So the weekend came to a close. Well, another eight-hour-day, Mandy told herself. She thought it unfair how she had to go to school for forty hours a week while her mother and most other laborers worked a thirty hour day. Lorraine told Mandy that that was so parents had time to pick children up.
"Once upon a time, children went to school for thirty hours per week, while adults worked forty. Nannies had to be hired, and some schools had after school programs for children who could not be picked up at 3:00 p.m.," Lorraine told her stepdaughter.
"That's weird," Mandy commented.
"Indeed, Amanda," Lorraine told Mandy and went back to cooking.
"Why do I have to pick up your little boys then?"
"To teach you more responsibility!"
Mandy admitted she was learning to be more responsible about tasks that needed to be done. "I have to go do homework," Mandy told Lorraine.
"See? There you go!" Lorraine shot back with a smile.
Again, another school day came. Mandy was happy Gina did not heckle her the day before. Still, today was the day she would stand her ground. She did not care if she would be late for class. She kept her eye open for Gina. Then she saw her coming up the stairs. Perfect, Mandy thought to herself. She stood at the top of the stairs. When Gina reached the top, she pushed Gina down the stairs and ran back up. But by the end of the day, she was caught and sent to the headmistress.
"Amanda, Regina here says you pushed her down the stairs."
"That's not true," Mandy said. She just wants me to get in trouble."
The headmistress checked her pulse. She could tell Mandy was lying. "Gina?" She pointed to the wall. Hanging there was the school paddle.
"Okay, Amanda Faye Barton. Bend over, put your hands against the wall." Mandy obliged, but still protested. "Why are you allowed to do this but my step-mom can't do it to me or her sons? Not that she should be allowed to, but aren't I lower than my step-mom, too?"
"Your step-mom does not work for the government. Only people who break the governments rules or the rules of an institution run by the government, such as schools and prisons, are allowed to use corporal punishment. And since you disobeyed me by inquiring something, you shall be paddled on your panties rather than pants." Mandy started to tremble.
"Gina started it! She called me names!"
"You just overreacted. Now the count is twelve."
Mandy stayed still. The swats came down, no more than two seconds between each one, each one stinging intolerably. She counted each one aloud. When she was released, she was hopping around, holding back tears. The headmistress asked her if she understood the consequences of physical aggression toward other students. "An eye for an eye!" The headmistress roared. Mandy could not be aggressive toward Gina, not because of physical pain exactly, but because Gina was supposedly of "equal caste." Mandy repeated whatever the headmistress told her when asked, although she was so distracted by the sting in her backside that her answers to the headmistress did not register in her mind.
Mandy picked up Daniel and Harry, and told them what had happened. Her telling the story to her two stepbrothers made them laugh. Mandy let them laugh at her; she felt needed to be laughed at by them, for some reason. Being laughed at by Daniel and Harry made her smile. "Boys, I want to avoid Gina. But she comes after me to make fun of dad."
"So run," Harry replied.
They soon got home. Lorraine opened the door.
"Amanda, I got a call from the school telling me that you were paddled."
"That's right Lorraine. I overreacted when I saw Gina. I was sure she was going to mock me for being the daughter of a political prisoner, so I pushed her down the stairs before she could open her mouth."
"Mandy, I know Gina started this, technically. How she has been heckling you for days, but your behavior is unacceptable. I am not going to punish you more; all I can say is I hope you learned your lesson."
"I promise I'll apologize to Gina, okay mom?" She asked, still rubbing her backside.
"And are you gonna call me 'mom' now, Mandy?" Asked Lorraine with a gentle smile.
"No, Lorraine. You're my step-mother. Not mom. What's that got to do with anything?"
"You just called me mom," Lorraine told her.
"You did, Mandy! And mom called you 'Mandy!' Don't deny it!" Daniel hopped up and down.
Mandy quickly forgot all about the paddling, even though she could still feel her bottom stinging. "I'm gonna go do homework!"
"Dinner in two hours, okay, Mandy?"
"Yes mom!" She suddenly thought of Angela. She told herself *Angela is my mother, but Lorraine is my mom!"
GINA
It was Tuesday. Gina still had Mandy's paddling in her mind. She actually felt horrible about it. She told herself to never heckle Mandy again. Still, Gina's feelings about Mandy's father continued. She found the story about him getting arrested at a protest hilarious. Nevertheless, Gina wanted to apologize to her somehow.
She would try soon. But her mind was on the protest her sister was going to. She went to visit Ariella and her groom, Zachary. Zachary opened the door.
"Gina! What are you doing here?"
"Paying a visit."
"Do your parents know you are here?"
"Yes..." Gina replied, nervously.
"Ariella! Your sister's here!"
Ariella ran to the door. "You are not here because of the rally we're going to, are you?"