Like Mother, Like Daughter
By M.C.
A tough, bully-busting high school girl finds a boyfriend in a rather unusual way.


Penny Maguire straightened herself up and in an awesome display of her martial
arts skills whirled around and - WHAM! - slammed her right foot hard against
the side of her large protagonist's face, sending the strong high school
football star to the floor for the second time. Seeing that it would take him
a few moments to get back up on his feet again, the attractive 17 year-old
girl calmly walked over to the small chair that was located in the corner of
the weight room and took a few sips of water from the bottle that was placed
there. Noticing that she still had a bit more time, Penny glanced ather
reflection in the large wall mirror on the side of the room and fluffed up her
long, pretty brown hair. When she saw that Jim was almost completely back on
his feet, Penny turned around and walked back to the center where he stood.

"This will teach you not to pick on kids smaller than you, you big bully."
WHAM! POW! PUNCH! SMACK! And with another series of well-placed punches and
kicks, the five foot-six inch, 130 pound high school senior sent the six
foot-three inch 235 muscular boy down for the third time."It's not so easy to
bully a student when she knows how to fight, is it Jimmy?" Penny taunted her
much larger opponent as she glared down at him with her hands on her hips."I'm
not like the other students that you've been picking on for the past two
years, am I? It's a good thing I transferred here for my senior year because
you've had this beating coming to you for a long time."

Slowly staggering to his feet and furious now, Jim Johnson, the star
linebacker of their high school football team, charged forward towards her
with his arms wide apart as he would when trying to tackle a running back. But
Penny deftly sidestepped his move and -THUD!- landed a hard kick from her
lethal right foot which went deep into his gut (Penny never kicks a guy in the
balls as she considers that cheating, cruel and, in her case, totally
unnecessary). And as the muscular boy keeled over Penny whirled around and
smashed him with another hard roundhouse kick to the side of his already
bruised face. The force of her blow spun the large boy completely around and
sent him down to his hands and knees. Penny then reached out and grabbed the
stunned football star firmly by the collar of his shirt with her left hand and
with her right began to slap him back and forth across his face. SLAP! CRACK!
SLAP! CRACK! SLAP! CRACK! And when the pretty brunet finally released him, Jim
collapsed to the floor.

Penny glanced over at the woman standing off to the side near the weight room
door who smiled and gave her the��thumbs up' sign. Then, when Jim slowly began
to rise again, she motioned for Penny to continue. But the tough martial arts
wiz hesitated."Haven't I beaten him badly enough already mom? I mean just look
at him. He's on the verge of crying. How many more of my punches, kicks and
slaps do you think he can take? How much more do you want me to punish him?"

"As much as you have too to make your point honey. Enough so that this big
bully learns once and for all that he must never pick on any of the other
students in school again. After all, that's what you trained for isn't it? To
beat up these macho tough guys in order to teach them never to torment the
weaker students again; just like you've done in all the other schools that
you've attended." (As Penny's father is a trouble shooter for a major
corporation, her family has moved around a lot; seldom staying in any one
place for more than a year).

Penny looked down at Jim who was bleeding from both his nose and lips - and
that's not to mention at least one black eye, a badly swollen face and
probably a dozen other welts and bruises over various other parts of his body
that she had given him. Gone was the pompous, arrogant look that the rough,
tough jock had on his face when she, not twenty minutes earlier, led him into
the weight room and, after her mother had closed and locked the door behind
them, challenged the much larger boy to a fight. But now, after the
comprehensive beating that she had just given him, all Penny could see was the
look of fear on his face. Here was largest, strongest and toughest guy in
Penny's new school literally cowering before her - amere 130 pound girl!

Knowing what Penny would do to him if he got back on his feet and attempted to
fight her again, the once proud football star, now reduced to just a shadow of
his former self, remained on his hands and knees, shaking like a leaf on a
tree on a windy day. Penny looked down at him with her hands on her hips
again."My mother would like me to continue to work you over some more Jim, but
I think you've had quite enough. If you promise me that you will never bully
anybody in school again, I'll let you off with the beating that I've just
given you. But if you don't, then - SMACK! - (Penny pounded her right fist
hard into her left palm and the sound reverberated throughout the weight
room)."Do I make myself clear big boy?"

Jim bowed his head and, fighting hard to hold back his tears, quietly
said,"Yes Penny. I promise that I will never bully another student in school
again." Penny forced him to repeat it several more times, each time louder
than to previous one. Then she looked over at her mother and shrugged."Very
well then Jim, this officially ends your beating for the day. But I'm warning
you, if I ever hear that you've picked on anyone else again, then the next
beating I give you will not only be twice as severe as this one, but I'll make
sure to do it in front of the whole school so that everyone can watch. Did I
make myself clear?" Jim lowered his head and quietly murmured,"Yes."

