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Sandra and her friends, Melanie. Jessica, and Letitia were playing "Truth or Dare"
in Sandra's room. Letitia had just asked Sandra, "What's the most embarrassing
thing that ever happened to you?"
"Look!" Melanie said, "she's already blushing and she hasn't even told us yet!"
It was true; Sandra's face had turned rose-red at the memory of her most embarrassing
incident, an incident she'd resolved never to talk about.
One morning Bertie Jones,
a boy in her first grade class had lifted her skirt and pulled down her underwear in front
of all their classmates. Sandra had very quickly pulled them up,and smoothed down her
skirt. Then...BAM!...she gave Bertie a black eye.
That was when the teacher, Mrs. Laurence, walked into the room.
"Sandra, what is the meaning of this?" she demanded.
Sandra told her what Bertie had done.
"I didn't do anything to her. She just all of a sudden hit me! Ask anybody!"
Bertie was the classroom bully, and nobody dared to tell on him. Every child in the
room backed him up.
Mrs. Laurence looked severely at Sandra.
"Well, young lady?"
"They're all lying!"
"Really? Everyone in the room is lying?"
"Yes!
"No, Sandra, the only little liar in this room is you. Now, you will
apologize to Bertie, and then you will get a spanking. And I'm
really glad that our district allows corporal punishment."
"I won't apologize to him," Sandra said angrily. "He should apologize to me,
and you should spank him!"
"Very well, young lady, if you don't apologize, you will get six swats for
punching Bertie in the eye, six for refusing to apologize, and six for lying."
And, very soon, Sandra was face-down over her teacher's lap, and, for the second
time that day, Sandra's classmates were seeing her underwear.
Sandra had the distinction, if you could call it that, of being the first child
Mrs. Laurence paddled that year.
"I won't cry," Sandra told herself.
But she was only six years old, and Mrs. Laurence was spanking her very hard.
And Sandra had never been spanked before; her parents usually deprived her
of dessert, or took away her television privileges.
Mrs. Laurence delivered the last spank. Then she helped the sobbing girl to her feet.
"Now go stand in the corner, face to the wall."
Sandra didn't mind that part of her punishment very much. She would much rather stand
than sit just then.
Sandra's parents were both sympathetic and furious when she told them what happened. They kept her out of school
until she was transferred to a different class, with a teacher who was strongly
opposed to corporal punishment,
But nothing could really make up for what had happened, Sandra thought as she looked back, six
years later, on an incident that had been both humiliating and infuriating.
"I'll take the dare."
"All right," Letitia said, "I dare you to call Bertie Jones and say, "Hello, Bertie. This is Sandra Wilson,
and I just want to tell you I'm in love with you!"
The other girls squealed and giggled. They weren't being mean; none of them, including Letitia, had been
in Mrs. Laurence's class.
Reluctantly, oh so reluctantly, Sandra went to the telephone. She had made a promise to herself t
hat she would never speak to Bertie Jones,
yet here she was, about to
do precisely what she said she never would. But she had no choice; she and her
friends had a rule, "No changing
your mind."
But no. She couldn't call Bertie. She just couldn't!
"No. I won't call Bertie, I'll call any other boy, but not Bertie Jones."
"You have to call him," Melanie said. "It's the rule."
"I don't care! Some things are just too much!" Sandra burst out, "I can't really talk about
it, but the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me was in the first grade, and
it involved Bertie. He was a creep even then."
She covered her face with her hands and sobbed.
The other girls looked at each other. Finally, Jessica spoke.
"Let's just forget the game. Truth Or Dare is a dumb game anyway."
And Melanie and Letitia nodded soberly.
~*~*~*~