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Mar. 31st, 2012 08:18 pmIt's the first day of the Easter holidays, and the kids have requisitioned the sports field (with permission from the head).
"I'm not sure I'm ready for this." Fry says, eying his friends with the box.
"You're kidding right." Lenny says. "We all witnessed you observe a head wound for twenty four seconds. Last year when Maurice cut his finger you vomited on the desk and passed out in less than ten."
"We think you've made an important step in the right direction and have decided on an intervention." Jo says.
"Yeah, and if you pass out, I know how to put people in the recovery position." Maurice says.
"But you won't." Lenny says, pulling up a chair and placing it next to Fry.
"Has anyone heard about Nigel?" Fry asks. That morning, the headmaster had given a very solumn assembly, reminding everyone of the importance of why fighting can be dangerous and how a single punch can have long term consequences.
"His lawyer pleaded diminished capacity, judge ruled that was bollocks - rightly so - and he's going to Young Offenders." Lenny says. "His brother's made a full recovery, except for a little scar."
Fry nods.
"Thanks for having my back the other day, all of you. You could have just left me with Kevin."
"You're kidding right?" Jo says. "We weren't going to run off and leave you with three big angry lads. You wouldn't have left us."
"Yeah man, we're a team." Lenny says. "And if Nigel hadn't overreacted, nobody would have got hurt."
Fry hesitates. "Was this my fault? Was Nigel trying to defend me?"
Lenny shakes his head.
"Even if he was, he knew it was out of line. Don't worry about it. Now you're stalling, we need to continue with the training."
Dan, the new and incredibly shy student, has come out to watch from a distance now. The others don't acknowledge him; Dan is easily spooked, but if you don't pressurise him, sometimes comes over.
"Okay, starting distance of fifty metres. It's an undissected lamb's kidney from the butcher." Maurice says, measuring it. "We're going to proceed in logarithmic fashion with an exposure time of twenty seconds."
Fry nods and braces himself. Out the corner of his eye, he sees Dan smile and give him the thumbs up. He smiles back slightly.
Maurice puts the box down and opens it. Sure enough, the result is... undramatic. He can barely see the kidney, let alone feel faint.
They repeat the experiment from twenty, ten and five metres before right up close. And soon, Fry is looking fearfully in the box. He does the tensing thing Max taught him, and to his surprise, his vision is still intact. The kidney isn't much worse close up than it was far away.
And suddenly, everyone is there congratulating him, the box is shut, and Lenny grins at him, saying:
"Fry, hold onto this moment. You can overcome your fear. Remember this moment, and use it to summon your patronus."
They sit down on the grass, near the trees, and celebrate with a picnic.
"I'm not sure I'm ready for this." Fry says, eying his friends with the box.
"You're kidding right." Lenny says. "We all witnessed you observe a head wound for twenty four seconds. Last year when Maurice cut his finger you vomited on the desk and passed out in less than ten."
"We think you've made an important step in the right direction and have decided on an intervention." Jo says.
"Yeah, and if you pass out, I know how to put people in the recovery position." Maurice says.
"But you won't." Lenny says, pulling up a chair and placing it next to Fry.
"Has anyone heard about Nigel?" Fry asks. That morning, the headmaster had given a very solumn assembly, reminding everyone of the importance of why fighting can be dangerous and how a single punch can have long term consequences.
"His lawyer pleaded diminished capacity, judge ruled that was bollocks - rightly so - and he's going to Young Offenders." Lenny says. "His brother's made a full recovery, except for a little scar."
Fry nods.
"Thanks for having my back the other day, all of you. You could have just left me with Kevin."
"You're kidding right?" Jo says. "We weren't going to run off and leave you with three big angry lads. You wouldn't have left us."
"Yeah man, we're a team." Lenny says. "And if Nigel hadn't overreacted, nobody would have got hurt."
Fry hesitates. "Was this my fault? Was Nigel trying to defend me?"
Lenny shakes his head.
"Even if he was, he knew it was out of line. Don't worry about it. Now you're stalling, we need to continue with the training."
Dan, the new and incredibly shy student, has come out to watch from a distance now. The others don't acknowledge him; Dan is easily spooked, but if you don't pressurise him, sometimes comes over.
"Okay, starting distance of fifty metres. It's an undissected lamb's kidney from the butcher." Maurice says, measuring it. "We're going to proceed in logarithmic fashion with an exposure time of twenty seconds."
Fry nods and braces himself. Out the corner of his eye, he sees Dan smile and give him the thumbs up. He smiles back slightly.
Maurice puts the box down and opens it. Sure enough, the result is... undramatic. He can barely see the kidney, let alone feel faint.
They repeat the experiment from twenty, ten and five metres before right up close. And soon, Fry is looking fearfully in the box. He does the tensing thing Max taught him, and to his surprise, his vision is still intact. The kidney isn't much worse close up than it was far away.
And suddenly, everyone is there congratulating him, the box is shut, and Lenny grins at him, saying:
"Fry, hold onto this moment. You can overcome your fear. Remember this moment, and use it to summon your patronus."
They sit down on the grass, near the trees, and celebrate with a picnic.
