In the late 1500's, a legendary Native American figure by the name of Deganawida formed a coalition of tribes in what is now New York State, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The Iroquois Confederacy, or as it became known, League of Five Nations, included a small tribe called the Oneida. The alliance of these five tribes lasted for over two hundred years, a shining example of peaceful co-existence.
For generations, the Oneida had lived in their matriarchal society and were known as the Onyota'aka, or People of the Standing Stone. That name spoke of the ages for no one knew just how long they had been living in these forests.
Ohni:ta Pebbles was one of the last great clan mothers, head of the Bear Clan, and a powerful spirit healer. Her body was failing but her mind never lost its power, traveling through time in powerful visions of the future. Atunhetsla it was called, the spirit journey.
"He will come," She said one day out of the blue. "He will be born of our mother's clan, but they will not see him. The Spirit Warrior will return greatness to our people, the Great Mother will send him…He will come."
Her daughter heard the words, but kept them secret for a long time. The ramblings of an old woman she thought…but she was wrong. It would take generations to be revealed but the prophecy would lay hidden just like the sacred standing stone of the Oneida. It would all come to light one day.
In the summer of 1990, a white man named William Boden married a Native American girl in upstate New York. Sally Pebbles of the Oneida people became Mrs. Boden in a small church in Coxsackie Township, located on the upper reaches of the Hudson River. None of this might seem remarkable except that one year later she had a child, and they named him Ronald after William's father.
Like his mother, Ronny had big brown eyes and even darker hair. To her he was a beautiful baby and his native features were the greatest attraction. The Boden's had two other children in the following years, but to his mother Ronny would always be her special boy.
When Ronny was three, the Boden family moved south. By then William had graduated college with a degree in education. He took a job with a small private children's school in suburban Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C., and Sally stayed home with the kids.
By the age of five it seemed to his father that Ronny was learning disabled, he couldn't seem to focus on anything. He was due to start school in the fall and William knew there would be terrible problems. He had to decide what to do with the boy.
But that summer Sally took Ronny to visit her family in upstate New York. It would be the first time they had met the boy. The family lived in a small town just an hour's drive below the Canadian border. This was the original homeland of the Oneida, although most of them had been moved to Wisconsin over a century and a half ago.
It was a place of memories for Sally, a place where her family had lived for generations. Ronny was introduced to her parents and his distant cousins. The boy seemed quite interested in all these people who looked so much like him. He ran and played with his cousins in the woods, and then Sally took the boy to see her grandmother.
"You will meet my Aksotha, my grandmother," Sally told him. "She is very old and very wise, so you be nice to her. She can teach you many things about our people."
To Ronny, the meeting with this old woman who sat in a rocking chair in the corner of a darkened room was an experience filled with childish fears. Her hair had long since turned white and the wrinkled face spoke of many hard years in the world. Her eyes were clouded over as her sight began to fade and yet the boy felt drawn to her.
"Oh child, what a sweet boy," the old woman said. "He has your looks, Sally…" And there she paused.
Ronny stood before her, eyes cast down, and she smiled. "His eyes are so full of light. Come child…don't fear to touch an old woman. Look at me."
And Ronny reached out his small hand to touch her face. Their eyes met and the old woman gasped as his hand met her cheek. Sally stood back, unsure of what was happening. But the moment was silent, almost magical.
The old woman closed her eyes as Ronny placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned in to kiss her cheek. She smiled and nodded her head as if some great understanding had passed between them. When she opened her eyes they seemed bright and clear, as if her vision was restored…and then she spoke directly to Ronny.
"In the time before our mothers, and their mother's mothers, the people could do great things. It was a time when the Oneida had strong medicine. Atunhetsla, the spirit within, was a great part of our lives. But the strength of our people has faded and the medicine was lost as they left the sacred lands.
"We are the Onyota'a:ka, People of the Standing Stone, and we are creatures of nature, little man. The lakes, the trees and the land all belonged to us. Your mother is descended from greatness…don't you ever forget that. I feel that greatness is born within you, listen to its call.
"In the Ohslayelit time of your life you will understand. As a boy becomes a man the strength of his spirit arises. For now your mind cannot understand the thoughts you will have, the meaning is hidden. Be strong, little man, your day will come. I see the light of a great spirit in your eyes. You will have the strength of the bear."
Her arms reached out for the boy and he crawled up into her lap. The chair rocked and the old woman sang softly to the boy, an ancient song that calmed his spirit. Sally could see her son relax, his eyes staring off into a distant place. Ronny was at peace.
Sally would often recall that moment in the years that followed, but the words made no sense to her. Her Aksotha had always been mysterious, but she represented the old ways going all the way back to Ohni:ta Pebbles, and for that the people gave her respect. But within the year her grandmother passed on to join the spirits of their ancestors, there would be no answers to give her son.
Ronny began school and for the first few years it was hard. His father watched him closely, looking for signs of the malady in his mind. Then Ronny began to act out and he became aggressive. When he became a discipline problem there were meetings between the school and his parents. Over Sally's objections, William had his son placed in a special school, a school for the mentally handicapped.
It was a serious mistake because the boy shut down and became withdrawn. Sally could not understand what was happening, but she knew it had something to do with her grandmother's words. The moment he was touched Ronny would lash out and the doctors diagnosed him as bi-polar. They gave him drugs which only served to make him inattentive.
When Ronny turned eleven, the onslaught of chemicals in his body brought about an early puberty which diminished his passive-aggressive behavior. But by now he was behind other boys his age in school. His reading ability was at a third grade level, although his comprehension was much higher. Math skills were fair although he had not memorized the multiplication tables. It was suggested he would benefit from a tutor.
