Disclaimer: How I wish the boys were mine. But no, they belong to someone else.

A/N: This story is a collaboration between my beta, Heinz-Leigh and myself. It is based on the week I spent in the special section of my school. Read and, enjoy and please review.

Do you ever think that a normal school dorm is like a mad house with all the kids around you, yelling and driving everyone else up the wall?

Well, I was about thirteen-years-old when we had to move to another dorm for the week, while our old dorm was being renovated. I thought this dorm had the same daily activities as the dorm I had been used to. I was about to find out how wrong I was...

Six of us had to move over to the dorm for the boys in the special class department. These boys took special classes, because they couldn't cope with the mainstream curriculum. Surely, it couldn't be worse than the dorm we lived in? Wrong, it was a lot worse.

As soon as we stepped through the front door, we were told to go upstairs and wait in the hall for the teachers to show us where our rooms were and tell us who we would be sharing with. As the teacher said this, she gave me a very dirty look. You see, our paths crossed a few times before and, how should I put it, she doesn't like me much.

It had nothing to do with the fact that I have a rich Father or anything like that. Nope! It was because she knew that I was a loner and I concentrated on my studies or watched the world go by until it was time to fetch the food for our dorm.

I had a feeling that this week would be a nightmare, until our parents came to fetch us on Friday. From what I heard about this dorm, you were treated like a puppet. Two of my best friends had friends here who told them that you had to do what the teachers told you to and you were not allowed to think for yourself. Since we weren't from this dorm, I was sure that we wouldn't be treated like puppets, since we were able to do everything for ourselves.

As the thoughts ran through my head, I didn't hear the teacher come up or her instructions as she directed us to our rooms ... that was until a strong hand got hold of my arm and pulled me along. Then she shoved me toward a bed, making me stumble over my feet. Turning around I saw her walk to a row of cupboards. Opening one in the corner, she looked straight at me.

"John Glen Tracy are you listening to me?"

Two of my friends who happened to be my roommates laughed when she called me by my full name. I only ever heard my full name when I was in trouble.
Nodding my head I looked her in the eye and answered, "Yes, Ma'am, I hear you loud and clear."

I guess I shouldn't have said that, because the teacher was in front of me within the blink of an eye! She dragged me over to the cupboard. And forced me to look up.

"You will be putting your things here for the week! You have five minutes to unpack! Then I will come inspect your cupboard! Do you understand?"

I could feel my face burn with embarrassment. I'm thirteen for heaven's sake! Before I could stop myself I snapped, "Look here Ma'am! I'm not a baby and I'm not stupid! Why should we get this treatment? We're able to do things on our own and we don't need someone like you to tell us what to do and when to do it."

Well, I should have kept my mouth shut. The teacher changed from a witch to a dragon.

"Your Father will hear about this, John Tracy!"

Turning on the spot, she left the room. I knew that I would be getting an angry phone call from my Father, soon. I could almost picture his expression – it would be that frown which told you that he was really disappointed. I wondered what I should say to him. "Hi Dad, she was rude to me first." Or "Hi Dad, I know you are disappointed, but she was treating me like a baby." That wouldn't stop him from being really disappointed in me for losing my temper. I would rather face Dad than my brothers, though. Scott would preach about not losing my temper with teachers, Virgil would be kinder, but still disappointed and the kids would laugh and think it a huge joke.

Sighing, I unpacked and sat on my bed to wait for the "Dragon" to return. My cupboard doors were wide open and my school uniform was hanging on the cupboard door, ready for the next day's school. I wasn't sure which part of the school we would be going to. I hoped that I would be going to the normal classes and not the other classes where I was sure I would go nuts.

As the "Dragon" came into the room to inspect our cupboards, her eyes fell on my uniform. I could feel something twisting in my gut – I was in for it again. "What did I do this time?" I thought as I followed her with my eyes.

Walking over to my school uniform, she looked at it as if it had just climbed out of a trashcan. "Why is your uniform out? You aren't allowed to put it out for school until we tell you to do so!"