"Good." Penny then bent down, put her hands under Jim's armpits and proceeded
to help the 235 pound football star to his feet. Staring up at the much taller
boy, she smiled and said,"You're a real mess Jim. Let's see if we can get you
cleaned up a bit. O.K?"Penny led her battered��victim' into the near-by shower
room and proceeded do her best to make him presentable."There, that's the best
I can do now Jim. I'm afraid that the black eye and swollen jaw I gave you
will take a few days to subside though. So I suggest that you put an ice pack
on your jaw when you get home."

As Penny and her mother were about to leave the weight room, the pretty
brunette stopped, turned around, smiled and said to the large, strong guy that
she had just beaten up,"As far as I'm concerned Jimmy, this��little encounter'
of ours today never took place. No one other than you, me and my mom ever has
to know about it. It'll be our little secret (wink). I would also suggest that
you take some time and think about how you can become a nicer and more
responsible person." Penny and her mother then exited the weight room, leaving
the battered, beaten and humiliated football star alone with his thoughts.

While Penny's mother Jill was driving her daughter home, she turned to her and
asked, "Do you by any chance happen to like that boy Penny? Is that the reason
you took it so easy on him? I mean you stopped pounding him before he even
started to cry. He didn't even have to beg you to stop. I also noticed that
you took it easy on the slapping and didn't take him across your knees and
give him a good spanking as you used to do when you tamed bullies."

" You know my philosophy regarding bullies Penny,��spare the beating, spoil
the bully'. You can send these rough, tough, macho boys like Jim to therapy
for years and spend thousands of dollars in the process, but in the end I've
found that it's nowhere near as effective as a good, comprehensive beating and
humiliation that a girl like you can give them in just one hour. Because they
then know that since you won't allow them to get their way by bullying the
other students, they'll have to find other, nicer, ways of relating to people.
In fact, I've had guys come to me years after I've pounded them and thank me
for doing so. They'll often tell me that after the beating I gave them they
became a much better person." Then, after a pause, Jill asked her daughter
again,"Do you have a��thing' for that Jim guy honey?"

Penny hesitated before answering, as if she was carefully considering what to
say and how to say it."I ... I don't know mommy. I'm not really sure. I mean
I'm nearly eighteen years old now and just beginning my senior year in high
school; and yet I've never had a boyfriend like all the other girls do. They
all go out on dates and do the other stuff that normal kids my age get to do.
But what I do? Help you run your self-defense dojo by teaching three classes a
week and practicing martial arts all the time? (Penny holds black belts in
both tae kwan do and ju-jitsu). I mean, what kind of life is that for a high
school girl mom? So yes, I am able to pound every bully in all the schools
that I've attended; but at what price? What boy is ever going to want to date
a girl who can easily beat up the roughest, toughest guys in school? Why can't
I just have a normal life like all the other kids?"

Penny paused for a minute before continuing."I mean don't get me wrong about
this mom. I do like the fact that I am able to pound bullies when I feel it's
necessary, like I did with Jim today; and I thank you for teaching me the
skills to be able to do so. The reason I don't spank them anymore is because I
think it's so juvenile. I've found that just giving them a good beating
followed by a stern warning to beat them up in public is enough to convince
them to behave themselves. But mom, I also want to have a normal life like
everyone else. And being this super-tough��avenging angel' is proving to be a
complete disaster for my social life."

Penny's mother drove into the driveway of their home after which they both got
out of the car and went inside in silence. At length Penny's mother said,"I
understand how you feel honey; honestly, I really do. But I believe that
someday you'll meet a nice boy who will like you for being exactly who you are
and what you're capable of. It happened to me when I first met your father.
And when it happens to you, you'll see that everything will just fall into
place."

"But mom, didn't you tell me that you beat the crap out of dad when you first
met him in college because, like Jim, he was an arrogant, conceited,
chauvinist jock who also bullied other students?"

Jill smiled as if she was remembering a happy memory."Yes honey, that's true,
I did; and two of his friends too. I guess it was kind of similar to the way
you pounded Jim this afternoon. Your father and his friends were all stars on
the college football team. And like Jim they were bullies who liked to harass
the other, weaker students on campus. Since they were pampered football
players, nobody in school seemed to want to deal with the situation; not even
their coaches. So one day I said��enough is enough' and decided take matters
into my own hands; as well as my feet (smirk). Again, just like you did today
Penny, I invited your father and his friends into the weight room, closed and
locked the door behind me, and yes, beat the crap out of the three of them and
gave them a stern warning never to pick on another student again."

"But shortly afterwards a very strange and totally unexpected thing happened.
A few days after I battered your father and his friends around the weight
room, he showed up at the door in the woman's athletic dorm where I was living
(Jill was the star of both the woman's basketball and ice hockey teams). He
apologized for the way he and his friends had behaved and promised me that
they would never bully any of the other students again. He even thanked me for
the beating that I gave him! Can you imagine that? And if all that wasn't
shocking enough, your father-to-be then asked me out for a date!And the rest,
as they say, is history."

