This is loosely based on real life in the UK where drivers had to face the school children who they put in danger through careless driving. Not the discipline though, which has been added.
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Jack Harwood was dreading walking in to the school. He looked again at the form headed, ‘Attendance at School Court.’ He was to attend at four o’clock which was just five minute’s time. He knew he mustn’t be late.
Jack was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and slacks. He would usually have worn jeans but felt he needed to look more formal for the court hearing.
The form was sent under the new rules that made the judge and jury for motoring offences within three hundred yards of school gates the responsibility of the school. Not just the school though but more specifically the school children.
Although school children of all ages were affected by the drivers, the judge and jury were only ever made up of seniors so they were sixteen and seventeen-year-olds.
There had been several incidents of near misses and indeed actual accidents where drivers had been too careless when driving close to schools. Whilst judges and magistrates berated the drivers when sentencing them, it was felt the drivers did not fully understand the distress caused to the school children. So the rules were changed to force the drivers to face the school children. The drivers didn’t have a choice even if they would have preferred an adult court.
Equally the trials were carried out during the late afternoon when there were no lessons for the top two classes.
Jack knew that if found guilty, which he undoubtedly would be, then he would be disciplined in front of the whole of the two classes. The punishment would also be carried out by a pupil of one of those classes, so a pupil who was just sixteen or seventeen-years-old. That would be particularly embarrassing for him.
Jack knew that it was his own fault though. Three of his friends had already been disciplined at this very school. So he knew what would happen if he was careless when driving and yet he still was. He looked at a particularly attractive Mum on the other side of the road for just a split second but even that was too long to miss the road warden who had her ‘Stop’ sign up in front of him. She had six school children ready to cross and he only just stopped with inches to spare. He would have hit the road warden and not the school children but he could not deny he was driving carelessly.
So Jack walked in to the school and was met by one of the wardens. It was an all-girls school and he reckoned she was a schoolgirl of sixteen-years of age. She was dressed in the warden’s outfit. A khaki coloured short-sleeved shirt buttoned down the front with a khaki coloured skirt that was quite short given it was summertime. She had khaki coloured socks that finished just below her knees.
The girl held out her hand to look at the form.
Jack knew he had to address the girl respectfully. It was a rule intended to get the driver in the right frame of mind to treat the pupils as though they were officials in a proper court. So he had to address them as Miss or Sir. In this case he handed the form to the schoolgirl and when she directed him to a classroom down the hall he said, “Thank you. Miss,” as he took the form back from her.
Jack could feel himself turning submissive as he walked along the corridor and was regretting his lack of care when driving more and more.
There was already one adult, a man in his fifties, sitting outside the classroom Jack had been directed to As he got there one lady was coming out of the classroom escorted by a girl warden dressed just as the girl who had met Jack at the door.
The warden said to the lady, “The hall is this way. You will be disciplined there.”
“Yes, Miss,” said a very unhappy lady who Jack gauged was in her thirties.
The waiting adult was called in to the classroom and Jack sat outside the room. He could hear the proceedings. At least he could hear a teenage girl’s voice asking questions in a very stern sounding voice and the man answering rather less confidently.
Jack had been told each case lasted about ten minutes. The ten minutes were nearly up when the lady who had been sent for discipline came walking back down the corridor. She looked distraught. Jack could see her eyes were red and her eye liner had run down her face. She was rubbing her bottom. There was little doubt what had happened to her which increased Jack’s concern. She was still rubbing her bottom as she disappeared down the corridor towards the exit.
A minute later the door to the classroom opened and the man came out escorted by another teenage girl in the warden’s uniform. The two of them walked towards the hall.
Jack was called in to the classroom and directed to stand behind one of the desks. He noted that everyone else was sitting. There was one girl sitting behind the teacher’s desk and she was clearly the judge. To the side of the desk sat another girl who looked like she was going to take notes. Three desks away from Jack stood a third girl who he supposed would be questioning him. There were six girls sitting along one wall and they were the jury, Jack supposed. Finally two adults, who Jack assumed were teachers, sat in the far corner monitoring proceedings to make sure the adults treated the schoolgirls with respect.
The judge said in a stern tone of voice, “You will address all court principles as Miss. No name is required. If you fail to do so any punishment will be increased. Is that understood, Mr Harwood?”
Jack knew about the rule and responded, “Yes, Miss.”
“Miss Fellows will question you. Please keep your answers to the point,” the judge ordered.
“Yes, Miss,” Jack repeated albeit feeling strange addressing a teenager with such respect. He just wanted to get it over with and reckoned he would find the whole thing tiresome and useless anyway. Well, except for the punishment he would undoubtedly be given.
Jack’s attitude changed soon enough though. He was expecting a few questions, then to be found guilty and sent for punishment. In the event he was made to feel really bad as he was shown photographs of school children knocked down near schools around the country. It wasn’t long before he was feeling dreadfully bad about his lack of care and knew he would never be like that again.
The judge could sense from the answers he gave Jack’s remorse and when she was happy that he fully understood what he had done wrong she asked, “How do you plead, Mr Harwood?”
Jack was always going to admit he was guilty but now felt much worse than he had expected. “I am guilty Miss and will accept whatever punishment you think correct. I will definitely take heed of all the things said today.”
The judge looked happy at the statement and gave a half smile but tried to retain her stern look as best as possible. “I accept your plea. The tariff will be six strokes of the cane in the hall. It will be on your bare bottom and given by one of the warden’s.”
“Yes, Miss, thank you, Miss,” Jack said respectfully. He didn’t want to be caned but knew he deserved to be punished to reinforce his guilty plea.
Jack was escorted from the classroom by another girl in warden’s uniform. He walked passed two adults sitting outside. A man and a woman. Both looked up at Jack and the man stood up as he was told to go in to the classroom come court.
The warden walked with Jack pointing out the hall. She took him through a door that came out just by the raised stage. To Jack’s horror he saw the hall was almost full of schoolgirls in their school uniforms. White short-sleeved shirts with a tie, although most girls had them at half mast, with dark blue skirts. Like in the court come classroom two adults, again presumably teachers, sat at the back of the hall to monitor the proceedings.
Most of the girls were laughing or at least giggling as they watched what was happening on stage. A woman was bent over a caning table. She was facing the schoolgirls. One warden was behind the woman with a cane in her hand. Behind them both was a large screen with a direct and close-up shot of the woman’s bottom. It had five raised red wheals and as Jack looked the cane landed and drew the sixth wheal.
The woman cried out as the watching schoolgirls shouted out, ‘Six,’ loudly.
A few moments later the cane wielding schoolgirl warden ordered, “Get up, Mrs Norton. Your punishment is complete. You can get dressed again.”
Mrs Norton, who looked in her forties, eased herself up but was crying and as she stood started to rub her bottom.
Jack saw the smirks from the warden and on the faces of most of the schoolgirls watching as Mrs Norton picked up her knickers and gingerly stepped back in to them before rolling her dress down again. She was still crying as she turned to the warden who had caned her and said between sobs, “Thank you for caning me, Miss. I will drive much more carefully in future.”
The warden smiled as Mrs Norton went down the steps and passed close to Jack. She was shaking her head as the tears rolled down her face and she still rubbed her bottom.
Jack looked at Mrs Norton as she left the hall.