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Bye-bye, Testicles By C van D Illustrated by A N Other Copyright xxxx Mystery Publishing Company Anytown, Anystate TITLE PAGE: A young boy, Gary Martin, is seen standing in an empty street. He’s wearing dirty jeans and scuffed trainers, a baseball cap back-to-front, and a scarlet MUFC shirt with a large white “7” on the back and the name “Beckham” in white letters. He has one foot on a football. DRAWING: A doctor’s consulting room. The boy’s face is peeping round the door. “Dr Donaldson” called Gary hesitantly. “Shall I come in?” “Yes, come in, Gary” said Dr Donaldson, looking up from Gary’s file. “Do you know why you’re here? “Well, yes, Dr Donaldson” said Gary. “Mommy said you need to look at my ears. That’s right, isn’t it?” “No, not your ears, Gary” said Dr Donaldson. “Something very different. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll tell you about it”. Gary sat down. Clearly his Mommy had told him pork-pies, to get him to see the Doctor.. DRAWING: Doctor Donaldson – a tall, handsome woman in her forties, sitting in a chair opposite Gary, who is listening with a puzzled frown. “Well, now, Gary” resumed the Doctor “I’ve been reading your file, and it seems you’re getting a reputation. It says here that you used to be such a good little boy, but you’ve become wilful and unmanageable recently. Your teacher has complained that you don’t pay attention in class. You’re always staring at the girls and trying to attract attention”. “But I like talking to the girls” protested Gary. “But it doesn’t stop at talking, does it?” said the Doctor. “How about that box of candies you gave to Selma Davies? What about the message you wrote on the wrapper – “Levers to pry your pants down”? “That was only a joke” said Gary sulkily. “Gary, was it a joke when you, and two other boys arranged to see Selma and her friend Marie behind the boiler house, to – it says here- ‘show the girls your cocks”? Gary said nothing. The Doctor relentlessly pressed ahead. “Let’s not waste any more time, Gary. Take off your jeans and under-shorts so that I can examine you”. DRAWING: Gary with his pants down showing his bare behind. “It’s just as I thought, Gary” said the Doctor. “Your genital organs are still dormant, but not for much longer. Already, with thinking about girls, your penis has gone hard. How often does that happen? “I don’t know” said Gary. “Quite a few times a day. Sometimes I wake up in bed with it stiff”. “Far too often” said the Doctor. “Listen. Right now, whatever those silly little girls put you up to and let you do to them, not much harm can come of it. But I can see a few tiny hairs above your penis. When they thicken up and change color, you’ll be old enough to give a girl a baby. That would be tragic, Gary – tragic”. The Doctor paused to let this sink in, while Gary’s face became very red. “Those other two boys you went with, when you planned to “show the girls your cocks”. Were they Bradley Jones and Tyler Moretti? Do you know them, Gary?” “Sure I know them” said Gary. “They’ve both had the snip, and their penises are all tiny and never get stiff. Mine was by far the biggest, the girls said.” Gary had always been rather proud of having a big penis, for his age. His two classmates had also had big penises before they’d had their balls taken out. Now they only had little winkles. “That’s quite enough about the girls” said the Doctor. “Now your parents and I have talked about it and we certainly think that it’s time for you to have the same procedure.” “No!” cried Gary in alarm. “No! I’m not going to be snipped. I won’t let you!” He jumped up, as if to run out of the room, but the Doctor’s firm hand pressed him back into his chair. “Calm down, Gary!” commanded the Doctor. “Just listen. There’s no alternative.” She continued, in a quieter tone. “There has been an official complaint from the girls’ parents. If you have the procedure the complaint will go no further – that I can promise. Without it, you could be sent to the Youth Custody Centre, and you’d hate that, wouldn’t you? Gary began to cry softly. “Well, now, Gary” said the Doctor in a kindly way. “Dry your eyes and I’ll tell you what’s involved. Let’s look at a diagram”. The Doctor pressed a switch, and on the wall a screen lit up. “Here is an enlarged diagram of a boy’s penis and testicles. You’ll see that the testicles are inside his scrotum and connected to his body by cords. Now the procedure won’t hurt at all. You’ll have a light general anaesthetic first of all, and you won’t know a thing that’s happening. Then a local anaesthetic in the top of your leg; that freezes all sensation in your private area. Then I have to make two little