The Dragon’s Lair

Story by Pauline Wright from Janus 30

Oh, how I hate this corridor! It seems to go on for ever, and as in all the best horror movies, there is something very nasty at the end.

Well I am at the end now, and there is the big oak door behind which the nasty thing lurks. In this case the door gives its secret away. The single word ‘HEADMISTRESS’ is engraved on the door in hard, brass letters. Suddenly I want to run as far away as possible, but my legs will not co-operate.

Why does the Dragon want to see me?

Has she found out about my cheating in that French exam, last term? Surely not! It’s too long ago.

It can’t be that fight with Carole, I got the slipper from Miss Wilson for that. Gosh! It certainly stung, too!

I can’t really think that I have been especially naughty recently — well, no more than is usual for me. Her note gave no clues, either. Miss Moore just read it and said:

‘Pauline! the Headmistress wishes to see you in her study! Straight away.’

No hint of what for in her voice, perhaps she doesn’t know, either. If only she had said, ‘The Headmistress wishes to see you in her study to give you a good thrashing,’ then at least I would have known what to expect, and could prepare myself.

What really annoyed me was the way that all the other girls in the room automatically assumed I was in trouble. All my friends giving me helpful advice like, ‘Want to borrow another pair of knickers?’, ‘What have you done wrong this time?’ and ‘I hear she’s got a new cane, it hurts like hell.’ Huh! For all they know she might be going to congratulate me for some outstanding piece of work. Mind you, the last time I did a piece of outstanding work I got caned on both hands and was made to do it again. No imagination, some of these teachers!

Oh Lord! I don’t want to knock.

Bang bang!

Silence

Oh dear! What a shame! Nobody in! just have to go away and come back at some other time. Cheerio!

‘Come in.’

Oh God! Why couldn’t she be out terrorising some poor little juniors, or something? The big door swings open, effortlessly.

Two steps and I am inside. The Dragon’s Lair.

There should be a notice on the door that says ‘Beware of the Dragon’ or perhaps, ‘Abandon hope all ye who enter here’.

The door slams shut, noisily, behind me.

Trapped!

My knees have turned to jelly, and are threatening to give up their main purpose in life, that of holding me up.

The nameplate on her desk claims that she is Mrs Stevens, but we know better. She looks me up and down, trying to find something wrong.

Oh God! I’m going to be sick!

A faint smile crosses her lips. It must be a full moon, or her birthday!

‘Stand up straight, girl!’ she snaps. I don’t think that she is about to make me Head Girl.

She stands up and crosses the room towards the window and looks out.

That’s alright, just ignore me…….see if I care!

‘Come here, girl!’ she orders.

Again I obey.

It’s not that she scares me, don’t get me wrong, terrifies might be a better word to describe it. ‘What can you see out of the window? she asks.

She’s thrown a wobbly! It’s finally happened, she’s cracked up completely! Any second now the men in white coats will come for her.

In the meantime I suppose that I had better humour the Dragon, well you don’t know what she might do, do you?

‘Trees, ma’am,’ I reply, quickly adding, ‘Owwwh!’ As her right hand makes violent contact with my bottom.

‘Try again, girl,’ she says. Generous to the last.

‘The playground, ma’am,’ I venture, with the same success as the first time.

‘Owwwh!’ This time I get two hard smacks. The Dragon really has got a very hard hand indeed!

‘Shall we try again?’ she asks.

Oh God! Alright, alright, you win.

‘The dustbins, ma’am,’ I reply.

‘Good.’ She really seems impressed with that answer. ‘Now, what else can you tell me about them, girl?’

‘I was smoking beside them at break time,’ I confess. What else can I say, even though my face and hands break out in a cold sweat to be telling her this?

‘Excellent!’ She seems very pleased, I’ve not seen her so pleased since the mass caning she gave out last term.

‘And you saw me from this window, ma’am,’ I say to fill in the uncomfortable space.

‘Brilliant!’ The Dragon is really very pleased now.

Oh Lord! I have just remembered what happens to girls that are caught smoking! My knickers are starting to itch!

‘There were two other girls with you. Who were they?’

