It was four o'clock on a Friday in May and the headmaster's small office was unusually crowded with its five occupants. Mr. Tolley himself sat at his desk, facing the door. In front of the desk sat the mothers of two of his pupils. The women had been in the office for some minutes, having been invited to join the headmaster just before school ended for the day, and had recently been joined by their nervous-looking ten year-old sons.
The boys were identically dressed in the school uniform of white shirt and socks, red jumper and blue shorts but their appearances were otherwise very different. Simon Gill was a smaller version of his mother; petite and blonde-haired with a button nose. Andrew Holt was tall, even lanky, with a serious-looking face and untidy auburn hair. He bore little resemblance to his rather chubby mother, being more in the image of his father. Both wore the fearful expression of a child which knows there's going to be trouble.
"Well, boys." said the Head, sternly, "you know why you're here. Have you anything to say for yourselves before I punish you?"
"No, sir." mumbled Simon.
"No." agreed Andrew. "Only that we're very sorry."
"Well, maybe you are, but I'm afraid saying you're sorry is not enough this time." replied Mr. Tolley. "Your misbehaviour must be punished in a way you will not forget."
The boys knew what was going to happen to them, having already faced the fury of their parents the previous evening. In a way, this had made matters worse because they'd spent the day knowing they were about to receive their first taste of the cane.
"Oh, Sir, do you have to give us the cane?" pleaded Simon. Couldn't we have detention or something instead?"
"No." replied his mother firmly. "Andrew's mum and myself have decided that you deserve the cane and that's that. It'll teach you a lesson."
"Indeed." added the other woman. "What you did was very naughty. You've got to learn that you can't go around hitting younger boys, even if they are being brats and annoying you."
"It's called being a bully." said Mr. Tolley, sternly. "At this school, bullies are punished with sore bottoms. I caned two other boys for the same thing last week and it would be very unfair if I were to let you off with a lighter punishment simply because it's your first ever offence."
The headmaster stood up and walked over to a tall grey metal cabinet. From this, he produced a thirty-inch junior weight rattan cane. Both boys winced visibly at their first view of the implement.
"This is the cane." said Mr. Tolley, waving it in the air. "It looks formidable but in fact, it's very light so it isn't as bad as you might think. Nevertheless, it will hurt. A lot. I hope this will be the only time I have to use it on you."
He handed the cane to Simon to allow him to feel it. He was surprised how light it was, and how flexible. Like most children, he'd imagined a punishment cane to be like those of the bamboo variety which his father used in the garden. Without comment he handed the weapon to Andrew who swished it through the air after examining it, then handed it back to Mr. Tolley.
"There's not enough space in here to carry out your punishments." he said, surveying the cramped room. "We'll go along to room seven and do it in there."
Room seven, to which the headmaster led the little group, was adapted for audio-visual teaching but was ideal for use as a punishment room as it had a door which locked and blinds which could be drawn to prevent events being overlooked from outside. The headmaster allowed the others to enter the room, then fastened the door shut. The window blinds were already closed.
At the front of the room was a clear area, the first desks being set a good way back. Mr. Tolley directed the women to sit on chairs to one side of this space then stood the boys about eight feet apart, each in front of a desk.
"Now, in a few minutes I'll ask you to bend over these desks and hold onto the other side." he said. "I'm going to hit each of you four times on the bottom. However, if I hit you through your clothes you'd hardly feel anything so I want you to take your shorts and pants off, please."
The boys both gasped at this instruction. Simon looked to his mother for help, but Mrs. Gill gave none.
"I'm sorry, Simon." he said, "Mrs. Holt and myself have agreed that you deserve the cane on your bare bottoms. Do as Mr Tolley says, please."
"The boys I caned last week had to remove their underpants." added the headmaster. "There's no reason for it to be different for you."
Self-consciously, the boys obeyed. Simon first unbuttoned and took down his shorts, reached under his long shirt and tugged his underpants down and off. Andrew took both garments down together, each boy placing the discarded clothing on the floor.
"Right, bend over please." said Mr. Tolley.
Again the boys obeyed, leaning across the desks and, turning back their shirts, revealed small white bottoms. Mrs. Gill was in two minds. She hated to see her son bending over for the cane but Simon had been getting disobedient recently and she thought a salutary lesson might do some good. Mrs. Holt was thinking along roughly the same lines, although unlike Simon, Andrew had occasionally received a few whacks with a slipper in the past.
