The Housemaster ordered us all to stand at the foot of our beds as he swished the thin junior cane through the air in practice swings. As I glanced round the dormitory all fourteen faces of the other juniors smirked, relishing the prospect of what was about to befall their former prefect.
"Grey," called Mr. Nott,"come out please." My heart pounding, I walked out and stood in front of the Housemaster. "As all you boys will be aware this young man is being punished for some very offensive behaviour." Everyone nodded in agreement. "You may also be aware, that your Headmaster, has demoted him to the junior school as part of his punishment. Well, you are about to witness just how junior this miserable boy is. Go to your bed Grey and prepare yourself for twelve strokes of the junior cane please, then come out front again." I did as ordered, removing my blazer, but then hesitating, unsure just what form my twelve strokes were to take. "Hurry up boy!" Mr. Nott was becoming impatient. " Shorts and underpants off, now please!" I could hardly believe my ears. Not only was I to have my strokes on the bottom, but also on the bare.
"But sir....please," I almost begged.
"Grey! I'm sure you do not want me to pull your trousers down for you. You are now in the junior school, and as such, you will receive traditional junior punishment." I had no choice, my shame and ridicule were to be total. My hands were trembling as I undid my shorts, pulling them off completely, followed by my white y-fronts. With my bare bottom, and all else, on full display, I took my place back in front of Mr. Nott. "Twelve strokes Grey. You will count out each one, loud and clear, or receive additional strokes." He turned me round to face down the dormitory and ordered me to lift my shirt tails up above my waist, leaving him a large and clear target. My total humiliation was greet with titters from the assembled audience.
"Ready Grey?" inquired Mr. Nott, tapping my bottom with the cane.
"Yes sir." I replied in a broke voice, almost in tears, without having yet suffered one stroke. I felt another couple of taps on my bottom as he took aim. There followed a slight pause, when total silence reigned, then swoosh, and burning pain. "OOOOOooooohh!" My head jolted back as I cried out. I could not believe how painful the junior cane could be. "One sir. OOOOOoooooooohh! Two sir. AAAAAwwwwwwhh! Three sir. " The strokes came with mechanical regularity. My yelps growing louder and more prolonged. At six the Housemaster paused to allow me to savour the full implications of my punishment.
"How do you think your bottom looks now Grey?"
"Please sir. Red sir."
"Yes Grey. As red as your face I would say."
Desperately, I fought back the tears, not wanting to give my audience the satisfation of seeing me totally reduced before their eyes. But slowly, the faces watching me gradually blurred in a watery mist. After stroke eight I was sobbing between each, counted, burst of pain. Whack. Whack. Whack. WHACK. The last had extra venom and caught me between top of thighs and cheeks. I squealed loudly, all my pride now evaporated. My punishment over I thanked the Master for my twelve strokes. For a few moments he left me standing, shirts lifted, for all to observe. Then, as normal following a junior in dorm punishment I was sent to stand in the corner with my nose to the wall, like a small naughty boy.
"Keep your shirt lifted," ordered Mr. Nott, "I want your bottom fully displayed Grey, so these boys know just what happens to a bully and a coward in my House."
I was not allowed to speak in this position, and I dare not move a muscle, fearing further punishment, so I had to stand with my bottom still bright red and burning on full view to all. I was glad, for the present, to have my nose to the wall so no one could see my tear stained blushing face. With the Master's departure I sensed a small crowd gather behind me. No one was supposed to speak to me while I suffered this part of my punishment, but most could not resist the moment of truimph.
"Boys," announced Danvers voice above all the others, "I don't believe I have seen a larger, redder bottom in junior dorm for sometime. Now all of you take a close look. Grey won't mind, will you Grey?" He knew full well I dare not reply, so without any responce from me I had to stand and take their taunts. My public shameing lasted for nearly an hour, before Gregory, the House Captain arrived and ordered my tormentors to prepare for lights out. Even then I was not released from humiliation.
"Well Grey," said Gregory behind me,"a little more difficult than you expected."
"Please Gregory, yes Gregory. Please may I stand down from punishment Gregory."
"Turn around Grey," he ordered. Facing him, I had to keep my shirt raised high and he eyed my from head to toe. "You will get no sympathy from the prefects Grey. We all feel you have let us down badly and I will try to ensure you never hold a prefectship again. This is going to be the longest term of your school career Grey. Now, cut along and wash for bed."
