Kingswood Interview Week - Part 5 - Mark (Patreon)

Thursday morning, 20 January 2022

“This is always a strange experience for anyone who didn’t start at Kingswood in year seven!” Mr Everett said thoughtfully as he sat beside Mark, ahead of the first interview of the day. “For most boys, it’s the continuation of a generations-long cycle, but for you it’s the beginning of a whole new one!”

“Is that… good or bad?” Mark asked curiously. Mark had only joined the school four months earlier, and while he had eventually settled in well to his new dorm, there was sometimes that slight nagging feeling of having missed out. Today that feeling wasn’t nagging, so much as shouting in his face.

His friends had been a mixture of nervous and excited about choosing their new Year 7 proteges, all talking about their own interviews and the first time they had met their mentors, while the mentors themselves had reminisced fondly about the fresh-faced young strangers who wandered into their lives on that day. Mark’s mentor had done a great job of preparing for what he needed to do, but it was impossible to instil in him the feelings the others were experiencing.

“It just… is what it is,” Mr Everett said with a hint of a shrug. “Usually, these days are whatever you make of them. You get out as much as you put in.”

“Yes sir,” Mark replied. He fell silent, thinking hard about what was to come. When the Headmaster also remained sat in silence, Mark took a deep breath, building the nerve to ask what was on his mind. “What if I get it wrong sir, and some poor kid ends up in the wrong place because of my decision?”

Mr Everett gave a gentle smile. It was a question, or at least a derivation of it, that most boys in his position ended up asking, though he knew it was especially poignant for Mark, whose school before Kingswood had been a dangerously bad fit for him. He took a breath as he considered how best to put it, then exhaled slowly. “I think your experiences, your insight and the compassion you draw from them probably equip you better than anyone else to make the right call, Mark.”

Mark smiled at the comment. He literally couldn’t imagine any teacher at his old school either understanding him or offering any kind of support, especially not the Headmaster, who barely even seemed to acknowledge the existence of the students unless they got on his bad side. Kingswood was certainly different in that regard. It was proving to be exactly the sort of place he had always dreamed of going and, in that moment, he decided the man was right. He could do this, but more importantly, he wanted to do this, he wanted to make his new school proud.

*****

Alexander

“So you prefer Alexander or Alex?” Mark as his first candidate of the day took a seat next to him after finishing his interview. “Or is it Lex? Or Xander? Or I suppose it could be… Red Nax Ela!”

The boy stared back at Mark in abject confusion.

“That’s Alexander backwards!” Mark explained. “How about I stick with Alex!”

“Yeah, Alex is fine,” the boy said with a nod, still a little bewildered.

“So… Alex… excited at the thought of going to Kingswood?” Mark asked curiously.

“I won’t be!” Alex insisted.

“Blimey, it went that bad?” Mark asked with a grin, nodding to the closed door.

Alex shook his head. “No, we’re only here because my mum said we had to. My dad says he’d never let me go to a school that’s full of so many freaks!”

Mark felt himself clench, forcing himself to hold back and avoid reacting too harshly. “Oh, that’s… an interesting opinion,” he said diplomatically.

“It’s the right opinion!” Alex said with a frown. “My dad’s always right about this stuff.”

Having come from a school where he had literally been called a freak, and not always just by the other students, Mark was finding it increasingly hard not to take the boy’s position personally. “What… makes you think it’s a school full of… freaks?” He felt a bit nauseous even saying the word aloud.

“Dad says it’s all ‘woke nonsense’ and letting all the students live that kind of stuff just leads to more lefties when they grow up!” Alex explained.

“Do you… even know what any of that means?” Mark asked. The question actually helped him relax a little. It was immediately obvious that Alex didn’t necessarily think that way, but was clearly just parroting what he had heard his father saying.

Alex shrugged. “Don’t need to. He’s right. He’s always right!” the boy said confidently.

“Yeah, I always thought my dad was right about everything… until I realised he wasn’t!” Mark said bitterly.

Alex smirked and said, “Well my dad sounds way better than yours then!”

Mark nodded and replied, “Well that’s probably true, mine’s a cunt!” He heard the boy gasp slightly at the harsh word. “And sounds like yours might be too!” he added angrily.

“You take that back!” Alex demanded.

Mark caught himself just short of snapping back at the boy and took a breath. This certainly hadn’t gone the way he hoped, and while any kind of recovery seemed unlikely, that was no reason to make things worse than they had to be. “Sorry, I take that back,” he rescinded. “How about we just… sit quietly until your parents are done!”

