To a Stranger: The Musical
Best Viewed After Reading 'To a Stranger'
Currently Unavailable - Link Supplied Upon Demand
----------------
Must Know Information~ Severus Snape and Gen Barrington are betrothed; an
arrangement made by their parents.
All lyrics in this scene have been adapted from Busted's tunes, and I don't
claim to own them.
----------------
Foreword
This 'parody' - or slightly insane To a Stranger spoof - takes place over a large span of time, and, for the sake of the storyline, I have not entered any hints to any of the storyline main-fic-wise. The Ayla, Remus and Valera storyline is merely for stories sake, and there is no guarantee that any of the contents shall occur in the main fic; the triangle pairing was created by, and I hope I remembered right, Manal and Kristina. I hope it's cringy.
Also, as requested by Kristina, there is a scene within this fic of Malfoy and Snape pairing; please, do not be disturbed; it is only a Musical.
Also, thanks to Kristina for the Voldemort-singing idea.
As I said before, this contains no hints and hardly any references to 'To a Stranger'.
----------------
Chapter One - The Busted Scenes
Sirius' head drooped; Divination, the ever boring subject. Professor Jones was currently declaring that James was going to die in precisely two weeks, due to a freak flute incident. Dull, dull, dull, dull, dull, dull, dull, dull, dull. Boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring. Sirius prodded his tealeaves with the tip of his quill, changing the large dog that was imaged, apparently, in his cup into a giant sledgehammer. Latvia had this uncanny knack of knowing exactly what all the tealeaf-reading symbols were, and recognising them in practise. Sirius didn't, and he didn't feel like being told that there was a grim in his cup and he should expect to die due to a. a. a strange accident involving a trombone. He'd rather be told that a sledgehammer symbolised that he'd kill his best friend than be told that, because he had a dog in his mug, he'd experience death by musical instrument. At least he could stop himself from killing his best friend. it was rather hard to keep yourself from dying. He dried his quill on Latvia's sleeve.
James rolled his eyes as Professor Jones moved away. "Can you believe that anyone would dare stuff a flute up my nose and arrange my brains in a different way?" James shook his head in desperation. "I didn't even think it was possible."
"It's not." Said the girl behind him, scornfully - a Hufflepuff named Janet. "You don't have any brains to rearranged."
"Gee, thanks." James raised an eyebrow at Sirius, as if to indicate that Janet was mad - unfortunately, Sirius seemed to find it amusing, and was laughing.
"Mr Grey!" Professor Jones shuffled over, all hunched and old looking. He reminded Sirius of a stooped tree. "What is it you find so funny? The fact your friend will die, your cousin will marry a fifty-year-old the year she leaves Hogwarts, or that." he paused to peer into Sirius' cup, ".you will kill Mr Porter and attack Mr Lupeen with a faulty broom stick?"
"All of them." Sirius laughed. "Latvia's in love with-" Latvia stamped on her cousin's foot; Sirius cried out in pain. "Latvia would never marry some wrinkly, and James isn't going to die because he has no brain to be rearranged. Oh, and I don't own a flute, so I can hardly kill James, can I?"
"Don't question the leaves!" Jones cried, obviously terrified, and shuffled away.
"Well done, Sirius." Janet hissed. "He'll give us extra homework now. You should have just let him tell you what your cup meant."
"Oh, shut up, Janice."
Janet blushed at the use of the name the Professor called her, and turned away to pass her cup up to Jones.
"These people all suck." Sirius muttered, tipping the contents of his cup into his hands and rolling the little leaves into a small, wet ball. Professor Jones was shuffling towards the front of the class, towards his desk, which was positioned right in front of the door. He aimed; he leaned back, tongue out in concentration. The perfect aim. He launched he small soggy tealeaf ball. The door opened. Professor Jones stepped around his desk to greet someone. The ball landed smack-bang on the visitor's stomach. Gen. Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but something else came out.
"Your face is everywhere I go, now, And you're not on television shows now, Baby I need you. You're everything I want in someone, But you don't know who I am; Baby, why should you?"
"Sirius?" Latvia asked, worried about her cousin's singing. Janet was wide eyed behind them, James gaping by Sirius' side. Gen was picking the small brown leaves from her clothes, and hadn't yet heard; after all, the music had only just started (from who knows where). Sirius stood up.
