I held out my hand and waited. I looked away not wanting her to see the fear as the strap fell towards my hand. It would be one slap, that’s all. Just you and the nun and the strap. That’s all there ever was if you were a girl. If you were male, the strap fell in direct relationship to the enormity of the crime. If you were a male, it was always delivered publicly. But it didn’t matter if a girl chewed gum, said a swear word, wore a sleeveless blouse, missed mass, the punishment was exactly the same .
The strap was hard and shaped like a large black tongue. In actuality, it was a tail, a beaver’s tail.
The strap fascinated and horrified me. But worse, it made me sad.
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