Boarding School by Peter

Boarding School

by: Peter

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 7

School started. We were seniors. We were also not alone anymore. Our bunks had to be separated once more and we would have to go back to using the loft in the cabin. Or so we thought. I noticed Eric Sands and Mr. Barstow were still buddy-buddy and remembered the brief encounter when I'd seen him in Mr. Barstow's quarters in his cargo shorts. I mentioned it to Chad, saying I thought I might try to draw Eric out.

"I would leave it alone," he said. "Barstow seems to be on a tight rope a lot of the time. If he's got a favorite in Eric, for whatever reason and to whatever end, let it be his business. You stick your nose in, you're liable to get it knocked off. Your grades might even suffer."

But I didn't leave it alone. The more I saw, the more it pissed me off that Eric was little more than a fuckoff, sailing through school on the merits of personal favors with the headmaster--it was obvious as hell--while I worked my ass off for my grades. Approaching Barstow was out of the question. But Eric wasn't off limits. I pondered how I would approach him. I hadn't come up with a good approach but an opportunity created one, spur of the moment.

I was up to go to the bathroom when I saw down the darkened hall, Eric coming out of Mr. Barstow's quarters. It looked like he was sneaking out, the way he was looking all around. I confronted him head on. He jumped when I came out of the bathroom right in front of him.

"You scared the shit out of me," he said.

"You know, you spend a lot of time in Barstow's quarters for a man who does not like his time imposed on or his personal space invaded," I said.

"I don't know what you're implying, but he's being paid as a private tutor," he said with a sneer.

I hated that sneer. I didn't much like Eric, but I totally disliked that sneer.

"Tutoring what?" I asked. I wasn't blocking his way but I wasn't getting out of his way so he thought I was.

"Whatever I need help with," he replied. "And I don't see what business it is of yours."

"Last year when Chad and I came to see Barstow, I saw you, fucker, zipping up your pants under the pillow you were hiding under. So let's cut the crap."

"What're you saying? What do you want?"

"I want you to work for your grades like everybody else. You're a fuck off, yet you get better grades than a lot of guys who work their asses off."

"No, what do you really want?" he asked. "So I'm making out with the headmaster. It greases the skids; makes life easier. Is that what you want? I can speak to him, tell him you were inquiring about his personal life."

I thought he was trying to bluff and get me to back off. I didn't.

"You do that," I said.

"So what do you want from me?" he asked again.

It suddenly dawned on me that I didn't know what I wanted except to expose the guy; to let him know that his little secret wasn't so secret anymore.

"I don't know yet. I'll let you know," I said.

I didn't tell Chad about our confrontation; I didn't expect much, if anything, to come from it. I was surprised when I was called into Mr. Barstow's office after lunch one day.

I was even more surprised and a little pissed to learn why I was called in.

"I understand you've been inquiring about being tutored. I've looked at your grades and they are quite good," Mr. Barstow said.

Eric HAD told him. Now I had to handle it.

"Well...yes sir, I....but there are a couple of grades I would like to bring up," I stammered. "I've only got a B-plus in anatomy; I would like to bring that up to an A. Same with ancient history. It's an A, but I would like to come away with an A-plus if that's possible since that will be my major in college. I sometimes get the Greeks and the Romans mixed up; their cultures."

He nodded thoughtfully. "I see. Perhaps I could help you with that. As for anatomy, that's pretty cut and dried; it's just a matter of memorization."

"It may be to you, sir, but I know several guys who have trouble making out those picture charts where you lay one transparency over another; it just gets confusing and you don't know where things are located inside the body."

"Unless you're going to medical school, there would be no need to learn all of that in such great detail," he said.

"I'm not going to medical school but I would like to come away with the best grade I can."

"Well, I might have an idea that would help clear things up in that area, but considering your major will be history, we should focus more on that."

"Yes, I agree. Does that mean you'll tutor me? And while you're considering it, Chad could use some help with ancient history. It's not his major but he wants to leave with a good GPA."

He nodded again. "Do you think it would be all right if we combined your tutoring sessions? It would save time, and I know you and Chad study together."

"Yes, sir, that would be fine, I know Chad wouldn't mind." I said eagerly.

