by Todd, Ian
Silence.
“Well, Ah hope youse ur aw gonnae wait until efter the morra before ye fuck aboot. Ah’m wanting tae get back intae Glesga tae catch up oan a wee bit ae unfinished business and Ah don’t want ma chances being spoilt by any ae youse selfish pricks,” Johnboy scowled at them as Tony gied him another wan ae they funny looks ae his.
It wis the first time since he’d arrived in Thistle Park that Johnboy wis looking forward tae polishing the boots. He’d been lying in his bed fur hours, no sleeping and wishing the night away. Every hauf an hour, wan ae the two nightshift teachers came creeping intae his dorm and went across and turned his security key in the wee box that wis stuck tae the wall at the far end ae the room. They always made a point ae checking that aw the beds hid a body in them. If a heid wisnae oan view, wan ae them wid draw closer and shine a torch tae make sure. It hid been agreed that Johnboy wid heid aff in wan direction oan his lonesome and Tottie, Patsy, Minky and Freckles wid go as well, bit they’d heid in the direction ae Barrheid. Tony and Joe hid decided tae sit this wan oot. Silent wisnae happy wae the situation when he found oot whit wis aboot tae happen and that he wisnae part ae it. No that he’d expressed how he wis feeling oot loudly tae anywan.
“Fur fuck’s sake, Silent. Ah’ve been here o’er a month noo and ye’ve practically said two words tae me in aw that time,” Johnboy hid snarled at him, instantly regretting it.
Silent hid never been wan tae say much in the first place, at least no since Tony hid made him and Johnboy use Fat Boy Milne and his pals’ mooths as a spittoon in wan ae the back courts back in the Toonheid, no long efter Silent hid escaped fae The Grove wae Paul McBride.
“He wis always quite, long before then, so he wis,” Tony hid said defensively wan night when they wur aw talking aboot how quiet Silent wis…or hid become, depending who wis talking.
“Fuck’s sake, Johnboy, it wis you who introduced him as Silent in the first place. Ye don’t think that tag hid anything tae dae wae how talkative he wis, dae ye?” Paul hid scoffed, demolishing Johnboy’s theory aboot the spittoon.
“Naw, Paul, he wis quiet then, bit noo we cannae get a bloody word oot ae him fae wan week tae another.”
“It’s a pity there isnae mair like him aboot here,” Paul hid spat back at him.
“Aye, shut the fuck up and stoap talking shite, professor,” Joe hid said tae Johnboy, getting in oan the act.
Oot in the yard, it wis still dark when they wur being allocated their row ae boots. Baby started arguing wae a teacher that he didnae want the row that he wis being allocated because it wis full ae farm boots. Another teacher came o’er tae check them oot and that’s when everywan made their move. There wisnae anything said between them as they’d awready done aw the talking. Everywan jist lunged at the gap between the shed and the wee red brick building, where the other two teachers wur staunin oan guard. Johnboy goat clean through while Patsy wis pushed oan tae that arse ae his by wan ae the big muscle-bound he-men, bit managed tae gie him the slip. Patsy, Tottie, Minky and Freckles heided between the big greenhoose oan their left while Johnboy shot behind the classroom hut oan his right. Within a few seconds, Johnboy hid scrambled up and o’er the twelve feet fence and o’er the barbed wire at the tap ae that. He set aff running doon a white frost-coated field towards some hooses that wur being built. He hidnae realised how cauld it wis until he noticed the cloud ae white breath shooting oot ae his mooth. Johnboy jist aboot shat himsel when he heard running footsteps behind him.
“Johnboy, hing oan! It’s me, Silent!”
“Silent, ya diddy, ye” Johnboy wheezed, stoapping and turning. “Whit the fuck ur ye daeing here, ya eejit, ye?” he demanded, bit Silent jist stood panting, gieing him a smile.
