An update. An update! With actual content!

Dear readers,

it has been quite some time since this blog saw an update with actual content.

Unfortunately my private situation doesn't allow for writing myself at the moment. However, as I am a switcher, I also enjoy setting lines for others to write, and I had the pleasure of having a pupil under strict detention recently. Let's call her Anastasia (she doesn't want to be mentioned by her real name here).

I don't want to bore you with the details. Let's just say that Anastasia had to write lines for me a week ago. And I gave a strict rules and a strict timetable - her detention included writing lines and standing in the corner at set times. Because she broke some of those rules (only minor things - but really, does it matter? Breaking a rule is not tolerated) she asked for another detention.

I told her to write this paragraph 75 times:

"My teachers know best what is good for me and my education. I therefore have to follow the rules they have set me at all times. If I misbehave or break the school rules they have every right and obligation to punish me in order to correct and improve my behaviour. These lines serve as reminder that I did not follow the rules and have disappointed my teachers."

To add some spice, and to not let her get into a writing flow, I gave a strict schedule of alternating writing and corner time. This was at her own request. I'm not sadistic enough to come up with that idea myself ;-) and I certainly wouldn't want that to be imposed on me, especially as it doesn't quite fit into my concept of a school detention. Afterwards she confirmed that she simultaneously liked and hated it.

Now as I said, I'm not sadistic. However, when I checked her lines I couldn't help but have an evil smile on my face when I looked at one of her discarded pages.
I told her that I wanted her to write on both sides of the paper. And that I wanted all papers completely free of mistakes, that means front and back side. So if she did a mistake on the back side, well that's too bad, because she had to discard the front side as well.

 

What happened to Anastasia here is pretty much the worst case scenario. Making a mistake on the penultimate line of page 8 - and having to discard page 7 and 8 in the process. Poor girl. I wish I could have been there in the very moment when she realised she made a mistake, just to see her face.

What I liked about the whole detention was that the thrill for me is basically the same. I love the thought of the opposites - one person under strict rules, the other person free to do as he or she pleases - but being the teacher has the benefit that it is less time consuming. :-)

Anastasia wrote a little story based upon her experience that day. While many details come from her fantasy, the general procedure is based on pretty much what happened. Have fun reading it (click "read more" to see it).

Thank you, Anastasia, for letting me publish your story.

-Cornelia

A long detention day for Anastasia, 03 July 2013

The story develops in a boarding school in England. The main characters are Mrs. Maclay, the strict teacher, and Anastasia, the naughty schoolgirl.

Only Mrs. Maclay can see the time on the clock. Anastasia, as every student on a detention day in this school, is not allowed to carry a watch and will not be able to see the time, any time of the day.

Mrs. Maclay’s actions and conversations are marked in black. Anastasia’s actions and conversations are marked in blue.

(sometimes the formatting is a bit off, sorry for that)

06:00	Ding dong! Ding dong! Ding dong! Anastasia! Wake up girl! Time to get out of bed for your detention day! Yawn! (Mrs. Maclay is standing in my room with a large bell). Good morning Mrs. Yawn! Maclay. Hurry up girl! Get out of bed and run to the shower! We’ve got no time to lose! (Slowly runs to the shower.) Now get in girl, and I’ll let the cold water get in. Oh no Mrs! Not a cold shower! I hate that! Shut up girl! It’s time you wake up clearly and the cold water will sure do you some good!
06:05	(The cold water starts running…) Oh! That’s very cold Mrs! Please can I have some warm water please, I’m freezing. Shut up girl and make sure that you’re clean. It’s going to be a long detention day for you and I don’t want the detention classroom to be filled with bugs. Yes Mrs.
06:10	Here, take this towel girl and dry yourself. And then do your morning duties. Yes Mrs.
06:30	Now put on your uniform girl, and make sure that it looks perfect. I don’t want to see any item missing.

There will be a uniform inspection today! And when you’re ready with that, eat your breakfast, and then come to my office for your uniform inspection. And don’t be late or there will be consequences! Is that clear girl?

Yes Mrs.

(Puts on her uniform, quickly eats her breakfast, and runs to Mrs. Maclay’s office).

Knock knock.

