Chapter 5: Norry Goes to School
A/N: Okay, you can all go ahead and kill me now. I'M SO SORRY! I know this update has taken forever, but my plot bunnies have been forcing me to write LOTR stories more lately. Please, please, please forgive me!!!
Anyway, on with the story. And a great big THANK YOU goes out to those who have reviewed since my last update, as well as those who reviewed previous chapters, and those who read my story but don't leave reviews.
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Carrie's father was a zookeeper, and he kept a lot of his supplies in the basement. Carrie found a very powerful tranquilizer designed to work on elephants that we could use to sedate Jack-Monkey. He did calm down a bit, but it didn't knock him out totally. He was still able to walk. (Okay, it was more like a stagger, but we thought it could work.)
We then moved the party over to my house. We introduced James and Jack-Monkey to my mom, who barely blinked an eye at James' British Royal Navy uniform and his Spider Monkey companion.
"Just don't let the seeing-eye monkey poop on the carpet," she requested calmly.
Unfortunately, I didn't have an older brother from whom we could steal clothes from, but I did have a seven-year-old little brother. He was at soccer practice, so we were free to raid his closet. We took a few choice articles of clothing I didn't think Larry would miss and hoarded them in the guest room closet. Then we locked James and the monkey in and left them alone for the night. Carrie, Jack, Will, and Elizabeth returned to their own homes, wishing me luck.
The night passed without mishap, but the morning was a different story. It took me twenty minutes of chasing Jack-Monkey around the guest room until I could hold him still long enough to inject more tranquilizers in his little body. Then James threw a fit because I told him he couldn't wear his wig or his uniform or his sword to school. I finally persuaded him to step into some jeans (which were about six inches too short for him) and a yellow shirt (which was about six sizes too small for him) and styled his hair into a somewhat acceptable style. None of Larry's shoes would fit him, so we borrowed a pair of my father's dress shoes. James looked ridiculous, as if he had gotten dressed in the dark. . . or as if he was blind.
Which reminded me to find a pair of super dark sunglasses for him to wear, Stevie Wonder style. Then we strapped a vest onto Jack-Monkey, on which I had written: "Specially Trained Seeing-Eye Monkey. Please do not pet. On-duty." We took a dog collar and a leash and now we had Blind James and the Seeing Eye Monkey.
It was absurd. It would never work.
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"I can't believe it worked!" I exclaimed as we came out of the main office. I held in my hand a schedule identical to my own, except it said "James Norrington" at the top, instead of my name. The monkey, perhaps sensing my excitement, managed a feeble hop before he resumed dragging his feet down the hallway.
"Are you sure drugging the monkey was the best way to go? He's not really so bad, once you get to know him," Jack commented.
"It's better this way. Come on, we have to hurry, or we'll be late for first period!" Carrie urged.
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Jack spent first period in his usual place (the back of the room), while James spent his time drooling over Elizabeth. The rest of us acted pretty normally, which was a miracle. Even Jack-Monkey behaved himself.
The bell rang and we rushed off to second period. Jack had a cocky smile on his face and entered the classroom far ahead of any of us. When we got there, he was flirting with Ms. Pearle in the front of the room. She seemed very flustered and embarrassed, though oddly flattered. When James walked in, she did a double-take.
"Mr. Sparrow, please, take your seat at once. Now then, class, it looks like we have a new student. What is your name?" Ms. Pearle asked, looking at James. At first I couldn't believe what I was hearing. She actually sounded. . . nice. I hoped this wasn't the calm before the storm or something.
"I am Commodore James Norrington, British Royal Navy. At your service, ma'am," he said, bowing low. Some in the class snickered. I heard one girl sneer, "He actually thinks he's a commodore, like the guy in Pirates!" and bit my lip worriedly.
"Well James–" (the class gasped. She had called him James, not Mr. Norrington) "–welcome to my classroom. I hope you can enjoy this class." Ms. Pearle flashed a charming smile. More gasps were heard. Ms. Pearle smiling at someone was like winning the lottery- it just didn't happen to normal people!