incisions, and tie the cords off before taking the testicles right out. Then two little stitches, one on each side, and it’s all done”. Gary sniffed a bit. “And you promise, it won’t hurt?” “It may be a bit sore afterwards” the Doctor said “when the local anaesthetic wears off. But there are analgesic creams I’ll give you, to take the soreness away. And in two or three days you’ll have healed up and you won’t feel any different from the way you do now”. Gary heaved a deep sigh. “Okay, you win” he said. “When am I going to have it done?” “Tomorrow” said Dr Donaldson. “Your parents will drive you to the General Hospital. But you musn’t have anything to eat, after six o’clock tonight. Now get dressed, go home and tell your Mother, no breakfast tomorrow”. Gary walked slowly home. “Hi, Mommy” he called out, as he entered the lounge. “Guess what? I am going to have the snip tomorrow, in the morning, and you mustn’t give me any breakfast!” “Well, that’s just fine, honey” said his Mother. “After all, most of your friends have already been snipped, and you’ll be much happier once it’s all behind you”. “Only why did you lie to me, Mommy?” whined Gary. But Mommy didn’t reply. DRAWING: Gary’s bedroom. The walls are decorated with MUFC posters and other memorabilia.. On the bed is a small camouflage back-pack. Gary has a book in his hand. Other items are piled on the bed. Gary packed his small back-pack. “Dressing-gown, pajamas, slippers, washing things” muttered Gary. “I’ll take “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” to read. It’s sure to be very boring, just waiting around”. Soon afterwards he went to bed and tried not to think about the next day. Next day Mommy and Daddy drove Gary to the General Hospital. DRAWING: Hospital reception area. Gary standing at desk and receptionist putting on his wristband. Mommy sitting on chair behind Gary and Daddy standing next to chair. A lady was sitting at a counter behind a glass screen. She smiled at them. “Tell me your name,” she said. “I’m Gary Martin” Gary replied. The lady typed something on a keyboard and looked at a screen. “Oh yes!” she said. “Another dear little boy to be neutered”. She typed something about Gary on her keyboard. Then a printer produced a bracelet with Gary’s name, hospital number and date of birth. The receptionist fastened it on Gary’s wrist. “You’ll be in Collinson Ward, Gary” said the receptionist. Turning to his parents she said “Just follow the signs, and when you reach Collinson Ward, speak to the Team Leader at the nursing station”. DRAWING: The nursing station in a hospital ward. Nurse and Gary at center of picture; nurse’s hand on Gary’s back. Mommy and Daddy standing at the side of the picture. A young black woman appeared. She wore black trousers and a pink blouse. Her lapel badge said “Donna Grant, Care Assistant”. She took Gary, Mommy and Daddy, down the long corridor of the ward to the last of several side bays. There were four steel-framed white beds, all very cleanly made up with crisp sheets and cellular blankets. Each bed-space had a locker and a bedside table and chair. Curtains could be drawn right around each bedspace for privacy. There were no decorations on the walls, because every inch of space above the bed-head was taken up with pipes, dials, wires and other mysterious things. Gary stared in amazement at all this hi-tech. DRAWING: Hospital bed with open backpack on it. Gary taking his things out. Nurse holding up his hospital gown. “This will be your bed, Gary” said Donna Grant, Care Assistant. She had already put up a big notice above the bed-head. It said “Gary Martin” and below that “Dr A Donaldson” and below that again “Nil by mouth”. Gary put his clothes in the cupboard and his book on the bedside table. Donna Grant produced a plain white hospital gown. It was designed to open down the back and be tied with laces. “There’s no need to get undressed yet, Gary” said Donna Grant. “But you must have a shower and put your gown on, before you go down to theatre”. DRAWING: Gary, Mommy, Daddy, and the “doctor in green” standing to one side. Just then a doctor dressed in green overalls with a green cap on his head walked in. “Hello, Gary”, he said. “I’m Dr Barnes, the anaesthetist. I’ve come to tell you what’s going to happen when they take you down to theatre”. Gary listened. “The porters will lay you on the operating table. Then I shall give you a big black rubber thing like the inside of a football. It’s got a mask on one end. I shall hold the mask over your mouth and nose and ask you to alternately blow and breathe in. You’ll be inhaling a gas called “nitrous oxide” which will very quickly make you fall asleep. When you wake up, the operation will be