Addie and Alexis- Part 3

As the bright morning sun beamed through the window of fourteen year old Addie’s bedroom, she yawned, rolled over, and opened her eyes to see the clock, which read 8:30. She rolled back over, and closed her eyes for a split second before snapping them open, and jumping out of bed.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no…” she mumbled to herself as she made her way out of her room and ran down the hallway to wake her eight year old sister Alexis up. She burst through Alexis’s bedroom door to find the room empty. She ran down the stairs and into the living room, where she stopped dead in her tracks to see Alexis dressed and ready for school, and their mother’s best friend Rachel just coming through the front door.

“Alexis! Why didn’t you wake me up?” Addie exclaimed. Alexis shrugged.

“Morning girls!” Rachel called, making her way into the living room. Seeing Addie still in her pj’s, obviously not ready for school at all, she too stopped dead in her tracks. “Um…what’s going on?”

“She didn’t wake me up!” Addie exclaimed. “We have to go, I have a test that starts in 15 minutes!!”

“Okay, hurry, go get dressed,” Rachel said, ushering Alexis to the door to help her with her coat and boots, while Addie ran back upstairs. “Why didn’t you wake Addie up, Lex?” Rachel asked.

“I forgot,” Alexis said, and smiled her most adorable smile. Rachel smiled back, and took out her cell phone, selecting Téa’s name from her list of contacts.

“Hello,” Téa answered, as she walked quickly down the hallway of the large law firm she works for, waving to several people as she passes them.

“Hey it’s Rachel.”

“Rachel, is something wrong?” Téa asked, knowing that Rachel would only call if their usual morning routine hadn’t gone as planned.

“I just got here and Addie just got up. Apparently Lex didn’t wake her. She says she has a test, and just ran upstairs to get ready. She’s pretty upset.”

“What? I called at 7 this morning and spoke with Lex, she said that Addie was already up, that she had even been talking to her.”

“Well, when I asked her why she didn’t wake Addie up, she said she forgot.”

“Ahhh I see. Well, you can tell little Alexis that she and I will be having a chat about lying when I get home tonight,” Téa said, instantly angry that Alexis had blatantly lied to her earlier that morning.

“Will do,” Rachel said. “Here comes Addie, I gotta go,” she said, and snapped her phone shut.

That afternoon Téa waited outside of Alexis’s third grade classroom with a couple other parents who had also arrived slightly early to pick up their children. As she stood there she thought about what she was going to do about Lex’s lying earlier that morning. She would, of course, give Alexis a chance to explain what happened, although it was clear at this point that Alexis was fully to blame. She thought about taking her favorite toy away, or maybe banning her from dance class that week. Neither seemed quite serious enough. Addie wasn’t allowed to write her test because she was a full 15 minutes late, Rachel was late for work as a result of dealing with that, and Téa was late for court because she was on the phone with Addie’s teacher trying to straighten the whole situation out. Alexis’s single lie had turned all of their days upside down, and Téa began to think that as a result, it was time for her youngest daughter, her baby, to experience her very first real spanking.

The bell rang, and kids began to trickle out of the classroom. Téa nonchalantly poked her head into the room a few minutes later to see Alexis and her best friend Kristin talking and giggling quietly on the other side of the room. She quietly made her way across the room, and, putting her arms around both girls from behind, taking them off guard, squeezed them both tightly.

“Hey girls” she said.

“Hi Téa!” Kristin said, leaning into the much-welcomed hug from her best friend’s mother.

“Hi Mom” Alexis said, pulling away and zipping up her coat. “Why are you so dressed up?” she asked, observing her mother’s killer knee-high leather boots, black pencil skirt, creamy white blouse and black trench coat.

Téa narrowed her eyes. “I haven’t had time to go home yet.”

“Why not?” Alexis asked, oblivious of her impending punishment.

“Because, young lady, I had to stop at Addie’s school and talk to her teacher about her being LATE this morning” she answered sternly.

“Geesh, someone’s in a bad mood” Alexis joked, and Kristin laughed.

“Alexis, get your bag, let’s go” Téa said, growing tired of her daughter’s attitude already.

“Fine” Alexis sassed, and went to retrieve her school bag from a hook.

“Bye sweetie” Téa said to Kristin, smoothing her hair. Alexis returned with her bag, and followed her mother out of the classroom.

