115.
It was Friday morning. The boys had been in the games room since it opened. But they hadnât been playing games. They were having a discussion.
âSo your suggesting we should complain about our favourite teacher?â Sean was saying.
âNo!â returned Oscar. âThatâs not the point. Listen. Iâve read about this stuff in the papers.â
âYou read the papers?â jeered Ryan. âDonât make me laugh!â
âWell, maybe not the papers, but Iâve seen things about it online. Teachers get accused of gay propaganda anâ stuff.â
âNot in this country,â said James. âHere everyoneâs delighted if a boy turns up in a skirt. A kid at my school did that and he became a sort of hero. The school had to change the uniform code till it was meaningless. It was great.â
âWell, anyway,â put in Simon, âlook at it this way. Did we all like what she wore that first day?â
Chorus of âyeahâŠnot âalfâ.
âSo. Sâpose she never dresses up like that again.â
âOh, she will. It was obvious it was a turn-on for her.â
âYeah, well, it was a turn on for all of us, wasnât it?â countered Simon. âBut only Ben hereâ â he cast a sour glance towards the object of his envy - âonly Ben got the benefit.â
âI dunno⊠We all enjoyed it, didnât we?â
Simon sighed, exasperated. âLook, all Iâm suggesting is that we use the homework she set us as an excuse to have a bit more fun. Real fun. I mean, getting close up and personal with her â and that hot black latex.â
âItâs true thatâs the most turned-on Iâve ever felt in my life,â said Jack. âFancy us ending up with a teacher like that!â
âI know,â added Joshua. âShe was so hot â literally â that the whole room was filled with the smell of warm latex.â
This observation, and the memories it provoked, induced a thoughtful pause, and a degree of fidgeting in the ranks.
âAll right,â said Sean. âYou can try to persuade Miss, but youâd better not antagonise anyone, least of all our teacher. Understand?â
âOf course not. Iâll be incredibly polite, donât worry.â
Shirley was sipping her eleven oâclock coffee. There was a gentle tap on the door.
âCome in. Mandy⊠What can I do for you?â
âThe boysâŠâ
âWhat about them?â
âThey want to see youâŠâ
âOh? What about?â
âThey wonât say.â
âOh⊠Well, youâd better send them in. Is it all of them?â
âAll except one.â
âOkay. Letâs see what they want. Please stay, Mandy.â
The boys crowded into the office. Could it be something to do with Luke and Max joining the class?
âWell boys, what can I do for you?â
Simon stepped forward.
âMiss, itâs like this. You probably donât know, but Miss YulyaâŠâ
âYes? Go on.â
âMiss Yulya set us some homework this week.â
Shirleyâs face showed no sign she knew about that homework.
âAnd?â
âWell, miss, seeâŠitâs like this. We donât want, you know, to cause any⊠What Iâm saying isâŠâ
âYouâre not saying anything at the moment, Simon. Please come to the point.â
Tyler piped up from the back. âShe set us homework to wan... I mean masturbate, miss. And to masturbate each other!â
âAnd she promised us a treat!â cried someone, suddenly remembering.
âSo, did you do your homework? Or was it too difficult?â
âWhat? No, it wasnât thatâŠâ
âThe thing is, miss,â resumed Simon, âwe did it all right â well, not all right â I mean, we had to force ourselves, like, course. But then, afterwards, we all started wonderingâŠâ
âWondering?â
âYeah. Like, were we gay? Or had doing it made us gay?â
âReally. So you enjoyed it, then.â
âNoâŠno⊠I meanâŠâ
âI didnât mind,â said Ben, stepping forward. âI donât think even if you enjoy it that makes you gay. Youâre either gay or youâre not. Anyway, thereâs nothing wrong with being gay, is there?â
âThank you, Ben. I think youâve answered Simonâs doubts better than I could. Is that all, Simon?â
Simon, temporarily thwarted, nevertheless decided to press on.