Johnboy looked back up the dark field. He noticed their trail ae fitprints oan the frosted grass fae the fence further back. He could hear whistles being blown by the teachers and the school bell ringing. They kept oan running like whippets across mair fields and disappeared intae a wee wood. Oan the other side ae the wood, they came tae a road wae a farm oan the other side. Their luck wis in. Leaning against the byre wis a push bike. Johnboy grabbed it and started tae pedal like fuck as Silent ran behind and jumped up oan tae the saddle. They hidnae a clue whit direction they wur heiding in…bit they wur free. They dumped the bike efter a couple ae miles and heided across mair fields, keeping tae the edges ae them tae hide any fitprints that wid gie them away tae passing cars oan the road. They wur heiding in the direction ae a busy road they could see in the distance. Wance they wur close tae it, they sat freezing their baws aff in amongst some bushes fur maist ae the day. At wan point, Johnboy wis gonnae tell Silent aboot his visit fae Skull, bit when he glanced across at Silent, he wis hunched up wae his teeth chattering, looking close tae death. Cop cars wur whizzing up and doon the road past them fur maist ae the morning before they started tae peter oot. He wis glad Silent hid come efter him. Even though Johnboy hid known the uglies fae the Garngad fur years, none ae The Mankys hid really ran aboot wae them oan the ootside. The uglies wur part ae the crowd that used tae beat everywan up and take their money and sweeties aff ae them ootside The Carlton picture hoose in Castle Street oan a Saturday efternoon when Johnboy wis younger. The first time he’d spoken tae them hid been when Skull introduced him tae them wan time up at the Toonheid Baths, the day that Baby swopped his big thick green knitted woollen trunks, which hid nae elastic in the waist, wae that fat fingered flickerer, Alex Milne, who’d practically droont when he’d dived in tae the pool and sank tae the bottom wae the weight ae them. Efter that, it wis as if Johnboy hid jist been accepted as wan ae the gang and they always hung aboot wae each other when they wur inside. They wur always up fur a rammy, no matter how big or how many ae the basturts wur staunin in front ae them. Paul, who’d learned how tae box in a real boxing club, hid telt Johnboy that Patsy hid received mair second prizes than a monkey at the carnival. Johnboy wisnae sure if he’d meant it or no as he wis laughing when he’d said it. Anytime Johnboy hid clocked Patsy fighting, he’d always seemed tae come oot oan tap, even if he did pick up a black eye or a split lip oan route. Johnboy supposed the difference between the Garngad boys and his pals wis that, while the uglies wur always fighting wae anywan that they thought wid fight them back, Tony, Joe, Silent and Paul wur only interested in blagging anything that made them money. That wisnae tae say that they didnae fight. There wur very few ae the Garngad crowd who’d want tae hiv a go at Tony, Joe or Paul. Wance Tony started, people tended tae get mair than a black eye and wid get hurt jist a bit mair than they wid if they wur in a normal square-go. Tony wisnae too choosey whit he used either…anything that came tae haun wid dae. He’d gied Johnboy a lesson wan day, bit no oan how tae box or use his feet, although if Johnboy hid asked him, he’d probably hiv shown him wan or two wee classic moves. Whit he’d telt Johnboy wis mair tae dae wae knowing why ye goat intae fighting in the first place and whit it wis ye wanted tae get oot ae it efter the damage hid been inflicted oan whoever it wis that ye wur fighting. Efter Tony hid finished patiently explaining, Johnboy still hidnae been quite sure if he’d taken in whit hid been said. It hid been oan the same day that they’d ran intae some boys fae Possil that Tony and Paul hid hid a wee barney wae sometime in the past, when they’d been in The Grove. They’d been in the Wan-O-Wan snooker hall, doon oan Hope Street. Tony hid chased efter wan ae them. Paul hid been dealing wae wan ae them o’er by the windae where ye collected yer baws and cues, which hid left Johnboy squaring up tae another wan. Johnboy and his boy hid been prancing roond the table, swinging punches four feet apart fae each other, bit never landing any. Johnboy hid thought that he wis daeing okay until Paul hid casually sauntered past him and knocked the boy oot wae wan punch. At the time, Johnboy hid been really impressed because the boy, who wis a big mean-looking basturt, hid drapped like a sack ae spuds. Paul hid then turned roond, withoot saying a word, and hid looked at Johnboy as if he wis a bloody eejit. He’d then walked towards the exit oan the stairs. When they wur
back up the road, sitting up oan Horsey John’s stable roof, Tony hid carried oan wae the lesson fae earlier.
“Johnboy, whit the fuck wur ye daeing, prancing aboot like a big Jessie, doon at the snooker club?”
“Er, how dae ye mean?”
“Ah thought ye wur gonnae ask that prick oot fur a date.”
“Ah wis jist aboot tae land ma best knockoot blow when Paul interrupted me,” Johnboy hid said lamely, looking across at Paul who looked tae be thoroughly enjoying Johnboy’s squirming.
“Johnboy, why fuck aboot, using up aw that energy, huffing and puffing, eh? Whit ye need tae dae is get in and oot and back tae daeing whit ye wur daeing before ye wur disturbed in the first place.”
“Eh?”
