Second (History Plays, Book 1)

9: with captive kings

Gaveston

One week fades into the next. Between classes and fencing, I barely have a free moment. The course load is intense, with papers and massively long readings. I find myself spending Saturdays pouring over the books, and Sunday evenings filled with practice work and editing papers.
It's a good sort of tired, though. I'm sore each night, and before I know it morning has come and with it another warm, filling breakfast. While I enjoy my classes, and for the most part my teammates who aren't Mortimer, the rest of the school proves to be positively vicious. Fencers, as Isabella predicted, are picked on. Boys with grey hair, are especially picked on. I'm used to name calling and the like. However, actual vandalism is not beneath these people. And the school can't do anything about it.
Rich children, as it happens, face little to no consequences. Their parents are too busy to care, and while the administration can tell them off, if they are caught beyond a shadow of a doubt, which they never are, there's little to be done. The abuse ranges from tripping us in the halls, to vandalizing lockers, to trying to get into the dorms.
We have a bit of an advantage on that. Apparently Coach Marlowe is known for overreacting to potential intruders in the night and there are more than enough swords lying around his room as well as other potential weapons, so that helps. As in once, I think Kent, was sneaking ostensibly to prank his brother but got a foil in his face while creeping up stairs. That was nothing compared to the hundred and fifty pound dog that knocked him over while barking. He swore and complained, but by the time faculty got there he was in trouble for sneaking in and there was no dog to be seen (hidden safely under the blankets of Teddy's bed, with Teddy).
Yeah, so Dover house itself is rather safe. We're not safe across campus, though. And being the targets of constant name calling gets old. But it's not like I wasn't bullied at my last school. We get through it.
Tonight during hockey, Clare and Teddy and Izzy and I were studying. French, because all of them are in some level of it and have tests coming up, and I'm perfectly capable of tutoring all of them. Edward should be here as he's also in French however I think he actually loses knowledge along with brain capacity when watching me speak French so he's officially on his own there. He still comes to walk with Teddy and I back to the dorm though. We still follow Izzy's original rule, to travel in small packs to prevent becoming targets. We also usually walk the girls back to their dorm, if there's less than three of them.
"Hey, how's it going?" Edward, all sweaty and damp from hockey, comes up behind me to swing an arm around my neck. He hugs Teddy as well but rests his head on top of mine.
"Lovely, thank you," I say, in English.
"We're just finished, we were discussing activities," Izzy has a flier.
"No, I don't like participating in things," Edward whines.
"Well, you have to so shut up—Gaveston, we're required to do one extra curricular thing a month, usually each house holds something each weekend," she explains, "It's mandatory."
"They're usually pretty fun, the last weekend of the month is a hike, we might as well go, Dover house is doing it," Clare says.
"Sure," Teddy says.
"I don't—"
"Edward, we literally have to," I point out.
"Oh fine," he sighs, "But I don't like walking places."
"You're ridiculous," Izzy says. He's still hanging on me.
"Mr. Ambrose organized it, he usually does a good job of picking fun stuff," Teddy points out. He likes history, I always forget, so he's actually fond of Mr. Ambrose who is more than content to swap historical scandals with him over a cup of tea and a scone.
"So that's this weekend?" I sigh. I just wanted to sleep. You have to get up early for those things. Right now I want nothing more than to sneak over to Edward's bed in the early hours of the morning and curl up next to him in the warmth feeling safe and knowing I don't have to get up or go anywhere.
"No, next weekend, this weekend is parent's weekend," Izzy says.
"Oh fuck me," Edward slumps down with his face in my back.
"They may just send my mom to parent all of us," Clare points out, remember she's Edward's niece, so she's saying her grandmother his step-mother might just let his older sister come to represent. His mother is passed away, when he was pretty little. His step mother is Kent's mom, and she prefers her son, needless to say. However, not enough it would seem to parent him.
"We can only hope," Edward says.
"Right so, nobody enjoys it, but we have to get through it, Teddy's got no one coming—Gaveston does anyone come for you?" Isabella asks.
"I don't know if my mom got tickets, I doubt it, she and my step dad are pretty busy," I shrug, "Why does it matter?"
"Because only one of us is old enough looking to buy post-parents-weekend alcohol and I need to know how much you'll be drinking," Izzy says. Edward raises his hand that he's the person who buys it.
"We'll get in trouble!" I say.
"It's fine," Clare says, "And we're gonna do it in our rooms and if Coach catches you guys he'll just have Father Thomas give you a little lecture."
"Seriously, time honored tradition, you're gonna need it, if you don't, I'll drink your share," Edward says.
"Wait, he actually has grey hair should we use him?" Clare asks, pointing at me.
"Clare, he looks like a greek god. There is no way in hell a liquor attendant would believe he was of this realm let alone of legal age. Have you even looked at him?" Isabella asks.
"Thanks, I think?" I say.
"No offense, Edward, but he does," she says.
"None taken, yes he does."