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Feb. 7th, 2018 09:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fry_sandhu"You're lucky a teacher didn't see you messing around." Fry stands on the step to retrieve Gil's shoe from the top of the bush.
"I weren't!" Gil says.
"You mean 'I wasn't'." Fry corrects.
The correction is lost on Gil. Fry helps him put his little shoe back on.
"I weren't messing. Big girl did..." Gil starts.
"Alexander Sandhu!"
Fry looks around, and goes over to where the headmistress is standing. Gil gives a little sigh and goes to sit on both his feet so that Tilly can't take his shoes again.
"Yes Mrs Patel?" Fry asks.
"Come with me, please." Mrs Patel says.
Fry follows her. He has an inkling what this is about: his little stunt a few weeks ago, where he got hold of a Year 8 level maths book from the bar, completed the entire thing, and presented it to his teacher. The alarmed look on her face was clear even to him. He'd rather enjoyed it. It would teach Ms Owlswick to let him get bored.
Mrs Patel doesn't look alarmed, as far as he can tell, but she's known him for long enough that she's probably not that surprised. Fry knows that Mr Irons and Miss Havisham tried to stop him pulling this particular stunt for years by distracting him in other directions. And it worked.
Sure enough, when he gets to the head's office, both Ms Owlswick and Mr Irons are seated there, waiting for him. He doesn't feel intimidated by so many adults, and sits down opposite the head teacher. Mrs Patel puts his complete maths notebook on the table in front of him.
"Firstly, Alexander, and this is important: the only copy of Book 8 in this school lives in my office. Is that the copy you used?"
"No, I bought my own." Fry says. "And I paid with my own money."
"Good." Mrs Patel says. "Secondly, have you got hold of Book 9?"
Fry hesitates. This had been his strategy for if the plan didn't work. But then he nods.
"Yes, and I already worked half way through it."
He wonders whether he's going to be told off. The teachers exchange a look, then Mrs Patel nods to Mr Irons, who continues where she left off.
"Fry, we understand your frustration. I know you've talked about how your rivals have all gone, now you're one of the oldest in the school and the others in your class who challenged you have left. I know it's been hard too having two new teachers in one year. But we need to know what you thought you would achieve here."
Fry looks down at the maths book.
"I don't know." he admits. "I was bored and I wanted to get your attention."
"Bearing in mind that the decision lies out of your hands..." Mrs Patel says, "Are you now so bored with primary school that you want to be in secondary school? Is that what you're saying?"
Fry thinks about this.
"I don't know." he admits again. "I'm just fed up of being stuck with morons like Ben hassling me, making things out of PVA glue and paper when I could be learning something."
Ms Owlswick goes red.
Mrs Patel puts a letter in front of him.
"Ms Owlswick has very kindly been making some enquiries for you. You have an invitation." she says. "It isn't an entrance exam, nor an offer of a place, so I don't want you getting your hopes up. The head of the Oaking Gifted and Talented program wants to meet you."
Fry looks up.
"I thought they wouldn't take me even if I pass the exam because I'm too young. And if I'm not strong enough on things other than maths."
"That is still their position." Mrs Patel says. "However, Oaking school has particular expertise in catering for children who do not fit well into academic years. They want you to visit for the day, look around the school, and take a developmental test. They will then give us some advice on how to challenge you."
"Like the sort of things I do with Max?" Fry asks. Max is his educational psychologist, but he doesn't see him very often.
"Yes, similar to that." Mrs Patel says. "Oaking will be measuring your academic skills mostly, but they will also be looking at how you cope in their environment. Ideally, we want to find a solution for you so that you can stay here for Year 6 next year, without being so bored that you feel you have to buy your own text books."
"Do my mum and dad know about this?" Fry asks.
"Yes, we have spoken to them. You should talk to them too." Mrs Patel says. "Everyone wants what's best for you, Fry. But we have to work out what that is."
"I weren't!" Gil says.
"You mean 'I wasn't'." Fry corrects.
The correction is lost on Gil. Fry helps him put his little shoe back on.
"I weren't messing. Big girl did..." Gil starts.
"Alexander Sandhu!"
Fry looks around, and goes over to where the headmistress is standing. Gil gives a little sigh and goes to sit on both his feet so that Tilly can't take his shoes again.
"Yes Mrs Patel?" Fry asks.
"Come with me, please." Mrs Patel says.
Fry follows her. He has an inkling what this is about: his little stunt a few weeks ago, where he got hold of a Year 8 level maths book from the bar, completed the entire thing, and presented it to his teacher. The alarmed look on her face was clear even to him. He'd rather enjoyed it. It would teach Ms Owlswick to let him get bored.
Mrs Patel doesn't look alarmed, as far as he can tell, but she's known him for long enough that she's probably not that surprised. Fry knows that Mr Irons and Miss Havisham tried to stop him pulling this particular stunt for years by distracting him in other directions. And it worked.
Sure enough, when he gets to the head's office, both Ms Owlswick and Mr Irons are seated there, waiting for him. He doesn't feel intimidated by so many adults, and sits down opposite the head teacher. Mrs Patel puts his complete maths notebook on the table in front of him.
"Firstly, Alexander, and this is important: the only copy of Book 8 in this school lives in my office. Is that the copy you used?"
"No, I bought my own." Fry says. "And I paid with my own money."
"Good." Mrs Patel says. "Secondly, have you got hold of Book 9?"
Fry hesitates. This had been his strategy for if the plan didn't work. But then he nods.
"Yes, and I already worked half way through it."
He wonders whether he's going to be told off. The teachers exchange a look, then Mrs Patel nods to Mr Irons, who continues where she left off.
"Fry, we understand your frustration. I know you've talked about how your rivals have all gone, now you're one of the oldest in the school and the others in your class who challenged you have left. I know it's been hard too having two new teachers in one year. But we need to know what you thought you would achieve here."
Fry looks down at the maths book.
"I don't know." he admits. "I was bored and I wanted to get your attention."
"Bearing in mind that the decision lies out of your hands..." Mrs Patel says, "Are you now so bored with primary school that you want to be in secondary school? Is that what you're saying?"
Fry thinks about this.
"I don't know." he admits again. "I'm just fed up of being stuck with morons like Ben hassling me, making things out of PVA glue and paper when I could be learning something."
Ms Owlswick goes red.
Mrs Patel puts a letter in front of him.
"Ms Owlswick has very kindly been making some enquiries for you. You have an invitation." she says. "It isn't an entrance exam, nor an offer of a place, so I don't want you getting your hopes up. The head of the Oaking Gifted and Talented program wants to meet you."
Fry looks up.
"I thought they wouldn't take me even if I pass the exam because I'm too young. And if I'm not strong enough on things other than maths."
"That is still their position." Mrs Patel says. "However, Oaking school has particular expertise in catering for children who do not fit well into academic years. They want you to visit for the day, look around the school, and take a developmental test. They will then give us some advice on how to challenge you."
"Like the sort of things I do with Max?" Fry asks. Max is his educational psychologist, but he doesn't see him very often.
"Yes, similar to that." Mrs Patel says. "Oaking will be measuring your academic skills mostly, but they will also be looking at how you cope in their environment. Ideally, we want to find a solution for you so that you can stay here for Year 6 next year, without being so bored that you feel you have to buy your own text books."
"Do my mum and dad know about this?" Fry asks.
"Yes, we have spoken to them. You should talk to them too." Mrs Patel says. "Everyone wants what's best for you, Fry. But we have to work out what that is."