“Whit’s the point ae fighting? Whit ye need tae dae is make sure that whoever comes up against ye, knows fine well that they’re gonnae be bloody sore fur mair than a day if they mess wae you.”
“It’s awright fur youse two. Youse kin fight like fuck…Ah cannae.”
“It’s goat sweet fuck aw tae dae wae being able tae fight. We cannae fight either, bit we kin bloody make sure that any basturt that fancies their chances will get a sore wan if they dae hiv a go. Who wants tae fight? No me, that’s fur sure. Ye want people tae get the message that although they might beat ye, they’ll get hurt in the process.”
“Whit he’s trying tae say, Johnboy, is there’s less chance ae being in a fight if people know whit it entails.”
“Ye mean fear? Ye make them scared ae ye, even if they’re bigger and tougher than ye? So, how dae Ah go aboot daeing that then?”
“Ye jist hiv tae make sure that the first time ye hiv a go, ye really hurt whoever it is that’s stupid enough tae be staunin there in front ae ye. The message will soon get aboot that people should stay well clear ae ye,” Paul hid replied, as Johnboy looked across at Tony.
“Couldnae hiv said it better masel,” Tony hid said, nodding.
While Johnboy agreed that whit they’d said probably made a lot ae sense, he never could get intae aw that violence shit that they seemed tae enjoy inflicting oan people who crossed them.
Johnboy and Silent wur picked up oan the new motorway that wis getting built, which ran past Abbotsinch Airport intae Glesga. They’d been walking alang the ditches beside it, bit every noo and again, they’d hid tae climb up the embankment tae make sure they wur still gaun in the right direction. It took the bizzies twenty minutes tae take them back tae the school…a journey that hid taken Johnboy and Silent aw day.
“Right, you’re first, Taylor!” Rolled Back Neck growled, gieing Johnboy a wee push in the middle ae his back towards the room.
There wur six ae them plus the heidmaster, who Johnboy hidnae met up until then. Johnboy wis telt tae strip aff and put oan his thin cotton blue PE shorts. When he wis finished changing, he wis ordered tae lie flat oan his stomach oan the table. When he didnae move, he wis grabbed and flung face doon and held by his hauns and ankles while two ae the basturts held his heid and wan pressed doon oan they shoulders ae his. The heidmaster then started tae tug and roll the waistband ae Johnboy’s shorts up until they disappeared between the cracks ae his arse and they felt as if they wur sticking tae him.
“Right, Sunny-Jim. This is what awaits you if you cross the line in here. I had to administer the same to that brother of yours and you’re not any harder than what he was.”
And wae that, Johnboy goat six ae the sorest beltings he’d ever felt in his life. He thought it wis a wonder the ceiling hidnae come doon oan tap ae everywan every time that thick leather-fingered ‘Black Prince’ landed oan that arse ae his. Whit made it even mair painful wis when the belt landed oan a bit ae his flesh where it hid landed a few seconds earlier. Efter the sixth wan, Johnboy’s howling died doon tae a semi-scream, due tae the numbness ae his sore arse. He wis then carried, like a deid body, tae an adjoining room and slung oan tae that stinging arse ae his and his school uniform wis slung oan tap ae his heid. He could hardly move when bending o’er tae put his shite-catchers oan. The stinging wis unbearable. Meanwhile, Silent hid been getting his dose ae whit Johnboy hid jist been gied. Aw Johnboy could hear wis a whoosh and then whit sounded like a giant firecracker gaun aff, followed by a blood curdling scream. Johnboy thought they must’ve hid plenty ae practice ae belting arses. Within a minute, the door wis flung open, and Silent came sailing through, oan tae that well-skelped arse ae his, followed by his clothes and wis telt tae get dressed. Johnboy wis practically dressed, apart fae getting his shoes back oan tae his feet. Silent didnae say anything tae him efter they dumped him oan tae the flair. When Johnboy looked o’er, Silent wis whimpering quietly tae himsel, as he peeled aff his PE shorts. Johnboy thought he looked like a bloody sergeant major wae they blue and red stripes oan that arse ae his oan display. Johnboy couldnae help himsel and suddenly burst oot laughing, while hauf greeting at the same time.
“Whit?” Silent whimpered, weeping miserably.
“This!” Johnboy said, pulling his shite-catchers doon o’er his red raw cheeks, yelping in agony and gieing Silent a wee flash.
That wis that. The pair ae them erupted, howling wae laughter while hauf greeting at the same time.
“Aw, fur Christ’s sake, Silent. Don’t make me laugh. Ah’m dying, so Ah am,” Johnboy howled, trying tae pull up his school issue underpants withoot drawing blood.
