The junior common room at School House glows with low firelight and brownish lamplight, all wax polish and stale tea. Paul Foot steps in, blazer neat, shorts absurdly brief, and the room seems to notice at once.
Near the fireplace, Willie Rushton and Christopher Brooker break off their huddle. A few other new boys look up, then down again, as if already afraid of being noticed.
Willie Rushton
There he is. I say, Paul, how many Latin errors do you think it takes before Chenevix-Trench grows bored of mere shouting?
Christopher Brooker
Not many, I fear. He has a whole theology of discipline, doesn't he?
The older boys in the corner lounge in their chairs, watching with detached interest. One of them folds his arms and smiles faintly, as though this is a play he has seen before.
Willie Rushton
Picture it, then, the cane in hand, the Latin book open, the great man sighing as though tragedy itself had entered the room.
Christopher Brooker
And then the scene resolves in the usual manner, with Paul paying for a declined verb.
The room is waiting to see whether he laughs, snaps, or blenches.
Willie Rushton
Well? Are you going to take it like a gentleman, or are you going to prove us all right?
✓ Quest Accepted
Win over Willie Rushton and Christopher Brooker
✓ Quest Accepted
Avoid becoming socially isolated in School House
“Does the prospect of my inevitable downfall truly amuse you both so much?”
NO (Likely, rolled 73)
Willie Rushton
Not amusement, Paul. It is a shared recognition of the inevitable, like watching the tide come in.
Christopher Brooker
Exactly. We are all just waiting for our turn to be measured against the same yardstick.
“I deflect the punishment talk with a joke”
SUCCESS (Great Writing, rolled +2)
Paul Foot
Then we are all doomed, and at least that is democratic.
Willie Rushton
There, that is better. If we must sink, we may as well do it with style.
Christopher Brooker
He has a point. Suffering feels less grand when one takes it too solemnly.
Willie snorts, and the corner of Christopher’s mouth gives way at last. The older boys lose interest in the joke before they lose interest in the room.
Willie Rushton
Still, Paul, I should like to hear what sort of nonsense you propose next.
Christopher Brooker
Yes. Something less funeral, if possible.
The fire gutters lower, but the air between the three of them has changed. The laughter is small, yet real, and it leaves Paul Foot standing inside it rather than outside.
Quest Complete
Win over Willie Rushton and Christopher Brooker
Quest Complete
Avoid becoming socially isolated in School House