) kept quiet through this discussion (especially since not everybody got the opportunity to learn the well-known Klausolovitch techniques taught at Star Fleet Academy). But the time for Melody's switching had arrived, and she was ordered over her Mommy's lap.
Yes, over her lap. Which worried Melody, too. But she thought she understood when her Mommy's hand began to spank a sharp tatoo on her bare little bottom.
Mary unecessarily pushed the hem of the frilly little nightie's skirt well up onto her back, holding her still as her hand spanked her poor bare bottom briskly, quickly refreshing the burning sting almost lost during her hot bath. Then there was a brief pause, and Melody was ordered to put both her wrists behind her back. Mary shifted Melody forward slightly, slipping her right leg out from under the child, and using it to firmly pin Melody's little calves.
Arched now over only one leg, her arms and legs pinioned, Melody wailed as she realized how totally helpless she was. Josh handed Mary the peeled switch.
And then Melody remembered her Mommy's switching technique. She was howling even before the first hot lick swept across her bare bottom.
<SWAP!-SMACK!-SNAP!-CRACK!-THWAP!-SLAP!-WHAP!-SMACK!-SNAP!-THWHAP!>
Melody howled and bucked as ten fast, hard licks were switched down onto the center of her sore bare bottom!! The naughty six-year-old sobbed and cried as the whippy switch lightly patted the red welts forming all over her poor ass. Let it be over, pleease let it...
<SNAP!-CRACK!-THWAP!-SLAPP!-THAP!-SLAP!-SPANK!-SMAK!-WHACK!-THAPP!>
Melody screamed as another ten licks burned her bottom in less than five seconds!! Mary concentrated these across the broadest part of Melody's bare bottom, leaving the burning center of her bottom a hod red mass of bright red stripes. Melody was screeching like a banshee at the burning, searing pain in her rump.
"Johnny??" said Mary, suddenly.
"Ah, Wha? Yes Ma'am?" replied the startled boy.
"Please take up my little 'helper paddle' there, and give Melody a good little spanking, say two dozen spanks, right over those nice red welts I've planted on her bottom."
"Waaah! Waaah! NOOOOO!" howled Melody.
"Of course, Ma'am. Whatever Melody needs to help her with her studies." replied the grinning little boy, as he picked up the 'helper paddle' from the coffee table and stepped over to Melody.
<WHAP!WHAP!WHAP!WHAP!WHAP!WHAP!> went the little paddle onto Melody's red-switched bare bottom. Melody howled as the light little paddle re-ignited and enhanced the burning fire in her welted rear. "PLEEZE Johnny, Not so hard!! Owww! Noooo!"
"Now, Mel, you know you need this. Although I must say, this little paddle <SPANK!> is certainly effective <SMACK!> on a well-switched <SPLAT!> bare bottom!!" <WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP!> Johnny continued spanking his naughty little schoolmate, and Melody kept on wiggling and crying delightfully for a minute or so. Then Mary had Johnny stop spanking, and set Melody onto her feet.
"Now Melody, you just bend right over the top of your corner stool. That's right, here, let me help you. Yes, I want your naughty little bottom to be turned up right over the top. Get a good grip on the legs of the stool, dear, you don't want to try to cover up. That's a good girl. That's right, let the cushion push your naughty little bottom up nice and high, all ready for the rest of your switching. That's right, Melody, you still have at least a dozen good licks coming!!"
Mary gently tapped Melody with the hickory switch. Tapped the very base of her bottom, just above her thighs. So she'd know just where the rest of her switching would land. Most of her earlier licks had been right across her bare bottom, but these would land much lower. Down where they'd make sitting a painful proposition for some days to come. "With any luck, Melody, you'll still be feeling these on your birthday next week. I bet that'll make your birthday spankings nice and painful!!"
Melody howled out "NOOOO!" even as Mary snapped the whippy branch of peeled birch across the very base of Melody's bottom.
Melody howled. Fourteen good, stinging licks of the switch later, Melody wasn't howling. Just crying. Bawling her eyes out. Gripping the legs of the stool until her hands started to spasm. Accepting each stinging lick with just a bit of a two-legged kick.
At which point Mary finally let off her switching. Melody stood up, her babydoll nightie barely reaching to her hips. Both her hands flew back to rub the sting out of her bottom -- only to leap AWAY from her bottom even faster. The best she could so was sort of pat and fan her poor fanny with light pats as she bounced around the living room.
