Foster Forest (16): As Seen in the Mirror

"I'm telling!"

At a place like Foster Forest, the sound of those words carried throughout the nearby area, and Cody looked up from where he was standing at the "playground" next to Carly. His eyes narrowed as he raised a hand to his brow and looked toward the porch. The little boy, Jackson, was cornered, his back against the wall of the house, and Lizzie had a wild look about her, from what Carly could see.

She'd been at Foster Forest for a grand total of three days. The atmosphere in the house during that time had been strange. Cody had spent two days in his room, not talking to anybody, and Peter seemed quiet after the first night's dinner. She and Felicity were in Feliticy's room when they'd heard a spanking happening on their floor, and that only left Lizzie. The younger girl seemed to have been strangely hateful in the few days that had followed. Quiet and broody, she refused her meals in spite of being made to sit at the table, and she wouldn't speak to anybody. It seemed to Carly that Lizzie had been doing a lot of chores over the past couple of days, and she never seemed to catch a break. She almost felt bad that she'd had some time to sit out here and chat with the fourteen year old for a while instead of helping inside the house.

So far Felicity had kept herself out of trouble, and Carly was relieved. She didn't have to step in and try to mediate or explain her sister, and she didn't have to try to get Felicity to stop before she made matters worse with her big mouth. How many times had Carly stood up to calm Felicity down before she did something she would regret? And now the twelve year-old knew that her older sister harbored a lot of regrets, now that their father was gone, the victim of his own handgun. The thought of it all made Carly shiver. She thought Felicity might still be in shock, since she'd hardly said anything since the night she found their father's body in his office. Carly knew that Felicity would never be the same. Neither of them would be.

"Busybody!" Cody said next to her. "I guess you know what she's like." He glanced at her, giving a shrug of his shoulders. "Betsy. You've met her, right?"

Carly frowned slightly, squinting in the direction of the house as she had done a moment before. "You mean Lizzie? Sure. I met her the day I got here," she said. "She's okay."

"Busybody," Cody grumbled again. "I'm going to go see what's going on and try to keep the kid out of trouble. Whatever he's done, she's gonna make it sound like it's a lot worse than it is, and I'd hate to see him get in trouble for something he didn't do, or something that's not that big a deal," he said with a shrug.

Cody darted off across the yard so quickly that Carly took a moment to realize what was happening. She leaped off the swing and jogged toward him. His movements were stiff, but he was quick, and there was a redness around his ears that she recognized. Carly put her hand on Cody's arm and gave him a gentle tug to pull him back. "What's going on?" she asked with concern. If he was anything like Felicity, there was about to be some serious trouble, and Carly didn't want to have to watch while Cody got his butt spanked. She'd already heard one of Lizzie's, and she didn't want to hear another.

Foster Forest (15): Mistakes They Made

Lizzie glared at the two girls who stood next to their social worker in the front room. Ms Becky seemed to be talking comfortably with the young woman with the black hair, and the smaller of the two girls was looking around the room, her blue eyes wide as she took in everything that the Foster Forest home had to offer. They were pretty, and both girls had the same dark, dark brown hair and blue eyes. The older girl was quite tall; in fact, she was taller than Ms. Becky, and very slender as well. She might be mistaken for a grown women if she had the curves that came with adulthood. The younger girl was petite, not much taller than Lizzie was herself. Her hair was shorter, cropped close to her head in a very grown up style that the ten year old didn't particularly like. The older one's hair fell close to her waist in twin braids.

At once Lizzie didn't like them. For one thing, she didn't like the way that the older girl was dressed. Her skirt was too short and she was wearing a blouse with a neckline that showed off the little swell of her budding breasts. The younger one wouldn't have been so bad except that she kept staring at everything as though she was in awe. Worse, Becky was smiling at both of them from ear to ear and spending time talking to the social worker.

The founder of The Forest had been so irritable lately that Lizzie had just been avoiding her, though that was nothing new. The home without books, however, caused the ten year-old to branch out more and seek other things to do. There was nothing to read since the fire that had consumed all of the books from the library, so she'd been forced to play outside with Jackson on the new playground equipment and even to spend time with Peter cleaning up the kitchen and scrubbing down windowsills and baseboards. It was boring and it was tedious and there were things she would much rather be doing.

It was bad enough that nearly the past week had been spent with Cody in a bad mood because of nightly punishments. Lizzie wasn't supposed to know about that, but she heard the grown ups talking often enough, and she'd caught on. Cody was in big trouble for the book burning, and before that for the stuff that he'd had on his computer, before that got taken away too.

Lizzie hated Cody. She would have been indifferent if he hadn't risked taking his laptop into the library that day while she was reading. The images on the screen were so disgusting, and they reminded her of how much it had hurt. At first Cody scared her, and she'd thought that maybe he would be just like the one guy, the guy who had called her Beth. To make matters worse, Cody was insistent on calling her Betsy, which not only rubbed her the wrong way but it also reminded her of being called Bethy, which was a name reserved for those special occasions when he...

