When I was 15 and my brother was 11 our parents were killed in a car accident. My name is Tom and my little brother is Jamie. We were sent to live with a family named, of all things, Foster. It was Mr. Foster, his natural daughter Kelly (18), and two other foster boys Gary (17) and Charlie (11).

The social worker dropped us off at their house one evening at about 7:00. She just dumped us there in the driveway, and let me lead my little brother up to the front door where Kelly stood waiting for us. She seemed nice enough, and as we carried our bags into the front room her dad got up from his chair and came over to us.

Shaking my hand he said, "Hello, Tom." He did the same with Jamie, and introduced us to Kelly, Gary, and Charlie.

"Would you like something to eat?" asked Kelly.

"Yes" said Jamie before I could respond. I was still numb from losing my parents, and Jamie was constantly clinging to my side.

Looking at Gary and Charlie she said, "You guys go take your baths" and they turned and walked out of the room without saying anything. Kelly led us into the kitchen, and we sat down at the table while she started re-heating some spaghetti. She and Mr. Foster made small talk with us, and I got the plates and silverware Kelly asked me to get and put them on the table.

As we were eating Kelly walked around the corner into the laundry room and I heard her say, "Oh, darn it!" She came out into the kitchen, leaned out the other doorway and called, "Gary!"

I raised my eyebrows as he came running into the room. He was only wearing a pair of white cotton briefs that fit snugly on him. His hair was still wet from his shower, and he had a finger in one ear trying to shake out some water.

"Didn't I tell you to start the towels?" she asked.

He looked at the floor and said, "Oh, yeah. Sorry."

"Is that all you have to say?" she asked.

"I forgot" he said. "I'm sorry."

"You also forgot to mow the lawn last week" she said. "You also forgot to fill the gas tank Wednesday." He shifted nervously from one foot to the other. She sighed and said, "Bring me the hairbrush, Gary."

He slouched and said, "Oh, come on" and looked at me and Jamie.

"You do as you're told" said Mr. Foster. Gary stomped out of the room and came back in less than a minute with an old fashioned wooden hairbrush in his hand. Kelly walked over to him, plucked the brush out of his hand, and made him put his hands on his knees. She then proceeded to give his jockey clad butt six hard smacks. He grunted after each one, but didn't move or say anything.

"Here" she said, handing him the brush. He stood up, breathing heavily through flared nostrils. His face was red. Jamie was glassy eyed with horror, and I think I must have looked the same. I was sure the social worker had mentioned they both went to my new school. She was a senior, he was a junior, and I was a sophomore. Everyone was acting like this was perfectly normal, and I started to panic. What kind of place was this?

"You can spank us?" Jamie squeaked.

"Kelly's kind of like the mom here" said Mr. Foster. "When I'm not home she's in charge, and when I am home you boys just do as she tells you and there won't be any trouble."

"Aren't you a -- " I stammered, "don't you -- aren't you a senior at my new school?" I asked.

"Yes" she said.

"Does Gary go there, too?" I asked.

"Yes" she said, and laughed. "No one knows that I spank him, though. He'd die if I told anyone, but that helps to keep him in line sometimes."

I looked at my plate, dumbfounded. This was insane, I thought. Kelly said, "Would you like some more spaghetti?" We both shook our heads no. Just then little Charlie walked into the room, also wearing only white briefs. He walked up to Kelly and put his arm around her waist, and she let her arm drape down over his chest.

"Why don't you guys go take a bath, then and get changed for bed."

"Already?" said Jamie. It wasn't very late.

"Oh, you don't have to go to bed, honey" she said. "Just go get cleaned up and come out to the TV room with a clean pair of undies."

My heart sank, because I knew that she meant "just" clean underwear. Testing the waters I said, "I've got sweats that I can -- "

She interrupted and said, "No, Tom. We have rules around here, and I expect you to follow them. Every night you take a bath or shower and change into a clean pair of underwear for the next day. I don't want you putting dirty clothes back on or getting the next day's clothes all sweaty."

"Why can't I just wear my sweats afterward every time, just at night?" I asked, trying not to sound as indignant as I felt.

"That's gross" she said.

"Go on, you guys" said Mr. Foster. "Charlie, show them the bathroom and your room for me, okay?"

"Yes, sir" said Charlie.