Finally Josh caught his naughty daughter on a bounce, and carried her bawling little form over to the couch. He sat down and settled Melody in his broad lap, and for several minutes he comforted and cuddled his little girl. Johnny came over and helped, stroking Mel's fine blond hair and trying to comfort his friend, who sobbed as loudly as a six-year-old with her thumb planted firmly in her little mouth could.
But Melody had one more little session to go before her bad grades were all paid for. A final switching, this time from her Daddy.
When she'd finally settled down a bit, Josh said:
"Melody, I was going to give you a half-dozen licks with your little nursery cane, then a paddling. But your Mommy did such a good job of striping your little bottom, I think I'd better just use that little apple-wood switch from last Christmas. Would you mind fetching it, Johnny?? It's in the Preservator in the pantry."
Johnny fetched the little switch, while Josh got his little girl turned over and settled down over her Daddy's knees. Melody was still far too spanked to try to struggle or beg off. And the worst part was, she knew she deserved it!! She'd known the penalty if she didn't do well in Japanese. She'd gone into the class with her eyes open, and then hadn't worked half as hard as she secretly knew she could. It was just SO much easier to let it slide, just to do what was required. Not to go to that extra effort that was the real difference between 'getting by' and 'doing well'.
And as her Daddy lifted his little switch slowly over his baby girl's bare bottom, Melody put her head down and promised herself that by God she WOULD start doing the kind of work she KNEW she could!!
And the hot pain of that switch striking her bare bottom burned that promise indelibly into her mind.
The switching hurt. It hurt a LOT. Those half-dozen sharp licks, over her well-striped bare nates, hurt unbelieveably.
And when her Daddy took up Melody's Very Own Spanking Paddle, and began to bring it's painted face down onto her burning bottom, it hurt even worse.
Melody was soon put to bed -- without her supper and HOURS early -- to cry and bawl herself into an exhausted sleep.
"Well, Johnny, thanks for all your help. We'll let Melody feel the results of her poor performance through tomorrow after school, but then we'll use some nano-lotion. I think she'll have learned her lesson by then!!"
"I'm certain she will, sir!! And I meant what I said; there are some techniques that Plebes are taught at the Academy that might help Melody learn Japanese. Since most education doesn't involve very much memorization these days, the techniques aren't needed by most people, and they're a bit difficult to understand at first. But I think Melody can manage them, and with Japanese she certainly can use them!!"
And Johnny went home for his proper English dinner -- boiled beef and potatoes.
* * *
That had been the result of her LAST report card.
And now Melody was waiting nervously in front of the dining room table to learn her final grades for the fall term. And the solemn look on her parent's faces was not promising.
Then, with a sudden wink, both her Mommy and Daddy broke out in broad smiles. "Well, young lady, this is certainly a big improvement over your LAST report card." Proclaimed Daddy.
"It certainly is!! Melody, you almost got straight 'A's!!
Uhoh!! Almost?? "Ah, Mommy, you said almost. (sigh) And I bet I know what. Japanese, right? Mommy, I really really TRIED to bring my grade up, I really DID!!"
"And you really succeeded, Melody!! You finished the term with a 'B'-PLUS!! That's quite an achievement. In fact, I'll bet you did extra credit assignments to get it up so much!!"
"A-All I could!! And Mrs. Hashima was really helpful, too, but I'd let myself get so far behind..."
"We understand, dear. But, well, a 'B+' just isn't an 'A'. So I'm afraid you will be getting a spanking. But just a couple of handspankings, dear!! That's not very much for a little Penitatas!"
Which was true, of course. But as any child knows, ANY spanking is way to much spanking...
* * *
Unsurprisingly, Johnny Devine showed up around four, just as Melody was going over her Mommy's lap on the living room couch. And as Melody's daddy let her in, he told the boy "You might do better elsewhere tonight, son. Melody got all 'A's except for a 'B+' in Japanese, so she won't be getting much of a spanking tonight."
"Really?? Mel, that's GREAT!! I don't mind at all, sir. It's enough to know how much her last lesson helped her..."
As these comments were being made, Mary was beginning to spank the tartan seat of Melody's dress. Mel 'yowped' at the first swat, but still managed to say:
"Ow! Yeah, Johnny!! I brought Yow! my Japanese grade 'WAY Ow! up!! And it's Ouch! all because of YOU!! Ow! Those mnemonic techniques Ow! you taught me were YOW! GREAT!! Thanks LOADS!!! Huh?? Mommy, what's wrong??"