“Fine!” Alex huffed.

*****

Peyton

Most boys who came for their interviews were nervous, that was something Mark had been advised about during his preparation for the day. The boy now sat in front of him, Peyton, seemed to demonstrate that more than most, having entirely avoided eye contact and taken the seat furthest away from Mark.

“How d’you think it went?” Mark asked, hoping a little small talk might loosen up the petrified boy.

“Okay,” Peyton said quietly.

“Wow, I can barely hear you,” Mark said with a slight chuckle.

“Sorry,” Peyton apologised meekly. “I get told that a lot. I’ll… try harder!”

Mark shook his head but realised the boy wasn’t looking directly at him anyway, so he said softly, “That’s okay, stay as quiet as you need. I can just move closer!”

Peyton finally ventured a glance as Mark stood and stepped across the small waiting area. Although he sat closer, he still left two empty seats between them.

“Okay, testing, one two, one two, can you hear me now!” Mark said, teasing slightly.

“I could already hear you!” Peyton frowned, pursing his lips thoughtfully for a moment.

“And now I can hear you…” Mark said, then grinned and added, “A LITTLE bit better!” He stood up and flopped down one seat closer. “Hmm, how about now?”

Peyton looked round again for a moment but didn’t say anything.

“Wow, that’s actually worse, I didn’t hear a thing!” Mark said, trying to sound sincere. “Okay, one more try,” he said, finally moving into the seat right beside Peyton.

“I didn’t even say anything that time!” Peyton said, almost smiling.

“Oh my god, I heard you!” Mark declared excitedly. “He has a voice!” he called out, as loudly as he dared without disturbing the interview.

Peyton giggled, a smile spreading across his face.

Mark gasped dramatically and said, “He even has a smile too! This is a miracle!” As Peyton stared back at him, he narrowed his eyes for a moment then said, “I wonder what’d happen if I got…” he paused to lean in, “… even closer!” He reached out and grabbed the boy playfully, getting an immediate squawk of giggles.

Peyton squirmed, but didn’t attempt to actually move away. Instead he just laughed and playfully swatted at the hands that were half grabbing him and half tickling him.

“Okay, we’ll get told off if we keep being noisy!” Mark suddenly declared as he pulled away.

“Oh, sorry,” Peyton apologised, the smile disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

“No need to apologise,” Mark said, shaking his head as he stood. “And no need to get any quieter,” he added, grinning at the boy, “We just need to move somewhere else!” With that he reached down, grabbed the boy and threw him over his shoulder.

Once again Peyton burst into giggles and squirmed without showing any actual resistance as Mark carried him out into the hallway. Any time he tried to talk, Mark’s hand found its way to a sensitive spot to return him to helpless laughing.

“There we go!” Mark said, throwing the boy down gently onto the sofa in the nearby suite.

“You’re silly,” Peyton giggled.

Mark thought for a moment and nodded. “Yeah, I think I am!” he agreed. It was a strangely freeing moment as he said it. Six months before, stuck in a repressive school and an abusive relationship, he spent every day trying to disappear and go unnoticed, fighting every natural urge to express himself and feeling utterly hopeless about even the possibility of happiness. Now, after barely more than a single term at Kingswood he could actually begin to explore himself and it felt… amazing! He sat down on the sofa, but grinned as he turned to the side and lay down with his legs over the arm, tilting his head back to look up at Peyton. “So come on, how scary is it to think about going away to a boarding school?” he asked candidly.

“Really REALLY scary!” Peyton admitted. “But… everything’s scary so… I guess that’s normal!”

Mark wanted to ask a follow-up question, but that was the most he had really offered up so far and he was keen to avoid having the boy dwell on his fears too much. “Well if you HAVE to go away to a school, Kingswood’s definitely a good one to pick!”

“It is?” Peyton asked curiously.

“Yeah,” Mark replied. “I used to…” he paused and frowned for a moment. “Hey, come join me down here, the angle’s really making me dizzy!” he invited the boy.

Peyton considered it for a moment, then span round much as Mark had, and swung his legs over the arm of the sofa. He lay down so he was laying the opposite way round to Mark, their heads adjacent to each other in the middle, both tilted towards each other.

“Much better,” Mark sniggered. “Anyway, I’ve been to other schools and they kinda sucked, but Kingswood is SO great!”

