Weeping Willow (Spanking Story)

Chapter 1, Part 2: Penny's POV

As usual, Owen was late to family night. As usual, Owen pushed Dana's buttons. And as usual, Owen lost the battle.

This cycle happened so often that it was starting to get old. When was Owen gonna learn? Life is so much easier when Dictatorship BDC was with you, not against you. I'm not saying all dictatorships are good or anything like that—I'd read plenty of examples in history when they weren't—but sometimes less is more, even if that means less freedom to do whatever I want.

I wasn't afraid to admit that I'd become an ultimate goody two shoes in my brothers eyes—doing all my school work on time, getting A's and B's on everything, being on time to all of my commitments (whether they be school related or family related). But that didn't mean I liked acting perfect all the time—these past few months I'd learned that being the best little sister anyone could ask for meant being the worst friend anyone could ask for. I became so wrapped up in making my brothers proud of me that I'd completely thrown my friends to the curb. Emmett, Caroline, Marcus, Julia, Torryn—they were all well aware of the choice I'd made, and they clearly weren't happy about it. Emmett and Caroline were taking it the hardest, but Caroline was definitely the most outwardly upset about my disappearance. Apparently she still wasn't over the whole ditching-her-by-quitting-the-soccer-team thing.

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" I said as soon as I overheard Owen be sentenced to his room without dinner. Owen may be an idiot, but there was no doubt in my mind that he was a hungry idiot. Neither of us had ever been sent to bed hungry before, until now.

"Owen made his bed, and now he has to lay in it," Ben said as he started unwrapping the tin foil that was covering the chicken. "If you can get home on time, so can he."

As stupid as his actions were, Owen was still my partner in crime, so I couldn't just leave him hungry. So I decided to bring him something from our secret snack stash hidden in the back of the dining room cabinet after dinner. I hadn't added anything back there in weeks, but surely Owen had some stuff in there that would tie him over for the night.

"So how was school today, Penny?" Cooper said as soon as Owen's bedroom door slammed shut. I knew even before Dana walked back into the dining room that none of my brothers were gonna chase after Owen. They were used to his little hissy fits, and tired of eating cold dinners because of them.

"School was good," I said as Ben passed me the breadbasket. "I got a 92 on my math test."

"That's awesome," Cooper said with a smile.

"And well deserved," Dana added as he took his seat at the table. I'd be lying if I said that I found sitting next to Owen's empty chair unnerving. "That was a pretty hard test."

"Well I studied hard for it," I said.

"And it paid off," Ben said. "I'm proud of you, Penny."

I couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Ben." I'd never get tired of hearing one of my brothers say those five words to me. It almost made my new anti-social characteristic worth it. Almost. "So since we're on the topic of how good I've been doing in school lately, I have a question for you guys."

"Uh oh," Cooper said. "Here we go."

I stopped scooping peas out of the pea bowl and looked at him. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"I know what you're gonna ask," he said.

"What?" I was kinda annoyed at how assuming Cooper was. "How can you know when I haven't asked you yet?" I couldn't remember the last time I'd asked my brothers for anything, other than questions involving school. It was comments like Coopers' that made me regret choosing my brothers over my friends.

"What's your question, Penny?" Ben asked.

"I was wondering if I could start tutoring Micah Drewbury after school," I said as I finished filling my plate.

"Really?" Cooper said. From the expression on his face, it was obvious that that wasn't what he was expecting me to ask. Figures.

"Yeah. Mrs. Lister asked me if I would—apparently Micah's failing her biology class and she thinks I could really help him out."

"And what did you say when she asked you?" Dana asked.

"I said that I'd think about it. But I wanted to ask you guys what you thought before I made a decision."

"I think it's a great idea," Ben said. I was surprised to get that response from my oldest brother, mainly because Micah Drewbury wasn't the most refined young man. To put it lightly, he had a reputation that made Zach Oliver look like a saint.

"Me too," Cooper said. "If nothing else, it'll look good on your college applications."

"And it will help Micah," Ben said while giving Cooper a look.

"Yeah, that too," Cooper said.

"I'm okay with it, as long as it doesn't affect any of your schoolwork," Dana said. Clearly he wasn't above hinting at Micah's troubled past.

"It won't," I said.

"You said the same thing when you asked me if you could join the soccer team," Cooper said. Why was Cooper being so annoying right now? Owen's the one who was late coming home, not me. Plus, I didn't even have gym today.

"Well this will be different," I said. "I've been in school for months now and I've learned how to manage my time."

"That's good to hear," Cooper said. I could sense that he wasn't really being sincere. For some reason my third oldest brother had always had this undertone of sarcasm ever since I found out he was dating Jane—I mean, Ms. Corella.

"So when are you supposed to start?" Ben asked.

"Mrs. Lister said as soon as possible, so I'm thinking that means tomorrow," I said. "Although I doubt Micah's gonna wanna spend his Friday afternoon being tutored by me."

"Well he probably won't have a choice once you tell Mrs. Lister you're free tomorrow," Dana said. "You're the one doing him a favor, not the other way around."

"Yeah but everyone needs a break, Dana," I said. "That's what weekends are for."

"Well as far as I'm concerned, the weekend doesn't start until Saturday at 12 AM." Of course work-a-holic Dana would say that.

"Well for most freshmen at Willow Academy, the weekend starts Friday afternoon." At least that's when my weekends used to start, back when I still had friends to hang out with.

"I think what Dana's trying to say is don't let Micah weasel his way out of it," Ben said. "Micah may not want to be tutored, but it sounds like he really needs it. So once you two set a time and a place to meet, you both need to stick to that commitment."

Gee, no pressure there.

"Don't worry, guys, I've got it under control."

Even though I had every intention of tutoring (and only tutoring) Micah Drewbury, I was just excited that I was gonna be talking to a kid that was my age—it felt like forever since I'd done that. I could still be a goody two shoes and get out of the house every now and again, right? Surely Dictatorship BDC would understand that. I was a fourteen-year-old girl after all.