Christopher was awake, lying in the midst of all the crisp packets and the pizza box with all the uneaten crusts was on the floor, he was on his couch at home, what a nightmare he had experienced. He shook his head regretting the ânatural highâ that he had taken earlier. It was in that moment of elation that he realised his wolf-like fleecy onesie was wet, the couch was soaked as was the rug that he had snuggled up with. He had been so far out that he had lost control of his bladder.
His mother was in the kitchen reading a letter. âChristopher, I have had a letter from your new school, they want us to visit tomorrow.â
âIâm not going âŠ.â started Christopher, then realised he did not want to upset his mother when he was in such a tricky and embarrassing situation âto be any trouble Mum, just let me know what time we have to go and I will be ready.â He picked up the rug, turned the cushion over and made a dash for his room. âI better have a bath tonight if we are going outâ he shouted from the stairs.
He dashed in to the bathroom and hung his onesie over the tall towel rail to dry, he draped the rug at the other end and hoped all would dry in time.
Downstairs his mother was clearing up his mess and as she plumped up the cushions and put things straight she notice that one of them was definitely damp. As she pulled it off the sofa she saw that the underside was soaked. Her experienced nose told her it was urine, but she decided to clean things up and not say a word. Revenge was coming and it would be in the form of a nappy. She could wait.
The next day Christopher was remarkably compliant, he had thrown his rug and onesie under the bed, and although dry they smelt like a urinal. The journey was not chatty but there were no confrontations.
Miss Primm welcomed them into her office. She talked about the academic excellence of her establishment, how well they had performed as a crammer for students that had not made the grade in their âOâ levels and had gone on to success. Christopher looked bored.
They discussed how Christopher had been thrown out from his last school for breaking every rule under the sun â smoking, drinking, bullying, drug abuse, and driving without a license. He listened to all of this with a scowl on his face and his mother sensed that it would not be too long until there was an outburst. Just when things were coming to a head there was a knock on the door.
âCome inâ said Mrs Primm in a sing-song voice âAh Rowena dear, please come inâ. A tall girl dressed in a short gymslip and white blouse came in who could have been a star in the film St Trinians. She was beautiful and had a figure that most boys could not keep their eyes off. Her young breasts seemed to be fighting to escape from her blouse. She had the face of Venus and a figure to match. Her long dark hair flowed down her back and almost reached her waist. Christopher sat with eyes wide open and a silly grin. âThis is my head girl Rowenaâ, explained Miss Primm and she will take Christopher around the school and show him where everything is.
âHello Mrs Greenburg, Hello Christopherâ she purred, her eyes looking deeply into his, âare you coming Chris?â The innuendo was not wasted on Christopher who was already quite aroused. In his haste to get up and follow her like a young puppy, he nearly fell over his motherâs briefcase, kicked Miss Primmâs waste paper basket and almost dropped his cup and saucer which he crashed down on her desk. They left the room.
âIt is amazing the effect that girl has on boys, it was exactly for that reason that her parents thought it safer for her to come to a more restrained environment. Sadly Christopher would not last five minutes with Rowena, she has very expensive tastes, has an IQ that would stagger you and is amazingly brightâ.
Rowena took Christopher around the school showing him the tutorial rooms, the girlsâ dormitories, the refectory, the gym and the games room. He asked about the highchairs in the refectory and was told that physical punishment was not used in the school, but humiliation was a large feature.
âWould you like a smoke?â asked Christopher âis there a place we can go?â
âWhat? You mean like round the back of the bicycle shed?â she laughed âno there is nowhere to smoke Chrissie, only a fool would kill his body with poisons.â
âSo if I got caught, what would my punishment be?â he enquired
âThe punishment is usually made to fit the crime, so for suc-king on a cigarette I suppose the punishment would be to suc-k on a dummy or a babyâs feeding bottle. It is quite an infantile thing to do, so the punishment would be equally infantile.â
âAnd what if I refused?â
âHa ha!â she laughed âhave you not seen how infants can be restrained and kept in their place, trust me you do not want to fight here because you will never win.â They arrived at a door marked Supply Store and Rowena knocked. The door was opened by a rather chubby round-faced lady who beamed at them.
