The Making of a Slave - 6. Humility in a Lesson

I got out of bed, showered, ate breakfast and waited for him. He arrived, as promised, within the hour. I opened the front door and let him in and, with neither of us saying anything, we walked into my room. He sat on my desk chair.

“Are you OK?” He asked, as I closed the door and sat on my bed.

“I’ve been better,” I abruptly replied.

“Yea, me too,” he added.

Raising my voice I exclaimed “You too!?! Really!?!”

He replied, "I didn’t mean it like it was just as bad for me as it was for you. You just don't seem to realize the position you put me in!"

“The position I put YOU in!?,” I replied incredulously. “I had my head stuck in a park toilet full of piss thanks to you!”

“Thanks to ME!?!”, he screamed back in a questioning tone.

“Yes!, I interrupted. “I’ve been sitting here by myself thinking about this for days and you never even called or texted!”

Zack interjected, “Did you ever think maybe it’s thanks to YOU!? Did you ever think why this stuff keeps happening to YOU, Andrew!? Do you ever think that the things you say and do have an effect on what happens to YOU!?”

I stewed for a few seconds but didn’t say anything.

Zack continued, “At the baseball field after you left EVERYONE was aggravated with you. You showed up late and then left - even knowing that we wouldn’t have even sides for another game.”

“Yea, so?” I asked in a defiant way.

Zack exhaled in an exasperated tone and said, “See, that’s the whole point. You just don’t get it. You don’t think about how your actions affect other people. You act like some spoiled rich kid. This wasn’t only about last week, it’s everytime you play. Like the one time you filled the pockets of Eddy’s jacket with dirt. He didn’t notice it and when his mom went to do the wash he got in trouble. Herman said that another time you purposely dropped his glove in a puddle and by the time he noticed it was soaked. He got grounded for not taking care of his equipment. You seem to keep finding new ways to piss kids off.”

“I was just fooling around! I interjected. “Stuff like that happens all the time. Besides, they weren’t even your friends, I got you invited to play!”

“You pushed it too far, and yea, I know,” he replied, “I almost wish you hadn’t invited me so I wouldn’t be in the middle of this!”

He continued, “after the game they all sat on the stands and started talking about you. I was going to leave but I realized they were plotting to do something to you so I stayed.”

I started to take in a bit more of what he was saying and not totally point the finger at him. “So what happened?” I said.

Zack replied, “They were really pissed off at you. Especially Ian - when you kicked the ball away from him he wanted to kick your ass. They all started talking about stuff you said and pulled and it wasn’t only about stuff that day. One kid said you wouldn’t let someone else use your glove and that you cracked someone's bat by banging it on the fence. They kept telling stories and then the conversation changed to how best to get you back. They wanted something to punish you and started talking about different options.”

“What options?” I asked.

Zack replied, “Well, at first they started talking about beating the living shit out of you and like where they’d do it. Ian wanted to do it that day and he wanted that to be just a start.”

“What did you say to that?” I asked.

“I mostly just listened, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to talk them out of doing something so I was careful and picked my spots.”

Zack continued, “The more they talked, the more they agreed a beating wouldn't be enough and they wanted something more humiliating, something that would last. Ian came up with the idea of peeing on you and Finn and Kevin both liked it. They started talking about ways they could do it. One way was they were going to hold you upside down by your feet by the slide. The problem with that was that there would be too many people by the slides plus no one wanted to volunteer to hold you because they were afraid of getting pee on them.”

“Getting pee getting on THEM, ” I replied wryly.

Zach smiled softly and said, “Yea, well the point was only to get it on you. Anyway, the next idea was to get you in the pool holding you on the ground and taking turns sitting across your chest and peeing on you through their bathing suits.”

I listened intently and Zack continued, “They actually liked that idea and were going to go with it but finding a spot to do it was tricky so they kept talking of other options. Herman suggested stripping you and carrying you out of the changing room and throwing you in the pool naked. Eddy suggested giving you a swirly. They wanted to find something where they could do it without getting caught or in trouble. They started to go back to peeing on you through their bathing suits. Ian didn’t want to get pee on his bathing suit and Finn and Kevin didn’t want to go second or third since they’d have to sit in Ian’s pee already on you.”