"Very well, why don't you and Chad come to my quarters about seven this evening and we'll get started. You can come casually dressed; I don't stand on ceremony in my own living quarters."

I didn't know what exactly we would get started on but I was excited about the prospects. I told Chad about it, that I had included his name if he was interested. He was interested.

We went to Barstow's quarters at the appointed time.

"Come in, boys," he welcomed us with a bit more cheer than was generally customary for him.

I wasn't surprised to see him in boxers and a T-shirt and socks. He looked pretty impressive for a guy his age, which I guess to be late thirties or early forties. He was in good shape; he worked out a lot and I liked the way he filled out the shorts and T-shirt. There were cokes and glasses of ice on the coffee table. He motioned for us to sit down; we both did, on the couch, figuring the big easy chair was reserved for him.

We got right into my subject, ancient history.

“I’ve often thought it would’ve been great to live in those times, and be a gladiator,” I said as he handed me one of the books he had laid out on the coffee table.

"Although I don’t think many of them enjoyed a very long life," Chad said.

“The best ones did,” Barstow said. “The ones who became famous were treated like gods." Then he said to me, "I've read a couple of your papers to see where you are on the subject. I found them interesting, and well written, but I think you might have gotten a little higher grade had your essay been a little more in depth."

"What do you mean, in depth?" I asked.

"I pulled a paper written by a former senior," he said, handing me the paper. "This demonstrates what I mean."

I took the paper and glanced over the pages, thinking he was giving it to me to take with me and read later.

"Go ahead, read it. It's part of your lesson for tonight," he said. "In fact, read it out loud, for Chad too; it will save us time."

I cleared my throat and took a sip of coke then leaned back in the couch and began reading.

“Relationships between two males in ancient Greece and Rome were quite common, almost always involving an older man and a younger boy in his mid to late teens, handsome and well built. Relationships between two older men were not common and were frowned upon, and the submissive male especially was looked down upon. Putting it plainly, to maintain one’s masculinity in such a relationship, one had to be the penetrator. The one submitting to penetration—i.e., taking the woman’s role—was seen as effeminate, whether he was or not. This was not necessarily true in a relationship between an older and younger man or boy. The older man was, and was accepted as, the boy’s mentor, his protector, and was seen more or less as his teacher in things sexual, therefore the boy wasn’t usually looked upon as being effeminate for his part in the relationship, which was almost always submissive, but simply a willing and eager student.”

I paused and looked over at Mr. Barstow. He was watching me, a bare trace of a smile on his lips; or perhaps the smile was in his eyes.

“He wrote pretty plainly,” I said.

“Apparently not too plainly. You see he got an A-plus on the paper."

I read on.

“The Roman baths, the ruins of which we can tour today, were the focal point of the Roman male social experience. Public nude bathing was the norm, and the baths were constructed with corridors leading to private rooms where men could meet young men and boys, and vice versa. The women—wives—were aware of and accepted their men’s extra-curricular activities.”

"I have visited several of the baths in Rome and in surrounding cities," Barstow said.

"That would be interesting as hell," Chad said. "Are they ruins like the coliseum or are they pretty much intact?"

"Oh, very much intact," he replied. "In fact, some are still used." He nodded for me to read on.

“The best example of the pure homosexual relationship was of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. He was considered to be bisexual but his love was reserved for the youth Antonious, believed to be a beautifully handsome teenager of sixteen or seventeen. The Emperor took him into his household and took the boy with him on his travels for long periods of time. It was on one of these travels that the boy died; believed to have fallen overboard from the Emperor’s boat and drowned. The Emperor was devastated; his reaction to the youth’s death excessive. He had statues of Antonious erected throughout the empire, named a city in Egypt after him, and even had him deified as the god he thought him to be. There was no general outrage from the Roman populace.”

