Writing Club |Showtime|: Thankless Job- (object) broom
Around the World in 31 Days: Chile- (dialogue) "Can you two just get along?"
Back to School: 5. (object) blackboard
Word Count: 549
...oOo...
"Potter!"
This outraged outburst came from the second row third seat, precisely where Lily Evans sat, her face a flaming red. She was glaring furiously at James Potter, who was lounging in his chair with an infuriating smirk on his face.
Minerva sighed. This was the third time this term that her lesson had been disrupted by either Evans or Potter.
"Is there a problem, Miss Evans?" she asked sharply.
Evans broke away from her staring contest with Potter. "Professor, Potter has been sending me notes all lesson, some of which imply inappropriate behavior."
Minerva rounded on Potter. "Detention, Potter," she declared.
Potter appeared bored and uninterested; detention was a daily occurrence for him. Evans, meanwhile, looked smug at her triumph.
Not so fast, thought Minerva. "Detention for you as well, Miss Evans."
Black could not stifle his snickers as Evans's eyes widened comically, spluttering, "B-But Professor—"
"You interrupted my class," Minerva cut in smoothly. "You could not withhold your outburst and decided to release whatever built-up frustrations you had with Potter during instruction time. In the future, I suggest you save your spats with Potter for outside the classroom."
Evans, who had been shocked into submission, nodded mutely. Potter, meanwhile, had maintained his indifference. Minerva returned to her lesson, thinking of creative detentions that would not cause Evans to singlehandedly maim Potter.
She set the class a practice task which Potter and Black achieved in a matter of minutes. They were arrogantly boasting about it to anyone within earshot, and Minerva could see Evans's ears steadily reddening. However, she was staunchly determined to not earn herself another scolding, so she remained quiet.
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"Now, your detention will be two separate tasks, one for each of you. One will have the option of cleaning my blackboard while the other will have to sweep my floor. I would suggest you set aside your differences and collaborate, because I will be only allowing you an hour to throughly complete these tasks. Can you two just get along? I'm just asking for an hour, then you are free to return to…whatever you're warring over. Understood?"
The redheaded girl nodded affirmatively but the bespectacled boy just stared at his feet. Minerva sighed, massaging her temple wearily.
"Very well. The broom is underneath my desk and the rags and the pail of water are atop my desk. I will see you in an hour," and under her breath she added, "and pray that this room isn't in shambles."
She left the room.
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Lily stared at James with an unreadable expression on her face. Finally, she said, "Blackboard or floor?"
"I dunno." James was being vague; this was a usual, dull task for him.
"You take the blackboard, then, since you're taller," she pointed out logically. "I'll sweep."
"Why are you not being so hostile to me?" he asked suddenly. "I'm the one who landed you here."
She shrugged. "Would you rather I be bitter and sullen? It's only an hour, then I'm free to ignore as much as I want."
He rolled his eyes. "I'm going to make that very difficult for you, Evans," he proclaimed.
"Try me." A challenging gleam entered her eyes.
James grinned as he set about dipping the rags into the water and wiping the blackboard. "You're on."