I scoffed, “Boy, they’re REALLY worried about getting pee on themselves.”

“I know, right,” said Zack.

“So what happened next?” I asked.

“They started to talk more about the swirly and how it’s quick and easy, and then it all came together when Kevin suggested peeing in the toilet before putting your head in. Everyone instantly LOVED that idea.”

“Did you say anything?” I asked.

“Nope, me and a few others were just listening,” he replied.

“So what happened next?” I asked.

They started coming up with a plan to give you a beating and then give you the piss swirly. They talked about when - they wanted it soon. One idea was to wait until the next baseball Tuesday but that was too far away. They started talking about setting up another baseball day this week. That’s the first time I said anything.”

“What did you say?” I asked.

“I said it would take too long to both beat you up and then give you a swirly,” he replied, “and they all pretty much agreed with that. Then I figured if I could get them to do it in the boys changing room at the pool - there’s always an attendant there and he would be able to stop whatever they were going to try to do. So I suggested they do it in the changing room and they all liked that idea.”

Zack continued, “but what I didn’t know was that Ian’s brother is the attendant for the morning shift. Ian thought it was great because his brother would cover for them.”

Zack threw up his hands and moved his head back as he described it and said, “So in my head, I was like FUCK! Anyway, they decided that putting your head in a toilet filled with pee would be better than a beating and started plotting how to do it.”

“The masterminds were Ian, Finn, Kevin, Eddy, Greg and Herman, “ continued Zack as he put out one finger for each name he spoke. “They split the jobs into peeing and grabbing. Ian, Finn and Kevin were in charge of peeing into the toilet and Eddy, Greg and Herman were responsible for grabbing you and putting your head in. Then they turned to me.”

“What did they say?” I asked.

Zack replied, “First thing they said is they know me and you are friends and not to tell you or anyone else about it. Then they said that they agreed to not beat you up but if I say anything the beating will go back into the plan and they’ll include me.”

“What did you say to that?” I asked.

“I just told them to relax,” he replied. “Then they added, AND, you’re going to get him there.”

I looked at him and let him continue.

“I tried making excuses,” he continued, but they weren’t buying it. Ian said I had until the end of the week to get you there but really wanted it done the next day. I had to let them know the night before if it was on for the next day. They wanted it to be in the morning while Ian’s older brother was the attendant. They also wanted to maximize the amount of pee that would go in the toilet so they planned to not pee when they woke up and hold it until they got to the pool.“

“Oh, OK so that’s why you texted me that afternoon?” I asked.

“Yea, after you said yes, I let them know it was on and we went over to the pool to scope it all out and then go swimming. While there, I tried to individually talk them out of peeing in the toilet. There was no talking Ian out of it but I definitely convinced Kevin. I had Finn too but I think he later talked to Ian and got back to doing it.”

“Oh, thanks for trying,” I said. Listening to Zack explain things made me feel a lot better.

Zack continued, “The last thing Ian said to me was not to fuck it up and reminded me of what would happen if I did. The next day when you were late I got scared. That’s why I called Ian. The first thing he said when answering my call was ”you better not cancel.”

“So that wasn’t your mother,” I said matter-of-factly. “That did seem a bit odd.”

“Yea, I thought better not to answer when you asked,” Zack replied.

“So what happened afterwards?” I asked. “Did they say anything to you?”

“We talked for a little bit right after and then I hung out with them for a while and went swimming,” he replied.

“What did they say?”

“They thanked me for getting you there. Eddy and Ian were especially excited and really grateful. Kevin told everyone that he couldn’t hold his pee in any longer and did it before we got there. Other than that, they were all glad they did it, thought you deserved it and it was a long time coming for you.”

“Do you think I deserved it?”

“I don’t know, kinda,” he replied. “You definitely deserved something but I think what they did was over the top. Remember, they wanted to do even more so they definitely thought you deserved at least that. I think it was something that was brewing for a while. You had been pissing them off for a while and it all came to a head that day.”

“Did you talk to anyone else?” I asked. “What did everyone think?”