Before I could say anything, the "Dragon" took my uniform and put it back into the cupboard. Then she moved a few of my things around and shut the cupboard. THAT done, she moved to the rest of the cupboards and did the same to them.

I never snap at people, except when they push me too far; then I end up snapping at everyone. Looking at my friends, I could see that they didn't like what the "Dragon" was doing in their cupboards either. As the teacher moved to the door, she asked, "Do any of you use medication?"

I had a small box of medication, which I was using since my illness the week before. It wasn't bad enough for me to stay in bed, but it was bad enough that I had to visit the doctor for medication. Getting up, I walked over to my cupboard and opened it to take out my box. I could feel the "Dragon" as she came to stand behind me. Biting my lower lip to stop myself from snapping at her again, I took out the box and gave it to her.

I could see that she was about to say something, so I spoke quickly, before she could open her mouth. "No, I didn't hide it from you. I was going to take it downstairs with me whenever we may go downstairs. I'm not allowed to keep my medication with me."

Taking the box out of my hands, the "Dragon" opened it and peered inside. "Is there anything in here that you have to use?"

I knew that I had to keep myself calm and so I nodded my head again. "Yes Ma'am, I went to the Doctor last week and got some medication which I have to take twice a day - in the morning after I've eaten and at night before I go to bed."

Walking to the door, the "Dragon" motioned for us to follow her. Closing my cupboard doors, I silently followed my friends and the "Dragon" down stairs. We haven't been here for one hour and I want to scream already. How on Earth do those boys manage?

Downstairs, we were handed over to another teacher. TURNING my head just a fraction of a centimeter, I saw the "Dragon" go into a room with my medication box. As usual, I was deep in thought, so I didn't hear what the teacher was saying, until I realized that she sounded much nicer than that "Dragon". She explained how things worked in this dorm.

"You may not go to the bathroom without a teachers' permission, or without one of the seniors going with you. You may not close any doors in the bathroom, even if you're using the toilet or taking a shower. You may not go downstairs when the other kids are upstairs. You may not watch TV without asking permission and the teacher must see that the program is suitable for you. You may not walk around in the dorm where the teachers can't see you, unless you go to the toilet. You may not leave the dorm without telling the teacher where you're going and with whom. You must tell the teachers what time you're leaving and when you're going to be back. No music may be played without the teacher listening to it first. All phones must be handed in to the teacher on duty."

I couldn't believe it! They were treating us like three-year-olds. All those rules reminded me of the time Mamma taught us the Ten Commandments. I can still remember her reading them, one by one, from the children's Bible. The only difference between these rules and the commandments was the way I pictured them – the Commandments were lovingly inscribed on stone tablets, while I pictured these rules as being angrily slashed over the entire notice board in huge, unfriendly red letters.

Our week couldn't get any worse, right? The kind teacher ushered us into the living room, where the other boys were. They were all sitting up straight on two beds with their backs against the wall, like statues. Nobody smiled, Nobody spoke; they were just sitting and waiting for the teachers' instructions.

"Like puppets on a string." I thought as I found a chair. Looking at my friends, I wondered when they would lose their minds. For a few moments, nobody said anything and I wondered when we would be told to do something. Then, something did happen. THE "Dragon" came in and sat at the desk while looking around at all of us. "Right boys, everyone knows about you. Now it's time for you to get to know the others. I would like you boys to mingle with each other and make some new friends."

Not being one to talk much, I decided to stay by my place and watch the rest of the boys as they made friends with the other kids. I didn't sit alone for long, before getting up to take out my Walkman. As soon as I stood up, a voice cut through the air and made me jump so suddenly that I almost dropped my Walkman. Grabbing it by its earphone cable, I turned around to see the "Dragon" staring at me. I could swear that she had it in for me. What did she want from me? Why wouldn't she leave me alone?

