Jarek - 2. The Principal

The following morning at school Zeno kept to himself, not difficult when the other kids of his year were obviously avoiding him. At lunchtime he followed George’s cryptic signals to the back of an old shed where three other satisfiers of Ms Nimffo’s lusts were nervously waiting. An amusing recount of his own carnal misadventure, had the neurotic victims laughing and agreeing that instead of seeing themselves as victims they should be proud at having been chosen, because it meant they were pleasant, clean, decent young men. She was the nasty one for abusing their good nature.

They agreed she had to be reported before she ruined some young guy’s life, however they couldn’t do it because they were stuck in the town and would never be able to live down the shame of having been fiddled with by that hag. It was up to Zeno to inform the Principal because he would be leaving at the end of term.

To their relief he just shrugged and laughed. ‘No worries gentlemen, Zeno the righter of wrongs will dob the bitch in.’

However, far from being prompted by unselfishness, his motives were purely selfish. The previous evening his parents had once again refused point blank to allow him to return to his grandmother’s for his last year of high school. ‘That rebellious old biddy’s nefarious influence on you is bad enough during holidays,’ his mother had stated bluntly. ‘And as for her over-sexed young farmer friend! The further you live from that reprobate Sebastian, the better we like it.’

Zeno sighed and smiled at the retreating backs of his fellow rape-recipients, or rapees as he’d begun to think of himself. He’d decided to get himself expelled. That would show his parents who was boss!

He knocked on the Principal’s door.

‘Come in!’ The voice impatient.

Mr. Noble’s day had been profoundly frustrating and he was not in the mood for complaining kids. ‘Stand there,’ he said firmly, pointing at a spot in front of his desk without looking up from his writing.

Zeno smiled to himself; the worse mood the old guy was in the better. During the next five minutes he counted the few remaining hairs on Mr. Noble’s bald scalp, noted his collar was beginning to fray at the neck, observed that his bony hands were hairy and he twitched his head every time he turned a page. The poor old bugger must be near retirement, Zeno reckoned. It should be easy to shock him and get kicked out.

Eventually, Mr. Noble looked up and frowned. ‘Yes?’ His voice was surprisingly pleasant—soft and deep. ‘I apologise for snapping at you when you came in. Zeno, isn’t it?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘You’ve impressed your teachers in the few months you’ve been here, well done. Now, what can I do for you.’

‘Thanks for seeing me, Sir. I want to report a rape.’

Mr Noble sat back and frowned. ‘That’s serious,’ he said softly as he stood and closed the door to the secretary’s office. Studying the student with obvious concern he invited Zeno to take one of the armchairs at the other end of the room, then joined him. ‘Are you able to give me details, or is it too embarrassing?’

‘Oh, I’m not embarrassed, Sir, just angry. I like to have a swim in the evenings in the river and…’ Leaving out all mention of Raylene and her gang, Zeno gave a frank and explicit account of his misadventure with Ms Nimffo.

The Principal sat still for at least a minute then looked Zeno in the eye. ‘How old are you?’

‘Just turned sixteen.’

‘You look at least two years older, so Ms Nimffo probably thought you were of legal age.’

‘That’s not worrying me, I’m perfectly old enough to have sex and this wasn’t my first time. I’m not traumatised or anything like that, so don’t worry on that score, it’s just that I was tricked into it and then threatened with expulsion and failure if I told anyone.’

‘Are you sure you did nothing to encourage Ms Nimffo?’

‘Absolutely not, Sir! I’ve never even spoken to the woman outside the classroom. I don’t find her attractive in any way—certainly not sexually! I had no idea she’d been spying on me at the river and couldn’t imagine it was her who stole my clothes!’

‘You said it wasn’t your first sexual experience.’

‘My girlfriend offered herself for my last birthday, but Sebastian warned me that if women let you screw them, from then on they think you owe them forever. He reckons that’s crazy because they like it as much as guys and we do all the work! So I played it safe and settled for a blowjob. I think she was pleased, really.’

‘Who’s Sebastian?’ the Principal asked hastily, determined not to show his embarrassment at his pupil’s frankness.

‘A friend of my grandmother.’

‘Do you miss your girlfriend?’

‘No way. Like Seb predicted, she immediately got clingy so I was pleased to come up here to get rid of her. But this place is worse!’

‘You don’t like it here?’

‘No! Because I don’t enjoy mixing with mean minded, racist, religious bigots. The local kids don’t like me; they think I’m stuck up and call me a poofter because I don’t want to be like them.’