The door burst open and the heidmaster, still sporting his yellow braces, wae his sleeves rolled up tae his elbows, and wae his strong-erm buddies behind him, stood staring at them wae astonished looks oan their coupons. Johnboy and Silent couldnae contain themsels. The cork wis oot ae the bottle and they erupted intae fits ae hysterical, greeting laughter, laughing at the stupid basturts staunin there, no knowing whit the fuck tae dae next.
Chapter Six
The boardroom wis aboot twenty feet by fifteen. It hid recently been decorated in keeping wae the age ae the building. Aw the period features wur original, apart fae a wee part ae the cornice here and there that he’d goat specialists in tae fix. It hid added tae the final cost, bit Francis Gordon, heidmaster fur the past nine years, thought it wis well worth it. It wis important tae keep these auld buildings up tae scratch. It no only showed respect fur the fabric and the history ae the building, bit it earned respect fae those who worked and lived in it. The only drawback wis the view, or lack ae it. It looked oot oan tae the boys’ yard. When he’d taken o’er the reins in nineteen fifty nine, the boardroom hid been the heidmaster’s office, wae the receptionist in the wee ante-room next door. He’d been happy fur the first week, until the baw that the boys played wae oot in the yard kept bouncing aff the bars oan the other side ae the glass. That wis the excuse he’d been looking fur. The original boardroom wis situated at the front ae the building and hid superb views overlooking the drive and the landscape beyond. It wis twice the size ae the room he wis noo sitting in and reflected the importance ae the heidmaster’s position and the distance required between himsel and the rest ae the management team. There hid been a few eyebrows raised at the time, bit nowan hid said anything, at least no tae his face. Efter aw, he’d been brought in tae steady a drifting ship. He surveyed the scene in front ae him. The team wur jist arriving and putting their files and reports oan tae the polished table, the same table that he used tae administer the floggings. He used tae keep a log ae the amount ae arses he’d thrashed o’er the years, bit hid gied that up a long time ago. He’d kept running oot ae foolscap jotters. He smiled, thinking aboot his auld master, Commander Flogger Moffat.
“You’re too easily distracted, Francis. Join the Navy, see the world and they’ll keep you right,” his commander hid advised and that’s exactly whit he’d done.
He’d dreamed ae getting tae visit and explore distant lands, bit in the twenty years that he’d served the King and latterly, the Queen loyally, he’d never been oot ae British hame waters. He’d been demobbed efter protecting shipping in The Clyde estuary during the war. He wid’ve commanded his ain ship if it h
idnae been fur a wee unfortunate collision wae a destroyer wan night when he wis in charge ae the bridge. He’d been informed at the court martial that if it hid happened ten minutes earlier, it wid’ve been HMS Hood he wid’ve hit, insteid ae HMS Victoria. He often thought ae the lives he wid’ve saved if it hid been the Hood that hid been laid up in dry dock fur six weeks insteid ae the Vic.
“Right, where are we, Mr Bick?” he asked Harry Bick, deputy heidmaster, soon tae be retired.
“Well, the figures fur October ur a wee improvement oan September’s. According tae this, there wur twenty three fights, six absconders…soon caught…fourteen liberations and thirteen new admissions.”
“And what does that tell us then?”
“It tells us that there’s nae visible improvement wae the crowd fae the Toonheid. Oot ae the twenty three fights, or skirmishes, fifteen involved them. The absconders, as ye’ll no be surprised tae hear wur Taylor, Kelly, McSwiggan, O’Malley, O’Hara and the mute, Smith.”
“I’ve just read this morning’s Glasgow Herald. Have you seen it? It has a small headline on page nine. ‘Four Abscond From Approved School.’ It goes on to say, ‘Four boys, aged about fourteen, ran away early yesterday morning from Thistle Park Approved School, Paisley. Police recaptured them in Barrhead.’ End of quote. I mean, The Glasgow Herald? It’s only now that I have finally managed to get Edinburgh off my back after all these months,” The Heidmaster said, pushing the newspaper away fae him oan the table.
“Aye, bit it shouldnae exactly come as a surprise tae the pen pushers in the Home and Health Department, given whit we’re hivving tae deal wae here,” Harry Bick said, trying tae placate and soothe away the pain fae the heidmaster’s frowning face. “At least they didnae pick up oan Taylor and Smith being captured oan the new motorway.”
“So, keeping them under strict supervision, polishing boots and locking them up in a classroom all day long has not dented their negative impact on the good order of my school then?”