Juvenalas Penitatas
Lesson 26 – Tulu Comes to School

Waking up far too early was becoming a habit for Arno, one that he'd dearly like to abandon. He was coming to regret ever taking Tulu in; the mistakes of his past kept resurfacing in his dreams, leaving him fearful that he might not have changed at all since those dark days at Camp Northrock.
He walked downstairs to the middle floor, glancing through the glass inner wall to the 'terrarium' where Tulu spent much of her time. His pace faltered when he saw the girl sat up in bed with a book in her claws, reading by the dim light coming through her thin bedroom curtains. He didn't rush opening the door. He didn't need to, given it too was mostly glass and, thus, offered the girl no hiding place. Even so, she dove under the covers and pretended to sleep as many a penitatas had before. Keeping his tone neutral, he called to her. “Tulu, I know you're awake. Come on over and talk to me.”
In the short distance from her bed to the door, the six-year-old girl had been reduced to tears by her own dread imaginings of what Arno had in store. “I couldn't s-sleep!” she wailed. “Please don't sp-pank me f'r it!”
“My rules were clear, Tulu. You stay in bed until we come for you. That means you need a punishment.”
Her blubbering grew in its intensity. “B-but I w-was in bed!”
“That book was not on your bedside table when I tucked you in last night. Getting out of bed to use the potty I might forgive, but this I cannot.” Tulu let out a long howl of anguish, as loud and heartfelt as if she'd just felt the familiar crack of a paddle on her rear. Arno waited patiently for this outburst to clear, which it did when the girl became aware that no action had been taken; her tearful eyes glanced up in confusion at her father's neutral expression. He met her eye and said, “You are a penitatas because you believed the rules of the system did not apply to you. That means I have to be harsh with you whenever you break the rules, no matter how slight the infraction or how petty you believe the rule to be. For your own good you have to learn to accept that you are incapable of making a proper value judgement. The sooner you learn to obey, the sooner your life will get easier. Do you understand?”
“But-”
“No, Tulu! No 'buts' from you. 'But' is a word that will get your backside blistered. I don't want to hear that word out of your mouth again. Do you understand me?”
The little lizard merely bowed her head and wailed. She had not been a Penny long, but she was already utterly exhausted by the ordeal that was life as a convicted criminal. Had it been weeks? Months? Centuries? It was becoming hard to remember anything before the pain and humiliation. “I j-j-just wanna' go b-b-back to bed!” the Penny girl sobbed as thick tears rolled down her snout.
“Alright.” The word made her head snap up in surprise. “Let's see if you can actually do as you are told for once. Back to bed, and your head had better not leave the pillow until one of us comes for you. That book is going back where it belongs as well. Get!”
Tulu turned and scampered back to her circular bed, diving under the covers and hiding herself from view. Arno chose not to call out her running, brief as it was, and instead headed downstairs to start his morning routine. He was back upstairs just as Reel awoke, passing on the instruction not to disturb Tulu today. “Giving her a little rope?” the brown-scaled Karrian asked.
“I am. Now we see if she hangs herself with it.”

Tulu couldn't get back to sleep. Insomnia was a common affliction among newer penitatas – hardly a surprise when their homes were places of pain and suffering. She managed to doze for a short spell, but it wasn't true sleep, and even that was impossible before long; the inside of her eyelids became a canvas for her imagination to paint upon, and the scenes her mind created were ones of pain and suffering. Memories of past ordeals competed with yet-to-be-endured imaginings that were somehow infinitely worse. She was already dreading New Years, and what horrors those monstrous envelopes might contain. In her dreams she saw herself wearing a necklace with six pink clips and snapped to full wakefulness, then broke down into hysterical sobbing.
In that fit of misery, a shamefully warm wetness began to spread across her thighs and trickle across her leg. The sensation of her own piss soaking her pyjamas and bedding made her wail all the louder, but her anguish failed to summon a caring parent. Not for another hour. That long ordeal of lying in her own wet, feeling the rancid fluids soak in and cool to an itchy, clammy coating was just another memory Tulu desperately wished to forget.
“This is a surprise!” the girl's breath caught in her throat at the sound of Arno's voice. The male crossed the room and came into her field of view. “You stayed put!”
Tulu clenched her eyes shut. Trembling, she felt certain some new horror was imminent, and a whimper of shame slipped from her lips as the bedsheets were pulled back.
“It's alright, Tulu. Come on, I'll give you a nice, long bath. Reel, honey? Would you mind getting her fresh bedding?”
“Alright, but next time you're on bed duty and I'll take bath time!” her other father answered.
“I'm s-s-sorry I wet the bed!” the Penny girl sobbed as she was escorted to the little bathroom space in the corner of her open plan room.
“We don't mind accidents, Tulu,” Arno did his best to assure the sobbing girl. A warm bath was hastily prepared and, as was becoming a custom whenever she displayed something approaching good behaviour, it was more bubble than bath. For all her inner anguish, being covered head to tail in foam was something that brought an uncontrolled eagerness to the Penny – her mind had found its much-needed safe place. Arno gave her time to settle into the warm water, then more time to fool around with the bubble-bergs that drifted back and forth. Only when she seemed calm did he speak. “Shall we get you scrubbed, Little Miss?”
A wordless nod later, and Arno set to work. He cleaned her up, paying extra attention to her lower half, then let her enjoy the bubbles a while longer. Reel, meanwhile, removed the soiled bedding and ran a sanitiser over the mattress beneath to purge any lingering remains of fluids. One upshot of her 'accidents' was it meant her bed was cleaned with the most thorough means the 29th century could devise – a far cry from the more primitive methods typically employed as a deliberate measure to restrict a Penny's exposure to any form of technology. Primitive living meant more had to be done by hand, which meant more hard work for the child. As it was, by the time Tulu was lifted out of the bath her ten tear old mattress looked and smelled factory new.
