Jamie is a raving lunatic.
As I got to know him better, I began to realise why. He was seriouslybright. Behind that frenetic attention span and sledge-hammer smile wasa mind that moved about three times the speed of mine. I began tosuspect half of his lunacy was a way out of boredom, and the other halfa way out of distracting people from realizing his intelligence.
He'd just started his last year at University then, studying for adegree in applied mathematics. And not doing very well at it either, asI found when I began to take notice of the essays and marking sheetsthat ended up in my house whenever he spent the night. I got one hell ofa shock the first night he sat down at my computer with half an eye onthe film I was watching, and proceded to knock out a three thousand wordassignment in an hour and a half. Off the top of his head. I watched himdo it, and there was not a page of notes in sight.
"Did you research any of that?" I asked him when he rejoined me on thesofa. He gave me one of his little-boy shrugs, cuddling up with his legstucked under him.
"Easy. Not worth researching."
And that was typical Jamie. He was getting the assignments in allrightand never missing a deadline, but he was doing it on half-done, sketchywork and grades that were a lot lower than he was capable of. I thoughtabout that long and hard. We were seeing a lot of each other. Actuallyhe was trying to persuade me to let him move in, but if thisrelationship went the way I hoped it would, I didn't want him finding hehad wild oats left in a couple of years time. I wanted him to finish hisdegree in freedom and enjoy it, before he and I made any sort ofcommittment. I also hadn't made any real attempt to manage his behavioursince that first night at Sanctuary, although I was aware of severalareas of his life in dire need of a firm hand. School work was one ofthem. His friends were another. Some of them were nice, normal kids, butthere were others I felt were downright dangerous. Jamie wouldn't tellme what he got up to on the nights I didn't see him, and I knew he wascapable of following thugs simply for the fun of it. Jamie had a mindthat was permanently in search of excitement, and yet he had no grain ofcommon sense or forethought and he was alarmingly naive. In fact heworried me sick. But I was still dithering, trying to hold back when myinstincts were suggesting I got hold of this boy and held on tight.
I was finally forced into a decision when Don and Mike invited out oneSunday afternoon to a pub by a canal, some way out of town. It was a hotday, still early enough in Autumn that a lot of men were shirtless and alot of the younger ones were eyeing the canal longingly. Don saw Mikelooking as he got up to get the next round, and said mildly,
"I wouldn't advise it. God alone knows what's under the surface."
Mike shrugged and smiled. Jamie drifted away and began to walk along thelock, arms outstretched. He was always unable to sit still for more thanten minutes. I sat back and admired him; bright hair glinting in thesunshine, lithe and slight and perfectly formed.
"You're going to have to be careful." Mike said quietly from across thetable. I looked at him in surprise. He leaned towards me. "Jamie. I knowthe type. If you let him drift like he's doing, he'll end up in trouble.He'll attach to any man with a deep enough voice and not all of them aregoing to be as nice as you."
"That's a bit cynical." I protested. Jamie gave me a wry look.
"I've met a lot of Jamies."
One day I'd summon up the courage to ask what he'd done before he metDon. Don reappeared with the drinks and cast a quick look around.
"Where's Jamie?"
Out of sight. I frowned.
"He was on the lock a minute ago."
"Probably walked further down the bank." Mike suggested.
He was out of sight long enough to make me nervous. I left Don and Mikechatting and drifted down towards the lock, pretending I was doinganything but looking for a sandy haired, green eyed maniac. The shadowmade me look up half way along the tow path. Jamie. He was standing onthe parapet of the bridge, stripped to his shorts. The chill hit me tothe heart. His arms were raised above his head in preparation for adive. I raised my voice in desperation, hoping I wouldn't startle himinto falling.
"Jamie! Don't!
Half the population on the canal bank looked up. Jamie glanced down atme and I saw a flash of one of his crazier grins. I put all theauthority I could muster into my voice.
"Jamie it isn't safe, get down!"
Green eyes winked at me in the sun. I struggled up the bank towards him,praying he'd listen. Boats were thick below him, there was no judgingthe depth or clarity of the water. Don was right, anything could liehidden beneath the surface. Something about Jamie's change of stancewarned me. A barge was approaching and he'd seen his last chance.
