(no subject)
Dec. 18th, 2018 10:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fry_sandhu"Open it." Fry urged George, who was clutching an envelope.
"I can't." George said.
"Want me to?" Fry asked.
"Okay fine, I can." George ripped open the envelope. Her face frowned.
"Dear Miss Runt, we are pleased to tell you that you qualify for a bursary of up to 70% of your fees, should you still wish to study at Oaking School."
"Well that's great!" Fry said. "That's what you needed, wasn't it?"
"Yes." George folded the letter. "I don't know whether I should take it though, Holby West offered me a scholarship, so they obviously want me more."
"Are you still mad that I beat you in the Oaking exam?" Fry asked. "Come on George, don't be stubborn, come with us."
"You don't even like me." George snorted in amusement. "Why do you want me to come with you?"
"Because then there'll be one person in my class that I know that isn't my mortal enemy." Fry said. "Joram won't be in my class because it's alphabetical and his last name starts with an A and mine with an S. And because I know you really wanted to go, and I had the same dream, so I understand it."
George laughed. "Well, if you put it that way. I'll think about it and ask Mum and Dad. No promises though." She peered at Fry for a moment, then added. "Are you worried about going on your own? It's not like you to be worried about that."
"Yes." Fry said.
"How come?" George asked.
Fry paused.
"Because I'm annoying. And the more people wind me up the more annoying I get because I get anxious. And I don't understand people. And because the older I get, the less I can get away with it for being endearing. I realised someone really, really hates me recently. And it wasn't even one of the people on my mortal enemies list. I... I thought we were friends. I was trying really hard, too."
George looked at him.
"Doesn't your Dad normally help you with that sort of stuff?"
"I didn't tell him." Fry said. "I just told him I'd done my best and I didn't want to hang out with them any more and he said that was fine."
"Fry, I know we've not been friends much, but let me give you some advice."
"What's that?"
"Real friends don't make you do all the trying." George said. "Some people don't like you. Some people don't like me. Nobody likes everyone. Don't try and force a friendship when it's making both of you miserable. Just make friends with people when it makes you both happy, and be polite with everyone else."
Fry listened, and nodded.
"That's good advice. Thanks."
"Honestly, Fry?" George said. "You're worried for a good reason. You should probably learn to keep your head down."
"My head down?"
"It means don't draw too much attention to yourself."
***
Two weeks passed. It was noted by a few people that Fry was quiet, but in the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations, perhaps not much said about it.
In fact, Fry would have thought that nobody had noticed, if the phone hadn't rung one evening and Mum come into his room.
"Fry, someone wants to speak to you."
"On the landline?" Fry looked around. "Are they old?"
"They didn't have your mobile. They want to facetime with you."
Before Fry could ask who it was, Mum handed him her iPad and a face popped up on the screen; a boy of about fifteen, with an overexcited grin and fluffy blonde hair.
"HI!" the boy said. "You must be Fry. I'm Lenny, I'm going to be your School Brother."
"My what?" Fry asked, putting the screen down.
"School Brother. It's like a mentor." Lenny said, opening a packet of crisps, which exploded and most of them fell on the floor. "You can ask me things about school, and talk to me about stuff you're worried about, and I can give you tips on how to settle in and what the teachers are like and everything. If you want, that is. They wanted me to email you first but I was too excited."
"You were?" Fry tried to take all that in.
"Yeah, they never let me have a School Brother before, well not a little one, I had a big one, but he left now because he was quite a lot older. I asked last year but they didn't let me, I think they thought I was a bad influence, but they asked me specially this year because Dr Haycroft thought you and I might get on." Lenny scooped up more crisps off the floor, debating whether to eat them, and then proceeded to blow the fluff off them one by one. "Want to see my room?"
Before Fry could answer, Lenny had picked up his tablet and was showing him round what seemed to be a small plain room with two beds.
"That was Jack's bed, but they moved him, because I don't sleep very well and I was keeping him up." Lenny said. "So now I get the room to myself."
"Is Jack your brother?" Fry asked. Now he wanted crisps. But not floor crisps.
"Oh, no, I'm a boarder." Lenny said. "And this is my poster of the Large Hadron Collider. Did you know the Large Hadron Collider has a circumference of twenty seven miles and is situated one hundred and seventy five metres below the French-Swiss border?"
"What's the Large Hadron Collider?" Fry asked.
Lenny launched into a detailed explanation of what the Large Hadron Collider was, including several diagrams, which Fry did not entirely understand. However, something about Lenny made him feel slightly more at ease with himself and the world in general, and so he let Lenny talk about it for ten minutes without interruption.
"Hey Lenny, can I ask you something?" he said eventually, when Lenny had exhausted the diagrams he had to hand.
"Oh, yes, that's what I'm here for." Lenny said.
"What do you do when someone doesn't like you?" Fry asked. "And it's all your fault or part your fault and part their fault? Do people at school get mad at you a lot?"
