Gohan could hardly manage to push his breakfast down his throat. It tasted
awful, yet he still managed to eat a twelve course meal.
"Hey Gohan, maybe you should take it easy on the food. You don't look so well." Hiro said in Japanese.
"I'm ok." He said in reply. "The food here is terrible, that's all."
"We have double RE today." Drew groaned. "First and second period."
A lump of spaghetti and egg damper stuck to the back of Gohan's throat. RE, religious education, was the one thing Gohan knew he wouldn't be any good at. He wasn't catholic or even Christian and had no idea about anything to do with it. How would he manage in class?
"Who's the RE teacher?" Gohan asked as they made their way through the crowd.
"Brother Sydenham." Mitchell replied. "He used to come down to the junior school a lot last year. He's really strict so you better be careful of him."
"Uh oh." Gohan muttered to himself. It just hadn't been his week. Thank god it was Friday and he had the whole weekend to relax.
The class gathered in a small classroom to the edge of the main school building. Gohan sat beside Greg and leaned over to whisper into his ear.
"So...um. Could you tell me about this catholic stuff?"
Greg stared at him as if Gohan had just asked him to do the impossible. "You're kidding!"
"No. Dead serious."
But they had no more time to discuss as Brother Sydenham entered the room, dumping several heavy documents on the table.
"Welcome to RE. The most important subject in Ellawin. Why do you ask? Because as we are at a catholic school, it is my duty as teacher to ensure that you get a proper understanding of Jesus our lord."
Jesus? Gohan thought to himself, who is Jesus?
"Now," Brother Sydenham said, reaching for a bible. "I will pick random people to answer these questions. You will stand up, tell me your name and answer me promptly, do you understand?"
"Yes." The class answered like mindless drones.
Brother Sydenham scanned the classroom with piecing blue eyes.
"You girl." He said, pointing to Vicky. "How many disciples did Jesus have?"
A sigh of relief echoed through the classroom.
"This will be easy." Gohan heard someone whisper. Not likely! Gohan didn't have the slightest idea about any of this Christian stuff.
"Victoria Henderson. Twelve." Vicky answered.
"And you." He pointed to Daniel. "Where was Jesus born?"
"Daniel Clay. Bethlehem." Daniel answered.
Gohan was really worrying now.
"What about you?" Brother Sydenham said, pointing to Gohan. "Does God have a name other than 'God'?"
Thank goodness! Gohan could answer this one. "Gohan Son. God is kind of the head of the other world right? So that must mean the answer is...King Yama."
The class laughed and Gohan flushed, realizing he had said the wrong thing. Brother Sydenham eyed him cruelly.
"What religion are you Gohan Son?"
"I don't really have a religion." Gohan replied. "To tell you the truth, I don't know anything about Christians."
Brother Sydenham didn't look at all impressed. "You should have just said so, Gohan. You didn't have to make up things just to be creative. Creativity belongs in English class and not here."
"But it is true." Gohan said, offended. "King Yama runs other world. That's where my dad is. And he's told me that when you get there, you either stay in other world or go to the HFIL depending on if you've been good or bad and..."
Gohan trailed off, realizing what he had just said. Brother Sydenham looked utterly disgusted.
"Gohan. This is a catholic school where we do not tolerate such absurd behavior. You obviously have quiet an imagination but you definitely need to learn proper respect for the catholic religion. I will let you off the hook this time but if you put a toe out of line again, you will serve the worst detention of your life. With me."
Gohan felt so relived when the bell rang at lunch time. Though he felt a little uncomfortable when Drew bombarded him with questions.
"Did you really mean all of that? About the other world and stuff?"
Gohan didn't reply, but starred at his shoes, afraid to look his friend in the eye.
"Gohan, is you're dad really dead?" Mitchell asked as he and the others hurried to catch up to them.
That was something Gohan could answer. "He died a year ago, before my little brother was born."
"Gosh. I'm sorry."
That ended the conversation and the six boys made their way to the dining room in silence.