“It’s school,” Peyton said, a little bitterly.

“Yeah,” Mark conceded with a nod, “But… it’s not JUST a school. I only started there four months ago and it already feels like home!”

“Still sounds scary,” Peyton said sadly.

“Hey, I can’t change how you feel, but I do reckon you’d have a lot of fun there,” Mark insisted. “Most of the teachers make classes fun and even the ones that don’t still make learning… erm… well… understandable I suppose, rather than just talking at you! Plus there’s also all these clubs and activities and stuff. Like, I’m on the football and rugby teams but I do music and drama and martial arts too. But we have movie nights and birthday parties and…” Mark nearly over-shared but caught himself at the last moment and finished, “other things you’ll appreciate more when you get older!”

“What sort of things?” Peyton asked curiously.

Mark rolled his head the other way to look at the door, then back to Peyton and asked, “Promise you won’t tell anyone this?”

“Promise!” Peyton nodded.

“Do you… know what sex is?” Mark asked, feeling slightly awkward.

“Yeah, I’m eleven, not an idiot!” Peyton said, then immediately blushed, seemingly surprising even himself with the blunt comment.

Mark snorted with laughter and nodded. “Well… a lot of that sort of stuff happens there too!”

“But… isn’t it an all-boys school?” Peyton asked innocently, frowning curiously.

“It is,” Mark replied, waiting to see if he would figure it out.

Peyton looked thoughtful for a moment before his eyes widened. “So… boys do… that stuff with… other boys?”

Mark nodded silently.

“And… and… and… nobody minds?” Peyton stuttered, sounding somewhere between scared and excited.

“Nope, everyone’s welcome at Kingswood. Is that… something you’d thought about?” Mark asked cautiously.

Peyton sat up, so Mark copied, the two shuffling a little closer to each other. Peyton just gave Mark a brief moment of anxious side-eye.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to answer that,” Mark reassured him. “But… if you DID like that sort of stuff, Kingswood would DEFINITELY be the place for you!”

Peyton nodded and the two fell silent for a good couple of minutes. Eventually, Peyton spoke as he said softly, “Mark?”

“Mmm-huh,” the older boy hummed.

“I… I think… I want to go to Kingswood!” Peyton said, the comment heavy with intent.

Mark reached over and threw his arms around the boy as he said, “Yay, we’d be lucky to have you!”

Peyton let out a whimper.

“Oh god, sorry, did I hurt you?” Mark asked nervously as he pulled back.

“No, it’s just…” Peyton started, then blushed heavily as he looked ready to burst into tears. “Nobody’s… ever hugged me before!”

“You mean just in a friendly way?” Mark asked curiously. As Peyton stared at him, doe eyed with his jaw trembling, Mark’s eyes widened and he asked, “What, you mean… ever… like… not even your own parents?”

Peyton just shook his head.

“Oh… my fucking… god!” Mark exclaimed, feeling a little shaken. “Okay, come here!” he said, grabbing the boy and not really giving him much choice as he pulled him onto his lap. He pulled him into a tight hug and whispered, “I hope you realise we’re staying like this now until it’s time for you to leave!”

Peyton didn’t reply, he just leaned into Mark, gripping tightly onto him.

*****

Jesse

Disbelief was what got Mark off to a good start with Jesse. Mark couldn’t believe Jesse was only eleven and in return Jesse couldn’t believe Mark was only fourteen. It had led to a very excitable and surprisingly open conversation about being early developers and constantly described as ‘big for their age’.

It had been an instant bond, both boys sharing both the joys and miseries of their shared experience as they wandered for a while before ending up in the nearby suite. Mark had wanted to show off how annoying it was that he would soon have his feet hanging off the end of the bed if he continued to grow anymore and the suite offered the easiest bed to access. Jesse had joined him on the bed and the two lay casually chatting.

“So… what’s the, erm… bathroom situation like at Kingwood?” Jesse asked curiously when the conversation lulled.

Mark frowned at the question, shrugged and said, “Erm… we… have bathrooms!”

Jesse rolled his eyes and huffed. “Yeah, I guessed that,” he grumbled, “But I was thinking more like… erm… the showers!”

“Oh!” Mark nodded, catching on. “Well apparently they used to have separate cubicles, but then… they got rid of them because people were… well I don’t know what they were doing, but now it’s all, like… a big open shower room.”

Jesse let out a slight moan.

