We each had returned on our own to confess our shortcomings. I had again braided my hair and donned my schoolgirl costume because I didn't want to be identified as twenty something med school student having received a canning. I had tasted the famous six of the best plus the blazing stroke of shame under the hem of my miniskirt.
I had ran out of the shopping center with my skirt flying under jeers from schoolboys who had noticed the cane welts escaping my knickers. I had stood on the tramway gritting my teeth to refrain myself from publicly rubbing my miniskirt over my scorched derriere.
A few months after that episode we had attended a friends' hen do. It started at a restaurant, and on the way to her home after a generously toasted meal we sang rude songs as loud as we could. We were fined for night din. Once at her place we danced the whole night, and drank ourselves silly.
Two days later we flanked the chemistry prelim, but our professor gave us the opportunity to retake it in view of our previous good grades. At our usual cafeteria we first breathed a sigh of relief for that second chance.
"Chemistry is one of the majors, if we mess it up we're doomed."
"I don't know about you, but I feel that I deserve to be punished."
"Yes, we richly deserve to be caned."
"We'll go together."
"Yes, the tram alone with a well tanned ass is... How to say?"
"A pain!?"
"Hahahaha!"
"Saturday morning's ok for you?"
"You're on!"
A couple of days later, Saturday morning, Lulu rang my door bell. She had removed all traces of makeup, and tied her hair in bunches. She was the perfect picture of a schoolgirl, and so was I with my braids.
She had a silly question. "Is my skirt shorter than the last time?"
"I have been asking myself the same question, and checked on the Internet the length of miniskirts worn by today's teenage girls."
"And?"
"Its the exact same length!"
"Its a good thing that we don't look as twenty something students wearing such short skirts."
"On the way back they will for sure feel even shorter!"
For a final touch to her costume, I gave her a pair of red beetles hair clips similar to mine.
At the shopping center we discovered that the costume shop was under renovation. We had mixed feelings as we explored the shopping center.
"We can't ask around about a lady with a cane behind a disappearing mirror!"
Lulu teased. "You could try asking that old geezer where's the caning lady!"
"And why not asking him to cane us!"
We were about to give up when we saw the automate in front of a shop named My Fair Lady Tanning Spa. "Hahahaha! Tanning Spa, that sounds promising!"
We stood in front of the old automate wondering if it was sold and reprogrammed. The slot for the £20 banknote was there. I introduced a crisp one, and almost jumped out of my knickers for its greeting, "Good morning Belinda! Have you been a naughty girl?"
I did, and fifteen minutes later we ran out of the shopping center with our miniskirts flying. We for sure exposed our knickers, as well as the purple cane stripes peeking out of them.
On the tram Lulu whispered. "You're right, my skirt feels even shorter!"
I echoed. "My butt feels like it's going to burn my skirt!"
Back to my apartment we shared a long soak with Epsom salt...
"Gee! She was so severe!"
"And we can't say that we didn't deserve it!"
Epilogue
We graduated top of our class. Everyone wanted to know how we had done it. We never told. For the day of affixing the gold plate on the door of our shared medical practice we had invited the lady behind the mirror...
Belinda and Lucinda