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

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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Adam walks over and informs the teacher, "Sir, I think it's time to go now, sir."

He can see out of the corner of his eye that the two boys are frantically unbuckling their shin-splints, and grins to himself as he saunters back over. The other boys have already formed into a ring around them.

Adam takes his time, seeing understanding dawn on their faces as he approaches.

"Not thinking of going, were you?"

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Since Joris had been thinking of doing just that-

Er.

He says nothing, and clearly Jamie has the idea of leaving while everyone is changing-

But clearly the other boys had thought of that possibility as well. None of them headed off to change. In fact, some of them ran to get everyone's clothing from the small house, and then quickly rejoined the group of them surrounding Joris and Jamie.

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The last boy locks the door, and explains politely to the teacher that they're all going to Macready's to take tea.

Adam waits by the bus and smiles as the two boys are led in. "In you get," he says to the smaller one.

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That vehicle could take them anywhere. For anything.

Jamie does not. Like. This. At. All.

(And where on earth is Helen? If he gets in that vehicle, they're going to lose her; who knows if they'll be able to find her again -)

Jamie twists sideways, suddenly, and does his best to make a break for it. But they're expecting it; they catch him and twist him back around.

"No fighting, now!" says the teacher.

"It's all right, sir," says a smooth voice. "He just fell over." Someone yanks Jamie's arm up behind his back and shoves him up the steps into the vehicle.

They're well and truly trapped now.

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uquars_gadget

Helen hears them pushing into the vehicle, and stills, uncertain of what to do.

When the boys begin pushing back inbetween the seats of the room, where she's hiding, though, she stands up. They won't find her crouching midst them like she's scared.

One of the boys screams.

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Adam looks scornfully at Smitty - the one who screamed - who flushes and tried to make a joke of it. "They've landed! There's a faceless wonder here!"

It's just a girl with her hair over her face, anyone can see that, but she clearly knows the boys who were stealing their clothes and there's no reason to go easy on her. "Ah," Adam says, peering over the shorter one's shoulder, "the female of the species."

"What's going on now?" demands the schoolmaster peevishly.

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uquars_gadget

The scream, and the look on Jamie's face at the easy smugness of the boy who has clearly outsmarted him is...something to behold. Helen's trying to keep silent, but then Joris starts laughing and she can't help joining in.

She puts a wisp of hair behind her ear, and lift her chin to get a better look at Jamie.

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"What's so funny?" one of the boys asks.

Which, conveniently enough, is just what Jamie would like to know.

"They don't understand!" he complains - feeling genuinely put-upon, but putting that extra dash of comic plaintiveness in his voice, too. He doesn't mind being laughed at, if it means the boys will let him go.

"They're having a joke on me! It's not fair! This could happen to anyone!"

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Adam looks over at him, blank and suspicious. The boy talking goes quiet, but the other one doesn't stop laughing for the rest of the drive back into the city.

"Macready," the teacher calls when they're getting close, "where do you and your gang want to be dropped?"

Adam walks to stand by the teacher's shoulder. "I'll show you, sir." They're are a few alleyways in this area, and he stops him at the lamppost near the one closest to his house. "This'll do, sir. By that lamppost."

He gets out first, and stands to the side as the boys bring out the two thieves and their friend. As the group gathers around, Nicholson asks "Where to?" and Adam glances over at him, briefly. It seems like they boys have got a good handle on the thieves, though, so he says "Up here. There's a lonely alley that will suit us perfectly."

They pass by an old tramp who's been lingering the past few days, when Carver says "I hope you meant that about tea, Adam."

"Sure," Adam shrugs. "My parents are away for the weekend. They left loads of food. Just deal with these two yobboes, first. I want them to know how it feels to have their clothes stolen."

There's awhile until his good-for-nothing sister gets back, anyways.

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