04 - Penalties and Disguises
Story index at the bottom
By Burke
Mon Jan 1 02:51:51 EST 1996
The minds of 10-14 year olds operate on a different level from that of adults. Ours were no different. What was perfectly logical and reasonable to us, was a matter of confusion to the adults in our lives. With that in mind, I give you some information about us, and the way we thought. Now, it seems silly, but during the summer of 1957, it was the way things were done, and the way we wanted them to be.
PENALTIES AND DISGUISES
As time went on, we developed rules for our games. Some were outlandish, even for us, and were voted down. But others made sense - at least to us. For instance, one rule was that a captive could not remove his/her gag without first getting his/her hands free. If any of us did (except in the case of an emergency), then the offender had to pay a "penalty," usually a "free tie" to his/her captor(s) at the time. Example: Chuck captures Billy, and Billy pushes out his gag. Billy owes a free tie to Chuck.
But in another scenario, Chuck captures Billy, and is, in turn, captured by Cathy and Nancy. Billy pushes out his gag, but instead of owing a free tie to Chuck, he owes one each to Cathy and Nancy, who were his captors at the time he did it. If he talked, then the penalty was doubled, since, as Cathy once observed, "Tied up prisoners don't talk in this house!" (Unless they were being "interrogated" by their captors.)
Free ties were assessed for other minor infractions, such as helping a captive escape, when the rules of the game prohibited it. Usually, we were quick to take our "penalties," since if they accumulated, they could be traded in for a "super penalty."
A "super penalty" was five regular penalties, and the difference, was that with a regular penalty, we were taken "as we were," with the restriction that we had to be wearing long pants. With a "super penalty," we had to wear what our captor wanted us to wear, again, subject to the long pants restriction, and availability.
I remember one time, when Ray had two "super penalties" on us, and for the first, he had us wear our old Cub uniforms, and for the second, we wore pajamas. After that, we took our penalties as soon as possible, to avoid getting stuck with another "super penalty."
Cathy and Nancy got nailed, too. I had one on Nancy, and Billy had one on Cathy. Since they always said they wanted to be Boy Scouts, we accommodated them. We had them wear our scout uniforms.
Penalties had to be claimed immediately. If they weren't, they were lost. But claiming a penalty, then having it disputed, resulted in the dispute being settled by a panel of three "judges." Each side would select a "judge" from the rest of us, and the two "judges" would select a third. If the claim was upheld, that was the end of it, and the penalty stood. But if the claim was denied, then the person originally claiming the penalty, had it turned back and doubled. Most of the "decisions were 2-1, and yes, the judges were often "bribed." (And the losing party usually loudly swore revenge on the winning party, and on the judges that voted against him/her.)
Penalties and super penalties became a form of "currency" with us, since under our rules, they could be given away, traded, or taken voluntarily, which made for a lot of wheeling and dealing between us. Nancy might have five penalties scattered among us, then find out they had all been accumulated by David, through barter or trade. Of course, David would demand the super penalty, and Nancy had to take it, or convince someone to voluntarily take it for her. Then again, even if she did find a substitute, David had the right of refusal, and Nancy would have to take it anyway.
Penalties were common, but super penalties were rare. When they did come along, we sometimes had a tendency to get a little nasty. Chuck had to take a super penalty on hot July afternoon. Jeff didn't make him change any clothes, but did make him wear a winter weight sweat shirt - a nice black one with a hood. Gawd, he must have been hot in that thing, tied around his wrists, ankles, arms, and legs. No wonder he got out in less than 10 minutes. (And lost 10 pounds in the process.) Chuck got his revenge on me for laughing about it, by having me wear a full sweat suit. But I had two things going for me. First, my sweat suit was whitish grey, and reflected the heat, and second, I was tied in the house, where the air conditioner kept the temperature a bit cooler.
As for trades, most of them were straight forward. "I'll trade you my penalty on Burke, for yours on Chuck." But there were times when one of us would want to "get" another so badly, that they were willing to give up two, three, or even more, to get what they wanted. David wanted Nancy, and had already traded for four penalties on her. Chuck had one, and David wanted it, so he would have five, and the right to a super penalty. He must have really wanted it, since he offered to give up the two penalties he had on Chuck, one on Ray, one on Mark, plus give Chuck a penalty on himself (David). Surprised by such an offer, Chuck asked "What's the catch?" "No catch." replied David. I just want to get her back for the super penalty she took on me last month."
Later, Chuck told us that David could have had the penalty on Nancy for a lot less, but since he offered that much, he (Chuck) would have been a fool not to take it.
We also "disguised" ourselves - usually as each other. The first time this came about, was when David captured Chuck in one of our games. Figuring it would be easier to catch the opposition if they thought he was Chuck, he asked Chuck to switch clothes with him before tying him up. "You are my captive, and you have to do it!" he said, lying through his teeth. Since no one else was around, and since captives generally had to obey their captors, Chuck complied, and was left, tied and gagged, wearing David's brown corduroy pants and blue striped T-shirt. David sported Chuck's faded blue jeans and white T-shirt.
The disguise worked like a charm, too. The opposition - Ray, Mark, and me - thought David was Chuck - from a distance, and when he beckoned us to come with him, and headed deeper into the woods, we followed - and walked right into a trap he had set up with Billy and Jeff. Needless to say, we paid the price.
It wasn't until the game was over, that Chuck learned that there was no requirement to switch clothes with anyone, but we did have to give David credit for some imaginative thinking, and the success of his disguise. Later, we decided that ordering a captive to switch clothes was OK, since we were fairly limited. Chuck could switch with David (if he was here), and Mark and Jeff could switch with Ray, but that was about it. Ray's, Mark's, and Jeff's clothes were too small for Billy and me, and Chuck's and David's were too big. We could switch with each other, but since we were twins, and dressed alike anyway, what was the point?
We did make one concession to modesty. We decided that when the girls played, no one would switch clothes unless there were "adequate provisions for privacy." (And that did not mean behind the third tree on the left.) What it did mean, was "behind closed doors," as in the house, at at the old Myers house. We also said that the boys could not switch with the girls, and vice versa. But the girls could order two boys to switch, and again, vice versa, provided "privacy was observed."
Sometimes, there was a reason for the switch, as when David switched with Chuck, to fool us, and lead us unto a trap. Other times, it was done for no reason at all, such as the time Billy caught Ray and Jeff, made them switch, just for the hell of it, and tied them up wearing each other's clothes. There wasn't any reason for it, other than Billy just thought it would be a good idea.
As I said at the beginning of this piece, the minds of 10-14 year olds functioned on a different level from adults. We could be amazingly brilliant, or incredibly dumb, but we were kids, enjoying life, and having fun in the summer of 1957.
END
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Burke's stories
- 01 - Hogtie the Rustler (m+/m+)
- 02 - Sister Act (f/m, m/m, m/f)
- 03 - The Camera Caper (mm/f)
- 04 - Penalties and Disguises (*/*)
- 05 - Bandages, Bedsheets and Other Oddities (mmm/f, ff/mmm)
- 06 - Nancy's "Screen Play" (ff/m+, m/ff, ff/m)
- 07 - The Eyes Don't Lie (m+f+/mmm)
- 08 - Grounded! (f/mm)
Index of all stories in the "Archive for Everyone" section