"Thank you Gregory." If he intended to make me feel more miserable he succeeded and, even in the comparative safety of my bed, sleep was a long time coming, as I dreaded my next few weeks in junior ranks. The morning bell rudely awoke me, at first uncertain about my strange surrounding, but I quickly focused on my bed side chair, with blazer, short pants and school cap neatly arranged on it. My thoughts quickened as I heard the sound of bare feet paddling the wood floor, so I too hastily jumped from my bed, remembering any boy found between the sheets when the prefects arrived would have his behind well slippered. Just as I had stripped off my pyjama's Holder and Moulder-Brown, the duty prefects arrived, watching amused as I ran towards the washroom at the end of our dorm, both my hands cupped in front of me trying to conceal my embarrassment. It was a wasted effort as I arrived in the chaos that was taking place in the washroom, to be bumbed and jostled by fourteen naked schoolboys, all trying to get into six toilets at once. Our school was an ancient building, with facilites that bordered on primative. The six bogs were seperated by wood panels, no more than one metre high, so as you sat in earnest effort, your head and shoulders were on view to the world. Plumbing was suspended from large hooks on the ceiling and showers, just one large, white tiled, open bay at the end of the room. This was no place for dignity, but for once my discomforted was shared by others, and we all had to suffer the compulsory three minutes cold dousing at the end of our showers. Moulder-Brown obviously enjoyed turning the temperature control from hot to freezing cold, making everyone of us jump and yelp in helpless suffering. We had to emerge in signal file, pink as boiled lobsters, passing between both prefects to be inspected, and once passed clean made to double march back to our beds. Dressed in short trousers, blazer and cap was almost a welcome relief as we filed out of the dorm and down to breakfast.
Following breakfast, juniors had to return to their dormitory, and fags await any calls from our masters on the landing above. Never a morning passed without fags scurrying, to and fro, busy helping prepare uniforms and shoes for our seniors.
"Simmonds!!!" A voice bellowed from above, and one small twelve year old set off, at the double, in the direction of his prefect's study. If your efforts to arrive quickly were considered lax, a warmed bottom served to remind you to increase your efforts next time.
"Porter!!!"
"Grey!!!" Porter and I arrived at the doorway simutanously, neither willing to delay and make way for the other, but Porter, smaller and nimbler than me, dodged under me and was away, as I, slipped and fell full length on the corridor floor. My previous fellow seniors were by this time mingling in the study doorways, highly amused by my undignifed efforts, and I still took too long to arrive at Moulder-Brown's study. "Really Grey, you must try harder. Perhaps if you refrained from puffing so many cigarettes you might do better." I was about to remind him that it was not too long ago that he shared a ciggy with me, but I remembered my new position and reconsidered. "A little encouragement needed I think." Moulder-Brown placed a stout wood chair in the middle of his room and picked up a rattan cane, nodding towards the chair.
"Please Moulder. We...we were prefects.... together."
"Were, is the operative word Grey. Bend over!" I was given six stinging whacks across the tight stretched cloth of my shorts by a boy who only hours ago was my junior."I think you have forgotten something Grey," he said as I stood up straight."You are required to count out my strokes are you not?"
"Sorry Moulder. I forgot."
"Not good enough. What does forgetting earn you Grey?"
"Another six Grey?" I inquired nervously.
"Indeed. This time with your bottom bared I think." Prefects were not allowed to administer beatings on the bare, but no one, particularly me in former days, took much notice of this rule.
"Oh no...please Moulder, I beg you. Please don't do this to me." He merely wagged his finger at the chair. With my shorts and brief round my ankles I resumed my position bent over.
"Straight legs please Grey, and on your tip toes I think." My bare bottom was thrust up and out, at the mercy of a fellow pupil. I now had a further twelve lines across my bottom to enhance the pattern made there the previous night by Mr. Nott. Slightly sobbing, I was then made to polish Moulder's shoes, with my shorts still round my ankles, to teach me humility.
Classes, later in the morning bought some sanctuary, as I rejoined my senior group, and study excluded me from everyones thoughts. As the only boy in class to be in short pants reminded me, my torment continued, and I could not help but wonder what further ridicule and humiliation I would have to suffer over the remainder of term. Only hours into my punishment and, I had already, had my legs tanned by Matron, suffered a public bare bottom whacking from the Housemaster, and was now sharing a desk with a fellow pupil who had just rewarmed my bottom for me. At least it could get no worse. Little did I realise that it WAS to get worse....much, much worse, and much more humiliating.
(To be continued.....)