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 (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"