After all the trying Cala put forth in an attempt to soften Maria's punishment, the girl pulled this stunt. Vera's hand came across the girl's cheek, the slap echoing off the walls of her room. She was far from pleased.

"I doubt you are sober, unless you truly do not care about Cala at all," she said coldly, "She was helping your case and even offered methods to soften your punishment and instead you do this? You stupid, stupid girl." Whether the action was some odd form of selflessness, it did not matter. The Head Girl will show just how much pull she had here.

"See what this girl did for you in return?" she looks over at Cala, "You showed weakness and now you allowed her to disrespect me. And I thought you were interested with working with me. Seems I will have to punish you both for your incompetence. I already know the perfect one for you Cala. Since you failed your part of the bargain and furthermore brought this naked drunk sitting upon my desk, you can thank her for taking away your precious fix."

She knew how important this was to Cala and blaming it on Maria's actions will deal with any foolish bonds they were trying to form together. "No need to look at me Cala," she said cooly, "You allowed Maria to do this here in my own home. I have no use for a woman who cannot even stand up for what she strives for. You may go. There is no reason for me to waste time on you any longer. I will have to take care of Maria myself it seems."

Setting my shoulders I summoned what remained of my courage to face Vera and regain some measure of her respect. It hurt me deeply the things she said even more so than the threat to take away my patches. I had no idea what Maria was thinking as she sat on that desk in nothing but a towel but I had to admire her bravery, her courage, the heart she showed even if it came with a little alcoholic fortitude. One long breath…a little something to gather my wits about me even as my hand strayed to the place of my last patch to find it gone in that shower.

I took that fear and used it knowing I had very little time before the nightmares started and I got lost in the swirl of emotion.

“Vera, I will punish Maria, just tell me what you expect of me…I want to prove myself. To learn from you.” If I did it I had a chance to soften the blows so to speak, but I had no idea what Vera might have in mind. “If that is not enough then punish me…give me your worst but please let me have the patch…you know…you know why I fucking need it and I was trying to do the right thing….Maria, just tell her how you go the bottle and let’s get this done with. ”

I was not going anywhere….she might call me stupid but I would not back down and loose it all in spite the risk.

Maria's head jerks sharply to the side as Vera's hand cracks across her cheek, the brit wincing, her nose crinkling a bit as she looks back to the woman...not giving her the satisfaction of seeing her reach up to touch the stinging handprint on her cheek. "Now that was uncalled for..." She murmurs, slipping from the desk and adjusting her towel.

"If you must know...I snuck it in myself. I just hadn't had a reason to break it out until today...that reason being I wanted a drink." She glances from Cala to Vera...her look to Cala apologetic, and her look to Vera calm, almost icy. "I smuggled in the liquor, I got drunk, my uniform doesn't fit the rules...oh, maybe I should tell you about a few of my more...daring transgressions, too? Add some fuel to the fire?" She smiles, eyes narrowing, trying her best to look confident. Admittedly, hard to pull off in just a towel. "I'd rather you punish me...Vera, was it? I'm sure whatever you've got to dish out will be...memorable."

God, was she cheeky. She knew it. She was still a bit drunk, too, but sober enough to know what was going to happen to her...or, the generalities, anyway. "So punish me already...stop talking about it and do something...unless that slap was all you've got." Her words a bit heated, too, wanting to get it all over with.

The woman really was trying hard to provoke her. But Vera was not one to be tugged along by any student especially a drunk one. This was not bravery, this was just stupidity. There was nothing to gain from talking back to her, much less insult her. Insults coming from trash hold no value anywhere in Vera's thoughts.

"Will you now?" she said, ignoring Maria, "You should know by now, what I expect for punishment. I expect results. She is still trying to insult me right before your eyes and even spits upon your attempts to rescue her. Do you see how this woman really is, Cala? These are the student you will need to correct in order to have any place near me."

"Get Maria back in her clothes," she said coldly as she rises to her feet, "Since the brat wants to be punished so badly, we will take her to the basement and use what is available. How well you do in breaking this rebellious woman will decide if you have any chance of becoming a Prefect and getting your patch back."

Reaching outwards I closed my hand about Maries upper arm and tugged with visible force hoping it was not too much to topple the girl.

“Maria, come on now, Miss Vera it fucking pissed and your not making it any better with all the bravado so let’s go get you dressed and downstairs. “ I shivered at the word….I hated the basement, the room that Vera had put me in with that maniac. I hoped that she would not do that to Maria. I hoped, well, shit…I did not know what to hope for as it all seemed hopeless.

And in that hopelessness I had to wonder if I would be able to go through with it. It felt dirty, disgusting and worst of all thrilling….a faint tremor of awe at what it might feel like to have someone under my thumb so to speak. Is this what my father had felt ordering around mom…and I? Trembling slightly in sheer nervousness I tugged once more at Marie to get her moving before there was a meltdown in this very room.

Maria frowns, but seems to relent. Whatever happened now, there was no averting it. She slips from her perch as Cala tugs on her, nodding and moving along to get dressed again...towel tossed rather nonchalantly aside as she scoops up her clothing and begins to put it all back on. "Don't worry, Cala...do your job." She says under her breath, glancing over at the other girl. "Do whatever you have to. I'm a lost cause."

