One Friday morning Mr. Willow, the maths teacher at Scrool Valley School, happened to be chatting to Arnold Thomson, the school`s head boy.
"You know, parents spend thousands of pounds a year to send you boys here," Mr. Willow was telling Thomson, "and some of them are wasting their money! Take that young Gimbert, for instance. He is the laziest little devil under the sun! Most boys know all their multiplication tables when they are nine or ten. He is twelve and dosn`t know his twelve times table. I told him to learn it for prep last night and this morning he can get as far as two twelves are twenty-four! He didn`t attempt to learn it!"
Arnold Thomson thought for a few seconds. "Perhaps I can help out here! I was supervising his class at prep last night. That would give me an excuse to question him about what he was doing when he was supposed to be learning his table. I could make sure he knows it by Monday morning sir!"
"Now! Now! Thomson!" said Mr. Willow, "You are responsible for their discipline, not their academic performances!"
"I know that sir! But if he was messing about when he should have been learning I could tell him that it reflects on me! Let me have a go, sir!"
"Well! I suppose it`s worth a try. Perhaps you will succeed where I`ve failed! But remember, Thomson, he`s lazy; not naughty! I expect him to be able to sit down tonight!"
"Tut! Tut! Sir! Whatever made you think of anything like that?" asked Thomson with a chuckle.
Robin Gimbert may have been lazy but one attribute he did have was his looks. Many would rate him as the handsomest boy in the school with his angelic face topped with a thick mop of naturally curly hair. He looked particularly smart in his school uniform, a perfectly fitting blazer and short navy blue trousers. He was, however, looking rather nervous on this particular Friday afternoon as he made his way to Thomson`s study. He could not think of anything he had done wrong, but prefects do not send for boys to join them for afternoon tea!
"Come in!" was the answer he got to his knock on the door.
"You sent for me Thomson?" he inquired timidly.
Yes Gimbert! Shut the door and come over here." said Thomson, who was sitting at his table, "It`s a simple little matter! I just want you to recite your twelve times table!"
Gimbert gave a noticeable start. "I-I-I-I don`t know it Thomson!" he admitted.
"No! So Mr. Willow tells me!" said Thomson "And he thinks that I was letting you mess about when you should have been doing your prep! This reflects on me dosn`t it Gimbert?"
"Er. no - I mean yes Thomson!"
"I don`t understand why you didn`t know it anyway. I knew all my tables when I was eight! Where have you been these last four years?"
"Er. I don`t know Thomson!" replied Gimbert, now fearful of what might be in store for him!
"Right! I promised Mr. Willow that you would know your twelve times table by Monday morning! And so you will, won`t you Gimbert?"
"Yes Thomson!" responded Gimbert, hoping that he might get away with just being sent off to learn it! But no such luck!
Thomson looked at his watch. "I have a few minutes to spare. Let`s see if we can learn some of it now, shall we? And just to make sure that you keep concentrating I will have you across my knee!"
Gimbert`s mouth went dry as he watched Thomson place the chair from the table in front of an armchair.
"Come here!" said the prefect as he sat on the chair.
Thomson lifted Gimbert across his knees so that the boy`s head and arms were resting on the seat of the armchair. He was well satisfied with the view at the other end as the short trousers stretched taut around the the boy`s trim little bottom outlining it`s shape perfectly!
"Right! We will take them three at a time. I will start you off and then you will keep repeating them over and over again until I tell you to stop. Twelve one`s are twelve, two twelve are twenty-four, three twelves are thirty-six. Off you go!" said Thomson, giving the boy three pats on his bottom and then leaving his hand there!
Gimbert repeated them about a dozen times before Thomson told him to stop.
"Now the next three," Thomson told him, "Four twelves are forty-eight, five twelves are sixty, six twelves are seventy-two."
Thomson lifted his hand from the boy`s bottom, gave three more pats and then replaced it!
"Go on!"
Gimbert repeated the next three several times until Thomson stopped him.
"Okay Gimbert! Now let`s hear the first six!" ordered Thomson, giving the boy the customary three pats to start him off!
Gimbert got as far as five twelves and stopped! Thomson`s hand started to slide slowly up and down the boy`s bottom!
"Five twelves?" prompted the prefect.
It certainly was not helping Gilbert by feeling Thomson`s hand running up and down his backside! Thomson realised this but had no intention of removing it. His right hand was enjoying itself too much! There was what seemed like a long pause then Thomson did what he had been longing to do. He lifted his hand and brought it down firmly on those tempting little cheeks!
SLAP! "Five twelves are sixty, arn`t they Gimbert?"
"Yes Thomson!"