I was too tired to argue, and after just witnessing Gary's punishment I was too afraid to say anything just then. Charlie led us to our room -- all four of us had to share the same room -- and there was a pair of bunk beds on either side of the small room. Gary was on top of one of the bunks with his arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling. "We get the bottom bunks" said Charlie to Jamie.

I put my stuff next to our bed, and Mr. Foster walked into the room. "You boys get undressed" he said, "and I'll get you some towels."

We looked at each other, then at the other two boys. The whole house had this oppressive feeling of ever-impending threat to it, and I patted Jamie on the back and said, "Come on." We stripped down to our shorts while the other two watched, and just stood there awkwardly waiting for Mr. Foster.

"You better take it all off" said Gary from his bunk. "The old guy's pretty explicit. If he says 'get undressed' he doesn't mean get mostly undressed."

Exasperated, I pulled my shorts down and off. Jamie just stood there and looked like he was going to cry. I knelt beside him and said, "It's okay, buddy" and I pulled his down for him, and he stepped out of them. He grabbed my hand as Mr. Foster came back in the room.

He had two towels in his hand, and just as he made to toss them to us he stopped and said to me, "Hey, you're not circumcised."

I squirmed a little and said, "I know." What did he want me to say to that?

"Why is your brother cut, but you're not?" he asked.

"I don't know" I said, feeling very exposed and defensive. In fact, I did know that the doctors had circumcised Jamie without asking my parents. They had just assumed that's what they wanted, so he was cut and I wasn't. I didn't feel like going into all that, though. It was such a weird question. The night was getting more and more surreal as time wore on. He handed a towel to Jamie but kept mine.

Looking down at me he said, "Make sure you pull the skin back and wash underneath, Tom."

"I know" I said, wanting to die from all the attention I was getting. Everyone in the room was looking at my dick. He gave me my towel and gently clapped me on the ear as I wrapped it around myself.

We followed Mr. Foster to the bathroom, and he reached in and started the shower. Feeling the water he said, "The washer's running and the other two boys have had their showers. I want you two to get in together or there won't be enough hot water for you both."

I had taken a shower with Jamie a couple of times before. It was no big deal, but I wanted him to leave first. It was really uncomfortable having him there. "Well, get in" he said. We put or towels on the counter and got in.

When we heard him leave Jamie turned to me and whispered, "I don't like it here." He looked desperately unhappy, and I wanted to protect him at the same time I wanted our father to be there. Like so many times since the accident, I had to force thoughts of my parents out of my head.

"It'll be okay" I said, but I didn't believe what I was saying and I think he could tell. I washed his hair for him, which always made him happy, and we bathed quickly so that the hot water wouldn't run out. As we were drying off Kelly just walked into the bathroom unannounced. I already had my towel around my waist, and Jamie quickly whipped his own around his waist.

"Hey!" we said in unison.

"Get out!" I said to her.

She poked her finger in my chest and said, "You don't talk to me that way, Tom. Neither one of you." She reached into the medicine cabinet and pulled out some aspirin.

"Well get out please, then" I said.

"You don't know the washcloth rule, do you?" she said wearily.

"Please get out" I said again.

"All right" she said, "We're having a family meeting in two minutes in the livingroom. You guys hurry up and dry off" and she turned around and walked out the door. Calling down the hall to our room she said, "Gary! Charlie! Family meeting in the livingroom. Washcloth rule. Now."

As they passed the bathroom door Gary stuck his head in and said, "Thanks, assholes."

We went back to our room and pulled on new underwear. Jamie whispered fiercely to me, "Tommy! I don't want to go out there in just my underwear. Let's run away."

I was angry because I couldn't change our situation. I was angry because I couldn't protect him the way I knew my parents would want me to. I leaned down and kissed his forehead and said, "_f_u_c_k_, 'em, Jamie. Let's just do it!"

He smiled up at me and said, "Okay."

We walked down the hall to the livingroom and I involuntarily jerked backward and said, "Oh, my God" as we came around the corner. Kelly and Mr. Foster were sitting on the sofa and Gary and Charlie were standing in front of them stark naked. Well, not exactly, I saw. They were each holding their underwear in front of themselves, facing the two on the couch.

"Come over here, boys" said Mr. Foster. Kelly glanced at me with an evil look. She was checking me out in my underwear, I could tell, even if her father was clueless.

