Background: This story is set in the 28th century. Rejuvenation
is common, and is used not only to extend life but as a punishment for criminal
behavior.
— Lurking Dragon
Moving Day
Aug 2, 2753
Part 60 of Melody's Stories
Melody sat back on her little armchair (turning it around so that it no longer faced the corner) and wiped the sweat off of her forehead. Finished!! She'd finally finished unpacking all of her toys and books and getting them put away properly in the toybox and onto her bookshelf.
She'd already unpacked her clothes and hung them up, and put all her little nighties, pajamas and underthings away in her dresser. Her *very own* dresser!! One of the really nice things about their new house was that Melody had her own room.
Not that she'd really minded sharing her room with Ellen—except when she was getting spanked, of course, which was awfully embarassing. (She sortof LIKED sharing on those occasions when her baby sister ELLEN was getting spanked, though...)
Still, Ellen was getting older now—she'd turn five years old in a couple of weeks, on Aug 17. Which was the problem, of course, and why they'd had to move from Assville...
Not that it was anything SERIOUS. It was just that little Ellen was having a LOT of trouble learning to read and write. She really wasn't TOO far behind, as yet—compared to a little Kindern. But for a rejuve, she was ridiculously behind. She'd HAVE to be. After all, Panglish was pretty different from English. And the alphabet and number systems were TOTALLY different, having been adapted from the Drakonian systems several centuries before.
Oh, the new systems were much more logical than the old English systems—but Ellen had to learn them from scratch, like a Kindern.
Even worse, and something almost everybody had forgotten—Ellen had grown up learing only one language—English.
For centuries, almost EVERYBODY had been taught, not just foreign, but ALIEN languages from the age of two, Drakonian and Rigellian, and sometimes more!
And a child who grows up learing only one language has a LOT more trouble learning foreign languages in the future. Several TIMES the trouble.
Which was what most everybody had forgotten.
So, while Ellen was managing to learn to speak and understand Panglish pretty well, reading and writing it was turning out to be a nightmare for the poor child.
And Josh and Mary hadn't even TRIED to teach her Rigellian or Drakonian yet.
Finally, the Solution offered by the Experts was that Ellen ought to start her schooling early, in Kindergarden.
Now, most rejuves do NOT attend Kindergarden. After all, there are VERY few rejuves who are five years old, except for Penitatas.*1 And Kindergarden is really supposed to be FUN—which is why Penitatas don't go to it.
So, at the moment, the only Kindergardens available for Ellen were REAL Kindergardens—the ones for KINDERN.
And since Ellen's alphabet and number skills were, to be frank, not even up to normal five-year-old Kindern standards, the Medical and Education boards thought that a Kindern Kindergarden would be just the thing to help Ellen 'catch up'. They were even seriously discussing having her go to a Kindern school, at least for the first few years, since those basic skills were the ones she needed the most.
Once she'd gotten beyond basic reading, writing and numbers, of course, the experts were sure she could be put back in with her fellow rejuves, probably mostly Penitatas, of course. And that might also be a good thing; while her behavior had improved enormously, Ellen still occasionally found herself over her Mommy or Daddy's knees for a spanking—and most of the experts felt that the more rigid discipline of a primaruly Penitatas class would be good for her. But for now, her need for REAL primary education was more important...)
Which was why, with Ellen turning five just before school starts, the Johnson's had been asked to move into a new house. In a different town. In a new neighborhood.
A Kindern-rated neighborhood.
Were Melody really WASN'T supposed to go!
But an exception had been made. If Melody hadn't been SUCH a good girl, the family might have been split up. If she hadn't been awarded the Federation Good Citizen award, her Gold Star, it probably wouldn't have been considered.
Melody had been called into the District Supervisor's office—by herself!!—for a long lecture about how much this showed Society trusted her, and how important it was for her to prove that this trust was justified, and how it was imperative that she be on Her Very Best Behavior ALL the time, especially in public.
After all, if she DID misbehave in public, her Mommy or Daddy couldn't just spank her right then and there...that Just Wasn't Done in Kindern-rated neighborhoods. And when she got spanked at home (and she WOULD still get spanked at home, that didn't change) she'd HAVE to be taken inside, and the curtains would have to be drawn. (He didn't tell Melody that, of course; she overheard him talking to her Mommy and Daddy).
