There was a letter waiting at Cat’s usual dining spot for the Tuesday night supper. Letters? She realized she hadn’t seen a single piece of mail anywhere, addressed to anyone, her entire time here. The letter only had her name - Cat Davis - written on it. Clearly not from the dean or anyone within the administration, then. But how did it get to her usual spot? Who was it from?

Before she could break the seal on the envelope, the room flashed bright red and the buzzing alarm blared through the room so loud it shook the chandeliers. Oh god. She forgot it was Tuesday. She tried to think of where to hide the envelope and came up short. She assumed her position at the table and flattened the letter under the palm of her hand. Best option.

One after another, the sound of a heavy hand hitting - bare flesh?! - echoed through the glass building. After Cat counted fifteen, she turned her head in the direction and was filled with dread as an entire table of girls lifted their skirts and he went down the line violently spanking each and every one of them.

“Are we all getting spanked tonight?” Cat whispered to her housemate next to her.

“Shh, I don’t know, just…” the next table all lifted their skirts and the dean continued his pathway towards the front of the hall. Oh god, why were they all getting spankings tonight? That had never happened before…

Her entire table was next. One by one, the sound of a hand against flesh got closer and closer until it stopped and she could feel the large presence of the dean standing behind her. She braced herself for the spank but nothing came. She felt the letter slide out from under the palm of her hand - she’d forgotten it was there - and she felt a firm and hard grasp against her backside as the dean palmed one entire side of her buttocks in his hand and squeezed. Hard. Much too hard. She squeaked as she felt like he would tear the muscle apart in his hand and he relented.

“A letter?” He asked. “Who from? Scholars don’t normally get letters.”

“I don’t know, sir,” she replied. “I… it was there when I came in.”

“May I?” She was pretty sure he wasn’t actually asking her for permission to keep it.

“Sir.”

Shit. Who was the letter from? What did it say? Her mind raced wildly trying to figure out who could have been able to write her a letter and sneak it in to supper without anyone noticing. Literally no one? She didn’t know why she was surprised when the flash of a wooden rod cracked against her bare ass, but she cried out loudly without thinking, the sound echoing through the room.

“My study. Tomorrow.” The dean said pocketing the letter. He gave her an extra spanking with his hand as he continued on to the girl next to her.

:::::

Max was gone again that night and never returned to their shared dormitory. Cat was beside herself with worry - both for her friend, and for herself. She could have used Max’s levelheaded and frank opinions about what could possibly happen during the impromptu meeting with the dean. Without someone to talk with, her mind ran wild. What was the punishment for an unsanctioned letter?! And she was still desperately curious to know who had even sent it to her in the first place and how it had come to arrive at her supper table.

She walked into the dean’s study. One minute early. The receptionist was visibly bruised, but otherwise dressed and groomed immaculately. The girl at the front desk widened her eyes in fear as Cat approached the desk to check-in and Cat tried to rationalize the look she was receiving.

The red light flared, the room shook with the reverberation of the buzzer, and the doors opened to the dean’s study. Cat was certain that she would walk in and find the exam table setup and ready for her. But it wasn’t. Instead, the image of a letter was projected - huge - across the entire wall. The dean was at his desk with a smug smile on his face.

“Hello Catherine, thank you for coming in,” he said genially. She couldn’t even begin to make sense of or parse his moods. It left her incredibly anxious and uneasy in his presence. She nodded in response and stood awkwardly in front of his desk. He hadn’t offered her the seat. His body language was providing zero indication of what she should expect in this meeting.

“It appears that you have a bit of an admirer at St. Joseph’s,” he smiled and nodded to the letter projected on the wall. She froze in fear as she realized the letter was addressed to her - “Hey Cat…” it began. Oh god. It was her letter from the night before. Blown up and displayed across an entire wall for her (and the dean) to read. Her heart hammered in her throat. Who and why?!

”Normally, the exchange of letters is strictly prohibited between the colleges. Too much risk of deviance amongst the women AND the men for that matter. You’re all young adults, the hormones run wild, I’m sure you can understand why the policy is in place,” he explained.

“Sir, I…”

He interrupted and continued on, “Problem is, we have a bit of a, shall we say, special scholar who has recently begun his tenure at St. Joseph’s and he has special…” at this a look of extreme distaste fell over the dean’s face, “Privileges. I suppose even St. Joseph’s and St. Mary’s cannot necessarily bend the will of the president and his family.”

Oh fuck. Of course the letter was from August. She wanted to turn back towards the wall and quick read through the letter, but the dean was watching her like a hawk as he spoke. One look away and who knows how he might retaliate.

“So, Catherine,” the dean continued, “since I cannot actually confiscate this letter and keep it from you - which would be the proper course of action in literally any other scenario where a scholar might receive a personal letter - I will have you read it out loud here today and you may decide how you wish to proceed.”