“Can we watch Sister Act tonight?” Alexis asked, flashing her most winning smile. Téa glanced back at her daughter. She was trotting along behind her, smiling, chestnut brown shoulder-length hair hanging perfectly underneath a grey wool hat. Why did she have to be so cute? This wasn’t going to be easy.

Téa merely shook her head at Alexis and continued walking.

“What?” Alexis asked, innocently, now climbing into the car and slamming the door behind her. Téa got in as well, and started the car.

“We’ll see. We’re going to have to talk about what happened this morning first Lex”

“What happened this morning?” Alexis asked. She was much smarter than most eight year olds, which sometimes got her into trouble. She knew exactly what her mother was talking about, but thought she could fake her way out of trouble. Téa knew this as well.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about young lady” she said, glaring at her daughter in the rear-view mirror. “We’ll discuss it when we get home” she said, turning onto their street. Alexis sighed, crossed her arms, and leaned back against the seat.

Téa gently massaged the side of her head as they came through the front door, feeling the beginning of a headache coming on. Alexis dropped her bag and coat on the floor in the front hallway, angrily kicked her boots off, and stomped toward the living room.

“Alexis!” Téa snapped. “Get back here right now and pick this stuff up!” Alexis rolled her eyes and stomped back towards her mother. “You know better than to drop your stuff on the floor,” Téa lectured. “Go put it in your room where it belongs, and meet me in the kitchen.”

Alexis did as she was told, deciding not to anger her mom any more than she already had. Téa went into the kitchen, where Addie was sitting on an island stool working on homework.

“Hi honey” Téa said, flipping the coffee pot on, and walking over to Addie and leaning against the counter.

“Hey” Addie responded.

“So…rough day”

“Yeah”
“Alexis is on her way down, and we’re going to sort this out. I’m so sorry you missed your test, I know you studied really hard for it sweetie”

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault,” Addie said, smiling.

“So how was your day…other than that?” Téa asked.

“It was good. I…” Before Addie could finish her sentence, Alexis came skipping into the room and stopped right in front of Téa.

“Mom! Can I have a cupcake?” she demanded.

“Not right now, I want to talk to you,” she answered, pulling out a kitchen chair. “Sit please,” she said, leading Alexis to the chair. Addie put her pen down and turned on her stool to face Alexis and Téa.

Téa took a deep breath and looked down at Alexis, wearing a cute little pair of dark jeans, a white tshirt and a black and white plaid button-down blouse over top, left undone. She couldn’t have looked more precious if she tried. This was going to be difficult. Alexis was only eight and it was going to break Téa’s heart to make her cry. But she had been getting a little mouthy lately, and hadn’t been doing what she was told. Something had to be done.

“What?!” Alexis demanded after a couple minutes of silence. “I’m hungry and I wanna watch my show!”

“When I called this morning you told me that Addie was already up and getting ready for school,” Téa said. “But Rachel told me you didn’t wake Addie up, and that you said you forgot.” She spoke softly but deliberately, making sure Alexis understood.

“I did forget!” Alexis whined, acting as though she was highly offended to even be questioned about this.

“But when I talked to you, you told me that you had already seen Addie, and that she was up and getting ready for school,” Téa repeated.

“Well….I was just…I thought she was up, and I was going to get her up as soon as I hung up,”

“I’m confused. You told me you had seen Addie awake, but really hadn’t?” Téa asked carefully.

“Yeah but I was GOING to wake her up!” Alexis exclaimed.

“So what happened then? You hung up the phone, and then did what?”

“I went downstairs and watched TV. I just forgot,” Alexis said quietly.

“Alexis, you had to walk right past Addie’s bedroom to get from your room downstairs,” Téa pointed out.

Alexis crossed her arms and looked down, pouting slightly, and swinging one foot, continuously kicking the leg of the chair. Téa was silent for a couple minutes, giving Alexis a chance to talk, but she also remained silent.

“I don’t like it when you lie to me, young lady,” Téa said, approaching Alexis and kneeling down to her level, putting her hands on Alexis’s knees to stop them from kicking the chair.

“I didn’t!” Alexis said defensively.

“Yes you did,” Téa said slowly. “And because you did, Addie missed a very important test, Rachel was late for work, and I was late for court,” she explained. Alexis looked up at Addie who was still watching from her stool, and then at her mother.