“You get used to it,” Mark said with a dismissive shrug. “You kinda get used to it and after the first couple of days it’s just… ya know… no big deal. Ya see each other all the time but nobody really… looks or says anything about it. One of those kinda unspoken rules I s’pose.”

“They’d say stuff about me,” Jesse pouted.

“And why’s that?” Mark asked with a smirk, propping himself up on both elbows to look across at the younger boy.

“Doesn’t matter,” Jesse insisted, shaking his head.

Mark’s eyes narrowed. “So either it’s really big, really small, or really hairy!” he said with a grin. “I’d say really smooth, but at your age that’s pretty much normal! So which is it?”

“Shut up!” Jesse pouted, rolling over to face away from Mark, curling up a little.

“Hey, I’m just playing. None of those things really matter!” Mark insisted, reaching out to stroke Jesse’s leg supportively.

Jesse rolled back and frowned, seemingly surveying Mark for sincerity. Seeing nothing but a sweet smile in return, he took a deep breath, let out a slight whimper and said, “It’s a bit… big!”

“How big?” Mark asked, more eagerly than he intended.

Jesse stared back, unsure whether to share.

“I could show you mine,” Mark offered. “Then you could say, like… bigger or smaller,” he added with a grin, then winked and said, “And then show me if you want to!”

“Okay!” Jesse nodded, sitting up eagerly.

Mark reached down and undid his belt, almost laughing at the look of absolute anticipation on Jesse’s face. Raising his hips a little, he pushed his trousers and boxers down to his knees then pulled his hands back to place them behind his head, putting himself on show to the younger boy as non-threateningly as possible. “So how does it compare?” he asked.

“Hard to say without seeing it… well… hard!” Jesse said, blushing.

“I can get it hard if you like,” Mark offered. “Or you can do it if you want!”

“Really?” Jesse asked excitedly.

“Have you… ever touched someone else down there before?” Mark asked curiously. While Jesse already seemed open enough to guy-on-guy action to be considered suitable for Kingswood, Mark figured the more he knew the better.

Jesse blushed as he hesitated for a moment then nodded. As Mark just stared back at him, smiling, Jesse took a deep breath and said, “My friend’s brother. He… saw me changing one time when we went swimming and started talking to me about it and… we… touched each other a bit!”

“Did you like it?” Mark asked, feeling his cock twitch just a little.

Jesse nodded. When he saw Mark nod towards his exposed dick, the boy reached down and tentatively took hold of it. “It… feels like mine,” he said, mostly just thinking aloud.

Mark lay back and watched as he got hard in the younger boy’s grip, reaching its full, thick sixteen centimetres. Once he was fully hard he asked, “So… you bigger or smaller than me?”

“About the same!” Jesse said, blushing but looking a little less conscious about it now, with Mark’s cock in his hand. “Do I… have to show you now?”

Mark chuckled and said, “You don’t ‘have to’ do anything, and anyone who says you do you should tell to fuck off, but… you can if you want to!” As he saw Jesse go to reply, he quickly added, “And yes, I DO want to see!”

Jesse laughed at the pre-empted question. He let go of Mark for a moment and hopped up onto his knees. The bulge of his erection was obvious immediately, even more-so as he pulled down his trousers, his underwear tenting from the large boner within. He pulled the underwear down and it sprang free.

Mark stared for a moment. While it was true Jesse didn’t look his age, he only looked a little older, so seeing the man-sized cock on him was still a surprise. Admittedly it was quite a pleasant surprise that made Mark’s cock throb in response.

“I’m a freak, aren’t I?” Jesse asked.

“Hey!” Mark snapped sharply, but stopped himself as he realised his abruptness at the triggering word for him. “Don’t call yourself that,” he said softly. “You’re definitely bigger than most guys your age… and most guys in general I reckon, but believe me, it’s REALLY no bad thing.”

“Thanks,” Jesse blushed. “So… erm… as we’re both… erm… ya know… like this…” he mumbled awkwardly.

“You do me and I do you?” Mark asked, kneeling up to face Jesse.

Jesse nodded happily, not even hesitating to reach out and take the other boy’s boner in hand again. He giggled happily, though it turned into a gentle moan as he felt Mark take hold of his in return. “This is really hot,” he said, grinning.

“Yeah it is,” Mark agreed, stroking eagerly to match Jesse’s pace.

As the pleasure began to grow they both began to wobble a little, each using their free hand to steady themselves on each other.