Gimbert was to get several more slaps over the next few minutes. Thomson was not hitting him anywhere near as hard as he could; just enough to cause an uncomfortable sting! Suddenly the boy`s body stiffened all over. Thomson could detect it through his own legs and through his left arm which was around Gilbert`s waist. At the same time his right hand felt the buttocks clench themselves tightly together. Thomson knew exactly what that meant! Gimbert was desperately trying to prevent himself from passing wind! The prefect could not resist the temptation! The palm of his right hand was resting on the boy`s left bum-cheek, and he gave the cheek an almost imperceptible little pull! It was enough to do the trick! gilbert could not stop himself from letting it go, complete with accompanying sound track!
Thomson was smiling broadly! Gimbert had an altogether different expression. He looked terrified!
"You dirty little hound, Gimbert! You`re farting!"
"I-I-I`m sorry Thomson! I couldn`t help it! I tried not to! Honestly!"
"Okay! Okay boy!" said Thomson, trying to sound benevolent, "I don`t want any accidents in my study! I`ll tell you what I`m going to do. I am going to give you until tomorrow to learn your twelve times table. You will come back here at four o`clock tomorrow afternoon. It will be Saturday; you will have plenty of free time to learn it. Have you got that?"
"Yes Thomson!"
"Just make sure you do learn it properly, because tomorrow you will be reciting your twelve times table across my knee - just like you are now, except that tomorrow your trousers and your briefs will be around your ankles! And if there`s any mistakes," and here Thomson gave him a gentle but firm slap, "you know what you are going to get, don`t you?"
"Yes Thomson!" whimpered Gimbert.
Thomson let him go, feeling very satisfied wit his afternoon`s work! Saturday arrived. Thomson was looking forward to Gimbert`s visit. Gimbert was not quite so enthusiastic! Promptly at four o`clock Gimbert appeared.
"I`ve learnt it properly Thomson!" said the boy, just hoping that Thomson might relent and let him recite the table while he stood there. Some hope! Thomson had no intention of missing the second episode! He had even got the chair ready in front of the armchair!
"Glad to hear it! Now take your blazer off and put it on the table."
Thomson sat on the chair while Gimbert removed his blazer.
"Come here!" The boy obeyed and stood beside the prefect. "Put your hands behind your head while I take your trousers down!"
Gimbert had no choice but to submit to this humiliating procedure. Thomson took his time, slowly pulling down the zip, then undoing the belt and finally unhitching the clip. He gave a downward tug on the trousers. The boy reacted instinctively by squeezing his legs together to prevent them falling. Thomson looked up at him.
"I`m trying to take your trousers down, Gimbert! Stop squeezing your legs together!" ordered Thomson.
The boy relaxed his legs and the trousers fell to the ground. The reaction was just the same when Thomson started to pull down the briefs. Again the prefect looked him in the face.
"You really are asking for it, arn`t you Gimbert?"
"Sorry Thomson!" he responded as he again relaxed his legs.
Thomson put him across his knees and slowly pulled back the shirt tail, making sure that it glided over the skin so that Gimbert could feel the last cover of that very private part of his body being removed! It was a little beauty! If ever Thomson had felt tempted to let rip at a pert little bottom it was now! He placed his hand across the bottom as he had the day before!
"Are you ready Gimbert? Let`s have your twelve times table!"
As expected, Gimbert recited it perfectly. But if he thought that he was going to be allowed to get up straight away he was to be disappointed! Thomson had rehearsed a little lecture which was to last about five minutes during which Gimbert had to endure having his bare bottom patted and caressed as he desperately sought to say "yes" and "no" in the right places!
"You`ve got one of the most spankable bums in the school!" Thomson told him, "so don`t do anything to tempt me in future, will you?"
"No Thomson!"
"Up you come!" Thomson started to lift him up and then dropped the boy back over his knees again! "Oh! Just one more thing! Do you use the bidet after you`ve been on the toilet?"
"Yes Thomson!" Gimbert had made sure that he was clean all over before making this visit!
"I just thought that while you have got your trousers down it would be a good opportunity to check! I`ll have a quick look!"
Ostrich like, Gimbert shut his eyes as he felt his bum-cheeks being prised apart!
"Yes! That looks nice and clean! Good boy, Gimbert!"
Finally Thomson lifted him up. Gimbert stood there with his trousers and briefs still around his ankles, not daring to pull them up until ordered to do so!
"All right! You can get dressed now!"
Up to this point Gimbert`s face had been drained of all colour during both his visits to the prefects study, but now, with his ordeal over, the full humiliation and embarrassment struck him! His face suddenly resembled an overgrown tomato!
Thomson let the boy go. His only regret was that he had not had any excuse to smack that delicious bare bottom! But never mind! He would make it up at five o`clock! That was the time when Wilson was due to report to him!
Poor Wilson!!!