TAKING THE RISK - CHAPTER 8 (ROMANCE AND THE REIGN OF THE STUARTS)

Monday morning came about as quick as the last week had ended. Brittany got up and pulled on a pair of cowboy boots an dressed like a cowgirl complete with Stetson. She wanted her school to know she was good with Horses and that she really did look the part. Her father really thought she was going overboard. Mr StClaire: Aren’t we going a little extreme today. Brittany: I’m trying to prove a point to my fellow friends, you know what it’s like to impress people. Mr StClaire: You’re so pretty, you’ll be popular whatever you wear unless you dress like a pauper. Brittany: I understand but I need people to know how important a Horse is too your image and my dress sense is trying to prove that. Mr StClaire: People will do what you do, you’re forceful nature has power over people plus you can blackmail Roxie, I know it’s wrong but I don’t own a corporation by being nice. Brittany: I have never hidden anything, secrets are just there to corrupt school. Mr StClaire: Exactly, now you know you don’t have to be pretty to get responses, you just need a large wad of money and people will be your slaves. Brittany: I am not going to resort to meanness, I’ll bide my time and things will fall into place, I do have the after school clubs to set up, they’ll sort the Mice from the Lions. Mr StClaire: You know what you’re doing so I can go to work and be the dominating boss I’ve had so much practise at. Brittany: Goodbye Daddy. Mr StClaire: Goodbye Brittany. Mr StClaire went off to his business’s corporate office situated on the edge of Canberra. Brittany put on her coat, picked up her backpack and walked out the door and the limousine had pulled up outside, she climbed in and got driven to school. __________________________________________________________________ Brittany arrived and was head off attention as she walked through school ,she stood next to Victoria and her locker. Victoria: Good morning, don’t you give ever girl a run for her money, that outfit has it all and is that a lasso attached at the side. Brittany: That is what I am here for, have you seen Kayla?, she’ll be very impressed by this and it’ll make Brandon think less about Samantha. Victoria: You’re still worried about that girl from our Horse riding group, chill out about it she’s not worth the trouble. Brittany: I’m not because he has eyes for me and has a crush on me and we should be an item. Victoria: Kayla’s over at the maths department with Brandon, they should be back in about 10 minutes. Brittany: We’ll wait for them and talk to pass the time. Victoria: I think she’s signing up for a maths tournament. Brittany: Without my help. Victoria: It’s not part of a confidence issue so she didn’t come to you, you help her fit in when socialising with others, whilst this is improving her educational desires, you knew she was a geek when you offered to help her. Brittany: Whatever she want to do I’ll help and support her, I’m proud of her for trying to prove a point on her own. Victoria: Good for you, you’ll take a step back for her. Brittany: To make sure she’s giving a good impression, what was she wearing? Victoria: A blouse and a chequered kilt. Brittany: I’m impressed because she vowed not to let me down and she certainly doesn’t. Victoria: No one would ever have the nerve to. Brittany: What are your plans for today? Victoria: Me and Joshua are hoping to kiss. Brittany: Isn’t that something you’ll just have to give up on, he is not the type of boy to show any sort of romantic emotion. Victoria: No he isn’t, even your protégé got kissed after 2 hours of dating your cousin. Brittany: What can I say about Justin, when he wants to do something he’s full on about doing it, even I missed my chance and if I don’t hurry up I could loose Brandon forever, now he’s in the Soccer team every girl will want him. Victoria: Better make your move the minute he gets here, you don’t want Samantha to lead him into a false of security and he will he powerless to resist. Brittany: She’s not that pretty and I would hardly say she’s forceful. Victoria: And you’re the 1 who fought she was a threat. Brittany: I just allowed my suspicions to get the better of me and she is trying to steal Kayla as well. Victoria: You wandered off to look for me so you brought it on yourself, if you leave a vulnerable and pretty girl alone near the stables with only her best friend, don’t be surprised it people are willing to show her some attention. Brittany: I’d have done the same if I found a wandering girl as beautiful as Kayla, I would offer to help as I’m not ruthless and