William finally found a residential treatment program for the boy out on the Eastern Shore. Ronny would live at the school and Sally was distraught at the idea of losing her son. But William assured her it was the only way the boy could begin to have a normal life. And so Ronny came to the Wainright Institute. It was the best thing that could have happened in his young life, and in time he discovered why.
* * * * *
Mark Ryan was a fresh graduate with a Bachelor's in Education from Maryland State University and his minor was in psychology. He was considering psychology as the field of study for his Masters when a friend suggested a job that would give him a first hand look at the subject.
Mark struggled with the concept all summer long and into the fall, but finally he sent out several applications. His family had been somewhat encouraging, yet not completely behind him. His father had been pushing law school since the beginning, something Mark wouldn't even consider. Their family didn't need any more lawyers, but most of them could use a good psychologist.
The Wainright Institute was one of several that responded to his inquiries and early one morning Mark drove down to Easton on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay for an interview. The job would give him a position as a tutor beginning almost immediately. At least he would be away from his father.
Working with kids had not been his first choice and his reasons were varied. They included the fact that he was an only child and didn't think he could handle disabled kids with a dispassionate heart. But the lack of jobs in anything related to his field of study helped him make the choice. He knew how to teach and there was that shiny new diploma to consider. In all, he thought the job would be a good test of his abilities.
The trip across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was always a thrill, even in winter. The overcast skies did nothing to hide the vast reaches of water on either side. Mark had been coming this way since he was a kid because it was the only way to the beaches along the eastern coast of the state. The Bay was a sportsman's paradise and yet he had spent little time on the water the past few years, life was just too busy.
Doctor Leo Malvern, head of the Institute, greeted Mark at the door to the administrative offices promptly at eight. A light dusting of snow had coated the campus the night before, but the sidewalks had been cleared. Brushing the snow off his boots, he followed the doctor into the staff lounge and settled in for a nice chat.
"I suppose you haven't had any experience in a residential setting such as this before, but that's all right," Malvern began. "Most of the kids here are boarders, but some of them go home on the weekends. Much of their experience with us is about teaching them to make good choices and learning self discipline."
Malvern smiled and looked at a copy of Mark's resume. "Academically you've been preparing to teach normal children, but our kids will push your limits I'm afraid. The term learning disabled may make you think of mental retardation but I assure you most of these children don't qualify for that easy label. No, in fact we have some extremely gifted kids."
"Then they're here because of behavioral issues?" Mark asked.
"Yes…and no. Some of them act out because of abuse in the home, some are just slow learners. But no matter what the reason, each of them has been sent here by their parents to change what is viewed as disruptive behavior.
"Let's be frank, I believe a lot of parents just don't want to be bothered with a child who acts outside of prescribed norms. Their lives are too important to spend the considerable effort it takes to raise anything but a normal child. I hope you don't get upset with my bluntness, but I see their attitude as one of legal abandonment."
"No, I appreciate your honesty, Doctor Malvern. That's a rather unsettling statement, but then I don't think every person has the fortitude to be a parent."
Malvern laughed. "Good, I need a stalwart companion in my war against bad parents. And please, just call me Leo. Well, unless the students are around, then you may call me Doc, they all do."
"Understood," Mark said. "I suppose this parental attitude leaves you in a quandary. You could prescribe medication to alleviate the behavioral issues but then the child might face an increase in learning disability. Meds vs. behavior modification therapy….I would go with the therapy."
Malvern nodded his head in agreement. "And that's why you're here, Mark. I read your application carefully and I think we understand one another. You will need some time to adjust to our way of life, but I want you on my staff…yesterday if possible."
He went on to explain that Mark had the choice of living on campus or taking rooms at the adjacent apartment complex which was owned by the Institute. Some of the staff was retained on campus to proctor the kids as a means of behavior control. But he also suggested that since Mark was a new member of the teaching staff it might be easier to live off campus.
"From personal experience many of the staff wish to live away from the children. These kids are in such need of constant attention that it might interfere with your private life."
Mark had to laugh. "I don't have much of a private life at the moment. I've spend too much time with my nose in books, but I take your point."
Malvern smiled. "At your age I don't suppose that will be a handicap for long. So, I suppose you ought to pack, we can use your help right away."
Mark drove off campus and into Easton where he stopped in a coffee shop. He couldn't tell Malvern but his baggage was already in the car. He'd been camped out at his parent's waterfront house north of Annapolis for the past few months, but it wasn't well heated. If this hadn't worked out he'd been prepared to go kiss his father's ass and sleep in their basement. After killing a few hours he drove back to the campus and immediately ran into Malvern.
Doc walked him around the campus and allowed him to view the kids in an academic setting and at various activities. One hundred and twenty-three children, from ages eight to eighteen, attended the school. Everyone was required to play sports, essentially to relieve anxiety and burn off excess energy.
Many students painted, sculpted or engaged in some creative outlet as well. They had jobs to keep the campus running that ranged from gardening during good weather to dishwashing and shoveling snow. Each student was paid in credits which they might later spend at the school store.
Academics were not the entire focus of the Institute, Malvern explained. Teaching these kids to survive in the real world was paramount. Whenever possible the students were allowed to run the school and plan social and holiday events.
They went through the double doors into the library building where Mark was assigned an office and teaching space. His classes were to be small, maybe three or four students at most, along with some one on one sessions as needed.
Malvern showed Mark to his office, a spacious room with a standard wooden desk, a new computer system, a phone and an empty bookcase. It was up to him to draw the books he needed from the library shelves and choose the support supplies from the store.
"Get some plants from the greenhouse, put up a few pictures on the walls. This is your space now," Malvern said. "You'll need to see Mrs. Watts right away. She's in charge of the faculty residences. The apartments are furnished but she'll explain everything you might need to get for yourself."
