Room 2D

Story by R.T. Mason from Janus 41 Jill Fairfield gazed up at the tree with its pale green leaves shimmering in the sun. Seeing only the leaves and branches she could almost be back in England. Except it wasn’t an English tree but a Spanish one. Suddenly the foliage was blocked out by the face of Carmen leaning over her. A darkly pretty Spanish face. With black eyes flashing in amusement she repeated in her very good English what she had just said. ‘It is true, Jill. Of course we get caned at school.’ She laughed. ‘Also I can tell you that  you  will get it too when you come to my school. That is for sure. Because our Señor Guerrero makes sure he canes all the big girls and certainly he will not want to miss out with this beautiful English visitor.’ Jill produced a nervous smile. Quite possibly Carmen was joking. It was a bright sunny May morning and they were in the garden of Carmen Ortega’s house in a small town in southe

A story from Janus 32 by R.T. Mason & The Editor, illustrated by Paula Meadows 10.30 was zero hour. That was when they always started. 10.30 as you lay in your bed in the darkened dorm, half an hour after Lights Out, and everyone on edge, on tenterhooks, even Lisa Howard who could put on an air of bravado about the whole thing. Everyone wondering if the dorm door was going to abruptly open. For your name to be called out. Not every night of the week of course. The other nights you could be reasonably relaxed, getting off to sleep or having a quiet conversation with the girl in the next bed or just lying still thinking your private thoughts, But on Mondays and Wednesdays and Fridays you wouldn’t be doing any of those things, not from 10.30 till about 11.30. Then you were wide awake with every nerve alert. Tonight was a Monday — the second Monday of term in fact — and so everyone was taut and still… and listening. Because in D