katastrophe
New Member
“Hollyfield-Riverview Pen Pal Project”
Seb stared hard at the chalkboard, as if by sheer force of will he could make the cheerful, chalked words disappear without a trace. Disappear they did not, however, and Seb resigned himself to the fact that his English teacher was an idiot. He eyed the short, balding man at the front of the class with something akin to distrust.
“Settle down, settle down! YOUNG MAN, IS THAT A POCKET-KNIFE? Okay. Now that we’re all settled, it’s time to pick your partners for the Hollyfield-Riverview pen pal project. Who wants to go first?”
The silence was deafening, and not a single hand went up.
“If nobody volunteers, I will have to assign you your pen pals,” the man threatened, knowing deep in his heart that it would have no effect whatsoever on this particular group of unwilling teenagers.
This is stupid, thought Seb to himself for the fifth time that morning. Clearly his classmates felt much the same way. Those that had not yet fallen asleep on their desks were clearly wrestling with the concept of actually handwriting a letter and sending it to one of those Hollyfield snobs.
“And why exactly are we doing this stupid project?” The class reacted with mild interest to Seb’s question, and he went on, “I mean, why do we have to write letters to a bunch of private school prats?”
That open act of defiance finally pushed the paunchy professor over the edge. “BECAUSE I SAID SO!” he roared, brandishing a hat full of tiny strips of paper. “Thank you for volunteering, Sebastian! Just reach in there and pick a slip of paper, or so help me I’ll…” His shouting trailed off into a low growl.
With a flourish, Sebastian obliged, reaching deep into the hat to pull out a slip of paper. Amused titters rippled through the class as he stood up, pushing his dark hair out of his blue eyes and insolently taking a bow before reading the name out loud: “Abigail Bretherains.”
The class erupted in wild applause, as if Sebastian had just delivered a moving theatrical performance, and the angry professor swelled like a bullfrog.
The Pen Pal Project had begun.
Seb stared hard at the chalkboard, as if by sheer force of will he could make the cheerful, chalked words disappear without a trace. Disappear they did not, however, and Seb resigned himself to the fact that his English teacher was an idiot. He eyed the short, balding man at the front of the class with something akin to distrust.
“Settle down, settle down! YOUNG MAN, IS THAT A POCKET-KNIFE? Okay. Now that we’re all settled, it’s time to pick your partners for the Hollyfield-Riverview pen pal project. Who wants to go first?”
The silence was deafening, and not a single hand went up.
“If nobody volunteers, I will have to assign you your pen pals,” the man threatened, knowing deep in his heart that it would have no effect whatsoever on this particular group of unwilling teenagers.
This is stupid, thought Seb to himself for the fifth time that morning. Clearly his classmates felt much the same way. Those that had not yet fallen asleep on their desks were clearly wrestling with the concept of actually handwriting a letter and sending it to one of those Hollyfield snobs.
“And why exactly are we doing this stupid project?” The class reacted with mild interest to Seb’s question, and he went on, “I mean, why do we have to write letters to a bunch of private school prats?”
That open act of defiance finally pushed the paunchy professor over the edge. “BECAUSE I SAID SO!” he roared, brandishing a hat full of tiny strips of paper. “Thank you for volunteering, Sebastian! Just reach in there and pick a slip of paper, or so help me I’ll…” His shouting trailed off into a low growl.
With a flourish, Sebastian obliged, reaching deep into the hat to pull out a slip of paper. Amused titters rippled through the class as he stood up, pushing his dark hair out of his blue eyes and insolently taking a bow before reading the name out loud: “Abigail Bretherains.”
The class erupted in wild applause, as if Sebastian had just delivered a moving theatrical performance, and the angry professor swelled like a bullfrog.
The Pen Pal Project had begun.