âCome in, come inâ she gushed full of welcome âyou must be young Chrissie the newbyâ. She bustled them along to a counter, behind which were packets and bundles of all shapes and sizes. âNow let me seeâ she said referring to her long list. You need two dozen of these, two towels large, two towels small, rubber sheet, soap carbolic, four pairs of these, powder, sleepers two, name tags one reel of, sewing kitâŠ..
Christopher looked on in amazement as the pile grew larger and larger. âA lot of this stuff looks very babyishâ he said, but before he could answer a middle aged lady dressed in a sisterâs uniform came in to the room. Like dĂ©jĂ vu, Christopher immediately exclaimed âNanny Mary!â
âSorry?â the woman said in surprise
âYou are Nanny Mary!â I dreamt about you last night
âDear boy, I am Sister and Matronâs Assistant, nanny indeed! I have been called a lot of things in my time, but nanny, really!â she blustered on laughing âis that what you need young Chrissie?â
âMy name is Christopher, not Chrissieâ he retorted a little embarrassed.
â⊠and mine is Elizabeth, so it was not me you dreamed about baby boy! Come on let us get these things to your roomâ
The four of them carried the packages and parcels to his new room on the âspecial corridorâ. The room did not have a bed but a sturdy pink cot with metal bars. At the end of the bed were two buckets with lids. A flat padded vinyl table lay along one of the walls.
âI am not staying hereâ exclaimed Christopher âthis is for a babyâ.
âLook smartie, you are a boy, you are the only boy in a girlsâ school. You cannot run around at night nor can you go to the girlâs toilets when all they will be wearing are delicate nightwear and very little else. So tonight you will have to wear some protection just in case. In the morning you can go downstairs to the visitorâs toilet when you have dressed and do what you have to do. So this is just a precaution, you do not think we expected you to use these nappies did you? Ha ha! You did, didnât you? That is so funny!â laughed the Sister
âThen why are there two dozen of them?â asked Christopher âand why are there four pairs of plastic pants?â
âYou have to wear the plastic pants just in case you do not last the nightâ explained Sister âbut a big lad like you will not need to worryâ.
âThey come in those pack sizesâ said the lady from the stores âand we do not split packs down in to smaller lotsâ.
âWell donât you have a pot or something you could put in my room?â whined Christopher
âSorry dear, but we are out of stock on those itemsâ explained the stockroom lady patiently.
âEmilia, stop pandering to the boyâ she told the stockroom lady ârules are rules and that is an end to it and I will hear no more on the subjectâ she concluded firmly.
Christopher picked up a bundle of leather straps that jingled as he held them, âso what are these?â he asked petulantly
âThose are your night harness to make sure you stay put during the nightâ explained Sister âwe donât like to lock the door in case there is a fire or an emergency during the night. The fire marshals will come and release you in the event that such a crisis should arise.â
âLook donât worry Chrissieâ said Rowena putting her arm around his shoulders âit might seem a bit strange, but what would all the girlsâ parents think if they knew there was a stud like you running around loose at night? It would mean ruin for the school, imagine the scandal. This way there is no chance of any misdemeanours and everybody can stay happyâ. The warmth and perfume of Rowena who towered over him made him feel faint, being a little on the short side his head rested against her soft breast and he felt himself softening under her kind protection.
âRight enough of this young man. Rowena take Chrissie to the refectory and get him some lunchâ ordered Sister
Christopher looked back at his new room, the nappies were stacked in a tall pile on his dresser, the plastic pants were out of their packets and resting on top. Baby powder and creams were on the shelf along with a packet of large nappy pins with pink safety covers. He noticed with some concern three packets of large pink dummies and what looked like terry towelling bibs with pink gingham ties trailing over the edge of another shelf. As he turned to leave an awful feeling swept over him like a black cloud, he could not think why. In a moment he was hit by a bolt of lightning as he suddenly realised why he had this dreadful fear, an awful premonition.
His nightmare was beginning to come true.