Blinking several times rapidly, Elizabeth brought herself back to the present. She stood up from where she had been sitting at the bottom of the stairs watching and eavesdropping and went into the kitchen. Peter had been through earlier, scrubbing everything in a mad fury, and the usual lock was on the fridge to keep Jackson out. She sighed, bored out of her mind. She couldn't even eat when she was in one of these moods! Lizzie glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly four o'clock. Dinner would be ready in an hour anyway. In the meantime, there wasn't much to do. Cody was in the Great Room and she was pretty sure she'd seen Jackson follow him in there. She didn't want to be near the two of them, and she wasn't in the mood to go wandering around outside. She only hoped that perhaps Peter was at the bookstore buying the things on her list so that she'd have something new and different to do. One more day of cleaning and she thought she might crack.

"Liz!" Becky called, and Elizabeth felt a flood of relief rush through her as she trotted out into the entrance to see what her guardian wanted. The social worker, she noticed, was gone, leaving only Becky and the two girls, with Cody and Jackson off in the other part of the room. She put on her best smile, beaming up at the older girl and then the younger, the one she thought might be a year or so older than her.

"Hi," she said, turning her attention up to Becky.

"Lizzie, this is Felicity," Becky said, gesturing toward the older girl. Felicity just gave Lizzie a "look" and rolled her eyes away, crossing her arms over her chest. It was obvious that she wasn't in a position to be particularly friendly to the ten year old, and Lizzie just gave her a snotty look right back. "And this is Carly," Becky went on, acting as though nothing had happened.

Foster Forest (14): Arson!

It had been a long week for all of the residents of Foster Forest, but Peter was certain that he and Cody were more exhausted than any of the other residents. Though Becky was showing the signs of strain and Lizzie seemed to be hiding out in her room with a book more and more often, nothing could compare to being on the giving or the receiving end of nightly punishments. Peter knew from his own personal experience that Cody was having a difficult time, but he hadn't imagined what it would be like to be the one wielding the paddle every evening for three nights straight. It had taken it out of him to see Cody blubbering and sobbing like a little boy, and Peter could only imagine that he had once looked the same when his mother had taken him to task at the same age.

The rest of the week had been spent mostly talking about the pornography on Cody's computer. It wasn't the porn itself that Peter minded; he could understand that at Cody's age the kid was going to want to look and see things that stimulated him. He didn't condemn the teenager for that. No, the problem that Peter had was with the dishonesty. Nobody had given Cody access to the Internet, and he had confessed later to using a back door to enter the porn site. Once Peter explained to Cody that he was stealing, it seemed as though everything did a much better job of clicking into place. Though he still wasn't sure that Cody understood the rules or their purpose, he thought they  might be making headway, and therefore the ritualistic nightly punishments hadn't been in vain.

Cody was even beginning to speak up a bit at supper. Though he wasn't laughing and joking with the others, he was beginning to come out of himself. The computer was gone, and Peter felt sure that the lack of socialization on Facebook and other Internet sites had caused the teenager to need more real world stimulation. Whatever the cause, Becky was relaxing and Peter was feeling more and more at home. He'd taken on an extra two shifts at the house now, and he was becoming comfortable spending time playing board games with Jackson or helping Lizzie to clean up the library, which she often left in a mess. Moreover, Peter was beginning to relax generally. Though it still gave him the creeps when a room wasn't spotless, he didn't force the kids to be perfect, and he felt better for it.

As far as Peter was concerned, things were going pretty well at Foster Forest in Cody's third week there. Though it would take time for all of the kids to fully settle in, he thought that there was a good chance that things were going to work out for the best.

Peter was smiling to himself as he worked on cleaning the kitchen counters, scrubbing them down with bleach. Jackson was outside with Becky while she instructed the assembly men where to put the playground equipment she'd purchased, and the last time he'd checked, Elizabeth was in her room reading her most recent book. He hadn't checked on Cody in a while, but he also knew that the computer was plenty out of his reach and Peter felt that there wasn't much trouble the fourteen year-old could cause without it. As far as Peter was concerned, all was right with the world.

Then he smelled smoke.

Foster Forest (13): Caught with His Pants Down

Cody had been spending most of the past week avoiding the grown ups. The sting of humiliation that he had felt initially had been turned on its head, replaced by seething anger. The guy, Mr. Peter, had handled him, and Cody didn't like that. The guy had no right to put his hands on him in any way, and he was sure that he would find a way not to allow that to happen again. And Ms. Becky.... Whoah boy. That had been some experience, hadn't it? First her watching Peter beat his butt with that paddle right there in the kitchen, and then her pulling him across her lap like he was some stupid, wimpy little kid. Like the boy, whatshisname. His anger and humiliation over that incident were so mixed together that they formed some strange stirrings in his belly (and below) that he didn't care to think about too much. Either way, he wasn't going to let it happen again. He had enough things to question as it was, and he didn't need to be thinking about his guardian that way.

