Prodigal Son (Jensen Family #1) (9 page)

“Your boys will receive the
highest standard of education.” the Principle assured “We also teach respect
and discipline.”

“Judging from their
performance on the way here, both boys could use a little more discipline.”
Michael gruffed “I’d like them placed in separate dorms and kept apart as much
as possible, they egg each other on and are very protective of each other, I
feel you will have fewer problems with them if they spend the majority of their
time apart.”

Monica was flabbergasted, she
hadn’t agreed with sending the boys away to school but had given in under
Michael’s insistence but now he wanted them kept apart, she knew neither boy
would take kindly to this and expected to receive calls from the school on a
regular basis lamenting her sons’ behaviour.

When Paul realised he was to
be separated from his brother he knew he’d have to find a way to get out of
this school and quick. He didn’t want to be away from home but had counted
himself lucky that he had his brother to lean on, now that crutch had been
taken away and he was completely alone he knew he wouldn’t survive here on his
own.

Matt was stunned that he had
been placed in a different dorm to Paul, he was sharing a room with a large,
friendly boy named Cameron but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t rather be sharing
with Paul, he knew his brothers’ habits and flash points and now he would have
to learn this other boys’ foibles, he didn’t want to be here but his placid,
laid back nature wouldn’t allow him to rebel.

During supper the first
night, Paul had tried to sit with his brother but was firmly directed to the
table his dorm mates occupied, placing his tray on the table in front of him,
he folded his arms across his chest and resolutely refused to eat resulting in
him being sent for an early shower and the removal of his television
privileges.

The following day Paul had
hoped to see his brother during lessons but soon learned they had been put on a
vastly differing timetable. At morning break, he took himself to the far edge
of the quad and sank down against the chain link fence close to some boys from
an older year. He hadn’t intentionally listened to their conversation but
happened to overhear one of the star rugby players complaining that he wasn’t
allowed to play as his science work wasn’t up to scratch. Paul caught the boys’
eye and offered to do the work for him in return for cigarettes and the
occasional message passed to his brother. It was also during that first break
that he discovered his all boys boarding school was situated right next to an all
girls comprehensive, his squeaky clean uniform marked him as a new boy and the
girls on the other side of the fence soon discovered the newcomer was
strikingly good looking, positively charming and an incorrigible flirt.

By the third day Paul had
come up with the plan that the best way to get out of the school would be to go
through the rule book and systematically break each and every rule. He had
already managed to break the no fraternising with girls rule, that one was easy
and also the highlight of his day. He stopped working in lessons and refused
outright to do homework which earned him a trip to the Principles office and a
stern talking to as did his loud and raucous conversations with the girls each
morning.

Sitting on his bed the
following evening, rule book in hand, he discovered that refusal to attend
lessons was a major misdemeanour as was smoking, he’d already figured that one
out and he just needed to get caught in the act. The very next morning, he
refused to get out of bed and ended up being dragged out of bed by his head of
year marched to the Principles office, caned across the hands and doing his
days lessons in his pyjamas at a desk outside the Principles inner sanctum.
That evening, he hit the rule book again.

Standing on the headboard of
his bed, he opened the window and lit a cigarette, well aware that he could be
seen by the teachers outside, he took a deep drag and, resisting the urge to
cough up his lungs and vomit, blew the smoke out of the window, as soon as he
got the attention he desired, he stubbed out the disgusting cigarette, jumped
down off his bed and went to sit at the small desk in the corner of his room
only seconds before two teachers burst into the room dragged him to his feet
and once again marched him to the Principles office.

“This is becoming a habit Mr
Jensen” the Principle said as he came around his desk “Let’s see if we can
discourage further visits shall we?”

Paul didn’t answer, he
recognised the rhetorical question.

