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Mar. 4th, 2017 10:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fry_sandhuThe play is not going well.
Well, from Fry's point of view, his part is going excellently. He knows all his lines. But Bethany, who plays young Nala, is proving to be very unreliable. She doesn't know her lines, and it's nearly half term, and she's constantly talking and mucking around.
So Fry isn't very surprised one day when Mrs Donkey snaps. She takes Bethany aside at the end of drama.
"Bethany, I'm sorry, but I've given you chance after chance. The play is too soon now. You will have to let your understudy take your role, and have a minor part."
Bethany bursts into tears and pleads, but Mrs Donkey is unmoved.
"No." she says firmly. "I told you last week that I would take the part off you if you did not learn your lines, and I told you the week before too."
Pixie isn't too thrilled either. She's just about psyched herself up to go on stage at all, let alone do a big part singing.
"It could be worse." Noah says to her gently. "At least Bethany didn't drop out at the last minute. You'll have lots of time to practice now. You have a lovely voice."
"I can't do it. You don't understand." Pixie says. "Some people just don't have confidence!"
"But some people learn to do public speaking and all sorts." Noah says. "We'll still be your friend if you couldn't do it but don't give up yet, Pixie, you've already got loads more confidence than you used to have!"
Fry thinks Noah is a good form captain. He seems to know the right thing to say. Pixie seems to take it to heart, and manages to do the performance in the next drama lesson, albeit a bit quietly.
"See, you couldn't have done that at the start of last term." Tommy says, clapping her on the shoulder.
They head back into the classroom. Noah goes to get his book bag, only to find it's full of ink.
"Oh no! How did that happen?" he groans, fishing out his homework.
"Isn't this like the third time this term your homework got ruined?" Tommy asks.
Fry nods. If even Tommy has spotted this, it's starting to look very suspicious.
"We should check everyone's hands." he says. "Ink's hard to get off, I bet the culprit has it under their nails."
"We can't make everyone show us their hands." Noah says. "Do you really think someone did it on purpose? I mean, pens do explode sometimes."
But Fry has already gone to the front of the room to where Miss Havisham is, and blurts it out. He's had enough of this; Noah doesn't deserve someone messing with his things.
"Miss Havisham, I don't think Noah's homework is getting damaged by accident. His book bag is full of ink and I think someone did it, and they'll have ink under their nails."
The whole class goes quiet. Miss Havisham makes everyone stand up and hold out their hands. Sure enough, when she gets to Zack, there's a lot of ink still under his nails.
"Zack, did you do it?" Miss Havisham asks.
"No." Zack lies. "I just got inky this morning when my pen leaked. It happens all the time."
But nobody believes him. He evades punishment from Miss Havisham, who can't prove he did it, but at afternoon break, he finds some of the other kids aren't very impressed with him. After being cold-shouldered by his mates, he tries to play football with Peter, but finds Peter equally unsympathetic.
"I can't believe you were ever running for form captain." Peter says, kicking his football against the wall. "Everyone knows you're the one targeting Noah, and now you're lying about it like a baby. You're not fit to be captain of anything."
"Well at least I'm not some thicko who had to be kept down a year." Zack snaps, annoyed that even Peter is against him. "At least I'm not the one that got kicked off the football team for never turning up to practice."
Zack probably wouldn't have said it if he wasn't annoyed. As it is, he continues.
"At least I'm not the one whose mummy and daddy didn't bother to turn up to the Christmas concert and I bet won't bother to turn up to the play."
"Shut it!" Peter yells, kicking the football hard into Zack's groin and storming off.
"That was really mean." says a voice behind Zack. Zack turns around and sees Noah.
"Oh get lost, won't you, God Boy?" Zack snaps.
"No." Noah says. "If you want to hate me then fine, but don't take it out on other people. Besides, Peter's right, you'll never be captain of anything if you go on like this."
"I'm way more popular than you." Zack says.
"It's not just about being popular." Noah says. "A leader has to be someone that you trust will lead you to do the right thing, whatever the right thing for you is. I might not be the type of person you want to be, and I wouldn't expect to be. And I might not lead you to be the most successful, but you can be sure I'd never lead you into trouble."
"You and Fry snitched on me this afternoon." Zack says.
"No we didn't. We never mentioned your name." Noah says.
Zack pauses. Oh, wait. They didn't. He was caught blue-fingered.
"If you want to be a leader, if you want anyone to respect you again, you need to start putting this right." Noah says. "It's not too late to be form captain next term, or the term after, or any of the other terms."
"There's other chances after next term?" Zack says.
"Sure. Mr Magnesium-Fitzgerald is having form captains, but they're electing them, and he's bound to get the permanent job again for next year." Noah says. "Since his only rival is Mr Morton. But you're going to have to start doing things right, like going and apologising to Peter."
To the amazement of Fry, who has been watching this exchange nearby in case Noah is about to get beaten up, Zack goes off to try and find Peter. But he's heard something in the middle of that which stops him from congratulating Noah a second time.
"Did you say Mr Morton might be coming back?"
Noah nods. "Word in the playground is that he convinced Mrs Patel that it was all a big misunderstanding and he was interested in becoming a special needs teacher, and that's why he was going through Mr Irons' room."
Fry looks horrified. "Are you telling me he could be our teacher next year?"
"Yeah." Noah nods. "But what can we do?"
"We need to make sure Mr Magnesium-Fitzgerald gets the job." Fry says, setting off immediately for the school. "I'm going to ask Mr Irons to lend him some shoes."
