The Head Boy's Fag Ch. 01

The allocation of fags had taken place in the afternoon of the day before the official start of the new term. All the pupils had been told to arrive latest by noon on that day so that everyone could be settled in their lodgings and a smooth start to the term made early the following day.

Head Boy Mottram had chosen his fag, the Hon. Lattymer-Smith based purely upon the boy's physical appearance. Why choose a boy with an ugly mug and generally overall unimpressive appearance when angelic boys like Lattymer-Smith were there for the picking. Mottram had hesitated between two lads, both of whom he frankly found very attractive, before finally plumping for Lattymer-Smith, who had "won" his place in the heart of the Head Boy as he had a delightfully rounded bottom; this was was a very important consideration for the Head Boy, who had a penchant for thrashing arse. So the deliciously rounded, plump globes sported by young Lattymer-Smith were the factor which clinched the choice. Given Mottram's other proclivities, a boy's arse held another interest for him, but he was sufficiently intelligent to restrict such interests to boys of his own age, in the upper sixth, who, to all intents and purposes, although still at school, were young adult men.

Lattymer-Smith, for his part, had no idea why the honour, which it undoubtedly was, or anyway, appeared to be, to fag for the Head Boy had fallen his way. He knew only that he had to fag for someone in his first year; so it was gratifying to be at the top of the pecking order; at least that was the way Lattymer-Smith saw it before he came to terms with what I suppose we have to call "the real Sebastian Mottram". Mottram had commanded (yes that was the word) him to come to his study at eight that evening for what he had called "an orientation discussion". And so, at eight-fifteen, a full quarter of an hour late for the meeting, Lattymer-Smith, having made his first mistake in arriving late, knocked on Mottram's study door and entered.

"Ah, come in, Lattymer-Smith, I'm delighted that you were able to make it! Our appointment was for eight as I recollect, but, better late than never, as the saying has it; what delayed you?"

Lattymer-Smith was a sensitive sort of character and sensed from the tone of Mottram's voice that he had made a bad start; so he started to try to explain. But he really had no excuse other than that he had been talking to his new classmates at supper and had just forgotten the time. He said in response to Mottram's question: "Well sir, I am very sorry to be a little late but..." only to be cut short by an obviously annoyed Mottram who said: "You don't call me sir, you know; when you address me; you call me Mottram and I call you Lattymer-Smith, until such time as I might decide on a nickname for you. Anyway, now that you are finally here, sit down and let's get to business." Lattymer-Smith, by this time feeling rather nervous; he was quite a perceptive type and the expression, "finally here" had very menacing overtones to his ears.

The Head Boy began: "Now you and I, Lattymer-Smith are going to get along just swimmingly provided that you do exactly as I say. I think that that is the first thing you need to understand in our relationship. Your job as my fag is to serve me and I require no less than perfectly impeccable behaviour from you at all times when you are in my presence. Now, clearly, the first thing you have to come to terms with is punctuality. When I say I want to see you at eight, I mean eight and not a quarter past. I hope that that is clear. Now let us go through the protocol which will govern your daily duties with me, as a great deal of what you will be required to do will be on a daily basis and will not change. Therefore, like the Ten Commandments, your daily tasks can be engraved in tablets of stone; metaphorically of course."

By this time, Lattymer-Smith was looking a bit mystified for he knew the meaning of neither protocol nor metaphorically. Things became quite clear, however, as Mottram continued: "Your duties begin at a quarter past seven each morning apart from Sunday, when they commence an hour later. By that time I am back from my morning shower and you will bring me the water for me to shave, which I do every day, as do all gentlemen. At seven thirty you will then bring and serve me my breakfast. Whilst I am eating you will make my bed and lay out on it my clothes for the day. I wear clean underwear, a clean shirt and clean socks each day. You will also put out my coat, trousers waistcoat and shoes which you will always maintain in a highly polished condition."

