Don’t ask me how many because I was in a trance-like state.
Surprisingly it didn’t hurt that much, although it could hardly be described as a pain-free experience.
As I left I nodded to my friend who looked very pale indeed.
I waited for him to receive his noisy slippering, then together we swaggered back to our class as returning heroes.
Of course, we told everyone it was a terribly painful act of unsurpassed cruelty which we had both bravely borne and we were duly accepted into the exclusive fraternity of those who had returned from unimaginable suffering.
You see it was the fear itself that was the worst punishment.