The headmaster stood alongside Andrew and tapped the cane lightly against the upturned bottom, the boy tensing his buttocks in response.
"I shall hit you alternately, one stroke for Andrew then one for Simon and so on until you've had four each. It will hurt a lot so you'll need to hold tightly onto the desks so you don't get up before I've finished. You're old enough to take four whacks without making a fuss, so if you get up I may give you extra strokes. All right?"
"Yes, sir." the boys muttered in unison.
Mr. Tolley raised the cane in the air, then swished it down onto Andrew's bottom.
CRACK! "OW!"
Andrew yelped in shock and pain, his bottom exploding as the rattan curled around the buttocks. He couldn't believe it had hurt so much. As he gasped and blinked back tears, the headmaster stepped over to Simon and lined the cane up against his bottom.
CRACK! "YOW!"
Simon's knuckles whitened as he increased the strength of his grip on the desk-top. Like his friend, he found tears welling in his eyes as the scorch of the cane registered. As a red stripe developed on Simon's bottom, the headmaster returned to the other desk and impassively swished the cane across Andrew's bottom again.
WHACK! "OWCH!"
Andrew found himself crying real tears as the second spurt of pain shot up his back. He wriggled his bottom from side to side, trying to cool down the burning which followed the initial sting of the cane. The headmaster moved over to Simon again.
WHACK! "OOYAH!"
From her vantage point, Simon's mum had a side-on view of her son's face. She saw Simon's body jerk as the cane struck home, instantly followed by the contortion of the boy's features. When Simon opened his eyes again he, too, was crying. The caning was much worse than he'd imagined it would be. His whole bottom seemed on fire and he knew he still had another two agonising strokes to endure. For the moment, though, he was safe because the headmaster was standing alongside Andrew.
WHOP! "ARGHH!"
The next stroke landed on Andrew's bottom, raising a third red weal parallel with the existing ones. Mrs. Holt saw her son jump as the cane impacted, then begin to sob openly for the first time. The caning was proving traumatic for both mothers as well as the recipients themselves, as despite their anger both fell victim to a mother's natural sympathy for her offspring.
THWACK! "AAAAGH!"
Simon's third stroke landed, to the accompaniment of another yell from the boy.
WHACK! "YOWWWWCH!"
Andrew's punishment ended as the fourth red line appeared across his tender buttocks and he screeched again in response to the scorching pain. He didn't get up, however, but remained in position, sobbing bitterly. Mr. Tolley stepped over to Simon and delivered the eighth and final stroke.
WHACK! "ARRRGHHH!"
Simon, too, was sobbing but remained in position, unsure of whether he was allowed to get up. His bottom burned furiously and he had a tremendous urge to put his hands around to cool down some of the burning but was afraid to do so.
The adults left the boys alone for long moments to allow the pain of the final strokes to abate. Finally, the headmaster informed the boys they could get up. They did so immediately, wiping tearful eyes on the sleeves of their jerseys before beginning to explore their hot and battered rumps with gentle fingers. After some moments, the mothers joined the boys and the next minutes were spent comforting their distressed sons, rubbing both eyes and bottoms gently.
By the time the headmaster had returned the cane to his office and walked back to room 7, the boys had brightened up considerably. They were also wearing their underpants again, although their shorts had still to be replaced. The boys approached the headmaster, each still gingerly rubbing the seat of his pants.
"We're sorry, sir." said red-faced Simon. "We won't do it again."
"No." added Andrew. "Never."
The rueful Andrew pushed his hands down his pants and massaged the lines on his bottom. They still felt awful.
"I'm glad you realise what you did was wrong," said Mr Tolley, "even if it did take a couple of sore bottoms to make that happen. It's all over now. You can put your shorts on and go: I hope I don't have to cane you again."
"You won't." replied Mrs. Holt.
"We'll make sure of that." added the other woman.
With that, Mr. Tolley left mothers and sons to their own devices. The boys replaced their shorts and were led, red-eyed, down the corridor and out of the school. They had indeed learned a hard lesson and made sure they never repeated their behaviour again. Nevertheless, it was not the last time either boy left room 7 nursing a blazing bottom.