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Jul. 11th, 2016 10:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fry_sandhu"And now I want each of you to come and tell us your story."
"My name is Tommy,
My family is me, my mum, my dad, and my two big brothers and our dog The Stig. My dad's a plumber, and my mum works in IT. We're White British for like a million generations. Things that are important in our family's culture are Holby United, holidays, and never being a wuss.
What's hard about being me? When other kids are smarter than me. But what's awesome about being me is being great at tennis, and my coach says I'm going to be a star."
"So I read the book." Tommy announces at break, having gathered most of the class to a Secret Meeting taking place in the middle of the playground.
"You read a whole book?" Bradley asks, raising an eyebrow.
"My name is Bradley,
I live with my mum and dad and big sister. My dad works in business, my mum stays at home. We're White British except my grandma who is Scottish. Mum said our culture was being a loving family. My dad hasn't been home since we started the project.
What's hard about being me is having cerebral palsy, because people act like I'm weak or dumb when I'm actually smart and strong. What's awesome about being me is being popular and funny and having lots of mates.
When I grow up, I want to design and build robots."
"Shut it!" Tommy playfully punches his friend. "It's like a strategy guide how to beat Miss Havisham, written by kids over the last sixty years. They started with Miss Havisham the even older - the current Miss Havisham's aunt - and carried on when ours took over."
"We definitely need to make it more fun." Bethany says. "She's as boring as, like, cardboard."
"My name is Bethany
I live with my mum and my two big sisters. My mum's an accountant or something.
My Dad's in jail
I don't think we have like a culture, isn't that for like Asian people?
I forgot to ask Mum
I forgot I was doing this project
It doesn't matter, I got a laugh
What's hard about being me? Nothing, really.
Except getting told off
I lost the sheet of instructions
What was the next question?
I...
The sheet was in my book bag
When I used it on that hill
As a slide
Where did I leave it again?
When I grow up, I'm going to be a fashion designer. Or maybe a famous chocolate chef. Or I could ride a bike around the world."
"Listen guys, we're all in this together." Tommy says. "And nobody snitches, or we'll miss out on a lot of fun.
"I don't think anyone's going to be sucking up to Miss Havisham any time soon." Teddy says, amused.
"My name is Teddy,
I live with my mums. Mum owns a piercing salon, and Mummy is an editor for a big magazine. I'm adopted, so I have a birth mum and dad too, they were very young when I was born and couldn't look after me, but I get cards from them on my birthday and at Christmas and I've met them a few times.
We're all White British. Mum says in our culture it's important to be kind, to accept people for who they are, and to drink lots of tea.
People sometimes think it would be hard for me to have two mums, but it's not. It's hard when people are mean to them though. Mummy says what's best about me is I'm a good peacemaker.
I don't know what I want to be when I grow up yet, so I'm just going to keep trying at everything until I find out."
"Well get on with it then!" Bethany rolls her eyes. "What did the boring old history kids have to say?"
"Well first." Tommy says. "They used to play loads of pranks. Like you know how she makes you stand up when she enters the classroom? The last person to stand is called the Donkey and when she turns to the board, everyone makes donkey ears at them."
"Won't the last person to stand up every time be Brad?" Kasha points out.
"My name is Kasha,
I live with my mum and dad, they're lawyers. I was born in Britain but my mum and dad came over from Poland when they were younger, so I can speak Polish as well as English. Mum says our culture is mostly British now, but we still eat tasty Polish food.
Sometimes people say nasty things to us for being Polish and my Mum and Dad get threatened in the street sometimes. I see graffiti that says 'Poles out' and stuff and that makes me feel scared. What's fun about being me is that mum and dad like to see the world and we go on lots of adventures.
I think I want to be a teacher when I grow up."
"I think it should be last person to start standing." Bradley says. "It's a game of reaction."
"But everyone's got to play or it won't work." Tommy says.
"Don't let her catch you doing the donkey ears, she'll probably give out more lines." George chips in.
"My name is George
I live with my mum, dad and sister Gemma. Both my parents are teachers but my Dad is at home at the moment.
I asked my parents about the culture thing but their answers were too soppy
What's hard about being me is making friends because I worry they'll not want to stay my friend because I used to get bullied lots at my old school. And living in a little council terrace because the people next door are always shouting and smoking and we've been on the waiting list for ages to get moved but they tell us to get stuffed.
Mum's entering me and Gemma in Child Genius next year and we might get to be on TV which would be awesome.
I hate my sister."
"There's lots of other games." Fry says. "Page 14: after Word of the Day, everyone sticks their tongue out at the first person who found it in the dictionary. Page 30: if you arrange the text books in the right order for locker inspection, the first letter of each spine spells 'HE FARTS'."
