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Jan. 22nd, 2015 09:37 pmIf you confess, you get half sentence at home, so after his fight with Tommy, Fry reluctantly takes himself off to the Headmistress's office, and sits in The Chair outside her office, swinging his legs.
Mrs Patel eventually comes out and spots him, and calls him in.
"Did Mrs Pink send you here?" she asks, curiously. It hasn't escaped her notice that Fry has been sent to her office less this academic year, which to her suggests he's probably getting away with stuff he shouldn't be.
"No. Someone was mean about my talking about feelings card game and maths game and so I called them thick and they grabbed my head and I stood up and made their nose hurt a bit but no blood." Fry says. "So I'm confessing but I'm not saying who it is so it's not telling tales."
"I see." Mrs Patel nods. "It was good of you to confess, and it wasn't nice of that person to say that to you." She pauses and continues. "But you must never call anyone thick. You wouldn't like it if someone called you thick when there's something you aren't good at."
Fry nods. Charles had already made him see that. Mrs Patel crouches next to him.
"You know, Fry, you can always come and see me just to ask advice if you want, if you feel someone is being mean. You don't have to tell tales. Or you can talk to the special needs teacher."
"Isn't special needs like dyslexia?" Fry asks. "Like her helping Coral with her reading?"
"Not always." Mrs Patel says. "Everyone is special, and everyone has needs. But some people need more help than others; and that's okay, because that's how you learn to be the best person you can be when you grow up. Saying nasty words, and fighting, those are bad habits. To be the best you can be, you have to behave yourself even when people around you aren't."
Fry glances at her, with a rare bit of eye contact.
"My friend Archie's mum said manners are like that. That I'm not a bad influence because it's up to Archie not to be influenced."
"That's right." Mrs Patel says. "Now I know if you're grabbed it makes you frightened and you react quickly, but it sounds like you needed to count to ten before that."
Mrs Patel eventually comes out and spots him, and calls him in.
"Did Mrs Pink send you here?" she asks, curiously. It hasn't escaped her notice that Fry has been sent to her office less this academic year, which to her suggests he's probably getting away with stuff he shouldn't be.
"No. Someone was mean about my talking about feelings card game and maths game and so I called them thick and they grabbed my head and I stood up and made their nose hurt a bit but no blood." Fry says. "So I'm confessing but I'm not saying who it is so it's not telling tales."
"I see." Mrs Patel nods. "It was good of you to confess, and it wasn't nice of that person to say that to you." She pauses and continues. "But you must never call anyone thick. You wouldn't like it if someone called you thick when there's something you aren't good at."
Fry nods. Charles had already made him see that. Mrs Patel crouches next to him.
"You know, Fry, you can always come and see me just to ask advice if you want, if you feel someone is being mean. You don't have to tell tales. Or you can talk to the special needs teacher."
"Isn't special needs like dyslexia?" Fry asks. "Like her helping Coral with her reading?"
"Not always." Mrs Patel says. "Everyone is special, and everyone has needs. But some people need more help than others; and that's okay, because that's how you learn to be the best person you can be when you grow up. Saying nasty words, and fighting, those are bad habits. To be the best you can be, you have to behave yourself even when people around you aren't."
Fry glances at her, with a rare bit of eye contact.
"My friend Archie's mum said manners are like that. That I'm not a bad influence because it's up to Archie not to be influenced."
"That's right." Mrs Patel says. "Now I know if you're grabbed it makes you frightened and you react quickly, but it sounds like you needed to count to ten before that."