“Where do I… shoot?” Jesse gasped, realising climax was imminent.

“Fucking anywhere you like!” Mark sniggered.

Moments later, both boys were shooting their loads directly over each other’s cocks and rapidly-stroking hands, giggling happily at each other and the mess.

*****

Nathaniel

As Mark started talking to his final candidate, he almost wished he hadn’t let the previous boy finish him off. In his state of post-orgasmic calm, he felt utterly unsexual and trying to steer the conversation onto things that would test the boy’s sexuality was challenging.

It didn’t help that Nathaniel seemed to have absolutely zero interest in anything of a sexual nature, related to either boys or girls. He had started asking Mark questions about the school, its curriculums, teachers, clubs, and even the daily timetable. The singular focus on Kingswood as a place of learning was making progress slow-going, but in itself was likely a possible indicator of his suitability for the school.

Mark found himself thinking about James, the boy whose space he had taken when he joined the school. He had not really gotten to know him, more through James’ choice than his own, but the increasing amount of time Mark was spending with David, best friend to James, meant he heard about the boy more and more. In many ways, Nathaniel sounded a lot like him – focused on studies, disinterested in socialising, slightly aloof.

Mark nearly wrote the boy off based on that alone, but he remained committed to doing the best and most thorough job he could, but this one clearly called for a different tack. “So one of the key values at the school is respect for diversity,” Mark explained. “That includes LGBTQ stuff.”

“Hmm, okay,” Nathaniel nodded. “I’ve looked into that and it’s something I would be keen to learn more about when I get older.”

“Not something you’re interested in yet then?” Mark asked curiously.

“Not especially. Boys at my school are already talking about girls… some of them talk about boys I suppose too, but I have other things to focus on,” Nathaniel explained.

Mark nodded. It seemed there was no way to yet determine the boy’s sexuality, simply because he didn’t even seem to have even considered it himself yet, but at least he seemed open-minded. It felt so different from the first boy of the day. Two boys, the same age, with such different approaches and opinions. It made him feel the importance of his role as a potential mentor even more strongly.

*****

“Excellent work today,” Mr Everett said as he returned from seeing off the final family of the morning. “I’ve already had some wonderful feedback about you!”

“Thank you, sir,” Mark nodded. “It was… surprisingly fun!” he admitted.

“Particularly good work with Peyton,” Mr Everett nodded. “I could barely get a word out of him because he was so nervous. His parents told me that’s what he’s always like, but he actually seemed quite chatty by the time we came out.”

“Yeah, he… took a minute to warm up, but then he was…” Mark paused and smiled. “He’s a great kid!” he nodded.

“Oh, yes. Definitely seemed like a nice young man and I’m glad you were able to bring him out of his shell a little more,” the Headmaster said proudly. “And would I be correct in saying you found some… common ground with Jesse?”

“I guess we did,” Mark nodded, blushing as he thought about the boy. “Nathaniel was nice,” he said sincerely, “I don’t think we had a lot in common, but I don’t know if that matters. I’m looking to mentor them, not date them!”

Mr Everett laughed aloud at the comment and nodded. “That’s certainly an accurate summation,” he mused. “I notice… no mention of Alexander!”

Mark frowned as he sat back in his seat, unsure how much to say about the boy. The Headmaster was so astute he had likely pegged the boy’s attitude right away himself. Rather than insulting the boy, as he had felt inclined for just a moment, he frowned thoughtfully and asked, “Sir, do you think it’s possible to… I don’t know… UN-learn things?”

“Do you, per chance, mean things like opinions and attitudes?” Mr Everett asked knowingly. When Mark nodded, he nodded back and said, “Absolutely. We are all the product of the people around us every bit as much as our own experiences.”

“So if someone had… a bad attitude, there’s a chance the right mentor could… correct it?” Mark asked, trying unsuccessfully to sound cryptic.

“While people will absolutely be shaped by the role models in their lives, I would urge strong caution against terms like ‘bad attitude’ or looking to ‘correct’ something. It runs the risk of imposing your own will on someone when you decide what’s good or bad,” Mr Everett explained.

“I hadn’t thought of it that way,” Mark nodded, frowning thoughtfully.

“No, but it definitely sounds like you’re giving all the options fair consideration, which is very mature and something I certainly applaud,” Mr Everett said with a sincere smile. “Now, I’ve got some paperwork to fill out, so you’re free to go,” he stood and looked round at the boy. “Once again, really good job today, Mark.”