And it may take some time to learn what&#39;s real

"And my trousers," says Adam, eyeing Jamie in a way that is not in the least friendly.

"Do, please, go on and help yourself to my shirt while you're at it. Red shirts are not school uniform."

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"You can have the trousers back," Jamie says instantly.

It's a pity, considering how well they fit him, but - there's really no other choice.

Jamie might not have many scruples, but he'd rather not see a pair of boys his age knocked off by Rule Two just for wanting their own clothes back.

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For once, Joris follows Jamie's lead without question or comment. He slips off the blazer, and starts hanging it up right where he found it, neatly.

So all-white and all-red really are unusual on this world. Adam and Fox-Kensingham eye Joris' uniform, then Jamie's red Creema di Leema outfit.

"Adam," Fox-Kensingham finally glances back to him, "Who are these people?"

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"Chessmen probably."

Adam surveys the two thieves coolly from beyond his glasses.

"Red pawn and white knight, by the look of them."

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"Chessmen! If only you knew!"

Jamie looks at the remaining boys, without much hope that this is going to end well. "Let me give you the trousers back and we'll go."

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Not likely, Jamie.

"I believe they give you special clothes to wear in prison. I'll get them back then."

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Whatever Jamie's plans may be, Joris' plans do NOT include going to prison, no matter what world this may be.

But before he can say anything (thankfully) to make that point clear, Pivens returns with an older man in a shirt with the same sort of logo on it that the jackets have. The man is tall, and clearly not as up in arms about the situation as the other boys are.

"No sir- That wasn't quite what I meant." Even with Pivens still trying to explain the situation to him. "They were stealing our clothes."

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The teacher looks vaguely bored with the entire proceedings, and Jamie starts feeling a little more optimistic. There are some adults who lump all children together, and this is clearly one of them.

"What are you two boys doing in here?"

Jamie looks appropriately abashed in the presence of authority, and says, "I'm afraid we came without the proper clothes, sir."

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Joris is learning! He just keeps quiet and let Jamie talk. Specially since it looks as if the coach looks entirely uninterested in the whole situation-

Or anything outside of what he considers his job.

"That's no reason for borrowing other people's, or for skulking in here. Get out on the field, both of you. You three get out there too."

Which seems to be making everyone go out and play what-ever-game that is out there, even if he recognises them as students or not.

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Jamie is feeling rather pleased with himself with his deft handling of the situation - prison hardly seems likely now, does it?

This lasts right until the moment he catches the eye of the boy in spectacles. He does not look as if he has given up. And when one of the other boys opens his mouth to explain the situation, the boy in spectacles - Adam, his name seems to be - kicks him in the ankle to signal him to keep quiet.

Something's up.

The teacher shepherds them all out of the shed and across the platform, Jamie growing uneasier all the time. They don't, after all, know what kind of games these are they're expected to play, and Jamie has seen some nasty games in his day. He sneaks a glance for Helen across the field, but there's no sign of her. Clever of her to be hiding. This is clearly not a place where girls are welcome, or expected.

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Even if the coach did not know which boys belonged there and which did not, the other boys clearly did. They circled around Joris and Jamie, and soon whispers and quiet laughter started.

"I know. It would be old Smitty." "Right then. After that!"

Joris just continues walking, teeth clenched and his hands in fists at his sides. The field everyone was herding them to hardly looked like any sport he knew of- there was nothing but sets of sticks set into the ground.

The coach, Smitty, finally took his place on the side. "Right. Start again from the beginning of the over." And then went back to his own little daydream.

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There's not much they can do. Rule Two ties their hands - if they fight back, and the boys hurt them, the consequences might not be good for anyone.

So Jamie puts on the large white buckled things that the boys hand them for their legs, and takes the wooden bat thing he's given in his hands, and waddles over to where they point him and waits for it to be over. At least nothing too awful's likely to happen with Smitty there.

He hopes.

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The rest of the boys spread out- for what reason, Joris had no idea. (Neither did Jamie, by the looks of it, so he did not feel particularly too bad about not knowing.)

Joris just held the odd bat they had given him, carefully watching one of the other boys everyone else seemed to be focused on. The boy marched past Joris, and then turned around and started running back towards him, whirling one of his arms to wind up for a hit-

With a frown and without much further thought, Joris stuck up an arm to block the blow-

But it never came. Instead the other boy just tossed the heavy red ball he had been holding straight at Jamie.