Cody didn't want to be anywhere near Peter. That much was for damned sure. He felt as though if he was in the same room with the guy (at least when they weren't sat down for meals) that he'd slug him one. He was fourteen years old: practically an adult! Definitely too old to be treated like a little kid bent over the kitchen chair and having his butt smacked with some stupid kid's paddle. It was stupid and it was humiliating and one day soon he was going to put Peter right back in his place. See how the dude felt if the paddle was being used on him, for a change.

Just the thought made Cody quiver with excitement. Though it didn't give him the same feeling deep in his belly that the thought of being over Becky's knee did, but there was a similar sensation, and it felt good to feel as though he was on top of things, on the top of the world with the guy who had brought him to his lowest. At least that was how Cody saw it.

So instead of spending much time with the grown ups, he'd eaten his supper the past week with his head down, thinking about the things that he'd like to do to them. Once in a while he thought about having Becky turned ass up over his own lap, her skirt up, her panties down, and his hand smacking her butt. That thought made things stir even more, and he would find himself giving Becky a sly grin whenever she glanced at him.

Cody spent most of his time in the library with his computer, or in his room playing with his guitar. He wasn't all that great at playing music yet, but he figured that he would be in time. He'd had to stop lessons when he came to Foster Forest, and that downright sucked. He'd find a way to get them again, even if he had to hack into a pay site to get the information he needed.

He didn't see a lot of the kids, either, though sometimes he had to share the library with the girl (what was her name? Betsy? Beth? He could never quite figure out what she liked to be called). They didn't talk to each other too much, and he figured that she was just as embarrassed that he'd seen her getting it as he would be if she saw him. But he wasn't going to get it again. There was no way he was going to get caught doing anything again. Whenever he wanted to do something he figured he might get in trouble for, he did it in the privacy of his own room, a space he figured they couldn't invade.

Cody didn't mind the girl so much, really. At least she didn't ask him about what had happened that day. The kid, the boy, he seemed to never let up. The first couple of days he had tagged along after Cody asking him constantly what it was like, did he cry, and all sorts of other stupid questions that he wasn't going to answer. The kid was a real pain in the ass, and Cody had been on the verge of telling him so several times when Becky had interceded and taken the kid off somewhere else to play.

At least he had things to do. It occurred to the teenager that the kid didn't know what to do with his time now that there was no television or video games at all in the place. He just seemed to hang around Cody or one of the grown ups all the time, making a nuisance of himself. Cody, on the other hand, could play his guitar or mess with his computer, chatting with Celine or any of his other friends from back home. He missed his parents, and sometimes he used the computer to journal about that as well. It was good to get it out of his system, but there was still an empty hole they had left. This new life was upsetting and confusing, and... painful.

No child ever envisioned themselves in foster care, and now that Cody was here he realized that there were so many things he had taken for granted with his parents: their love for him, their dedication to helping him to make the most out of things. Now he felt as though he was almost always left on his own. After all, if he'd gone off into hiding the way that he was right now, stuck in his room with his laptop and chatting on Facebook, his parents would have tracked him down and at least tried to find out what was going on with him. He didn't understand why Ms. Becky or even Mr. Peter didn't do that now.

Cody sighed and replied to the comment that Celine had posted on his wall. "I don't know when I'll get to see you," he typed. "Hopefully soon. Maybe I can sneak out."

Absently Cody flipped over to the other window that he had open. His eyes scanned the photos of the young women (most of them hardly older than he was, but at least legal) and sighed softly. He'd seen Celine naked the one time that they'd done it, but this was different. There were real curves on these women, and their nipples stood out perkily against their milky skin. Looking at them made his heart beat faster and something begin to stir below the belt. He smiled softly and shifted his computer, along with his weight, to the side, enjoying the pictures and preparing to enjoy them a lot more.

Some days later Cody would be glad that Becky chose that moment to burst into the room. Of course he preferred for her not to burst into his room at all, and if she had to, he would have rathered that she not have a furious expression on her face. But if Becky Thomas had to choose a time to burst into his door without warning, he was definitely glad that she did it before he had his pants open and his dick out. It was embarrassing enough that she had seen him bare when she'd spanked him last week, and horrible that she'd walked in on him when Peter had been paddling his butt. But nothing on earth could compare to being caught in the act that way, and he would be glad that she hadn't decided to show up just a moment later.

Foster Forest (12): TV or Not TV... That is the question...

