Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2007 21:54:30 +0000 (GMT) From: Nathan Me Subject: James chapter 36 'James' by Nathan Email address nathan7new@yahoo.co.uk My stories are archived at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nathansstories/. This story contains material of a sexual nature and describes sexual acts between adults and children. If you find this kind of material offensive, if you are under the legal age to read such material or if it is illegal in your country, please do not read any further. My stories may contain some factual or autobiographical elements, but they are works of fiction and any apparent similarities of my characters to real people are not intended. This story is protected by copyright. It may not be downloaded, copied, printed or otherwise reproduced in any way other than for your private enjoyment and may not be changed in any way without express written consent of the author, me! I hope you enjoy this story. James: Chapter 36 The trip, with several stops, took a little over six hours and they reached the centre just before nine pm. Tom thought he would have done it in under five had he been in a car, maybe even closer to four. Eight twelve or thirteen year old girls, twelve boys and six adults got out of the cramped minibuses and stretched. At the previous stop, Nita had asked Alan how he was getting on with Mrs Daniels. Apparently she had been fairly quiet during the trip. The children weren't interested in talking to her, and the staff were polite, but remembered why she was there. Once they reached the centre where they were staying, she busied herself getting her own luggage sorted and into the hostel. The others unloaded the children's personal luggage and then their own. John, one of the centre workers, showed them all to their various bunk rooms. Each room had wardrobes, chairs and either two or three sets of bunks, but no more than four people would be sharing each room during their stay, as the centre was not currently full. So the eight girls spilt into two groups in two of the larger rooms. The twelve boys were in three groups of four and the staff were in two rooms, men in one and women in the other. The rooms were comfortable but basic. Tom opened his rucksack, pulled out his clothes and hung them in the wardrobe. Alan Spiller laughed at him. "You think anyone is going to notice whether they're are a bit creased when your up to your knees in a river or mud?" "I guess not. Just habit." "Let's see how the kids are doing." They toured the various rooms they had been allocated; getting screams of, "Get out! Get out!" as they approached the first girl's room. They found one group of boys already having a pillow fight. When Tom opened the next door, James was standing there sans his sweatshirt. He was changing into t-shirt. Tom's heart fluttered as James stretched up to pull on the t-shirt, showing his chest, smooth armpits, ribs and stomach muscles off. The boy was just as gorgeous as he remembered. Dean seemed to have unpacked by dumping the contents of his bag in the middle of his bunk. No mean feat as he had claimed the top bunk. Chris was beneath him. Sam had claimed the other top bunk in their room and James was on the bottom. Sam was stretched out, eating a Mars bar and watching the others. "Everyone ok?" Tom asked when he finally managed to pull his eyes away from James. "Yeah." Sam mumbled round his mouthful of chocolate. The others smiled back at him and mumbled inaudibly. "Ok, then. Down stairs in five for supper." Alan rapped on the women's room and Ann opened it. She was still in jeans, but had on a very thin, clingy top that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Tom noticed she wasn't wearing a bra either. He swallowed hard. "You girls ready to go down?" Alan asked. "Yep. Be right after you." Nita shouted past Ann, who had already started down the stairs. The centre was a converted manor house and although many of the rooms had been stripped of the former grandeur to serve their current purpose, the dining room was wood panelled and reminded Tom of some of the rooms back at the school. John and a woman Tom had not met yet, were laying out plates and cups for the new arrivals to have their supper, although it was almost ten when they came down for supper. John introduced himself and the woman, Liz, as the centre managers and said that first thing the next morning they would meet the rest of the team. Breakfast would be served at seven am. They would be provided with a packed lunch and dinner was about half past six, although that had to remain a little flexible as it depended on the activities they participated in and what the weather was like. He talked them through general safety rules and fire procedures. All through his talk, while the rest were eating, Mrs Daniels was taking copious notes on a ring-bound reporters pad. James didn't know why, but he felt her repeatedly looking in his direction, or maybe she was staring at Sam. Maybe she was still cross that Sam had refused to report the incident at the school to the police. Maybe she was just the rat-bag that Andy said she was. John asked if anyone had any questions and of course the only person with any was Mrs Daniels, though no one else listened to her or John's answers. They were all finishing off their hot chocolate. As James and Sam climbed the stairs, James heard someone behind him. He turned to see Tom coming up. "Come on, slow coaches." Tom said as he caught them up. "We can't all fly like Superman." Sam retorted, with a wide grin. Tom gave him a playful jab in the ribs, which Sam obviously found very ticklish, as he collapsed giggling at the top of the stairs. Tom picked him up, threw him over his shoulder in a fireman's lift and walked into their bedroom. He threw the boy onto the top bunk and proceeded to tickle him even more. Sam was in hysterics. James made an attempt to pull Tom back, but only ended up being turned upside down and thrown onto his own bunk. Dean and Chris came in and joined the other two boys, pilling