*****
"Poor Gohan." Vicky sighed as she and Faye came out of the RE classroom. "All he was trying to do is make RE a little more interesting for everybody. And then Brother Sydenham goes and crushes all of his creative energy. So tragic."
"Whatever." Faye replied vaguely. It didn't really bother her if Brother Sydenham wanted to crush all of Gohan's creative energy. She was more concerned about what Gohan had said.
*****
The final lesson of the day arrived. PE, physical education. Gohan shook nervously as he bashfully got changed in the boys changing rooms, remembering what his mother had said about keeping his Sayian abilities hidden.
"Hurry up Gohan, it's not like there's heaps of girls here. Just take your shirt off and put on your PE uniform." Drew called.
Gohan nervously took off his shirt and hurried to pick up his gray tank top sports uniform. But not quickly enough.
"Oh wow, look at Gohan!" Mitchell called as Gohan hurriedly reached for his PE shorts. "You must work out, huh?"
Gohan blushed. "My family is into Martial arts. I was trained to be a good fighter when I was younger."
The impatient PE teacher rapped on the door.
"Hurry up boys or we'll start without you."
They hurried out of the changing room to meet with the girls on the other side. Most of which, couldn't tear their eyes away from Gohan.
"Today, we're going to play baseball. I want four even teams of both boys and girls. We'll have two matches going and the winning teams will verse each other, as will the losing teams. Everyone understand?"
She didn't wait for a reply.
"Good. Now hurry up and get into teams."
Gohan and his five friends got into a team together. They were joined by Vicky, Faye and three other giggling blonde haired girls named Hannah, Kylie and Emily. Their team was put up against another and they set out to the field to play.
"We're fielding first." Daniel said, taking leadership over his team as he usually did in sports. "So we need three people to go right back, four in front and the rest of you on the bases. Spread out people!"
Gohan took to the back as he thought the ball wouldn't often come his way if he did. He stood with Hiro and Vicky, who came as close to him as she dared. In his PE uniform, Gohan saw that Hiro too, must have worked out a lot back in Japan.
The first batter came up. Daniel pitched the ball and the batter hit it with tremendous force so it flew gracefully over the others heads; right into Gohan's outstretched arms.
"That's out!" The PE teacher shouted. "Good work, Gohan."
The next batter was caught out by Hiro, who charged in front of Gohan to grab it. Gohan didn't see what was so important about chasing a ball around a field, so he gratefully let Hiro step in.
Hiro, thinking he had just achieved something great, smirked broadly at his Japanese friend and gave him a competitive shove. Accepting the challenge, Gohan dived for the ball and caught it.
This rivalry between the two continued throughout the game. Gohan and Hiro lunged themselves at every ball and caught each one. Not one person on the other team managed to get it.
Finally, it was changeover time. Drew, Daniel, Mitchell and Greg leapt about with joy.
"They didn't get one run. Not one! We're going to win!"
Hiro was up first to bat. He sent the ball sailing across the pitch and into the wire fence that enclosed the fields. Gohan, getting too rapped up in his completion with Hiro, forgot to keep his power concealed in an effort to beat Hiro.
He hit the ball with a quarter of his force, sending it hurtling at a lighting fast speed. People dived to get it, but missed. Until the ball landed straight into a girl, who hadn't been paying attention. She flew back, crashing into the wall.
Everyone gasped and the startled PE teacher rushed to help the girl to her feet. She was covered in blood and crying uncontrollably.
Terrified, but relieved he hadn't killed her, Gohan hurried to help her, but the PE teacher pushed him away.
"You're a danger to humanity, kid." She said in shock. "Promise me you won't join up for any sports. For the sake of the other children."
The bell rang, signaling the end of the school week. Gohan trudged sadly back to the changing rooms with his friends desperately trying to comfort him.
"I have to admit, that was cool." Drew said, trying to cheer him up. "You're really powerful, Gohan."
"Perhaps too powerful." He sighed, wondering what he could do to help the girl he injured.
"Thank God it's Friday." Drew said as they changed back into their uniforms.