“In Greek mythology, the gods were always extremely handsome and muscular and of legendary endowment, to render them superior to mortal man and desirable to both male and female suitors. This seemed to permeate down to the human Greek society in general, where physical perfection and beauty, especially in the male, was the benchmark; thus the term referring to a handsome, well built male as a “Greek God.” But it wasn’t all brawn and no brains. Like no other society in recent history, the goal of Greek education was the attainment of male perfection--both physical and mental perfection. Most of this education took place in the arena or the gymnasium. The gymnasium was the center of every Greek town, and served a far greater purpose than the modern gyms of today. The gymnasium was an elaborate structure with many rooms, baths, and hallways decorated with all sorts of artwork, including statues of their gods and heroes. Philosophers, poets, and other intellectuals would come together in these places to teach and have dialogue. Boys and men would spend their days in both intellectual and physical exercises, and it is assumed from the structure of the gymnasiums….the private rooms….also in sexual encounters.”

I glanced at him again.

"Yes, very much like gay bath houses of today with the private rooms, but those were much more elaborate," he said.

I wondered how he knew that to make the comparison. I went on to read the next paragraph to myself.

Youths weren't just valued for their bodies, but also for their minds--their ability to reason and debate. Academic competition was matched by physical, athletic competition where athletic prowess and the male form were celebrated. Sports events and even the public Olympics were performed in the nude. Public nudity was not at all uncommon. The body was something to be proud of. It did not elicit the feelings of shame or modesty that many feel or try to impose in our modern society. Nudity seemed to be predominant among males, however, sometimes even to the exclusion of females, thus more easily and comfortably promoting homosexuality between males. Most athletic games in Greek towns, and especially the early Olympics, excluded females, both as participants and spectators. Men were stationed surrounding the towns to assure that no females were allowed in, thus leaving the spectacles to the enjoyment of men and boys.

I glanced at Barstow. He had that tight smile again.

“What part are you reading?” he asked.

“About the ease and comfort of promoting homosexuality between males,” I said.]

"Well, you should read it aloud for Chad's benefit," he said.

I read it again, out loud, then continued aloud.

“Wrestling was especially popular among the Greeks, as it matched one athlete against the other, where one was always the victor and one the vanquished. It is generally believed that the sport of wrestling emerged as the most popular of Greek athletics because of the hard physical contact between two males, usually naked, which contributed greatly to the enjoyment of the spectators and the wrestlers alike.”

"I can sort of understand that," Chad said. "You know how jocks like to hang out with other jocks. I think it's a natural curiosity to being around other guys, muscular athletes, in the locker room and the shower, like it kind of lifts you up, being among your own, so to speak."

Mr. Barstow looked at me and nodded for me to go on reading.

“Such ‘bonding’ between males was common in the military as well, and deemed to be not only useful, but necessary. Many ancient Greek cities had their own armies where male lovers were ordered to fight alongside each other because they were likelier to fight harder and win. The most famous of these armies was the Sacred Band of Thebes. An army which could be considered a version of today’s Special Forces, it was composed entirely of older men and their younger male lovers. These ancient Greek warriors numbered about three hundred and were known throughout the land as the most fearsome, courageous, the most tenacious fighters ever to pick up a spear and shield.”

“To ensure the tightness and fighting tenacity of the small army, it is recorded that you couldn’t join the Sacred Band of Thebes unless it was known that you had sex with a male partner or lover. The idea was that soldiers might do something cowardly, or cut and run in front of other men, but they damn sure weren’t likely to do it in front of someone they loved and would give up their lives to protect. And the men and boys of that army proved over and over again, in undefeated battle, that they would rather die than let down a lover. I say boys because the age to be eligible to join the Sacred Band was sixteen, and then only if they had a lover to join with them. Members of the Sacred Band didn’t have to conjure up images of loved ones they had left at home. They stood side by side on the battlefield with those they loved. Plato said, “Who would desert his lover or fail him in the hour of danger.”

“The famed army of Sparta was thought to be the finest army in ancient Greece. Their brutal government took boys away from their families and raised them in the barracks to be soldiers. They were not considered adults until they snuck out of the barracks at night and murdered a member of the lower class and came back undetected…..literally getting away with murder.”

“Yet the army of Thebes defeated the Spartans over and over again until their very last battle, the battle of Chaeronea. The rest of the Theban army and its allies cut and ran but the Sacred Band kept fighting to the last man, and they perished to the man.”