And, of course, MELODY would NOT be attending the same elementary school as Ellen. She would attend John Parker, the local rejuve school, while Ellen would be a Peter Lee Elementary, the local Kindern school.
But Melody would be the ONLY Penitatas in the entire school!!! Not just the only Hard-Timer (after her award, she wasn't really treated as a full hard-timer, anyway—although she WAS more strictly disciplined than most actual soft-timers), but the ONLY Penitatas *at all*!! In fact, the school didn't even offer any classes for ages younger than nine, since virtually nobody voluntarily rejuved to that young an age, and those were mostly re-rejuves for men who had been misfortunate enough to be one of the 1% of rejuved men who came out as females.
There weren't even any Medicalos in fifth grade. Just Voluntaras who had taken the latest advice, and rejuvenated back to ten in order to get more used to childhood before hitting adolescence at thirteen or fourteen. Not even any Completadas—who usually stayed with their last parents after finishing their sentences, in Penitatas-rated neighborhoods. In fact, Melody had been told that there would probably only be 5 or 6 kids in her entire class!
It was going to be VERY strange. Most of the kids her own age that Mel would encounter would be Kindern!!
Melody wondered if they would even know about Penitatas, and if so if they'd know about all the spankings she got. She blushed inside as she imagined having to explain about all of her spankings with a REAL kid. Or should she fib, or maybe just keep quiet? But, of course, the kids NEEDED to know—just as an ordinary kid back in the twentieth century needed to know about jails and prisons. And kids, under exceptional circumstances, COULD even get Penitatas sentences for juvenile delinquency, too.
* * *
Right about then Mary walked into Melody's room, looked around, and asked her "Well, are you about done yet? Or are you just taking a break?"
"Just finished, Mommy!! Whew! That was a lot of hard work. Ah... would you mind if I got a shower now, instead of a bath later, Mommy? I'm AWFUL icky-sticky..."
Only recently had Melody been permittted the 'privilege' of taking a shower by herself instead of being given a bath by one of her parents. And she was still forbidden to take a bath by herself— she was still just a little girl, and some of the Penitatas assumptions were being maintained. But at least occasionally Mel was spared the embarassment of being scubbed down all over in the bathtub—like her baby sister Ellen. (Who, Medicalos or NOT, was still MUCH too young to even shower by herself).
"Well, all right, Mel. I just finished putting the towels up in your bathroom, so I guess it will be all right. But I must warn you that you'll be getting a bath tonight anyway. Your Daddy and I felt that you should get your very first spanking in our new house right away, just to get it over with...and since we feel you need something a bit more than the usual, just to remind you to behave yourself in this KINDERN neighborhood, well, I'm afraid you'll be crying yourself to sleep tonight, dearest..."
Melody winced, but had really expected it. As she scrubbed off the sweat and grime of her labors in the shower, she reflected that she actually hadn't gotten a spanking in well over a week. It had been, lets see...tuesday before last, ten DAYS ago. And that had been a good, sound handspanking from Mommy.
Bare-bottomed, of course.
And Melody realized that she hadn't EARNED a good spanking for weeks!!
Since she'd won her Gold Star, Melody's spankings had decreased dramatically in both frequency and severity. Nowadays, she only got 'just because' spankings about once a week. 'About' because Josh and Mary didn't want her knowing just WHEN she'd be getting a spanking, at least not TOO far ahead.
And most of THOSE 'just because' spankings were either handspankings or ones with the light 'helper paddle', or more often a little bit of both. (Ellen had started calling them 'just because' spankings because Melody got them 'just because' she was a Penitatas.) Melody's REAL spankings were down to maybe one or two a year, these days— outside of her 'special day' punishments, of course. 'Real' in that they were applied with the back of her hairbrush or her Very Own Spanking Paddle. At least 'real' 'just because' spankings. Melody grimaced as she turned off the water. She STILL got one or TWO good, sound, bare-bottomed spankings—with the hairbrush back, or maybe her paddle—whenever she was actually NAUGHTY.
For a moment she reflected on that paddle—the very same paddle she'd been given for Christmas back when she was seven.
There had been no new paddles since then. Daddy had even given the painted side of the paddle a coat of protective varnish, so that the paint looked just as it had when she was seven.