"Sweating all over your letters home, Reading every word in slow mo. Trackin' you down in the Common Room Cos you ain't seen me yet..." he leapt onto the table; James and Latvia, strangely overcome by the need to sing, stood behind him, on the carpeted floor, swinging their arms and clicking their fingers at appropriate intervals.
"I want you Gen-ee B, I need you here with me. You know that I won't stop until I've got you. I want you Gen-ee B!"
Gen looked up, shocked at hearing her name, and saw Sirius. She stopped moping her robes in favour of gawping like some demented goldfish. Sirius was standing on his homework and quill, apparently absorbed in singing - singing to Gen. Latvia, still swaying, sung, in a low voice, "Yeah, he wants you Gen-ee B."
"I even know the place that you live, And I don't care who your boyfriend is, Cos one day it's gonna be me. And I think that I'm obsessed with you girl, Cos I copy everything you do now. And Butterbeer lets me taste you."
Gen moved towards Sirius, through the throng of gaping bystanders, to the foot of his table. Sirius reached down a hand to her, still singing.
"God must of spent a little more time on you, In school uniform you look so good." Gen blushed deep red. "And you say that you're not a girl, I'll make you a woman."
Taking Sirius' hand, Gen stepped up onto the table, still a bright shade of red. Professor Jones was squawking something about health and safety, but no one was listening. Sirius had turned so that he was still looking at Gen, and Gen at him.
"Every single thing you do, Every time I look at you, I become a slave for you. You drive me crazy. You know that I won't stop until I got you, I want you Gen-ee B."
"He wants you Gen-ee B." Latvia and James agreed.
"What the hell can I do To get closer to you? You can run, you can't hide, I'll make you feel good inside." He sung. Twice. But something else was happening; new music was splitting into the original.
"She's my psycho girl, My psycho girlfriend. Everything I say, She takes it the wrong way. She's my psycho girl, A living nightmare. She's got everything I need, But I can't stand her." Apparently Severus Snape had never taken singing lessons.
"Uh." Sirius looked puzzled. "Who invited you?"
"I can't change their thinking, And she's got rich family," he continued without acknowledging Sirius at all. "But just look at her! She's a Gryffindor!"
"Keep to the script!" Dumbledore scolded - although Sirius could have sworn the head teacher hadn't been there to start with.
"We see each other, We start fighting. Since I hate her I just make her pay." Sirius glared.
"What the hell can I do To get closer to you? You can run, you can't hide, I'll make you feel good inside." He repeated, in competition with Snape, keeping eye contact with the Slytherin boy.
"She's my psycho girl, My psycho girlfriend. Everything I say, She takes it the wrong way. She's my psycho girl, A living nightmare. She's got everything I need, But I can't stand her."
And then, as if to break up the fight, another set of music joined in, in a small space between the two others, and it was Gen's turn - she gave way to the force of song.
"The way you always make me look at you With all the crazy things you say. The way so many disasters surround you, And all the tears you seem able to take." Gen was, quite obviously, singing to Sirius. Snape looked put out.
"She's my psycho girl, My psycho girlfriend-"
"I want you Gen-ee B, I need you here with me. You know that I won't stop until I've got you. I want you Gen-"
"And now we're falling, Got nothing left to say? And I can't break free, Not from in me there. And I can't breathe without you-"
'BAM'. With one last climax, the song ended. Finally. The whole Divination class was in hysterics, and Snape backed away so as to avoid any unpleasant curses.
"Whoa. that was weird." Sirius sat down heavily on the edge of the table; Gen followed suit.
Latvia turned angrily to James and slapped him roughly around the face. "Why can't you ever do anything that romantic for me?"
* * *
Lunch, and apparently the whole school had heard about the singing fiasco. But no one was making much of a big deal about it; actually, it had been happening everywhere, and everyone was treating it like it was perfectly normal - a contrast to that morning, when it had seemed abnormally insane. Every now and then, someone would sing about something, and then everything would go back to normal. If you were lucky, you'd get the whole school joining in at the chorus. Remus poked his food elegantly around his plate, unaware of Valera and Ayla's constant gaze. Both were secretly hoping that, considering the strange new habit people had of jumping up and singing, they'd be serenaded by the socially retarded werewolf. So far, no luck. McGonagall was eating something green at the teacher's table, watching her students sternly. Ayla was growing fed up of waiting. She gave Remus a sharp prod.