“After the battle, Phillip II (father of Alexander the Great, who fought in the battle against the army of Thebes) was so moved by their courage and valor that he had them buried in a mass grave and erected a lion monument over them that can still be seen today. It is recorded by the writer Plutarch, that Phillip said of them as he walked the battlefield afterwards, “Perish any man who thinks that these men did or suffered anything disgraceful.”

“Witnessing the tenacity and courage of the soldiers of the Sacred Band of Thebes, it became not uncommon after that ferocious battle for a warrior of the city of Sparta to take a young recruit under his wing. These relationships were both erotic and educational. The soldier cared for the young recruit, trained him, and like those of the Sacred Band, stood next to him on the battlefield, where the two men bravely protected each other.”

I paused and held the paper, gazing at it for a moment before I looked up at him. “This is very good!” I said with great emphasis.

“The content doesn’t bother you?” he asked.

“Not at all. This guy obviously did his homework. He describes it all very well, how it was all woven into the fabric of the Roman and the Greek cultures,” I said.

Mr. Barstow looked at Chad. "What do you think, Chad? Can you imagine being a soldier in the Sacred Band at your age or younger?"

"It's pretty hard to relate to," he said.

"I don't want to say I can relate to it," I said. "But I can imagine it. I mean, I can sort of understand how I would fight to the bitter end rather than be thought a coward by my older mentor soldier."

"I can more relate to Antonious," said Chad. “Can you imagine traveling at sixteen or seventeen all over the Roman Empire with the Emperor of Rome? How exciting would that be! And having statues of Antonious put up all over the empire, a city in Egypt named after him, and even been made a god. Heck, this school is the farthest I've ever been from home in my life.”

“If you had lived in that time, one of you might well have been chosen instead of Antonious,” Mr. Barstow said.

I laughed. “Well, I don’t know if I would’ve wanted to pay the price Antonious did for his fame,” I said.

“Or do what he had to do with the Emperor," Chad put in.

"I doubt he thought of it as paying a price; more like a reward,” Barstow said.

“I would like to be able to go back in time," Chad mused, "and see firsthand what it was like to live back then, and be an athlete in that society, in that purest form of athleticism.”

“Yes, naked athletics was the purest form of physical expression, both for the spectators and the athletes,” Barstow said.

“The way this guy wrote it, it’s easy for anyone to understand how wrestling in particular emerged as the predominant sport of Greek athletes," I said.

“You think about it, our gymnasiums and sports arenas are closely patterned after the great Coliseum and the arenas of ancient Greece, except for the private rooms,” Barstow said.

“I especially want to read more about the soldiers of Sparta and the way they adopted the ways of the army of Thebes, with the older men looking out for the younger soldiers," Chad said. "It’s sort of like the way a lot of coaches look after their players today. Except for that kind of intimate relationships.”

"Well, that does happen, probably more often than people realize," Barstow said.

"Yeah, but not with the general acceptance of the Greeks," I said.

"You know what would be great?" Chad said excitedly. "To have naked sports, like the early Olympics."

"We could hardly do that here, with the road running along the front of the campus, and we do have neighbors," Barstow said.

"Bet nobody would care," he said.

"We could hold the games in the gymnasium," I suggested.

Mr. Barstow looked at us, a curious look. "I believe you boys are serious," he said.

"If enough other guys went for the idea, I would seriously be up for it," I said.

"Yeah, I mean, we see each other naked all the time in the showers and in the dorm, what would be so different about playing sports naked?" Chad put in.

Mr. Barstow laughed. "Well, I'll have to give that some thought. Now, there was some mention of anatomy; I forget which one of you."

"That was me," I said.

"All right, If you can hold off on that, I have an idea for that class, one that will solve the frustration of those pesky transparency overlays. So, if there are no questions I think we will conclude this session and continue on Thursday evening."

He wasn't asking for questions, he was excusing us so we thanked him and left.

"That went well," I remarked as we were going back to the dorm.

"Yeah, except I kept getting hard when you were reading that guy's paper," Chad said.

"If you're still hard, we can take the long way, down by the shrubs," I said. "Hey, do you think he will seriously consider us having naked games?"

"I don't know, he said he would think about it."

To be continued...

Posted: 11/26/10