Tosser~ a James Cook fanfic~

Freddie~2

Tess slouched in her seat, wedged between Emily and JJ, trying not to let her eyes wander to where Cook sat on the other side of JJ, glancing at her every now and then. She fiddled with her pen as Josie, their sweet but exasperated English teacher, looked out over the mostly silent class with a hopeful, if slightly strained, smile.

Tess actually liked English—usually. But Hamlet? She found herself zoning out as Josie started talking again, feeling more like she was enduring a punishment than reading one of the "greatest works of literature."

Emily leaned over, whispering, "What's the point of this play, anyway? It's just Hamlet talking to himself for hours. How is that supposed to be interesting?"

JJ joined in, his voice enthusiastic but nervous, "Oh, it's incredibly interesting, actually! See, Hamlet's like, uh, experiencing a lot of existential angst, right? He's questioning life, death, purpose... typical stuff for, you know, a Danish prince."

Tess rolled her eyes, smirking a little. "Yeah, great insight, JJ. So, we're meant to feel bad because he can't make up his mind?"

JJ blinked, genuinely considering. "I mean... kind of? Hamlet's paralyzed by thought! He's grappling with moral dilemmas, duty, the weight of revenge..."

"Alright, alright," Emily chuckled softly. "Maybe he should have grappled with them faster."

On cue, Josie tried once again to draw the class into some kind of discussion. "Hamlet. What's it all about... dudes?" She looked around hopefully, but the silence stretched on. Sighing, she lifted up her hand using it as a puppet she called Gerald, who she only used when the class was particularly unresponsive.

"Anyone?" she tried again, waving Gerald's puppet face around as if he was scolding them. Switching to a mock voice, Josie continued, "Well, Josie, through the fog of his grief, Hamlet is struggling to choose between action or inaction, and through this struggle, he encounters existential forces, illuminating the path towards death, which is, in itself, life."

She wiggled her hand, deepening her voice even more, "My my, that is an illuminating thesis, Gerald."

"Well done," Josie said to herself, smiling gently. "Thank you. No, thank you. You're a delight to teach."

Just then, Freddie strolled into the classroom, looking mildly apologetic. "I got held up."

Josie, not missing a beat, grinned and shook her head. "Freddie's always late."

"Sorry..." Freddie mumbled, slipping into his usual cool nonchalance.

"Sit down, please," Josie replied, waving him toward the two open seats left in the classroom—one next to Cook, and the other beside Effy. Freddie's eyes flicked between the two before he headed over to the seat next to Effy, earning a snicker from Cook.

"Is Freddie gonna fail his A-levels?" Josie murmured in Gerald's voice, making the puppet's eyes bounce as if scolding him.

She replied to herself in her normal tone, "Fraid so, Gerald."

Tess could barely keep herself from laughing as Josie raised her voice to the entire class, "You're all going to fail if you don't read the pucking book!"

"I read it!" piped up Pandora from across the room. Tess's eyes drifted over to Freddie, who sat next to Effy. Tess noticed their hands inching closer and closer...

Pandora beamed, "It was great! I didn't really understand it though. Did the ghost do it after all, or was it Voldemort? He's a right beast, in't he?"

Emily snickered, leaning close to murmur, "I think you got your books mixed up again, Panda."