"I have two pairs of school shoes which I wear on alternate days and so you should have no problem in maintaining a pair in perfect condition. The shoes are to be polished in the communal boot room and I will not tolerate any smeary finish whatsoever: a mirror finish on the toe caps is what I shall be looking for, so I suggest that you quickly acquaint yourself with the technique of spit and polish by which such a state of footwear perfection is achieved. I have two complete sets of top clothes which I wear on alternate days. The set I am not wearing that day you will brush down and sponge off any marks and, if necessary, press my trousers to restore a knife edge crease. The flat iron and board you will find in the boys' communal kitchen."

"Additionally, you will take my soiled underwear to the laundry room each Friday at which time you will recover my week's clean laundry, which includes seven of everything. This you will place neatly folded in the appropriate places in the chest of drawers in my bedroom. I shall leave it to your undoubted initiative to find the appropriate place for each item. After you have completed these tasks, you may go and get your own breakfast and will then be free until lunchtime, when you will again present yourself here to me to receive any special instructions for the day."

"Unless I have decided on that day to take tea in the prefects' common room, I shall tell you at what time I shall require you to serve tea in my study and the number of persons who will partake of that refreshment in my company. I shall also tell you if toast and cake are to be served, in which case it will be up to you to go down to the baker's shop where I have an account to fetch the cake. You will return and clear away the tea things immediately after you have finished your evening prep. I hope that this is all clear as I expect things to be done exactly as I say and I will not tolerate any untidiness whatsoever. In short, Lattymer-Smith, I shall expect you to perform for me all the duties of a gentleman's gentleman. I trust that I have made myself clear. If you perform your duties correctly and on time you will have no problems and your daily life will be comfortable. However, if you deviate at all from the protocol I have just outlined to you (Lattymer-Smith now understood what the word meant) then I shall have to correct you."

"And so we now come to a second protocol: the procedure you will follow when I feel that you need correction." Lattymer-Smith now began to feel slightly uneasy at the mention of the word "correction" for as he surmised, it could mean but one thing which Mottram now went on his pompous and pedantic and slightly hectoring way to make quite clear to him: "Lattymer-Smith, cast your eyes to the back of the door, where you will see three canes hanging on a hook there, Kindly go over take them down and pass them to me: all three of them, please and I shall acquaint you with their purpose."

The three canes in question were each about three feet long and were of the straight Malacca type, a superior form of rattan with tighter than usual nodes along their length. For today's reader unfamiliar with the impedimenta of corporal punishment in use at the beginning of the twentieth century, rattan is not, in fact, a bamboo cane as is frequently thought. It is a flexible tropical vine, from which for many years, English school supply houses, have fashioned what is usually referred to as a cane. The advantage of an instrument made of rattan over the normal bamboo cane, is that it is much more flexible and is solid, unlike the bamboo which is a hollow stemmed plant. The solidity of the rattan confers extra weight on the implement which in turn allows the user to impart greater pain to the buttocks of the unfortunate recipient. A beating with a Malacca cane in the hands of an expert, which Mottram in fact was, is very painful event indeed and second only to the much dreaded birch.

Each cane, which was straight and without the crooked handle of te common rattan, had a leather sheath fitted to its thicker end to enable the wielder to get a firm grip on the implement. Just looking at them filled Lattymer-Smith with fear and he was now beginning to tremble slightly at the thought of what might happen, as he took them and handed them to Mottram.

Mottram was, of course intent of putting the fear of god into his fag and continued with his somewhat pompous monologue: "As you can see, Lattymer-Smith, there are two thinner canes and one thicker one. The thicker one is what is called a senior cane: the one I use when I need to correct boys from the third form and above; oh and in case you are wondering, this cane is used to correct errant boys right through to the upper sixth form, including the prefects should they merit it; no one, no-one at all, is exempt; we all live under the threat of the cane if we misbehave, myself included. Now, as you can see, in spite of its thickness the senior cane is still very flexible." And by way of a demonstration, Mottram bent the cane practically in a complete circle and then swished it a few times through the air: quite a frightening gesture, in front of his new fag, who was now beginning to cringe and show his fear on his face.