They shook hands graciously and Malvern left him in the sparse environment of his new office. Mark sat in his chair, swiveled around and looked out the window at the soccer field.
Several teenaged boys were kicking a ball around despite the patches of snow covering the grass. He happened to look to the left at the line of trees edging the field and watched as two boys pushed their way into the pines and disappeared. Probably sneaking off to catch a smoke, he thought. That brought a smile to his lips as he had done the very same thing in high school.
"Are you Mr. Ryan?" a voice said behind him. Mark jumped at the sound and swiveled around in the chair. A dark haired boy was standing there with a piece of paper clutched in his hand. The eyes were intriguing, who was this child?
"Yes, I'm Ryan," he said.
"I'm Ronny Boden," the boy said as if Mark was supposed to know who he was. The puzzled look on his face must have triggered something in the boy's mind.
"I have you as my tutor in reading on Wednesday and Friday," He explained. "That's what this paper says."
"If the paper says that then it must be true, Ronny. But I didn't hear it talking," Mark replied.
Ronny smiled and his perfectly shaped teeth dazzled the room for a moment. "You're funny," He said.
"Just pointing out that paper doesn't talk but the writing on the paper tells you something. Is that your schedule?"
"Yes, Mrs. Jingle just gave it to me."
"So how would you put all of that into a sentence, one that explains clearly what you want to say?"
Ronny thought a moment, his eyes turned up to the ceiling. His head came down and he smiled again. "The schedule Mrs. Jingle wrote tells me that I have you as my reading tutor on Wednesday and Friday."
"Excellent," Mark said. "It's clear to me now that you're one of my students, and a good one it seems."
"Thank you," Ronny said and he remained standing in the doorway.
"Are you supposed to be in class?" Mark asked.
"No classes until one o'clock," Ronny said. "This is my free period."
"All right. Do you happen to know a Mrs. Watts in the residence office?"
"Yes, her nephew Stuart teaches my science class."
"Then would you be so kind as to show me where I might find Mrs. Watts? That is if you don't have anything else planned."
"Yes, I will, Mr. Ryan."
Ronny was being very careful with his speech, trying not to trip and be corrected again. Mark found that charming and knew the boy wanted to please him.
"Uh, Ronny, I'm new here," Mark said, motioning the boy over to the window. He pointed at the stand of pine trees across the field. "I saw two boys go into the trees up there earlier and they haven't come back. Why do they go in there?"
Ronny looked shocked and shook his head. "I can't say, Mr. Ryan."
"You can't or you won't?"
"I'm…I'm not supposed to tell," Ronny said.
"Okay, I understand," Mark said.
"You do?"
"Yes, I do. Sometimes there are things that you have to keep secret from adults. I'm sure that if there was anything dangerous up there you would tell me because you wouldn't want anyone to get hurt."
"Yes, I would tell you," Ronny said. "It's not dangerous up there."
"So you've been through the trees yourself, am I right?"
Ronny nodded. "I didn't do anything wrong though."
"Do other boys do wrong things up there?"
Ronny looked at him with astonishment. The boy was trapped by his words.
"I…I can't say," he replied.
"Then don't…I wouldn't want to get you in trouble."
"Thanks, Mr. Ryan." The boy put his arm around Mark's waist and hugged him.
It was over in an instant and Mark realized how relieved Ronny was that he didn't have to reveal any deep dark secrets. The hug in itself was sweet, a gesture of affection that maybe wasn't deserved, but Ronny had given it freely.
"Thank you," Mark said, acknowledging the affectionate move. "Let's go find Mrs. Watts."
Ronny led him out of the library and back across campus to the administration building. Once down the stairs, the boy led him through a doorway and they followed the hall to the end and to another door. Mark saw a nameplate that said "Watts." He knocked twice and a voice inside said "Come on in."
A sensibly dressed middle aged woman sat behind a desk much like the one in his office, only her's was strewn with paper.
"Hello, Ronny," she said and the boy immediately went into her arms and hugged her like a long lost relative. Mrs. Watts hugged back and kissed the boy on the cheek. Ronny then wiggled himself into her lap and sat there like a little prince on his throne. Watts kept an arm around the boy and smiled up at Mark expectantly.
"Hello," he said, "Mark Ryan, I'm the new…"
"Tutor," she said completing his thought. "Welcome to Wainright, Mr. Ryan."
"Mark, please call me Mark."
"I'm Katherine, and I see you've met Ronny." The boy smiled at the mention of his name.
"Yes, it seems as if Ronny is one of my students. He dropped by my office and was kind enough to bring me here. I would have been lost without him."
"Ronny is my best boy, aren't you sweetie," she said.
Ronny nodded, this was a game they played often.
"Dr. Malvern said I might get some apartment information from you," Mark said.
"Already done," she replied, struggling to reach an envelope on her desk. Ronny it seems wasn't about to give up his seat. She handed over the envelope and Mark felt a set of keys inside.
"Apartment 2-B in the south building," Katherine said. "Just remodeled last year, nice furniture and a great view of the lake. Do you have any sheets and towels?"
Mark shook his head. "I waited to see what was needed. I saw a K-mart on the way in."
"Good choice, they have a grocery too, that's where I shop," Katherine said. "The kitchen has pots and pans, silverware and the like. Mr. Malloy left everything when he…uh, left us."
Mark raised an eyebrow but she frowned and looked at Ronny, shaking her head. "We'll talk later" was the message and he understood that Malloy wasn't to be a topic of discussion in front of the students.
"So what do you think of our little school so far," Katherine asked.
