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Oct. 26th, 2010 10:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fry_sandhuFry peers into the abandoned garage, then slips in. He's spent half the afternoon looking for Lenny, who promised to lend him Battle Of The Termites over half term.
His dad thought he was at his mum's. His mum thought he was at his dad's. The abandoned garage was therefore the more likely location.
He's not surprised to find Lenny there, but he is surprised to find him playing on a games console.
"Hey Lenny. How did you get that powered?" he asks.
Lenny swings around, a baseball bat in his hand, then relaxes when he sees it's Fry.
"I rewired the mains." he says. "All the power is from the supermarket next door."
"Impressive." Fry says. "But you know this building has been condemned, right?"
"Nah, I put that sign up." Lenny says. "Keeps homeless people out."
Fry looks around. Lenny has furnished his little den with a kettle, a large pile of empty pot noodles, a sleeping bag and some blankets. Hmm.
"Lenny... are you living in here?"
"Only at the weekend." Lenny says.
"Why don't you just ask your parents to board full time?"
"I don't want to board full time, I like a bit of freedom." Lenny says.
Fry looks at Lenny, worriedly. He's beginning to regret being his friend's confidante, not because he minds, but because he doesn't know what to do.
"Are things that bad at home?"
Lenny shrugs. "I can handle it. But if my dad or stepdad hit me again I'm probably going to do them some serious damage, and I don't want to go to prison." Glance at Fry.
They play games for a little while, then Fry leaves as it gets dark.
He has a good week at school. Simon gets suspended for a week on Monday for deliberately setting off the fire alarm in assembly, causing half the school to get auditory hyperstimulation. The rest of the class are visibly more relaxed in his absence. AS level maths proves stimulating enough that he's doing questions in his free time.
On Friday, he's just getting his half term grades from Mrs Carter - a good report, which he's pleased about - when the teacher from the senior class comes in. He sits down, not hearing the whispered conversation, and looks up only when Mrs Carter calls the class to attention.
"Has anyone seen Lenny this afternoon?"
"Isn't he here?" Fry asks.
"He wasn't feeling well, and he was sent home. But when I rang his mum to tell him he'd left his mobile here, she said she'd not picked him up. Neither has his Dad." the teacher from the seniors class says.
Fry, having a hunch where Lenny might have gone, tries not to look guilty. Mrs Carter catches his eye, and after a few minutes of questioning the others, calls him outside the classroom.
"Fry, do you know where Lenny is?" she asks.
"No." Fry says.
Mrs Carter looks at him scheptically. Fry doesn't lie. But you do have to ask the right questions.
"Do you know where he might be?"
"Theoretically he might be anywhere."
"Fry, if you know where Lenny is likely to be, you need to tell me."
"Lenny said I couldn't tell anyone where he hangs out." Fry says.
"Personal safety trumps personal loyalty." Mrs Carter says, firmly.
Fry starts to feel stressed out. Stuck between a rock and a difficult place. Mrs Carter watches him. He doesn't like the stare. She knows if she pushes too hard too fast he's going to clam up and not tell her anything.
"Fry? How about you go to the quiet room and take five minutes to think about it, while I set the others some work? I'm not going to make you do anything, but for Lenny's sake, let's do the right thing. If he asked you to keep something secret, that's probably because he knows it's not a good thing."
Fry gratefully accepts the five minutes breathing space. He finds a portal as he heads to the quiet room, and ducks into it.
His dad thought he was at his mum's. His mum thought he was at his dad's. The abandoned garage was therefore the more likely location.
He's not surprised to find Lenny there, but he is surprised to find him playing on a games console.
"Hey Lenny. How did you get that powered?" he asks.
Lenny swings around, a baseball bat in his hand, then relaxes when he sees it's Fry.
"I rewired the mains." he says. "All the power is from the supermarket next door."
"Impressive." Fry says. "But you know this building has been condemned, right?"
"Nah, I put that sign up." Lenny says. "Keeps homeless people out."
Fry looks around. Lenny has furnished his little den with a kettle, a large pile of empty pot noodles, a sleeping bag and some blankets. Hmm.
"Lenny... are you living in here?"
"Only at the weekend." Lenny says.
"Why don't you just ask your parents to board full time?"
"I don't want to board full time, I like a bit of freedom." Lenny says.
Fry looks at Lenny, worriedly. He's beginning to regret being his friend's confidante, not because he minds, but because he doesn't know what to do.
"Are things that bad at home?"
Lenny shrugs. "I can handle it. But if my dad or stepdad hit me again I'm probably going to do them some serious damage, and I don't want to go to prison." Glance at Fry.
They play games for a little while, then Fry leaves as it gets dark.
He has a good week at school. Simon gets suspended for a week on Monday for deliberately setting off the fire alarm in assembly, causing half the school to get auditory hyperstimulation. The rest of the class are visibly more relaxed in his absence. AS level maths proves stimulating enough that he's doing questions in his free time.
On Friday, he's just getting his half term grades from Mrs Carter - a good report, which he's pleased about - when the teacher from the senior class comes in. He sits down, not hearing the whispered conversation, and looks up only when Mrs Carter calls the class to attention.
"Has anyone seen Lenny this afternoon?"
"Isn't he here?" Fry asks.
"He wasn't feeling well, and he was sent home. But when I rang his mum to tell him he'd left his mobile here, she said she'd not picked him up. Neither has his Dad." the teacher from the seniors class says.
Fry, having a hunch where Lenny might have gone, tries not to look guilty. Mrs Carter catches his eye, and after a few minutes of questioning the others, calls him outside the classroom.
"Fry, do you know where Lenny is?" she asks.
"No." Fry says.
Mrs Carter looks at him scheptically. Fry doesn't lie. But you do have to ask the right questions.
"Do you know where he might be?"
"Theoretically he might be anywhere."
"Fry, if you know where Lenny is likely to be, you need to tell me."
"Lenny said I couldn't tell anyone where he hangs out." Fry says.
"Personal safety trumps personal loyalty." Mrs Carter says, firmly.
Fry starts to feel stressed out. Stuck between a rock and a difficult place. Mrs Carter watches him. He doesn't like the stare. She knows if she pushes too hard too fast he's going to clam up and not tell her anything.
"Fry? How about you go to the quiet room and take five minutes to think about it, while I set the others some work? I'm not going to make you do anything, but for Lenny's sake, let's do the right thing. If he asked you to keep something secret, that's probably because he knows it's not a good thing."
Fry gratefully accepts the five minutes breathing space. He finds a portal as he heads to the quiet room, and ducks into it.