mean like my dad. Victoria: No you’re not but you are still devious especially to find out about Roxie. Brittany: It has to be done, anyway Dylan already knows. Victoria: I’d still be afraid, Roxie knows you’re the 1 who knows that she has a water allergy but I know there is something deeper leering inside her and she won’t confess to anything. Brittany: I can offer her a once in a lifetime offer that she’d be foolish to miss out on, in exchange I want to know what she is hiding. Victoria: And you think she’s in denial to respond. Brittany: You don’t know new kids at all, she’s shy with little confidence, if I can work wonders on Kayla then getting a secret from Roxie is a piece of cake. Victoria: Not exactly, Dylan has already tried, he took her to the aquarium and let her risk herself by feeding the Dolphins even though she may get wet. Brittany: Most people can put on an act when they’re put on the spot. Victoria: I’d let Brandon go, you can have any boy here as you’re rich and that will mean they’ll happily date you. Brittany: I don’t like feeling used, boys have an attendancy to do that so I’ll have Brandon as no one else will ever match up. Kayla and Brandon had returned from the Maths department and arrived at the lockers where Brittany and Victoria were talking. Brittany: Good morning, did you enter the Maths tournament. Kayla: Yes it’s a geek’s desire and not an opportunity to pass. Brandon: I decided not to, I’m not far half as clever as my best friend. Victoria: But still if you control a football, education won’t matter. Kayla: I like being intelligent, it’s all I used to have now I can do anything because I’m beautiful and super gifted. Brittany: I like a girl who feels good above herself. Victoria: And I always like being the sidekick. Brittany: We have a friendship so finely built, nothing can destroy it. Kayla: To be honest, there are brighter kids than me at other schools, I may win or I may lose but it’s still an opportunity I exist. Brandon: You will win because I have faith in you. Kayla: And you’ll be an excellent Soccer player with many a screaming fan to your name. Brittany: I’ll offer to start it off for you. Kayla: The bells a ringing, it must be time to get to class. Kayla, Brandon, Victoria and Brittany all had History together after registration, their teacher Mr Beckett welcomed them in and they then chose seats, Kayla sat at the front as she didn’t want to miss a thing in the months leading up to her History NTCE. After Mr Beckett called the register they started on the learning journey. Mr Beckett: Welcome to 11th grade history, we will be preparing for your NTCE exams. They will be coming around mid May so I think we should get involved in our 1st piece of coursework which will be about the life of a very special English royal family called the Stuarts including Charles I, Charles II and so on. Victoria: Does this include Prince Charles? Mr Beckett: No, the Stuarts ran from 1605 onwards, Prince Charles is a current fixture in the United Kingdom. Kayla: I remember him, old guy about 60, married to some sort of a Dragon or so I heard. Brittany: The British family do have their moments. Brandon: Like the Queen’s speech, we watch it every year on the internet. Victoria: She’s not afraid to wear a tiara in public. Kayla: It’s a crown actually, most royal families wear them. Mr Beckett: James I as he was known in England ran the country from 24th March 1603. I know you all get distracted and that is why I printed some leaflets for you. Kayla: He wasn’t a Charles, I thought we were doing about the Charles’s. Mr Beckett: We are soon to be doing about Charles but James I started the Stuart period in the United Kingdom so we’ll start with him. Now can anyone tell me who James I followed as king or queen? Kayla: I think it was Elizabeth I, who was the last of the Tudors. Mr Beckett: Now who was his mother? Victoria: That was Mary, sister of Elizabeth I. Mr Beckett: Now we’ve reached a good start, James I ruled Scotland from 1567 but took control of England in 1603 starting of the Stuart dynasty. Brandon: What about Charles? Mr Beckett: We’re 22 years to early for him. James was born on 19th June 1566 at Edinburgh Castle probably because there was no hospital. He took control after the brutal murder of his father. Brittany: That’s awful, to rid a boy of his father at only 13 months. Mr Beckett: Mary was blamed for the death of her ex husband Darnley but she still married James Hepburn even though she was stricken from power and went to prison in Lock Leven castle. Kayla: Enforce fully unjustified she was. Brittany: Maybe so but