"Nothing, dear. Your spanking is over, that's all."
Over. Her spanking was OVER?? SIX SWATS OVER HER SKIRT???
"A-Are you sure, Mommy?? I mean, ah, well..."
"Melody, bringing a 'D+' up to a 'B+' is quite an achievement." replied her Daddy. "We promised you a handspanking from each of us for every 'B' you brought home, so come over here for your next dose. But, well, we're really very proud of you."
Melody's next dose consisted of six firm swats from her Daddy's palm. This time with her dress raised, over her white panties.
Johnny watched Melody's spanking with a broad grin. She deserved the break; she'd really put a lot into her studying the past few weeks. Actually, Johnny suspected a lot of her problems in the beginning of the term had been due to her illness, but she hadn't missed enough days for that to be counted.
He was glad he'd instructed her in the Klausolovitch techniques. Well, sort of. He'd quietly included a few of the hypnomnemonic techniques he'd learned in First Contact School. Those weren't exactly classified, but they weren't for general dissemination, either. But Melody wouldn't know the difference. 99.99% of the population wouldn't know the difference.
Melody probably didn't even remember learning them. She'd been an excellent hypnotic subject, and he'd been able to feed her the techniques in just a couple of hours, after teaching her the basic Klausolovitch system.
Once Melody's spankings were over Melody and Johnny were allowed to go out to see who was getting spanked around the neighborhood (a traditional report-card-day activity for those rejuves NOT getting paddled for poor grades -- traditionally the Voluntaras, Medicalos, and 'Soft-time' Penitatas. But perfect or near-perfect grades were enough to permit hard-time Penitatas to go, too.
They ran into Walker Zucker. He'd managed straight 'A's with little trouble. That was a combination of being very smart, (dummies don't crash planetary defense grids), very experienced (it WAS his eighth cycle), and a very easy set of courses.
Originally, Walker and Johnny had seemed destined to be arch-enemies. After all, Walker had been the one responsible for crashing the world defnet fifty years ago. He'd been a member of a radical pacifist movement, who believed firmly that all weapon systems were evil, even if purely defensive, and that Earth should 'be an example' by totally disarming and abandoning the military.
Surprisingly, instead of ostracizing Walker, Johnny had actually gone out of his way to befriend the boy. They'd spent a lot of recesses and after-lunch free periods talking intently in the school yard. Walker was surprised that, in many ways, Johnny was an ardent pacifist, too; like most military officers, he knew far too much about armed conflict to be in favor of it.
But he also knew that a disarmed world, or Confederation, would lead to MORE interstellar conflict, since not all races held life as sacred as Earth -- even their own. And he knew of lots of specific examples few people out of the Fleet had ever heard about.
So effective had Johnny's quiet, persuasive arguments been that Walker was seriously considering entering the Academy -- once he'd finished his sentence, of course. Which would be a long while -- even if this were his last cycle as a 'hard timer', and it probably would be, he had at least six or seven 6 year cycles of 'soft-time' to look forward to before parole.
(Repeat offenders have a hard time progressing -- Walker was still hard time even after completing the first third, almost the first half (8/19) of his sentence. As a repeat offender, it was very possible Corrections would keep him hard time for yet another cycle, a full half of his sentence. And he might well have to go a full 16 or 17 cycles before being allowed parole).
He had news of several of their classmates. Mari Styles would not be out; her grades had not been good, especially Chandlerian physics. Despite Johnny's help she'd gotten a 'D'. And while she wouldn't be getting a spanking for it (Voluntaras), she'd been dismayed to find herself grounded for the whole weekend -- with a bunch of extra problems to work on.
Beth, he reported, was getting several barebottomed handspankings for a solid 'B' average. It might be worth dropping by. Judy had managed straight 'A's, but had been kept in by her parents; they felt her to be too young to be gallivanting around -- by her TRUE age. John Evans was getting a thorough going-over on the next block. Spammers never HAD been too bright. But the best chance to see a really GOOD licking was two blocks down; a third grader had been caught cheating on her exams, and the eight-year-old Penitatas had been flunked out of THREE classes.....
The giggling gaggle of kids trooped down the sidewalk in that general direction.....
The End