"If you were a lost cause, I would not be wasting my time punishing you," she said calmly. Vera moved over to Cala, placing a hand on the woman's cheek. "It will be fine," she said softly, stroking the student's cheek, "You are just helping this one get back on the right track. Think about it, if she is no longer getting herself in trouble, you can spend more time with her as long as it does not hinder your duties."

The Head Girl could feel the many emotions clashing within Cala. It would do no good if the woman was stressed and distracted. Vera would do what she can to keep the woman calm and ready to learn. Having another to assist in disciplining students sounded pleasant to her.

Once Maria was dressed, Vera walked ahead of the two and began to lead them towards the school. The door leading to the basement was rather plain with a simple sign saying basement on it. But nearly everyone in the school has heard the rumors of what lies beyond. The Head Girl opens the door and walks down the stairs into the dimly lit halls of the labrynth. The paths seemed all the same and made the trek confusing like they could be hopelessly lost beneathe the school for a long time if not careful.

She stops at a numbered door, opening the door to a dark room. Flipping a switch, a single dimly lit bulb brought forth only a little bit of illumination to the room. Various physical and sexual torture devices line the tables and hang on the walls throughout the chamber. She smiled faintly as she turned to the two women.

"Well shall we begin then?" she smirked slyly, "Tell me Cala, what do you think we should start with first?"

There was a war in my head and in my heart. Maria telling me she was a lost cause and to have me do what I needed to do made me feel even guiltier. When I had started down this road I had seen the head girl as someone that helped her fellow sisters, the idea she would have to punish them eluding me. It made sense, but I still shuddered at the very thought of becoming more like my father and less like the person I thought I was.

As we walked those dark dank corridors my feet shuffled on the bare concrete floor. A sort of sandpaper on wood sound. IN my mind the various scenarios played out along with Maria’s words. I wanted to see her smile, not this …. Not this visage of fierce determination that rode on her face.

Vera opened the door before us at long last. The twists and turns lost to me as much as my own mind was lost in thought while we had walked. The dank smell of must rose to meet my nostrils and I wrinkled my nose in disgust. The single bulb left the room in harsh shadows of grey and black. But it was the things in the room that made me gulp and then shudder. I might not know the meaning of many, but their sinister nature was evident enough to make me pause.

The entire room seemed evil. Not the sort of place the prophet would have use visit. Was this the price of my rebellion. Had my father been right all those years and my own rebellious youth wasted as the years had gone by. If Vera had wanted to scare me straight and give me incentive then just showing me this room would have been enough. It seemed inconceivable that the administration of the school would allow such a place to exist, but it did, and that only made me think they were in on this dirty little secret.

The voice pierced the slow steady drip of water in an otherwise silent chamber. Yet it was enough to make me jump, my body and mind on edge as I looked about the room. Was I really this weak and squeamish? Had this been the very room that psycho had played with me in. I shuddered once more at his remembrance.

“umm…yes….dad would have thrashed my feet till I could not have walked for coming home drunk and then I would have been grounded and stuck in my room” It just came out, not that I thought it was a good idea.

“‘ Shit…..Maria, your not lost…why would you say that? How can I help you change…think better of yourself….for you are a smart well mouthed and very pretty girl.” I touched her, trying to make sure I caught her eyes so I could drink in her soul. Soon enough her emotions would be mine and the edge between hers and mine a great expanse of grey. But before that I had to know…had to see if I could learn something from her so I might keep the edge from going grey…and well, why not turn Vera’s question right back on the student in question. If nothing else it gave me time to think.

Maria gulps as she takes in the room in front of her, but puts on a soft, determined smile, looking at Cala as she feels the light touch. "I...I'm not really sure." She says, some of her nervousness showing through in the softness of her tone, her expression wavering a moment as her eyes shift back to the room's contents.

"I...I'm at your mercy, I guess..." Words uncertain, hands clenching at her sides as she regards Vera as well, gently biting on her lower lip. This was not going to end well, she knew.

"I ask you a simple question and not only did you not answer but you let the one who is to be punished choose the punishment?" she replied, less than pleased, "You are hopeless. Maria, remove your uniform and fold it neatly on a table. Seems it will be I who will punish you afterall."

She was not about to waste time with Cala's pathetic displays of affection. Would you ask a murderer how he wanted to be punished? People who think they will never be caught or see nothing wrong with breaking the rules will not suddenly change on their own. They must be corrected.

Cala's weakness and lack of conviction really made her reconsider that this one is even able to accomplish becoming a Prefect. Even after attempts to help and soften the punishment were not only ignored but then the girl proceeded to insult the Head Girl she would be working under, the stupid woman still thinks of this brat as some sort of lover or kindred spirit. Pathetic...

Vera moves to one table, picking up a pair of shackles. She also kicks a small stool over towards the middle of the room, the wooden legs grinding loudly across the concrete floor. She waits for Maria to return so she can shackle the poor girl's wrists and get this correction underway.