How she wished to proceed? Again - a choice?! She was lost, confused, a bit terrified.

“Sir?” She squeaked.

“Turn around and read it,” the dean directed, nodding towards the wall. “Out loud.”

She turned around slowly and took in the text scrawled across the wall. To his credit, August had fantastic hand writing. She didn’t know if that was a good thing or bad thing that it was so legibly written.

She opened her mouth to speak and felt a heavy hand fall swiftly across the back of her skull. She fell forward in surprise and turned her head to see the dean standing directly behind her.

“READ!” He commanded.

Cat straightened and nervously held her hands together as she began to read the letter out loud:

“Hey Cat, I’m not sure how else to get in touch with you so I decided that I would write you a letter. Your roommate, Max, seems to think that she can get it to you so I hope this proves to be true. I really liked meeting you at the mixer the other night…” Her heart was galloping and she could feel the heat of embarrassment and lust for the handsome young man flooding her body - spreading up her chest, neck, burning her cheeks bright red.

She felt a hard flash of pain against her backside and the dean barked a stern, “Continue!”

“I think you’re cute. Not at all the way your family has portrayed you over the years.” She turned a furtive glance towards the dean and squeaked in surprise as she caught his harshly assessing gaze. She swallowed hard and turned her attention back to the letter.

”I mentioned that some of the guys have a bonfire in the forest clearing over by St. Joseph’s. We’ll be doing this on Saturday, if you - and Max? - want to come by for some fun.”

Again, she glanced at the dean and he was unchanged. Staring at her in a way that made her completely clueless as to what his next move might be.

“No drinking or anything like that. The patrons don’t allow it. I’m sure you have similar rules. Just a good time. I’d like to get to know you a bit better. Invite you out to have some fun away from all those girls. Write me back and let me know. Again, Max should be able to get the letter over to me.” How?!?

She stopped reading and felt another sharp whack against her backside. She lurched forward and choked on her own breath as she stumbled.

“Finish it,” the dean demanded coldly.

“Talk soon, I hope. August.” She finished the letter and her mind raced wildly. Oh god. What would her punishment be from this. What would MAX’S punishment be for, apparently, smuggling letters back and forth between the colleges. HOW had she done it?! Is that the reason she never came back last night?!

“What happened to Max?” She cried out, apparently concern for her roommate overriding the concern for her own well being.

“She’s waiting out in reception for you, you’ll see her when we’re finished in here,” the dean replied coolly. What?!?

”Sir, I…” she began, but again, the dean interrupted her speaking.

“What’s your decision, Catherine?” He asked. She stumbled over her own thoughts.

”Decision about what?” She asked, dumbly.

The dean laughed, “Do you want to go to the bonfire at St. Joseph’s this weekend or not?”

Wait. What?! Was he actually allowing her to attend the event?

“Obviously, should you decide to attend, we will need to take some precautionary measures to ensure that no temptation will befall you, Max, or the gentlemen who attend the event,” he explained. “But the choice is yours, Catherine. You have received a lovely invitation from a very powerful young man. Are you going to accept it or not?”

She honestly had no idea. The idea of going out and doing something fun, social, with boys, was such a thrilling one that she desperately, desperately wanted to accept the invitation. But the implication of accepting such an invitation… the trouble she and Max could get into if anything went awry, the woods that all the girls had been explicitly instructed to stay away from, gave her pause.

“Sir, I don’t know. Can I think about it?” She answered, truthfully.

The dean grinned, unnerving her and nodded thoughtfully. “Not the answer I expected, but one I can respect,” he said. “Yes, you may. Please give me an answer by our physical education class on Friday and necessary response and arrangements can be made after that time.” What the hell did that mean?!

”Thank you, sir,” she said quietly as she glanced towards the door. Was she done? She was desperate to see Max. Make sure that she was ok.

“Sorry that I cannot let you keep the letter, Catherine,” the dean said as he turned back to his desk. “That will need to remain confiscated, but should you decide to return Mr. Rogers message, I will have pen and paper available here for you on Friday to indicate your interest.”

”Thank you, sir,” she demurred again.

“You may go,” the dean said as the doors began to open. He didn’t need to tell her twice. She briskly walked out of the study and back into the atrium where Max was standing next to the receptionist desk, waiting for her.

Cat gasped as her friend turned to greet her. She had the most brilliant purple eye, a long, thin red line across the side of her neck, and red welts circling her wrists. She bore a striking resemblance to a couple of the receptionists she had seen sitting at this very desk over the past few weeks.

“Ready?” Max asked, completely nonchalant, as if she wasn’t sporting signs of incredible abuse and injury.

“What happened?!” Cat gasped. Max laughed - Cat was aghast.

“You read the letter,” Max said, winking at the receptionist as the two of them set off to leave, “You, Miss Catty Cat have a DATE.”

What?! No she didn’t. Not yet. She hadn’t decided. And why was her roommate the one to get punished for it?