âBut several of us, miss, weâre not sure. And now weâre a bit worried. We need to know whether weâre gay orâŠorâŠâ
He intended to say ânormalâ, but stopped himself just in time.
âHeterosexual. Is that want you want to say?â
âYes, miss⊠Het-het⊠That.â
âSo whatâs the problem? Go see if youâre still attracted to girls.â
âYeah, but we donât really know many girls, see? Apart from teacher.â
âTeacher? Miss Yulya?â
âYeahâŠâ
âSo are you attracted to her?â
âWeâre not sure,â said Oscar, who was standing next to Simon. âWe wanted to find out. Like we were, when we first saw her in that nurseâs outfit, but weâre not sure we still areâŠâ
âDonât you know?â
âNo. Weâd need to see ifâŠâ
âSee if what?â
âIf seeing her still made us want toâŠyou knowâŠâ
Now Shirley understood. She remembered that Simon and Oscar were the two who had talked about Yulya in the video. She suppressed a smile.
âSee, miss,â Simon went on, âI need to be sure, cos if like I get confused, Iâd have to maybe talk to my social worker or someoneâŠâ
Shirley recognised the pathetic attempt at blackmail. She was about to confront him with the possibility of making the tape of him and Oscar public, or the school being investigated and all of them having to go back to their previous institutions, but some streak of mischief told her to carry on playing the game.
âSo what would make you sure? What would Miss Yulya need to do to put your minds at rest?â
She gave Mandy the slightest wink.
By the alacrity of their reply, it was clear Simon and Oscar had had it all worked out in advance.
âWell, miss,â said Oscar, âweâd need her to dress up in that nice rubber outfit again, and then weâd have to see what effect it had on usâŠâ
âYou mean if you got erections.â
âEr, wellâŠâ
âSee, Ben got, like special treatment, and it donât seem fairâŠâ
âAh. Youâre jealous of Ben. I see. Well Ben, I understand, was the only one in the whole class that took the task she had set seriously. The rest of you just wrote nothing, or rudeness.â
âYeah⊠Weâre sorry about that. We were a bit shyâŠâ
Shirley couldnât suppress a laugh.
âReally. I see. Well Iâm confident Miss Yulya will be wearing one of her usual creations this afternoon, so youâll all be able to test your sexuality, wonât you?â
Simon was persistent. âThe thing is, miss, itâs really difficult to know when youâre all locked up tight rubber shorts. Now if we could be unlocked⊠Just for today, like.â
âI see,â said Shirley, raising her eyebrows. âSo what is it? You want to demonstrate to your teacher that the homework she set hasnât made any permanent changes. Right?â
Yes, miss, thatâs it!â said Oscar, eagerly. âWe want to reassure her that we still fancy her! Er, I mean, that weâre stillâŠâ
âHeterosexual?â
âYes, miss.â
âSo thatâs all you want. To have your zips unlocked for the lesson.â
âEr, maybeâŠâ began Simon.
âYes?â
âMaybeâŠyou see, miss, sometimes when we get, like, arousedâŠ.â
âYes? Go on.â Shirley was enjoying herself now.
âSometimesâŠwe, er, need to, you know, go the whole way. It can be really frustrating, see, otherwiseâŠâ
âSo you want to be allowed to orgasm as well?â
Silence.
She remembered Simon and Oscarâs video. âAnd what happens if the sight of Miss Yulya makes you lose control completely? And you start spurting all over the place? Even on her, maybe? Why do you think the school uniform incorporates those highly restrictive shorts?â
No-one spoke. They were all staring at Shirley. One boy had turned bright red and was trying to hide his erection.
âSo if I understand you correctly, you want Miss Yulya to make herself available for you lot to vent your frustrations. Right? At least, in the event it transpires your sexuality remains intact. Correct?â
A few of the braver ones nodded nervously, fearful of an explosion and subsequent punishment.
âIâll discuss it with your teacher,â said Shirley in her most businesslike tone. âShe will make an announcement at the start of the lesson. Dismiss.â
No-one moved.
âDismiss!â
They ran for the door.