"Why thank you, Ms. Pearle. I'm sure I will love learning under your careful guidance. This establishment is quite lucky to have such a fine specimen teaching these youngsters–"
I dragged him away from Ms. Pearle and into an empty chair before he said anything that would blow our whole cover.
"Wait just a second. James, why don't you tell the class a little bit about yourself and where you come form," Ms. Pearle requested.
The entire class was exchanging whispers of awe and suspicion. Ms. Pearle never sacrificed any class time, because it meant less torture for us. Why was she suddenly giving James the floor, allowing him to take up time in her class? I shuddered, wondering if this signaled that the end of the world was coming.
"I would be glad to," James said, stepping out of his seat and going to the front of the room. Jack-Monkey was dragged along behind him.
"If he's blind, how did he make it to the front of the room without tripping or anything?" one kid whispered.
"Why does that seeing-eye monkey look dead?" another whispered.
Carrie and I exchanged worried glances. Will and Elizabeth clasped hands, thinking the gig was up and they would be sent to prison in shame. Jack just took a discreet sip of rum from his flask, apparently not worried in the least.
"Good morning, students. As I said, I am Commodore James Norrington of the British Royal Navy. I am originally from England, but when our gracious Queen needed someone to guard the new colony of Port Royal established in the Caribbean, I was more than happy to oblige. I have spent many long years scouring the seas, ridding them of these wretched pirates that threaten the safety of my people," James said.
"How can you be a commodore if you're blind?" someone shouted.
A slight pink coloring spread across James' cheeks. He had realized his mistake too late. "Ahem. Ah, well, you see, children, when you have a dream, and you really put your mind to it, and work hard, it is possible to overcome even the toughest of disabilities. That's why I have this monkey! A guide dog would not do for being on the sea, but monkeys are perfect! That's why so many pirates keep them for pets!"
I breathed a sigh of relief. James had pulled through with a perfectly acceptable explanation. The guy was smarter than he looked… sometimes.
Ms. Pearle suddenly began applauding, much to the surprise of the entire class. And it was not the slow, sarcastic applause she often gave after someone fumbled through an oral presentation. This was real, genuine applause accompanied by a teary smile of pride and admiration.
"Oh, bravo, Commodore! Class, this is a perfect example of someone who was dealt a hardship and didn't let that stop him from succeeding. You should all hope to someday be half as good as Mr. Norrington here!" Ms. Pearle declared.
"Madam, your words are too kind! We British are a very strong people," James said sagely. He took his seat again and Ms. Pearle's smile turned sour again.
"All right, time to move on. Everyone pass in your homework! Except you of course, James," she said, smiling sweetly at James before glaring at the rest of the class. Like a hawk she watched us all take out our homework and pass it to the front of each row. Her death glare latched onto Jack, who, naturally, hadn't bothered to do his. "Mr. Sparrow, I see that you have decided that you are above such petty things as homework."
Jack frowned. "Well, lass, I jus' don't see the point in doin' it, seeing as you and I…"
"That's enough!" Ms. Pearle said quickly, before Jack could reveal anything about their 'relationship.' For a moment her composure seemed rattled and she patted her forehead with a handkerchief. But then her glare returned. "Mr. Sparrow, I would like to see you after class. And I expect your homework on my desk no later than 7:00 tomorrow morning."
"Captain Sparrow," he growled.
"Thank you, Mr. Sparrow," she said shortly.
I hid a giggle behind my hand. Apparently we were witnessing a lover's quarrel right in the middle of class. Oh man, I was really gonna miss Jack when he was gone!
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Next chapter: what happens when Jack-Monkey's tranquilizers wear off too soon? Oh dear…
This story is going to end soon. Very soon, I hope, because I'm not putting my all into writing it so it's kind of crap.
If you can find it in your heart to review my story even though I abandoned it, I will love you forever!!!!