there was no Judge Judy. Brandon: So unfair were the 1500’s, I’m glad this was Scotland an almost forgotten country. Kayla: It’s nothing compared to England, their 3 neighbouring countries can not compare and that is why he took over the biggest country as he knew it would bring more great power. Mr Beckett: That is correct, at the age of 16 he went on to marry Mary-Anne of Denmark even though he showed no interest in marriage. Victoria: Good for him standing up to people, not letting them boss him around. Brittany: What is that supposed to mean. Victoria: You do control your friends, we hardly get a say in anything. Brittany: Kayla, is this true? Kayla: No of course now, Victoria is just over reacting. Luke: I have my doubts about how you all get along without fighting, it seems the rich girl does dominate. Mr Beckett: James I entered England for the 1st time on 7th May 1603 to a crowd of supporters. His coronation took place on 25th July and he had inherited a troubled county, tax rises and war in Ireland brought many an upset. Luke: I liked Elizabeth I, she was a very misunderstood Tudor. Mr Beckett: James I’s reign didn’t start well and he survived 2 conspiracies in his 1st year. This led to the arrest of the great Sir Walter Raleigh who was a very well known explorer. The day to day running of the council was run by Robert Cecil, he was a very sinister man even though he became Earl of Salisbury. Brandon: And they say we live in an unfair society these days, they should have just beheaded him. Kayla: That was the Tudor period, things weren’t as viscous after Elizabeth I left power. Mr Beckett: Indeed things got better and he retained the title of king of Great Britain as suggested by Sir Francis Bacon. Luke: Did he invent Bacon. Mr Beckett: I do not know but Catholics we still allowed to worship and they signed a peace treaty with Spain and held a great banquet to celebrate the end of the Anglo-Spanish war. James expanded in international trading and a settlement was established in Java. In 1613 a visit to Japan was made to see up a new factory to import from. Kayla: I’m glad to see things are running smoother for him now. Mr Beckett: James I got 2 suits of armour as a part of a deal, the suits still rest in the tower of London 400 years later. Brittany: I hope that’s where we are going on our school excursion this year. Mr Beckett: I heard that there is a good chance it will be Ayers Rock but we as teachers haven’t confirmed it amongst ourselves as of yet. I’ve got some worksheet for you to work on, just put your name on it and work on it until the end of class, I’ll take it and grade it and give it to you next Monday morning. They did their worksheets and at the end of the lesson they handed them to the teacher, said goodbye and they were then sent off to break time. Brandon, Brittany, Joshua. Kayla, Victoria and Zachary sat in the cafeteria/restaurant. Roxie came up to their table. Roxie: Hello everyone. Kayla: I’m sorry I scared you off, it was so insensitive. Roxie: Brittany seems to know me better than anyone, how else would she know I have a water allergy. Brittany: It wasn’t intentional, I just found out by accident although I gave up trying to find out because you were tricky to understand. Roxie: It’s OK, I just came over to ask whether you’d finalised the new clubs yet. Brittany: Not exactly but I’m glad you decided to do something, I thought you were turning into a loner or a girl who won’t mix or socialise with others. Roxie: When you find out could you let me know? Brittany: Yes I will, shall I put you down for swimming. Roxie: I’m really surprised anyone likes you when you say things like that. Brittany: Sorry, I will make it up to you by letting you join our final discussion on it tomorrow. Roxie: How can I say no, of course I will be there. Roxie went back to Dylan whilst Kayla continued the conversation. Kayla: Was that really a good idea, she’s too shy to get involved. Brittany: I had to say something so she didn’t think I was making fun of her. Joshua: I think everything will work out fine in the end. Victoria: There isn’t much she’ll disagree about, she’ll hate swimming but I though that was a daft idea anyway. Zachary: Unless we worked some Gymnastic in there and called it water aerobics. Brittany: Good thinking, fancy names always makes things sound better. Brandon: I still think there’s to much of an artistic flair involved, I think people will realise it’s not fun and avoid it like a Horse to water. Joshua: I agree, that’s 1 to avoid before we even start the meeting. And with all that, everybody agreed to the motion that