"Now we come to the two slimmer canes, which are known as junior canes and are used to correct (why, thought Lattymer-Smith, did Mottram persist in using the word "correct" when what he actually meant was "thrash") boys such as you in the first and second forms. But if you look closely at these two objects, you will see that one is slightly different. It carries an inscription near the handle, which reads: "Fag's Cane". This is a brand new cane I have bought which will be exclusively used to correct you. Lattymer-Smith, you and you alone are the only boy in this school to have the honour of having a cane dedicated to correcting you; it will never ever be used on another boy; it is dedicated exclusively to you; yours are the only buttocks on which this cane will ever land."

Poor Lattymer-Smith listened with increasing fear and trepidation, as this full horror story was unfolded to him by his fag-master. He was already beginning to realise that being the fag of the Head Boy was unlikely to be a smooth, painless job. It was clear that the Head Boy, Mottram, was a keen protagonist of the rod and that his fag's arse would be one of the key targets. As far as having a cane dedicated to beating his arse and his arse alone; well Lattymer-smith was not much impressed by this "privilege" His worst fears were now to be confirmed as Mottram ploughed on with his wordy explanation.

"So, Lattymer-Smith, now that we have familiarised ourselves with the implements of correction (that hated word yet again) perhaps you would kindly replace the canes on the hooks behind the door and I will outline to you the protocol which I shall require you to follow when I feel that you are in need of correction. I apply correction to all boys of School House who merit it, each evening immediately after supper starting at eight sharp in my study here. If I feel you need correcting then I shall tell you during the day or put a note in your pigeon hole and you will present yourself here at eight o'clock precisely. So, Lattymer-Smith, I would advise you to check your pigeonhole for messages each evening as you would not wish to miss such an appointment, which could have dire consequences for you. The etiquette is that you knock on my door, enter and stand in front of my desk, at which I shall in all probability be sitting. If there are already other boys in the room then just stand there quietly and wait until I give you my attention,"

"I shall than explain to you why I feel I need to correct you and will ask you to hand me your cane. Make sure that it is the correct cane: the one which is intended uniquely for your backside. You will then, with no prompting from me, take the chair from against the wall over there and place it in the centre of the room. You will next take off your coat and waistcoat and place them neatly on the table. You will then stand behind the chair and drop both your trousers and underpants and bend across the back of the chair, placing your hands on its seat. I will then instruct you to make any change in your posture to ensure that your bare backside is correctly placed to receive the cane."

"I shall then proceed to apply the cane to your naked buttocks. During the process of correction you will remain perfectly still and keep your hands on the seat of the chair. After each stroke of the cane you will thank me and ask for the next stroke. The form of the words will be: "Thank you Mottram; please give me another stroke." When I have administered the requisite number of strokes, I shall tell you to get up when you will pull up your pants and trousers, put back on your waistcoat and coat and thank me for correcting you. You will then go to the kitchen and make two cups of cocoa, one for me and one for yourself, bring them back here and we will enjoy them together. Finally we shall shake hands and you will again thank me for correcting you and you will be free to leave. We shall, of course, part as friends as true gentlemen do and you will resume your duties the following morning as usual."

Poor Lattymer-Smith listened in complete silence to this clinically chilling explanation of how he should approach the "Correction Process." The poor lad's blood ran cold as he listened to his fag-master outline the various steps he had to take; the whole thing left him sick to the stomach. And as for making two cups of cocoa and being forced to sit and drink his cup with the Head Boy who had just thrashed his arse; well that was not a very alluring prospect. But Mottram had not yet finished with Lattymer-Smith. for his whole purpose in this theatrical exposition, was to put the fear of God into his fag and one has to say that he was being very successful in achieving his aim.

