Small town girls: life in the 1950s (for RussianBunny)

[Renton]

Becky could sympathize with Olive's feelings right now, honestly. She figured her friend still got spanked, which was also something Becky dealt with. A lot of people their age in this town still got spanked, honestly, perhaps even most. But it was still a bit embarrassing.

"I know, sweetie," Becky said quietly. "Don't be afraid to tell your dad that you were just coming to my defense." She stopped. Would Jordan tell Olive not to hang around Becky anymore? That would be terrible. Becky was not prone to fights, and well, she really really liked Olive. She didn't want their friendship forcibly over before it began.

"I shouldn't have slapped Becca Clearwater, but there's something to be said for reacting to a grave insult as opposed to instigating a fight," she added. The bell rang. Becky sighed. Their break was over too quickly. "I just want this day to end," she said, rubbing her temples. She stood up and put her hands on Olive's shoulders. "Honey, whatever happens, how about we meet in front of school tomorrow like we were supposed to today, and just sort of start over. I don't think my mama will let me make phonecalls tonight, and possibly the rest of the month, so this'll probably be our farewell until tomorrow." She pulled Olive into a hug. "Thank you for fighting for me," she said, gratefully. Even if the fight had been a bad idea with all sorts of negative consequences, she was still incredibly touched that Olive had jumped to her defense.

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

Olive nodded a little at her friend's words, but she was nervous. Becky was her friend - her only friend, if she thought about it, other than Tammy and Lizzy. And if her father didn't want her being friends with Becky anymore because of the fight, then Olive would be right back where she started. Perhaps, even farther behind; if she stopped being friends with Becky, other students might interpret that as gang-like behavior and be afraid of her. And that was the last thing Olive wanted.

Very glad that Becky wanted to meet her again, Olive happily hugged her back - tightly, like she wasn't sure if she'd ever see Becky again (since, truly, it was all up in the air at this moment) - and she said, "You're my friend. I'll always fight for you."

Unfortunately, not much else could be said, since they had to put their garbage and trays away, then make it to class before the bell rang to avoid going back to the principal's office. The rest of the day pass by far too quickly for Olive's liking, and once school was over - and she could see Mrs. Simon's car nearby, the woman obviously waiting for her daughter to come outside - Olive gave her a small wave before she made the slow trudge back to her house.

When she got home, she used her key to open the door and shut it behind her. "Daddy?" she called. "Are you home?" Part of her hoped that he was, and part of her hoped that he wasn't.

[Renton]

Jordan had been out of the house all day running errands, and even if the school had called him about the fight he'd have missed it. He had just gotten home from the grocers, having heard chatter about a fight at the high school that day, but the parties involved weren't known. He shook his head at the time, chuckling about the silly things teenagers do, and he headed home, arriving shortly before Olive did.

He was in the kitchen, putting groceries away when he heard her enter the house.

"I'm in here, honey," he said, as he put some fruit out in a bowl on the counter. He smiled at Olive, but the smile quickly faded as she looked to be quite stressed about something. "Are you all right, Olive?" he asked, approaching her.

~~~~

Becky got through the school day, which seemed to take forever, at least until final bell began to approach. Her mother would be picking her up, and she was not exactly sure how she'd break the news about what happened. She almost hoped Jennifer knew already; it would spare her one task. She looked at the note and decided to take it out of the bag and show it to her mother immediately, one way or the other. She knew she was in for quite a spanking, and she wasn't going to risk getting it worse by even accidentally hiding the letter.

The final bell rang and she headed outside, and saw Jennifer waiting there in the car. She walked up to the car and got inside. "Mama, you need to see this," she said, stoically, handing Jennifer the letter. The letter was short and to the point:

-----
This morning, Rebecca Simon was involved in a physical altercation on school grounds. She received a paddling as punishment. She accepts her responsibility for her actions, and any similar incidents in the future will result in her immediate suspension, in addition to a paddling.

Signed,

Bertrand Silver, Principal
Rebecca Simon
-----
Becky figured he must sign a bunch of these in advance, and then lets the secretary type out the letter. Her curiosity faded, though, as she handed the letter to her mother, and braced herself for the reaction.

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

Olive felt her stomach go into her shoes when she heard her father's voice, and she could tell by how quickly his smile dropped that she looked as anxious as she felt. Shaking her head quietly, she took the note out of her backpack and handed it to him, biting her lip as she saw his eyes scan over the words:

This morning, Olive Driver was involved with a physical altercation on school grounds. She received a paddling as punishment. She accept her responsibility for her actions; any similar incidents shall result in a paddling and a suspension from school.

Signed,

Bertrand Silver, Principal

At the bottom, there was a space, asking for Pastor Driver to sign, proving that he had read the note.

"Daddy, I'm so sorry," Olive said quietly when she thought that he finished.

