the cadence of part time poets

Chapter 26: Ow-Levels

Oh well now the band is rockin' and everybody's feelin' alright,
It's a Wednesday night, there sure is gonna be a fight;
'Cause somebody's gonna get their head kicked in tonite...

- "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked in Tonite" Earl Vince and the Valiants (Fleetwood Mac), 1969

Tuesday 1st June 1976

"I'm never going to understand it! Someone end my suffering, please!"

"Shh! Do you want to be kicked out of the library?"

"Yes!"

Lottie leaned over and pinched her twin's ear lobe, making Peter cry out despite Marlene's warning. "Stop your whinging. It's not that hard, you're just looking for the variable—really, how could we have shared a womb?"

Clapping a hand over his ear, Peter scowled back at his sister. "Says you! You haven't even cracked your copy of 'Lord of the Flies' and you're writing your final essay on it!"

Lottie slapped her pencil down. "Who could possibly find joy in reading about a bunch of filthy boys stranded on an island trying to kill each other? The essay is supposed to be argumentative, so I'm arguing that it was horrible."

Peter gave an exaggerated scowl and turned to Remus. "Remus, could you tell me what you got for question nine?"

"Uh..." Remus began sorting through his notes, but Marlene reached across the table and smacked her hand down on top of them.

"He's never going to learn if you just give him the answers whenever he asks."

Remus cracked a small smile. "But it's so much better than listening to him whine."

Marlene shook her head and drew her hand back, letting him find the right paper and pass it to Peter.

"Cheers, Lupin!"

Marlene snapped her fingers in Peter's direction. "Shh! If I fail my O-Levels because you lot couldn't shut up I'll thrash you all!"

It didn't really matter how many times she shushed them, it was busy enough that they weren't going to be breaking any silence. Apparently it was common around end of the year exams for the Hawkings' library to turn into a bit of a zoo. Mrs. Pince, who normally crucified any student who dared to speak above a strict whisper, seemed to give up once the students who'd been neglecting their studies all term piled into her palace of tranquility, desperate for essay help and answers to their fervid questions. Having grown used to accompanying Lily or the other girls, Remus found the library as good a place as any to read and study without interruptions. Since his birthday they were occasionally joined by James or Peter, but rarely Sirius, who had no need for review and instead spent his time grumbling over his essays or else causing havoc somewhere else.

"Hey, Lupin," James said from his left, "do you have the study outline for geography?"

Remus shook his head. "Misplaced mine. I borrowed Lily's yesterday."

James pursed his lips and looked around. "Where is Evans anyway?"

"She was with Snape this morning," Lottie offered from across the table. She'd since given up on her essay and was reapplying her lip gloss in a small compact mirror.

"Why?" James asked, instantly irritated and showing it by tapping his pencil against the table top furiously.

"A chemistry project."

"Hmph."

Remus gave James a sideways glance but returned to his own studying. James Potter may have been the friendliest boy he'd ever met, but even he wasn't without a temper. Said temper seemed to rear its head most when he was concerned over his friends and only got worse where Lily was concerned. After the birthday party much of Davey Gudgeon's wardrobe had mysteriously gone missing, only for several of the statues in the Hawkings rose garden to be found dressed in his uniforms like they were on their way to lessons.