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Sep. 11th, 2018 08:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
guppy_sandhuOn the first day of school, having satisfied himself that Brooke is not carrying any living creatures into Mr Walker's classroom, Guppy accompanies his smallest small person to Miss Hebblethwaite's classroom.
It's Gil's first day in the Big Class, and he's a little bit nervous about something.
As they get to the door, Guppy pauses as Miss Hebblethwaite is in conversation with another parent. But he overhears the shrill voice of Esme-Rose's mother.
"I would like you not to sit Esme-Rose with Gilbert." Esme-Rose's mother is saying to the teacher. "He's a very sweet child but he speaks in baby talk and she copies him. She even introduces herself now as 'Elmo', which is his name for her, and the rest of the children copy. I don't want Esme-Rose to go around calling herself Elmo."
Guppy feels his heart sink. He turns to take Gil away, worried he's already overheard too much, and tries to show him an art display on the wall instead. A few minutes later, the woman emerges, and has the decency to look a little concerned that she might have been overheard too.
"Hello Elmo's Mummy." Gil says, waving.
"Say Esme-Rose, not Elmo." Guppy corrects him.
"Es... Es... Esmos."
"He's trying his hardest." Guppy says to the other parent, taking Gil through to the classroom. Miss Hebblethwaite smiles at him.
"Good morning Gil."
"Good morning Miss... Miss... Miss Hufflepuff."
Miss Hebblethwaite's lips twitch, as do Guppy's.
"Hebblethwaite." Guppy corrects.
"Heffywait." Gil tries, looking worried.
"We just came in because Gil was very worried that he can't say your name properly." Guppy says. "We've tried over the summer and he's tried really hard. He's worried the other kids will laugh."
"Oh bless him." Miss Hebblethwaite says. "It's okay, Gil. Hebblethwaite is a hard name, you won't be the only one."
Satisfied by this, Gil goes back into the playground, with a shriek of 'ELMO!' when he sees his best friend.
"I don't know if you're aware, but Gil was very premature." Guppy says to his new teacher. "Even moreso that Fry. He has a heart condition and had major surgery when he was a baby. He's fine to play in the playground and do sports normally, but if he seems unusually tired or breathless, complains of any pain in his chest or faints, it's important to let me or his mum know right away. It hasn't happened in the last few years since he's been here, it's just worth knowing."
"No problem." Miss Hebblethwaite nods. "How is he doing academically? He ought to be in the year below, really, if he was that premature."
"We thought about holding him back, but he wanted to stay with his friends." Guppy says. "He can read as well as the others in his class, he writes more neatly than my others did at his age, and he can count to fourteen. He's a little behind with his speech, and we're taking him for another hearing test to check whether that's the cause. Oh, and he loves to dance. He tries hard."
Miss Hebblethwaite smiles. "I'm sure we'll get along just fine."
***
When Gil goes into the classroom for the start of lessons, holding Esme-Rose's hand, Miss Hebblethwaite takes them gently to one side.
"Gilbert and Esme-Rose, can you do something very special for me?" she asks. "This is Frank, he's new, and he needs a helper to sit with. And this is Suzie, she needs a helper too. Gil, will you look after Frank?"
"Yes!" Gil chirps. Esme-Rose nods fervently. By the time they are seated on different tables, it's too late to argue, but Gil still looks over and waves at her often. Then he gets out his new unicorn pencil case and his fluffy pencil and his sparkly purple ruler and his unicorn rubber. Frank watches him for a moment.
"Are you a boy or a girl?" he asks.
"Yes." Gil says, trotting his unicorn rubber across the table.
"Which?" Frank asks.
"A boy." Gil says. "Sept when I'm Gill."
"Is Gill a girl?" Frank asks, looking confused.
"Yes. Anna unicon."
"Oh." Frank says. "Well I'm a boy all the time. I don't think boys play with unicorns. Boys play with footballs and trucks. See, I have a football pencil case and football pencils and a football rubber."
"They do!" Gil pulls a second unicorn rubber out of his pencil case and hands it to Frank then quietly sings. "Uni-uni-unicon, unicon, unicon."
Frank looks at the unicorn. Then he picks up his football rubber, and makes the unicorn kick it towards Gil's unicorn until Miss Hebblethwaite tells them to put the rubbers away to start the lesson.