Reel flashed a smile at the girl as she was towel-dried and scooted his way via a gentle pat on the rear. “I suppose we ought to get the day started,” he announced. “We'll get you some breakfast and then you'll be over my lap for your first spanking.”
“Noo!” the joy of bathtime was gone in an instant. “No more spankings, please da'!”
Reel was about to scold her, but he caught sight of Arno's raised paw. “If you don't want a spanking, Tulu, you can go right back to bed.”
She glanced at Arno, trying to figure out if there was some cruel trick at play here. He gestured to the freshly made bed and repeated, “bed time, or spanking. Your choice.”
“Bed!” she squeaked, and like before the girl hid herself under the covers.
“We'd better not see you up and about,” Reel added, his stern words accompanied by a threatening finger wag.

Downstairs, Arno and Reel went about their morning. They made breakfast for themselves, enjoyed a glass of something akin to coffee, caught up on the daily news and made a list of chores their daughter could do once she was up and about. All of this was broken up by glances at their PADDs and wrist-comps, both of which were tuned to the various monitoring devices they used to ensure Tulu wasn't breaking one of their many draconian rules. As the morning wound on, the men became increasingly surprised that their daughter remained in place. She tossed and turned constantly, cried often, and took to smacking her fist into her pillows for a spell as sheer boredom began to grind away at her, but she didn't move all morning.
“She's going to be starving by lunch,” Reel said. The switch he'd prepared that morning was still propped up against the sofa's side, unused. He glanced at the tool and sucked his teeth thoughtfully. “We probably ought to mark a punishment off. All morning in bed like that with no breakfast has to count.”
“Agreed. Make her some sandwiches for lunch and – what's the weather like?”
“Dropped ten degrees since yesterday, and the high winds will make it feel even colder. Summer is done with us, that's for sure!”
“Then I'll wrap her up and take her for a walk,” Arno finished his plans by giving his device one last look. Tulu had somehow held herself in bed despite the crushing boredom. “We'll put her back to bed after, just to see how long she's willing to play this game.”
With his daughter fed and dressed warmly, Arno set out for a nice, long walk up and down the beach. In light of her accident that morning, Tulu had been diapered, but her thick coat and long dress kept that carefully concealed from view. She was understandably sullen, both from her long day of self-imposed boredom, the humiliation of a baby-like undergarment, and the general malaise born of how harsh her sentence had been thus far. “We're just out for some exercise, Tulu,” Arno told her, wishing to be comforting. “I don't expect anything from you other than to walk beside me. There'll be no need for any unpleasantness so long as you behave yourself.”
“Keep quiet and hold your claw, right?” Tulu asked in a weak little voice.
“Holding my claw, yes, but you don't need to be silent. You can talk if you want to. Or if you need to.”
Despite her doubts and questions and protests all clearly bubbling away inside, Tulu kept her unhappy silence. Arno told himself this was part of the process, that the hard days would come to an end when she was ready for it to end. Until then, it was best to wait and watch, paddle in claw, and see what route little Tulu had chosen for herself. Halfway up the beach she began to cry, softly at first, but then with greater urgency. Arno slowed his pace to give her time to work through her inner turmoil, hoping she would speak up. Instead, she eventually blubbed back to silence, and so with some reluctance he picked up the pace again and made for the town proper.
Northrock's pier never disappointed in terms of content. The non-penitatas community had long ago adopted the beach under the pier as their unofficial haunt, and today a medicalos girl entertaining the crowd by showing off her acrobatic skills with a remote control model shuttle. Others, meanwhile, were heading topside to enjoy the sight of an unlucky boy getting a belting from his father. From the beach, Arno couldn't see the spanking from the beach, but the wails rang loud and clear over the wind's dull roar.
“Am I getting spanked now?” Tulu whimpered.
Arno gave the girl his full attention before reply. “No, Tulu. You've not earned a spanking yet.”
He briefly regretted adding that 'yet' as Tulu winced. “When I get home?”
“That's up to you. Would you rather be sent back to bed?”
“I don't wanna' be in bed all day!” the girl wailed.
“It's a spanking or bed. Your choice.”
The little girl let her snout drop, more tears trickling out as she weighed the long boredom of her day with the fierce sting in her rear. “I-if I go to b-bed I won't get sp-panked again t'day?”
“If you stay in bed, no.”
“T-then I wanna' go to bed!” she blubbed, wiping her eyes with her sleeves.
Arno shook his head in frustration, but kept his mouth shut. He offered a claw, which was dutifully taken, and began the walk home. He barely got ten paces before a thought struck him. “I need my claw back, Tulu. Just stand right there.” The girl nodded and watched him in silence as Arno took out his personal communicator and typed a quick message to Reel. Satisfied, he offered his claw again. “You really don't like being spanked that much?”
“I want it to stop!” the Penny whined in response.
“I know you do, but it won't. Not any time soon.”
“I w-want to stop h-hurting!” she sobbed in response, clenching her eyes shut and letting out all her grief.
“I understand that, Tulu. Every penitatas wants their punishments to end. But mercy has to be earned, and you are still early in your time. I know it's not what you want to hear, but the best way for you to get the break you want is to just tough it out. Follow our rules, don't make a fuss, accept your punishment. In other words, serve your time. It will get easier eventually.”
“I c-can't! I can't take this!”
Arno let out a soft little growl. There was only so much self pity he could take. “You don't want to be spanked, you don't want nettles, enemas or a mouth soaping, you don't want humiliation. What do you want, Tulu? Tell me what's a fair way to punish you for your crimes and that's what you'll get.”
“I don't-”
“And don't you dare say you don't deserve any punishment!” Arno snapped.
No reply came. With some reluctance, Arno let the matter go, though he cursed himself all the way home. He'd lost his temper and damaged what little progress he might have made today. There was nothing for it but to commit and see where it ended.