on Tom and pinning him down on James' bunk. Tom, in spite of being outnumbered, managed to tickle all of the boys in turn and generally caused a mini riot, until Mrs Daniels came in. She was not impressed whatsoever. "Stop it! Boys, Stop this immediately." When they didn't respond, she screamed in a high, shrill voice, "Will you all shut up and behave!" Tom rolled out from under the boys and sheepishly stood up. "And you should know better, you're here to set an example for these children, not encourage their delinquency." "I don't think any of these boys are delinquents, Mrs Daniels." "Well, that remains to be seen, but encouraging them to act like delinquents certainly will not help them. They were sent up here to go to bed, not act the fool." "Ok, ok. Well, boys, I guess it's bedtime then. Get your-selves changed and into bed. Lights out in ten." A chorus of moans followed Tom and Mrs Daniels out of the boy's room. She continued down the corridor, telling each room to get to bed quickly. "So much for observing." Tom said to Alex and Alan as he got changed for bed. "Mrs D. doesn't know what the word means. She has always been an interfering old bag who is obviously threatened that the school does a better job than her department. She doesn't get it that we are here for the kids, not to threaten her little kingdom." Alex answered. "She doesn't like that we are a Christian organisation or that we have more resources than she does. I can understand it being really frustrating that she can't get the money or support she needs to do her job properly, but she has a bee in her bonnet about our Christian charity status and that's just silly. It's not like we indoctrinate the kids or anything. We follow the same guidelines as all schools and homes across the country, but she just won't let it go." "How did she ever get to be the department boss?" Tom asked. "Last man standing." "Sorry, Alan, what does that mean?" "Longest serving person in the department. Most Social workers burn out after three or four years and so anyone who lasts longer than five years eventually gets promoted because they are the only one around who knows the system." "Not a bit dependent on how well they do the job then?" "No, not at all. Last man standing applies to a lot of government and local authority posts. You just have to outlast your competition." "No wonder the country's in such a mess." "Four weeks as a volunteer and already a cynic. That must be some kind of record, eh, Alan?" "Don't know, Alex. Nita was pretty cynical when she arrived." "Sorry, I forgot about Nita." "How could anybody forget about Nita?" Tom asked. The others laughed and agreed she was pretty unforgettable. Next morning, Alan woke Tom and told him the shower was free. Tom got up, showered and shaved and made his way back to the men's bunkroom, passing Ann on the way. Even in thick Pjs, she looked an attractive woman. Once they were dressed, the staff started raising the kids. With the exception of Mrs Daniels, who was supposed to be just observing, there was one staff member to each four children. Tom and Alan seemed to have the easiest groups to rouse. The girls seemed completely uninterested and took much longer than anyone else to get up and dressed. After breakfast, John introduced the two team leaders, Scott and Charlie, who would be taking them on a hike round part of the National Nature Reserve until lunch and then bringing them back the short way, across a lake in the centre's larger boats. It would help them all get their bearings and on the way round they would get to see where they would be doing the other activities. That afternoon, John, Liz, Scott and Charlie would be taking them abseiling down a local cliff face. Dinner would be a barbeque back at the centre and after dinner there would be archery lessons for those who wanted them and DVDs in the lounge for those who didn't. A full day. Sue and Terry, the centre kitchen staff, had prepared packed lunches for everyone. As they filed out of the centre, Liz checked that everyone had suitable walking shoes or boots. A couple of the girls had decided to wear trainers and were sent back in to fetch the walking boots and thick socks the school had provided. Ten minutes later the two very grumpy girls re-emerged with the right footwear and the group set off over a stile in the dry stonewall that bordered the centre compound. As soon as they were over the stile, they saw an English Nature sign, showing how big the reserve was. A long path was marked out in blue that went round the boarder of the reserve. "We're not walking all round there?" One of the girls screamed. "No," Scott answered with a smile, "just around this bit." And he marked out a path on the sign with his finger. The girl still didn't seem impressed. Scott smiled at her again and turned to lead them along the track they had climbed down onto. It was rough and pitted, causing a few to stumble. A chorus of complaints rippled up and down the line of children. Some found the strong walking boots uncomfortable. Some didn't like the countryside smells. Some, despite the fact that everyone had put their own name on the list, complained that they hadn't wanted to come in the first place. James, Sam, Chris and Dean walked beside Tom. Their conversation ranged from football and Tom's flying save in the shop to what was in their lunch packs and how easy it would be to shoot an arrow like Robin Hood. Scott led them across another stile into a huge meadow and they began to cross it diagonally. "I thought you had to walk round the edge of fields?" Dean said to Scott. "Normally you do, but this is just meadow grass, not a ploughed field. But it's great that you know stuff like that. What's your name?" "Dean." "Well done, Dean." He showed Dean on his map where they were heading to and Dean picked out the contours on the map that corresponded to a hill ahead of them and then the wooded area off to their left. "Well done again. You've done this before." "Yeah. We used to go hiking a lot." "Well, I guess that makes you my