Giving me a filthy look which would make you run for your life, she held out her hand for my Walkman. "May I have a look at that?"

Looking down at my Walkman and back up again, I shook my head. "No, Ma'am. I am not going to give it to you. Why can't I listen to my music in peace? I have nothing on this Walkman which isn't suitable for kids my age."

Yet Again, the "Dragon" looked like she was about to spit fire and phone my Father. "Well, if you won't let me have it. Let me see what you have on it!"

Seeing that I didn't have a choice in the matter, I switched on my Walkman and showed the "Dragon" the screen. I showed her all the songs I had on the Walkman and when she had listened to a few of them, she turned and left without a word.

All too soon, we were told to go to the kitchen. Not sure why we were going there, I asked one of the other boys, "Hay, why are we going to the kitchen?"

Smiling at me the boy sniffed the air, "It's time for our milk, and then we have to go to the bathroom before we go to bed."

I felt like a baby as I waited for my glass of milk - a glass of warm milk. When I got my glass from the kind teacher, I asked her, "When can my friends and I go bath?"

No use in being grownup in this dorm. She smiled and whispered. "I know that she's a pain and I know that you're not a snappish boy, but just try to live with the woman for this week, John. When you're done here you and your friends have fifteen minutes to bath and then you have to go straight to bed. The older boys will be having their bath after you and your friends."

After gulping my milk down, I left for the bathroom. I was lucky enough to hear the kind teacher telling the "Dragon" that I had asked her permission for us to take our bath before the seniors.

As I got my things together for the shower, I couldn't help thinking, "Good thing there's at least one teacher around here who understands that we're normal and not like the other boys."

The bathroom was just big enough for us and we were glad about that. One of the seniors was standing at the door, keeping watch, to keep the "Dragon" happy. I was sure that she would walk in on us or throw a tantrum if we dared to bath without supervision. The senior told us that she didn't care if you were naked or not; she would just walk in and check your bath tub or shower and yell at you to hurry up.

The showers and baths were a nightmare. Both the hot and cold water ran slowly – I swear a snail would run faster - and the hot water felt really cold. The senior told us that the water setting was on low, so that they wouldn't burn themselves.

All too soon, the "Dragon" told us to hurry up and get into bed. I really hated that woman! As soon as I walked into my room, I saw the "Dragon" waiting with my medication. Feeling rather uneasy, I put away my things and got into bed without saying anything. I was sure that if I said something to her it would be, "I hate you!"

When my friends got into their own beds, the teacher asked, "Did everyone brush their teeth and use the toilet?"

I couldn't believe my ears! Why should we tell her if we did or didn't use the toilet? When the teacher didn't hear my voice, she walked over to my bed and bent down to look me straight in the eyes and said, "Did you hear my question, John?"

I could only cringe. "Yes, Ma'am, I heard you loud and clear."

Standing up again, she looked at me and asked, "Would you please sit up so that you can take your medication? I don't want you to choke."

I did what she asked me to, without a word. As soon as I slid back under my blankets, the teacher walked over to the door and said, "Tomorrow morning I'll be here to wake you up! Then you have to go to the bathroom and get ready for school."

When the light was turned off, one of my friends whispered, "John, you're so going to get yourself into deep trouble."

I didn't say anything to him – I just turned over to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up way before anyone else and sat up in bed, listening for the "Dragon". I really, desperately, needed to go to the toilet and in doing so I would get my head bitten off. Lucky for me, the "Dragon" showed up and saw me sitting up in bed. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

Getting out of bed, I asked, "May I please use the bathroom, Ma'am?"

Stepping to the side, the "Dragon" let me go passed her. When I came back, she was standing by my cupboard. "Come take out your school uniform, John."

Walking over, I did as she told me, without saying a word. I realized that keeping quiet worked better than letting my temper run away with me. I didn't like being a puppet on a string, but what else could I do?

We all gave a sigh as the "Dragon" left to wake up the other boys. We dressed quickly and waited for our next instruction.