"Jamie! No!" I thundered, and saw him look straight at me before hebraced and pulled off a beautiful swan dive. My heart froze. The splashof his entry was as clean as the dive itself.
The next two seconds lasted for eternity. My mind flooded with images ofrocks, shopping trolley, dumped cars and scrap metal. Then Jamie's headbroke water. The boat, perilously near, sounded it's horn. Don, standingbehind me with every muscle in his big shoulders roped, swore aloud.Jamie swam to the bank in long, leisurely strokes. I took a couple ofdeep, slow breaths.
This was a public place, we couldn't make a scene here. Jamie wasdripping with water and with satisfaction as he reached us, bowingpolitely to the admiring claps and whistles of the other spectators. Ihad the urge now growing familiar- to get hold of him and shake himuntil his teeth rattled.
"If you don't do something drastic about that child," Don said savagely,"I will."
I watched Jamie weigh up our two angry faces and turn on the charm likea tap.
"Did I scare you? I'm sorry."
Don looked at me. I nodded. Don turned on his heel and went back toMike.
"I am sorry." Jamie said again, quite unfazed.
"You are not." I said grimly. "You heard what I said."
"Not clearly."
"You looked straight at me, I saw you. And you heard what Don told Mikeabout diving here."
"I was there. I might not have been listening." Jamie pointed outreasonably. I held onto my temper with both hands.
"Don't you argue with me! You heard and you decided to do it before Icould get near enough to stop you!"
"Wasn't it a great dive?"
"Jamie do you know how many people break their necks doing that? Youdidn't so much as look to see what the depth was! It was sheer luck youpulled it off!"
My voice had raised enough to make people look our way. Jamie gave me alook under his eyelashes.
"I'm sorry. I'll know next time."
"I warned you."
"But I wanted to do it."
Who the hell had raised this child? His face was completely calm and Icouldn't read his eyes. I thought possibly there was some amusementthere, but at least he didn't dare let me see it. I jerked my head atthe table where Don and Mike were watching us.
"We are going to go back, politely and quietly, and you are going toapologize for scaring the hell out of them. I deal with you when we gethome."
"I'll behave." Jamie said with charming contrition. I fixed him with astare that finally managed to disconcert him.
"Believe me, I can _d_a_m_n_ed well make you."
He apologized to Don with a sincerity that made me fold my arms to keepmy hands off him. I was learning to read him like a book: the littlehorror was laughing at us. The word 'don't' was a dare to him, pure andsimple. We drove home in silence, Don giving me one last quiet word as we partedin the car park.
"Ranger for Christ's sake pull your finger out with that kid and takehim in hand before he kills himself. Or someone else kills him."
He had a point. I dropped my coat in the hall at home and gave Jamie agrim look.
"Right."
Jamie looked faintly startled. "Ranger we've done all this."
"I haven't even started." I assured him.
"You're blowing it way out of proportion."
I raised my voice, drowning him out. "One, you'd be out of proportionwith a broken neck. Two, don't ever try that look of innocence on meagain. You heard, you made your choice, that was sheer wilfulness. Andthirdly, I said NO."
Jamie hesitated, beginning to be uncertain. I levelled a finger at thestairs.
"Upstairs. Now."
He moved. Fairly quickly. I hung up his coat and mine and made myselfcalm down. He was sitting on the edge of my bed when I went up to him,his eyes wide like a small boy in trouble. I took a seat and patted myknees. Jamie swallowed.
"Ranger-"
"Come here."
"But I only-"
"I told you. I won't take your act Jamie. Screw me about and yourbackside is going to smart. You're going to get a thorough spanking forthat dive. Not just because it was stupid and it was dangerous, butbecause I told you to stop and you chose not to listen."
"It was only-" Jamie began again. I fixed him with a Look.
"Did you hear me call to you or not?"
"I-"
"Yes or no. Jamie I'm waiting!"
"Yes." Jamie admitted finally.
"Then come here. NOW."
No one can turn on the tragedy like Jamie can. The wide eyes of a sixyear old pieced me, filled with injured purit. I sharpened my voiceenough to make him jump.
"If I have to come over there and get you, you are going to be one verysorry kid. Now MOVE!"
