Bella looked at her friend, the shared pain creating a new, albeit painful, bond. "Next time," Bella said, her voice shaky but firm, "we just study."
"Academic integrity is the cornerstone of this institution," Thorne said, her voice like grinding stones. She didn’t look up. "Bella, you provided the answers. Kendra, you took them. In this school, the penalty for such a breach is not merely a failing grade."
The two girls limped out into the hallway, the sting of the cane still pulsing with every step. They didn't speak until they reached the courtyard. Bella And Kendra Caned For Cheating.mp4
When it was over, the room felt different—heavy with the weight of the lesson learned. Thorne stood tall, her expression unchanged.
Then it was Kendra’s turn. She was trembling so violently the bench creaked. The first strike elicited a sharp yelp; the second and third brought silent tears that trekked through her makeup. The sting was sharp and lingering, a fire that refused to be extinguished. Bella looked at her friend, the shared pain
"You are dismissed," she said quietly. "Your parents have been notified, and you will retake the exam under my personal supervision on Saturday. Do not let me see you in this office for such a matter again."
Bella went first. The crack of the cane against the fabric of her uniform was a sharp, stinging shock that radiated through her entire body. She gasped, her knuckles whitening as she gripped the edge of the bench, but she didn't cry out. By the third stroke, her eyes were swimming, the physical bite of the rattan serving as a visceral reminder of her lapsed judgment. "Bella, you provided the answers
Bella swallowed hard. She was the "golden girl," a straight-A student who had folded under the pressure of Kendra’s desperate pleas. Kendra, usually the life of every party, now looked pale, her bravado stripped away by the sight of the long, flexible rattan cane resting on the corner of the credenza.