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Jan. 9th, 2013 09:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
guppy_sandhu"There's an elderly care consultant's post at City." Dr Wood says, coming into the office and handing Guppy the paper. "You should go for it."
"Will they take me?" Guppy asks. "I mean with the..."
"Your anxiety problems should not be a discriminating factor providing you declare them." Dr Wood says. "You are an excellent registrar and it would be a pity to lose you, but you're an ST4 now, you need to think about your future."
Guppy nods. He left City because it was hectic and dangerous, but he wouldn't be working in the ED now. Still, that place has a dreadful tendancy to catch fire, have people with weapons, or generally meet with disaster.
"I'll have to talk to Fran. Thanks for the tip." He hesitates and adds. "What are the odds of one coming up here in the near future?"
"When am I retiring, you mean?" Dr Wood smiles. "End of next year, most likely. Nobody else is planning to leave." He hesitates then adds. "If you wait for me to leave it may be too long, you'd have to do the exams again if you didn't get it - and I can't guarantee you'd get it even with my full recommendation. But the contract at City would be a year, so if you wanted to return to St James' you could apply for my job in a year or so."
"Do you think I'm ready?"
"Course you are. You know the job inside out." Dr Wood nods. "Anyway, you have a few weeks, talk to Fran."
***
"You want to apply to City?" Frogspawn asks, straightening up. Brooklyn, whose tummy was being raspberried on prior to this, wriggles in disapproval.
"I'm not sure." Guppy admits. "On one hand, payrise, on the other... bad memories."
"Well, your mental health is more important than your salary." Frogspawn says, buttoning up the soft purple babygro. "But at some point you will need to apply for consultant jobs. Why don't you look on the recruitment website?"
Guppy turns on the laptop and has a look.
"There's one at Queen's." he says. "It's a longer commute, but it doesn't tend to... explode as often. It's a couple of weeks before I have to decide for either of them anyway."
He looks around and jumps. Fry has snuck up on him and is standing next to him.
"Hey Fry, good first day back at school?"
"No." Fry sits on the sofa next to him.
"Fry got into trouble for pushing a new girl off her chair." Fran says. "I've already had a word with him about that."
"Oh yeah, you can't push people off chairs." Guppy says. "Why did you do that?"
"It wasn't right, she sat in Joseph's seat, Jo sits there." Fry says, rocking slightly.
"Where's Joseph sitting then?" Guppy asks, frowning slightly. While he doesn't condone Fry pushing a new kid off a chair, this is the sort of change it's better to warn him about to prevent behavioural problems starting.
"Joseph left." Fry says. "His parents got... d-forced." Beat. "What's d-forced mean?"
Guppy hesitates for a moment, working out how to explain it in a way that won't worry him.
"Well, sometimes people who are married find they aren't getting on very well. Sometimes there's a lot of fighting, or one of the pair has feelings for someone else, or one of them isn't treating the other very nicely. A divorce is when they decide they don't want to be married any more."
"But when you get married you make a promise so if you get unmarried the promise is a lie?" Fry says, slowly.
"Well... it's more complicated than that. When people get married they promise to look after and love and be kind to the other person. By the time divorce happens, someone already broke the promises. We mustn't judge people who are divorced because we don't know what happened."
"I don't like the new girl."
"Give her a chance Fry."
***
Eight hours earlier
Fry sits in his desk. He knows every millimetre of its surface, from the little mark in the left corner that looks like a snake, to the three black dots below his name sticker. He runs his finger across the rough three lines on the right side.
"What are you doing?" A pretty, blonde girl of about five sits in the adjacent seat.
"You can't sit there, that's Joseph's seat." Fry says, without taking his eyes off the three black dots.
"It's my seat now." the girl says.
"You can't sit there, that's Joseph's seat."
"Who's Joseph?"
Now Fry looks at the girl. She has a strange smell about her, probably from the new uniform. He doesn't like it.
"You aren't in this class."
"I'm new. I'm Bethany. It says on my desk." She points.
Fry stares. He can still see the sticker with Joseph's name on under hers. He blindly pushes the girl out of the seat and looks around for Joseph.
"FRY! You don't push people out of seats!" Miss Hebblethwaite exclaims, helping Bethany up.
"She can't sit there, it's Joseph's seat!" Fry wails, flapping his hands slightly.
"Joseph left, Fry." the teacher says, more gently.
"Why?!" Fry wails.
"I don't know, but Bethany is in our class now."
"Yeah, so there!" Bethany says, clapping Fry on the shoulder. Fry makes a loud squealing noise.
"Bethany, Fry doesn't like to be touched."
"You can't sit there!" Fry cries. "I don't know you!"
Bethany stares at him, then puts on a sweet, scared expression.
"Miss Hebblethwaite, I don't want to sit next to him, he's scaring me."
"Right, Bethany, swap places with Teddy please. And I don't want to hear another word of argument from either of you. You only just met, give each other a chance."
Fry sits with his head on the desk, eyes focused on another mark where a child some time has dug their pencil in, as she moves. But he hears her whisper a word he doesn't know as she passes him.
***
"Daddy?"
Guppy glances back at Fry. "Yes?"
"What's a spastic?"
Guppy's insides give a little jolt. He looks more closely at Fry. The boy doesn't look unduly upset, other than a bit grumpy about having the seating arrangement changed. He wouldn't know what to be upset about if he doesn't know the meaning of the word.
"It's not a very nice word." he says. "It used to be used to discribe people with disabilities. Did someone call you that?"
Fry nods.
"I'll have a word with the school, I'm not having that." Fran says, frowning. "Who was it, Fry?"