‘Does that worry you?’

‘Not especially.’

‘That’s good. Now… let’s recapitulate. The teacher tricked you into going to her house, then while naked in the shower she pretended to fall, then enticed you to have intercourse with her. She’s a small woman and you are a tall, fit and strong young man. You could have left at any time. Is that correct?’

‘Yes, Sir, but she didn’t entice me; she made it seem it was my duty. She’s a teacher and I’ve been programmed to obey them.’

‘I see. Did you enjoy it?’

‘It was disgusting!’

‘Yet you managed to gain an erection and maintain it for many minutes.’

‘Sir, I get erections all the time. I have to jerk off at least five times a day to relieve the pressure. Wasn’t it like that for you?’

Mr. Noble had difficulty concealing his sadness. This young man was everything he admired; everything he would love to have been. Open, honest, easy, self-confident but not bumptious. Tall, strong and handsome. Clean-cut. Desirable to women. The Principal wasn’t jealous, there was nothing mean in his character, but he was unable to conceal the despondency in his voice. ‘I wasn’t so fortunate.’

‘I guess it was the novelty of being lusted after by a teacher, and then I kept it up by watching myself in the mirror beside her bed.’ Zeno’s laugh was infectious. ‘I got so bored I lost concentration and slipped out. That made her really mad and she yelled to shove it back in harder. You wouldn’t believe how noisy she is when she comes. Screaming and shouting.’

The Principal turned away to hide a smile that threatened to become a roar of laughter. Never in his entire teaching career had a student been so disarmingly and hilariously honest. He knew he shouldn’t laugh; they were talking about a member of his staff! His eyes watered and he took out a handkerchief, dabbing at his eyes and blowing his nose before he was in a fit state to carry on. He took a deep breath and finally managed to look the student in the eye without subsiding into laughter. ‘You’re amazing, Zeno. I should be shocked, but you make the whole sordid episode sound extremely amusing.’

‘Well, it was pretty bizarre.’

‘I agree, but you can see that a good lawyer would have you laughed out of court if you pressed charges.’

‘Oh, I agree and don’t want to do that.’

’What do you want then?’

‘Get rid of her! I’m not the only one she’s raped. At lunchtime I met four other guys who’ve all been taken to her lair and threatened with expulsion or failure if they don’t screw her and keep quiet about it. They won’t complain to you or tell their parents because they’re too worried about becoming a laughing stock. You see, everyone imagines real males would be grateful for the experience; but that’s not true! Those guys are traumatised. They’ve lost their self-respect. They’re depressed, worried they’re now soiled goods and don’t deserve to have a girlfriend. She needs to be stopped before she does any more damage.’

The Principal sighed deeply. ‘Zeno, tell them from me that there is no way that woman has any influence over such things as exams and expulsions. I don’t want them to tell me themselves what she’s done to them, but they must stop feeling worried. Will you do that?’

‘Of course, Sir,’

Mr. Noble sighed again, deeply. ‘I have a problem, Zeno. I’d like to explain but it’s sensitive. Can I trust you not to mention what I’m about to tell you to anyone else?’

‘Certainly, sir. I’m an excellent keeper of secrets – when necessary.’

‘Good lad. You see, this is a small country high school and finding staff is very difficult. There are twenty teachers, including me. Seventeen are women and three are men. The women are well organised and aware of their rights, which is fair enough. Mr. Adams, the technical teacher and I are both near retirement. The only young male teacher is Mr. Schwartz, whose qualifications are in biology and physics, but he has to take physical education and boys’ sport because no woman will do it. He’s twenty-five and only here because it was a condition of his study grant that he teach in a remote community for three years. This is his third year. Next year he will be gone. He feels he has been psychologically abused by the women who are always making jokes about his lack of sexual interest in them. The fact that he has a local girlfriend who works in the council offices only makes them more vicious. He never attends staff functions, doesn’t come to the staffroom, and doesn’t think he will last the next two months. He doesn’t want to be a teacher any more and I can’t blame him. The pupils, especially the older girls, are as bad as the female staff, always baiting him.’

‘I’ve heard them calling him a black bastard,’ Zeno said quietly, ‘but he’s hardly darker than me. This place is so racist! I like Mr. Schwartz. Most of the guys think he’s great, it’s the girls who make his life hell.’

‘I know, and I can do nothing about it because they’re too devious.’ Mr. Noble sighed deeply. ‘Tell me, Zeno, do you want to stay in this school to finish your schooling?’

