Reasonable Problem Solving


by Wilvalkir (Click for Author's Home Page)<Wilvalkir@netrobox.com>

Steve was missing an important meeting at work. This was the primary reason why he and Aileen had never had children. Early in the marriage, he had brought up the idea of a kid or two, but his young wife had shot him down, saying, "I am NOT going to let my career suffer while I wipe snot off some brat's face."

"It's possible to have a family and still work," Steve had argued. "There are daycare centers, and the like."

"Kids get sick, Steve," Aileen told her husband flatly. "Then you have to leave your job to go pick them up at school."

But Steve's fifteen-year-old nephew, Kenny, was in perfect health. The phone call had come from the police station, not the boy's school. After an annoying hour of explaining to the authorities that he was Kenny's legal guardian while his sister was in the hospital having a nervous breakdown, Steve was allowed to take his nephew home since the police only SUSPECTED that the kid was guilty of a misdemeanor. Checking his watch as they left the station, the man saw that Kenny's school would let out in only an hour. There was really no point in taking his nephew back there. Steve wrote off his work day as a dead loss, and steered the car toward home.

"Why did you start a fire in the public library, Kenny?" the uncle asked with a tired sigh.

"Who said I did? They've got no proof!"

"Give up the innocent act; we both know that you did it."

"I was working on some homework," the boy admitted sullenly. "You keep telling me that school is important."

"But you were skipping today, Kenny," Steve pointed out.

"Yeah, 'cause I was writing a research paper at the library."

"On what? Arson?"

"No, Uncle Steve," Kenny rolled his eyes. "On the history of aviation."

"Let me guess, the fire had something to do with the Hindenburg disaster?"

Kenny looked at his uncle blankly. "Um, no . . . I had to start the fire so that I could leave out of the emergency exit door."

"I don't follow, son."

"Well, when you go out that door, it sets off an alarm," Kenny reminded his uncle. "If there was no fire, then my leaving the library that way would have been suspicious. Duh!"

"Fair enough. But why didn't you just exit through the regular door?"

"Because I needed to steal a book, so an alarm would go off there, too."

"Why steal a book? Don't you have a library card?"

"Sure, but I wanted to keep the book so I could cut out the pictures of airplanes. You know, for my research paper."

"I see." Steve was silent for a minute, before asking his nephew another question. "Kenny, do you suppose that there might have been a better way for you to get pictures of airplanes? A method less destructive, perhaps?"

"I guess," the kid shrugged. "Now that I think about it, I could have just thrown the book out of the library window and picked it up on the way out."

"That would have been a better option," Steve allowed. "But maybe you could have gotten some photos without stealing the book at all? Printed them off the Internet, maybe?"

"But I like THESE pictures!"

"Okay, but have you ever heard of a photocopy machine? I bet there was one right there in the library."

"Alright, fine!" Kenny blew up. "There might have been easier ways to get the pictures, but MY idea worked. Everyone was so freaked about the fire, that they didn't even check my backpack for books. So what does it matter?"

"Are you saying that you think the ends justify the means?" Steve asked his nephew. "That it doesn't matter HOW you solve a problem as long as the problem gets solved?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Good, I'm glad you feel that way."

"Why?" Kenny asked suspiciously.

"Because when we get home, I'm going to beat your ass. I don't believe that physical punishment is the BEST way to train a child, but it'll do this time."

"Wait, Uncle Steve! That's a really bad idea."

"Why? Don't you agree that the threat of a badly blistered butt will prevent you from doing stupid things like setting fires?"

"Yes, um, no. I mean, NO!"

"Oh, I think that it will. So that's good enough for me. You'll be scared to mess up again, so my problem with you will be solved."

"You can't do that, Uncle Steve! It's against the law to beat a kid!"

"Of course, it is. But, honestly, who's going to care? Even if you go to the police, they'll only tell me not to do it again. If they don't just laugh you out of the station."

"The police suck! They should learn to do their job right," Kenny muttered.

"This coming from a boy who just got released with no punishment after vandalizing city property," Steve said, raising one eyebrow.