"Its fine, Katherine," he said. "If all my students are like Ronny I'll have a wonderful time."
Katherine let out a short barking laugh. "Oh no, Mark, Ronny is very unique. You'll have your hands full with this crowd. Won't he, Ronny?"
Ronny looked up and smiled. "Mr. Ryan will have his hands full." He giggled after that and somehow Mark knew they weren't lying. What had he stepped into?
Ronny looked up at the clock on the wall. "I have to go, time to set up lunch."
He gave Katherine another hug before he slid off her lap. "Bye, Mom," He said. Turning to Mark he wrapped his arms around the man-sized waist and squeezed. "Bye, Mr. Ryan, see you later." He opened the door and closed it quietly behind him.
"Sit down, Mark. Let's talk about my best boy."
Mark sat in the proffered chair and Katherine began.
"Ronny will be fifteen in a few months, he's excited about that in case he hasn't told you. He was originally diagnosed as ADHD and passive-aggressive, but the doctors also thought he was bi-polar. Most of his problem is genetic, although his parents insist a string of childhood illnesses affected some of his mental capacity. He once ran a fever of one hundred and three degrees for two days straight before his father took him to the hospital. That's enough to alter anyone's brain functions."
"Parents are an issue here?" Mark asked.
"Partially. The father is a teacher, and God knows what he thinks. The mother is Native American and quite under her husband's domination it seems. She came with her husband the last time they visited, which isn't often enough.
"Ronny has her looks and dotes on his mother. He's obedient to the father but shows the man no affection. Count yourself blessed, Mark. Ronny hugged you and he barely knows you. Two points for the new guy."
"I don't believe in putting children down, Katherine. Ronny is a sweet kid and I think he'll be a great student."
"Well you've got the right attitude anyway," she said. "He might appear a bit simple in his thinking but he's not. There's a bit of arrested development, again that's probably due to the parents."
"I asked him a tough question earlier," Mark said. "He knows right from wrong and it made me wonder how the pecking order works amongst the students."
"The kids know Ronny is a straight shooter and they know the staff likes him very much. It's caused a few problems in the past. What did you ask him?"
"Oh, I saw some boys sneaking off into the woods and I asked if he knew what they were doing. He said it was secret and I told him that it was okay to have secrets as long as he wasn't covering up anything dangerous."
"I like you, Mark. That was a sensible way to handle the situation. Ronny worries about lying to us, he withdraws when he's forced to lie. As for the boys in the woods, they sneak up there to smoke cigarettes and masturbate, or so I'm told."
"Oh," Mark said, blushing at the turn of the conversation.
"Come on, get used to it. Put a bunch of sexually mature boys together with all this supervision and what they're doing is considered normal. Wouldn't surprise me if Ronny has been up there too. He has sexual feelings and sometimes he asks me difficult questions, but you're a man, you should be able to handle it."
"Do I have to? Isn't there a counselor or someone they can talk to?"
"Mark, these kids don't have a sense of who does what around here. You'll find that when Ronny wants to know something he just asks. It's innocence to the extreme and that's why I couldn't say anything about Malloy.
"That jerk was dismissed for fondling one of the young girls. She saw nothing wrong with it, but she was sixteen and handicapped from an emotional standpoint. Malloy should have been arrested but then the girl would have gone through hell."
"I don't condone that kind of behavior," Mark said.
"No one here does. But she needed to be protected and Malloy paid the price."
"And I'll be sleeping in that bed? Thanks for keeping me up at night," Mark said.
"No way, you got the newest mattress set."
"Somehow I don't think you're just the residential clerk around here," Mark chuckled. "You know too much about the institution."
"Leo and I started this institute with my daddy's money fifteen years ago," Katherine said. "We married shortly thereafter but I've kept my maiden name. I have a degree in education much like you it seems."
"This explains a lot," Mark said.
"I'm 'Mom' to a lot of these kids. I don't like to play favorites but you see how I am with Ronny. I've known him for three years now and the improvement he's made is remarkable. No more angry fits, no more fighting with the other boys.
"He's focused, he's busy and the reward has been a better quality of life. Unlike most of the other kids, Ronny has been off meds for almost a year now. We control the attention and hyperactivity issues with a proper diet and natural neural enhancement. He's one of our greatest success stories."
"Then I should be honored to be his tutor. Thanks for being so communicative about the boy, it will help me a lot," Mark said.
"My door is always open," Katherine said. "Don't be surprised if you find Ronny hanging on your coat tails, he obviously likes you. Maybe after you've known him for a while we can talk about other things. He can be quite a challenge at times."
"I won't disappoint him. But maybe I should go check out my apartment and then head down to the K-mart for supplies."
"Good idea, I'm here if you need help," she said, and then she turned back to the mound of paper on her desk.
The apartment was clean and tidy, although the rooms were small. Katherine had told the truth about the view. The lake was lovely from this angle and Mark chuckled when he saw it included a portion of the secret woodland meeting place the boys had entered this morning.
Sheets for a full sized bed, towels, paper goods, groceries. Mark had quite a list by the time he was done and it was barely noon. He remembered Ronny saying something about lunch and wondered where the cafeteria was on campus. The answer lay on the counter between the living room and kitchen. A brochure about the Institute included a map and there across from the library was the dining hall.
Stuffing the shopping list in a pocket, he set off to catch a glimpse of the students at mealtime. He imagined a cafeteria full of students would be pretty boisterous during meals, especially considering the range of emotions he expected to encounter here.
Mark followed the walkway towards the dining hall and found himself amidst a bunch of students from the elementary grades. They were walking in an orderly fashion closely monitored by two faculty members who nodded at him and smiled. Mark held the door as the group filed in and was surprised at the quiet emanating from the hall.