all finished, and you’ll be in a place called the Recovery Room. Then the porters will bring you back here and the nurses will tuck you up in bed”. Dr Barnes turned to Gary’s parents. “Say, it’ll be a while yet before Dr Donaldson is ready. Why don’t you all go along to the day-room for a bit? There’s a coffee-machine in there – Gary unfortunately will have to stay thirsty for now- but there’s a computer in there with quite a good selection of games. I’ll see Dr Donaldson and tell her where you are”. They all went along to the dayroom which had a green door. Mommy and Daddy each got a coffee from the machine. Gary turned on the computer and found a game he enjoyed. DRAWING: Gary sitting at the computer keyboard. Dr. Donaldson, wearing full surgical garb, standing and leaning toward him. A short while later, the door of the dayroom opened and Dr Donaldson came in, followed by two hospital porters. They were all dressed just as Dr Barnes had been, in green overalls with green caps on their heads. Dr Donaldson smiled at Mommy and Daddy and turned to Gary. “We’re nearly ready for you now, Gary” he said. “Go back to the ward now, and a nurse will take you for a shower and show you how to put your gown on. Then these guys will take you down to theatre”. “We’ll wait here, honey” said Mommy. “They’ll tell us when you’ve come back to the ward, I’m sure”. “That’s right” said Dr Donaldson. “Half an hour is all it will take”. DRAWING: Gary standing, center. Mommy kneeling, holding Gary’s hand. Daddy standing and leaning down towards him. Daddy and Mommy gave Gary a hug.. “We’ll wait here for you” said Daddy. “We’ve got a surprise for when you wake” said Mommy. DRAWING: Gary on a trolley being trundled down a hospital corridor. The porters helped Gary on to a trolley and took him for a long ride, up in a lift, along more corridors and into a rather untidy room full of equipment, green cylinders, black-and-white cylinders and a few blue ones. A nurse, with a badge that said “Theatre Sister” was there, also a man. Gary recognised kindly Doctor Barnes, the anaesthetist. Both were dressed in green. The nurse put a green cap on Gary’s head, and pulled up a green sheet. Dr Barnes wheeled a big piece of equipment, all pipes and dials, across. At one end of this apparatus was a thick rubber pipe, and on the other end, a thing like a black balloon. DRAWING: Gary in the pre-op room, surrounded by individuals in green gowns and with face masks. One is holding the mask to Gary’s nose and mouth. Dr. Barnes said, “Now, Gary, blow hard into the black balloon, just like I said.” Gary did as he was told. The balloon had a strange, chemical smell. Soon he began to feel drowsy. “I wonder what Mommy’s special treat will be” he thought as he became unconscious. The porters wheeled Gary’s trolley into the operating theatre where Dr Donaldson was waiting with her assistants to cut out Gary’s balls and make him a boy-eunuch. Doctor Donaldson said to her assistants, in a very quiet voice “The patient is a Caucasian male, aged eleven years and seven months. The operation is bi-lateral orchiectomy followed by circumcision”. Gary did hear any of this. He did not see Doctor Donaldson or anybody else. While he was unconscious, Dr Donaldson took instruments to open Gary’s scrotum. Snip, snip, out came his testicles. With his testicles gone, Gary was no longer completely a boy, and he could never become a man. Dr Donaldson stitched Gary’s empty scrotum, and put a surgical dressing over it. Then she took another set of instruments and trimmed off Gary’s foreskin. DRAWING: Gary being wheeled into the ward. Mommy and Daddy standing just inside the door looking at him. When Gary woke up, he was on a trolley. Very quickly some porters appeared and wheeled him back along all those corridors to the ward. There were Mommy and Daddy. Somehow they looked a bit blurry and indistinct. DRAWING: Gary in bed, holding his new lap-top, and Mommy and Daddy seated near the bed. Gary was still very drowsy. “Hi ya, Mommy” he said sleepily. “Hi ya, Daddy”. “We’ve brought you something” said Daddy. “Something I believe you’ll like. Something for being a good boy”. Daddy reached down and picked up a big flat parcel and gave it to Gary. But he had to help Gary take the wrappings off. Inside, Gary found a new, state-of-the-art, wire-less laptop. “Gee, thanks, Daddy!” he said. “That’s real cool”. Then all of a sudden he felt he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer. Daddy took the lap-top and carefully placed it in Gary’s locker. “Try and sleep now” said Daddy. “Mommy and I must go home now to get Donna’s tea and do all sorts of things, ready for when you come home”. Donna was Gary’s sister, aged