At the office, I waited for probably ten minutes before Mr Washburn, the vice-principal, called me in. He asked me point-blank to my face: “Are you wearing appropriate underwear?” I just went ahead and told the truth – it saved both him and I the awkwardness of him getting a woman to check, I guess. He pointed out, correctly, that this was my third trip to the office that semester. He said that he saw ‘no recourse except corporal punishment’. Those were his exact words. Who talks like that?
I know some schools delay corporal punishment a day or two, or a note has to be signed first etc, but ours wasn’t like that at all. They tended to just get it done immediately. I was getting ready for Mr Washburn to either send me to the gym or call Mrs Bradford down to the office when he dropped a bombshell.