Of Mice and Morons
"Okay kids I think we lost the cops," John looked around from the bushes. They had all barely managed to get out of the Gut Burger before the authorities arrived. Soon they had high tailed it to the park in order to get the police of their tail. "But next time you kids start a food fight in a public restaurant make sure the owner doesn't have 911 on speed dial huh?"
"Well Pikachu started it," Tabitha grunted.
"Don't call me Pikachu!" Ray started to spark up again.
"Hey! Keep it down!" John snapped. "Last thing we need is for you maniacs to burn down the park. Well at least it's not raining and we got our exercise."
"Yeah but we're supposed to be in English class," Kurt said.
"Kid I'm here," John rolled his eyes. "It ain't like you're skipping or anything."
"We're not?" Jamie asked.
"Don't you know anything?" Bobby groaned. "It's skipping if the teacher doesn't know about it. If the teacher takes the class out of the classroom, it's a field trip."
"What kind of field trip for an English class has us running from the cops?" Rogue asked. "Oh yeah, a typical one for us. Ask a stupid question."
"Well maybe we should actually do some kind of book discussion so that we can say we actually did something," John thought aloud.
"Isn't that what started the food fight in the first place?" Rogue asked.
"Well maybe we should talk about a different book?" Jamie asked.
"What book would you like to talk about that you've read?" John asked.
"How about Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck?" Sam suggested. "That's a book we all read in English class."
"Pretty ironic because it also starts with the two main characters on the run from a lynch mob," John grunted.
"I hated that book," Rogue groaned. "It was so depressing!"
"Nearly all English books are depressing," Bobby remarked. "Haven't you noticed that?"
"Yeah but this one seems to go above and beyond the normal amount of depression you usually find," Rogue said.
"I hear ya," Thornn nodded. "I mean it's all about these two guys who just want to live on a farm peacefully and it ends up one of them blowing the other away."
"So much for the dreams always come true theory," Amara remarked.
"It has nothing to do with dreams coming true," Kurt told her. "Actually it's about the predatory nature of human existence."
"Huh?" Ray looked at him.
"Steinbeck was trying to show the harshness of the real world," Kurt continued. "How even the weakest of isolated characters finds power in cruelty."
"Oh yeah I hear what you're saying," Ray said. "Like that Crooks guy making fun of Lennie because he's a retard and then Curley's wife making trouble with Crooks because he's black and she's bored."
"Basically what Steinbeck is showing that the most visible kind of strength is to destroy those weaker than you are," Kurt said.
"Well isn't this a cheery book to read," John said sarcastically. "Does Xavier or anyone else in the educational system know anything about what these books are actually teaching kids?"
"Why do you think they're mandatory reading?" Rogue huffed. "Have you forgotten what it was like in high school?"
"Oh yeah all the popular students picking on the less popular ones," John said.
"And everyone made fun of us," Amara groaned. "Even the chess team baited us."
"Man that's gotta hurt," John sighed.
"Almost as much as it did to read that stupid book," Bobby groaned. "Was it just me or was there way too much foreshadowing in it?"
"Way too much foreshadowing!" Jubilee groaned.
"Yeah even I figured it out," Jamie said. "Lennie on the run for getting in trouble with a woman, Lennie killing a mouse by petting it too hard, Lennie killing a puppy, having the dumb dog get shot because it couldn't take care of itself…We get it already! Sheesh! I mean could it be more obvious that Lennie's gonna kill someone and end up getting killed by his best friend?"
"Yeah what a dumb book," Bobby said. "I mean who wants to even pet a stupid mouse anyway?"
"Well you have one on your leg," Thornn pointed. Sure enough a small brown mouse had climbed up onto Bobby's pants leg.
"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF ME!" Bobby screamed as he jumped up. He accidentally shot out a few ice beams from his hands in panic. "Don't let it bite me! Don't let it bite me! It has diseases and stuff!"
"Oh brother," Thornn grumbled as the mouse ran into the grass. "What a wuss. I've eaten rats that looked worse." Everyone looked at her. "Hey don't look at me like that! There aren't exactly any supermarkets in the tunnels you know?"
"Now I know I'm going to be sick!" Bobby groaned.
"And so is that guy when he defrosts," Rogue pointed. Bobby's blast had hit a park ranger who looked very chilly.
"Okay kids let's recreate that opening scene from Mice and Men where they're on the run again," John told them. "The object is to try to get back to class without being shot at."
Next: One of the most 'popular' authors gets discussed. Rhymes with Bakes Here…So what are your particular beefs with ol' Will? Let me know as I try to figure out how to bash a variety of his plays in one chapter!
