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Oct. 31st, 2016 11:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fry_sandhu"How did it go at the Gates?" Fry asks, when he meets Tommy in their hideout. It's their last chance to practice the Oaking practice papers before Tommy takes the exam.
"Better than I thought." Tommy admits. "The test was much easier than these, the teachers were nice and the kids were mostly okay, except for Patrick Witherspoon but no surprises there."
"What did Patrick say?" Fry asks.
"Well, he looked a bit shocked to see me." Tommy says. "I think he thought I was going to blab about him getting expelled, so he was all like 'This is Thomas Carter, he goes to my old school, his dad is a plumber.' like it was rubbish and I was like 'Nothing wrong with being a plumber, like you'd last a day without a working toilet!'. And the other kids laughed and the boy taking me round for the day, Larry, he thought it was well funny, in a good way."
Then he sobers up slightly. "I asked him when we were on our own what happened to Pixie."
"Did he tell you?" Fry asks.
"Yeah. Looked a bit ashamed about it." Tommy says. "It's pretty heavy actually, I need to think about what to do about it. I'll tell you another day."
"So did you get in?" Fry asks.
Tommy looks at his feet.
"Oh I got in. They were well impressed by all those manners Miss H taught me, and said I was a 'charming young man'. But they can't give me a scholarship, because Dad earns too much." He looks at Fry. "They only give scholarships to disadvantaged kids or super geniuses. Which is fair, I guess. So I have to get this Oaking thing sorted quick before my parents start thinking of doing anything drastic like selling the house."
"So you're going to tell them?" Fry asks.
"After I've done it." Tommy says. "Whatever you do, Fry, don't tell them where I am tomorrow until the end of the school day."
***
Fry is really nervous the next morning. What if someone actually asks?
He manages to catch Tommy in the school car park to wish him luck. Then, as an afterthought, adds. "Wear your reading glasses, they make you look smarter."
"Oh yeah, good point." Tommy grins. "Cheers mate."
Mark, Tommy's older brother, hovers just outside the school gate until their mum gets out of the car park. Fry disappears into the school playground, and Tommy gets his glasses out of his backpack and puts them on.
"Nice glasses, nerdface!" Bradley calls across the car park. Tommy pauses. Oh bog. He's been seen. For a moment, he considers running back over and telling Bradley not to snitch on him.
"Braddy, dear, that's not very nice!" Bradley's mum chides, getting his wheelchair out of the car. Tommy makes a break of it while Bradley is distracted.
In the classroom, nobody comments on the absence of Tommy at first, and Fry relaxes slightly. Miss Havisham is busy getting everyone to go through their talks in front of the class. Fry is impressed when Pixie gets up and does hers, even though she mumbles quietly about the theatre for about a minute before sitting hastily in her seat.
"Well done" Fry whispers to her.
"I was terrible." Pixie whispers back.
"Well, a bit, but you didn't think you'd be able to do it at all." Fry whispers back.
Bradley gets up, without his wheelchair because he can't be bothered to wheel it all the way around the table through the big enough gap. He gives an interesting presentation about photography, and ends up with a credit for achievement and for effort. As does Bethany, who does her talk on hairstyling.
"I hope you're going to try out for a good role in the next class play, Bethany." Miss Havisham says, as the class clap her after. Bethany looks rather pleased with herself, and basks in the attention of being asked for hair tips for the rest of the morning.
At break, though, Bradley comes to find Fry.
"Hey!" He says, steering the wheelchair over to the tree Fry is staring at (because pretty orange leaves).
"This would be a good photograph." Fry says, not looking away from the tree.
"What? Oh, that, I made that up." Bradley says. "I just play video games and she wouldn't let me talk about that. Anyway, I noticed Tommy was missing when I got up, but I've seen him today. Where's he gone?"
"Where's he gone?" Fry echos, cautiously.
"Don't try that on me, I know Tommy taught you to repeat questions to buy time." Bradley says impatiently. "I'm his best mate, remember. Where is he?"
"I don't know his precise location." Fry says.
He squeals suddenly. Bradley has got up and kicked him in the calves from behind. It's a surprise to see Bradley at eye level. For the first time, he realises Bradley is slightly taller than him.
"Look at my face when I talk to you." Bradley says fiercely. "Has he run away?"
"No." Fry says.
"Look Fry, if he's skipping school, we have to tell someone." Bradley says. "When your friend is in danger you have to break promises. I know he's missing. Either you tell me where he is, or I'm going to beat the snot out of you until you do."
Fry assesses this threat. On one hand, he's pretty sure there are rules against him hitting someone with cerebral palsy back if they get in a scuffle. On the other, he knows Bradley can punch and kick with his good side twice as hard as most kids.