Melody would be getting too few paddlings to wear out the paddle every year—nor would she be subjected to continuously larger and thicker paddles every year, like most Penitatas.
Melody had half-expected to be given a bumblebee 'blistering' paddle for her eighth birthday, as at that age she was old enough for a properly blistered bottom, at least when she was VERY naughty.
But no such paddle had appeared. And Melody had finally realized that none would—as long as she continued to be good enough not to NEED one.
But she really wasn't naughty very often, any more. A good, sound spanking each and every time you misbehave was, Melody had to admit, a real incentive to get your act together, THINK first, and be VERY aware of consequences before doing ANYTHING.
She still got into mischief now and then, but Melody was, in fact, learning her lesson. Heck, if you didn't count 'just because' spankin's, or the 'special day' punishments, Melody actually found herself over her parent's laps less often than Ellen, these days.
As Melody wrapped a towel around her 125 cm. and stepped onto the scales. 22 and a half. Melody sighed...she knew that, back in the tentieth century, a ten-(almost eleven!!)year-old-girl who was just four-foot-one and fifty pounds would be considered VERY small for her age. But, as she'd told Ellen, the Fujikawa treatments she'd gotten right after her eighth birthday were slowing down Melody's physical (and, eventually her sexual) maturation. Physically, Melody resembled a smallish nine-year-old more than a big ten-year-old!!
* * *
After supper Mary took Ellen upstairs to give her her bath and put the four-year-old to bed. The poor dear was exhausted; all the excitement, unpacking, running around...and Ellen had insisted on unpacking all her own toys (many, many more than Melody had!!) and putting them all away all by herself (requiring frequent reminders from Mommy that "You'll have time to play with that later, dear, please keep on putting them away...")
She'd barely kept awake for supper.
Melody now got to stay up until ten except for school nights; then she had to go to bed at nine. And, somewhat to her surprise, Melody actually was allowed to stay up until eight—despite her impending spanking. But at eight o'clock, her Mommy began to draw the curtains, and Josh, Melody's Daddy, turned off the holo and gestured for his little Penitatas daughter to come over to the couch.
Melody obeyed, with just a little bit of a whimper down in her throat. Daddy gently pulled her over to his right, and then helped the little girl up and over his lap.
It was almost unnecessary for Josh to raise her little dress. Melody *hated* the latest styles...they were strongly reminiscent of the little-girl dresses of the mid nineteen-thirties, or even more of the 'pantyview' styles of the twenty-three hundreds.
In other words, Melody's little pink-and-white check dress was short.
VERY short. The hem of the unpleated skirt actually ended almost two centimeters ABOVE the base of her little bottom—Melody's little yellow print cotton panties had been clearly, if only partially, visible below the hem of her skirt even BEFORE her Daddy had turned his little Penitatas over his lap.
Once in the traditional spanking position, almost all of Melody's pantyseat was exposed to Josh's view—and palm.
So Josh didn't bother with Mel's dress; he just raised his hand and began to spank.
Melody whimpered as her Daddy's hard hand SMACKED down onto her thinly-clad bottom. She was very much afraid that this still-painful panty-warming was just the preliminary for one of the thoroughly- well-spanked bottoms she didn't get all that often anymore.
And as her Daddy paused in his brisk panty-spanking to gently ruck down that last, thin layer of cotton protecting her tender young rump, Melody knew that she was right...
A few minutes later Melody cried and sobbed as she faced the corner, her bare, well-spanked bottom resing firmly, if painfully, on her CornerStool, her face firmly pressed into the corner. But Melody hadn't actually been naughty, so a scant five minutes of corner time was judged sufficient reflection upon the need to behave in the new neighborhood.
And so Mary told Mel to get off of the stool, and to come up with her for the child's bath.
Melody was actually quite clean; her afternoon shower hadn't left enough time for her childish body to attract the usual amount of grime. Which didn't stop her Mommy from giving her little girl a thorough bath—with an emphasis on her well-spanked bare bottom. Fortunately, the attention was applied with a rough terry washcloth, rather than the scrub brush. (Which was missing—or, rather, would be unpacked, eventually, as soon as the right box was found).
Melody was pretty sure it wasn't over. And when her Mommy slipped the short little yellow nightie over her head—without putting panties on first—she knew she was right.