"Bethany."
"We'll have a talk. You still can't push her out of chairs."
"Will they take me?" Guppy asks. "I mean with the..."
"Your anxiety problems should not be a discriminating factor providing you declare them." Dr Wood says. "You are an excellent registrar and it would be a pity to lose you, but you're an ST4 now, you need to think about your future."
Guppy nods. He left City because it was hectic and dangerous, but he wouldn't be working in the ED now. Still, that place has a dreadful tendancy to catch fire, have people with weapons, or generally meet with disaster.
"I'll have to talk to Fran. Thanks for the tip." He hesitates and adds. "What are the odds of one coming up here in the near future?"
"When am I retiring, you mean?" Dr Wood smiles. "End of next year, most likely. Nobody else is planning to leave." He hesitates then adds. "If you wait for me to leave it may be too long, you'd have to do the exams again if you didn't get it - and I can't guarantee you'd get it even with my full recommendation. But the contract at City would be a year, so if you wanted to return to St James' you could apply for my job in a year or so."
"Do you think I'm ready?"
"Course you are. You know the job inside out." Dr Wood nods. "Anyway, you have a few weeks, talk to Fran."
***
"You want to apply to City?" Frogspawn asks, straightening up. Brooklyn, whose tummy was being raspberried on prior to this, wriggles in disapproval.
"I'm not sure." Guppy admits. "On one hand, payrise, on the other... bad memories."
"Well, your mental health is more important than your salary." Frogspawn says, buttoning up the soft purple babygro. "But at some point you will need to apply for consultant jobs. Why don't you look on the recruitment website?"
Guppy turns on the laptop and has a look.
"There's one at Queen's." he says. "It's a longer commute, but it doesn't tend to... explode as often. It's a couple of weeks before I have to decide for either of them anyway."
He looks around and jumps. Fry has snuck up on him and is standing next to him.
"Hey Fry, good first day back at school?"
"No." Fry sits on the sofa next to him.
"Fry got into trouble for pushing a new girl off her chair." Fran says. "I've already had a word with him about that."
"Oh yeah, you can't push people off chairs." Guppy says. "Why did you do that?"
"It wasn't right, she sat in Joseph's seat, Jo sits there." Fry says, rocking slightly.
"Where's Joseph sitting then?" Guppy asks, frowning slightly. While he doesn't condone Fry pushing a new kid off a chair, this is the sort of change it's better to warn him about to prevent behavioural problems starting.
"Joseph left." Fry says. "His parents got... d-forced." Beat. "What's d-forced mean?"
Guppy hesitates for a moment, working out how to explain it in a way that won't worry him.
"Well, sometimes people who are married find they aren't getting on very well. Sometimes there's a lot of fighting, or one of the pair has feelings for someone else, or one of them isn't treating the other very nicely. A divorce is when they decide they don't want to be married any more."
"But when you get married you make a promise so if you get unmarried the promise is a lie?" Fry says, slowly.
"Well... it's more complicated than that. When people get married they promise to look after and love and be kind to the other person. By the time divorce happens, someone already broke the promises. We mustn't judge people who are divorced because we don't know what happened."
"I don't like the new girl."
"Give her a chance Fry."
***
Eight hours earlier
Fry sits in his desk. He knows every millimetre of its surface, from the little mark in the left corner that looks like a snake, to the three black dots below his name sticker. He runs his finger across the rough three lines on the right side.
"What are you doing?" A pretty, blonde girl of about five sits in the adjacent seat.
"You can't sit there, that's Joseph's seat." Fry says, without taking his eyes off the three black dots.
"It's my seat now." the girl says.
"You can't sit there, that's Joseph's seat."
"Who's Joseph?"
Now Fry looks at the girl. She has a strange smell about her, probably from the new uniform. He doesn't like it.
"You aren't in this class."
"I'm new. I'm Bethany. It says on my desk." She points.
Fry stares. He can still see the sticker with Joseph's name on under hers. He blindly pushes the girl out of the seat and looks around for Joseph.
"FRY! You don't push people out of seats!" Miss Hebblethwaite exclaims, helping Bethany up.
"She can't sit there, it's Joseph's seat!" Fry wails, flapping his hands slightly.
"Joseph left, Fry." the teacher says, more gently.
"Why?!" Fry wails.
"I don't know, but Bethany is in our class now."
"Yeah, so there!" Bethany says, clapping Fry on the shoulder. Fry makes a loud squealing noise.
"Bethany, Fry doesn't like to be touched."
"You can't sit there!" Fry cries. "I don't know you!"
Bethany stares at him, then puts on a sweet, scared expression.
"Miss Hebblethwaite, I don't want to sit next to him, he's scaring me."
"Right, Bethany, swap places with Teddy please. And I don't want to hear another word of argument from either of you. You only just met, give each other a chance."
Fry sits with his head on the desk, eyes focused on another mark where a child some time has dug their pencil in, as she moves. But he hears her whisper a word he doesn't know as she passes him.
***
"Daddy?"
Guppy glances back at Fry. "Yes?"
"What's a spastic?"
Guppy's insides give a little jolt. He looks more closely at Fry. The boy doesn't look unduly upset, other than a bit grumpy about having the seating arrangement changed. He wouldn't know what to be upset about if he doesn't know the meaning of the word.
"It's not a very nice word." he says. "It used to be used to discribe people with disabilities. Did someone call you that?"
Fry nods.
"I'll have a word with the school, I'm not having that." Fran says, frowning. "Who was it, Fry?"
"Bethany."
"We'll have a talk. You still can't push her out of chairs."