"I won't tell you even if you do hit me." he says, making eye contact for a minute. "If Tommy didn't tell you, maybe it's because you're a lousy friend."
He gets ready to block. But Bradley just leans closer.
"Me, a lousy friend? You're the one that first told him he's thick! You're the one trying to change him! Me and Jamal liked Tommy just how he was, until you stuck your nose in. We were his best mates. If anyone's a lousy friend, it's you!"
He shoves Fry hard against the tree. Fry stares at him in shock, until the push causes him to react.
***
When Mark takes Tommy into Oaking School, he lingers long enough to escort his little brother to the hall to do the entrance exam.
"Good luck, bogey brain." he says, tapping Tommy on the head with his fist, and just a hint of pride. Tommy grins at him, then goes into the hall to register.
He stares. There must be two hundred kids in this hall, and most of them seem to be in some sort of cramming zone. He suddenly has a sinking feeling. Two hundred kids for twenty five places? The odds aren't good.
"Name?" an elderly woman asks from a desk, peering at him over her glasses.
"Oh, Thomas Carter." Tommy says.
The woman hands him a badge with a number on, then peers at his uniform.
"Cherry Tree Primary School? The other girl who's arrived went towards the left corner, I think." she says. "The others aren't here yet."
Tommy debates whether to avoid the others from his school, but curiosity draws him over to have a peep. And he's surprised to see Xiao, sat on a chair, trying to be calm.
Xiao spots him, stares for a moment, and then groans.
"Oh no."
"It's all right, I won't tell anyone." Tommy says. "If you don't."
"No, it's not that." Xiao says. "I thought Fry had found out and blown my cover, but it was you he was trying to get practice papers for! I've been ignoring him ever since."
"But you and Fry are friends." Tommy says, coming to sit with her. "Why would you not want him to know? We've had a practice group and everything, you could have come too."
"So he's here?" Xiao asks.
"Of course not." Tommy says. "He's a year younger than us, remember? And we're a year younger than everyone else here. So I guess this is why you changed year groups, but I still don't get why."
Xiao sighs and puts her head in her hands.
"I wanted to come here forever." she says. "My mum and dad have been bringing me here every year since I was a toddler for the open day. I want to be a brilliant academic and go to a top university and make my parents proud, that's my dream. I don't mind working hard, I love getting great grades. The Oaking Gifted and Talented program gets kids insanely ahead. By the time they do their GCSEs, they're years ahead of the other kids.
We had it all planned out. We knew the best person to prepare me for this was Miss Havisham. My father has admired her ever since he chose Cherry Tree school for me. When he realised she might retire, he got me skipped ahead a year.
And then it all went wrong. I was supposed to have Miss Havisham this year, but they moved the classes around. I was going to end up with Mr Magnesium-Fitzgerald, and I hated him as soon as I met him. I told him what I wanted to be when I grow up, and he just shook his head and said I don't have to be a 'stereotype', I can do whatever I want."
She looks at Tommy. "But what if this is what I want? I thought he didn't get it. I made a plan with my father to get me moved back into your year again, to have Miss Havisham. I knew that the head would never let me move just because I hated a teacher, so I made up a story about having no friends because I was so much younger than everyone. I cried on her. And she let me do it.
I got it wrong though. Mr Magnesium-Fitzgerald was running the practice group for this. I might have completely blown my chances."
"Nah." Tommy says, simply. "You're still a year early so you can just take it next year if you don't get in. That's what I'm going to do. But why didn't you tell Fry?"
"I thought he'd want to do it too. There's only twenty five places." Xiao says. Then she peers at him. "No offence, but how on earth did you end up here, a year early?"
"Oh, I need a school with a tennis court." Tommy says.
"Is that all?" Xiao asks, after a moment's pause.
"Yeah." Tommy says.
"... Tommy, you realise if you went here..." Xiao begins, but the invigilator is calling them in for the exam. She stops, and offers him a hand. "Never mind. Good luck."
***
It is, Fry considers later, a miracle that the fight between him and Bradley was not noticed by Miss Brimstone, the teacher on playground duty. Fortunately, one of the nursery children had chosen that moment to have a wee in one of the flower beds, and the teacher was distracted telling them off.
Frankly, he could have ended it a bit earlier, but there's been enough tension between them over the years that he gives Bradley a couple of pummels before he gets smacked in the eye, decides enough is enough and pins him to the floor.
"I win." he pants. "Tommy is safe, and I'm not telling you, so bog off." he says, letting go of Bradley and then offering him a hand up.
Bradley gets up on his own.
"Fine." he says, getting back in his wheelchair.