"What?" he jumped, and turned to face her.
"Aren't you going to sing to anyone?"
"No."
"No one?"
"No."
"Isn't there anyone that you'd like to sing to?" she was practically begging to be serenaded.
"Actually." Remus replied, slowly, gazing at the girl as if he'd only just seen her, "Now that you mention it." still looking directly at her he climbed to his feet and backed away from the table. At last minute he swung around. Ayla, positive he was about to sing something to her, eagerly looked on as he produced a rose from up his sleeve (it must have been very uncomfortable) and climbed up to the teacher's table. And there - the familiar sound of music starting, somewhere off screen.
Remus didn't turn back to face Ayla.
"Her voice is echoed in my mind, I count the days till she is mine; Can't tell my friends cos they will laugh, I love a member of the staff."
Valera wailed, long and loud, and thwacked Ayla hard around the ear.
"This is your fault!"
"I fight my way to front of class, To get the best view of her ass; I drop a quill on the floor, She bends down and shows me more."
Yes, Remus was serenading - much to the distress of his admirers - Professor McGonagall.
"That's what I stay at school for, Even though it is a real bore. You can call me crazy, But I know that she craves me. That's what I stay at school for, Even though it is a real bore; Girlfriends, I haven't had any 'Cause I want Miss McGonagall-ee. That's what I stay at school for; That's what I stay at school for."
Ayla jumped up and pounded Valera on the nose.
"So she may be thirty-three, But that doesn't bother me; Her boyfriend threw her out," somewhere in the background, a host of several hundred sang 'this summer', "I find a reason to go round. I climb a tree outside her window To make sure she's alone, I see her in her underwear; I can't help but stop and stare."
Valera smashed a dinner plate over Ayla's head.
"Everyone that you teach all day knows your looking at me in a different way, I guess that's why my marks are getting so high; I can see those tell tale signs telling me that I was on your mind. I could see that you want it more when you told me that I'm what you stay at school for-"
"You're what I stay at school for!" McGonagall cried, happily, jumping up in a manner that sent her chair flying into the face of an innocent bystander. Professor Jones muttered something about health and safety.
"I dream. She's packed her bag its in the trunk, Looks like she's picked herself a hunk; We drive past school to say goodbye, My friends, they can't believe their eyes."
"STOP!" Valera, her nose dripped blood down her robes, jumped to her feet. "Remus, you want me, not that old bag!
"You're so fit, and you know it, And I only dream of you; 'Cause I've been brought up a witch, And you're a werewolf." The audience gasped. "Maybe you need somebody just like me; Don't turn me down 'cause I've got no broom and I've got no money..." she did an intricate dance step, "I asked you to dance at the disco But you said No! The whole world was watching and laughing On the day that I crashed and burned... At your feet!"
Ayla grabbed Valera's hair; the second girl shrieked. Ayla took over the song.
"Since the day you kissed me-"
"When was that?" Remus looked terrified that he'd forgotten something.
"Ok, ok! Since the day you dissed me, I'm feeling so pathetic, 'Cause the girls," she jerked a thumb at Valera, "well, they've ditched me, and its all because of... You and your friends are laughing at me now, you think that I'm nothing; Ask your brother what you're missing!"
"My brother? Do I have a brother?"
"Fine - picky, picky, picky. You and your friends are laughing at me now, you think that I'm nothing; Ask your father what you're missing."
"Eww, bad mental image." Valera kicked Ayla to the floor. "My turn.
"I asked you to dance at the disco, But you said No! The whole world was watching and laughing On the day that I crashed and burned... At your feet! Maybe you think that you're too good for me; Tonight, when you get to the Common Room, you're gonna see I know I've got something better than you, baby. I just haven't found it yet."
The music reached its climax, and grew almost silent; you could only just hear what was left of the music.
"'Cause I used to be the loser wolf, Who always ran away to sulk; No one took the time to know me, The kick me sign was always on me, Now everybody wants to know, What I do and where I go; At least they wont forget me, 'Cause I sang to Miss McGonagall-ee."
Then whole room went back to eating, and Valera stormed away to cry in the girls' toilets.
"Sheesh, that was harsh." James went back to eating.