‘No way!’

‘Is that why you ignored Ms Nimffo’s threats and reported her? You hoped you’d be expelled?’

‘Yes, Sir.’

The Principal sat and contemplated this unusual student who appeared so up front, honest and guileless. Was it a facade? Did it denote maturity, sense and responsibility, or was he just another braggart trying to shock—willing to say anything to get what he wanted? Zeno held his gaze for a few seconds then smiled shyly and looked around the room as if interested in what was on the walls. Intuitively, Mr. Noble realised that the lad was politely giving him space and time to think. ‘Those other boys you met, are they very upset? Will they make trouble in the future, do you think?’

‘I’m pretty sure they won’t, Sir. I told them all about my experience with Nimffo, laying it on a bit thick to make them laugh, because laughter frees the mind to see things in perspective. Then we chatted a bit and decided it’d be pathetic to feel like victims when obviously we should be proud. Nimffo wouldn’t have chosen us if we weren’t pleasant, clean, decent young men. She was the nasty one, not us.’

‘And they all seemed happier after that?’

‘Yeah. They made jokes, reckoned they now had the experience to pull a bird and get themselves laid by someone their own age. They’ll be fine.

‘Those boys are the same age as you, or a year younger! Yet you counselled them. Amazing. Where did you learn such wisdom?’

‘From Sebastian. He’s my role model. Brave, clear thinking, independent. He had an odd childhood then suffered a dreadful loss a while ago, but didn’t let it destroy him.’

The Principal sat back in his chair, satisfied that Zeno was genuine and could safely be taken into his confidence. ‘I believe your story, Zeno, and I will sort things out. Meanwhile, don’t be upset when I don’t fire Ms Nimffo. Here’s the plan. Today’s Friday. I’ve a few things to organise, but first thing on Monday morning I’ll summon her to this office and confront her with your accusations. She will deny them and go and fetch her friend, Ms Medlar, the Teacher’s Association representative. They will then threaten to take all the staff out on strike and shut the school down and sue us both if I allow you to continue with what they will call defamation.’

‘How do you know this?’

‘It happens every time there’s a complaint against any female. This is the first time for Ms Nimffo—I always thought she was a shy little thing. Just goes to show appearances don’t tell the full story. Then I will tell them I believe her, and will expel you from school immediately for malicious libel, and they will go away, happy to have once more proven how weak and useless men are.’

Zeno’s heart sank. This was not what he’d been expecting. ‘That means I won’t sit my final exams and will have to repeat my year at the next school, and she’ll get away with it. Not exactly fair.’

‘If that was going to happen it wouldn’t be fair, but it’s not going to happen. Diplomacy, Zeno, is the art of pleasing everyone. I have a plan that’s been brewing in my head for several months—years if the truth were told, but I need the weekend to make sure it is possible before going into any details. Go home and rest easy this weekend. You will sit your exams and pass them, but in secret.’

‘What do I tell my parents?’

‘Nothing yet. I’ll see you on Monday.’

The weekend was the longest on record, but the following Monday everything happened as the Principal predicted. Ms Nimffo was profoundly shocked, burst into tears and solemnly swore that Zeno had knocked at her door pretending he wanted help with his homework, but once inside he had overpowered her and raped her. Ms. Medlar, a lean and handsome young woman in her late twenties, was sent for. It took several sniffling sobbing minutes to calm her distressed friend enough to sob relief that the lout would be expelled forthwith.

When asked why she hadn’t complained to the police, Ms Nimffo confided that she didn’t trust them not to broadcast it and thus besmirch the good name of the school. She hoped the Principal fully realised what a sacrifice she had made. He assured her he admired her courage, offered a day’s leave to recover, which was bravely refused, then closed the door behind them before sinking into his chair with such a feeling of revulsion he could barely refrain from smashing something.

At lunchtime, instead of sharing a cup of tea with Mr. Adams in the woodwork room, Mr. Noble took his sandwiches to the gymnasium for a chat with Jarek Schwartz.

During the last period a note was dispatched to Zeno’s history class. Ms Nimffo read it, then with a smile of smug derision stared at Zeno. ‘You are to report to the Principal’s office directly after school, Zeno. I suggest you take all your schoolbooks, you won’t be needing them in this school again!’

A chorus of whistles and cheers from Raylene and her mates greeted the announcement. ‘Now you’re for it faggot. Teach you to be such a stuck-up cunt.’

Ms Nimffo smiled.