She expects me to betray my friends! Never! Wild horses wouldn’t drag their names from my lips. Do your own dirty work!

‘If you do not give their names, girl, then it will mean extra strokes!’

‘Ruth Dors, and Jennifer Ayriss, ma’am,’ I answer. It was that magic little phrase she had used. Wild horses would not drag their names from me, but the threat of extra strokes had!

The Dragon writes their names down, on her blotter. Now she’s got the Punishment Book out.

Oh Lord!

How many strokes am I going to get?

She masks the entry from my eyes, it all adds to the suspense.

Then she slams the book shut, and stares at me for a couple of seconds.

Trying to frighten me, eh? Well you’re succeeding! Oh I do wish my knickers would stop itching!

Oh no! She’s going to that cupboard Gosh! Look at all those canes!

Lord! That one looks horrid and stingy! That’s it; bend it into an arc a couple of times, just to show me how flexible it is! Now give it a couple of swishes! Help! I’m going to be sick! It’s that bloody new cane of hers, Wendy got it two days ago and the marks…

‘Remove your jacket,’ she tells me. I obey, to avoid an argument, you understand.

Don’t suppose it would do any good to tell her that I do not believe in corporal punishment, do you?

‘Bend over — you’ve done it enough times, girl.’

Alright, alright, don’t rub it in! So I’ve been caned a couple of times, by you, well quite a lot of times actually.

What a lousy carpet pattern!

Here she comes. Skirt and slip up, with a flick of the wrist. Now brace myself.

‘OW!’

Knickers and tights down, in one go! Gosh, it’s chilly with your knickers down. This is the bit that I hate most of all. Stella claimed that the Dragon touched her up the other week, before giving her her tanning.

It is amazing just how vulnerable you feel, just because you have had your knickers taken down.

Well at least I did not get touched up. Perhaps she didn’t fancy me, or perhaps more to the point, it was just wishful thinking by Stella.

Oh God! Here we go. I can see those bloody awful sensible shoes that she wears.

Whack!

CHRIST! That bloody hurt! Jesus! It bloody did!!!

WHACK!

Bloody hell!! That nearly cut me in half.

WHACK!

‘ARRRRRRGH!!!’ This new bloody cane of hers is utter hell!!

WHACK!

I can’t see the carpet for my tears. My hair is all in my eyes! For GOD’S SAKE get her to stop!!

WHACK!

I’m going to die! It’s never, ever, been this bad before!!

WHACK!

Oh God! Oh God! I’ll never, ever misbehave again, honest I won’t!!

My God! She’s stopped!! The pain is unbelievable. I would never have believed that I could endure such pain!

‘Stand up, girl!’ she orders.

I try to stand; there is a stabbing pain in my back. Now then girl, easy does it, that’s better.

‘Pull your knickers and tights up,’ she tells me.

Don’t know why I should, really, after all she was the one that took them down in the first place.

Oh Lord! What a struggle! Every movement brings a fresh burst of furious, stinging pain.

Owwh!

Oooh!

God, my bum is so sore!! Owwh!I do wish that my knickers weren’t so bloody rough!

Now for my tights. Gosh! That’s better. A quick wipe of the eyes with my hanky, and now where’s my jacket? Ah yes.

Owwwwh!!

It even hurts to walk!

‘You can go, girl.’

Again, easy does it. Let’s try taking small steps. Ah yes, that’s much better. Right, let’s get out of the Dragon’s Lair.

Thank God that’s over!

Right, now it’s off to the loo for a good cry. There is nothing like a good cry to make you feel better, is there girls?

Good, nobody around, so in I go. Sometimes you can come in here and hear three or four girls having a cry. Right, that’s better, I’m all alone. Now let’s have a good cry, excuse me for a few moments …

… sniff, that’s a lot better. Sniff. I suppose I had better examine the damage.

Easy does it. Seems rather pointless pulling them back up, a few minutes ago. Gosh! Look at those marks, no wonder it hurt so much. I can feel the heat with my hands, mind you the pain is a lot better now, a strange sort of glow.

It’s rather as if the Dragon had breathed all over my bum, and left it glowing. Mmmmmmmm, it’s rather nice, you know. Yes it’s really rather pleasant……