The time had come for Jeremy to give an account of his performance in his recent school examinations, and he had a strong sense of unease, to say the least. The results of his Economics examination had been very poor due to a lack of timing throughout the exam.
Many times he had been told to spread his time evenly throughout an examination and not to concentrate on any one particular part. But on this occasion he had totally neglected this important advice.
"Jeremy, what have you been told about your performance in school examinations?"
"You've told me, Dad, that I have to do my best and that I must not make any careless or stupid mistakes."
"Correct, and if you don't do your best or if you make careless or stupid mistakes, then what can you expect?"
"Some strong punishment."
"And what do you call leaving just twenty minutes in an exam for an essay and doing just two pages?"
"Stupid, Sir."
"Yes, and it hasn't been a great term this one, has it? Your class notes have been constantly behind. Your study has been a bit lax and your overall ranking has slipped dramatically. So, what are we going to do about it, Son?"
"I need to be punished so I'll learn a good lesson and it won't happen again."
"That's right. I'm sorry, but a solid punishment is one of the best ways to get the message across to you, young man and you know it, don't you?"
"Yes, Sir, I deserve it after this effort."
"Yes, that's for sure. All right, fetch the leather strap, strip to your briefs and wait for me in the study."
Jeremy's dad was a strict disciplinarian and, when necessary, liberal doses of the strap across the bare buttocks were meted out so the lad would learn from his mistakes. This was to be one of those occasions. Further, he believed that if it were necessary to use the strap, then a solid thrashing was of far more lasting benefit than a mild punishment.
Fortunately for the boy, this did not occur too frequently as the mere thought of punishment ensured that he generally kept himself out of trouble.
As a constant reminder, however, the strap hung behind the bathroom door, visible and ready for use whenever the boy erred. The sight and thought of the pain that would be inflicted was more often than not sufficient in itself to keep Jeremy in order.
Nevertheless, despite the fact that boy was now seventeen years old, like all growing boys he knew that a solid strapping every now and then was good for him and helped him keep on his toes. As it had been some considerable time since he was last flogged, Jeremy considered that such punishment was indeed well overdue.
He collected the leather strap and went to his father's study where he stripped and awaited his punishment. He knew that it would be a heavy punishment and he also knew that he thoroughly deserved it.
The leather strap was a metre in length and four or five centimetres wide. The end of the strap was split into four thin strips so that when administered, each stroke had the effect of four separate lashes. On the rare occasions when the boy needed such punishment, the pain was excruciating.
To make matters worse, even flinching during his punishment, instantly brought an additional flogging. Worse still, the additional punishment was administered with a thick metre length cane, the pain of which was enormous.
He quite vividly remembered the last occasion on which he was punished. His buttocks were so sore after the flogging that he couldn't sit comfortably for over a week. He guessed the same would occur again.
However, the results were long lasting and, as far as both Jeremy and his father were concerned it was very beneficial and did him a lot of good by keeping him in line and out of trouble for some considerable time, even if only for fear of another dose.
His father soon entered the study and cleared his desk in readiness for his son's beating.
Jeremy now removed his briefs, remained at attention and awaited the instruction to take the punishment position across the desk with his feet spread apart as far as possible so that his buttocks were fully exposed to accept the full force of the leather strap.
"Well," his father said. "Let's calculate the due punishment. For not spreading your time correctly in the exam, you may have eight of the best I can lay on. Fair enough?"
"Yes, Sir."
"For slipping so dramatically in the ranking, you've earned yourself another eight. Understand?"
"Yes, Sir."
"And I'm sure you'll agree that with your work being constantly behind all term, it's not surprising that you've done so badly, is it, Son?"
"No, Sir."
"So, we'll award you a further eight for your slackness throughout the term."
"Yes, Sir."
"So, your total punishment is?"
"Twenty-four, Sir."
"Now, just so we understand each other because it's some time since your last strapping I want to be sure you remember the rules of punishment. Do you remember them or do you need reminding?"
