Chapter 10
In Which Nigel Makes a Disturbing Discovery
The next day, Nigel actually felt a tiny bit less horrible. He passed
the morning in class sitting beside Evan, who seemed as unfriendly as
ever. There was a hopeful moment, however. Nigel was playing
orchestra conductor with his pencil while Mrs. Farthley was sketching
a picture of Jupiter on the board for the science lesson. Suddenly
the pencil went spinning out of his hand and clattered noisily to the
floor. Just as Mrs. Farthley began to turn around, Evan bent down,
snatched it up and handed it to him.
That little favour encouraged Nigel and he thought perhaps Evan would
play with him at recess. When play time came, Mrs. Farthley dismissed
Evan's row first. Nigel hoped Evan would wait for him by the doorway
as he always did. But he didn't. He simply went out. Disappointed,
Nigel made his way out onto the playground alone, entertaining himself
by whirling helicopter 'round in circles. He only staggered to a stop
when he heard a ruckus erupt nearby.
A handful of boys had been playing Stuck in the Mud, although it more
resembled the forbidden game British Bull Dog, with all the pushing
and tackling. Simply, the boy designated "it" chased the others until
he tagged one. The tagged boy had to stand stuck to that spot with
his arms held out until a friend touched him on the hand, freeing him.
And so it went until "it" either demobilised all the players, or
simply became exhausted trying.
Now the boy who was "it" had suggested altering the rules a tad, so
that another boy could only be stuck in the mud or freed if someone
exception of one little fellow, who protested loudly. That only
encouraged the boys, and as boys are apt to do, they picked on him
more; poking and slapping and snatching, and the louder he screamed,
the more they picked on him.
And when Nigel's vision cleared, he saw that the hapless fellow was
none other than Evan, who was becoming nearly frantic.
"Stop it! Don't! That's nasty! Stop it, I said! Stop!"
Evan tried to run, but he stumbled over his own feet and fell down in
the grass. The little hooligans immediately leaped on him. One boy
held him down while a second popped his pants button and a third
yanked down the back of his trousers, displaying a bright pair of
Paddington Bear underpants. The boys howled in delight.
"Nancy boy! Nancy boy!" they all sing-song chanted, "Fatty, sissy
Nancy boy!"
Children can be keenly perceptive to the slightest changes in things
and very cruel when they sense vulnerability. Although the greatest
caution had been taken to keep Evan's troubles secret, and although
the boys couldn't possibly know the specifics, Nigel got the distinct
impression they knew, and it infuriated him beyond measure. So Nigel
did something that astonished even himself. He dashed up and kicked
the first scoundrel he came to in the shins with the toe of his
T-bars.
"Shit!" the boy yelped and grabbed his leg, for they were very stout
leather shoes.
"Stop it! Leave him alone!" Nigel screeched, his face going crimson
and his skinny arms thrashing about, "I'm going to tell! I'm going to
tell on you all to Mrs. Farthley and Headmaster Chandler! Then you'll
be in trouble and you'll all get a spanking!"
Now Nigel had never in his life got a spanking, but he knew some boys
feared it, so it seemed a reasonable threat. Be that as it may, it
didn't have the intended effect. The boys rushed at him instead, and
Nigel desperately kicked out at them. Seeing his chance, Evan
scrambled to his feet, pulled his trousers up and ran off. The little
rascals were having a spot more trouble bringing Nigel down. Being a
slight little lad, he was quick as quick as a squirrel and they
couldn't get at him.
"You're very bad people," he shouted, leaping to and fro, "And I'm
going to tell Headmaster Chandler and he'll tell your parents and the
police and they'll take you off!"
He paused to taunt them, wiggling his bum with a little
catch-me-if-you-can-Lady-in-France-Underpants dance, and then ran
after Evan, with the boys cursing after him.
Nigel found his friend, scraped and grass-stained, his head cradled in
folded arms, in their secret lunch corner. Nigel sat down and leaned
his shoulder up against Evan's. He had never seen Evan so upset, and
he was at a loss as to what to do. So he did what Daddy did when he
was upset. He put an arm around him.
"Evan?" Nigel asked at last. "Are you alright?"
"If I tell on them for you, will you be my friend again?" Nigel
asked, "I want to be your friend. Evan. Please?"
With his head still buried in his arms, Evan simply shrugged, and
Nigel instantly understood the significance of it.
"If you'll be my friend," Nigel suggested hesitantly, "I'll tell you a
secret."
The chubby fellow looked up and wiped his eyes.
"First, because we're friends," Nigel said gravely, staring into
Evan's red and puffy eyes, "Promise that you'll never, ever, ever,
never, EVER tell anyone the secret, because grownups will get cheesed
off."
Evan blinked in curiosity and wiped his nose with the back of a hand.
"Do you know Ian the therapist?" Nigel began cautiously, "The one that
your mummy told my mummy about?"
Right off, Evan dejectedly dropped his head back into his arms.
Evan looked up again, his face filling with surprise.
"He DID?" the boy breathed, "Did he really? Touch it I mean?"
Nigel nodded.
"Remember? I had to go see him when I was starkers at school," Nigel
explained, "And he did an examination and I had a stiffy and then he
looked very close at it and then he touched it."
"He DID?" Evan asked in awe, "How did he do it?"
"Like this," Nigel said, and he pretended by holding out his thumb and
two fingers as if he were adjusting the volume knob back and forth and
to and fro on the tellie.
"Beastly!" Evan exclaimed, "Did you feel bad? Did it hurt?"
"No," Nigel replied, "But I didn't like him and I didn't want him to
do that, so I jumped off the table and went into the lavvie.
"Oh. That's grotty!"
Then Evan confessed something completely unexpected.
"He didn't touch nothing," the chubby lad sniffed, momentarily tearing
up, "He just took my picture in my underpants because he said I was
fat and he needed a picture. He wanted me to take them off, but I
wouldn't."
Nigel argued, "And you got upset and it ruined you and stole your
incense."
"But he DIDN'T," Evan insisted, "Mum and Dad kept telling me to tell,
but when I did they just said tell the truth and don't be afraid and I
really did but they just kept asking me about it and saying it was a
saying bad words and I was crying and then all those people came to
school and to my house and I had to go to the police office and the
"He didn't touch your willie?" Nigel asked incredulously, "Not at
all?"
Evan shook his head.
Nigel suddenly felt horribly sick.
"You can't tell anybody! You can't tell ANYBODY!" Nigel pleaded,
"Cross your heart and hope to die or stick a finger in your eye!
Please!"
"I won't," Evan promised, and he crossed his heart, "You're my friend.
I won't."
And rather than feeling happy, Nigel felt worse than ever.
HMSVV Christmas 2011
I sincerely hope yours was joyous!
God Save the Queen.
God Bless the Prince of Wales.
God Preserve the Windsors.
Rule Britannia!
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