"You suck, too." Kenny turned away from his uncle and stared out the car window. Steve sighed again, and wished that the kid could be reasoned with. Unfortunately, Kenny seemed to have inherited Steve's sister's brains. Candy had never been very bright. After getting knocked up at age fifteen, the girl had been given the chance to put her baby up for adoption. But she had kept the boy, thinking it would be fun to play mommy and dress him up in different outfits. Candy had even named the child after her all-too-recently discarded Ken doll.

As they pulled into the driveway, Kenny started to act a tad bit worried.

"You were just kidding about hitting me, right, Uncle Steve?"

"I certainly was not. Get into the house." Steve followed Kenny inside, and directed the teen to the living room.

"I'm going downstairs to get a ping pong paddle, and I expect you to stay right here," the man stated.

"Yeah, right," Kenny murmured under his breath.

"Should I trust the kid to obey me?" Steve wondered out loud. "No, I'll act on impulse instead, and deal with the problem the first way that comes to mind." He took off his belt, and Kenny began backing away.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to beat you . . . yet." Steve grabbed hold of his nephew and used his belt to tightly cinch together the boy's kicking feet. Then, holding the struggling kid easily with one hand, Steve used the other to remove one of his shoelaces. This, he tied around the Kenny's wrists to secure the boy's hands behind his back. Satisfied that his nephew would not be getting away, Steve went down to the rec room to fetch a paddle.

When Steve returned upstairs, he saw that Kenny had attempted to get up from where he'd been left sitting on the couch, and was now squirming around on the floor. The bound boy looked up at his uncle's approach with an expression that was half-frightened and half-bewildered. Steve smiled to himself, relishing the disappearance of Kenny's usual _c_o_c_k_y attitude, even as his stomach clenched in apprehension over his unconventional treatment of this helpless child. Was he doing the right thing? Probably not, Steve told himself with a shrug, but the annoyed man decided to proceed with the operation anyhow. He dropped to his knees beside his nephew, and began undoing the leather belt that tethered the boy's feet. The man realized that it would be easier to punish Kenny if he left the kid tied up, but he felt uncomfortable leaving the teen thus restrained any longer than necessary. This no-nonsense disciplinary approach was proving to be effective in taking Kenny down a couple of pegs, but still, it was the sort of parenting tactic that Diane Sawyer would be delighted to feature in a sensationalized episode of 20 20.

As Steve wrestled with the snugly fastened belt buckle, he began casually speaking to his nervous nephew.

"Well, Kenny," he said pleasantly. "My goal is to make your bottom as red and hot as the fire you started in the library today. I think that the easiest way to accomplish the act would be to pull your pants down and paddle your bare ass."

"No!" Kenny sat upright. "Please, anything but that!"

"You're right, of course," Steve acknowledged. "I should save you the embarrassment of being seen naked, and simply spank you over your jeans. But then I would have to paddle you harder and longer to achieve the same results."

"That's OK, Uncle Steve," Kenny said quickly. "Do whatever you have to; just let me keep my pants on."

"Yes, that would be the reasonable way for me to punish a boy your age, wouldn't it? But I'm going to take your pants down, anyway. After all, it doesn't really matter HOW I do this job, as long as it gets done, right?" Steve reached for the button to his nephew's jeans.

"No! Stop it! I get your point already, asshole!" Kenny screeched. The boy struggled frantically, and managed to wriggle around onto his stomach. But his uncle had already succeeded in unfastening the boy's pants, and easily yanked Kenny's jeans and boxers down to his ankles, revealing two smooth, round bottom cheeks. With his hands still tied, Kenny was helpless to do anything but kick out at his uncle and make futile threats.

"I'm gonna tell Aunt Aileen on you!" the boy warned.

"Go right ahead, and see how far that gets you," Steve answered smugly. "Your aunt doesn't mind you living here while your mother is in the hospital, but she's made it clear that your upbringing is entirely my responsibility. She will not question anything method I choose to employ."

"_f_u_c_k_!" Kenny exploded. "This _f_u_c_k_ing sucks!"