Come in girl. Let me see: are you wearing all the regulatory items? White knee socks, with the garters of course, I don’t want to see your socks dangling around your legs today. Hmm, the navy blue skirt, the white shirt with the freshly starched collar and cuffs, fully buttoned up of course, the blue and white striped tie, the grey V-neck pull-over, the navy blue blazer, also fully buttoned. Ah! And the flat black laced up punishment shoes. Good that you thought about them Anastasia. For a punishment we always want you to wear a pair of shoes that’s at least two sizes smaller than your actual size. Your feet will hurt, but all that is part of the punishment. Good, your uniform looks OK. Now hurry to the detention classroom and sit down at your desk, pen in hand. You have to be ready when I arrive there.

Yes Mrs.

(Runs to the detention classroom and sits behind her desk, pen in the hand).

(Mrs. Maclay enters the room).

(Stands up).

Sit!

Well Anastasia, your behaviour has been absolutely below our standards lately. It is time for you to get a punishment you will never forget. Ordinarily I would have given you a good 12 strokes with my good old cane, but unfortunately in these so-called modern days, all these good old ancient practices have been forbidden. It would have been better for the both of us; it would have certainly wasted less of our time. But things are what they are, and if we can’t use the cane, we’ll give you a detention day that you will not forget for the rest of your life.

Now, here is the line you are going to write today:

“My teachers know best what is good for me and my education. I therefore have to follow the rules they have set me at all times. If I misbehave or break the school rules they have every right and obligation to punish me in order to correct and improve my behaviour. These lines serve as reminder that I did not follow the rules and have disappointed my teachers.”

You will write it out 75 times. You will use both sides of the paper and whenever you make an error, you will discard both sides of the paper. Is that clear girl?

Oh no Mrs! Such a long line. 75 times Mrs? I’ll need a whole week to write all that!

07:00	Oh shut up girl and start writing! Yes Mrs. (line 1: My teachers… line 2: …in order to improve …) Oh blimey, only my second line and I already made a mistake. Already one page to discard. Better start again in a hurry. (line 1: My teachers… line 7: … and improve…)
07:25	Pen down! Now move to that naughty corner girl and sit down on your knees, hands on your head. Yes Mrs! (Oh gosh! Corner time again. Why do I always have to stand or kneel in that corner? I hate it! It’s so boring. And in the meantime I can’t finish my lines…)
07:35	Get up girl and continue writing. Yes Mrs! Thank you Mrs. Smooth down your skirt girl while you sit down, so that you look presentable. And keep your knees and feet together, feet flat on the floor! Yes Mrs. (…my behaviour… 22: …have set me…)
08:20	Pen down girl! Immediately! Now back to the corner and stand there with your hands crossed behind your back! Yes Mrs. (How long will I have to stand here this time? I hope all this corner nonsense won’t take too long. I want to go to my room, watch some TV and surf on the internet. Yawn!)
09:00	Back to your desk girl. And start writing! Yes Mrs! Thank you Mrs. And keep your knees and feet together, feet flat on the floor! (page 3: …at all times… page 4: .. 32: …If I misbehave or…)
09:30	Pen down! Back in the corner! Kneel down, hands on your head! Yes Mrs.
09:40	This corner time is finished girl, back to your desk and continue writing. Yes Mrs! Thank you Mrs. Anastasia, I’m not going to repeat this all day long: keep your knees and feet together, feet flat on the floor! And smooth your skirt down! Yes Mrs, I’m sorry Mrs. (…break the school rules… page 6: 41: …to punish me in order to…) Oh my god! My pen slipped and I wrote through the margin! Now I will have to discard this page and the previous one as well. Oh, it looks like this day is never going to end! (Page 5:  33: My teachers…  34: …at all times.)
10:15	Stop writing! Back to the corner girl, stand up and put your hands on your head. Yes Mrs. And stop wiggling girl! Stand still! How many times do I have to tell you!
10:35	Continue writing! Yes Mrs! Thank you Mrs. (If I misbehave… page 7: 53:I therefore have to follow the…)
11:30	Pen down! Back to the corner. Kneel down, hands on your head! Yes Mrs. (With all these interruptions I always lose my rhythm and my concentration, why is this teacher so cruel to me? I hate that Mrs. Maclay! She’s probably the worst teacher in this school. Why do I always get in trouble with her?)
11:45	Back to your desk! Continue your punishment. Yes Mrs! Thank you Mrs. (…rules they have…) Hmm, it looks good, I’m making good progress. Maybe if I finish my lines early Mrs. Maclay will let me go to my room to watch some TV and surf on the internet, maybe this detention will be much shorter than planned… (64: …good for me…) Oh, my pen is running dry, already, time to insert a new ink cartridge.
12:20	Pen down! It’s lunch time!