"Yeah." Gohan agreed. "Thank God it's Friday."
"Hey Gohan, maybe you should take it easy on the food. You don't look so well." Hiro said in Japanese.
"I'm ok." He said in reply. "The food here is terrible, that's all."
"We have double RE today." Drew groaned. "First and second period."
A lump of spaghetti and egg damper stuck to the back of Gohan's throat. RE, religious education, was the one thing Gohan knew he wouldn't be any good at. He wasn't catholic or even Christian and had no idea about anything to do with it. How would he manage in class?
"Who's the RE teacher?" Gohan asked as they made their way through the crowd.
"Brother Sydenham." Mitchell replied. "He used to come down to the junior school a lot last year. He's really strict so you better be careful of him."
"Uh oh." Gohan muttered to himself. It just hadn't been his week. Thank god it was Friday and he had the whole weekend to relax.
The class gathered in a small classroom to the edge of the main school building. Gohan sat beside Greg and leaned over to whisper into his ear.
"So...um. Could you tell me about this catholic stuff?"
Greg stared at him as if Gohan had just asked him to do the impossible. "You're kidding!"
"No. Dead serious."
But they had no more time to discuss as Brother Sydenham entered the room, dumping several heavy documents on the table.
"Welcome to RE. The most important subject in Ellawin. Why do you ask? Because as we are at a catholic school, it is my duty as teacher to ensure that you get a proper understanding of Jesus our lord."
Jesus? Gohan thought to himself, who is Jesus?
"Now," Brother Sydenham said, reaching for a bible. "I will pick random people to answer these questions. You will stand up, tell me your name and answer me promptly, do you understand?"
"Yes." The class answered like mindless drones.
Brother Sydenham scanned the classroom with piecing blue eyes.
"You girl." He said, pointing to Vicky. "How many disciples did Jesus have?"
A sigh of relief echoed through the classroom.
"This will be easy." Gohan heard someone whisper. Not likely! Gohan didn't have the slightest idea about any of this Christian stuff.
"Victoria Henderson. Twelve." Vicky answered.
"And you." He pointed to Daniel. "Where was Jesus born?"
"Daniel Clay. Bethlehem." Daniel answered.
Gohan was really worrying now.
"What about you?" Brother Sydenham said, pointing to Gohan. "Does God have a name other than 'God'?"
Thank goodness! Gohan could answer this one. "Gohan Son. God is kind of the head of the other world right? So that must mean the answer is...King Yama."
The class laughed and Gohan flushed, realizing he had said the wrong thing. Brother Sydenham eyed him cruelly.
"What religion are you Gohan Son?"
"I don't really have a religion." Gohan replied. "To tell you the truth, I don't know anything about Christians."
Brother Sydenham didn't look at all impressed. "You should have just said so, Gohan. You didn't have to make up things just to be creative. Creativity belongs in English class and not here."
"But it is true." Gohan said, offended. "King Yama runs other world. That's where my dad is. And he's told me that when you get there, you either stay in other world or go to the HFIL depending on if you've been good or bad and..."
Gohan trailed off, realizing what he had just said. Brother Sydenham looked utterly disgusted.
"Gohan. This is a catholic school where we do not tolerate such absurd behavior. You obviously have quiet an imagination but you definitely need to learn proper respect for the catholic religion. I will let you off the hook this time but if you put a toe out of line again, you will serve the worst detention of your life. With me."
Gohan felt so relived when the bell rang at lunch time. Though he felt a little uncomfortable when Drew bombarded him with questions.
"Did you really mean all of that? About the other world and stuff?"
Gohan didn't reply, but starred at his shoes, afraid to look his friend in the eye.
"Gohan, is you're dad really dead?" Mitchell asked as he and the others hurried to catch up to them.
That was something Gohan could answer. "He died a year ago, before my little brother was born."
"Gosh. I'm sorry."
That ended the conversation and the six boys made their way to the dining room in silence.