~~~~~~~~~

Jennifer smiled when she saw her daughter come out of the school and head towards the car. "Hi, sweetie," she said, as Becky got into the car and shut the door. "How was school today?"

When her daughter handed her the letter, Jennifer quirked an eyebrow. Usually when this happened, it either meant a form to go on some sort of a trip (the last one had been to a museum an hour and a half away), or it meant Becky had gotten into trouble. Jennifer hoped it wasn't the latter. However, when she opened it and skimmed the letter, her smie fell away, and she put the letter in her purse.

"We'll talk about it when we get home, Rebecca Simon," she said, starting up the car as they began the drive home.

[Renton]

Jordan reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his reading glasses. He read the letter slowly, his face betraying no expression one way or another. He then took off his glasses and folded them, putting them back in his shirt pocket. He folded up the letter and put it on the kitchen counter. "Sit," he said firmly, pulling out chairs for the both of them, positioning them across from each other. When Jordan wanted to have a serious talk, he always did it sitting down.

He then looked at Olive squarely. "What happened?" he asked, calmly. "The whole truth now, every detail as you can remember." Jordan knew that not all fights were the same. He knew Olive would never just get into a fight for no good reason, and he presumed the daughter of the woman he spoke to yesterday would have more common sense than to treat the opening bell as the start of a boxing match.

Olive would need to be punished, he thought, but the details mattered. Had she been provoked? Had she been swayed by this new friend of hers?

~~~~~

Becky's eyes locked onto her mother's face as Jennifer read the letter. She saw her smile disappear and change into that ominous expression that replaces a smile upon discovering bad news.

Then her mother used two phrases that always meant she was really mad. First, she said "We'll talk about it when we get home." Becky bit her lip and looked at her feet. "Rebecca Simon," her mom said, completing her sentence. It was never good to hear her proper first name at the end of that sentence. The only way it got worse was when Jennifer used her middle name as well. "Rebecca Daisy Simon" meant she was really truly in for it. "I'm really sorry, mama," she muttered as Jennifer started the car and began the all too short drive home.

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

Olive, very gingerly, sat down in the seat her father pulled out for her, trying not to squirm as he very calmly spoke to her. She couldn't look him in the eye as she spoke - she was certain that she would cry if she tried to - and she explained as quickly as possible:

"One of the girls at school, Becca, and the boy who was rude to Becky last night, Stanley? They found us this morning, and they started picking on Becky, and Becca said something - I'm not sure what it was - but it must have been rude because Becky got really mad and punched her, and they started fighting... and I didn't want Becky to get hurt, so I tried pulling them apart, and... and Becca tried to hit me, but... oh, Daddy, I'm sorry. I hit her and I made her nose bleed, but I got her off Becky, and the principal broke up the fight from there.... I'm sorry..."

Hearing the events replaying aloud, from her own mouth, Olive was absolutely certain that she was not getting out of this without a sore bottom.

~~~~~~~~~~

The drive home from the school to the Simon household seemed shorter than it normally was, and Jennifer didn't say anything as she and her daughter went into the house.

"Your room. Now," Jennifer said, pointing upstairs as she went to set her own purse down onto the nearby table and to give the maid directions of what to do for the next half-hour while she spoke to her daughter. These types of chats were never pleasant - any parent knew that - but she would prefer to do this, than to allow her daughter to think it was okay to get away with getting into fights on school grounds.

