Ricky was on day two of total boredom at summer camp on Spark Island. It was all just stupid meals with stupid kids and stupid activities like crafts, nature, song and swimming (although swimming provided a few thrills). His rump was still reminding him of the boat ride over that painfully taught him why the camp was nicknamed Spank Island. He still sat gingerly down to meals and slept bottom-up. He still got hardons thinking of Chris and Justin, but he hadn't seen them since arriving at camp. He decided to ask his bunkmate, Derrick, what was going on.
"You met Chris and Justin?" Derrick asked incredulously.
"Yeah, but I haven't seen them around since we got here."
"And you never will. The only time you see any of them or any of the top RAD kids is bad news for yooz. Dude, they run this Island."
"What do you mean?" Ricky asked.
"There's a lot of action you and I will never see: gambling, parties, things you have to get invited to. And those guys run all the action."
"How can they run it if they're never around?"
"Pawns. You'll see the kids who are pawns around here."
"Pawns?" Ricky asked.
"Yup," Derrick nodded, "Chris and Justin are major chess fiends. They call the kids who do their footwork pawns. In fact, here's one of my favorite pawns."
Ricky saw that all the kids in the bunkhouse were crowding around a small blond kid who had appeared at the doorway with a backpack. Money was being feverishly exchanged for comics, candy, cigarettes, and little baggies of something that looked green and plantlike.
"That's Jesse," Derrick explained. He's the guy who distributes the party favors. One of the biggest rackets the RAD kids run. This is how they get all their money and this is what makes life livable for the rest of the campers. HEY JESSE! OVER HERE!"
The small blond was stuffing more money into his pockets than Ricky had seen in his life.
"Whatcha need, my friend?" Jesse asked.
"The usual," Derrick replied and handed over $5 for comics and cigarettes.
"What about you, kid?" Jesse asked Ricky.
"I don't have any money," Ricky said.
Derrick offered a suggestion, "Sometimes you can barter services, right?"
"Well," Jesse said, "I gotta pay a set fee to my boss, but I've cleared that. So it'll be out of my own profits. What are you looking at?"
Ricky pointed to a few items.
"Tell you what," Jesse said, "I'm behind on the blackjack tables and I'm supposed to pay up with 30 swats at lunchtime. You take those swats for me, and I'll let you have your pick of three items."
Ricky thought about how tender his bum still was from his pasting on the boat ride, but he had a more important agenda.
"Take it dude," Derrick said. "It's a good deal."
"I'll be there." Ricky said.
"You'll get your goodies after you take the swats." Jesse picked up his bag. "See ya."
Ricky was thinking, After what Chris and Justin had ordered for his boat ride, 30 pats will be a snap. And this will be the first step to infiltrating this RAD group.
Ricky and Derrick arrived at the lunch area and found Jesse sitting with two other kids. One was a quiet looking dark-haired kid named Jem. The third was obviously the leader of the trio, a tall slender blond named Jeff. Ricky found out they were known as the three J's and they were the ones who distributed all the "party favors" amongst the common campers, gave the money over to their bosses and got some bucks for themselves.
"Get it?" Jeff asked holding three handrolled cigarettes. "Three J's. Jeff, Jem & Jesse."
"How do I get in on this deal?" Ricky asked.
"You have to be picked," Jem said. "And we heard about your boat ride. You ain't picked."
"Are you going to give me the 30 swats?" Ricky asked, noting that Jeff was the biggest and most muscular.
"Nawww," Jeff said. "We're only allowed to do party favors. Jesse here got into debt with the gambling dudes, but they're only allowed to do gambling. Payback is handled by one of the enforcers. Enforcing is the best racket of all to be in."
"Wow," Ricky was getting excited by the magnitude of this world of ruling boys, "how do you get to be an enforcer?"
"You have to get into one of the other rackets and work your way up. They're the top of the four groups."
"Party Favors, Gambling and Enforcing," Ricky nodded. "What's the fourth? Maybe I can get picked for the fourth."
The three J's looked amused.
"You don't want to do that," Jesse said. "It's the Rentals. You don't really get picked for it. You get assigned it as punishment."
"Rentals?" Ricky asked. "What do they rent?"
"Their butts," Jem nodded solemnly. "Money goes straight to the top. No profit, all pain."
"How did you guys get picked?" Ricky asked.
The three J's smiled.
"That's another story." Jesse said nodding at a big kid making his way to their lunch table with a paddle. "First you get to settle up my debt,"
"Oh dude," Jeff grinned, "This one's gonna really hurt. That's Cory. He's got one mean set of muscles."
Cory arrived with a wicked grin to hear this. "That's why I'm an enforcer. Okay twinkie," the buff boy pointed his paddle at Jesse, "lose the underoos and bend over the table."
"Actually," Jesse winked at Ricky, "I'm getting off the hook. This kid's gonna take them for me."
Ricky swallowed, looked at the young teen's developed chest, muscular arms, large paddle and enthusiastic grin.
"No skin off my butt," Cory shrugged, "But let's go. I've got five more jobs to do."
Ricky looked hesitantly at the boys at the table, and the dozens and dozens of boys eating in the lunch area.