thirteen. As he drifted off to sleep Gary could hear Mommy and Daddy talking to a doctor. “Yes” the doctor was saying. “It’s perfectly possible to neuter a boy of Gary’s age by chemical methods, by injecting a drug. But in this hospital we prefer to take the testicles right out. The benefits are more immediate”. Gary didn’t have time to figure out what the doctor meant. He was fast asleep. DRAWING: Gary asleep in bed. Another care-assistant, this time an Indian lady, put up the sides of the bed to prevent Gary rolling out in the night. It was growing dark now, and she dimmed the lights as she went out. Once in the night, Gary woke. Where was he? What was that throbbing between his legs? Then he remembered. They had done something to his private parts, to prevent him having sex with girls. That was a shame. Thinking about it, his eyes began pricking and presently a tear rolled down his cheek…….. His head ached some. Just then a nurse came into the bay. Seeing that Gary was awake she gave him two small white tablets and a drink of water. Gary was soon fast asleep again. DRAWING: Overall view of the bay. Four beds with four young boys, all sitting up. Gary was woken in the morning by shouting and laughter. Opening his eyes he saw that the three other beds were occupied. In the bed next to his own was a young white boy. In the two beds opposite there were two black boys. All were about Gary’s age. “Hello” said one of the black boys. “I’m Duane and this is Connor. We’re cousins. Some people think we’re twins, but we’re not”. “We’ve had our balls taken out” said Connor.”We’re ball-less wonders!” “I’m called Craig” said the white boy, who seemed quiet and rather shy. Gary turned to the white boy. “Have you been neutered as well?” he asked. “Yes, it’s my religion” said Craig. “Eldest sons are permitted to stay intact, to carry on the family name. The rest of us become “eunuchs for God”. I’ve never had sex. Girls have to stay well away from boys who haven’t been neutered yet. But I expect to meet a lot of girls, now that I can’t do anything with them”. “How about you?” Gary asked Duane. “Is that your religion as well?” Duane laughed. “Some hopes! No, I screwed my best friend’s kid sister. Her parents weren’t amused. So they’ve made me so’s I can never do it again”. “And I screwed his kid brother” said Connor, jerking a thumb at Duane. “You had sex with a BOY?” gasped Gary. “Sure thing” replied Connor. “It’s just as nice as with a girl, and it’s safe”. Gary decided he didn’t like Connor very much. But just then a big trolley was wheeled into the ward by a black woman dressed in dark red. “Breakfast!” called this woman. Gary thought that the breakfast was kinda lousy. He got some Cornflakes and a beaker of milk. There was no toast, only plain bread and butter, and the only choice of jam was blackcurrant or apricot. He didn’t like either, but he was feeling a bit peckish by now, so he chose apricot all the same. DRAWING: Gary sitting up in bed, wires attaching him to a monitor, Nurse with a clipboard. Breakfast was hardly over before a nurse appeared. She had long golden hair and wore a blue-and-white striped uniform dress and black tights. Her badge said “Elaine Hunter, Senior Staff Nurse”. She was the team leader and the most important person on the ward. “Well now, Gary” said Elaine Hunter in a very precise Edinburgh accent. “Let’s have a good look at you!” From an alcove she pulled out a sort of small television screen on a stand. A lot of wires came out of this. Staff Nurse Hunter quickly pulled the curtains round Gary’s bed. Then she did some very strange things. She attached a sort of clothes-peg to Gary’s middle finger. She put an elasticated bandage round his arm and somehow pumped it up- it felt very tight and uncomfortable. She placed something behind Gary’s ear and at the same time held his wrist in a very special way, while looking at her watch. The screen lit up. Figures appeared. Colored lines danced up and down. Staff Nurse Hunter gave a sigh. “Blood pressure, temperature, pulse rate, all pairrfectly normal” she said. “Guid! Now, then………..” She pulled back the covers and lifted the hem of Gary’s theatre gown, which he still had on. Till then, Gary hadn’t dared to think about his operation and what they had done to him. But now he saw. Where his scrotum and balls had been, there was a big gauze dressing, held in place by micro-tape. But his penis! It used to be smooth, tapering to a point. Now it looked like an acorn. He looked at the nurse in amazement. “What’s happened to my penis, Nurse?” he stammered. “You’ve been circumcised” said Staff Nurse Hunter. “To stop you fiddling with it. All you dirty little boys love to fiddle with your penises, so