The little nightie had been bought when Mel was just eight-and-a-half, and no longer really fit. In fact, it would have been deleted from most kid's wardrobes long ago.
After all, it was pretty tight across Melody's shoulders and chest— it wouldn't have fit at all, except that it had been quite a bit too large in those areas to start with.
And the hem...well, let's just say that the little nightie made Melody's dress look modestly long.
It barely reached the MIDDLE of Mel's bottom. Not really a problem— with panties.
But without...
And now Mommy was seating herself on Mel's new little bed. And looking at her now-sniffling daughter.
"Melody—please bring me your hairbrush, dear."
Melody started to sniffle and cry as she brought the dreaded instrument of correction to her Mommy. What had she DONE?? Melody almost NEVER got hairbrush-spankings 'just because' any more. Only once or twice a year—and usually when her behavior had been deteriorating—not really being NAUGHTY, just not being especially GOOD, needing reminders from Mommy and Daddy to do her chores (but then doing them without complaint), or getting just a BIT rambunctious. Usually, when Melody's Mommy asked her to bring her the hairbrush THESE days, it was to brush out her long, blond hair.
But Melody had gone to camp in July. A Penitatas camp, where most of the kids got daily spankings (Melody's weekly spankings had been greatly envied—as had the Gold Star symbols on her hands that made them possible). But there had been both a pool and a lake, and the girls had spent a lot of time swimming.
Their parents had been advised that short hair was much preferred.
So Mary and Melody had decided on a cute little pageboy haircut for her. A short haircut Mel had liked so much, she'd kept it.
Mommy had run a comb through her hair in the bathroom. It certainly didn't need brushing out. Melody was very much afraid she knew just why her Mommy wanted the terrible instrument of parental punishment.
She was right.
"No, Melody, you HAVEN'T been a naughty girl. You've been everything a Mommy could want in a daughter. But we're living in a Kindern neighborhood, now, honey. And Josh and I, well, we felt that we just had to give you a nasty little reminder of just what WILL happen to your bare bottom if you DON'T REALLY behave yourself now. So I'm afraid I'm going to have to give you the sort of 'just because' spanking you got when you were littler—before the Gold Star. You know we have to do this occasionally, dear. As a reminder..."
Melody sobbed as she was gently turned over her Mommy's lap, and pulled up onto the bed. Her little nightie tucked well up. Her tender young behind bared for painful punishment.
And soon the little ten-year-old was howling and bawling over her Mommy's lap, as the hard hairbrush-back spanked down again and again into her tender little girl-flesh.
Her bottom BURNED as Mary expertly applied the brush to Mel's nates, repeatedly spanking the tormented bare bottom into a ball of awful pain. Melody squirmed, wiggled, bawled and *howled* as she was slowly but surely turned into the proverbial Well Spanked Little Girl.
Melody was STILL a Penitatas. Still a hard-timer. And this was far from the first good, sound bare-bottomed hairbrush-spanking that Melody had been given—not even the first that year. But it was the first one, except for 'special day' punishemnts, that she'd gotten for JUST BEING a Penitatas for several months.
In her first year Melody had gotten over a HUNDRED good, sound bare-bottomed hairbrush-or paddle-spankings—'just because'. Not any longer!! A definite improvement that Melody was in no position to appreciate, face down over her Mommy's lap getting one of those relatively-rare bare bottom burnings she was still subject to.
But eventually—finally—the painful, sound spanking came to an end. And the bawling Melody was turned over on her Mommy's lap, her hot little bottom carefully positioned OFF of her thighs, so that her weight rested on her less-well-spanked upper thighs.
And Mary pulled Melody's head back onto her breast, and cuddled and comforted her disciplined daughter. Melody's crying and bawling slowly gave way, and soon she was just sobbing quietly, her tears soaking her Mommy's dress. Until Melody finally cried herself to sleep, and was gently tucked into her new bed...
*1 (At least usually. Until the war ended two years ago, there had actually been a LOT of 5-year-old rejuves—rejuvenated and repatriated Prisoners of War from the Delasian conflict. And there had been Kindergardens set up at most of the local rejuve schools for them. But with the end of the war, there were no new POWs coming home, and the ones from the war were all seven or older now. So the Kindergardens had been shut back down).