"Right here? Right now? What about the other kids? What about the counselors?"
"I don't have time for this," Cory said to Jesse. "Either he's bent over that table in ten seconds or you get it. Got it?"
"Ricky," Derrick said, "Kids get paddled here all the time. All over the place. It's no big deal except when you're getting it. And have you seen any counselors since you've been here?"
Ricky shook his head no. "I've been wondering about that."
"Chris and Justin run the place," Derrick said. "Now bare your butt and get across the tabletop. If you're really going to do this."
"I'm doing, I'm doing," Ricky sighed, a little worried that Derrick seemed so interested in him getting swats.
The three J's, Derrick and Cory stood with crossed arms while Ricky lowered his shorts and underwear with one motion. Once again, Ricky's carrotstick stuck out at 10 O'Clock. A few of the kids at nearby tables looked with casual interest... but obviously they'd seen this before and would see it again many times. Ricky lay down over the concrete table and Cory stood in batter position and lined up his paddle to pound on Ricky's patoot.
"Wow," Derrick said looking at Ricky's bruised buns, "you really got a basting on the boat ride. You gotta be really sore already."
Ricky swallowed without answering.
"Gee," Jesse chimed in, "does it still hurt even to just sit down?"
Ricky nodded.
"Then hang onto the table dude," Cory laughed, "because this is reeeeeally gonna hurt."
The paddle lifted high into the air, and Cory swung with his entire body like a batter at the plate.
WHACK!
"YEEEEEEOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!" Ricky hollered, his backside instantly lit up, burning as badly as when he had taken the single stripe from Derrick on the boat. And he had 29 more!
"I sure hope you're getting something to make this worthwhile," Cory said arcing the paddle back way over his head again, "because you won't be able to sit down for a week."
Ricky's thought he was trying to get into this RAD group and be in a position for payback due to Chris and Justin. And he was willing to pay his way for that privilege.
WHACK! Wood connected with his caboose a second time and Ricky felt tears coming. Never mind the payback, he changed his mind, I'll never even get close to getting back at those guys if they run the island and have an army of kids at their beck and call.
WHACK! Owwwwwwww, what the hell was I thinking?
WHACK! Oh maaaaaaaaaaaannnnn I can't take this any more!
WHACK! "Ow Ow Owwwwwwww" Ricky yowled and his hands scooted over his butt.
"What the hell is this?" Cory demanded of Jesse. "You get wooses to take your whacks?"
"Ricky," Derrick said with too much pleasure in his voice, "he can't paddle you with your hands on your butt."
"Pleeeeeeease," Ricky pleaded, "just just just let me rest for a second."
"Dude, get off the table," Cory said angrily, "Jesse you're still going to get your full 30."
"NO!," Ricky changed his mind again, "Okay okay okay. I'll take them. Just... can someone hold my hands down?"
"With pleasure," Derrick said.
Somehow, Ricky knew that his bunkmate would volunteer. The kid really got off on seeing Ricky getting it. Derrick held the slender wrists together and the dark-haired imp stared with mischievous eyes at Ricky's rear end as the paddle rose up to deliver the next round.
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
Now Cory was delivering a fast, blistering non-stop shellacking
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
Ricky's rump was roasting red hot.
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
His cheeks felt like they like they were glowing nuclear with the non-stop pounding.
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
The boy was so overwhelmed he couldn't even holler anymore. He just took the shots and kept thinking, OW OW OW OW OW OW OW.
"And here's some mustard for the finish," Cory said.
WHACK!
Somehow the power hitter managed to deliver a swat that edged even higher on the pain register and brought out a weary whimper from Ricky.
WHACK!
Oh maaaaaaaaan how could that one hurt even more? Cory was pausing forever in between each of these last licks.
WHACK!
"Pleeeeeeeeease finish," Ricky begged.
WHACK!
Ricky looked up with tear-filled eyes and Derrick was looking back with way too much delight.
"Final one," Cory declared. "You ready for it?"
"Just do it," Ricky pleaded
WHAAAAAAAACK!
"Okay okay okay okay okay," Ricky yanked his wrists free, leapt off the table and hopped around rubbing his rear end. The boys all stood watching with relish.
"Think twice before you volunteer again, scout," Cory laughed and gave Ricky's radishes a tap with the paddle. It was a light tap, but it was enough to make Ricky gasp.
"This kid's too sensitive for this racket," Cory grinned. "See ya next time you have a bad day at the tables Jesse."
Cory left and the three J's and Derrick got a few chuckles as Ricky painfully pulled his shorts back up.
"Maybe you should leave them off," Derrick joked.
"You'd love that," Ricky shot back.
"Woah," Jesse handed over the party favors, "someone gets grouchy when his gears get grinded."
"You owe me a few details," Ricky said. "Now tell me how you guys got in the game?"
"You still think you want in?" Derrick asked.
"You bet. I wanna be on the other side of that paddle."
What Ricky did not say was that his grand plan was that Chris and Justin were going to be the ones getting it.
"Okay," Jeff said, "It's not so much how we got on the RAD team, it's more about how the guy who runs the party favor racket for Chris and Justin found each of us. Gabe."
"Who's Gabe?" Ricky asked innocently.