“Drop your trousers boy and
lean over the chair.” the Principle told him, he didn’t move, the Principle
nodded to the two teachers who had brought him to the office who leaped into
action, wrenching Paul’s trousers down to his ankles and holding him over the
arm of the leather chair, he soon learnt that it was useless to struggle
against the two teachers holding him and was completely unprepared for the
sting of the cane as it hit his backside, he cried out in pain and shock at the
first blow but bit his lip and remained silent during the next nine lashes. “I
do not expect to see you in here again. What do you have to say to me?”

Paul was thinking “Sadistic
bastard.” but as the school rules stated, he said “Thank you Sir.” and was
marched back to his room. Sneaking to the bathroom during the night, he pulled
down his boxers and surveyed his backside, he saw the red welts in his flesh
and he still felt the pain but boy was it worth it. Having checked the school
rules again, he noticed that boys were required to wear pyjamas to bed, as he
usually only wore his boxers at home, he had found the bedtime garments
uncomfortable and restrictive and after today’s punishment decided that
sleeping naked, refusing to go to lessons and smoking should put him well and
truly in the bad boy books.

He received twenty strokes
the following morning after being forcibly dressed by the house master and
again spent his day at the desk outside the Principles office, shifting from
one cheek to the other to alleviate the pain along with two other boys from his
dorm who also seemed to have a knack for getting into trouble. He was allowed
out to his morning break which he spent flirting with the girls, he received a
further five strokes for this.

That night, he stayed up
late, much to the annoyance of his
room mate
who had
begged him to tow the line, studying the rule book one again. He smiled to
himself before he turned out the light and whispered to his roommate that he
should get up early and get out of the room so that he didn’t get caught up in
Paul’s plans.

“What are you going to do?”
“I can’t tell you Louis, if you don’t know what I’m up to then you can’t take
any of the blame, I’ll be out of here soon and hopefully you will get a decent
roommate.”

He heard Louis leave the room
an hour before breakfast and quickly stripped off his boxer shorts before
sliding back under the covers. He had discovered that a major infraction of the
school rules was masturbation, hugely frowned upon in this institution, he
realised he may have hit upon the one thing that would indeed get him expelled.
As the bell for breakfast sounded, Paul lay back in his bed and turned his
thoughts to Suzanne and all the things she had taught him in their month
together.

“We’d better get the Jensen
boy up.” Mr. Roberts, Paul’s science teacher said to his colleague, Games
Master Shore, a large brute of a man. He felt for the boy and hated that the
task of getting Paul out of bed and dressed had fallen to him, having been sent
to boarding school himself he knew what the boy was going through, he despised
himself for working here but needs must, a wife, child, another on the way and
a hefty mortgage had necessitated him taking this job.

Opening the door to the room
that Paul and Louis shared he couldn’t believe that this boy appeared to be
breaking each rule in order.

Paul had kicked off the
covers as his thoughts of Suzanne aroused him beyond belief, he didn’t realise
at first that he wasn’t alone until the Games Master growled and hauled him out
of the bed by his hair screaming at him to cover himself up.

Paul shook off the hand
holding his hair and stood up straight both hands at his sides making no
attempt what so ever to cover his engorged penis. He knew the kind natured Mr
Roberts wouldn’t do a thing about this but he hadn’t counted on Games Master
Shore being his back up that morning. Realising he had made a huge error in not
checking the duty rota, Paul had two choices, cow tow to this man, apologise
and cover up or tough it out. His need to be at home in his normal surroundings
gave him the courage he needed to keep his hands at his sides and his gaze
fixed on the large man screaming at him.

Mr Roberts was sent to get
the Principle while the Games Master continued his tirade of insults. Principle
Baxter listened to his teachers’ accounts of what they had caught Paul doing as
he surveyed the still naked boy in front of him;

“I have dealt with boys like
you before and broke every single one of them, what makes you think you are any
different? I will tear you from your mothers apron strings if it’s the last
thing I do.” he hissed in Paul’s face, turning to his staff he said “Seclude
him.”

Wrapping a sheet around him,
the two teachers led Paul to a small cell with no furniture and a tiny window,
before locking him in, the sheet was taken from him, leaving him naked and
alone for the rest of the day.