Becky felt winded. Her hair was hanging in her face, the wispy strands around her ears curling from the humidity, and she was breathing heavily. The workout had done her some good, and in spite of the complaining aches in her body she was sure that she had benefitted from the rough ride around the paddock. It had been the first in quite some time, and she knew that both she and the horse would be better off for it. She felt refreshed, as though she could finally return to her job as administrator at Foster Forest with some peace of mind and a clear head.

It was such a relief to have Cody around! Sure, he wasn't always as responsible as she would like, but he was a teenager, and the way Becky saw it, that was typical. Cody meant that she could get out of the house from time to time and leave him with the younger children, just for an hour or so in order that she could get some of the necessary work around the facility done. It meant that she could spend some time with the horses, who were nearly as much a responsibility as the children, and that she might ultimately be able to dismiss the man she had hired to take care of them.

Becky was ready to head into the Great Room to relieve Cody. She guzzled down a bottle of water, tossed the empty into the recycling and walked out into the main room. None of the children were there, so she began a systematic check. Lizze, as Becky would have expected, was in the library with a book. She looked up at waved, and Becky waved back with an affectionate smile. She did care a great deal for Elizabeth and the boys and it was nice to finally be able to admit that she'd made the right choice in opening the Forest.

Moving on, Becky poked her head into the game room. She hadn't taken the time to remove the television in there, since she had assumed that there would be future children who would be able to watch appropriately, and she couldn't allow Jackson to spoil it for everyone. She felt that she was making real progress with him now, since he was no longer asking for meals in advance of meal time, and he had now lost twenty-five pounds. Only ten more pounds to go according to the doctor's orders, and he would be at a healthy weight.

Foster Forest (11): And the Rules Apply to YOU!

The past eight days had gone by as smoothly as possible. Though he wasn't exactly settling in, Cody was comfortable enough in his new surroundings. He had mostly kept to himself, though he liked the other residents just fine. It seemed that the little girl mostly read in the library, and Cody had left her to it. There were plenty of other places in the home to be alone, even if Becky didn't let him stay the entire time in his room. The kid, the little boy, was okay, but Cody thought he was a bit odd, clinging to Becky all the time and always so tearful. He didn't dislike him, but he didn't want the kid to stick to him like glue either.

There was nobody else at the Forest his own age, and as far as he could tell, nobody shared his interests. Since it was summer, there was no school so that he could get out of the place and meet some different people. The countryside was nice, but there was nothing for him to do, and he felt bored and listless. He needed his friends, missed his parents and most of all, he felt smothered by his new existence. There were too many rules, too many things to remember, and he found himself wondering what would happen if he got a failing grade in school.

Cody was sitting on the porch swing, his legs tucked up under him and his laptop on his lap. AOL instant messenger was open and his fingers were tapping away at the keys while he chatted with his girlfriend back at home. He didn't even know if they were going to be able to stay steady with him living in this place! He could never see her, and chances were that she'd find some other guy who was interested. Somebody local. The thought made him seethe, but he bit the feeling back and didn't say a word to Celine about it. Whatever happened was going to happen and there was no way that he could change it. The old bag had put him here, and he didn't think she was going to change her mind about it at all.

He hadn't told Celine much about the place he was living at. In fact, Cody hadn't thought much about the things he didn't want to say. Walking in the kitchen the first day he'd arrived had been an eye opening experience. He'd never been spanked much growing up, and when he had been it had only been a couple of swats here and there. Nothing like what he'd seen Becky doing to the little girl's bottom when he'd happened along. Both kids had bright red butts as they were standing in the corner afterward, too, and that made Cody nearly sick on his stomach. He couldn't imagine what that would feel like, and he was only glad that he was old enough to be free from the risk of a spanking!

Cody was pretty sure that the little girl had been avoiding him since he'd seen her spanking. The few times he'd walked into the library while she'd been in there reading, she had turned her head away from him and stared out the window until he left. The signals were pretty clear, and although he probably felt as uncomfortable as she did, he figured that it was best to give her the space that she needed. He couldn't imagine how embarrassed he would be if he got a spanking and somebody walked in on it.

Strangely, she seemed to be pretty close to the old man, and he'd been right there with Cody when they'd walked into the kitchen. The little girl appeared to like both him and Becky well enough, though Cody got the sense that she wasn't especially fond of the kid -- the little boy who's name Cody didn't know at all.

The little boy was entirely a different story. Cody thought he might be imagining things, but he thought it seemed as though Becky frequently rebuffed the little guy, and that the dude (good grief, what was his name?) didn't really interact with the kid much at all. What this amounted to was the fact that the little guy was always hanging on Cody, and it felt to the teenager as though he was hardly ever able to get a moment of peace. It amazed him even now that he'd had time to hop on the Internet to talk to his girlfriend.

"When do you get out?" Celine was asking him.

"Never, I guess," he typed. "lol"