He got up reflexively. I pointed at the carpet in front of me. He came,not terribly willingly, starting to look genuinely apprehensive.
"Pull your pants down." I ordered.
His mouth twisted like a kid's. "Oh no-"
"Move it Jamie. Before I get really annoyed."
He put his hands to his belt and began to unbuckle. I waited, pointedly,watching his slow progress as he unzipped his jeans and slid them downhis thighs. His shorts followed still more slowly. I waited until hiseyes hesitantly met mine before I patted my knee again.
"Bend over."
He looked at me with all the appeal he could muster. I took hold of hiswrist and he winced, but laid himself down across my lap. I ran a handgently over the curve of his bottom. He wriggled plaintively, his barebehind vulnerable and twitching nervously.
"Pants right down." I told him. "I want your legs bare too."
Whimpering, he pushed them down to his knees, having to squirm on mylegs to reach them. I ran my hand up between his thighs until he waswrigling, helpless and waiting and dreadfully aware of how sensitive hewas. I wrapped my other arm around his back and pinned him down, tensewith apprehension. Then he felt my hand crack down and he reared hishead, shoulders and bottom, sounding shocked.
"Ow!"
What he was surprised about, I had no idea. The spanks fell in a steadyrain, not too fast, but soundly and very effectively. Jamie squirmedunder my hand and his voice rose with crisp sound of the smacks on hisbare cheeks.
"Ow- ouch! Ah-"
His tone was gradually getting higher. His bottom was already taking onthe glow that would become deep red. I moved on down to his thighs andsmacked them firmly up and down, unhindered as he began to kick. Jamiemade a sudden and assertive move to get up, sounding as matter of factas though we'd been playing some interesting game but now he had to goand take a phone call.
"Allright that's enough. Ranger I've had enough. I mean it!"
"I'll tell you when you've had enough." I informed him, not letting himmove an inch off my legs. "If you want to behave like you did thisafternoon, then you take the consequences my lad. Things are going tochange around here. We are going to set up a few basic rules and you aregoing to stick to them, or else you're going to be spending a lot oftime in this position."
I gave him a few harder swats across his bottom and he jerked, voicestarting to crack.
"Ranger please-"
"For a start, you're going to study while you're here. Properly. No moreassignments written eight hours before they're due in, or rotten marksfrom sloppy work. I am going to look at every piece of work you getmarked and if it's sub standard, you are going to get a spanking. Youare going to start telling me where you are going and when you will beback. You sleep either here or at your parents house unless you discussit with me first and I know where you are."
WHACK.
"You are going to tell me who you are with, and if I catch you hangingaround with thugs, there will be hell to pay."
WHACK.
"OW! Ranger pleease-"
"Likewise if I catch you lying to me, or prevaricating. If I tell you todo something, you _d_a_m_n_ well do it. You do not defy me, you do notdisobey me, and you will not be cheeky to me or to anyone else. Do youunderstand me?"
WHACK WHACK WHACK!
Jamie was crying now, I could hear his sobs mixed up with his pleas. Hewas no longer struggling either, just wriggling over my lap as I went onspanking his bare and blazing bottom. Then the floodgates burst and thepromises began to pour out. He'd do anything. He'd be good. He'd neverdo anything like it again. I didn't believe a word of it, but I wasstarting to learn that Jamie's initial response to a spanking was alwaysa fight. When he reached this stage, he'd given into me and he'd hadenough. I gave him the last couple of smacks and stopped. He lay wherehe was, crying hard. I helped him move and he slid down to his knees onthe floor, his scarlet face drenched with tears. I pushed his hair backout of his eyes and when he calmed down a bit, I drew him closer andgave him a hug. He clung to me, still crying.
"I'm going to do that again." I told him firmly. "Every time I catch youin trouble. So you'd better start thinking before you pull any morestupid stunts."
He hiccoughed into my neck. I stroked his back until he calmed down,then I pulled him to his feet and buttoned his jeans, ignoring hiswincing. "Wash your face. And then get your books and come down stairs.You're going to get at least an hour's study in every night you spendhere."
Jamie looked so pathetic it was hard to let go of him, but his answerwas quick and quiet.
"Yes sir."