He slid through the door and looked around. Long rows of tables filled the middle of the room with an area set aside for the staff. Kids were lined up with trays to receive their meals and talking was kept to a minimum. A hand tugged at his coat sleeve and he turned to see Ronny's smiling face.
"Are you here to eat?" Ronny asked.
"Yes, I thought it would be nice to see all the students together."
"This is only the lower grades," Ronny said, "Middle and high school is next period. Would you like me to show you where to get a tray?"
"Yes, please," Mark replied.
Ronny led him to the left side of the student line and they came to a small window set in the wall. Behind it stood an elderly man in kitchen whites who looked at him expectantly, the name tag on his apron said Paul.
"Hello, Paul, I'm Mark Ryan…the new guy," Mark said.
Paul grinned. "What will it be, Mr. Ryan? We have soup, salad and roast turkey with stuffing today. Do you drink coffee or tea?"
"Sounds good, I'll have tea, please."
Paul looked over at Ronny and his grin got bigger. Mark had never seen so many teeth in one face. "Friend of yours, Ronny?"
"Mr. Ryan is my tutor," Ronny replied.
"Good, then we'll give him the white meat, okay?" Paul said.
"Okay," Ronny repeated and returned the smile. "You eat over there with the teachers," He said, pointing at the enclosed area.
"And where do you eat?" Mark asked.
"My lunch is next period and I eat at that table over there," Ronny said, pointing across the room.
"Then I'll go eat with the teachers. Maybe tomorrow I can eat lunch at your table if there's room. Will they allow me to eat with the students?"
"Mrs. Watts does and a few of the teachers do. You want to have lunch with me?"
"It would be my pleasure," Mark said.
"Cool beans," Ronny said. "Oh, I have to go start the dishwasher. See you later, Mr. Ryan."
He slid through the kitchen door just as Paul set the plates on Mark's tray.
"This looks great, thank you, Paul."
"You're a good egg, Mr. Ryan. Ronny knows the good from the bad."
What that meant he hadn't the slightest idea. He nodded to Paul and carried the tray into the staff area. Several teachers nodded his way as he sat down at an empty spot. Mark introduced himself around the table and was able to eat small bites of food between their questions about his background and educational abilities. It was hell being the new guy.
After lunch Mark went ahead into town and did his shopping. Two hundred bucks poorer he returned to campus and carried the purchases into the apartment. The afternoon was waning but there were still lots of things to unpack from the car and an apartment to organize.
Mark was shelving some books when there was a knock at the door. Now what? Opening the door he was surprised and pleased to see Ronny standing on the threshold with a paper in his hand. What was this, déjà vu?
"Hi, Mr. Ryan. Mrs. Watts asked me to bring you this class schedule so you would know when your students were meeting and where to go."
"How kind, I was wondering when I'd be receiving that information and here it is. Would you like to come in?"
"Is it okay?" Ronny asked.
"Are students allowed in staff apartments? I don't know, do you?"
Ronny shook his head, he didn't know either.
"Then I'll call Mrs. Watts and ask her," Mark said.
He picked up the school directory and dialed her number. She answered on the second ring. "Katherine Watts."
"Katherine, this is Mark Ryan."
"Hello, Mark. Did Ronny bring you the class schedule already?"
"Yes he did, and thank you. He's here now but neither of us knows if he's allowed to stay, we don't know the rules."
"Male staff with male students is fine, I would avoid having any female students in your apartment, if you know what I mean," she chuckled.
"Point well taken, Katherine. I suppose my coat tails are now in use," He said, alluding to their previous conversation about Ronny.
"I have an iron in my office if they get wrinkled. Enjoy your afternoon, Mark. Dinner is at six, see you then." She hung up and he could hear her joyful laughter before the click.
"Katherine, uh, Mrs. Watts says it's just fine if you want to stay."
"I know her first name," Ronny said and then he turned to look out the window.
Mark saw him staring across the lake and then turn to look at the trees. "They go in there to smoke cigarettes," Ronny said. "Students aren't supposed to smoke. It's bad for your health."
Mark smiled, the boy trusted him. "Yes, smoking is bad for your health," He repeated.
"I smoked once or twice in there, but I don't do it anymore. I took my pants down too."
The smoking part Mark could handle, he wasn't up for knowing about any masturbation the boy might have performed. Why would he tell a teacher?
"Brian said it would be fun. You don't know Brian, he left last year," Ronny said.
Should he chomp on the bait Ronny was dangling it in front of his nose? He wanted to talk about it otherwise why would he bring it up?
"And did you and Brian have fun?" Mark asked, afraid of the answer.
Ronny turned away from the window and walked over to the couch where he sat down on the edge. He patted the cushion and Mark sat down beside him. The moment he sat Ronny put his head against Mark's chest.
"Brian said he was my friend, but I thought what he wanted to do was bad."
"People don't always think of what others might feel, Ronny. It's a bad thing when somebody does things you don't like. You aren't that way, you don't want to hurt people, and that's why everyone likes you," Mark said.
"They do, yes, they like me," Ronny said. "I like you, Mr. Ryan."
"I know you do, Ronny. Thanks for sharing that little secret with me. It makes me like you even better."
"Brian put my penis in his mouth and I squirted. That was fun and it made me feel good."
Lord, why me, Mark asked himself? Was it that important for him to know these things? Ronny was probably seeking validation of his actions. To him everything was good or bad and he was hoping his new friend would say it was all right. How could he discuss this on Ronny's level, did he even want to go there?
"Ronny, you're my newest friend," Mark began. "I'm not sure I understand why you're telling me these things. Have you ever told anyone about what you did with Brian?"