Reel was waiting outside of their house with a smile upon his snout. Tulu was too busy looking at the floor to notice what was waiting for her and only looked up when her name was called. Next to one of the street lamps was a heating unit, and an insulating rubber mat had been put on the road.
“I'm starting to think you were too comfortable in bed, so here's your choice; you can take your due spankings like a good girl and we'll let you go up to your room after a little corner time, or if you still want to avoid it then you can hide out here. We'll strip you to your bare scale and leave you leashed to this street light for all the world to see, and you'll be out here until bedtime.”
“We'll make sure the local boys know you're out here putting a show on as well!” Reel added. For emphasis he slapped his palm with a metal rod that Tulu thought was meant for some cruel spanking, but when studying it she saw the leather loops at either end. “What's it to be, girl? A spanking in private, or an evening of public humiliation.”
Tulu hid her face in her claws. Moments later her shoulders began to tremble in silent sobs. Arno gave her half a minute before stepping in, speaking softly as he did so. “I'm going to undress you now, then we'll get you leashed into place. If you want your spanking instead just ask for it.”
His daughter kept her snout shut as her coat came off, then her shirt, then the skirt and diaper. Reel turned the heater on so she wouldn't be cold, but still she whimpered and blubbed as even her shoes and socks were taken away. The spreader bars were attached, a long one for her ankles and a shorter one for her thighs, clearly intended to keep her from seeking any modesty. A tail-collar kept her rear appendage pulled up high, exposing her backside, and her claws were bound securely behind her back.
“Last chance, Tulu,” Arno said as he took the last piece of bondage equipment from Reel. It was a muzzle with a tube in the mouthpiece. When she failed to speak, Arno sighed and slowly brought the leather mask over her face. He was glad she took the tube into her mouth without protest, and was careful to watch for any sign of discomfort as he pulled the straps tight. Through the little windows in the mask he saw the deepest shame and loathing in her gaze. With their Penny all dressed up, Reel used a few leather straps to bind her to the post. “Okay. You're here until bedtime.”

Despite how it must have felt to the girl, Tulu was never unsupervised. It was an added act of cruelty to invite a few local voluntaras to 'bully' her in her vulnerable state, mocking her nudity and actively trying to peer beneath her legs. It was necessary though; if she would not accept routine punishment, then she would have to grow accustomed to more inventive means of paying her dues. Reel didn't speak to her when he came out to give her some water. Nor did Arno when it was his turn, though she whimpered loudly at him. By then the girl had been stood outside for an hour and a half; it was easy enough to guess what her distress was over.
“Nod if you want to sit down,” he said, and nod she did. He eased her down, taking her weight while she wriggled about to try and get comfortable. Her new posture only made her more exposed, for the bars offered little in the way of censorship for anyone who wanted a look. He stood up to leave, but still the whimpering continued. “We had no problem with you wetting the bed before, Tulu. That's not changing now.”
As the afternoon rolled on the neighbourhood children began taking interest. Arno watched from an upstairs window as Rilka drew in first, her body language expressing her mocking intent for all to see. She made a show of peeking, though soon enough she took her skipping rope to the other end of the road. Talek lingered, showing his quality; he stood behind her, and though he had his arms crossed it seemed he was merely talking. Every now and then, Tulu would nod or shake her head. Arno wondered if he should put a stop to that, but given what she'd gone through so far it seemed overly harsh to rob her of this little interaction.
“Are we bringing her in for dinner or not?” Reel asked. There was a hint of frustration in his tone.
“We could give her a liquid meal, leave her out there overnight. Maybe by morning she'll be more receptive.”
“That is pushing things a little, don't you think?”
Arno nodded. “I know it is, but the girl is bringing it upon herself. I'll bet good money that if you give her the choice between a bedtime spanking or staying out there all night she'll pick the latter.”
“We'll tell her the heater is going off.” Reel raised his claw sharply. “Of course we won't do it! We'll just turn it down enough that she's a little chilly. Too low to be comfortable, warm enough not to do harm. She'll be back under the paddle tomorrow morning.”
“Alright. Go make her the offer.” Arno watched the exchange from the window, and felt no surprise when only Reel came back indoors.
He rose early once more, with Reel still snoring away in the pre-dawn darkness. Naturally, Tulu was exactly where they'd left her, slumped on her mat in the chill. Arno threw his dressing gown on and grabbed a large towel on his way outside, drawn to the helpless little girl haloed in the light's amber glow. Her head rose stiffly as he approached, bleary, exhausted eyes struggling to focus on him as he unfastened the straps holding her to the light. “Just take it easy, alright? You're going to be stiff and sore. Let me free your legs then stand up, slowly now...” the girl moaned in pain as she moved, her cramping limbs sending waves of anguish through her frame. “Quietly now. If you don't fuss I'll get you warm.”
Zombie-like, Tulu staggered back into her house. She stood and swayed as Arno removed the last of her bindings, then focused on massaging her arms as Arno brought the rest of the punishment kit indoors. Once everything was tidy, he focused on his daughter once more. “I don't want to wake Reel, so let's keep the volume down, alright? A quiet bubble bath?” Not waiting for her confirmation, he picked the girl up and carried her back to her bedroom. As he watched her drunken swaying while the bath filled, Arno wondered if it wouldn't be better just to put her straight to bed, but he'd resolved to this now. Besides, he couldn't just let this carry on. Bubble baths were the only thing he had left to try and reach the girl.
“Was last night really better than a spanking?” he asked the girl as she eased into the hot water. Tulu shook her head frantically. “Then why put yourself through it? All you had to do was accept your spanking.”
No answer was forthcoming. Arno worked a sponge over the girl's back while she idly passed a mound of soap bubbles from one claw to the other. “Do you want to have to go through this all again tomorrow?”
“No!” Tulu's outburst was delivered at a whisper. Arno smiled at that; he had asked her to be quiet, after all.
“Are you going to accept your spankings today?”
“Don't make me!” she whined, tossing her bubbles back into the water with a petulant flick of her wrist.
