I was heading north, intending to spend the long break up on the Gold Coast. You know, just relaxing with the sun, sea and sand. And the girls, of course. Let us not forget those little darlings. I had no doubt whatsoever that there would be a number of chased and unchaste young ladies on the beaches.
Due to an unfortunate set of circumstances my normal vehicle was off the road. Not letting that worry me I'd set about locating another set of wheels. The way I saw it I'd buy a cheap set of wheels and use them for the next six weeks, reselling the car when I got back. With a bit of effort I'd get my money back and might even make a profit on the deal. A lot better than renting a car for six weeks.
Looking around I finished picking up an old VW Microbus. It wasn't what you'd call flashy but it was in good nick and quite cheap. So there I was, trundling along the Pacific Coast road, facing a thousand mile journey.
With the microbus I was quite willing to pick up a hitch-hiker or two. It wasn't as though I was short of room and, if the hiker could drive, I could also take a break. Pulling out of Eden I came across two young ladies hitching a ride. Naturally I was going to stop and offer them a lift when I noticed, further up the road, two young ladies hitching a ride. Beyond them there was yet another pair.
I was curious. Who wouldn't have been? Normally you might see one or two people hitching, but six? In such close proximity to each other? I kept driving until I reached the furthest pair, then I pulled over.
"Morning, ladies," I said cheerfully as they came scampering over. "Need a lift?"
They did indeed need a lift, but they were also looking at all those empty seats in my little bus and casting glances back at the other girls.
"Care to explain what's going on?" I asked, indicating all three little groups of hikers.
"Um, we're all together," said one of the girls. "Our transport died, and I mean it's totally dead. We thought we'd have a better chance of being picked up if we split into pairs. Ah, do you think you could accommodate all of us?"
I gestured towards the empty bus.
"Not a problem," I informed her, "as long as you can all prove that you're over eighteen. I do not want to find myself being charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. If you're under eighteen, a note from your mother will suffice."
No notes from mothers were required and in short order the girls had boarded and we were trundling along. Several of the young ladies had licences and were quite willing to take a share of the driving duties. This gave us an almost unbroken run all the way to Coffs Harbour.
When we reached Coffs I pulled up at the motel where I was booked. It turned out the girls also had reservations in Coffs. Not for the same motel but within easy walking distance. I headed for my room and they waltzed off to their motel.
Before they left I told them that I was continuing on to the Gold Coast first thing in the morning. Seeing that was also their destination I had no objection to giving them another lift, as long as they were back at the 'bus when I was ready to leave. We agreed on a time (be here by this time or miss out) and we parted.
Half an hour later I was spitting chips. When I'd gone out for dinner I went to pay be cash. I had the money alright, but I found that my wallet was a little lighter than it should have been. About a hundred bucks lighter. One or more of my happy little friends had sticky fingers.
I'm a bit of a gadget nut. I like computers and cameras and smart phones and all the things you can do with them. For instance, I had installed a dash-cam in the 'bus, just as a silent witness in case of accident. Lots of people have them. A slightly different version of the dash-cam was also installed next to the roof light. This focused on the dash and front seats. With that I could prove how fast I was travelling if there was an accident (or potential speeding fine) and also who was driving. I sucked the day's records off the camera and into my smartphone and started reviewing.
It's a habit of mine when doing long distance driving to dump the things in my pockets into the glove box. I find that it helps me relax and reduces the pressure points on me while I'm sitting for long periods. Normally I reload my pockets when I leave the vehicle. I'd been distracted and forgotten to do so at lunch time when we all took a break.
Running quickly through the day's video until I came to the lunch break I started watching closer. I was quite irritated to observe Emma, the first girl I'd spoken to, get in the car and rifle through the glove box. I didn't mind her checking my licence to see if the name I gave matched (it did) but I did object to her also opening my wallet and extracting a couple of notes. Assuming they turned up in the morning I was going to have a few words with that girl.
They did turn up, all of them happy and cheerful and dressed for what promised to be a very hot day. I didn't say a word at that point, just indicating they should pile in. A little while later we were on our way.
Just outside of Coffs Harbour is the Big Banana, a tourist trap. It's a banana plantation with rides and various amusements. Seeing it was early in the morning they were still closed and would be for several more hours. This meant I could pull into their carpark and pull over, confident that I'd be the only one there and that I wouldn't be disturbed.
I turned and addressed the girls.
"I have a little problem," I announced.
I pointed to the two dash-cams I had, explaining their purpose. Emma, I noticed, was starting to blush. The rest of the girls just seemed a little puzzled. Their puzzlement cleared up fast when I explained about the missing money and what the video had revealed. Emma was now bright red and the other girls were giving her furious looks.
"I suppose this means that you want us to get out and start hitch-hiking again," observed a pretty little redhead, name of Naomi, I think.
All the girls were looking a little disgruntled at the idea.
"By no means," I said. "Nor am I going to boot Emma out to hitch-hike by herself. Or I should say I won't if you agree to my terms. The choice will be yours."
Naomi had a very cynical look on her face. Oh, the shame of it, for one so young to be so suspicious.
"And just what are these terms?" she asked me sweetly.
"Quite simple, really. I'm assuming that the rest of you weren't in on the dirty deed so you should have no real objection to having Emma bend over that seat," nodding to indicate the middle seat, "pulling down her panties and taking it in turns to paddle her bare bottom. I thought that the punishment would be better coming from you."
"That's it?" asked Naomi. "We take turns spanking Emma and that's the end of the matter?"
"Well, I would like my hundred bucks back if she's still got it," I added, "but effectively that's it. The fact that Emma will be sitting for several hundred miles on a smarting bottom should help drive the lesson home. Oh, and I should add that Emma has to agree to the punishment. I'm not having you simply grab her and beat on her."
"Why do I have to agree?" asked Emma, sounding a little bitter.
"It shows a properly remorseful attitude," I said sanctimoniously. Also, left unsaid, was the fact that it would protect the other girls from complaints of assault.