you won’t be doing that again”. (She pronounced “dirty” as “dirrhty”). “I expect you’ll be a much nicer little boy, now that those nasty balls have been seen to”. She replaced the clipboard on the end of Gary’s bed. “That’s all for now, Gary. We’ll keep that dressing on for the moment, then somebody will change it. In a few minutes we’ll take you to the bathroom”. Donna Grant, Care Assistant, appeared. “We’ll go for a nice wash now, Gary” she said. “Bring your soap and towel. And afterwards you can put your daytime clothes on, because I expect you’ll be going home this afternoon”. Holding his “new” penis very gingerly, Gary went for a wee, while Donna Grant sat on a stool outside. Then he sat on the toilet for Number Twos. Donna Grant took Gary’s clipboard and entered “P.U.” and “B.O.”. She waited while Gary washed his face and brushed his teeth, then took the wash-cloth from him and washed his bottom, taking care not to wet the dressing. While she was doing this, another care-assistant put her head round the door. “Doctor’s here, Nurse” she said. Donna Grant quickly dried Gary and hurried him back to his bed, still in the nude. Waiting for them were stern Dr Donaldson, now in ordinary clothes, a student, in a long white coat, and Staff Nurse Hunter. Donna made Gary lie on the bed while she drew the curtains round them all. DRAWING: Gary lying on his back on his bed, in the nude, a towel across his middle. Doctor, student and nurse looking on.. Dr Donaldson carefully removed Gary’s dressing. Turning to the student she said “This patient’s operation took place yesterday afternoon. The wounds are nice and dry and will be more-or-less healed in three days. The outreach team will be keeping an eye on things. “As you can see” she went on “there’s no secretion of fluid in the patient’s scrotum and I wouldn’t expect there to be. Some surgeons prefer to remove most of the scrotum and suture the ends, but I’m not one of them. In the longer term the scrotum will shrink away, just leaving a patch of skin of a different color”. The student scribbled busily away. For the first time Dr Donaldson spoke to Gary direct. “You can start putting your outdoor clothes on, Gary. Nurse will telephone your parents and ask them to collect you. This bed is needed for another patient. Tomorrow the District Nurse will call round to take a look at you”. Nurse Hunter replaced Gary’s dressing. Gary took his clothes from the locker and began to put them on. Well, at least he wouldn’t be staying here for any more meals. Lunch would probably be as lousy as breakfast. DRAWING: Gary fully dressed. Mommy and Daddy standing by. “We’ve come to take you home, Gary” said Mommy. It was close on twelve o’clock. There were curtains around Craig’s bed by now. The black boys had been moved to a different bay, so there was no one to say goodbye to. Daddy took a good look around to make sure nothing had been left behind. DRAWING: The family walking into McDonalds. “Mommy, can we all go to McDonalds for lunch?” asked Gary in a wheedling voice. “Sure thing, honey, if that’s what you like” said Mommy. They all trooped into McDonalds, where Gary had a Big Mac and jumbo fries, with hot pineapple pie to follow. Mommy settled for Filet-o-Fish and Daddy favoured Egg McMuffin. Lunch over, they returned to the car and Daddy drove them home. DRAWING: Mommy holding open car door. Daddy at the steering wheel. Gary walking toward the car with his back-pack on, carrying his new lap-top. Back home, Gary’s sister Donna had asked her friend Charlene to call round for some girl-talk and listen to music. “Here they are!” said Donna to her friend. “They’ve been to fetch Gary from hospital”. “Oh dear!” said Charlene. “Has he been hurt?” “Hurt? No!” said Donna scornfully. “He’s been to have that operation that boys have, to stop them doing rude things with girls”. “I don’t understand” said Charlene. “What operation’s that?” Donna whispered something in Charlene’s ear. Charlene giggled! DRAWING: Gary standing in the road, watching a mini-skirted girl’s retreating back view. One day not long afterwards, Gary was outside his house, when a girl passed. It was Selma, his classmate from school. “’Lo, Selma” he called. “’Lo, Gary” Selma called back. Gary remembered the time that he’d let Selma tease him, unzipping his jeans and sliding her hand inside. Her soft gentle fingers had played up and down his penis and rolled his foreskin back and forth, back and forth… She had even opened her legs, to allow him to explore between her thighs, but had whispered “No, not yet” when he’d tried to pull her pants down. But today she didn’t stop to chat. Clearly the word had got round, about his operation, and those days were over. FINIS |