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room and took a seat.
“It’s a free lesson. Everyone knows we ain’t gonna do any
work.”
    “ Some of us are,” said a
quiet looking girl.
    “ Yeah, I know you will, you nerdy swot.”
    “ Oi, calm down now,” said
Mrs Dooly, entering the room with about five paintings under her
left arm and a bowl full of dribbling oil paints in her hands. She
plonked them down and tried to settle everyone so that she could
begin. It didn’t seem to work though. Her voice was slightly airy
and it almost seemed as if her mind was wandering elsewhere,
outside of the classroom.
    Amidst the din, she managed to give the class
instructions to each draw an object in the room but as soon as she
stopped talking the class just began chattering even louder amongst
themselves.
    “ Look, it’s Conker again,”
said Snibble. “What you drooling at now? My missus ain’t even here.
You slobbering over Mrs Dooly? Sick piece of crap.”
    Conker was seated just in front of Snibble
and he didn’t turn around. He just carried on drawing his pencil
case, which was the only thing on his desk.
    “ Don’t say much, do you?”
Snibble carried on. He got up and stood right next to the large
boy.
    “ Snibble, stop it,” came the
voice of a girl chewing gum.
    “ Shut it, Tania,” Snibble
dismissed, then he knocked his knuckles on Conker’s skull. “Empty
fippin shell.”
    “ Oi,” Seckry blurted out
without thinking. He immediately regretted it. He usually kept
quiet in situations like that. Why had he said something
now?
    Snibble turned and glared.
    “ What you say?”
    Seckry’s face exploded with miniature
prickles, he was sure he’d gone bright red. “He wasn’t doing
anything to you, just leave him alone.” His voice felt weak and
trembled.
    The girl chewing gum clapped her hands.
    “ I’m glad someone said
something. You need a right good slap, you do, Snibble.”
    Snibble walked over to Seckry and put his
face right up close to his. Then he made as if to head-butt him,
and Seckry flinched.
    “ Like this new guy, do you
Tania?” Snibble said mockingly.
    The girl rolled her eyes.
    Seckry turned his eyes downwards and began
drawing his key-ring, which was a little fat cat that he’d won in
an arcade machine years ago. He hoped Snibble would just walk
away.
    But he didn’t. As soon as Seckry began
shading, Snibble flicked the pencil out of his hand and onto the
floor.
    Seckry breathed out slowly. He paused a
moment before leaning down and picking it up. But as he put his
pencil back to the page, Snibble flicked it again and it went
flying across the room.
    That was it. Seckry’s adrenaline fired
through his limbs and he shot up involuntarily.
    “ What’s your problem?” he
said loudly, and pushed Snibble away.
    Something snapped then. Snibble’s eyes
changed from smarmy malice to pure rage. He launched himself at
Seckry but Conker grabbed his shirt and wrenched him backwards.
    “ One more fight and you’re
expelled, Mr Knotting,” said Mrs Dooly in her feeble voice. “The
headmaster has warned me about you.”
    Snibble’s eyes stayed locked on Seckry’s for
a moment, but then he turned to Mrs Dooly and he seemed to calm
down.
    “ I ain’t fighting, miss. We
were messing.”
    In the moment, Snibble must not have realised
that Conker had restrained him because he seemed shocked when he
noticed that Conker’s brick of a hand was still clasped on his
shirt. He smacked it away in disgust.
    “ Get off me, you fippin
freak,” he spat.
    After that, Seckry was left to carry on
drawing and Snibble didn’t say a word. At the end of the lesson
Snibble left before anyone else.
    Tenk showed Seckry his drawings. He hadn’t
bothered doing any still life at all, he had spent the lesson
coming up with logo ideas for his avatar, Basher.
    For the rest of the morning Snibble kept to
himself and Seckry’s day went pretty smoothly. He had his first
genetics lesson in which they had a teacher named Mr Gilb, who was
pleasant enough,