Best Viewed After Reading 'To a Stranger'
Currently Unavailable - Link Supplied Upon Demand
----------------
Must Know Information~ Severus Snape and Gen Barrington are betrothed; an
arrangement made by their parents.
All lyrics in this scene have been adapted from Busted's tunes, and I don't
claim to own them.
----------------
Foreword
This 'parody' - or slightly insane To a Stranger spoof - takes place over a large span of time, and, for the sake of the storyline, I have not entered any hints to any of the storyline main-fic-wise. The Ayla, Remus and Valera storyline is merely for stories sake, and there is no guarantee that any of the contents shall occur in the main fic; the triangle pairing was created by, and I hope I remembered right, Manal and Kristina. I hope it's cringy.
Also, as requested by Kristina, there is a scene within this fic of Malfoy and Snape pairing; please, do not be disturbed; it is only a Musical.
Also, thanks to Kristina for the Voldemort-singing idea.
As I said before, this contains no hints and hardly any references to 'To a Stranger'.
----------------
Chapter One - The Busted Scenes
Sirius' head drooped; Divination, the ever boring subject. Professor Jones was currently declaring that James was going to die in precisely two weeks, due to a freak flute incident. Dull, dull, dull, dull, dull, dull, dull, dull, dull. Boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring. Sirius prodded his tealeaves with the tip of his quill, changing the large dog that was imaged, apparently, in his cup into a giant sledgehammer. Latvia had this uncanny knack of knowing exactly what all the tealeaf-reading symbols were, and recognising them in practise. Sirius didn't, and he didn't feel like being told that there was a grim in his cup and he should expect to die due to a. a. a strange accident involving a trombone. He'd rather be told that a sledgehammer symbolised that he'd kill his best friend than be told that, because he had a dog in his mug, he'd experience death by musical instrument. At least he could stop himself from killing his best friend. it was rather hard to keep yourself from dying. He dried his quill on Latvia's sleeve.
James rolled his eyes as Professor Jones moved away. "Can you believe that anyone would dare stuff a flute up my nose and arrange my brains in a different way?" James shook his head in desperation. "I didn't even think it was possible."
"It's not." Said the girl behind him, scornfully - a Hufflepuff named Janet. "You don't have any brains to rearranged."
"Gee, thanks." James raised an eyebrow at Sirius, as if to indicate that Janet was mad - unfortunately, Sirius seemed to find it amusing, and was laughing.
"Mr Grey!" Professor Jones shuffled over, all hunched and old looking. He reminded Sirius of a stooped tree. "What is it you find so funny? The fact your friend will die, your cousin will marry a fifty-year-old the year she leaves Hogwarts, or that." he paused to peer into Sirius' cup, ".you will kill Mr Porter and attack Mr Lupeen with a faulty broom stick?"
"All of them." Sirius laughed. "Latvia's in love with-" Latvia stamped on her cousin's foot; Sirius cried out in pain. "Latvia would never marry some wrinkly, and James isn't going to die because he has no brain to be rearranged. Oh, and I don't own a flute, so I can hardly kill James, can I?"
"Don't question the leaves!" Jones cried, obviously terrified, and shuffled away.
"Well done, Sirius." Janet hissed. "He'll give us extra homework now. You should have just let him tell you what your cup meant."
"Oh, shut up, Janice."
Janet blushed at the use of the name the Professor called her, and turned away to pass her cup up to Jones.
"These people all suck." Sirius muttered, tipping the contents of his cup into his hands and rolling the little leaves into a small, wet ball. Professor Jones was shuffling towards the front of the class, towards his desk, which was positioned right in front of the door. He aimed; he leaned back, tongue out in concentration. The perfect aim. He launched he small soggy tealeaf ball. The door opened. Professor Jones stepped around his desk to greet someone. The ball landed smack-bang on the visitor's stomach. Gen. Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but something else came out.
"Your face is everywhere I go, now, And you're not on television shows now, Baby I need you. You're everything I want in someone, But you don't know who I am; Baby, why should you?"
"Sirius?" Latvia asked, worried about her cousin's singing. Janet was wide eyed behind them, James gaping by Sirius' side. Gen was picking the small brown leaves from her clothes, and hadn't yet heard; after all, the music had only just started (from who knows where). Sirius stood up.
