I KNEW IT!

There's always a catch.

Oh, come on, Reese. You're a little happy about this.

Ugh, shut up, inner self.

When I didn't say anything, Jared continued on doggedly. "It doesn't matter how old you are - here, everyone gets spanked. It's our punishment. Always has been, always will be."

"Okay," I said, accepting it. "Then what are those for?" I pointed to a small metal tray that was sitting beside the canes on the wall. On top of the tray, there were three boxes of unused bars of soap and a bottle of lube. There were also about a dozen things that I recognized from the horrors of Google as butt plugs. Beside the butt plugs, I also recognized a weed from the Internet. Ginger root. It was by far one of the worst of the punishments.

"Well," Jared began, "Spanking isn't necessarily the only punishment here. It's just the main one. Sometimes, if someone has already been spanked that day or the day before, we won't spank you again. Instead, we'll use butt plugs or ginger root if you've really gone over the line, or put soap in your mouth."

I nodded in understanding. "However," Jared said, "I understand that you and I haven't known each other for that long, so I'm not going to use a butt plug and especially not ginger root on you just yet. We'll save that for later, when you trust me more." I sighed in relief. "Are there any more punishments I should know about?"

"For us, the only other ones are standing in the corner and grounding/loss of privileges," Jared replied. "But if you end up getting together with someone here, they might have other ideas. I think a lot of the guys punish their girlfriends in ways that I, as your roommate, wouldn't ever."

"Like what?" I asked, curious. "Well, a lot of the guys make their girls wear clothespins or clamps on their nipples as punishments. I know some of them do bathroom control and orgasm control, but usually only when they're playing. I haven't seen it done as an actual punishment yet. A lot of the couples here are sadist/masochist pairs, so that comes into play sometimes. And for the DDLG couples, which we have an abundance of, there are lots of little punishments like no sweets or no games on their phones. Also, I saw, once, a guy put his girlfriend in a cage and made her eat out of a dog bowl for punishment. But they were in a pet/owner relationship anyway."

I smiled at this. Everything about this place was beginning to sound more and more like something that I was going to like. Jared looked at me, confused. I guess he expected me to be less chill about all of it.

"How are you not like, freaking out?" Jared said suspiciously. "Most people definitely do not take it this well." "Well..."

"You're kinky, aren't you?" I blushed and looked at the ground. "No, I'm not." Jared started laughing. "Oh my god, you are!" "Shut up!" I whined, punching him weakly. He continued laughing. I groaned. "You're making such a big deal out of this, Jare!"

I heard him take his breath in quickly as I realized what I had said. "I'm sorry I called you that," I said. Jared took my chin and forced me to look up at him. "Don't be sorry, Reese. I'm overjoyed. I'd love it if you'd call me that." I smiled. "Okay, I will."

"So, would you like to hear what else I need to tell you about punishments?" Jared asked. I nodded. He started with, "Well, let's start with saying that anyone who has authority over you is allowed to punish you. That means me for sure, but also, the teachers, supervisors, cooks, pretty much all our faculty. Usually, they will just notify me and I will come and deal with you. But if they personally want to punish you then they are allowed to. Or, sometimes, if you only did something minor like cussed, they'll just swat you a few times right there and be done with it."

"Okay," I said. "I understand." "Also," Jared began again, "Aftercare. If you are punished at all while you are here at Cope, you will be given aftercare. That means hugs, cuddling, talking it out, whatever you need. Everyone, no matter who is punishing you, will give you that. If anyone ever punishes you and then denies you aftercare, you need to tell me immediately so that I can deal with it. The same goes for if anyone ever denied your right to stop. If you feel abused at any time or you can't take anymore, speak up. We will always stop when you tell us to. If anyone ever violates what I just told you, you are to tell me right away."

I nodded. "Okay."

"So, are you ready to hear the rules?" Jared asked dramatically, as if we were talking about a plot to assassinate the queen of England. "Yes, I am," I replied just as dramatically. "Alright, let's begin."

"No cussing, no bullying, no disrespect towards others, no drinking without proper supervision or drinking over a certain limit, no smoking, no drugs, no running in the halls, no sneaking out or going anywhere without telling me where you're going and receiving permission, no resisting a punishment, no going anywhere without a phone, no harassment, no stealing, no putting yourself in danger, no lying, and no fighting."

"Damn," I mumbled.

That's a lot.

Jared sighed. "I can see that this is going to be challenging for you." I chuckled. "By the way," Jared said, "All elements of your punishment, such as how many you're getting or what, if any, implements will be used will be decided by the person punishing you." "Okay." "Oh, and don't worry about people abusing their privilege to punish you; there are cameras in this room and in the detention house to ensure that no one is punished unjustly." "Okay, good."

Wait.

"Wait, detention house?" I asked. "Oh yeah, I didn't tell you about that yet. Come here and I'll show you," Jared said. I followed him out of the study and to the roped-off section.

"This is the detention house," Jared said, gesturing to it. "You only go here if you're in huge trouble. I've never been myself, even though I was really rebellious when I first came here. Cope straightened me out and so, I haven't had to go in the punishment room for six months at least. Because of that, I am now officially able to punish my roommates and straighten them out until they know how to behave, too. Anyway. Sorry, I got off track."

I laughed. "It's okay, Jare. Continue on."

"They all say the detention house is really bad. It's only for people who are repeat offenders at breaking big rules, like drinking, sneaking out, or smoking. It works differently than the punishment room. If you get sent to the detention house, then you are required to stay there with your roommate or guardian, whoever it is, there with you to watch you and administer punishments, for a minimum of three days, depending on the infraction that landed you there and the number of prior infractions you have. In the detention house, you are kept in almost solitary confinement 24/7. The only person that you would get to see would be me because I'm your roommate. You're kept busy during the day with schoolwork and extra chores. You'll be expected to clean, help the ladies in the kitchen and the ladies in the library, take care of the garden, take out the trash, wash dishes and scrub walls, help with Story Time in the library and arts and crafts, pick up trash, and sweep. There's a different series of chores for each day. If you act up while in the detention house, you'll be punished double what you would usually be punished. And, lastly, you'll get either a spanking or soap in the mouth each night before bedtime, your choice."

"Wow," I muttered. "Remind me never to wind up in the detention house." "Well, as long as you follow the rules, that shouldn't be a problem," Jared said. Part of me wanted to make a smartass remark, but I decided to hold my tongue for the first day at COPE.

I can test my limits later.

Author's Note: How do you all like this new chapter? This is the last of the corporal punishment-focused chapters for awhile, but the punishment is a recurring theme in the plot. Just warning you. How are you all liking this? Comment below and as always don't forget to vote! 

Stay strong my lovelies!

All my love,

Em