(Finally!)

Here’s your special detention lunch dear: a potato boiled for 40 minutes, without salt, without any spices, just mashed with a few drops of milk, and kept in the refrigerator overnight. An ice-cold mashed potato.

And I have kept the cooking water as well: it’s also cold and you can have that as a refreshment.

(Looks at the mashed potato and the potato water): Yuks! That looks disgusting! I’m not gonna eat or drink this!

Yes you will girl, and make sure you finish all of it in time. I’m going to the cafeteria now to have a nice fresh meal, and I want to see you sitting here, pen in the hand in less than half an hour. Is that clear girl? (Tears coming to her eyes): Yes Mrs.

Bon appétit!

(Yuks: that mashed potato really looks disgusting.It’s been in the fridge all night and now it already has a slight brown crust on top of it. How the hell am I gonna swallow that? Better hurry up before that bitch comes back. Gush! And that potato water: it looks yellow-brown, with some particles swimming around in it. Gulp!) And now back to my seat, pen in the hand.

12:50     Alright girl, I see you finished your plate. I hope you liked it. It is Mrs. Maclay’s famous detention lunch! Everybody seems to like it! (Big smile!) Continue with your lines girl. Yes Mrs! Thank you Mrs. (64: …and my education… These lines serve as a remi…) Oh no! I made a mistake! On the last line of page 8. Now I will have to discard page 7 AND 8! Just when I was making progress! (page 7: 49: My teachers…  53: …to follow the…)  13:05 Corner time! Move to the corner, stand straight, hands on your head! And stop wiggling! I’m not going to
	say it again Anastasia! Next time I will add 25 lines to your work! Yes Mrs.
13:25	Alright, back to your desk. Continue writing. Yes Mrs! Thank you Mrs. (…rules they have set me… 64: …disappointed my teachers)
14:00	Pen down! In the corner! On your knees, hands on your head! Yes Mrs.
14:10	Writing time again! Yes Mrs! Thank you Mrs. (page 9: 65: My teachers…  75: …they have every right…)
15:00	Pen down! Back to the corner Anastasia. Stand up, hands on your head! Yes Mrs.
15:25	And back to your desk girl. More lines are awaiting you. And by the way, did you already discard some pages? Yes Mrs, I already had to discard 5 pages. I thought I would have finished early today and could go back to my room Mrs. Back to your room dear? Are you kidding? Your detention will last until 17:00 and that’s it! That is, if you finish your lines by that time, otherwise you might stay longer. I’ve got all evening dear. I’ve got a lot of paperwork to do, checking all these exams. So don’t count on me to go back to your room early. Yes Mrs. (75: …right to puni…) Oh no! Just when I was at the end of my last line I made another mistake! Just because I was interrupted by that dreadful corner time! Now I can start page 9 and 10 all over! It’s not fair! (page 9: 65: My teachers…  71: …If I misbehave or…)
15:50	Corner time dear! On your knees, hands on your head! Yes Mrs. (Will this ever end?...)
16:00	To your desk! Pen in your hand and keep on writing girl!

Yes Mrs! Thank you Mrs.

(…break the school rules… 75: …and have disappointed my teachers.) Finally! Those dreadful lines are finished.

(Raises her hand. Sits there for what looks like an eternity before Mrs. Maclay looks up from here papers).

Yes girl? What is your problem?

I have finished my lines Mrs. Can I go to my room now Mrs?

There is one place where you can go now Anastasia: that is to the corner. Stand still, arms crossed behind your back. Your detention doesn’t end before 17:00 (Sigh!) Yes Mrs.

17:00     Now come here girl, give me your lines so I can inspect them. And make sure that there are no errors in them or I can guarantee you that other detentions will be in view! Is that clear girl?

Yes Mrs.

Then go to your room now, but remember for tonight : no TV and no internet for you! Straight to bed girl! Yes Mrs.

(Oh my god!)