"I remember, Sir. I'm to count each stroke aloud and not to move a muscle until the punishment is completed."
"And if you do?"
"Then after the strapping is completed, I'll get two hard cuts of the cane for each time I move."
"Right. Now is there anything you wish to say to me before punishment, Jeremy?"
"Yes, Sir. I'm ashamed of my exam result and I deserve this punishment. Thank you for caring enough to correct me. I hope I learn a good lesson so I won't make the same mistakes again."
"Well, I'll certainly do my best to help you learn, Jeremy. You may spread yourself over the desk, Son."
Jeremy handed his father the strap and approached the desk. He spread his feet apart and bent down low over the desk, grasping the other side to hold himself steady.
He waited for what seemed line an eternity whilst his father repeatedly flexed the strap and then gently positioned the split ends across his son's bottom, ready to take aim and to commence the beating.
He drew the strap back high over his shoulders in readiness for the first stroke. The strap flew through the air culminating in a loud thwack as the four supple thongs of leather were laid to rest across his son's naked bottom. As it flayed across Jeremy's buttocks, the lad called, "One, Sir."
His father again positioned the strap, took careful aim and administered another stroke, this time even harder.
"Two, Sir."
The punishment was slow and drawn out. At least five to ten seconds lapsed between each stroke. Whilst his father considered that a "drawn out• punishment was more beneficial to the lad, Jeremy was pleased that the interval between each stroke allowed him to regain his breath and to steady himself for the next stroke.
This time, however, the boy was not successful. As the third stroke cut across his bottom, the lad jumped.
"Stand up," ordered his father. "What are the rules about moving during punishment?"
"I'm not to move, Sir."
"Correct. Now get a pen and paper out of the drawer and keep a tally of the number of times you've moved, so we know how many cuts of the cane you're going to get."
Jeremy retrieved a pen and paper from the drawer and noted that he had moved once to date. He wondered how many more times he would have to make a mark on the page. He placed the paper on the side of the desk and resumed his punishment position.
"Well, what we are up to now?" asked his father.
"Three, Sir."
The punishment continued . . . . "Four, Sir . . . . Five, Sir . . . . Six, Sir . . . . . . . . . . . Fifteen, Sir . . . . Sixteen, Sir."
During these strokes, twice more the punishment paused whilst Jeremy made the appropriate notation on the pad. "So far, six cuts of the cane," he thought to himself.
"You may take a break for a few minutes, Son, and regain your composure whilst you contemplate both the remaining strapping and the caning that will follow."
The boy's father left the room, allowing his son the privacy of breaking into tears without the embarrassment of his father being present.
His buttocks hurt dreadfully as his father had really laid sixteen solid strokes across him; with each stroke four thin strips of leather lashed his bare bottom.
The boy jumped up and down several times and then examined his raw backside. This was a lesson he wouldn't forget for a long time.
After about ten minutes he heard his father returning and he snapped to attention. His father entered the room and Jeremy again handed him the strap.
"Well, so far how many?"
"Sixteen, Sir."
"Are we ready for the remainder now or do you want to take a longer break?"
"No, Sir. I'd rather get it over with, please."
"What have you learnt so far, Son?"
"The punishment is doing me a lot of good, Sir. It's taught me to work harder at school, Dad, and I shall make sure that in exams I'll spread my time evenly."
"I'm pleased to hear it. Right, get yourself over the desk and we'll complete the punishment."
Three more times the punishment was interrupted as Jeremy again made a note on the pad of his movements.
After the twenty four strokes, Jeremy was sent to get the cane and twelve cuts, very hard cuts with a very thick cane, were laid across his bare bottom two for each time he flinched during his initial punishment.
The boy screamed in agony during his caning, but did not move a muscle. He just couldn't face any more!
The lad's raw, bruised and battered buttocks were a salutary reminder to him of the errors of his way. His school work and examination performance showed a remarkable improvement.