"Wait, did you memorise the book?" Bethany sneers. "A little teacher's pet like you? Bet you'd snitch at the first sniff of trouble."
"We won't get in much trouble, it's just a bit of fun, a bit cheeky at worst." Noah says.
"My name is Noah,
I live with my mum and dad. I have a much older sister who is doing volunteer work in Africa, where we all used to live. We are white South African, and we came over to the UK in 2013. My parents are both Christian vicars. In our culture it's important to serve God, to be part of the community, and to be a strong family.
Sometimes people make fun of me for being Christian, and that's hard. But it works both ways because being Christian helps me deal with lots of things.
When I'm older I want to be a Youth Group Leader, but not for a job, I want to be a vet for a job."
"I won't snitch." Fry says. "But if you do something bad and we get in trouble you should own up."
"My name is Alexander Jefry Sandhu but I like to be called Fry.
I live with my mum and dad and siblings. Coral is six, Brooklyn is three, and Gilbert is nearly two. We have a dog called Pooh and two cats called Scampi and Prawn.
I have Asperger syndrome. It means I think and feel things different to other kids. I don't like to be touched. When there are too many sounds or smells or things to see I feel bad, like if there's glitter on the floor I have to look at all the bits at the same time.
And sometimes I don't understand what people mean, because they say things they don't mean and don't say things they do mean and it's hard to make friends.
Those things are hard. But mostly having Asperger syndrome is just different. It makes me really good at some things like remembering patterns and facts, and telling the truth. And it makes me able to practice things for a long time without getting bored if I'm interested. And it means when I do make friends I stick by them.
I think I want to be a detective when I grow up. But not one that has to look at gory things."
"What, you're saying I don't own up?" Bethany asks, glaring at him.
"You don't, quite often." Fry says. "It's cowardly to let other people take the blame."
Bethany shoves him, hard, and he falls over. There is a ripple of protest among the other kids.
"Hey, there's no need for that!" Teddy says, as Noah helps Fry up.
"I'll play the game, but I don't have to be friends with teachers' pets." Bethany says, turning and storming off. Fry watches after her in dismay.
"Did she hurt you?" Noah asks him.
"No." Fry says. "Just... I thought at the end of the year maybe everyone would be friends."
"Don't think it works like that, mate." Teddy says gently. "Mr Irons was right that we all have a story, but the story changes all the time."
"My name is Tommy,
My family is me, my mum, my dad, and my two big brothers and our dog The Stig. My dad's a plumber, and my mum works in IT. We're White British for like a million generations. Things that are important in our family's culture are Holby United, holidays, and never being a wuss.
What's hard about being me? When other kids are smarter than me. But what's awesome about being me is being great at tennis, and my coach says I'm going to be a star."
"So I read the book." Tommy announces at break, having gathered most of the class to a Secret Meeting taking place in the middle of the playground.
"You read a whole book?" Bradley asks, raising an eyebrow.
"My name is Bradley,
I live with my mum and dad and big sister. My dad works in business, my mum stays at home. We're White British except my grandma who is Scottish. Mum said our culture was being a loving family. My dad hasn't been home since we started the project.
What's hard about being me is having cerebral palsy, because people act like I'm weak or dumb when I'm actually smart and strong. What's awesome about being me is being popular and funny and having lots of mates.
When I grow up, I want to design and build robots."
"Shut it!" Tommy playfully punches his friend. "It's like a strategy guide how to beat Miss Havisham, written by kids over the last sixty years. They started with Miss Havisham the even older - the current Miss Havisham's aunt - and carried on when ours took over."
"We definitely need to make it more fun." Bethany says. "She's as boring as, like, cardboard."
"My name is Bethany
I live with my mum and my two big sisters. My mum's an accountant or something.
I don't think we have like a culture, isn't that for like Asian people?
I forgot I was doing this project
It doesn't matter, I got a laugh
What's hard about being me? Nothing, really.
I lost the sheet of instructions
What was the next question?
I...
When I used it on that hill
As a slide
Where did I leave it again?
When I grow up, I'm going to be a fashion designer. Or maybe a famous chocolate chef. Or I could ride a bike around the world."
"Listen guys, we're all in this together." Tommy says. "And nobody snitches, or we'll miss out on a lot of fun.
"I don't think anyone's going to be sucking up to Miss Havisham any time soon." Teddy says, amused.
"My name is Teddy,
I live with my mums. Mum owns a piercing salon, and Mummy is an editor for a big magazine. I'm adopted, so I have a birth mum and dad too, they were very young when I was born and couldn't look after me, but I get cards from them on my birthday and at Christmas and I've met them a few times.