[Renton]

Jordan just sat quietly and listened as Olive explained what had happened. He could tell from her flustered tone that she was sorry that things got so out of hand.

From what Olive was saying, it sounded like the girl she and Becky had fought was the provocateur, what with her wandering over to Becky with the boy who had called her such a horrid word the night before. And he was pleased to hear the Olive had tried to be peacemaker, but she still had punched someone in the nose, and made her nose bleed.

He leaned back in his chair like he always did when he was thinking. Jordan tried his best to be calm and rational at all times, especially when dealing with Olive's discipline. So many girls feared their fathers; to Jordan that was a corruption of the fatherly role.

He then looked back at Olive.

"Honey, I understand why you stood up for your friend. And from the sound of it, this... Becca? Does she go by that to not be confused with Becky? Anyway, from the sound of it, Becca was being unkind, and trying to provoke Becky. I'm not surprised she reacted, but your friend could stand to learn that violence is never, ever the correct response to words. Violence can only ever be used as a final resort, to defend yourself or your loved ones. And while you didn't start this fight, and while you were trying to act the peacemaker, you still threw yourself into an altercation and punched someone in the face." He sighed sadly.

"Now be honest with me honey, was it necessary to punch Becca in the nose? If you gave her a nosebleed, you must have hit pretty hard. I know she swung at you first, but it was two against one. If this was a courtroom a self-defense argument wouldn't likely hold up."

Jordan wasn't likely to break out his belt or slipper for this. Olive hadn't started the fight, and her biggest mistake ultimately was a single split second decision. Unfortunately, the decision had a major consequence. But he wanted to hear her own up beforehand. Jordan was not a fan of corporal punishment simply for the sake of it. It was part of a process of reconciliation that also included Olive knowing exactly what she did wrong, and why she was being spanked.

~~~~~~~~
Becky hung her head on the drive home, occasionally glancing up at her mom briefly. When she got home, Jennifer ordered her up to her room, and she did not for a second disobey. She sat on her bed and looked at nothing but her shoes, her heart pounding. She was 18 now, and most days she liked to flaunt how mature she felt. But right now, she felt every bit the same as she did ten years ago when she'd get caught doing something wrong and would wait in her room for her mother to come up and give her a spanking. It was a horrid feeling, unchanged over the years, like a knot in her guts that tied up her stomach and her lungs at the same time. She looked at her shoes and occasionally her clock, almost hoping her mom would just get here and get it over with.

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

Olive kept her head lowered as her father spoke to her, his words adding onto the guilt she already felt about getting into trouble and disappointing him with her actions. While she knew he wasn't disappointed with her as his daughter, he was certainly disapproving of what she'd done. There was a difference.

"I understand, Daddy," she said softly. "And I feel badly about getting into a fight, and for hurting Becca, but... Daddy, there's a part of me that doesn't feel bad - I'm glad I stood up for Becky, but everything else I feel bad about, but not that. She's my friend... I-I don't know if I wouldn't do it again, if it meant keeping my friend safe. Is that bad...?"

After all, Olive knew very well that she could talk to her father about anything, and he would do his best not do judge (which he was very good about).

~~~~~~

Jennifer sighed and rubbed her forehead as she sat for a moment in the kitchen, trying to think of how this was going to proceed. The past few times her daughter had been punished at school, it had been for minor things - and, even though the school dress code was sometimes unfair, it was a rule, and rules were meant to be respected.

Sighing, the mother headed upstairs to her daughter's room - but not before she took a quick stop into her own room and picked up one of her husband's "unused" slippers: there were two, and while they were actually rather worn, Mr. Simon's feet had never been inside of them. Giving the door a small knock out of courtesy, she entered seeing her daughter sitting on her bed, and she pulled up a chair and sat down in it. "I want you to explain to me what happened today, and why you thought it was a good idea to get into a fight, Rebecca Daisy Simon."