Pointing to the floor next to Gary and Charlie he said, "Stand over here like Gary and Charlie" said Mr. Foster.

Jamie started to cry and said, "No. I don't want to!"

"You can't make us do this" I said, but there was no force in my words. I knew it was a losing argument even as I said it.

"You want me to take my belt off, kid?" he asked me. I had no doubt that he would strap my ass black and blue if I disobeyed. Taking a deep breath I bent over and pulled my underwear down and off and held it up to my crotch before I stood up straight.

"Tommmmmmmy!" cried Jamie.

"Come on, buddy" I said, and helped him to do the same. We stood there, four in a line, completely naked with our shorts held in front of us to cover our privates.

"That's better" said Mr. Foster. "This is the washcloth rule, boys. Just like girls and boys both have elbows and ankles, they both have butts, so there's no reason for you to be embarrassed as long as you can cover up your dingus, got it?"

I rolled my eyes up to the ceiling in disgust. "You got a problem, Tom?" asked Mr. Foster.

"I can't believe this" I said, looking at the ceiling.

"You look at me when I talk to you, boy" he said.

I looked at him and said, "Yes, sir."

"Are you exposing anything right now that Kelly doesn't also have?" he asked.

"That's not the point" I said.

"When I ask you a question you say 'yes, sir' or 'no, sir,' Tom. Do I have to smack your backside to make you remember that?"

"No, sir" I said.

He continued. "If Kelly needs something in the bathroom or just wants to check to make sure you're bathing properly you grab a washcloth or your underwear and you be obedient, or you get the belt from me, boys. Don't test me on this."

"Yes, sir" we both said. What else could we say? One thing was certain: we had to get out of this nuthouse as soon as possible.

"I don't ever want to hear that you're walking around with your dingus hanging out, is that clear?" he said.

"Yes, sir" we both said.

"All right" he said. "Each of you take a corner." I didn't understand what he meant until Gary and Charlie each headed for a corner of the room and stood in it. Oh, my God, I thought as I walked to a corner and pointed for Jamie to do the same. This is insane! I felt so completely exposed, and I wanted to scream at them when I heard Jamie crying in the corner to my left.

After about ten minutes we were released from our corners. As we started to put our underwear on Kelly said, "Come here, Gary" and he walked over to her still holding his underwear in his hands in front of himself.

"Turn around" she said, and rubbed her hand over his butt. "No, damage, huh?" she said, and he just looked at the floor stoically and didn't say anything.

We all got our shorts on and went back to our room together. We closed the door and I immediately turned to Gary and said, "Man! This place is insane! How long have you been here?"

"Since I was nine" he said. "You have a lot more _s_h_i_t_ coming, you know."

"Like what?" I asked, feeling panicky.

"Like Kelly loves to lord it over the two of us" he said, nodding at Charlie. "Now she's got four of us to play with. You have to do what she says -- everything she says -- or Mr. Foster really will lay into you with a paddle or the strap. It's humiliating to have her spank you, but it hurts a hell of a lot more if he does it."

"Why haven't you told anyone?" I asked, feeling more and more panicky.

"Try it" he said, and shrugged. "No one'll believe you."

"They'll believe me!" I said.

He looked at me sympathetically, and I wasn't at all comforted by the certainty in his eyes. He said, "Just so you know, the bathroom door doesn't lock and she likes to walk in at all times to get things out of the bathroom just to embarrass us. I don't even use the toilet if she's in the house."

"Oh, God" I said. "She comes in when -- "

"Oh, yeah" he said. "There's no such thing as privacy here, you guys. Get used to it. I'm out of here in three months!"

"Where are you going?" asked Jamie, obviously wanting to go, too.

"I'm 18 in three months" he said. "They can't make me stay, even though I'll still be in school. I already checked."

"Where will you go?" I asked.

"Anywhere but here, dude" he said. "_f_u_c_k_in' anywhere but here. And don't let either of them hear you swear or they'll wash your mouth out with soap and spank you naked afterward. Well, washcloth rule. Whatever."

We HAD to get out of here. I had to think of a way for us to get into a different foster home. I spent the entire night staring at the ceiling or at Gary and Charlie in the beds opposite us. No way in hell were we going to stay here.

NOTE: I think this story, too, has potential. Please, suggestions, suggestions, suggestions. orangecatholic@yahoo. com