Chapter Text
The new kid arrived around two in the afternoon, driven in especially by one of the many social workers known well to the residents. Harry waved Bilk over to the crowd gathered around the front windows; new arrivals were always a pleasant diversion from the drudgery of the day. The boys peered down as the car parked, the door opened, and the new kid stepped out. He was somewhat small, the boys guessed about twelve-ish (though they'd later learn they were off by two years), his pale, strawberry blond hair shorn nearly to the scalp, his face curious, almost congenial, as though he were simply appraising his new home, not being sent to confinement. As he headed toward the front door, he carried himself with a sort of confidence rarely seen in new arrivals; shoulders thrown back, head held high, seemingly daring the world to approach.
Bilk whistled and pushed his glasses up with a finger, "Look at him - fearless. Wouldn't guess he was walkin' into a place like this."
Harry rolled his eyes, "Just 'cause you showed up with your eyes to the ground."
Jack snorted at that, "So'd you, so'd everybody. Ain't like it's an honor, gettin' shoved into this place. Kid just don't know what's comin' to him, most like. HOB'll break him, same as anybody."
HM Harlow Youth Rehabilitation and Educational Centre (known to the residents as "Hell's Own Borstal" or HOB for short) was the end of the line for juvenile offenders just north of London. It was, in fact, one of the better borstals of its day, but that wasn't saying much to the residents. It was a rough, miserable place; a prison with an "educational" focus was still a prison. The guards were harsh, the residents were short-tempered and quick to violence, and the work was hard, pointless and seemingly endless. As it was, the boys along the fringe of the crowd were constantly scanning the hall for signs of life; no one wanted to be caught shirking his afternoon chores.
The speculation began immediately. "What do we know about this kid?" a boy near the back piped up.
"Well he's a skin, that much is clear," Harry said, peering down at the kid's street clothes.
"Least he won't miss his hair," someone said, and the crowd laughed.
"I heard he pulled off a bank robbery by himself," Bilk said, and Jack pushed him.
"Are you takin' the piss? Ain't no way that kid pulled off no bank robbery, they'd throw him out before he got in the door. 'Sides, I got it on good authority he killed a pig. Just for lookin' at him funny, I heard."
"Now you're takin' the piss," Harry said, "They'd try him as an adult, sure as shit. Naw, he burnt down his school, didn't want to take his exams."
"He put four boys in hospital," Charlie said quietly, but with authority. That happened to be the way Charlie said everything, "With his bare hands. For no reason at all."
In fact, Charlie wasn't far from the truth, though it was only three, he'd used a nearby chunk of concrete, and his reasons were compelling, but entirely his own. The other boys had no way of knowing this, but they quieted down and watched Charlie anyway, convinced by the strength of his conviction. About a year prior, Charlie was seen talking privately with a guard; he claimed they were distant cousins. There was a decent chance he really knew. They crowded around him.
"Four?"
"Wicked."
"But did 'e kill 'em or wha'?"
"Had to have a reason."
"The fuck is this?" Bert, everyone's least favorite arsehole guard, surprised everyone into quiet, "You think this is a fuckin' country club?" (Bert was fond of asking this question about seven times a day.) "Are you cleaning the hall or having a bloody tea party? Get back to work!"
The crowd grumbled and dispersed, their curiosity put on hold for the moment. They'd learn more about the new kid soon enough. Fifteen minutes on, they discovered just how soon.
"LET GO OF ME YOU UGLY PIG BASTARDS!"
The scream and general commotion from downstairs drew everyone's attention, and they bolted for the stairwell, Bert or no. Sure enough, they were dragging the new kid down the hallway, a guard on each limb, and he was clawing and screaming like a feral cat the whole way down. Jack leaned into the crowd of boys in front of him.
"What'd he do?" he murmured under the similarly murmuring crowd.
"He slipped his guards during processin'. Caught him trying to set fire to the front bushes," someone murmured back.
Jack leaned forward again just as Bert caught up to the crowd.
"You've got to be fuckin' kiddin' me!" he screamed over them, matching the new kid in volume and obnoxiousness, "Don't nobody fuckin' work 'round here? You want a fuckin' pretty pink umbrella in your drink, your majesties? Move your arses!"
The crowd once again grumbled and dispersed. They'd better not let Bert get too apoplectic; he had a tendency to start throwing random boys in solitary once his face got sufficiently purple.
Nearly an hour later, Harry was scrubbing the windows on the opposite end of the wing when he looked out, lowered his rag, and just stared at something, slack-jawed. Bilk noticed first.
"Oi, Harry, what'cha doin?" By the time Bilk got to the window, he'd looked out and stopped as well. He assumed the same expression as Harry.
One by one the cleanup crew gathered once again at the window, peering down at the new kid.
He was being guarded (by two guards, even - they only usually ever bothered with one) whilst he performed his punishment down in the exercise yard. He was doing pull-ups. But he wasn't struggling, or sweating. His face held no emotion, save concentration, and his mouth was held in that same hard line he'd wore when he arrived. It was the way he was doing them that stopped them in their tracks. It was like nothing they'd ever seen. He just did them at a steady pace, legs curled behind him, powering through them like it was nothing. He didn't shake, he didn't stop, it was like he was going for a walk. Up, down, up, down, as if he weighed nothing at all.