*****
"Poor Gohan." Vicky sighed as she and Faye came out of the RE classroom. "All he was trying to do is make RE a little more interesting for everybody. And then Brother Sydenham goes and crushes all of his creative energy. So tragic."
"Whatever." Faye replied vaguely. It didn't really bother her if Brother Sydenham wanted to crush all of Gohan's creative energy. She was more concerned about what Gohan had said.
*****
The final lesson of the day arrived. PE, physical education. Gohan shook nervously as he bashfully got changed in the boys changing rooms, remembering what his mother had said about keeping his Sayian abilities hidden.
"Hurry up Gohan, it's not like there's heaps of girls here. Just take your shirt off and put on your PE uniform." Drew called.
Gohan nervously took off his shirt and hurried to pick up his gray tank top sports uniform. But not quickly enough.
"Oh wow, look at Gohan!" Mitchell called as Gohan hurriedly reached for his PE shorts. "You must work out, huh?"
Gohan blushed. "My family is into Martial arts. I was trained to be a good fighter when I was younger."
The impatient PE teacher rapped on the door.
"Hurry up boys or we'll start without you."
They hurried out of the changing room to meet with the girls on the other side. Most of which, couldn't tear their eyes away from Gohan.
"Today, we're going to play baseball. I want four even teams of both boys and girls. We'll have two matches going and the winning teams will verse each other, as will the losing teams. Everyone understand?"
She didn't wait for a reply.
"Good. Now hurry up and get into teams."
Gohan and his five friends got into a team together. They were joined by Vicky, Faye and three other giggling blonde haired girls named Hannah, Kylie and Emily. Their team was put up against another and they set out to the field to play.
"We're fielding first." Daniel said, taking leadership over his team as he usually did in sports. "So we need three people to go right back, four in front and the rest of you on the bases. Spread out people!"
Gohan took to the back as he thought the ball wouldn't often come his way if he did. He stood with Hiro and Vicky, who came as close to him as she dared. In his PE uniform, Gohan saw that Hiro too, must have worked out a lot back in Japan.
The first batter came up. Daniel pitched the ball and the batter hit it with tremendous force so it flew gracefully over the others heads; right into Gohan's outstretched arms.
"That's out!" The PE teacher shouted. "Good work, Gohan."
The next batter was caught out by Hiro, who charged in front of Gohan to grab it. Gohan didn't see what was so important about chasing a ball around a field, so he gratefully let Hiro step in.
Hiro, thinking he had just achieved something great, smirked broadly at his Japanese friend and gave him a competitive shove. Accepting the challenge, Gohan dived for the ball and caught it.
This rivalry between the two continued throughout the game. Gohan and Hiro lunged themselves at every ball and caught each one. Not one person on the other team managed to get it.
Finally, it was changeover time. Drew, Daniel, Mitchell and Greg leapt about with joy.
"They didn't get one run. Not one! We're going to win!"
Hiro was up first to bat. He sent the ball sailing across the pitch and into the wire fence that enclosed the fields. Gohan, getting too rapped up in his completion with Hiro, forgot to keep his power concealed in an effort to beat Hiro.
He hit the ball with a quarter of his force, sending it hurtling at a lighting fast speed. People dived to get it, but missed. Until the ball landed straight into a girl, who hadn't been paying attention. She flew back, crashing into the wall.
Everyone gasped and the startled PE teacher rushed to help the girl to her feet. She was covered in blood and crying uncontrollably.
Terrified, but relieved he hadn't killed her, Gohan hurried to help her, but the PE teacher pushed him away.
"You're a danger to humanity, kid." She said in shock. "Promise me you won't join up for any sports. For the sake of the other children."
The bell rang, signaling the end of the school week. Gohan trudged sadly back to the changing rooms with his friends desperately trying to comfort him.
"I have to admit, that was cool." Drew said, trying to cheer him up. "You're really powerful, Gohan."
"Perhaps too powerful." He sighed, wondering what he could do to help the girl he injured.
"Thank God it's Friday." Drew said as they changed back into their uniforms.
"Yeah." Gohan agreed. "Thank God it's Friday."