"Sweating all over your letters home, Reading every word in slow mo. Trackin' you down in the Common Room Cos you ain't seen me yet..." he leapt onto the table; James and Latvia, strangely overcome by the need to sing, stood behind him, on the carpeted floor, swinging their arms and clicking their fingers at appropriate intervals.
"I want you Gen-ee B, I need you here with me. You know that I won't stop until I've got you. I want you Gen-ee B!"
Gen looked up, shocked at hearing her name, and saw Sirius. She stopped moping her robes in favour of gawping like some demented goldfish. Sirius was standing on his homework and quill, apparently absorbed in singing - singing to Gen. Latvia, still swaying, sung, in a low voice, "Yeah, he wants you Gen-ee B."
"I even know the place that you live, And I don't care who your boyfriend is, Cos one day it's gonna be me. And I think that I'm obsessed with you girl, Cos I copy everything you do now. And Butterbeer lets me taste you."
Gen moved towards Sirius, through the throng of gaping bystanders, to the foot of his table. Sirius reached down a hand to her, still singing.
"God must of spent a little more time on you, In school uniform you look so good." Gen blushed deep red. "And you say that you're not a girl, I'll make you a woman."
Taking Sirius' hand, Gen stepped up onto the table, still a bright shade of red. Professor Jones was squawking something about health and safety, but no one was listening. Sirius had turned so that he was still looking at Gen, and Gen at him.
"Every single thing you do, Every time I look at you, I become a slave for you. You drive me crazy. You know that I won't stop until I got you, I want you Gen-ee B."
"He wants you Gen-ee B." Latvia and James agreed.
"What the hell can I do To get closer to you? You can run, you can't hide, I'll make you feel good inside." He sung. Twice. But something else was happening; new music was splitting into the original.
"She's my psycho girl, My psycho girlfriend. Everything I say, She takes it the wrong way. She's my psycho girl, A living nightmare. She's got everything I need, But I can't stand her." Apparently Severus Snape had never taken singing lessons.
"Uh." Sirius looked puzzled. "Who invited you?"
"I can't change their thinking, And she's got rich family," he continued without acknowledging Sirius at all. "But just look at her! She's a Gryffindor!"
"Keep to the script!" Dumbledore scolded - although Sirius could have sworn the head teacher hadn't been there to start with.
"We see each other, We start fighting. Since I hate her I just make her pay." Sirius glared.
"What the hell can I do To get closer to you? You can run, you can't hide, I'll make you feel good inside." He repeated, in competition with Snape, keeping eye contact with the Slytherin boy.
"She's my psycho girl, My psycho girlfriend. Everything I say, She takes it the wrong way. She's my psycho girl, A living nightmare. She's got everything I need, But I can't stand her."
And then, as if to break up the fight, another set of music joined in, in a small space between the two others, and it was Gen's turn - she gave way to the force of song.
"The way you always make me look at you With all the crazy things you say. The way so many disasters surround you, And all the tears you seem able to take." Gen was, quite obviously, singing to Sirius. Snape looked put out.
"She's my psycho girl, My psycho girlfriend-"
"I want you Gen-ee B, I need you here with me. You know that I won't stop until I've got you. I want you Gen-"
"And now we're falling, Got nothing left to say? And I can't break free, Not from in me there. And I can't breathe without you-"
'BAM'. With one last climax, the song ended. Finally. The whole Divination class was in hysterics, and Snape backed away so as to avoid any unpleasant curses.
"Whoa. that was weird." Sirius sat down heavily on the edge of the table; Gen followed suit.
Latvia turned angrily to James and slapped him roughly around the face. "Why can't you ever do anything that romantic for me?"
* * *
Lunch, and apparently the whole school had heard about the singing fiasco. But no one was making much of a big deal about it; actually, it had been happening everywhere, and everyone was treating it like it was perfectly normal - a contrast to that morning, when it had seemed abnormally insane. Every now and then, someone would sing about something, and then everything would go back to normal. If you were lucky, you'd get the whole school joining in at the chorus. Remus poked his food elegantly around his plate, unaware of Valera and Ayla's constant gaze. Both were secretly hoping that, considering the strange new habit people had of jumping up and singing, they'd be serenaded by the socially retarded werewolf. So far, no luck. McGonagall was eating something green at the teacher's table, watching her students sternly. Ayla was growing fed up of waiting. She gave Remus a sharp prod.
