She’s only allowed to give six strokes. Actually, even the dormitory captains can use a slipper. It’s not really formally approved, but the headmaster turns a blind eye to it because it keeps the juniors in line without him having to get involved.”
“But surely it must lead to bullying and all sorts of abuse?”
“It doesn’t seem to. I suppose they choose the Head Girl and the dormitory captains quite carefully and anyway the staff are usually aware of what’s going on. It’s been a tradition for ages.”
“Probably comes from those posh boys’ public schools, like Eton. But I’m glad we didn’t have the system at my place.”
Miss Holloway divided the remainder of the stroganoff between their two plates and refilled their glasses. Whether it was the way the conversation had developed, or the wine, or simply the buzz she had felt since Wednesday’s events: whatever it was, she was starting to feel very aroused.
“So what sort of things were you caned for?” she asked, raising an eyebrow coquettishly.
“Oh, the usual stuff: poor marks in class, ragging about, being cheeky. The ordinary teachers could give us the strap, and they often did so. But they didn’t need much of an excuse to put us on report to see the headmaster and then we were doomed. I’m sure that old creep enjoyed whacking us.”
“What happened when you had to see the headmaster?” The wine had emboldened her.
“Well, if you really want to know, I’ll tell you , although even now it makes me quake to think about it.” He mopped up the last of the food on his plate with the remains of a bread roll and pushed his chair back.
“We used to have a daily Assemby. The headmaster would always preside over it. At the start, he’d read out a list of any boys who were on report. That meant you had to line up outside his study after Assembly. If your name was on that list you couldn’t concentrate on anything afterwards – you were terrified, because you knew what was coming.”
“Gosh, you poor things.”
“Yes, but the worst bit was waiting outside the study and listening to maybe three or four people in front of you being called in and getting the cane. You could easily hear the whacks and the cries, and you knew your turn was coming. Once, when I was the last of five or six waiting to be called in, I had to rush to the toilet. Golly, even now I can still feel that dread as we waited out there!”
“G o on – what happened when you were finally called in?” She could feel the damp beginning to form between her legs.
“He’d be sitting behind his desk. You had to stand in front of him and he’d read out the report or tell you why you were there. He’d go on for a bit and then ask whether you had anything to say. Of co urse, you knew you were done for already and it wasn’t worth arguing. He’d get up and walk over to the rack on the wall where he kept his canes. The junior ones – the thinner ones – were on the lowest rungs, then the seniors, and right at the top he kept a Dragon. Do you know what a Dragon is?”
“Yes – Mr. Masterson asked me to bring one in the other day. It looked really vicious.”
“They are, they’re denser than ordinary canes and they hurt like anything. You always hoped he’d take down a junior or a senior instead. Then he’d swipe it around a bit. It would make that awful swishing sound. I’m sure he did it deliberately, to scare us even more. That’s why I think he was a sadist, although I didn’t know what that was at the time.”
Miss Holloway cleared away the plates and got the ice-cream out of the ‘fridge.
“ Please go on. I’m intrigued.” That was a bit of a give-away. “I’m just going to warm up the sauce.”
“How delicious! Where was I? Oh yes, ‘swish’, ‘swish’. Then he’d tell you to go over to the sofa. There’d be a hand towel across one of the arms. He’d tell you to take off your trousers and your underpants and place them on the other arm
“But surely it must lead to bullying and all sorts of abuse?”
“It doesn’t seem to. I suppose they choose the Head Girl and the dormitory captains quite carefully and anyway the staff are usually aware of what’s going on. It’s been a tradition for ages.”
“Probably comes from those posh boys’ public schools, like Eton. But I’m glad we didn’t have the system at my place.”
Miss Holloway divided the remainder of the stroganoff between their two plates and refilled their glasses. Whether it was the way the conversation had developed, or the wine, or simply the buzz she had felt since Wednesday’s events: whatever it was, she was starting to feel very aroused.
“So what sort of things were you caned for?” she asked, raising an eyebrow coquettishly.
“Oh, the usual stuff: poor marks in class, ragging about, being cheeky. The ordinary teachers could give us the strap, and they often did so. But they didn’t need much of an excuse to put us on report to see the headmaster and then we were doomed. I’m sure that old creep enjoyed whacking us.”
“What happened when you had to see the headmaster?” The wine had emboldened her.
“Well, if you really want to know, I’ll tell you , although even now it makes me quake to think about it.” He mopped up the last of the food on his plate with the remains of a bread roll and pushed his chair back.
“We used to have a daily Assemby. The headmaster would always preside over it. At the start, he’d read out a list of any boys who were on report. That meant you had to line up outside his study after Assembly. If your name was on that list you couldn’t concentrate on anything afterwards – you were terrified, because you knew what was coming.”
“Gosh, you poor things.”
“Yes, but the worst bit was waiting outside the study and listening to maybe three or four people in front of you being called in and getting the cane. You could easily hear the whacks and the cries, and you knew your turn was coming. Once, when I was the last of five or six waiting to be called in, I had to rush to the toilet. Golly, even now I can still feel that dread as we waited out there!”
“G o on – what happened when you were finally called in?” She could feel the damp beginning to form between her legs.
“He’d be sitting behind his desk. You had to stand in front of him and he’d read out the report or tell you why you were there. He’d go on for a bit and then ask whether you had anything to say. Of co urse, you knew you were done for already and it wasn’t worth arguing. He’d get up and walk over to the rack on the wall where he kept his canes. The junior ones – the thinner ones – were on the lowest rungs, then the seniors, and right at the top he kept a Dragon. Do you know what a Dragon is?”
“Yes – Mr. Masterson asked me to bring one in the other day. It looked really vicious.”
“They are, they’re denser than ordinary canes and they hurt like anything. You always hoped he’d take down a junior or a senior instead. Then he’d swipe it around a bit. It would make that awful swishing sound. I’m sure he did it deliberately, to scare us even more. That’s why I think he was a sadist, although I didn’t know what that was at the time.”
Miss Holloway cleared away the plates and got the ice-cream out of the ‘fridge.
“ Please go on. I’m intrigued.” That was a bit of a give-away. “I’m just going to warm up the sauce.”
“How delicious! Where was I? Oh yes, ‘swish’, ‘swish’. Then he’d tell you to go over to the sofa. There’d be a hand towel across one of the arms. He’d tell you to take off your trousers and your underpants and place them on the other arm
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