"No, who could I tell? Couldn't tell Mom, she's a lady."
"Do you regret what you did with Brian? Did he make you angry?" Yes, angry was a good choice of words. Anger was one of Ronny's hot button items.
"No, Brian didn't make me angry. I just wasn't happy with him."
"He upset you, he disappointed you," Mark suggested.
"Yes, that's what I felt. I thought he was my friend, but I was wrong. He's gone, I don't miss him."
"Are you embarrassed to tell me these things? I think you're very brave, not many boys could be this honest."
"I like you, you won't tell on me," Ronny said.
"You didn't do anything wrong that I can see," Mark said. "Sometimes boys do these things together, sort of like a science experiment." Oh shit, why not. "I did it with a friend of mine when I was your age." There, he'd said it.
Ronny sat up and stared at him. "You did? Tell me about it."
"Uh, what can I say?" Maybe the phone will ring. Lord, help me out here. "Uh, his name was Jack and he was my best friend and we did things to experiment." Have we gone far enough here?
"Did he try and stick his penis up your butt?" Ronny wanted answers. Mark noticed that as they talked Ronny's words seemed to get more explicit. He was losing the politeness they had maintained in earlier conversation.
"I'm not comfortable discussing that…"
"Did he want to? Did you think he would hurt you?"
"Butts are sensitive areas, Ronny. If Brian tried that with you it was wrong."
"So how did you stop Jack from doing it?" Ronny asked.
Ah, that's where this had been going. Ronny wanted to know how to stop someone he considered a friend from doing a bad thing.
"If he had asked me I would have told him no, that's all. He was my friend and he would understand that no means exactly that. Do you understand now?"
"Yes, I understand. I don't think two men having sex is wrong. We could have sex if you wanted."
"No, Ronny…we cannot. I'm your teacher and we can talk about these things if you want, but there will never be any sex."
"If you say no then I have to accept that," Ronny said. "If I want to be your friend I have to take no for an answer."
Good boy, they were back in a safe zone once again. "I don't want to deny you things, Ronny, but that is one of them. I think it would also be bad for our new friendship."
"And you could get in trouble, like Malloy did. Is that right?"
"You know about Malloy?"
"Everyone knows," Ronny laughed. "The teachers just think we don't. Jennifer told us what Malloy did. She sucked his penis a dozen times in the storage room behind the science lab."
Damn, this kid was a wealth of information about the illicit doings at the school.
"I think what Malloy did was wrong. Jennifer should have told on him," Mark said.
"She said he got her pregnant by swallowing his sperm," Ronny said.
Mark shook his head. "It doesn't happen like that."
"Can you get pregnant if a guy comes in your butt?"
"No way, Ronny. Where did you hear all this stuff?"
"Malloy told Jennifer if he fucked her he could squirt inside her and she wouldn't get pregnant. He said he could turn off his sperm."
"Another lie. What else is rattling around in your mind, Ronny? Let's get it out on the table right now and be done with it."
"I can't say, you won't want to be my friend anymore."
"I will always be your friend. You are the finest boy I have ever met in my life." And as he was saying this Mark suddenly realized he meant every word of it. Damn, why did Ronny have to be so fucking cute?
"Does that mean we can have sex when you aren't my teacher anymore?"
"No…let's stop with the sex talk. I'm an adult and a staff member here. You're a fourteen year old boy and a student of mine. Having sex is not a possibility even if I wanted it to happen."
"How old would I have to be?" Ronny asked.
"It's not just about the age difference, you are my student and I am your teacher. There are laws that forbid it completely. I would be sent to jail, you would be hurt because of it. Everyone would find out, it would ruin both our lives. And that's only a part of it."
"I wouldn't tell anybody," Ronny said. "I don't want you to go to jail."
"Well, thank you for that at least. What if Dr. Malvern found out, wouldn't you be ashamed?"
"Are you going to tell him? That's the only way he would find out. Friends don't tell, Mr. Ryan."
Suddenly he realized Ronny wasn't playing the simpleton anymore. His thoughts were coalescing, trying to draw them into a conspiracy of silence. This kid had a depth that no one seemed to know about. How would he convince anyone that Ronny was fully aware of what it meant to have an illicit relationship?
"I don't want to tell anyone. I want us to work on this together. All this talk of sex is just upsetting me." Mark said.
"And me too. Look, my penis is hard." Ronny laughed, placing his hands on either side of his crotch and allowing his bulge to press forward. "Sex is fun and fun is something you have with your friends."
"Sex between us would not be good fun." Liar, you'd kill for a cock like that if he was eighteen. "I need to finish my unpacking, Ronny. Maybe you should go now and I'll see you again for dinner."
"Okay, I guess I drove you crazy enough for one day. I've been bad. I'm sorry, Mr. Ryan." He hugged good bye and damn, Mark could feel the hardness pressed against his leg.
Only after he closed the door behind the boy did Mark realize that Ronny wasn't finished yet, this was only the opening salvo. Was there a sign on his forehead that said closet case? He was tempted to go in the bathroom and look.
Okay, he was gay but damn few knew it. Mark had always been worried that someday he would face an accreditation board somewhere. Because of his chosen profession his sexual preferences might cause difficulties. But fourteen year old boys had never been on his radar scope, they were still children for goodness sake.
Ronny had upset him. Imagine telling him about Jack. He and Jack had been fourteen year old fuck buddies. That was not something he could tell anyone, especially Ronny. All boys experimented, but not with their teachers.
But Ronny had been forthcoming about his experiences. Was there more, had he done it with other teachers? Sure the boy was horny, what kid wasn't? Too many questions, Mark, you'll tie yourself in knots this way.