"What?" he jumped, and turned to face her.
"Aren't you going to sing to anyone?"
"No."
"No one?"
"No."
"Isn't there anyone that you'd like to sing to?" she was practically begging to be serenaded.
"Actually." Remus replied, slowly, gazing at the girl as if he'd only just seen her, "Now that you mention it." still looking directly at her he climbed to his feet and backed away from the table. At last minute he swung around. Ayla, positive he was about to sing something to her, eagerly looked on as he produced a rose from up his sleeve (it must have been very uncomfortable) and climbed up to the teacher's table. And there - the familiar sound of music starting, somewhere off screen.
Remus didn't turn back to face Ayla.
"Her voice is echoed in my mind, I count the days till she is mine; Can't tell my friends cos they will laugh, I love a member of the staff."
Valera wailed, long and loud, and thwacked Ayla hard around the ear.
"This is your fault!"
"I fight my way to front of class, To get the best view of her ass; I drop a quill on the floor, She bends down and shows me more."
Yes, Remus was serenading - much to the distress of his admirers - Professor McGonagall.
"That's what I stay at school for, Even though it is a real bore. You can call me crazy, But I know that she craves me. That's what I stay at school for, Even though it is a real bore; Girlfriends, I haven't had any 'Cause I want Miss McGonagall-ee. That's what I stay at school for; That's what I stay at school for."
Ayla jumped up and pounded Valera on the nose.
"So she may be thirty-three, But that doesn't bother me; Her boyfriend threw her out," somewhere in the background, a host of several hundred sang 'this summer', "I find a reason to go round. I climb a tree outside her window To make sure she's alone, I see her in her underwear; I can't help but stop and stare."
Valera smashed a dinner plate over Ayla's head.
"Everyone that you teach all day knows your looking at me in a different way, I guess that's why my marks are getting so high; I can see those tell tale signs telling me that I was on your mind. I could see that you want it more when you told me that I'm what you stay at school for-"
"You're what I stay at school for!" McGonagall cried, happily, jumping up in a manner that sent her chair flying into the face of an innocent bystander. Professor Jones muttered something about health and safety.
"I dream. She's packed her bag its in the trunk, Looks like she's picked herself a hunk; We drive past school to say goodbye, My friends, they can't believe their eyes."
"STOP!" Valera, her nose dripped blood down her robes, jumped to her feet. "Remus, you want me, not that old bag!
"You're so fit, and you know it, And I only dream of you; 'Cause I've been brought up a witch, And you're a werewolf." The audience gasped. "Maybe you need somebody just like me; Don't turn me down 'cause I've got no broom and I've got no money..." she did an intricate dance step, "I asked you to dance at the disco But you said No! The whole world was watching and laughing On the day that I crashed and burned... At your feet!"
Ayla grabbed Valera's hair; the second girl shrieked. Ayla took over the song.
"Since the day you kissed me-"
"When was that?" Remus looked terrified that he'd forgotten something.
"Ok, ok! Since the day you dissed me, I'm feeling so pathetic, 'Cause the girls," she jerked a thumb at Valera, "well, they've ditched me, and its all because of... You and your friends are laughing at me now, you think that I'm nothing; Ask your brother what you're missing!"
"My brother? Do I have a brother?"
"Fine - picky, picky, picky. You and your friends are laughing at me now, you think that I'm nothing; Ask your father what you're missing."
"Eww, bad mental image." Valera kicked Ayla to the floor. "My turn.
"I asked you to dance at the disco, But you said No! The whole world was watching and laughing On the day that I crashed and burned... At your feet! Maybe you think that you're too good for me; Tonight, when you get to the Common Room, you're gonna see I know I've got something better than you, baby. I just haven't found it yet."
The music reached its climax, and grew almost silent; you could only just hear what was left of the music.
"'Cause I used to be the loser wolf, Who always ran away to sulk; No one took the time to know me, The kick me sign was always on me, Now everybody wants to know, What I do and where I go; At least they wont forget me, 'Cause I sang to Miss McGonagall-ee."
Then whole room went back to eating, and Valera stormed away to cry in the girls' toilets.
"Sheesh, that was harsh." James went back to eating.