Lenny considered this, opening a packet of popcorn, which also exploded onto the floor in his excitement.
"The teachers don't get mad, apart from Mr Stamford, he's the deputy head and he's reeeeeally strict. Like if he sees you with a crumpled shirt he sends you to the needlework room to iron it in break."
"What about the students?" Fry made a note about the ironing.
"Well, sometimes. I'm pretty sure getting mad at each other is pretty standard for a teenager." Lenny ate a handful of popcorn. "I'd say if someone doesn't like you, just keep a low profile. But there's quite a lot of people who find it hard to make friends, especially the Gits. And they do loads of getting to know you things in the first term. So I'm sure you'll be okay."
"Gits?"
"Gifted and Talented Program kids." Lenny said. "You're not allowed to pick on anyone for being in a different stream, but everyone calls them the Gits, not because it's an insult, they do it because it's short for Gifted and Talented."
"I'm with the Gifted and Talented Program just for maths." Fry said.
"That makes you a half-git." Lenny said. "What house are you in?"
"I don't know yet." Fry said.
"I'm gonna ask Dr Haycroft if you can go in Orwell, like me, I bet she'd say yes, she thinks I'm fascinating." Lenny said, sweeping the tablet up so suddenly that Fry felt slightly dizzy. "Anyway, don't worry Fry, you haven't even started yet and I'm pretty sure we're going to be friends, so you made one friend already."
Fry felt slightly heartened by this. Lenny charged downstairs to the Boarders Common Room.
"These are the other boarders. Everyone say hi to Fry, he's my School Brother."
The other students briefly glanced up from their electronic devices in order to wave to Fry and grunt a teenage welcome.
"Watch out, Fry, he's a bad influence." one of the kids joked.
"I'm not, I'm on my BEST BEHAVIOUR." Lenny said.
"Did he tell you about the Large Hadron Collider yet?" the other kid asked.
"Yes, it was fascinating." Fry said. "I'm going to look up some more videos on youtube right after we finish."
"Okay I take it back." the kid said. "You guys sound perfect for each other."
"Can I talk to you again before September?" Fry asked, when Lenny was taking his tablet back upstairs. "I didn't get the chance to pre-prepare any questions."
"Sure." Lenny said. "Just email me or message me or something. I..." he looked around the room. "I don't go out much. Do you play Fortnite?"
"Yes, sometimes. I like Minecraft better though." Fry said.
"Cool! See you later. And Fry, don't worry."
"I can't." George said.
"Want me to?" Fry asked.
"Okay fine, I can." George ripped open the envelope. Her face frowned.
"Dear Miss Runt, we are pleased to tell you that you qualify for a bursary of up to 70% of your fees, should you still wish to study at Oaking School."
"Well that's great!" Fry said. "That's what you needed, wasn't it?"
"Yes." George folded the letter. "I don't know whether I should take it though, Holby West offered me a scholarship, so they obviously want me more."
"Are you still mad that I beat you in the Oaking exam?" Fry asked. "Come on George, don't be stubborn, come with us."
"You don't even like me." George snorted in amusement. "Why do you want me to come with you?"
"Because then there'll be one person in my class that I know that isn't my mortal enemy." Fry said. "Joram won't be in my class because it's alphabetical and his last name starts with an A and mine with an S. And because I know you really wanted to go, and I had the same dream, so I understand it."
George laughed. "Well, if you put it that way. I'll think about it and ask Mum and Dad. No promises though." She peered at Fry for a moment, then added. "Are you worried about going on your own? It's not like you to be worried about that."
"Yes." Fry said.
"How come?" George asked.
Fry paused.
"Because I'm annoying. And the more people wind me up the more annoying I get because I get anxious. And I don't understand people. And because the older I get, the less I can get away with it for being endearing. I realised someone really, really hates me recently. And it wasn't even one of the people on my mortal enemies list. I... I thought we were friends. I was trying really hard, too."
George looked at him.
"Doesn't your Dad normally help you with that sort of stuff?"
"I didn't tell him." Fry said. "I just told him I'd done my best and I didn't want to hang out with them any more and he said that was fine."
"Fry, I know we've not been friends much, but let me give you some advice."
"What's that?"
"Real friends don't make you do all the trying." George said. "Some people don't like you. Some people don't like me. Nobody likes everyone. Don't try and force a friendship when it's making both of you miserable. Just make friends with people when it makes you both happy, and be polite with everyone else."
Fry listened, and nodded.
"That's good advice. Thanks."
"Honestly, Fry?" George said. "You're worried for a good reason. You should probably learn to keep your head down."
"My head down?"
"It means don't draw too much attention to yourself."
***
Two weeks passed. It was noted by a few people that Fry was quiet, but in the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations, perhaps not much said about it.
In fact, Fry would have thought that nobody had noticed, if the phone hadn't rung one evening and Mum come into his room.