So he had to allow himself time to think about it, that's what the books said to do. It had been two years since the last lover… the beginning of his junior year. The boy was a freshman right out of high school and they'd met in the showers. Lord what a night that was. The boy had looked at him and Mark looked back, something clicked.
He'd asked Tony out for a drink, knowing the kid had no valid identification that would allow such a thing. They ended up with a bottle of cheap wine in the backseat of the boy's Dodge. Faces had come close and Mark took the plunge, leaning in for the kiss. It was all he could do to keep from tearing the clothes off the kid. They had sex until dawn, and when finally exhausted ended the night at the Waffle House for breakfast.
Tony was from a small town in the western part of the state. They spent most of that semester in bed together. The year ended and Tony went home for the summer with promises left behind. Mark never saw him again.
He played the part of jilted lover quite well until graduation, hating every gay couple he saw in the bars. People avoided the sour looking young man standing in the corner and he never tried to encourage them to look twice.
Failed gay man, that's what the sign should read outside his door. Failed except for the lust of a fourteen year old boy? Oh, God, he should just shoot himself now. Ronny's ability to bring his mind in and out of focus was fascinating. Had anyone else witnessed the boy's mind games?
A child in an out of control situation seeks to order the world around him providing a false sense of stability, the books said that too. The chaos in Ronny's life came from home. His affliction and the Brian types of this world only made matters worse.
Ronny was well on the way to developing a crush on him. A fairly normal behavior pattern in a student who admires a teacher, but there was nothing normal about this behavior. Ronny was trying to seduce him and Mark had not even tutored him yet.
It was close to five-thirty when Mark finished straightening out the living room. He almost missed the gentle knock on his door. Now who, but he already had a feeling.
"Hi, Mr. Ryan," Ronny said. "I came to take you to dinner."
That smiling face looking up at him, the sparkle of innocence in his eyes. It seems Ronny had forgotten what happened earlier.
"That's very kind of you, just let me go change my clothes," Mark said.
"Okay, may I use your bathroom?"
"Sure, right down the hall."
Mark washed his hands in the kitchen sink and went back to the bedroom. He got a pair of slacks and a shirt from the closet. Sitting on the end of the bed, he pulled off his socks and dirty jeans to make the change. Across the hall in the bathroom he heard Ronny groan.
He immediately became concerned, was the boy in pain? Instead of thinking he reacted. A few steps across the hall and Mark pushed open the bathroom door. Ronny was sitting on the toilet masturbating. The sight of his head tilted back, eyes closed and a smile of contentment froze Mark in place. The little bastard had tricked him.
Ronny never looked up to see if Mark was watching, he already knew the answer. Mark felt tremendous excitement at viewing the boy like this and yet he was terrified. An almost sensual connection existed between them at that moment. Ronny was testing him and the teacher was failing.
Mark turned away and shut the door. His mind had gone blank after that viewing and he had to sit down before passing out. All he could think of was that Ronny had wanted to be seen and he'd been set up.
He couldn’t be angry. No, that would be the wrong reaction. This had been an act of seduction, purposeful and planned. There was nothing wrong with Ronny's mind, except it seemed that no one knew how the boy could use it.
"You getting all dressed up for dinner?" Ronny asked.
Mark hadn't even heard the bathroom door open. "Never hurts to put on a good impression," He croaked. His throat was suddenly dry.
Ronny smiled and opened his arms for a hug. After what Mark had just witnessed the boy deserved a spanking not an accolade, but they hugged. Ronny rubbed his nose in Mark's chest hairs and giggled. The sound of this high pitched glee gave Mark the shivers. Ronny turned his head up and puckered his lips.
Mark pushed Ronny's head back and looked down into his eyes. "What is it you want?"
"I was just trying to kiss you."
"You may kiss my cheek if you want, but only when we are alone. In many cultures men kiss each other's cheeks as a sign of respect and affection. It's not a custom that's well accepted here so we will do it in secret, okay? See, you finally have a secret to share with me."
Ronny smiled and reached for his face. They kissed cheeks. The boy seemed pretty happy about the way that worked and they now had a secret greeting. As for the exhibitionist tendencies, that would require some further thought. Ronny had scored points by getting him to watch and knew it. But Mark still couldn't explain those inner feelings and how he had allowed it to happen.
Dinner was a low key affair. And he couldn't help noticing that he was way overdressed. Doc wore shorts and a rugby t-shirt. Wasn't it winter outside?
"You know, Mark, we only dress up for Sunday dinner," Doc said with a smile, waving a hand as an invitation to sit at the table.
"I know that now. It's probably difficult to get these kids dressed up."
"We had a boy here two years ago that insisted on wearing a coat and tie for every meal. A legacy his father seems to have passed along. He had a terrible phobia about his body and wouldn't bathe with the other boys. You can imagine how ostracized he became."
"What did you do for him?" Mark asked.
"It wasn't until I performed a routine physical exam that I discovered the truth. Poor child was only ten years old and in the advanced stages of puberty. It was terribly embarrassing for him to be so well endowed, so mature, and so I arranged for him to shower privately. We get all kinds of problems here. Katherine tells me that Ronny has taken a shine to you already."
"I'm hoping that's a sign of trust. Despite the medical issue, I'm beginning to believe he is fully capable of functioning in an academic setting," Mark said.
"Evans said that as well," Leo said. "Oh, you never met Brian Evans. He was Ronny's last tutor, but he left us this past year to pursue his doctorate in Chicago. An effective teacher, Ronny was quite taken with him I believe."
Mark could barely swallow his mouthful of food. "Ronny mentioned a Brian, but he didn't call him Mr. Evans. Was there a student here by that name or does Ronny like to call his teachers by their first name?"