“I'm sorry, Tulu, but you have to be punished one way or the other. It's up to you what form these punishments take.” He paused his scrubbing and tried to coax a smile out of the girl by sculping a wig of bubbles on her head, but the hollow act went nowhere. “You've had a really rough day. I'm going to put you to bed now you're clean, and I'll let you decide when you want to get up. No rules holding you in place this time, only that once you are out of bed I expect you to come downstairs and fetch me. Can you do that?”
“Then I get spanked?”
“Yes, then you get spanked. Or you can be put outside again.”
“No! I can't do that again!” the girl turned away, trying to hide her face.
Arno gently turned her snout back to his. “What if you didn't have to endure it alone? You haven't made any friends since your sentencing. What if we looked into fast-tracking you into school so you had a chance to get to know some other rejuves?”
“T-they'll hate me!” the girl protested. “W-when they find out who I am-”
“Your past is your own,” Arno reminded her in a forceful tone. “I promise you that any child who drags up your past and uses it against you will find out first hand just how harsh a parent I can be.”
Tulu craned her head towards the circular bed dominating the room. Her wordless plea was impossible to miss. “I know, you're tired. Come on then.”
Drained from her long night, Tulu fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, and she stayed that way until late morning. Arno waited until Reel had come down for breakfast before making his calls. “Put me through to Mr Kal at N.C.E., please.”
Kal's face when it appeared was one of utter shock. “Arno? Well this is- it's been a while.”
“Good to see you, Jer.”
“What can I do for you?”
“It's about Miss Tulu. Our little turncoat isn't quite the hardened criminal the justice department thinks she is. Frankly, she seems to be having a breakdown here.” The twitch of Kal's jaw suggested he had some snide comment to make, though at who's expense Arno wasn't certain. “I was hoping we could get her into school as soon as possible, ideally into your class.”
“My class?”
Arno nodded. “Kal, I need to know she's in good hands. Right now she needs more than spankings; she needs support. She's not ready to bond with us yet, but if she was in school there'd be opportunities for her to meet other rejuves and make some friends.”
“Well if you want her in school right away there's space in-”
“I am not giving her to Mister Titus! Please, Jer. She will not be a problem for you.”
Doubt was writ clear across the teacher's face, but in the end he relented. “Alright, I will get all the access sorted. She can start next week.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate this.”
As the screen winked out, Arno turned towards the stairs with the intent to check on Tulu, only to find her quietly watching through the bannister. He flashed the girl a warm smile. “Come on, let's get you some breakfast.”
“I-I'm starting school then?” the Penny whimpered.
“Yes you are. You're also due to eat breakfast.” He allowed himself a smirk as she scampered down the stairs. As much as he wanted to be nice, duty required him to warn, “that was dangerously close to running, little lady!”

The promise of school had helped create a sense of normalcy within the house. Tulu had, with great reluctance, accepted the paddle once again. Arno and Reel found that speaking positively of school was the key, emphasising what benefits it would bring to her; whether that was a chance to make new friends or simply an escape from her parents.
On the first day, Arno took her in early so as to avoid any complications. She would need to meet with her new teacher, but he was also wary of forcing her to walk with her neighbours, who might provoke an argument. It proved a far better stroll than their last trip together, with Tulu willing at least to engage in nervous banter. “You're sure I'm not going into a special measures class?”
“I'm certain of that. Your teacher is an old friend of mine.”
“Does he know who I am?”
“Yes, all the staff do. Don't worry about that, Tulu. I trust them to be professional.”
“I don't.” she let her snout fall at those bitter words.
Arno made sure to smile, hoping it might help lift her a little. “Remember to be sociable in your free time. Find a table to sit with at lunch, ask to join in some games, that sort of thing. Mr Kal has been told you're in need of friends to help you through this rough patch, so I'm sure he'll give you a little more wiggle room than usual.”
Despite all her father's assurances, Tulu couldn't free herself from all the anxiety this new experience held. She was one of the first pupils to reach school that day and her new teacher was waiting at the front door of the main building with a smile upon his scaled snout. “Good morning, Miss Tulu! I am Mr Kal, your new teacher. Come along, we need to get you set up and settled in!”
“Be a good girl, Tulu,” Arno wished her well as she reluctantly followed behind the unfamiliar male.
“I guess you know why I'm here,” Tulu mumbled, digging at this vile splinter of a thought despite the promise of pain doing so brought. To her surprise, Mr Kal shook his head.
“Neither you, nor anyone else is going to discuss that subject on school grounds, Miss Tulu. Is that clear?”
“Yessir!” his tone frightened her, but the words gave a sense of relief.
The classroom was empty when the pair entered. Mr Kal selected a desk for Tulu to sit at and walked her through login and authentication. “As I'm sure you already know, you need to select your curriculum. Your choices will need approval by the school, and your parents are allowed to veto any choice they deem inappropriate. General education modules, core skill reinforcement, physical education and, of course, Ethics and Morals will also be worked into your timetable.”
“I understand, sir,” Tulu dutifully opened the indicated pages.
“One other thing, Miss Tulu,” the tone of Kal's voice made a lump form in the girl's throat. “I'm aware of how you feel towards the 'old guard' like me, but you lost any say in how things work here the instant you earned those letters. I will come down on you like a ton of bricks if you start questioning how I run my classroom. Is that clear?”
“Y-yessir!”
“Good. Then I-” Kal fell silent as the classroom door opened and pupils began to file in. A warm grin spread over his snout as he moved back to his desk. “Well, what fine timing! Three, four, five... were you all lurking outside or something? I hope no-one was listening at the door!”
A chorus of “No sir!” answers rang out.
“A likely story! Nobody get comfortable, because I- ah! In walks Penny #6! Lusu, come here. Miss Tulu, you as well.”
