Harvey panicked for a moment as Mike fumbled but he was able to hold the child before he actually fell. He waited to spot the nearest boy and informed him that they were to keep running while he took Mike to the doctor. The doctor was able to bring Mike back with some simple water and gave him a glucose syrup to drink. She simply told Harvey, "I'm keeping the boy here for all of tomorrow too. This is concerning" and walked away, never giving him a chance to refuse.
He walked up to Mike and asked, "Why didn't you tell me you were feeling like you were going to faint?"
Mike did not respond.
"Not a rhetorical question."
"I've been feeling like that since yesterday night. Didn't expect it to actually happen."
"Doesn't matter. Next time you tell an adult."
In a very soft voice, Mike hesitatingly asked, "If I had told you, what would you have done? I would have still had to take my punishment right?"
Harvey hesitated then said, "Never at the cost of a student's health."
"Okay."
Harvey rubbed his hand on his face then said, "You will serve your detention here. You should be sitting on a hard chair but anyway you will write a detailed explanation of the previous night. What happened, why it happened, why you did what you did, what you should have done differently. Don't leave anything out. Clear?"
"Yes sir."
Harvey nodded then sat down in a nearby chair and pulled out his phone. He texted Jessica letting her know that MIke was okay but needed to be in the hospital and asking her if she could assign someone else to supervise the detention for the others. She just responded with 'Done'.
Harvey looked up again at the little boy sitting on the bed trying hard to write something that would magically make it all better.
He got up and walked out and returned an hour later with dinner for the boy. He said, "Eat up" and gathered the pages that the boy had written on, satisfied by the amount of writing that had been done. He sat down and started reading. He could see that the boy had tried but couldn't find anything that he could sympathize with. It was a pure foolhardy stunt pulled by schoolboys and even if Mike hadn't wanted to do it, he had let himself be pulled into it instead of standing up to his friends or letting an adult know.
Harvey looked up and saw that Mike had at least finished most of his dinner. "Eat all you can."
"Yes sir."
To Harvey's surprise, Mike ate all the food he had brought. Harvey had accidentally bought dessert too. When Mike opened the box and saw what it was, he looked up to Harvey with questioning eyes. "Eat it, you need the sugar." Mike smiled and dug into the chocolate cake. Harvey realised for the millionth time how much he preferred that smile over the tears.
Once Mike had finished eating, Harvey said, "Into the corner with you."
Mike nodded and walked up to a corner.
Harvey wasn't sure what other way he could punish the boy right now. After 30 minutes, which to MIke's credit he had served with no fuss, Harvey ordered him back into bed and asked him to go to sleep.
Mike nodded and obeyed.
With his eyes closed, Mike asked, "What is going to happen now?"
Harvey sighed, then said, "I don't know. The doctor is going to run some more tests tomorrow. You will stay in the infirmary tomorrow. You will work on schoolwork and your detention essay whenever the doctor allows, and you better follow all her instructions to the T. After we have the results, we'll figure out a plan."
"Not knowing and waiting is really scary," came a small scared voice from under the covers.
Harvey smirked. "Let that also be a lesson to you," he said but moved toward the boy and started rubbing circles on his back.
The reports came back saying that Mike had a bronchial infection and the alcohol had made it worse. This was fairly simple to treat but running or physical exercise or exertion of any kind was out of the question for a couple weeks at doctor also told him that any physical chastisement that would make the boy sob and thus restrict his breathing had to be handled very carefully. Harvey nodded and then went to talk to the kid, who in may ways had started feeling like his kid.
"On your feet."
Mike stood at attention next to the bed. He looked so small and adorable that all Harvey wanted to do was hug him but he steeled himself and delivered a lecture that made the boy feel all of 2 feet tall. He swatted the boy's backside to emphasize points throughout the lecture but watched carefully for the boy's reactions. Finally, he said, "the following is your new punishment. You are suspended from your classes. I will be supervising your suspension. So you will come to all my classes where you will be set up on a desk facing the wall. You will do your schoolwork, write lines and essays as and when I ask you to. All your meals will happen in my office. After school, you will stand in the corner. You will receive a spanking every morning and evening. Everything else stands canceled. I hope you realize how incredibly lenient this is and I expect you to follow every direction immediately. Understood?"
"Yes sir."
Harvey nodded and said, "Get into bed. I'll see you tomorrow at 7 sharp at my office."
"Yes sir."
As Harvey was about to leave he heard a soft "thank you" and smiled.
Mike behaved like a perfect student. Doing what he was told, when he was told. Harvey was careful to spank the boy till he was crying but never let him reach a point where he couldn't punishment was embarrassing, especially standing in the corner in other classes, but MIke forced himself to focus on how it was so much better than the alternative.
Harvey was glad about how co-operative Mike was being and that he didn't need to tack on additional punishment but he was also starting to see the value of separating Mike from his good-for-nothing friends, which he didn't anticipate going down well. But now when Mike thought that he had been really lenient, would be the best time to do it.
That evening, Harvey told him, "Mr Ross, your punishment will continue indefinitely till I believe you have learnt your lesson. But your suspension is over. You may return to your classes but you will sit alone at the front of the class. You will be given task lists every morning and evening. You will only be spanked if you fail to complete it without good reason. And after school, I will supervise you running around the ground, we'll build up your strength gradually and then you shall serve detention with me till bedtime."
Mike realised how that would mean that he had no time for himself at all but knew that he didn't have an option so he just said, "Yes sir."
