Neil walked gingerly along the corridor. The pain in his buttocks was not subsiding at all. Hell, he thought, only four strokes and it feels as if it was seconds ago rather than the five minutes it must now be since I stood up. He wasn't sure he could walk back into class just yet without showing the agony he was in. He looked at his watch - 20 minutes until the end of the lesson. He would chance a visit to the toilets to see if he could see his stripes in a mirror.
The toilets were within a victorian cloakroom setup that was years out of date but offered some degree of privacy. The wrought iron framework that held the coathooks included some horizontal bars just over six feet off the ground, like a kind of scaffolding. As Neil walked into the cloakroom he saw to his glee that Fleming was doing chinups on one of these bars. Better than that, he was wearing only singlet and shorts and doing them effortlessly.
Fleming was in his final year at the school and Neil's House Captain. He was also the best built boy Neil had ever seen. Not just rippling muscles everywhere but his whole body seeemd to be in ideal proportions and Neil often found himself looking at Fleming even when fully dressed. But now he was in PE kit and doing chinups! Neil noticed Flemings legs first: thick with muscle they were accentuated even though it was his arms he was working. And what arms! Large biceps were accentuated by very well defined triceps that gave his arms bulk - and the chinups merely emphasised this. neil just stood in awe.
All of this went through his mind in a matter of seconds for Fleming only did about 4 chinups in Neil's presence before he spotted the boy. Fleming stopped at the top of the fifth chinups, easily holding himself with his head over the bar.
"And what have we here? Not in lessons Parsons?"
"No, Fleming, I've been to see the old man." neil hoped that he would be asked about the visit.
From his lofty position, motionless above the bar, Fleming said: "Cane you, did he?"
"Yes."
Fleming lowered himself then dropped to the ground. Neil noticed how the leg muscles reshaped themselves once they were required to support the boy's weight. His powerful chest could be clearly seen through his singlet but he was hardly breathing heavily despite his exertion.
"Was it your first visit?"
"Yeah."
"Only four strokes then - with a promise of six next time?"
"Yes - is it always like that, then?"
"Never varies. And you will get six next time, whatever your offence."
"I don't think I could take six."
"Hurts like nothing you've felt before, doesn't it? It's that cane of his. Rumour has it he has had it for years and there's no sign of it breaking!"
"If it hurts like this after four I am going to do all I can to avoid six!"
"You should. Prefects get eight." Fleming smiled.
"EIGHT!?!! That must be absolute hell!"
"It is!" The smile broadened.
"You mean you've had eight strokes from the old man?!!" neil felt faint at the thought of the sight of a boy of Fleming's build being caned.
"Twice."
"What did you do to deserve that?" Neil couldn't imagine what Fleming could have done. But he could imagine him bent over waiting!
"Nothing at all."
"What?"
"There is a rota system for duties at lunchtime. One senior prefect heads each team each day of the week. If there are any problems the prefects should deal with them. If they don't, or are not where they should be, the old man's cane comes into play. One of my team forgot his day. It was my team so I am expected to take the rap."
"And the old man found out and caned you?!" Neil imagined the muscular buttocks being struck by that cane, and the sight they must present the cane-wielding headmaster!
"No, I went to him and said it was my fault."
"Why would you do that? Did you want to be caned?"
"Not at all, it really is incredibly painful, even when you're 18. He has a system: if by the following morning there is no news of what happened and why, he summons the head boy and tells him he will see the prefects at 4.00pm. When he turns up he brings his cane. He ascertains which senior prefect was on duty and then canes him in front of the others. Rumour has it that the last time he did this the prefect in question was told to drop his trousers first!"
"Bloody hell!"
"So it is usual for the snior duty prefect to repor to the headmaster before this can happen and take a severe caning."
"Did you actually ask him to cane you?"
"Almost: I said that there had been a problem at lunchtime for which I took full responsibility. He said did I think it merited a caning and I said Yes. The rest was the routine you experienced today - except that I had to bend over his desk for eight strokes."
Neil again pictured the scene.
"Did he tell you to drop your trousers?"
"No, but I did anyway. They don't offer much protection from that cane and it impresses him that prefects admit their fault and take their punishment "like a man"."
"He used that phrase with me."
"Can I see your stripes - is that why you came in here?"
"Yes it is - sure you can." Neil loosened his trousers and let them fall. Fleming walked behind him and crouched down. Neil glanced down to his left at the bulging thighs that were now so close. He was sure each was as thick as both his legs together.
"An excellent job as usual. Weals right the way across both buttocks - and perfectly parallel. you've got to hand it to the old guy, he really canes well."
"That's one way of putting it."
"You've taken it well, lad." Fleming stood up and came back round. "Would you like to see my stripes in return?"
"Were you caned recently then?" Neil was shocked. And excited!
"Three weeks ago tomorrow but the stripes are still there." As he spoke he lowered his shorts and turned round, bending down as he did so.
Neil didn't know where to look first. Those muscles! And eight distinct weals across the buttocks, six parallel and two at an angle across them. They must have hurt like hell.
"They must have hurt like hell."
"More than that. I struggled ot take them in silence but think I managed it - with just a few grunts!"
Fleming pulled up his shorts over his powerful things.
"And the prefect responsible got away with it? That's hardly fair."
"I was responsible and I was caned - that's the way of it. But in this case Parsons did not get away. He felt bad and insisted on also going to the old man to ask for a caning. I tried to talk him out of it but he was adamant."
"Quite right too. Did he go?"
"No. After a lot of arguing he said the least that should happen is that I should give him eight strokes myself. We House Captains can only give four but with his agreement and at his request there seemed to real problem - he was hardly going to complain later! The trouble was we only had a prefect's cane available and that doesn't match the old man's. But Parsons said that Mr Riley had lost his rag in French that day because the class was not working well enough and sent for a cane. He threatened the next three boys to translate with a mistake with a caning - and did them there and then in class. Parsons was sure that he forgot the cane at the end of the lesson.
"We went up to the French room during prep and the cane was still on the bookcase. Parsons brought it to me and asked for eight of the best - "Really hard please, Fleming" - and then droppen his trousers and went over the teacher's desk."
"Did you cane him hard?"
"Sure did! Took three steps back before each stroke and give it all I had. The teacher's desk moved after two of the strokes and Parsons had to hold on for dear life!
"He thanked me afterwards and we remain friends. It was a great experience!
"But hey, lad, you'd better get back to class before you're missed."
"OK, Fleming, and thanks for talking to me."
Neil left the room reluctantly as Fleming once more jumped to the bar and started chinning himself.
Neil had many more chats that year with Fleming, mainly about working out and Flemings secrets. He took them all on board and by the age of eighteen he too had a body to equal Flemings. He was proud of his physique and of his position as House Captain, but he really felt he had arrived when he first went over the old man's desk for eight!
Resonses to this story would be very welcome: basil2_uk@yahoo. com