I clenched my teeth, my hands knotting into balls as I rocked up on the balls of my feet…then back down. Ohhhh….she could get me mad, then happy…then mad this insufferable head girl. Now I was mad, she had no idea what I had been trying to do and had never had to do what I had in mind.

“Vera….” There was a tone in my voice I reserved for when I was displeased. A tone I would no doubt pay for later. “have you ever had to tell your punisher how many times you are to be struck and then had to go out and find the switch would be used. And…..if the number was insufficient or the switch no good enough it earned you more” I stared at her, ignoring Maria for the moment, wondering if she would even get naked on her own. Then again maybe it was like some tawdry porn bondage scene…I shuddered, then got control of my anger and wrapped it up like courage in the glare of Vera’s eyes…

“Soooo yes the one to be punished may choose the punishment but they have to think If I do not go severe enough I will get more…they have to wonder if they went to severe and brought additional pain upon themselves. I hated it when dad played the game with me. “ I said, my heartbeat pounding in my temples, my pulse racing at my throat, good thing I was not PMSing or she would have gotten herself physically assaulted.

“and for you Maria…you did not fucking answer my question…you obfuscated and ignored it…and well…that ticks me off as well….shit….now I am mad and I don’t like being this way. SO” Loudly I cleared my throat. “Do what Vera has asked but before tell me how you think you should be punished for breaking the school rules on drinking, possession of illegal substances, uniform violations, and not obeying the requests of a fellow student put in authority over you…and if the punishment requires a device to assist in its execution you will bring that device to me before you end up placing yourself in the shackles….Also remember that if I do not think the punishment is sufficient for the crime then I may up the ante so to speak.” Each word drawn out, carefully trying to keep myself under control.

By the prophet I was mad enough to be spitting sand. With hands on hips I stood tall, ready, glaring at the both of them and knowing I was not about to hear the end of this from Vera. Fuck her….but there was no way to say sorry. She was right … I had been a little weak kneed and undoubtedly would once more, but the room had shaken me even if that was no excuse….well, the whole idea was scary…but …well…It needed doing.

I finally realized I was excited…and that too was scary.

Maria blinks as Cala finally goes off on her, wincing and nodding slowly, averting her eyes. She was in for it, she knew. Slowly, she steps toward the table, peeling off her uniform piece by piece and folding it neatly, her arms moving to cover herself as her cheeks flush crimson.

"I should be punished to the fullest extent...I've been defiant, broken the rules numerous times...if you want me to give specifics on how I should be p-punished, I..." She pauses, biting her lip and closing her eyes. "I can't...I don't...don't know..."

"Do not pretend that was your intention, Cala," she replied evenly, "There is a large difference between your punishing example and what you were just doing with that woman. You did not ask her about punishment, you asked about helping her and proceeded to kiss her feet with weak compliments. You are here to get results not lick her wounds or other places."

The brat was already on thin ice and trying to raise her voice at Vera was definitely not improving her standing. But at least the woman was finally being more serious. The whole trying to be the kind and caring punisher was not befitting for this situation. Maria had done more than just break the rules, the woman openly insulted her and she was not about to let such things pass unscathed.

The now nude student was now showing signs of embarassment and perhaps even fear. It was much too late to beg for forgiveness. The other flaw of asking what the punishment should be was already apparent. One cannot ask someone who is more than likely never been to the basement before what tools she would like used upon her. Maria was inexperienced on the arts of bondage and erotic tortures. Even if the woman were experienced, it would be no fun if she picked tools she liked.

Since Cala seemed to be more into the job, Vera leaves the shackles on the stool and steps away. She will see how the woman reacts to Maria's answer for now. Her arms cross infront of her well endowed chest as she leans against a table.

I ignored Maria for a bit, utterly dumbfounded as to what to do…or what most of the things in this room were for. Ohhh….I could guess at many of them, and the ones I knew seemed just wrong to use as a punishment because that would feel like rape, or if she did enjoy them like I did then it would not be a punishment. Shit…..

Casting my eyes toe floor I nervously shifted from one foot to the other wondering how to proceed. Vera would be mad either way. One way or the other I was in deep shit and there just seemed no easy way out. I could spank her…or whip her, but maybe Vera was expecting better of me in this room full of wooden and metal and plastic things. One of them looked an awful lot like a rocking horse, but I mean what the hell was that for. And all them chains and ropes…I mean tying someone up didn’t seem like it would be all that effective…though hot wax…now even I had hated that.

“umm…ahhh Vera…like is there an operators manual for this stuff….some of it…well…like I have never seen ever before. And well….umm I hate to admit this but I have no idea what kind of punishment you have in mind cause everything I had in mind didn’t require Maria to be naked as the day she was born, though I might add a might bit curvier and much cuter I am sure than that day. “ I said that for Maria’s sake…before realizing that might not have been a smart thing to do.

Fuck me….I could only hope that maybe the sicker things in my mind would not be the things that Vera made me do to my new friend. Maria seemed to have had the fight just whipped out of her already…or was in some sick way pleading for me to do something to her as if she might need and enjoy it. That had be confused. Pain was pain and I hated it.