Well, from Fry's point of view, his part is going excellently. He knows all his lines. But Bethany, who plays young Nala, is proving to be very unreliable. She doesn't know her lines, and it's nearly half term, and she's constantly talking and mucking around.
So Fry isn't very surprised one day when Mrs Donkey snaps. She takes Bethany aside at the end of drama.
"Bethany, I'm sorry, but I've given you chance after chance. The play is too soon now. You will have to let your understudy take your role, and have a minor part."
Bethany bursts into tears and pleads, but Mrs Donkey is unmoved.
"No." she says firmly. "I told you last week that I would take the part off you if you did not learn your lines, and I told you the week before too."
Pixie isn't too thrilled either. She's just about psyched herself up to go on stage at all, let alone do a big part singing.
"It could be worse." Noah says to her gently. "At least Bethany didn't drop out at the last minute. You'll have lots of time to practice now. You have a lovely voice."
"I can't do it. You don't understand." Pixie says. "Some people just don't have confidence!"
"But some people learn to do public speaking and all sorts." Noah says. "We'll still be your friend if you couldn't do it but don't give up yet, Pixie, you've already got loads more confidence than you used to have!"
Fry thinks Noah is a good form captain. He seems to know the right thing to say. Pixie seems to take it to heart, and manages to do the performance in the next drama lesson, albeit a bit quietly.
"See, you couldn't have done that at the start of last term." Tommy says, clapping her on the shoulder.
They head back into the classroom. Noah goes to get his book bag, only to find it's full of ink.
"Oh no! How did that happen?" he groans, fishing out his homework.
"Isn't this like the third time this term your homework got ruined?" Tommy asks.
Fry nods. If even Tommy has spotted this, it's starting to look very suspicious.
"We should check everyone's hands." he says. "Ink's hard to get off, I bet the culprit has it under their nails."
"We can't make everyone show us their hands." Noah says. "Do you really think someone did it on purpose? I mean, pens do explode sometimes."
But Fry has already gone to the front of the room to where Miss Havisham is, and blurts it out. He's had enough of this; Noah doesn't deserve someone messing with his things.
"Miss Havisham, I don't think Noah's homework is getting damaged by accident. His book bag is full of ink and I think someone did it, and they'll have ink under their nails."
The whole class goes quiet. Miss Havisham makes everyone stand up and hold out their hands. Sure enough, when she gets to Zack, there's a lot of ink still under his nails.
"Zack, did you do it?" Miss Havisham asks.
"No." Zack lies. "I just got inky this morning when my pen leaked. It happens all the time."
But nobody believes him. He evades punishment from Miss Havisham, who can't prove he did it, but at afternoon break, he finds some of the other kids aren't very impressed with him. After being cold-shouldered by his mates, he tries to play football with Peter, but finds Peter equally unsympathetic.
"I can't believe you were ever running for form captain." Peter says, kicking his football against the wall. "Everyone knows you're the one targeting Noah, and now you're lying about it like a baby. You're not fit to be captain of anything."
"Well at least I'm not some thicko who had to be kept down a year." Zack snaps, annoyed that even Peter is against him. "At least I'm not the one that got kicked off the football team for never turning up to practice."
Zack probably wouldn't have said it if he wasn't annoyed. As it is, he continues.
"At least I'm not the one whose mummy and daddy didn't bother to turn up to the Christmas concert and I bet won't bother to turn up to the play."
"Shut it!" Peter yells, kicking the football hard into Zack's groin and storming off.
"That was really mean." says a voice behind Zack. Zack turns around and sees Noah.
"Oh get lost, won't you, God Boy?" Zack snaps.
"No." Noah says. "If you want to hate me then fine, but don't take it out on other people. Besides, Peter's right, you'll never be captain of anything if you go on like this."
"I'm way more popular than you." Zack says.
"It's not just about being popular." Noah says. "A leader has to be someone that you trust will lead you to do the right thing, whatever the right thing for you is. I might not be the type of person you want to be, and I wouldn't expect to be. And I might not lead you to be the most successful, but you can be sure I'd never lead you into trouble."
"You and Fry snitched on me this afternoon." Zack says.
"No we didn't. We never mentioned your name." Noah says.
Zack pauses. Oh, wait. They didn't. He was caught blue-fingered.
"If you want to be a leader, if you want anyone to respect you again, you need to start putting this right." Noah says. "It's not too late to be form captain next term, or the term after, or any of the other terms."
"There's other chances after next term?" Zack says.
"Sure. Mr Magnesium-Fitzgerald is having form captains, but they're electing them, and he's bound to get the permanent job again for next year." Noah says. "Since his only rival is Mr Morton. But you're going to have to start doing things right, like going and apologising to Peter."
To the amazement of Fry, who has been watching this exchange nearby in case Noah is about to get beaten up, Zack goes off to try and find Peter. But he's heard something in the middle of that which stops him from congratulating Noah a second time.
"Did you say Mr Morton might be coming back?"
Noah nods. "Word in the playground is that he convinced Mrs Patel that it was all a big misunderstanding and he was interested in becoming a special needs teacher, and that's why he was going through Mr Irons' room."
Fry looks horrified. "Are you telling me he could be our teacher next year?"
"Yeah." Noah nods. "But what can we do?"
"We need to make sure Mr Magnesium-Fitzgerald gets the job." Fry says, setting off immediately for the school. "I'm going to ask Mr Irons to lend him some shoes."