As night fell Mr Roberts
unlocked the door to the cell and came to stand in front of Paul. Handing him
his boxer shorts, he glanced over his shoulder to make sure they were alone
then spoke quietly to the boy

“What are you trying to
achieve Paul?”

“I want to go home Sir.” Paul
replied, he couldn’t help but like this man, he was the only one who used the
boys’ Christian names and always treated them fairly

“All that’s going to happen
to you is endless beatings, you’ve put yourself on the Principles hit list and
he won’t stop until you obey the rules and start to work.”

“He’s going to have to step
up the punishment a bit then, so far he hasn’t even hit the level that my
father is at.” Paul told him.

“This is a battle you can’t
win.”

“There are only so many rules
I can break before I get kicked out, a few beatings aren’t going to stop me.”

“Paul, he will never expel
you because he knows that’s what you want. Why not just
tow
the line and get through this as painlessly as possible?”

“Because that would be giving
in and that’s not something I’m willing to do.”

“I wish you would apply the
same determination to your studies.” Mr Roberts sighed.

“It’s nothing against you
Sir, you’re the only decent teacher here,
I
just want
to go home”

“I appreciate your words and
under different circumstances, in a different school, maybe I would be able to
help you but my hands are tied, I have a family to support, just know that I
wholeheartedly disagree with what comes next and I urge you to reconsider your
actions.”

Paul felt the first tingle of
fear “What’s going to happen to me?”

“I can’t tell you, I think
it’s unjust and that you should be given the chance to apologise and turn yourself
around but the faculty has cast a majority vote on your punishment, I was sent
to get you as I’m the only teacher you haven’t presented any problems to, I’m
so sorry.”

“Sir…”

“Bring him out” Games Master
Shore bellowed.

“Come on.” Mr Roberts urged.

“No.” Paul shrunk back into
the corner of the cell.

“Don’t make this worse than
it has to be, please Paul just come with me.”

Paul stepped forward and felt
the trembling grasp of his science teacher around his wrist. He was led to the
common room for his dorm where the two other boys who had a habit of getting
into trouble were standing, also only in their underwear, in front of the
vaulting horses that had been brought up from the gym, a hefty sixth former on
either side of the boys, two more stepped forward to grasp Paul’s arms and lead
him to the centre vault horse.

At a nod from the Principle,
all three boys were turned to face the horses, their arms stretched out to
their sides; they were pulled so that their chests rested against the gym
equipment, their backs to the room. Each boys’ crime was read out along with
the number of lashes he would receive, Paul’s head began to swim as he heard
his punishment would be forty lashes, considerably less than the boy either
side of him, he could feel the sting of the cane on his backside even before
the punishment began not realising that now most of the lashes would be aimed
at his back.

He looked up into the eyes of
Mr Roberts as Principle Baxter asked each boy in turn if they would like to
make amends for their crimes, only one boy caved in order to receive less
lashes,

“This is barbaric.” Paul
snarled at the teacher “It needs to be stopped.”

“I can’t.” the teacher
replied looking away from the boy’s furious face.

Paul bit down on his lip as
the first lash hit him across the shoulders, with his eyes screwed tight shut;
he refused to cry out in pain. He woke in the infirmary, the other two boys
whimpering in the beds opposite him, he had to find a way out of this school,
breaking the rules obviously wasn’t going to achieve that, he’d have to run
away. Gasping in pain as he tried to sit, he bit down on any further noise
escaping from him when he saw the matron at the end of the ward, looking
around, he saw the other entrance to the ward was unmanned, if he was going to
get out of the school, escaping from the infirmary would be his best bet as it
was away from the main school building, lightly staffed and close to the
Comprehensive school next door, he was sure the chain link fence was climbable
if taken at speed. He noticed his school uniform neatly folded on the chair
beside his bed, his stay in the infirmary would clearly only
be
a short lived one. He lay back in the bed and feigned sleep waiting for the
Matron to go off duty, leaving the ward unattended. As soon as she was gone,
Paul was out of bed and pulling on his clothes.