Tulu locked her console before joining the teacher and the ten-year-old cookie-brown Karrian girl beside him. “Lusu, this is Tulu, our new girl. Tulu, Lusu. Someone needs to show this girl around so she knows where all the important destinations are: toilets, cafeteria, nurse's office, Mister Titus' classroom...” he flashed an unkind smile at Tulu, “...all the essentials. I'll write you both a pass.”
“Yes sir! I'll be happy to show the new girl around!”
Kal smirked as he handed over the folded piece of paper. “Don't dawdle, Miss Lusu, or you'll be showing the new girl how a classroom spanking is done. Chop-chop!”
The girl had a pleasant smile as she beckoned Tulu towards the classroom door, though any excitement the new pupil felt died instantly as they bumped into Rilka as soon as the door was closed. “Going the wrong way there, Cookie!” the cream-scaled girl laughed.
“Giving the new girl a tour.”
Rilka's warm smile went cold as she caught sight of Tulu. “Oh no, you've got to be kidding me!”
“What's wrong?”
“She-” Rilka snapped her jaws closed in frustration. “We've met. We don't get along. 'scuse me!”
Lusu watched in bafflement as her friend slipped into class. “Well, I can't wait to here that story!”
“You won't hear it from me,” Tulu muttered. “My parents said we shouldn't talk about why we don't get along.”
The comment got a raised eyebrow, but Lusu ultimately shrugged it off. “I guess they have their reasons. Come on, we should get this tour done before Mr Kal decides to warm under our tails. We'll start with the little girl's room...”

Despite the rocky start, Lusu proved a pleasant companion for the tour. She was thorough in her explanations, and more importantly, the letter she carried kept both girls out of trouble when challenged by a roving teacher. Upon returning to class, the rest of the morning was spent on orientation, with Mr Kal paying close attention to Tulu as she was granted access to all the educational and communication programs needed. Then came the task of choosing her elective subjects; the little girl felt a sickening dread creep over her as she scrolled through the list of topics, for she would have almost a century to study her chosen field. She settled on trying for subjects she hoped would be entertaining – botany, cooking, music, and literature studies. She'd have to wait and see which of those, if any, were approved of. That brought her nicely to lunch time, and while she considered asking Lusu if she'd like to sit together, seeing Rilka instantly latch onto her prospective new friend made her rethink such an arrangement. She made the choice to hang back and be one of the last out of the classroom, following the herd to the cafeteria.
Whatever other evils the school might have had in store, the food was certainly not of them; the wafting scents from her soup bowl had the girl's stomach growling and mouth watering as she scanned the tables for a place to sit. With some reluctance, Tulu strode past the girl she'd hoped to make kinship with, glad to be passing behind Rilka's back, and chose instead to try a table in the back corner of the room. It was occupied by two other penitatas, both girls as best Tulu could tell. One was a grey-furred Roferian, the other a hefty, raptor-like Drakonian. “Umm, can I sit here?” she asked, cursing the meek tone of her own voice.
The furred dragon-girl glanced at Tulu, studying her for a few moments. “Sure,” she said eventually, before turning back to her conversation. Tulu focused on her soup, eating slowly and paying little attention as other Pennys drifted to the table.
“Hey, who's the new girl?” Tulu looked up at the question, asked by a grey-scaled Karrian boy that dropped himself into an empty stool.
The Drakonain looked as sheepish as a towering dinosaur could. “We... err... didn't ask her name yet.”
“I'm Tulu,” she said.
“Sa'shel,” the Drakonian replied.
“Penelope,” the Roferian said.
The Karrian boy was next. “I'm Malth.” He glanced up as a second Karrian, a girl with 'M's on her claws, slipped in beside him. “This is Jay. Jay, Tulu.”
“Nice to meet you!” the medicalos said warmly. “You new to Penny life?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Oh, it's obvious!” Penelope answered with a snorting laugh. “Who's class are you in?”
“Mr Kal's. I started school today.”
Sa'shel nodded. “Not a bad class from what I hear. Me, Penny and Jay are all with Miss Bassel, while poor Malty is stuck with Mister Titus.”
“I know all about him.” Tulu noted the curious looks on the other children's faces and quickly expanded on her comment. “M-my parents threatened to put me in his class if I didn't behave!”
“Been there, done that, got the blisters,” Penny sighed.
Malth let out a frustrated little huff. “Look on the bright side: you were only stuck with him for a week! I'm there full time!”
“W-” Tulu caught herself before finishing the question, claws flying to her mouth to muffle the accidental violation of Northrock protocol. Everyone at the table seemed fully aware of what faux pas she'd been about to make.
“Let's just say I'm a really bad boy,” Malth sighed. The Karrian boy glanced to Jay with a weary, whipped-dog look.
“Not as bad as you used to be,” the medicalos answered.
The moment was interrupted by an Aspatrian, a vulpine boy whose orange and white maw was split into an eager grin. “Eat up, slowpokes! You'll hold up the game!”
Sa'shel let out a deep, rumbling chuckle. “Someone's eager today!”
“Just want to get out and play while the weather's nice!” the boy replied, beaming ear to ear as he span on his heel and trotted away at a brisk pace. Tulu watched him go, feeling a soft blush upon her snout as she saw he was completely nude and seemingly uncaring of the fact. Realising her new social circle had redoubled their efforts to clear plates and empty bowls, Tulu held off any further questions until she too was bussing her tray and heading out into the playground.

Their destination was a rectangular court of yellow lines drawn on the hard top. The loops and section boundaries suggested it was for some from of hoop-net game, though she wasn't certain which of a dozen possible sports the school engaged in. Now, the netless court was repurposed for a wholly new experience; boys and girls of different ages, species and letter-classes were gathering at one end of the pitch, while a blond Kyyreni boy of six or so was shadow-boxing on the pitch's central line. Sa'shel strode up the pitch's left edge, staying out of the box and taking up position at the middle. Her head raised, sharp claws held aloft as she called out, “Alright, everyone! Take your places! I shall once again be referee for this event! For those of you new to the Line Game, here are the rules: One! You must start on the short line and run to the far short line. Two! The players in the middle will try to grab you as you pass. Three! If you're caught, you join them on the middle line. Four! If you step outside of these long lines you are out of bounds – that's instant disqualification from the game! All clear?”
