Reading: Brian
Once, when Brian was approaching his year and a halfth unbirthday, he ate a book.
Not all of it, true - most of the back cover was pretty much intact, and some of the chapters had only mild gnawing - but it was a pretty good guideline as to his scholastic career from that point on.
At the age of five, he was sent home early for playing rounders with a library book, a stone, and a small boy called Adam Young who'd made something of a name for himself as resident troublemaker. Somehow he managed to always talk his way out of it, it was true, but the teachers kept an eye on him. Or... they always promised themselves they would, in any case.
At seven it was Pippin Galadriel, a copy of Lord of the Rings, and a box of safety matches. Brian, sootstained and grinning cheerfully, claimed to be the brains behind the scheme, something his teacher at the time considered something of an unlikelihood considering the relative distribution thereof. 'Pepper', as she insisted on being called, punched him in the arm a couple of days later, something that seemed to equate to their being firm friends.
Nine years old, and it was Wensleydale sitting next to him and tracing under the lines of letters with one chubby finger, explaining the differences between p's and q's, b's and d's, and teaching him carefully to spell 'dyslexia'; Wensley didn't get on with their teacher, Mr Green, but unlike Adam and Brian and Pepper he liked to find subtle ways to mess with his head.
So nine years old. Nine years old was the first time Brian fell in love.
And it wasn't with 'Spot goes to the Circus', either.
Not all of it, true - most of the back cover was pretty much intact, and some of the chapters had only mild gnawing - but it was a pretty good guideline as to his scholastic career from that point on.
At the age of five, he was sent home early for playing rounders with a library book, a stone, and a small boy called Adam Young who'd made something of a name for himself as resident troublemaker. Somehow he managed to always talk his way out of it, it was true, but the teachers kept an eye on him. Or... they always promised themselves they would, in any case.
At seven it was Pippin Galadriel, a copy of Lord of the Rings, and a box of safety matches. Brian, sootstained and grinning cheerfully, claimed to be the brains behind the scheme, something his teacher at the time considered something of an unlikelihood considering the relative distribution thereof. 'Pepper', as she insisted on being called, punched him in the arm a couple of days later, something that seemed to equate to their being firm friends.
Nine years old, and it was Wensleydale sitting next to him and tracing under the lines of letters with one chubby finger, explaining the differences between p's and q's, b's and d's, and teaching him carefully to spell 'dyslexia'; Wensley didn't get on with their teacher, Mr Green, but unlike Adam and Brian and Pepper he liked to find subtle ways to mess with his head.
So nine years old. Nine years old was the first time Brian fell in love.
And it wasn't with 'Spot goes to the Circus', either.