“I’m sorry Mommy,” she said. Téa didn’t respond, and, thinking the matter was dropped, Alexis tried to stand up and proceed with her day.

“Not so fast,” Téa said, gently guiding Alexis back into her seat. “We’ve talked about lying before, haven’t we?” Alexis nodded her head yes. “And why is lying bad?”

“Because someone could get hurt or lost, and because if I lie, then you might not believe me when I’m telling the truth,” Alexis answered.

“Yes, that’s right. And because you know you’re not allowed to lie, and did anyways, you have to be punished.”

Alexis looked up at her mother, considering the situation. She could cry, and make everyone feel sorry for her. Or she could just agree, and probably have to miss her show as punishment. But she wasn’t getting what she wanted, and, although this rarely happened, she decided to let her frustration get the best of her.

“Addie’s test wasn’t that big of a deal, she told me so herself!” Alexis sassed. “So obviously I shouldn’t be in trouble.”

Téa and Addie both looked at Alexis, surprised by her snippy attitude.

“You lied to me Alexis, regardless of what was or wasn’t important, I will not tolerate lying in this house, and I want you to lose the attitude right now young lady. Do you understand me?” Téa said, raising her voice a little.

“No,” Alexis answered, with a careless tone.

“Here’s the bottom line Alexis. You’re being punished for lying to me. You know better, and I think it’s clear that you’re in serious need of an attitude adjustment. Go to your room and wait for me, you’re getting a spanking.” Téa said, trying to suppress her own anger.

Alexis stared at her with a look of disbelief on her face. She stood up and walked toward the door, but stopped and turned around.

“Yeah, RIGHT,” she said pointedly, and skipped into the living room and turned on the tv.

As soon as Téa’s brain registered what had just happened, her temper started to flare, just a little. She generally stayed very calm and in control, but Alexis was pushing her just a little too far. She got up and walked as quickly as she could into the living room, stopping short of Alexis, sitting on the floor, watching her show.

“I’m giving you one more chance. Go to your room, NOW,” she stressed. Alexis turned to look at her.

“No,” she said simply.

Within seconds Téa grasped Alexis’s arm, pulled her to her feet, and dragged her along with her to the couch, with Alexis screaming the entire time, intent on fighting her mother fiercely. It hadn’t been this difficult with Addie, Téa thought to herself, sitting down, and holding Alexis firmly in front of her.

“Stop!” Téa demanded, raising her voice over Alexis’s over-dramatic shrill screaming.

“No! Let go of me!!” Alexis yelled, trying to pull out of her mother’s grasp.

Téa, tired of fighting with her daughter, easily pulled her up and over her lap, and held her firmly in place admidst her struggling. She raised her hand, and brought it down sharply, quickly spanking Alexis’s right cheek, and then left. Alexis immediately stopped screaming and sucked in her breath, surprised by the sting. Téa continued spanking, delivering an even dozen before Alexis broke her silence.

“Oww! Stop, please Mommy, stop!” she cried.

“Are you finished fighting with me?” Téa asked. Alexis nodded her head yes. “Good,” she said, delivering another dozen spanks, more slowly than the first time, giving Alexis a chance to process what was happening. By the time Téa stopped, Alexis was wiping tears off her face and sniffling. She helped Alexis stand up, and held onto her hands so that she couldn’t rub, and was forced to look at her mother.

“I want you to listen to me very carefully. Go apologize to your sister for not waking her up, and then go upstairs to your bedroom. I’ll be up in a minute. Okay?”

“Okay,” Alexis whispered.

“Good girl,” she said softly, relieved that the fight was over. She let go of Alexis’s hands, and watched as Alexis turned, and started rubbing her bottom vigorously, trying to alleviate some of the pain. After a few seconds, Alexis stopped, wiped her eyes again, and went into the kitchen.

“I’m sorry I didn’t wake you up this morning Addie,” Alexis said sincerely. Téa breathed a sigh of relief at Alexis’s obedience, and leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed.

“It’s okay,” Addie replied.

“Are you mad at me?” Alexis asked, afraid that her sister/best friend/idol would hate her forever.

“No, I’m not mad at you, it’s okay,” Addie responded, and squeezed Alexis tightly. She let her go, and Alexis turned and looked at her mother, who nodded in approval, and Alexis ran upstairs to her room.

...to be continued