Tulu stepped up between Penelope and Jay. The latter smiled at her, but the former had her angular, Roferian snout aimed squarely at the wolfish Kyyreni boy. “He's going to come for me, just watch!” she snarled bitterly. Tulu, meanwhile, was looking around at the other players; Talek and Rilka were both competing, and she hoped to stay clear of them as much as possible.
Their Drakonian referee barked “Go!” and the rejuves ran. True to her sulking prediction, Kost seemed to be focusing on someone at the far end of the group, only to bolt right and snap to Penelope at the last minute. Grabbing the girl around the waist, he almost brought her to the ground as she staggered and stumbled out of formation, fighting to keep upright. “Caught!” the boy barked.
“Get the hell off me, jerk!” Penelope snapped back as she wrestled free. Snarling and sulking, she stomped into place on the line beside him.
The next pass saw Kost focus on the fox-boy Tulu had seen earlier. Tulu herself found an opening as Penelope tried to tag Jay, but couldn't make purchase. The third pass saw a pair of Karrians taken out, and with that stroke of fortune the defenders ramped up their game. There was barely any pause between runs; as she turned from her latest run, having barely escaped the grasping claws of Lusu, Tulu saw a near solid wall of bodies waiting for her. “How is this fair?” she whined, before turning to assess who else had held out this long. The fox had made it, as had Jay – though Tulu wondered if people were going easy on that Medicalos.
“Go!” Sa'shel roared, and all three bolted forward. Nobody would make it, surely? Tulu slowed her charge almost as soon as it began, then jinked sideways as if to follow Jay. Her trick bunched the defenders and she went for the far line, head down and limbs pumping. She wanted to win! This silly game was suddenly the most important thing in the world, and she wanted to win!
Claws and paws grasped at her, slipping off her shirt as she surged forward with all she had... and then the body blow came. Slamming into her side, Rilka latched on in a bearhug and lifted Tulu clean off her feet. Momentum carried both girls out of bounds. “Caught!” Rilka bellowed in glee.
It was over in an instant, yet it brought such a potent surge of emotion that Tulu almost burst into tears. She'd been so close! She could have won! She should have won! Turning back to the throng of rejuves, she saw everyone had broken formation and was gathering around Sa'shel. “And that's everyone out! Our final winner will therefore be decided based on performance. Of our final three the winner, for getting furthest through the defenders before being stopped, is Ki'reth!”
The orange fox raised his paws in triumph. The rest of the players met him with cheers, applause, and some good-natured jeering. He took a bow, then walked over to the centre of the pitch and stood with a smile upon his muzzle.
“You okay there?” Tulu's head snapped to Jay, who had managed to sneak up on her while the girl was focused on Ki'reth. “You looked like you were about to cry.”
Tulu let her muzzle drop. “I think I was. I got really caught up in the game.”
“Sounds about right!” Jay laughed in response. “It takes a while to master these new bodies; they'll take over at the worst times! It's just a game, Tulu. Have fun with it.”
Penelope came to join the pair with Malth close behind. “Bloody Kost! I told you he'd go for me!”
Malth jerked a thumb towards Ki'reth. “He'll focus on Kost now though. Those two are always going for each other.”
“Are they enemies or something?” Tulu asked.
“No, they're best friends!” Malth laughed back. “I can tell you were never a boy!”

The second game was over much sooner for Tulu. Failing to grab Kost on the first pass, Ki'reth instead focused on picking off weaker prey, taking Tulu on the second run. As one of the youngest and smallest players, Tulu struggled to tackle anyone at first. Eventually, she managed to bring Jay down – the older Karrian came to a stop as soon as Tulu's claw touched her arm. It was an obvious act of charity, but a welcome one. Together, the girls managed a legitimate tackle on Penelope, who grumbled but took some pride in needing two-to-one odds to be halted. The final winner turned out to be Talek, who stood alone on the far line with all his competitors caught.
Just like that, Tulu found herself lost in the thrill of competition, the welcome camaraderie of new friends, the simple, primal joy of running around in the sunshine. It had everything her “outer child” could ever have wanted, and that joy spread to the inner woman as well. If every day could be like that, she mused as the bell finally summoned them back to class, then she might actually learn to love this school! An afternoon of Ethics and Morals later, and she was free – or free of school at least. She hurried out of the classroom and tried to recall the directions her friends had given her, weaving through the corridors until she spied a familiar shade of grey. “Malth!”
The boy turned in shock at hearing his name. He had a redness to his snout from crying. “Hey,” he met her, voice weak and tired.
“Oh. Are you okay?”
“No. I got the business end of a hefty paddle, and my parents are bound to give me more of the same when I get home!” Malth wailed as the pair fell into step together. “I hate this place!”
Jay came into view as they drew near the main entrance. Seeing Malth's distress, the medicalos bound over and embraced him in a warm, fierce hug. “What happened?” she asked without breaking the grip.
“Mister Titus felt I didn't try hard enough on one of his stupid surprise exams!”
“I remember those. They were never fair, were they?” the pair finally split. “I'll... I'll speak to mom and dad first, maybe that'll soften the blow.”
Her kind words finally drew a smile out of Malth. “Thanks. I... I...”
“I know.” she flashed a grin at the boy before glancing over her shoulder. Penelope was marching over with an equally sour look on her furred snout. “You're not the only one who had a rough day.”
“All I did was yawn! Come on, let's get out of here before someone smacks us for loitering!”
“Would they really do that?” Tulu asked.