"It sure does," Steve agreed, as he untied the teen's wrists. "And it's about to get a whole lot worse." The man picked the ping pong paddle up off the floor with one hand, and raised Kenny to his feet with the other. The boy twisted out of Steve's grasp and attempted to flee from his capture. But the jeans around his ankles caused him to stumble and fall back to his knees. With an exasperated sigh, Steve yanked Kenny back up, and literally tossed his nephew over his lap as he sat down on the couch.

Without giving the kid any time to fight back, Steve lit into Kenny's butt with the paddle. He spanked hard and fast, knowing that the sooner he subdued the thrashing teen, the easier the whole thing would go. It didn't take long to swat away Kenny's phony 'tough guy' act, and in just over a minute, the boy was defeated and bawling like a six-year-old. With his nephew collapsed, exhausted, over his knee, Steve slowed down the paddling and concentrated on making each spank really count.

WHACK!!!

"Yeeeoooowwww!!!"

When Kenny's extended wail had tapered off, Steve launched into a scolding that his nephew was in no condition to hear or appreciate.

"When you are living in my house, you will not get into trouble with the law."

WHACK!!!!

"You will not steal things just because you want them."

WHACK!!!!

"You will not light fires in public places."

WHACK!!!!

"You will not light fires ANYWHERE, for that matter."

WHACK!!!!

"In general, you will THINK before you do things!"

WHACK!!!!

"Are – WHACK – you – WHACK – listening – WHACK – to – WHACK – me?"

"Yes! Yes, Uncle Steve, I hear you!" Kenny sobbed.

"Alright, then," Steve tossed the paddle aside, and ran his hand briefly over his nephew's bright red and steaming ass. "We're done for the moment. Get up, kid." He gave Kenny's toasted rump a hearty slap to get the boy moving. The teen sprang immediately to his feet, reaching around to rub at his sore butt. Steve followed, grasped Kenny by the shoulders and turned his nephew to face him. The boy's face was covered in snot and his eyes were squeezed tightly shut against the pain.

"Look at me, Kenny," Steve demanded. The kid gritted his teeth and complied. The anger flashing in his nephew's gaze told Steve that his job was far from finished.

"Here's what's going to happen," Steve said. "You are going to sit your blistered ass down at the table, and start working on that research paper. After you've had a bit of a break, I'm going to bend you over the back of the couch and whip your bare butt with my belt."

"Why? You already beat me!" the astonished boy exclaimed.

"You didn't go to school today," Steve replied simply. "You are supposed to go to school."

"No fair! I don't give a _s_h_i_t_ about school!" Kenny flared. Steve spun his nephew sideways, and smacked his butt so hard that the boy's flaccid penis bounced up to slap him on the stomach.

"You don't learn very quickly, do you?"

"And that's why I hate school," Kenny pointed out logically. Steve swatted him again, for making sense.

"You have to go to school so you can get your diploma and find a job someday. So get to work NOW!"

"I'm allowed to pull my pants up first, right?" Kenny asked sarcastically.

"Naturally, I SHOULD let you cover yourself up, but it will be easier for me later if you don't, and, well . . . you know the score."

"You're _s_h_i_t_ting me," the teen looked truly astonished. "You're going to _f_u_c_k_in' make me waddle around the house with my pants at my ankles?"

"Naw," Steve said. "Just kick off your shoes, and remove your lower clothing. You won't need them for a while anyway." Rebellion flashed across Kenny's face, then sort of shrugged and followed his uncle's instructions.

Steve placed Kenny's backpack on the kitchen table and pulled out a chair for the boy to sit down.

"I want to see some progress when I come back," the uncle warned. "But do yourself a favor and don't cut out any pictures from that library book, huh?" Steve left Kenny bare-bottomed and squirming in his seat.

An hour later, Steve returned and looked over his nephew's work. The boy really had no academic skills, his uncle observed. Oh, well. He would attend to Kenny's butt, then, later, help him to compose a passable paper.

"Okay, son, let's go back into the living room and finish up your ass-warming. The defeated boy didn't argue this time; he just closed his book on airplanes and followed after his uncle.

Steve got Kenny's still-rosy-red bottom positioned properly over the back of the couch, then let fly with a mighty lash of his belt.

CRRAACCKK!!

