in sacrilege.
“Good. Now both of you bend over and grasp your ankles.”
The girls exchanged frightened glances and did as they were told.
Mr. Masterson moved behind Anna, lifted up her dark blue Sunday skirt, and folded the hem securely inside the waistband. The white shirt-tail thus revealed he arranged on top of her lower back. He took a step across the room and did the same to Jenny, pulling the elasticated bottom of her white knickers down so that they lay stretched tautly across her cheeks.
He went back to his desk, picked up Stinger and smacked it against the palm of his left hand.
He took up position beside Anna. “You’re each going to get six.” He tapped Anna’s bottom once with Stinger. Anna suddenly remembered the headmaster’s nickname, ‘Three Taps’, and realised that she was on the verge of experiencing the celebrated procedure. He ran the brush up and down the curve of her cheeks, making Anna wince. “Keep still until I tell you to get up.”
Tap. Tap.
“I won’t tolerate girls who cannot show respect for their surroundings, especially in chapel.”
Tap. Tap. Tap. Anna dug her nails into her ankles. The smack, landing mostly on her right cheek, made a noise like a thunderclap. It was followed immediately by a burning sting. Anna cried out but held her position. The second stroke came almost immediately, landing symmetrically on her left cheek. Anna rocked forward on her toes.
‘Three Taps’ moved across to Jenny. Anna was so absorbed in trying to manage the pain which was radiating out from Stinger’s impact s that she hardly heard Mr. Masterson telling Jenny to stick her bottom right out, or registered the distinct tap which followed. Then she clearly heard a double tap and saw Jenny screw up her eyes.
“And as for chewing gum – you know that this is not allowed anywhere in the school.”
Tap. Tap. Tap. Jenny bit her lip just as the first stroke landed athwart both cheeks. She gasped. The second stroke produced a cry of “Oooww!” and she rocked forward so much that Anna thought Jenny might lose her balance.
‘Three Taps’ returned to his position beside Anna and whacked her hard, twice, landing the hairbrush right across the centre of her bottom. Anna bucked and wailed.
Jenny got the same treatment a few moments later, howling even more loudly than Anna.
“Last two, Anna. I hope you’ve learned a lesson.” It seemed to be a rhetorical question, so Anna just hung on to her ankles for dear life as the final two strokes were delivered, one to each side of her backside. The first elicited an “Ooouch!” and the other an “Ooooww!”, both conveyed with feeling.
“You, too, Jenny. Any more irreverence in chapel and it’ll be the cane. Now stay still for the last two.” It was all Jenny could do not to jump up as the heavy wood twice struck the lower part of her cheeks, sending a searing sting pulsing through her body.
Mr. Masterson walked slowly back to his desk, replaced Stinger and closed the drawer. He took his seat.
“All right, you can get up.” The girls straightened themselves and adjusted their skirts. Both were snivelling.
“Sign the Punishment Book here, please, and don’t let me see you on report again. Next time, it’ll be on the bare.”
The girls signed their names opposite the entry which recorded for posterity that on Sunday, 29 th September, 1957, they’d each received six strokes of the hairbrush over their pants for offences committed in chapel.
“You may go.” The headmaster indicated the door. The girls slunk out, even omitting the customary “Thank you, sir” as they left.
“Wooo!” said Anna, rubbing her bottom furiously, “that really hurt!”
“Much more than I thought it would,” agreed Jenny, clutching her cheeks. “Well done. You were pretty brave!”
“Oh, I wasn’t! You made much less noise than me! Let’s go and look at our trade-marks.” ‘Trade-marks’ was the school slang for the visible after-effects of
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