unofficial assistant, this morning." "Really?" "Yep. You look after the map and the compass for me and try to keep track of where we are." "Mint!" He immediately started showing Chris, Sam and James where they were and the various landmarks shown on the map. Scott looked back at Tom and winked. It was great to see the kids getting excited. They crossed the meadow, rounded the woods and came down to another track. This one ran along the edge of the woods and occasionally dipped into the woods. They came to a stone gully, cut into the hillside, and had to climb about six feet up to get round it. It was a steep climb, but there were plenty of footholds to make it easy. Once across the gully and miniature cliff, it was down, once again, into the woods. The dappled shade fell across the track and a gentle breeze blew through the treetops, making them sway. They came to a way maker that designated where the path split in two. Dean followed both paths on the map. One led up to the perimeter path and the other led off towards the lake. Remembering their earlier briefing, he set of confidently down the track towards the lake. Once again Scott praised him and Dean really responded to it. Scott fell in Beside Tom, telling the boys not to get too far ahead. "You worked with them for long?" "Just four weeks. I'm just a volunteer at the school. You?" "Here about two years, before that I was in the army for eight years, straight out of school. Dean seems to have really got the hang of this." "He's a great kid, generally and does everything with enthusiasm. Do you find a difference between the boys and the girls?" "That's not very PC, Tom." Scott said laughing. "But I guess, yeah. Boys seem to be more into the physical adventure type stuff, and the girls like activities where they have to work together and plan things." "I didn't realise how different they were 'til I started working at the school." They descended further into the woods and Tom could now hear water from somewhere ahead of them. "Dean, boys, wait for us at the bridge." Scott shouted. They rounded a bend and there was a wooden bridge, spanning a small river. The water flowed about ten feet below the bridge. Sam picked up a small stick, threw it over one side and ran to the other to watch it float down stream. "Pooh sticks." Tom said to him. "What's Pooh sticks?" "Winnie the Pooh and Piglet used to throw little sticks over and see whose came under the bridge first." Sam got a couple of sticks, handed one to Tom and stood, ready to throw his in. Tom counted down and they threw the little sticks in to the river and turned to see them float back under and out down stream. "I won." Sam said. "Guess you did. You must have given me the slow one." Scott, Tom and the boys waited for the rest of the group to catch up. Once they were all together, they crossed the bridge and carried on down until the woods gave way to a more barren landscape. The path now cut deeper and deeper into the landscape. Alex's group were now keeping pace with Tom and Scott, but the girls seemed content to linger at the back, where Charlie tried to motivate them to speed up. They were more interested in trying to chat him up. He was about six foot three and slim, but had a very rugged young Harrison Ford quality about his facial features. One of the girls, Sandra, who had been made to change her shoes, was now complaining that she had blisters. Ann was patiently holding back, trying to encourage the girl, but she was having none of it. Every few meters she stopped and sat down, complaining bitterly that this was torture. It was true, that using someone else's boots was never as comfortable as using your own that you had broken in, but at school, very few had the luxury of owning all their own sports and activity equipment. Youngsters often ended up with a blister or two, but that couldn't be helped. Everybody wearing trainers all the time didn't help either. It made their feet soft, unlike shoes that made them a little tougher. Charlie even offered to carry her on his shoulders, but she just retorted that she wasn't a little kid. By the time Charlie, Ann and Sandra caught up with the others, they were all sat on the barren hillside eating their lunch. Some were using the scattered boulders as seats; others were lying in the springy heather. Dean informed them that his dad had said that old shepherds used to stuff heather into sacks to make mattresses when they slept up on the hills. Sam was shattered. Although there wasn't an ounce of fat anywhere on him, neither was there much muscle. He lay with his head on Tom's lap and was virtually asleep before the others had unpacked their lunches. James sat next to him and munched on a ham salad roll. They were separated just a little from the others and so James asked again, "So how did you find me?" "Honestly, I didn't. It was just a complete coincidence. I wanted to do something for people, something to help me be a better person, and there you were." "Really?" "Yes, really." "I'm glad." "So am I." "So will I be able to come and live with you?" "You're in the system now, James. I really don't think that would be very easy to arrange." "Would you want me to?" "Oh, yes. Of course I would." "What about Sam?" "What about him?" "Could he come too?" "Of course, but I really don't think they'll let a single man look after even one, let alone two boys. Do you?" "I don't know. Maybe not." James carried on munching, unaware that Sam had heard their conversation. Both boys' brains raced. 'What ifs' ran back and forth unchecked by reality. When lunch was over they began climbing again, up and over the crest of the hill. It took about two hours for them to reach the lake, where they split into two groups and boarded the boats to cross the lake. Mrs Daniels fussed round to make sure everyone had fastened their life jackets, although they had all been checked twice, once by the school staff and the second time by either Scott or Charlie. Now, even the children were becoming weary of her constant jibes at the school staff. More to come...