***
"How did it go?" Guppy asks, when he picks the kids up.
"Made a new fwend." Gil says.
"That's great, what's his name?"
"Fwank."
It's Gil's first day in the Big Class, and he's a little bit nervous about something.
As they get to the door, Guppy pauses as Miss Hebblethwaite is in conversation with another parent. But he overhears the shrill voice of Esme-Rose's mother.
"I would like you not to sit Esme-Rose with Gilbert." Esme-Rose's mother is saying to the teacher. "He's a very sweet child but he speaks in baby talk and she copies him. She even introduces herself now as 'Elmo', which is his name for her, and the rest of the children copy. I don't want Esme-Rose to go around calling herself Elmo."
Guppy feels his heart sink. He turns to take Gil away, worried he's already overheard too much, and tries to show him an art display on the wall instead. A few minutes later, the woman emerges, and has the decency to look a little concerned that she might have been overheard too.
"Hello Elmo's Mummy." Gil says, waving.
"Say Esme-Rose, not Elmo." Guppy corrects him.
"Es... Es... Esmos."
"He's trying his hardest." Guppy says to the other parent, taking Gil through to the classroom. Miss Hebblethwaite smiles at him.
"Good morning Gil."
"Good morning Miss... Miss... Miss Hufflepuff."
Miss Hebblethwaite's lips twitch, as do Guppy's.
"Hebblethwaite." Guppy corrects.
"Heffywait." Gil tries, looking worried.
"We just came in because Gil was very worried that he can't say your name properly." Guppy says. "We've tried over the summer and he's tried really hard. He's worried the other kids will laugh."
"Oh bless him." Miss Hebblethwaite says. "It's okay, Gil. Hebblethwaite is a hard name, you won't be the only one."
Satisfied by this, Gil goes back into the playground, with a shriek of 'ELMO!' when he sees his best friend.
"I don't know if you're aware, but Gil was very premature." Guppy says to his new teacher. "Even moreso that Fry. He has a heart condition and had major surgery when he was a baby. He's fine to play in the playground and do sports normally, but if he seems unusually tired or breathless, complains of any pain in his chest or faints, it's important to let me or his mum know right away. It hasn't happened in the last few years since he's been here, it's just worth knowing."
"No problem." Miss Hebblethwaite nods. "How is he doing academically? He ought to be in the year below, really, if he was that premature."
"We thought about holding him back, but he wanted to stay with his friends." Guppy says. "He can read as well as the others in his class, he writes more neatly than my others did at his age, and he can count to fourteen. He's a little behind with his speech, and we're taking him for another hearing test to check whether that's the cause. Oh, and he loves to dance. He tries hard."
Miss Hebblethwaite smiles. "I'm sure we'll get along just fine."
***
When Gil goes into the classroom for the start of lessons, holding Esme-Rose's hand, Miss Hebblethwaite takes them gently to one side.
"Gilbert and Esme-Rose, can you do something very special for me?" she asks. "This is Frank, he's new, and he needs a helper to sit with. And this is Suzie, she needs a helper too. Gil, will you look after Frank?"
"Yes!" Gil chirps. Esme-Rose nods fervently. By the time they are seated on different tables, it's too late to argue, but Gil still looks over and waves at her often. Then he gets out his new unicorn pencil case and his fluffy pencil and his sparkly purple ruler and his unicorn rubber. Frank watches him for a moment.
"Are you a boy or a girl?" he asks.
"Yes." Gil says, trotting his unicorn rubber across the table.
"Which?" Frank asks.
"A boy." Gil says. "Sept when I'm Gill."
"Is Gill a girl?" Frank asks, looking confused.
"Yes. Anna unicon."
"Oh." Frank says. "Well I'm a boy all the time. I don't think boys play with unicorns. Boys play with footballs and trucks. See, I have a football pencil case and football pencils and a football rubber."
"They do!" Gil pulls a second unicorn rubber out of his pencil case and hands it to Frank then quietly sings. "Uni-uni-unicon, unicon, unicon."
Frank looks at the unicorn. Then he picks up his football rubber, and makes the unicorn kick it towards Gil's unicorn until Miss Hebblethwaite tells them to put the rubbers away to start the lesson.
***
"How did it go?" Guppy asks, when he picks the kids up.
"Made a new fwend." Gil says.
"That's great, what's his name?"
"Fwank."