"Owwwww!" Kenny sprang up, clutching his backside. "That _f_u_c_k_ing hurts!"

"Of course, it does. Quit whining, and bend back over." Steve was rapidly losing patience with his sister's wayward offspring. Amazingly, Kenny promptly obeyed the directive, and stuck his rear out for more punishment.

CRRAACCKK!!

"Ohhhhh, _f_u_c_k_!" Kenny grabbed his burning ass for a second time and danced from foot to foot as he absorbed the pain.

"Get back over the couch, kid. We're far from done," Steve growled.

"How many are you going to give me?" the boy whimpered.

"Oh, I'd say about eighteen more . . . provided you stay down like you're supposed to. If you keep standing up, I'll add extra licks, and we'll still be here when your aunt comes home from work in an hour."

Frightened into submission by the possibility of being seen half-naked by his Aunt Aileen, Kenny leaned over and gripped the cushions of the couch with his fists while his uncle continued to spank his ass with the belt. The boy remained in position, but his yelps of pain reverberated throughout the house.

"Oh, my god, it hurts, it hurts! Please, stop," Kenny sobbed, as the ninth lash licked across his lower bottom. Uncle Steve landed the tenth firm whack on the exact same spot, and his nephew's outcry was shrill enough to qualify as a scream.

Steve had a sudden change of heart, and lowered his belt-swinging arm abruptly. Kenny had been in dire need of a good lesson, but he had never intended to hurt the boy so badly.

"I think that's enough, son," he relented. "I can tell that you've learned your lesson."

"No, Uncle Steve! Please?" the boy moaned.

"It's okay, Kenny," Steve repeated, patting his nephew on the back. "I said that I'm finished whipping you."

"But you can't stop!" the kid wailed. "Not until I've gotten what I deserve!"

"You WANT me to spank you? Why?" Steve asked, perplexed.

Kenny turned his tear-streaked face around to look at his uncle. "Because it hurts," he sniffled.

"So I've heard. And a minute ago, that was your reasoning behind wanting the punishment to stop. Whats the deal now?"

"I want to stop causing trouble, I really do," Kenny sobbed. "But I just keep doing dumb things. And now my mom's in a mental hospital because I drove her nuts."

"Don't be silly, son," Steve said gently. "Your mom's breakdown wasn't your fault."

"Well, my attitude lately sure as hell didn't help matters any," the boy admitted honestly. Steve couldn't argue with that, so he said nothing.

"But maybe you can teach me to behave myself, so I won't be such a pain in the ass once Mom gets out," Kenny continued. "Maybe I can learn to be good if I know that my butt's going to get burned if I _f_u_c_k_ up."

"That's a very mature conclusion to arrive at, son. And I agree. The threat of a good whipping will go a long way toward keeping you in line. The new deal is this: you try to think of a reasonable way to solve your problems, and I will act reasonably as well. But if you act impulsively and get yourself into trouble, then I can't be blamed if my reaction crosses the boundaries of good parenting."

"Now, since you know what could possibly happen if you misbehave from now on, do you really think that we need to continue today's session?" Steve asked the boy.

Kenny sighed and nodded. "I don't want you to, but you'd better, I guess. I forget things easy."

"Very well," Steve said. Kenny had not moved from his position over the couch during their conversation, so it was easy for his uncle to resume the energetic wielding of the leather belt. In deference to the condition of his nephew's thoroughly welted behind, Steve did not lay on the final ten whacks nearly as hard as he could have. Still, Kenny squirmed and yelped his way through the remainder of the punishment.

When he was finished, Steve told Kenny to pull up his pants and turn around for a hug.

"Go wash your face, and I'll drive you to Kinko's so we can make photocopies from your airplane book."

"Cool!" the resilient boy grinned. "And I know how we can get copies without paying a cent. If you yank out the copier key right when- Oh! That would be stealing, huh, Uncle Steve?"

"Yes, it would, Kenny."

"And if I steal stuff, I'll get whupped again?"

"You got it."

"So, I should just pay for the copies instead," Kenny concluded.

"Right," Steve said, tousling the boy's hair. There was hope for his nephew yet.

The End

If you enjoyed this story, you can find more on my website (see above)


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