Fry dusts himself off as Bradley goes, and goes back to looking at the tree. When he hears his name a few minutes later, he looks around, and sees Bradley there with Miss Havisham.
"Ah."
"Better than I thought." Tommy admits. "The test was much easier than these, the teachers were nice and the kids were mostly okay, except for Patrick Witherspoon but no surprises there."
"What did Patrick say?" Fry asks.
"Well, he looked a bit shocked to see me." Tommy says. "I think he thought I was going to blab about him getting expelled, so he was all like 'This is Thomas Carter, he goes to my old school, his dad is a plumber.' like it was rubbish and I was like 'Nothing wrong with being a plumber, like you'd last a day without a working toilet!'. And the other kids laughed and the boy taking me round for the day, Larry, he thought it was well funny, in a good way."
Then he sobers up slightly. "I asked him when we were on our own what happened to Pixie."
"Did he tell you?" Fry asks.
"Yeah. Looked a bit ashamed about it." Tommy says. "It's pretty heavy actually, I need to think about what to do about it. I'll tell you another day."
"So did you get in?" Fry asks.
Tommy looks at his feet.
"Oh I got in. They were well impressed by all those manners Miss H taught me, and said I was a 'charming young man'. But they can't give me a scholarship, because Dad earns too much." He looks at Fry. "They only give scholarships to disadvantaged kids or super geniuses. Which is fair, I guess. So I have to get this Oaking thing sorted quick before my parents start thinking of doing anything drastic like selling the house."
"So you're going to tell them?" Fry asks.
"After I've done it." Tommy says. "Whatever you do, Fry, don't tell them where I am tomorrow until the end of the school day."
***
Fry is really nervous the next morning. What if someone actually asks?
He manages to catch Tommy in the school car park to wish him luck. Then, as an afterthought, adds. "Wear your reading glasses, they make you look smarter."
"Oh yeah, good point." Tommy grins. "Cheers mate."
Mark, Tommy's older brother, hovers just outside the school gate until their mum gets out of the car park. Fry disappears into the school playground, and Tommy gets his glasses out of his backpack and puts them on.
"Nice glasses, nerdface!" Bradley calls across the car park. Tommy pauses. Oh bog. He's been seen. For a moment, he considers running back over and telling Bradley not to snitch on him.
"Braddy, dear, that's not very nice!" Bradley's mum chides, getting his wheelchair out of the car. Tommy makes a break of it while Bradley is distracted.
In the classroom, nobody comments on the absence of Tommy at first, and Fry relaxes slightly. Miss Havisham is busy getting everyone to go through their talks in front of the class. Fry is impressed when Pixie gets up and does hers, even though she mumbles quietly about the theatre for about a minute before sitting hastily in her seat.
"Well done" Fry whispers to her.
"I was terrible." Pixie whispers back.
"Well, a bit, but you didn't think you'd be able to do it at all." Fry whispers back.
Bradley gets up, without his wheelchair because he can't be bothered to wheel it all the way around the table through the big enough gap. He gives an interesting presentation about photography, and ends up with a credit for achievement and for effort. As does Bethany, who does her talk on hairstyling.
"I hope you're going to try out for a good role in the next class play, Bethany." Miss Havisham says, as the class clap her after. Bethany looks rather pleased with herself, and basks in the attention of being asked for hair tips for the rest of the morning.
At break, though, Bradley comes to find Fry.
"Hey!" He says, steering the wheelchair over to the tree Fry is staring at (because pretty orange leaves).
"This would be a good photograph." Fry says, not looking away from the tree.
"What? Oh, that, I made that up." Bradley says. "I just play video games and she wouldn't let me talk about that. Anyway, I noticed Tommy was missing when I got up, but I've seen him today. Where's he gone?"
"Where's he gone?" Fry echos, cautiously.
"Don't try that on me, I know Tommy taught you to repeat questions to buy time." Bradley says impatiently. "I'm his best mate, remember. Where is he?"
"I don't know his precise location." Fry says.
He squeals suddenly. Bradley has got up and kicked him in the calves from behind. It's a surprise to see Bradley at eye level. For the first time, he realises Bradley is slightly taller than him.
"Look at my face when I talk to you." Bradley says fiercely. "Has he run away?"
"No." Fry says.
"Look Fry, if he's skipping school, we have to tell someone." Bradley says. "When your friend is in danger you have to break promises. I know he's missing. Either you tell me where he is, or I'm going to beat the snot out of you until you do."
Fry assesses this threat. On one hand, he's pretty sure there are rules against him hitting someone with cerebral palsy back if they get in a scuffle. On the other, he knows Bradley can punch and kick with his good side twice as hard as most kids.
"I won't tell you even if you do hit me." he says, making eye contact for a minute. "If Tommy didn't tell you, maybe it's because you're a lousy friend."