"So, Lattymer-Smith, do you think that you have completely understood the protocol you have to follow when you are to be punished? Well I am sure that it all sounded pretty straightforward, but I expect you to follow the procedure to the letter without any prompting from me, Should the need ever arise (as if it wouldn't) for me to be obliged to correct you, I am sure the both of us would want things to pass smoothly. So, I suggest we now have a dummy run: a sort of dress rehearsal; to make sure that you have fixed the full procedure clearly in your mind. So shall we begin?"

Mottram went and sat behind his desk and motioned to his fag to stand in front of him whilst he spouted a piece of fictive dialogue to add reality to the situation: "Lattymer-Smith, I have the disagreeable task to tell you that I have to correct you for spilling tea all over my coat this afternoon."

The fag stood there motionless, not having understood what he was supposed to do. So Mottram repeated his piece, upon which the boy finally realised the part he now had to play in this dress rehearsal of a future beating. So he took his own cane down from the hook on the door and handed it to Mottram, who now stood up behind his desk and nodded in the direction of the dreaded beating chair. Lattymer-Smith pulled the chair into the middle of the room, dropped his trousers and pants, bent across the back of the chair and offered up his naked arse for the cane.

By way of adding a touch of reality to the whole charade, Mottram then went across inspected his fag's lily-white buns, laid the cane gently across them and said: "Well done Lattymer-Smith; I see you have fully understood how to behave when you are to be corrected. This is very important as I will not tolerate any hysterical outbursts when I have to correct you. Everything will be done in a cool calm and gentlemanly fashion. But just let me remind you not to forget to thank me for each stroke I give you in a real-life situation, if and when that should ever arise. A real life situation would be one where I was actually going to apply the cane to your arse."

"You see if you were to forget to thank after each stroke and request another, then that would be discourteous of you and I would have to repeat the correction process from the beginning: a highly undesirable eventuality for you personally as I am sure you agree. I always feel that it useful to have a clear idea of the ground rules governing any relationship such as ours. But for now, you can put the cane back on the door and the chair against the wall. Then get dressed and go and make two cups of cocoa which we can enjoy together to celebrate a successful teaching session. We can also get to know each other a little better; you can tell me something about yourself."

Although Mottram had done nothing bnut talk to his fag, poor Lattymer-Smith was already in a high state of tension induced by Mottram's pedantic utterances. He now knew exactly what he was expected to do when told that he was to be corrected and the thought filled him with terror. What would it actually be like to feel the bite of that horrible cane across his naked bum? And when and for what reason would be his first-time? When ad for what reason would his fag-master apply the cane to his backside? It hardly bore thinking about, but these and other thoughts bounced around his mind as he attempted to make the two cups of cocoa in the boys' kitchen.

One also has to remember that the aristocratic Lattymer-Smith had never in his life had to do any of the menial tasks which were now to be part and parcel of his daily lot. Even making a cup of cocoa was a taxing operation as that horrible brown powder persisted in floating around on the surface of the hot milk instead of dissolving in it. He returned with the two cups to Mottram's study where he was invited to sit down and then, in the course of drinking a very unsatisfactory cup of cocoa, Mottram teased out from him some revealing elements of his life before Ollerton.

It turned out that Lattymer-Smith was terrified by the thought of the cane, as he had never on his life been subjected to the doubtful character-building properties of a sore arse which that ubiquitous and oft used implement invariably created: nor indeed, for that matter, had he suffered any other form of corporal punishment at all. Mottram, somewhat surprised by this revelation, said: "But surely Lattymer-Smith, you must have been caned at your prep school. Come on; you were there at least three and possibly four years and every young lad, even the most angelic, has his arse beaten at least once at prep school. How did you escape it?"

"Well, that's just the point, Mottram; you see I never went to prep school. I was educated by a private tutor at home. In fact the same tutor still continues with my two younger brothers. And he is a really nice man and never ever beat any of us. So I am really very scared when you talk about correcting me with my very own cane. I know it's a privilege to have one's own private cane, (he didn't really believe that at all, but given the circumstances it seems the right thing to say) but nevertheless I don't think I could stand being beaten, because if I need correcting that is what you are going to do to me isn't it?".