William Poulet lost a bet and has to accept the very first teaching job he's offered. Now he's teaching at a Military Academy he'd never applied to, in a State where gay porn is a popular download yet it's still anti-LGBT+. One night a friend of a f...
The alarm rang, and he was dressed and in the Dining Hall in less than 30 minutes. It was packed, even at 7:00 a.m. The hall reverberated with the idle chatter of several score students and teachers, most of whom he hadn't yet met. They were freshmen, who were having their own special address in the auditorium at 8:00 a.m., before the traditional morning assembly.
Will noticed that Cookie had set out a breakfast that had more dairy and grain items, such as eggs benedict, omelets and yogurt; granola, grits and multi-grain waffles smothered with fresh fruit compote. Also, there were fewer tables, and more chairs to the existing tables; that made the freshman sit shoulder to shoulder, and leg to leg.
Cookie waved him over.
"I've had one of the boys bring a tray for you upstairs. Some banana pudding pancakes, maple-pecan muffins and some strong southern-style coffee 'n cream. It will take you out of this noisome madhouse for a while."
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"I was remembering my first day at high school," Will said, "terrified and excited all at once."
"Yeah – wonderin' who your best buddies might be, who might be your rivals, and spottin' the attention-seekers and loudmouths. And takin' notes on potential troublemakers ta' steer clear of or join up with! Off with ya - your friends are waitin'."
Upstairs, the room was full of teachers. The timbre of their voices was several keys deeper that the wide range represented by the boys downstairs. There were perhaps 50-60 teachers in all. Will noticed only 3 teachers that appeared to be older than 50. And there were no female teachers at all. Will wondered if some sort of hiring law was being broken, and reminded himself that, as Tanner had said, 'This is Mississippi.'
"Nervous?" asked Grant, his forked speared with two sausages, which disappeared into his cavernous mouth.
"Show off!" said Carter, who was working on destroying a Belgian waffle.
"A little," Will confessed, consuming an entire muffin as soon as he took a tentative bite. The pancakes suffered a similar fate. Cookie was, Will thought, as good as the chef at Le Cochon. Maybe better.
Tanner, who sat a head above the rest, chuckled. "Let me give you some advice. First, be patient with the first years. Go light on the lessons in the first week, giving them time to get used to high school, and yourself time to get to know their strengths and weaknesses. The sophomores tend to be cocky, so hit them with your expectations first, and don't skimp on the homework. That will give them less time to give the freshmen a hard time."
Carter swallowed his 'vitamens', and they all did the same. Tanner drank his down with a fruit smoothie and continued.
"The Juniors are anxious to please the seniors. Here at Boxton, each Senior takes a junior under their wing to help them raise their grades, better their study habits and help them get physically fit."
"In other words," Grant guffawed, "They are Senior slaves." Tanner nodded, but with obvious disdain at the choice of words.
"The Seniors are your biggest challenge. You're new, and unfamiliar with Academy rules and traditions, and they will make your life miserable unless you show them who's boss right from the start, meaning today. All but 3 of them will Join the Seeds of Priapus as Saplings this year; this gives them swollen heads and..."