water aerobics was never going to be an after school club. Kayla: I did enjoy History and I hope to scrape above an A-. Brittany: If you could use your intelligence to help me after all I did give you a makeover. Kayla: You would really want me to tutor you? Brittany: Yes, I do lack mega intelligence unlike you and I think you could help me since you did sign up to the maths tournament and that must take quite a clever individual to do that. Brandon: I think that sounds like a good deal to me, you 2 should shake on it. Kayla: I’m happy to. Brittany: Me also. Brittany and Kayla shake hands to finalise the deal. Zachary: So how is everyone? Victoria: OK but I still feel I don’t see my best friend enough. Brittany: You wont join my Gymnastics or Netball clubs so you brought on the feeling of neglect by yourself. Joshua: Then again, I think she’d be suited to Cricket and we’ll happily let her in. Brandon: Soccer is already full so no vacancies there but I am sure over time places will be there and you can beat all records by being the 1st girl to tryout for the team. Victoria: I’d give it a go when the time is right but I do understand that we must share our friends and things could go terribly wrong if we saw each other 168 hours a week. Joshua: I’ll stick to after school unless we decide to extend the amount of Cricket that this school offers. Kayla: And I’ll see you on weekends and during the school day. Brittany: I think everything is working fine but we have to find an activity for Roxie, she must feel so isolated only hanging with Dylan all day and at weekends and being the new girl she must be wanting to make new friends with her fellow 8th graders. Kayla: But we have our guidelines meaning it has to free of water, most ideas are impossible even Athletics because it is still outside and there is a minor chance of rain which would be a major risk. Brandon: We know this water allergy is dangerous as she was brought into school in a inflatable bubble when it rained. Victoria: We do not need any distractions in the Horse riding group, we have enough with you and Samantha fighting over Brandon and with Kayla only a beginner it means there is too much to adjust to before changes can be made. Zachary: She’s too frail for Cricket. Joshua: Everyone gets a chance, we agreed on that. Zachary: Fine we’ll let her try out for cricket, I have to admit that she might find it difficult. Victoria: It hasn’t stopped you trying to entice us to join. Brittany: That maybe because I am not in charge and those heavy bats would brake many a nail but thank-you anyway. Joshua: We always knew you were way too soft but some girls are tougher than you and it’s only fair to give them the same chance that we give the boys. Kayla: I have to admit that cricket ha slow self esteem, studies have shown if you want a sport where you are always needed than Soccer is where you should be. Brandon: And it’s not very hard to get in to even though I had a good talent for it so Christopher let me join on the spot. Brittany: What about Hockey? Victoria: We already have it. Brittany: It can’t be doing that well as I’d know about it. Victoria: Our rival school is better at it than we are. Brittany: I remember Justin saying that he dated 1 of their players before he went out with the captain of the Netball team. Kayla: I don’t know how much actual talent he has but he very good at kissing. Joshua: That is because it was your 1st and only, me and Victoria don’t want to rush into things but as you’ve been there I have no authority to complain. Victoria: I have other things to do at the moment and I agree we mustn’t rush into things. Brittany: Is anybody coming to watch the Netball practise later? Brandon: I will because Kayla always needs my support. Victoria: I will try but I can promise I will be there even though I know it will be enjoyable and I know any inspiration does the team good. Joshua: I can’t as I have cricket practise. Zachary: I apologise but I have to be there as well. Kayla: Well you know I am coming, I’ll be by your side waiting for guidance in order to make the team at the start of matches. Brittany: Trying doesn’t come in to it, I can fix it so you get in, I do have great power over the teams that I am in charge of. Kayla: Then that settles it. Brittany: I’d like to say that this morning has been fun and we’ll meet for lunch at 12ish, all that’s left for me to say is to enjoy your lessons and I will see you at lunch. Everyone headed to class whilst the cafeteria/restaurant was filled with an eerie silence within the next 5 minutes waiting for the buzz to come back very soon.