Getting Prepared
Title: Getting Prepared
Author: Sagaluthien
'Verse Donbury (school year 9)
(Claim) Characters/paring: Original characters, Petra Brady, Samantha Rees and mentioned of a lot of others.
Rating: PG
Warning (possible spoilers): No direct spoiler, mentioned of incest.
Word Count: 1434
Beta: A friend
Disclaimer and Author's Note: Donbury and Causton are fictional cities, and where in England it could be. I've placed it in England because I love the British crime series, which can also reflected in some names. Any resemblance to reality is quite a coincidence, especially since I have not been to many places is England.
I've taken the liberty to add a year on primary education which in my world has ten grades, and that the first three classes consist of two years, beginning when you are 4 years old and end at 16.
Since I'm more comfortable with the metric system and kilogram I will use that instead for example pounds. (1 kilo is about 2.2 pounds)
Also this story is translated from the original story I wrote in Swedish, and there might be some differences between them. This is for the challenge mission-insane and stories_a_z
Table/Prompt: 2 - Themed table, Emotions / 9 confused Here
Summary: It's easy to assume what the gender is of a person by the name, but Petra learns that it might not be as easy.
Although Petra had not been very fond of the thought of having to move from Causton and starting a new school and class, she could not deny that she did look forward to it. She was careful to show her feelings directly to her parents, knowing that she would not be able to change them. Her big sister - Janice would also begin in the same school, while their brother Frank, would stay in the city - in a one room apartment. He had to stay as he would be in high school, and he was on Causton's football team.
She loved to live in Causton, there were plenty things to do - like going to cafés, shopping malls, the cinema, swimming, the bowling alley, and much more. Donbury was just a small provincial village in comparison. There would be so much less to do in their spare time.
Sure, she had been in the town before, actually several times long before they moved. So it wasn't entirely new to her, but it was just not the same. Because she had been there before, she thought that she would recognize few of the faces. At least she had met and learned to know one of her new classmates - Samantha Rees. She thought that was good, as she wouldn't feel totally lost or be the one trying overall to get new friends.
The whole thing had started from when their parents met. When they learned they had daughters in the same age they had pushed them together. At first, both had been reluctant and there had been a little awkwardness the first time, but actually after awhile they came to like each other and they had become friends. It was an extra plus that she had at least one friend there, otherwise she would definitely be longing to go back to Causton.
When they meet before, Samantha had talked a lot about her class and school mates, but really soon she would definitely get better putting faces to names. She knew that her class would be much smaller than the one she'd attended. Samantha had told her that actually it was just one class in each year with varying numbers of people. The town wasn't large enough to fill up more classes. According to Samantha's parents they had to be happy there was a school at all, and that it had classes for the compulsory school.
A few days after they had moved and before the term would start the girls had a night in, where Samantha told Petra a little bit more about the people, especially in their class, and showed some pictures. 'So she would be prepared.'
"I think we are in a good class, though all do not socialize with each other. You will soon understand why." Samantha paused. "You know that I'm best friends with Rosalie and she lives at Donbury Road after the restaurant and you've met. I'm sure you will be good friends too. The one you absolutely must avoid in my opinion is Bridget Johnston, she's so weird. Her family moved here a few years ago… or was it around the time we moved here… I don't remember… anyway if I can say so she is making up a lot of things, and I would not trust her. The only one in the class that seems to have any patience for her is Tracy Morgan. She is quite okay, so are Linda and Darla. Clearly the prettiest one in our class is Alice, if you do not count Rosalie, of course. "
"Wait a minute, have I met Alice?"
Samantha frowned, and after a while she said, "I do not think so. You would definitely remembered… if so." For a moment Samantha was somewhere else, though as quickly she continued, "You should avoid offending Harry and Dan, they and William are the ones who are the so called leaders." When she said leaders Samantha made quotation marks with her fingers. "They sort of believe they have the right to decide everything. One very important tip; say absolutely nothing about Harry's weight."
"How come?"
"Oh, he is the biggest in the whole school. I would guess that he weighs well over 100 kilos. He is always on and bullies Jeff Mayfair. He has Tourette's and ..."
"He has what?"
"Tourette's, I'm not sure what that means exactly. He has tic's. Those make him move a lot. You can clearly see him struggling to keep his arms and legs still, and that often make things fall or be pushed to the floor or that he is hitting the bench. For the most part, he can control it to be a minimum. He is often together with Karl and Vincent. Vincent is in the class above us. Oh, and if Jeff is not with them, you will probably find him together with his sister Selina."
"Aren't they the ones you've mentioned have children?"
"Yes. They have a son and expecting one more."
"How old is his sister? It's disgusting! Oh, isn't it forbidden to have sex in the family?"
"I think it is. Selina is only two years older than us."
"How old is their son, and when shall she give birth?"
"Jack is two years old. I think that would be very soon. Last time I saw her she was quite big. They are quite a hot topic here in the town. I've heard it has been so since she got pregnant the first time. Especially since it was revealed that Jeff was the father. No matter what they do, I think they're pretty nice. Unfortunately, many people do not like them, especially those who go to church."
"All that goes to church?"
"I don't think so. Cort, our priest can be quite persuasive. Mum has mentioned that there are those that follow him in all and when he is against the Mayfairs, they are too."
They sat silent for a while, then Petra asked, "If I should avoid Harry, Bridget and their friends, which are otherwise the most popular?"
"We of course! In our class, it is Rosalie, Alice, Andreas and me. In the class above us, it's the twins Llewelyn, Kim, Peggy and Alan. Year after us ... I'd probably say its Tegan, Monika and Drew."
"Oookay. So who is it more than Jeff, and we who have siblings?"
"Most people in fact. It would probably take half the night if I would go through them all. Only the Greenhow family has six children."
Petra sat, browsing through the photos Samantha had been showing. She stopped at one who was of three people in front of a red Ford. It was on two guys and a girl. The girl was the one who had the most dirty spots, and when she studying the photo closer Petra guessed that the line on the girls face was oil. Petra turned the picture so Samantha could see it.
"Who is this?"
"Those are the Preston's." Samantha pointed at them in turn as she said their names. "It's Jared, Kim and Alice. Isn't he handsome?" She said as she let her finger linger over Alice.
"Hey, wait a minute... you say the girl is Jared, and Alice is the guy with shoulder-length hair, should it not be the reverse?"
"Nope. It isn't. I have no idea why they have been named as they are, and I agree with you it is… confusing."
"It does make you confused. Are there more oddities here?"
"Ohh yeah! There's plenty. I'm sure that you'll learn over time. I think I'm almost able to keep up with what's happening. It's never boring any longer time." She smiled.
"It almost seems like you would need a map constantly, to not be totally confused. Can't we watch a movie or anything before I get a total headache?"
Samantha knew how it was, she'd been through it herself when she came there, so she agreed they could watch a movie.
Petra was not able to concentrate on the film, but she had seen it a few times before which was good because she could not leave some of the information she'd received. At the moment she could not see that she would learn what was right or wrong. You had learned what name it was customary for boys or girls. In addition, there also were some names that almost were impossible to pronounce. It would take forever to remember them. She'll try to make the best of it, but it made her no less nervous for the first day of school.
*~* The End *~*