“I think most people thought it was funny. Some others thought you had it coming. Almost everyone thought it was gross - gross for you not for them.”

“What did you think?”

“Well, I felt bad for you and that I couldn’t do more to stop it, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn't all of those things, funny, gross and exciting to watch. Like just seeing the way your head went into the toilet like that - yuck. It was a public toilet, I can’t even imagine how gross.”

“Yea, it was gross,” I replied, “but the worst part is the embarrassment for me.”

“Yea, I know,” replied Zack. “I’m really sorry you had to go through it. It will get better, people will forget about it.” He got up off the desk chair.

I paused and got up off the bed and said, “hey, I’m really glad you talked to me. I was so angry at you.” He took a step towards me and I to him and he put his arms around me. I did the same and we hugged. I said, “I’m glad you were there so at least I had one person on my side.” I squeezed the hug grip tighter and he did the same. I wanted it to last longer but he tapped his hands twice on my back and we let go of each other.

“Are we OK?” He asked.

“Yea, we’re good,” I said feeling relieved.

I invited him to go swimming in my pool and he stayed - putting on one of my bathing suits. After he left, I spent some time thinking about the whole affair. It was good to have answers to my questions and I now felt bad that he was put in that position because of my behavior. Mostly I was so happy that I did not lose a friend. In a strange way this made me feel closer to him.

I thought about how he’s seen me picked on in school, embarrassed by my brother's friends and humiliated by my friends, yet he still hangs out with me. I started to feel a strong sense of respect for him and an attraction that I couldn’t fully understand. It was like my humiliation in front of him was easier to accept and something he looked past.

We got together everyday for the last few days of the summer but did not go back to the park or pool. He did not bring up the swirly during the last few summer days.

The first week of school was tough, especially day one. It was the first time I’d seen anyone who was involved in or witnessed the swirly since it happened and I had to endure comments and questions. The news spread to people that weren’t there and didn't know about it and that led to more comments and questions. It took on a real buzz.

The most vocal was Ian. He was very proud of his role in the swirly and his accomplishment. He was walking with Greg, the first time we passed in the hall and he said out loud, “How did you like my piss? You know I saved it up for you all night.”

“Yea, a special brew just for you,” added Greg as they passed.

Lunch was the most trying part of the day. Not only did I have to explain to the people I ate lunch with but there was a parade of people stopping by and saying stuff. As soon as I sat down, Theo asked, “What happened to you at the pool?”

As I was about to describe the incident, Kevin and Herman walked by our table. “We gave him a piss swirly,” exclaimed Herman.

“You got lucky I didn't have to pee when I got there, maybe I’ll save you some for next time,” said Kevin.

As they left, Robby asked, “Did you know they were gonna do that to you?”

“No,” I replied, “I had no clue. Up until they actually put me in, I wasn’t sure what was happening.”

Just then Michael walked by. We were friendly in school and he was someone that witnessed it. He had a lot of opinions. “They should have kept your head in there longer before flushing,” he called out while grinning. “You could see the pee splash on your face but it would have been better if they peed on you while your head was in there.”

I got a few more comments but managed to finish eating. After lunch I ran into Finn. He was a lot nicer and a bit more remorseful about the whole thing than anyone else. We sat next to each other in one of our classes and before it started he asked, “When your head was in there, did any pee get in your mouth?”

“Not really,” I replied, I had my mouth closed but it definitely got on my lips and some in my nose so there was a nasty smell and faint taste.”

“That’s good that you didn’t swallow any, I mean it’s still gross but better. Are you OK? I think maybe we went a little too far.”

“It’s OK, I’ll get over it,” I replied. Thanks for saying that.” I really appreciated the fact that he was nice about it. After talking to Zack, I realized that I deserved it but it was good to hear from someone else who thought maybe it could have been less severe. I remembered Zack saying how he thought he had talked Finn out of peeing so maybe that added to why he felt a bit bad about it.

Each day got better for me and I heard less questions or comments and after a week it was just the rare comment here and there. It eventually faded away. In addition, I started waking up dry on a more regular basis. I was still wet more days than dry but felt I was really making progress.