Part 1 here

“Self-important brats are not too old to have their bare bottoms spanked,” it read in stark red writing.

Carolynn blushed. Under her skirt her bottom still ached and burned from her punishment and now she felt a little foolish. The framed lines were easy enough to hang by the door and next to several other jokey posters and a print of Venice by Canaletto, it was hardly obvious. If she had just put it up in the first place she would have saved herself some trouble.

“I deserved it didn’t I?” she muttered.

All the same it was embarrassing seeing her punishment exercise framed and on the wall. Even if no one noticed, she would know it was there. She stood back. The cleaner might see it and be curious, but what would she say? Her sisters had no reason to come in here and even if they did they would have to take special note of the framed words to read them and then grasp their import.

“Idiot,” she berated herself again and sighed.

“What was that?” Lucy asked entering the room behind her, “Oh a new poster…” she grinned.

Lucy, Carolynn’s youngest sister was ever the ghost. Sometimes Carolynn thought the 19-year-old crept around on purpose. Her enthusiasm for something new, however trivial was typical.

“No it’s just… nothing,” Carolynn said hastily stepping in front of the newly hung frame. “Anyway what do you want?”

Lucy frowned, her dark reddish boyishly short hair emphasising her concerned expression. “Weren’t you talking to me?”

“No,” Carolynn said more sharply than she meant and then glancing back nervously at the lines on the wall blushed so that Lucy craned her neck to try and see.

“Talking to yourself is a sign of madness,” Lucy said cheekily, giving up with a shrug and making to go. Then she stopped and turned, with a still more pensive expression she asked, “You’re seeing a lot of John Dacia… isn’t he a bit… well old for you?”

“I am not seeing him, not like that,” Carolynn blurted, “Anyway, what has it to do you with you?”

“I’m just… well…” Lucy sighed, “I was only saying, it doesn’t matter.”

Then she was gone.

Carolynn looked back at the picture and flushed. That was a near miss, maybe she should take it down for a few days in case… then she shrugged, she had been down that road, one casual question from John and she couldn’t lie, not now.

“Oh well, this could get interesting,” she sighed.

*

It was two days later when a curious Lucy remembered her sister’s caginess and seeing the cleaner had left the door to Carolynn’s room ajar she pushed it gently open and scanned the room. The poster, or whatever it was, didn’t look like anything, just a graphic with the same line repeated. It was probably a pep-talk motto, Lucy thought in disappointment.

“What crap is she into now?” she muttered and almost turned away. But she was halfway into the room now and before leaving she scanned the instantly forgettable words, or so she assumed. “Holy shit,” she gasped.

The 19-year-old read the line, ‘self-important brats are not too old to have their bare bottoms spanked,’ and wondered how that fit any self-help agenda. Why too was it written out dozens of times? Was it supposed to be comic? Lucy got an odd thrill from seeing the word spanking written out and the use of the words ‘brat’ and ‘bare bottoms’ made her squirm so she giggled.

It was one of those occasions in life when something didn’t compute and she found herself reading and re-reading the words trying to grasp what she was missing. It was a novelty item obviously… but why would Carolynn have it on her wall and why did she try and hide it? What was the joke? It took a moment but slowly she noticed that not only were the words handwritten, but the handwriting was familiar.

A sound in the corridor outside made her start and she sudden felt a hint of shame about her intrusion. “Carolynn,” she called, better to announce herself and take the scolding.

The door opened and a puzzled Imogen came in. “What are you doing in here?” she said wearily, “Carolynn will kill you.”

“Come and look at this,” Lucy said eagerly, ignoring her older sister’s moaning.

Imogen barely looked but knew at once it was what Carolynn had been writing a few weeks back. It was in the same red ink.

“That’s some crap Caz has been working on with John Dacia,” Imogen said impatiently and beckoned her younger sister away.

“No, look,” Lucy giggled, wondering now if it were true.

Imogen looked and felt her face flush. This was definitely none of their business.

“Shit,” she whispered, but a hint of wonder touched her tone. “Come away, it is nothing,” she said pulling Lucy’s arm.

“But Carolynn wrote this… they’re lines… like at school…” The penny in Lucy’s head tottered for a moment like ripe fruit ready to drop, “But it says…” she smirked and blushed unable to say words from some of her deepest fantasies.

“It’s just a game,” Imogen said quickly, now fully understanding what the framed words meant.

“Oh my God,” Lucy squealed in delight, “You don’t think… John Dacia… he doesn’t?”

“Lucy, it is none of our business,” Imogen said impatiently, but as the two women left she couldn’t help one last look and wondered what was actually going on. Her mind raced with possibilities.

To be continued.