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It's a good thing Jamie's good at dodging.

He jumps aside just in time, as the ball clatters into the three sticks next to him and they all fall over.

The schoolmaster blinks. "Wasn't that out?"

"Oh, no, sir!" chorus a set of angelic voices - lying, obviously, but there's not much Jamie can do about it. "The wicket just fell down." One of them props the sticks - the wicket - back up and they all trot back to where they were.

Jamie sighs inwardly, and prepares himself for a lot of dodging. Oh well; at least he'll be able to commiserate later with Helen about being stoned.

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What sort of game is this supposed to be, tossing rocks at people? And they certainly did not expect Joris to just stand there while-

...

Obviously not. Which is why they gave him the bat. Very well, then.

The boy with the ball started his run to toss the red ball at Jamie, and this time, Joris was ready for him. Joris aimed the bat for a quick jab to the boy's stomach, ready to move in for a sweep to his legs should the boy dodge-

The ball-thrower did not even try to dodge or block. Really, what sort of game was this?

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Adam rolls his eyes as a group of boys start shouting at the one in white.

"They don't know the first thing about it!" Jones says to Adam, grinning and clearly more than a little amused by the spectacle.

"I can see that," Adam says. That's the whole point, isn't it? "They'll have to learn, won't they?"

Then the schoolmaster gives the signal and the game starts up again - such as it is.

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Joris will be damned if he will just stand around and watch them throw red stones at Jamie-

But apparently that seems to be the point of this idiotic 'game'. (And people called his world crazy!)

Muttering, Joris manages to just stand there and watch them toss the ball at Jamie a few more times. Jamie manages to dodge most of them, though he probably would have done better if they had not tied those stupid splints on his legs.

After that, however, everyone decided to move about on the field, leaving Joris and Jamie still at their spots.

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And now apparently everyone is supposed to walk about. Everyone, that is, except for Jamie, who was hit in the leg with the most recent ball, and is therefore not walking but hopping about - which of course entertains everyone vastly.

Jamie has given up on learning the rules by this point, and when Adam comes over to inform him, contemptuously, that he is supposed to hit the ball, Jamie just shrugs.

Then someone else wanders over and throws a ball at Joris instead, so Jamie doesn't know what he's suppose to do about it.

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Joris totally was not just standing there and sulking. Honestly. If the way the game was played meant that he was just supposed to stand there and let them throw stones at Jamie, then fine, he will just-

Wait.

Now they were throwing the ball at him.

... Finally, here is something he can act on. Joris hits the red ball with the bat, with all of his pent-up frustration and anger at this whole situation.

The poor ball disappears out of sight.

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Well.

Jamie always knew Joris was athletic.

Then - "Run!" shout one or two of the boys, staring after the disappearing ball, and Jamie's not waiting around to be asked twice.

He glances at Joris, jerks his head sideways, and then books it towards the edge of the field at top shuffle-hop.

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Joris did not think that the other boys there would be giving them such an obvious way out- but Jamie is more than willing to take it, so Joris takes off after him a split second later. The splints on his legs certainly do not make running easy-

But considering some of his training, this was nothing.

The only problem is that Jamie certainly never had the same sort of training Joris has, so the two of them are not leaving as fast as they could be-

Not fast enough to avoid everyone else from chasing after them-

"No!" "Come back!"

And catching up with them.

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Jamie can run plenty fast. In shin-splints, even. He's gotten out of worse straights before! Just, he's not used to keeping up with athletic types when he's crippled from being hit in the leg with red stones, Joris.

Regardless, it seems clear enough that they're not going to escape that way, so Jamie resigns himself to another few hours of athletic torture.

The game continues. Joris hits the ball. Jamie mostly runs up and down, and fails to hit the ball. The other boys snigger behind their hands and protest loudly to the master in charge that no, they're not out, and the game ought to continue, and it all gets very old, Jamie thinks, very fast.

Finally, Jamie does manage to hit the ball. It soars out over the field, and posh smarmy Adam catches it.

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"You have now," Adam says, tossing the ball in his hand, "been out in every way possible. It may be a record. Shall we stop?"

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"If you want to," Jamie says. It is supposed to sound offhand and cool!

. . . it mostly comes out sounding out-of-breath.

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