He gets ready to block. But Bradley just leans closer.
"Me, a lousy friend? You're the one that first told him he's thick! You're the one trying to change him! Me and Jamal liked Tommy just how he was, until you stuck your nose in. We were his best mates. If anyone's a lousy friend, it's you!"
He shoves Fry hard against the tree. Fry stares at him in shock, until the push causes him to react.
***
When Mark takes Tommy into Oaking School, he lingers long enough to escort his little brother to the hall to do the entrance exam.
"Good luck, bogey brain." he says, tapping Tommy on the head with his fist, and just a hint of pride. Tommy grins at him, then goes into the hall to register.
He stares. There must be two hundred kids in this hall, and most of them seem to be in some sort of cramming zone. He suddenly has a sinking feeling. Two hundred kids for twenty five places? The odds aren't good.
"Name?" an elderly woman asks from a desk, peering at him over her glasses.
"Oh, Thomas Carter." Tommy says.
The woman hands him a badge with a number on, then peers at his uniform.
"Cherry Tree Primary School? The other girl who's arrived went towards the left corner, I think." she says. "The others aren't here yet."
Tommy debates whether to avoid the others from his school, but curiosity draws him over to have a peep. And he's surprised to see Xiao, sat on a chair, trying to be calm.
Xiao spots him, stares for a moment, and then groans.
"Oh no."
"It's all right, I won't tell anyone." Tommy says. "If you don't."
"No, it's not that." Xiao says. "I thought Fry had found out and blown my cover, but it was you he was trying to get practice papers for! I've been ignoring him ever since."
"But you and Fry are friends." Tommy says, coming to sit with her. "Why would you not want him to know? We've had a practice group and everything, you could have come too."
"So he's here?" Xiao asks.
"Of course not." Tommy says. "He's a year younger than us, remember? And we're a year younger than everyone else here. So I guess this is why you changed year groups, but I still don't get why."
Xiao sighs and puts her head in her hands.
"I wanted to come here forever." she says. "My mum and dad have been bringing me here every year since I was a toddler for the open day. I want to be a brilliant academic and go to a top university and make my parents proud, that's my dream. I don't mind working hard, I love getting great grades. The Oaking Gifted and Talented program gets kids insanely ahead. By the time they do their GCSEs, they're years ahead of the other kids.
We had it all planned out. We knew the best person to prepare me for this was Miss Havisham. My father has admired her ever since he chose Cherry Tree school for me. When he realised she might retire, he got me skipped ahead a year.
And then it all went wrong. I was supposed to have Miss Havisham this year, but they moved the classes around. I was going to end up with Mr Magnesium-Fitzgerald, and I hated him as soon as I met him. I told him what I wanted to be when I grow up, and he just shook his head and said I don't have to be a 'stereotype', I can do whatever I want."
She looks at Tommy. "But what if this is what I want? I thought he didn't get it. I made a plan with my father to get me moved back into your year again, to have Miss Havisham. I knew that the head would never let me move just because I hated a teacher, so I made up a story about having no friends because I was so much younger than everyone. I cried on her. And she let me do it.
I got it wrong though. Mr Magnesium-Fitzgerald was running the practice group for this. I might have completely blown my chances."
"Nah." Tommy says, simply. "You're still a year early so you can just take it next year if you don't get in. That's what I'm going to do. But why didn't you tell Fry?"
"I thought he'd want to do it too. There's only twenty five places." Xiao says. Then she peers at him. "No offence, but how on earth did you end up here, a year early?"
"Oh, I need a school with a tennis court." Tommy says.
"Is that all?" Xiao asks, after a moment's pause.
"Yeah." Tommy says.
"... Tommy, you realise if you went here..." Xiao begins, but the invigilator is calling them in for the exam. She stops, and offers him a hand. "Never mind. Good luck."
***
It is, Fry considers later, a miracle that the fight between him and Bradley was not noticed by Miss Brimstone, the teacher on playground duty. Fortunately, one of the nursery children had chosen that moment to have a wee in one of the flower beds, and the teacher was distracted telling them off.
Frankly, he could have ended it a bit earlier, but there's been enough tension between them over the years that he gives Bradley a couple of pummels before he gets smacked in the eye, decides enough is enough and pins him to the floor.
"I win." he pants. "Tommy is safe, and I'm not telling you, so bog off." he says, letting go of Bradley and then offering him a hand up.
Bradley gets up on his own.
"Fine." he says, getting back in his wheelchair.
Fry dusts himself off as Bradley goes, and goes back to looking at the tree. When he hears his name a few minutes later, he looks around, and sees Bradley there with Miss Havisham.
"Ah."