Soon we were sent downstairs for breakfast. We were assigned to tables and the teachers handed out our porridge. Before we ate, the "Dragon" said grace and then we were allowed to eat in utter silence. It was so quiet that you could hear the cutlery clinking against the bowls. I was surprised to see that the bowls were made of porcelain – the way things were going on, I half expected them to be made of plastic.

We took our dishes to the kitchen and went back upstairs to brush our teeth. I just took out my school bag, when the "Dragon" told me to take it downstairs and wait for her in the living room. When I got to the living room, I found the other boys waiting as well.

When everyone was downstairs and ready for school, the "Dragon" came over to each of us and made sure that nothing was out of place. When she got to me, she took my medication out of her pocket and gave some of it to me. That done, I was pushed out the door along with my friends to make my way to school.

When I walked into the dorm that afternoon, I was in deep trouble. The "Dragon" was waiting for me and she didn't look happy at all! I wondered what I was supposed to have done this time. She had my phone in her possession, so that wasn't the problem.

Looking around, I saw that all my friends were already eating and I was the only one to arrive late through the back door. So that was probably the reason for my next lecture. Moving over to me, the "Dragon" took my bag and placed it against the wall next to the back door and gave me a look that told me to sit or else!

Sitting down, I heard one of my friends laugh softly, "Poor you, Johnny, you are in the dog house again."

I really hated my friends at that moment; they were enjoying my embarrassment and torture.

After lunch, the "Dragon" told me that I had to come back to the dorm directly after school and not read books along the way. How she knew that I read after school, I will never know, maybe one of my friends told her or something.

Upstairs, things went from bad to worse. I had just changed into casual clothes, when the "Dragon" showed up in our room as usual.

"Boys, its nap time."

If I had a glass in my hand, it would have hit the floor and shattered into a million pieces. Before I could stop myself, I asked, "Nap time, why?"

The "Dragon" was looking at me as if I had grown an extra head. I found myself taking a step backwards in shock. "I am only asking, Ma'am. We didn't have nap time in the other dorm."

Getting onto my bed, I waited for the "Dragon" to continue speaking, "Nap time is from one o'clock to for o'clock. YOU may not get off your beds unless you need to use the bathroom. You may not play any music or walk around."

I couldn't believe it; here we were not only puppets but three year old puppets! What kind of dorm was this?

When the "Dragon" left our room, I searched for my Walkman and switched it on. Hiding it under my pillow, I got the time to speed up a bit.

When nap time was over, we were sent downstairs again. The junior boys went to bath with help from the teachers. Some of them couldn't do anything for themselves, so they were washed and dressed like babies.

The rest of us were given a handful of sweets and a glass of water or cool drink. After an hour, I asked the "Dragon" if I could watch a kids program on the TV.
Once we were in the TV room, the "Dragon" switched the TV on and asked, "Which TV station do you watch and what is the story about?"

Sighing softly, I began to explain, "It's a TV program for kids, no blood and gore or anything like that. You can watch it with me if you want."

I told her what station the program was on and waited for her to tune the TV. When she found it, she also watched a few minutes of the program. When she saw that it was harmless, she left me to watch it in peace, only reminding me to call her when it was over, so that she could switch off the TV.

After watching my program and fetching her to switch off the TV, I seated myself at the dinner table with the rest of the boys. After dinner, we had to wait for one of the seniors to clean the tables and then we had to set our places for breakfast.

That done, we were sent back to the living room again to sit on the two beds and entertain ourselves. For a while, no one did or said anything. All this sitting around with no book to read or music to listen to was driving me up the wall. Getting up, I went over to the kind teacher and asked, "Ma'am, may I please play some music for everyone? This sitting around, doing nothing is driving me mad."

Smiling at me, the teacher got up and looked down the hall to see where the "Dragon" was. When she turned to me with a smile, I knew that I had gotten the "all clear" to go upstairs for my Walkman. Thanking the teacher, I hurried up the stairs and got my Walkman along with a little portable speaker. Making my way back down to my chair, I switched on the Walkman and speaker.