After a short pause, Jill continued." So you see Penny, you shouldn't give up
hope. Because eventually the right guy for you will come along. And when he
does, you'll be glad that you waited. If you have to compromise on who you
really are in order to get someone, then I think you'll be setting yourself up
for a fall. Because sooner or later the��real' Penny will come out and that
could cause serious, perhaps even terminal, problems for your relationship. I
believe it's better in the long run if he knows who you are right from the
beginning; like it was with me and your father." After her mother finished
speaking, Penny quietly went into her bedroom and closed the door behind her
while her mother began to prepare dinner. And for the next several days
neither Penny nor her mother brought up the subject again.

Three Days Later

It was Friday afternoon and Penny was riding her bike home from
school."Another boring weekend spent all by myself," she thought to herself as
she rode up into the driveway and parked her bike. As she dismounted and began
walking towards the front door, the pretty martial arts expert stopped in her
tracks and starred at the last thing she expected to see in front of her home.
For there, standing on the porch near the front door, was Jim�" yes, the very
same Jim that she had battered and humiliated only three days earlier. Penny
walked up to him and, after an awkward few moments of silence, said,"Well
hello there Jimmy. What's the matter? Are you lost or something?" Then Penny
tried to be funny."Or have you come for another beating?"

"No ... no Penny, I'm not lost. And I definitely didn't come here for another
beating. I'm ... I'm actually here to talk to you. If that's with you O.K.
that is."

Penny found herself in somewhat of a quandary now. For although she had beaten
up countless bullies over the years, she had never had one come to her home
wanting to speak to her afterwards and didn't exactly know how to respond. But
after pondering over the situation she now found herself in, Penny walked up
to the large boy that she had recently pounded (who was still showing signs of
the beating that she'd given him) and said,"Sure Jim. Come, let's go inside."

Penny led Jim into her home and sat him down on the sofa in the living room.
She went into the kitchen and returned with two glasses of lemonade and sat
down next to him. The pretty brunette flashed a somewhat forced smile at her
unexpected guest who flashed her one back."So Jimmy, what's on your mind?"

"I ... I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for the way I've been behaving
towards the other students in school. It was wrong and I (Jim gulped hard
before continuing) I wanted to tell you that I deserved the beating you gave
me the other day in the weight room. You taught me a lesson that I desperately
needed to learn. I'll never bully another person in school or anywhere else
again. And I came over here to thank you for that."

Penny was stunned when she heard this. Just three days earlier she had
battered this strong, proud, macho football star to a pulp and now he was
thanking her for doing it? Does life get any weirder? And then she remembered
the conversation she had with her mother and how her mother and father got
together. Could lightning strike twice? And to the same family? How should she
answer Jim?

After carefully considering her response, Penny replied,"This couldn't have
been easy for you to do Jim, come over here and telling me this only a few
days after what I did to you in the weight room. It took humility, courage and
maturity and I'm very glad that you did it." Without realizing it, Penny
reached over and grasped Jim's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze; and he
squeezed back. Then, as if on que, they both looked at each other and smiled;
but this time it was a natural smile, not forced.

"Where's your mom and dad?" Jim asked when he noticed that they were alone in
the house.

"Both of my parents are away for the weekend visiting my aunt, my mom's
sister, in San Francisco. I decided to stay home and work on my science
project which is due early next week. Why did you ask?"

"Well ... well I was just wondering Penny, if would you like to go out with
me, tonight maybe. The football team isn't playing this week so I'm free. Say
dinner and a movie perhaps? Maybe Wonder Woman. Somehow I think that might be
appropriate." The irony of Jim's choice wasn't lost on Penny.

"Oh Jimmy, I'd love to. I've been wanting to see Wonder Woman ever since it
first opened up at the theaters in the mall. I just love her, for obvious
reasons (wink)." Penny was actually telling a white lie now because she had
already seen Wonder Woman - twice in fact; once with her mother and father and
the second time by herself. But she didn't want to screw up this opportunity
with Jim.

"O.K. then, it's a date. I'll pick you up around six."

"Great! I'll be ready." Penny walked Jim to the front door and before he left,
looked up at him (Jim stood a good nine inches taller than she did), smiled
and said,"Thank you for coming over here today Jimmy. Again, I know it must
have been a very hard thing for a big, strong, tough guy like you to do -
apologize to the girl who beat you up and humiliated you three days ago. But
I'm very glad you did. I'll see you at six."

And as Penny watched Jim walk away she reflected on the unusual events that
had transpired that week, the beating that she had given Jim in the weight
room, the conversation that she had with her mother, and what had just
happened. Penny closed the front door and said to herself,"Boy, life can sure
be unpredictable at times." Then she added with a giggle,"I guess this weekend
won't be so boring after all."