((I think you accidentally got mixed up with 'Becky' and 'Jennifer' there for a second, my friend. ;3))

[Renton]

Jordan nodded as Olive spoke. "I wouldn't say it's bad, honey. It's human," he said. "Even Jesus could lash out when provoked, like when the merchants turned the temple into a market. It's something all people are capable of, a feeling all of us experience. But we must never let righteousness be an excuse to hurt people, and we must learn from experience when we've gone too far." He patted Olive's shoulder. "You went too far this time, sweetie. You are right to want to stand up for your friend, but if such a situation arises again, perhaps you can recognize it in advance, and figure out a solution that doesn't involved hurting another person. That can be how you change things for the better. Because at the end of the day, Becca was mean, but she didn't lash out in violence against Becky. Becky struck the first blow. And to be honest when she saw you join the fray, she must have been scared. Anyone would be, thinking they're about to be teamed up on. You have to think about it from the other person's point of view, sweetie, even when it's hard, and when that person is someone you don't like."

He let out a sigh. "Now honey, I'm going to give you a spanking. You got into a fight, I can't let that slide. I need to do my part as your father to make sure you think twice about doing that again. Do you understand?"

After hearing Olive's response, Jordan spoke again. "You've been honest and forthright, and it wasn't a fight you started. I'm not going to use the slipper or belt," he said. "But this is going to be on your bare bottom. So you know how it goes," he said, patting his lap, his age-old gesture for Olive to get across his knee for a spanking.

~~~~~~~

Becky saw Jennifer enter, and then saw her mother had a slipper in hand. She closed her eyes. "I guess I earned that," she said, before her mother asked her to name her transgressions.

"Mama, I don't want to make excuses. Becca called me the same thing Stanley did last night and I... I just snapped. I slapped her face. I didn't think it'd start a fight. I didn't think at all really. I was just so mad at her for taunting me after what happened last night and then she called me a bi... the b-word and I just... reacted. And then she was on top of me, and I wasn't going to curl up into a ball. So I fought back."

Becky bit her lip. "I'm so sorry, mama. I embarrassed you and daddy today. This is the sort of thing people gossip about. And worst of all, I got Olive paddled. She tried to defend me, nothing more." Tears already in her eyes, she put her face in her hands. "I know I deserve a spanking, mama," she said, feeling no desire to protest. If anything, a spanking might just be cathartic for her, and help her purge these guilty feelings that were welling to a bursting point right now.

(So I did! Edited. )

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

Olive wasn't sure how she felt about the comparison to Jesus. Well, semi-comparing her actions – or the anger behind her actions – to Jesus'. His had been with a much better reason behind them, after all. "Yes, Daddy, I understand." And she did, truly. She wouldn't be fighting on the school grounds ever again, and there was a small part in the back of her mind, telling her that she would need to talk to Becca tomorrow and apologize for hitting her.

She nodded a little at her father's declaration. It wasn't like she hadn't been expecting to not get spanked: that was just crazy-talk, after all. But still, hearing him saying it out loud was different than simply knowing. "Yes, sir." She was also very glad that her father would only be using his hand – but she knew from experience that his hand could be as hard or a comforting as he needed it to be.

Rising out of her chair, Olive let out a small breath before she forced herself to get over her father's lap. Her bottom was already sore from the paddling, and she knew this would only make it worse. "I'm sorry, Daddy..."

~~~~~~~

Jennifer listened quietly as her daughter spoke, and – to be honest – she could understand where her daughter was coming from. As a young lady, Jennifer had had a bit of a temper herself, and that had always landed her in the same place: in trouble with the school, in trouble with her own parents, but usually both. And while Jennifer was glad that Becky hadn't inherited as much of that temper, she also had more sympathy and a more empathetic view of what had happened than what Jennifer would've had when she was her daughter's age.

Nodding as her daughter cupped her face in her hands, she said, "You have earned a pretty good spanking today for your actions, Rebecca. But you do know that I only do this because I want you to be good – and because I love you, right? Nothing is going to change that." At her daughter's response, Jennifer patted her knee. "Alright: up and over."