"Fry, someone wants to speak to you."
"On the landline?" Fry looked around. "Are they old?"
"They didn't have your mobile. They want to facetime with you."
Before Fry could ask who it was, Mum handed him her iPad and a face popped up on the screen; a boy of about fifteen, with an overexcited grin and fluffy blonde hair.
"HI!" the boy said. "You must be Fry. I'm Lenny, I'm going to be your School Brother."
"My what?" Fry asked, putting the screen down.
"School Brother. It's like a mentor." Lenny said, opening a packet of crisps, which exploded and most of them fell on the floor. "You can ask me things about school, and talk to me about stuff you're worried about, and I can give you tips on how to settle in and what the teachers are like and everything. If you want, that is. They wanted me to email you first but I was too excited."
"You were?" Fry tried to take all that in.
"Yeah, they never let me have a School Brother before, well not a little one, I had a big one, but he left now because he was quite a lot older. I asked last year but they didn't let me, I think they thought I was a bad influence, but they asked me specially this year because Dr Haycroft thought you and I might get on." Lenny scooped up more crisps off the floor, debating whether to eat them, and then proceeded to blow the fluff off them one by one. "Want to see my room?"
Before Fry could answer, Lenny had picked up his tablet and was showing him round what seemed to be a small plain room with two beds.
"That was Jack's bed, but they moved him, because I don't sleep very well and I was keeping him up." Lenny said. "So now I get the room to myself."
"Is Jack your brother?" Fry asked. Now he wanted crisps. But not floor crisps.
"Oh, no, I'm a boarder." Lenny said. "And this is my poster of the Large Hadron Collider. Did you know the Large Hadron Collider has a circumference of twenty seven miles and is situated one hundred and seventy five metres below the French-Swiss border?"
"What's the Large Hadron Collider?" Fry asked.
Lenny launched into a detailed explanation of what the Large Hadron Collider was, including several diagrams, which Fry did not entirely understand. However, something about Lenny made him feel slightly more at ease with himself and the world in general, and so he let Lenny talk about it for ten minutes without interruption.
"Hey Lenny, can I ask you something?" he said eventually, when Lenny had exhausted the diagrams he had to hand.
"Oh, yes, that's what I'm here for." Lenny said.
"What do you do when someone doesn't like you?" Fry asked. "And it's all your fault or part your fault and part their fault? Do people at school get mad at you a lot?"
Lenny considered this, opening a packet of popcorn, which also exploded onto the floor in his excitement.
"The teachers don't get mad, apart from Mr Stamford, he's the deputy head and he's reeeeeally strict. Like if he sees you with a crumpled shirt he sends you to the needlework room to iron it in break."
"What about the students?" Fry made a note about the ironing.
"Well, sometimes. I'm pretty sure getting mad at each other is pretty standard for a teenager." Lenny ate a handful of popcorn. "I'd say if someone doesn't like you, just keep a low profile. But there's quite a lot of people who find it hard to make friends, especially the Gits. And they do loads of getting to know you things in the first term. So I'm sure you'll be okay."
"Gits?"
"Gifted and Talented Program kids." Lenny said. "You're not allowed to pick on anyone for being in a different stream, but everyone calls them the Gits, not because it's an insult, they do it because it's short for Gifted and Talented."
"I'm with the Gifted and Talented Program just for maths." Fry said.
"That makes you a half-git." Lenny said. "What house are you in?"
"I don't know yet." Fry said.
"I'm gonna ask Dr Haycroft if you can go in Orwell, like me, I bet she'd say yes, she thinks I'm fascinating." Lenny said, sweeping the tablet up so suddenly that Fry felt slightly dizzy. "Anyway, don't worry Fry, you haven't even started yet and I'm pretty sure we're going to be friends, so you made one friend already."
Fry felt slightly heartened by this. Lenny charged downstairs to the Boarders Common Room.
"These are the other boarders. Everyone say hi to Fry, he's my School Brother."
The other students briefly glanced up from their electronic devices in order to wave to Fry and grunt a teenage welcome.
"Watch out, Fry, he's a bad influence." one of the kids joked.
"I'm not, I'm on my BEST BEHAVIOUR." Lenny said.
"Did he tell you about the Large Hadron Collider yet?" the other kid asked.
"Yes, it was fascinating." Fry said. "I'm going to look up some more videos on youtube right after we finish."
"Okay I take it back." the kid said. "You guys sound perfect for each other."
"Can I talk to you again before September?" Fry asked, when Lenny was taking his tablet back upstairs. "I didn't get the chance to pre-prepare any questions."
"Sure." Lenny said. "Just email me or message me or something. I..." he looked around the room. "I don't go out much. Do you play Fortnite?"
"Yes, sometimes. I like Minecraft better though." Fry said.
"Cool! See you later. And Fry, don't worry."