We're all White British. Mum says in our culture it's important to be kind, to accept people for who they are, and to drink lots of tea.
People sometimes think it would be hard for me to have two mums, but it's not. It's hard when people are mean to them though. Mummy says what's best about me is I'm a good peacemaker.
I don't know what I want to be when I grow up yet, so I'm just going to keep trying at everything until I find out."
"Well get on with it then!" Bethany rolls her eyes. "What did the boring old history kids have to say?"
"Well first." Tommy says. "They used to play loads of pranks. Like you know how she makes you stand up when she enters the classroom? The last person to stand is called the Donkey and when she turns to the board, everyone makes donkey ears at them."
"Won't the last person to stand up every time be Brad?" Kasha points out.
"My name is Kasha,
I live with my mum and dad, they're lawyers. I was born in Britain but my mum and dad came over from Poland when they were younger, so I can speak Polish as well as English. Mum says our culture is mostly British now, but we still eat tasty Polish food.
Sometimes people say nasty things to us for being Polish and my Mum and Dad get threatened in the street sometimes. I see graffiti that says 'Poles out' and stuff and that makes me feel scared. What's fun about being me is that mum and dad like to see the world and we go on lots of adventures.
I think I want to be a teacher when I grow up."
"I think it should be last person to start standing." Bradley says. "It's a game of reaction."
"But everyone's got to play or it won't work." Tommy says.
"Don't let her catch you doing the donkey ears, she'll probably give out more lines." George chips in.
"My name is George
I live with my mum, dad and sister Gemma. Both my parents are teachers but my Dad is at home at the moment.
What's hard about being me is making friends because I worry they'll not want to stay my friend because I used to get bullied lots at my old school. And living in a little council terrace because the people next door are always shouting and smoking and we've been on the waiting list for ages to get moved but they tell us to get stuffed.
Mum's entering me and Gemma in Child Genius next year and we might get to be on TV which would be awesome.
"There's lots of other games." Fry says. "Page 14: after Word of the Day, everyone sticks their tongue out at the first person who found it in the dictionary. Page 30: if you arrange the text books in the right order for locker inspection, the first letter of each spine spells 'HE FARTS'."
"Wait, did you memorise the book?" Bethany sneers. "A little teacher's pet like you? Bet you'd snitch at the first sniff of trouble."
"We won't get in much trouble, it's just a bit of fun, a bit cheeky at worst." Noah says.
"My name is Noah,
I live with my mum and dad. I have a much older sister who is doing volunteer work in Africa, where we all used to live. We are white South African, and we came over to the UK in 2013. My parents are both Christian vicars. In our culture it's important to serve God, to be part of the community, and to be a strong family.
Sometimes people make fun of me for being Christian, and that's hard. But it works both ways because being Christian helps me deal with lots of things.
When I'm older I want to be a Youth Group Leader, but not for a job, I want to be a vet for a job."
"I won't snitch." Fry says. "But if you do something bad and we get in trouble you should own up."
"My name is Alexander Jefry Sandhu but I like to be called Fry.
I live with my mum and dad and siblings. Coral is six, Brooklyn is three, and Gilbert is nearly two. We have a dog called Pooh and two cats called Scampi and Prawn.
I have Asperger syndrome. It means I think and feel things different to other kids. I don't like to be touched. When there are too many sounds or smells or things to see I feel bad, like if there's glitter on the floor I have to look at all the bits at the same time.
And sometimes I don't understand what people mean, because they say things they don't mean and don't say things they do mean and it's hard to make friends.
Those things are hard. But mostly having Asperger syndrome is just different. It makes me really good at some things like remembering patterns and facts, and telling the truth. And it makes me able to practice things for a long time without getting bored if I'm interested. And it means when I do make friends I stick by them.
I think I want to be a detective when I grow up. But not one that has to look at gory things."
"What, you're saying I don't own up?" Bethany asks, glaring at him.
"You don't, quite often." Fry says. "It's cowardly to let other people take the blame."
Bethany shoves him, hard, and he falls over. There is a ripple of protest among the other kids.
"Hey, there's no need for that!" Teddy says, as Noah helps Fry up.
"I'll play the game, but I don't have to be friends with teachers' pets." Bethany says, turning and storming off. Fry watches after her in dismay.
"Did she hurt you?" Noah asks him.
"No." Fry says. "Just... I thought at the end of the year maybe everyone would be friends."
"Don't think it works like that, mate." Teddy says gently. "Mr Irons was right that we all have a story, but the story changes all the time."