"How long's he been doin' those?"
Harry shrugged, "I been watchin' him at least ten minutes now."
"Fuckin' 'ell, look at 'im. Is 'e human?"
"What'd he do to get 'em anyway? He didn't actually light the bushes, did he? Seems a harsher punishment than usual for a first day's infraction."
"He spat in the head warden's face," Charlie said confidently, "And called him a cocksucker." (This was entirely true.)
Several boys laughed, a few whistled. They heard Bert's heavy footsteps coming up the stairs and scattered. All but Harry, who stayed at the window, half-heartedly cleaning it and staring on at the amazing sight. He started looking down at his watch and back out at the window.
"Thirty minutes," he said eventually. Somebody giggled.
"You still watchin' him? You want to fuck him or what?"
"Oi, fuck you! It's impressive, is all." Harry kept watching, and kept timing.
The others slowly finished their chores and wandered back to the window, one by one. Eventually there were fifteen in all gathered around, watching.
"Fourty minutes," Harry said.
"Come on, then," Jack said, quietly. Then a bit louder, "Come on then, new kid, let's go for an hour!"
Bit by bit, other boys began cheering as well, until there was quite a din in the hallway, and the excitement in the room was palpable. The whole crowd was riled up.
"Come on, new kid!"
"You can do it!"
"Show 'em, new kid!"
"Fifty-nine minutes, thirty seconds!" Harry shouted and they started to count. None of them even acknowledged Bert's coming up behind them and screaming.
"WHAT THE FUCKIN' HELL IS GOIN' ON TODAY? HAVE YOU ALL GONE BLOODY MAD? WHAT THE FUCK?"
It was no use, no one listened to his protests. All the boys were rapt at the window, cheering and clapping.
"Five! Four! Three! Two! One!"
"Yes!"
"He did it! He did it!"
"RIGHT, THAT'S THE FUCKIN' LIMIT!" Bert blew his whistle and the boys froze. Three guards came running.
"Right boys," Bert yelled, "One bottom-feeder per arm, we're all goin' to solitary!"
An explosion of complaints and protests replaced the earlier joy and excitement as they realized he was completely serious. Those boys who the guards couldn't grab ran as fast as they could toward the education wing - they'd find sanctuary at the library, no doubt. They could always offer to work off their offense there, and the head warden seemed to approve of such an arrangement. Bert didn't much care for the head warden, he was far too soft on this bunch of delinquents and thieves. He glared down at the new kid, still plugging away at his punishment, as the other guards began escorting boys downstairs. This one was going to be more trouble than usual, he was sure of it. He'd be sure to keep an eye on him.
The cafeteria buzzed, as it always did during mealtimes, but there was extra excitement that night. Those boys who had managed to evade solitary had spread the word of the new kid's feats throughout HOB and everyone was talking about it. Suddenly the double-doors to the outside opened, the new kid entered, and conversation stopped.
The kid didn't look tired. He looked somewhat bored. He strolled over to grab a tray, accepted his selection of slop, turned around, scanned for an empty seat, chose one and sat down. Conversation resumed immediately, but many eyes remained on the new kid.
"Good evening, gents," said the new kid, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Did you hear that?" the boy across from him (who happened to be Jack) said to the others at the table, "What's the matter with 'hello'?'"
The new kid shrugged, "What's the point of a language with a large vocabulary if you don't use it?"
The boys looked at each other, confused. The new kid began picking at his food.
"Bloody hell, I saw what you did," the boy to his right (who happened to be Harry) said, "It was amazing! How long were you out there?"
"Two hours," the new kid said, stirring his potatoes, "It was supposed to be one, but I suppose they thought they'd give me another since the first wasn't so bad."
"Wasn't so bad? How the fuck'd you sail through something like that? You don't even look that ripped, no offense mate."
The new kid shrugged again, "Scaled a lot of walls and fences in my time. It's not really much different. Is this…" he held up a piece of grey-ish, shredded meat, "…what is this?"
"We haven't been able to figure it out. Can't even tell if it's beef or chicken or god knows what."
The new kid stared at it for a bit, shrugged yet again, and ate it. He looked thoughtful as he chewed, "Hmph. 'S not bad. Better than rat. Let's hope it's not people, that'd be a downer."
The boy on his left (who happened to be Bilk) snorted, then giggled. The rest began following suit, until the whole table was laughing, including the new kid.
"You're all right, mate," Bilk said, "What's your name?"
The new kid stopped laughing. He stopped smiling. He stared down at his tray for a moment. He cleared his throat and muttered something inaudible.
"What was that?"
The new kid sighed and closed his eyes. He told them his name.
There was about five seconds of silence while the boys tried to figure out if he was joking. Then several things happened in the ten seconds following. The boys began giggling, then outright laughing. The new kid's fists clenched, and then he threw his tray at Jack, sending scalding hot beans into his eyes. Before he could react, Bilk got a fist to the nose and went down cold. Harry, who'd been in the process of saying, "You got a girl's name?" as the new kid was throwing the tray, suddenly found his head put through the table rather effectively. That was when the guards reached the new kid, and dragged him away for the second time that day, kicking and screaming just as before.
The new kid's first night at HOB, and he'd already found himself in solitary.