"I don't recall a student named Brian, but Evans was quite informal with his students. I allow teachers to set their own parameters regarding titles. So have you found your apartment satisfactory? Settling in nicely?"
"Yes, the view is lovely. In fact Ronny came by to deliver a note and stayed to help me unpack. I appreciated the hand but I don't want him to miss any required activities on my account."
"He won't," Leo said. "Ronny is one of the more aware students when it comes to responsibility. He shows up like clockwork for his duties and rarely seems to miss an assignment. Consider yourself blessed, other than Katherine and I, Ronny tends to ignore most of the staff.
"Like Evans, you may take Ronny on field trips if you wish. The boy's parents visit less frequently now than when he first joined us and they have never refused a request for him to travel. Your choice, unless you see it as too much added responsibility."
"I'll take that under consideration," Mark said.
"You have family close by?"
"My parents are across the Bay. My father keeps talking about retiring to Arizona, but they haven't made any real plans."
"Arizona, beautiful country. Fact is Katherine and I haven't had a decent vacation since we opened the school. Always one thing or another and we keep saying maybe this year."
"But I thought you let out for the summer?" Mark said.
"We do, but there's always a few left behind. Some parents are too busy with their own lives and for their children's sake maybe they are better off here with us. Ronny is one of the forgotten kids as we call them. Come June there will be at least a dozen with nowhere to go."
"And the parents keep on paying to isolate their children from the home. Is that what I'm hearing?"
"Yes, they seem to feel it's our duty as long as they pay," Leo said.
"What about sending them to summer camp?" Mark suggested.
"Several of them would refuse to go as always. Katherine has really become the Mom
to a lot of these kids."
"At least we have the rest of the semester to figure it out," Mark suggested.
Leo shrugged. "If you could help me figure it out I would be eternally in your debt."
The meal ended with several students performing on guitars up at the small stage in the corner. Mark recognized the song from his early school days and was happy to see Ronny sitting in the front row clapping along. Such a bright and beautiful child, and having thought that he knew that the boy scared him half to death.
The knowledge that Evans had been in a relationship with the boy explained a lot about the way Ronny was acting out. It seems the boy had decided he was to be Evans' successor. There was no way he could allow that to happen.
Ronny showed Mark his living quarters after dinner. Each boy had an enclosure in the larger dormitory hall, walls that stood seven feet high with a door. The dorm was light and airy, and this sense of privacy must feel wonderful. The boy's clothes were neatly hung in a closet and the books on his shelf were all in order. Nothing like the room Mark had maintained as an adolescent.
A blue quilt with an Indian design covered Ronny’s bed and out from the corner of his pillow stuck a tiny leg covered in brown fur. The fact that he might have a teddy bear hidden under there didn't surprise Mark at all. Ronny was still very young at heart.
"We shower at nine and have lights out at ten o'clock. I sometimes stay up later if Mr. Allen let's me," Ronny said.
"Mr. Allen is your dorm proctor?" Mark asked.
Ronny smiled. "No, Mr. Allen is my friend." He reached inside the pillow case and pulled out a small brown bear. Their eyes met and Mark knew he was being judged about what he thought of this childish toy.
"Hello, Mr. Allen," Mark said to the bear.
"He likes you," Ronny said holding the bear out. "He would like to sleep in your bed."
Mark frowned and looked down at the bear he was being offered. Ronny was using the bear as a substitute for his own feelings.
"But if Mr. Allen sleeps with me, how will you get to sleep?"
"Me? I don't need a stuffed bear to make me sleep," Ronny laughed. "My mother sent this to me last month. Imagine what would happen if the other boys saw me with a toy bear."
"You want me to hide it for you, is that it?"
"No, I want you to have it."
"Won't that upset your mother?" Mark asked.
"I doubt it. In my family the only thing that counts is what my father thinks."
With that Ronny turned towards his desk and picked up a book. "I have some homework to finish, Mr. Ryan."
"Sorry," Mark said, "I didn't mean to keep you. See you in class tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I'll be there."
Mark left him sitting at the desk and walked himself back across the campus to the apartment. The mention of Ronny's father was the cause of an immediate attitude change. Not a positive sign, but Mark knew very little about the man.
A new job, a new place to live and tomorrow he faced new students. Nothing he had to study for, the ground was quite familiar. Evaluate each child and reinforce according to need. Tutors always had the most flexible programs and that suited him fine.
He drew a hot bath and lay in tub with the assurance that there would be no further Ronny moments this evening. Looking out the bathroom door he could see the large digits on the alarm clock in his bedroom, ten-fifteen. Ronny would be in bed by now. Did he lay there in the dark and think of Brian Evans?
Right here, within inches of his reach, Ronny had put on quite a display this afternoon. Pornographic images of the boy masturbating flooded his mind and Mark knew Ronny had done it to snare him. Taunting him, that's what it was all about. Daring the new teacher to be like Brian.
The image had been exciting. Lord, his physical appearance had been glorious. Mark ran a hand across his sudden erection. What had the boy done after he closed the door. Oh…My God. Mark gasped as his seed spilled forth into the warm tub water.
Shit, why did he do that to himself? Allowing the boy to become nothing more than mental pornography cheapened who he was. Ronny had issues, he had issues, but they could not be allowed to become one and the same.
Mark went to bed with Mr. Allen sitting on the nightstand. Ronny wanted him to have the bear so he would think about them together. Well it was working, only he didn't need the stupid bear as a reminder.
This whole day had been about Ronny carving his name in Mark's mind and the boy had succeeded. Now he was sure that Brian what's-his-name had fled the school in complete terror. The boy would wait for him to make the next move, but he would wait in vain, it was not going to happen.