Penny snorted at the question. “They'll spank us for whatever reason they feel like. But I guess some are better about it than others. Find a teacher who likes you and stick to them like glue, you'll spare your butt some misery!”
The little group of Pennys stepped through the double doors and down the handful of shallow steps to the school's front courtyard. A gathering of rejuves had formed over to one side by ranks of Watchdogs in their charging ports, each of them assessing the digital boards to confirm their expected means of travel. To her surprise, Tulu saw her own name up on the boards. “I... I thought my dad would be here...” she whimpered, her stomach in knots over the idea of being escorted by these drones, especially in light of her own crimes.
“They aren't so bad,” Penelope assured her. “I get towed along by them once or twice a week. Just walk home at a reasonable pace and everything's fine. You don't have to run yourself ragged or anything.”
Accepting the comments with a nod, Tulu joined the queue to accept her device. Rather than emerging from the ports, a slightly larger, newer model bobbled through the gate, projecting her name on its rounded nose. She stepped forward, following the machine as it gently sidled down away from the main foot traffic and addressed her in a soft, feminine voice. “Hello, Miss Tulu. I have a pre-recorded message from your father:” the voice changed to that of Arno. “Tulu, we're giving you a choice. You have a spanking due when you get home, but if you come home nude we'll consider your walk home punishment served. The Watchdog will take your clothes if that's what you want.”
The girl let out a soft blub at the offer. Malth and Jay, with their father close to hand, had stuck around to observe the girl's attempts to get home. Jay, owing to her letters, would have that sort of leeway. She and Malth joined Tulu in front of the Watchdog, the Medi girl smiling as she said, “I know what I'd pick.”
“I would too, for very different reasons,” Malth's tone had a hint of derision. “Going nude hurts way less than a spanking, and sooner or later everyone's going to see you with your pants down anyway. Bite that bullet while the weather's nice – save the spankings for when it's cold out!”
“My little man is speaking from experience,” the father added.
Squirming in front of this unwanted audience, Tulu mumbled out her choice. “I'll g-go nude.”
“We'll see you tomorrow then,” Jay announced, a clear sign of kindness to have three less sets of eyes on the new rejuve as she handed over her skirt, undershirt and panties. The Watchdog seemed content to let her keep her shoes and socks.
“Please present your wrists,” the egg-shaped drone stated, and Tulu dutifully let herself be bound. The cable fastened against her scale, but to her surprise it pulled sharply upwards to hold her limbs straight up. If it had pulled any more she'd have been stood on her toes! “You may now begin walking.”
“T-this isn't right!” the girl's protests drew unwanted eyes upon her exposed and vulnerable form.
“Miss Tulu, you must begin walking or a punishment note will be added to your file.”
No choice left to her, Tulu slowly put one foot in front of the other, tottering awkwardly in this uncomfortable bind. The Watchdog gave her a little bit of slack, but not enough to fully lower her arms; just to add a bend at the elbow. She walked out of the school gates and glanced around, feeling lost. “Umm-”
“Please turn right,” the Watchdog's words came out at a neutral tone. She followed the instruction, cheeks burning from shame, ear-slits prickling in search of a disparaging comment made against her. She spied a familiar junction and went to turn, making for the road that led past the farms, which would be the fastest way home. Instead, she met with resistance: “Please continue forwards.”
“B-but that's not the way home!”
The Watchdog repeated its order. “Please continue forwards.”
She began to cry at those words, openly and without restraint. This was going to be far, far worse than a private stroll in the nude; a fact made all the more clear as she drew towards the town centre, and a new level of humiliation was added. To her absolute horror, as she stepped onto a road heading for the pier, the Watchdog deployed a flashing blue light and let out a low, muted horn, which was followed by an announcement: “Attention! There is a nude girl walking the streets! Attention!”
“Nooo!” Tulu howled as the drone, no longer merely ambling with her, began to apply a slow drag to her travel. She was being actively forced out to the pier, where as she feared the freer classes of children were gathered, chatting and enjoying slushy ice drinks. All eyes turned to her, accompanied by cruel smirks as they saw not only an opportunity, but an invitation to tease.
“Hey! Check out the streaker!” a boy of twelve laughed from behind the safety of his 'voluntaras' letters.
A second, around age ten, smirked as he drew near. “She's kind of cute! Hey, Watchdog! Lift her up so we can get a good look between her legs!”
“Not that!” Tulu howled, thrashing helplessly in her binds. “I w-wanna' go hooome!”
“And I want to see your slit, so lift your legs!”
The older boy grinned at the hovering drone. “Hey, Watchdog! Can we touch her?”
The drone boomed out a rebuttal. “Do Not Make Physical Contact With The Penitatas!” Both boys recoiled at the threat. A third member of the group quietly suggested that Tulu was probably in for enough misery when she got home, and not wishing to incur the wrath of the justice system, all present headed for the far end of the pier.
The brief encounter was still enough to reduce Tulu to absolute, retching sobs of shame. The Watchdog took her, slowly, along the beach before cutting back inland – a route that seemed intended to steer her past and into as many housing clusters as it possibly could. She was walked into cul-de-sacs for no other reason than to be forced to stand in the middle of the road for all the world to see, then the machine would lead her off again. By the time she was approaching home, with the final turn in sight, Tulu was openly cursing herself for not taking the spanking. “At least that would have been private!” she lamented.
Yet as soon as she turned past Talek and Rilka's house, Tulu found two familiar men walking to greet her. One had a mug of something steamy, the other had a thick red blanket. As the Watchdog returned her clothes to Arno, Reel wrapped the trembling girl up and massaged her arms to ease some of the ache. “Good girl, Tulu.”
Arno offered the warm milk, laced with a delightful hint of chocolate. “Since humiliation works so well on you, we're going to use that while the weather holds. No clothes two or from school.”
Tulu let out a pained little gasp. Her claws squeezed the mug tightly for comfort, though her lip trembled too much to drink from it. Her parents steered her back inside, Reel heading to the kitchen while Arno sat their Penny down on the sofa. “If you'd rather be spanked, all you have to do is say so.”