The boys enjoyed the music and some of them even began to dance a bit. For half an hour, this hell whole dorm became fun ... until the "Dragon" showed up in the door to the living room. "So this is where the entire racket is coming from! Switch that thing off, immediately, or turn the volume down! I have a headache!"

All the boys had gone back to the two beds and sat down onto them with sad expressions on their faces. My friends only looked at me, smiling. I could kill them for that!

Turning the volume down, I played some more music for a while until the "Dragon" told me to switch the Walkman off. Just before bedtime, the "Dragon" told the six of us that we would not be going to school the next day - we would remain in the dorm while the others attended school.

That night, I wished that my Father would phone me the following day so that I could get my mobile phone back, at least.

Wishes do come true when you wish really hard for them. My Father did phone the following day.

I was dragged out of my thoughts when the "Dragon" showed up in front of me. I was reading a book and only noticed her when her shadow fell across my book.

As I let my book down, she gave me a cool smile, "Your Father wants to speak to you, John."

Closing the book, I followed the "Dragon" down the hall and into the office. This dorm didn't have a video phone, so I had to use one of those old-fashioned landlines to talk to my Father.

"Hi Dad. How are things going over there?"

I couldn't tell my Father about the dorm we were living in or the "Dragon" who was still in the office watching and timing me like they do in jail. I spoke to my Father for a while until he gave me the first good news I had gotten in days, "I'm coming to fetch you tomorrow, John."

I wanted to ask my Father how the rest of my brothers were doing, since I hadn't seen them, because of this dorm's stupid rules, but I decided not to risk the "Dragon's" wrath – maybe she would really start blowing fire. I only told him that I would be ready in time for him the following day and hung up the phone.

As I walked back to the living room with the "Dragon" behind me, I couldn't help feeling happy, because I was skipping the rest of the week in this hell hole. After the holidays, we would be back in our old dorm and out of this horrible place. Thank goodness!

That afternoon, we got dessert after lunch. Then we helped the cleaners to clean up the kitchen and tables, since some of the seniors had gone home already.

That night, I accidently slammed my hand into the bathroom door, when the "Dragon" turned up. I was already undressed and halfway in the bath tub. As one of the seniors had told me, that woman didn't care if you were naked. When I heard her voice, I had to do something.

"Are you lot done in here?"

Grabbing the door, I got my hand in the way somehow and slammed it between the door and the jam. Yelping, I opened the door and pulled my hand away. At least the "Dragon" didn't come into my bathroom to see what I had done and left after some of my friends told her that we were almost done.

When the "Dragon" came to our room, later on, she took hold of my hand and looked at it. "Well, you're going home tomorrow, so your Father can look after it if it gets worse."

My hand didn't hurt, but I wasn't going to tell her that.

The next morning, I had to pack my things for home. When I got downstairs, the "Dragon" handed my mobile phone back to me along with my medication - after dosing me. My friends weren't too happy when they noticed that I would be leaving before them, but I didn't care, since they had enjoyed watching me suffer.

My Father showed up with my other brothers at around 09:00. As we left the dorm with its puppets and "Dragon" teacher, my Father smiled and asked, "So, how was your time there, Johnny? Did you enjoy it?"

If I could have dropped dead right then and there, I would have. How could I enjoy it in a place like that? "No, Father, I hated that place. Do you have any idea what those people do to the kids there? They treat them like puppets on a string.

"I couldn't do what I wanted to, when I wanted to do it. I had to let them know where I was and where I would be. I had to tell them the exact time I left and when I would be back. I even had to ask their permission to use the toilet."

To my embarrassment I heard my second youngest brother, Gordon; laugh out loud, "What! You had to ask to go potty?"

Before I could react, Scott smacked the back of Gordon's head. It was a good thing too, because the mood this dorm had put me in was not pleasant.