Malth's advice came unbidden to the forefront of her mind. “A-at least it's n-not cold out!”
“Warmth can always be arranged,” Arno assured her. “I know you want your spankings kept to a minimum, but your sentence guide demands a lot more than just two bouts of forced nudity per day. You know how the system works, Tulu. Have a think on how you can make up the difference.”
A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of the Watchdog taking her to or from school through a nettle patch. “I... I don't...”
“Take a deep breath. Think, then speak. You've got until tomorrow morning.”
The tears in her reddened eyes made the words that follow seem genuine. “Don't... please don't make me pick m-my own punishment! I... I hate it!”
Arno pulled the girl in for a hug, careful not to overbalance her for fear of spilling hot milk onto the girl's exposed lap. “I know you do, but it's an opportunity for you to prove how good a Penny you are! Choose a punishment for yourself, something in line with the guidelines, and we can add to your record that you're not only accepting of punishment, but you recognise what you deserve! That'll go a long way to easing off the number and severity of spankings you're receiving. That is what you want, isn't it?”
For a long while, Tulu kept her focus on the milk, sipping slowly, measuring the passage of time by how much it had cooled each time the liquid touched her lips. Arno only spoke to Reel to confirm the dinner choices, but left Tulu to her thoughts.
“I... I hate being tickled.” she said at last. The words earned her a hug, but didn't spare her the bedtime spanking.

The next morning, Tulu rose bright and early to find breakfast waiting on the table. She ate her cereal in silence, dreading the Hell she'd chosen for herself. Her clothes were packed into a bag, while she herself was forced to wear a special harness; it locked her wrists behind her skull, elbows pointed to the sky. She whimpered at the sound of the door chime. Both parents wished her a good day and escorted her to the waiting Watchdog, which went through the normal confirmation routines before attaching its cables to the harness at designated anchor points. She could easily be dragged, or even carried clean off the ground if the machine deemed it necessary.
That thought made her utterly miserable, but it was the waiting trio of Talek, Rilka, and their mother, Liki that made the girl sob. “No!” she yelped, not that anyone cared; it only made Rilka's shit-eating grin grow even wider.
“Please proceed to school via the inland road,” the Watchdog announced. The morning air was chilly, but one small mercy was a gust of warm air from above as she walked past the waiting family; at least she'd not be shivering. The trio fell in beside her, all walking in silence with the unwilling captive sandwiched between Talek and Rilka.
The fact there was no announcement somehow made it worse. Two cables, each sporting a blue ruffle of feathers on the end, lowered themselves to Tulu's armpits and began to swivel against her sensitive scales. She let out an involuntary squeal of laughter, squirming under the onslaught in a futile effort to flee. The Watchdog, without breaking pace, simply took her weight as her legs curled up off the ground and let her drift along at walking pace, laughing and thrashing, her seemingly happy sounds quickly turning to shrieks of distress as her true feelings came forward.
“Na-haha-oo! Sta-haha-pit!” she tried to beg, but the machine did not care. Nor, it seemed, did her escorts; both rejuves were watching her trash and wriggle in her helpless, shameful binds.
She knew what had to come next. Her fathers had deliberately withheld her from using the toilet before setting out. Tulu retained enough sense to lift her legs, curling and pressing her knees against her quivering stomach to avoid as much 'splash' as possible. She'd barely curled before her bladder gave out, unable to cope with the strain of holding in a night's worth of pee and resisting the tickle torture. Rilka laughed and jeered as the little lass was carried along, hosing the pavement down with her warm, yellow spray. As it petered out, the feathers stopped their cruel assault and withdrew. With her whole body shaking, Tulu lowered her legs and, after a few false starts, managed to resume walking on her own.
“That was awesome,” Talek giggled, his trousers bulging at the groin.
Rilka nodded in agreement. “I'm going to enjoy walking to school with you, Tulu!”
Tulu's only reply was a heartfelt, humiliated bawling. She wouldn't have to suffer this shame every day, nor even walk nude every day; but there and then, having endured something especially shameful in order to 'prove a point' and set the standard she must expect, Tulu felt all her previous excitement over school ripped away – she'd have given anything to go back home, be sealed inside her room, and never see another soul again!
But, once at school and allowed to finally put her clothes on, Tulu was met with an unexpected surprise; a tired looking Malth and his medicalos sister both stood by the main door, obviously waiting for her by how they immediately focused in on her and, in Jay's case, waved eagerly. “Hey! How bad was it?”
“Awful!” Tulu sobbed.
Malth nodded in sullen agreement. “My parents weren't thrilled with me, either. Welcome to Penny life, Tulu.”
“We can meet up on break. If you like, we can find a quiet place to sit and you can vent all you like,” Jay's offer was nothing but sincerity to Tulu's ears.
“Thanks guys,” she answered with a smile. Her father had been right about one thing: somehow, knowing she wasn't the only one suffering really did make it easier to bear.
Malth and Jay both exchanged glances. “I should get my 'brother' to class. If I don't explain why he's late he'll be in for a hiding!”
“Late? Oh no!” Tulu ran from her friends, darting through the corridors in mortal terror of what Mr Kal might have in store for her. She slid to a halt just before the classroom, steadied herself on the wall, and then stepped through the door to find all eyes upon her. “S-sir! I'm sorry! I-”
There were no words to describe how much she hated Mr Kal's smile. “I know all about your morning routine, Miss Tulu. Just you remember that being late because of a punishment is no excuse! Consider that your first and only warning.”
Frightened and relieved in equal measure, Tulu sheltered behind her desk as Mr Kal worked through the morning announcements and set out the day's routine. In the corner of her eye she saw Rilka, grinning at her. Tulu's claws balled into fists as she whispered a vow: “when we play the Line Game at dinner, I'm taking you out first!”