Common Virtue

June 23rd 1941

It was lunch time on Monday when Courtney sat alone in the yard again. She hadn't dared to bring her book with her to school to read as the other children played, she didn't want it getting damaged. Instead she sat, her eyes closed, back against the school building wall, wandering what was going on at home. Her mother hadn't written back to her, though it had only been two days, Courtney doubted she had even recieved the letter yet. She wasn't exactly getting her hopes up on a reply, mother was probably very busy.

Before school that morning, Courtney had tried to bribe Mrs. Evans into letting her stay home. It was almost time for the summer holidays, and it would be better if Courtney started fresh in the new school year in September. Mrs. Evans told her not to be so silly, she still needed to finish this school years work. Courtney was just hoping she still wouldn't be stuck in Wales by the start of the new school year. The thought of having to uproot back to her old school and explain to her teachers that what she learnt while she was away was embarrassing. These children were no where near as interlectual as the children at Courtney' school, and the thought of having to admit she was behind on her school work did not sit well with her.

But yet, here she was, sitting around, wasting her time.

"Courtney?" Courtney opened one eye, staring up at the red faced girl calling her name. She recognised her from class, one of the snobby girls that never bothered to pay her any attention. "Do you want to come play with us?"

"No thank you." And she closed her eyes again, leaning her head back and pretending to take a nap.

"But we're playing Stuck in The Mud, everyone loves playing that!" Courtney heaved a sigh; this girl was just not getting it.

"Listen, Beth-"

"I'm Bridgette," the blonde girl smiled. "Beth's the one with pigtails."

"Whatever," Courtney mumbled, getting to her feet. "Bridgette, I do not want to play your stupid game. I have better things to do."

"But it's Stuck In The Mud!" Bridgette cried, not quite understanding how anyone would pass up an opportunity to play the game. Courtney had watched them playing it last week during lunch, but she didn't have the slightest clue what it was about. They all looked so stupid stanidng there like scarecrows.

"I think Courtney's too scared to play," an unwelcomed voice spoke up from not too far away. Courtney quickly snapped her head in Duncan's direction, senidng him a glare that should have melted his brain. Of course, lacking a brain, Duncan simply smirked back in Courtney's direction. "I don't think she'd be any good at it, Bridge-y, leave her 'sleep'."

"I would too be good at it!"

"So you'll play?" The young blonde's face lit up with a wide-toothed smile, her hands clasped together in joy. Courtney was still staring with narrow eyes at Duncan, while the other kids were shouting at them to hurry so they could continue to play.

"Fine, I'll play," Courtney grumbled. Duncan ran back off to the others as Bridgette xplained the rules to Courtney. There are two taggers and if they tag you then you're stuck in the mud with your arms and legs in a star shape. You only become unstuck if one of the non-taggers runs under your arms or legs.

Pointless.

That was Courtney's first thought. Pointless. There was no point to this game and that was that. But, deep down,though she wouldn't have ever admitted it, she was glad Bridgette had asked her to play (less glad that Duncan got involved) because she knew that she needed someone to give her a push.

They picked one girl and one boy to be the taggers. The girl, Heather, was the leader of the snobby girl group. She hadn't even looked in Courtney's direction since she agreed to join the game. Geoff, the boy, Courtney knew as the other evacuee. He had settled in a lot better than Courtney had.

Duncan called ready, set, go and everyone started running. Courtney followed Bridgette in circles mostly, not sure what she was doing. She was easily tagged by Heather, who did seem to be chasing after Courtney more than the other kids. Bridgette quickly ducked under Courtney's arm once Heather was, smugly, running around the other side of the yard.

The children were laughing, giggling, chasing each other in circles around their cramped space. Courtney ducked under some of their arms while others ducked under hers. Her heart felt elated and she had this strange, jittery feeling in her stomach that she'd never had before. But she was having fun.

By their third round of new taggers, Courtney and Duncan had been chosen. Duncan grabbed Courtney's arm, whispering a plan in her ear. Apparently he did not do things by halves. Quickly and soundly, the whole class was running around once again. Courtney was putting Duncan's plan into action of them starting with one person and tagging anyone that got too close to them. Eventually they won, just as the bell ringer came out. Duncan held his hand up high towards Courtney, a wide grin on his face. Courtney smiled shyly back, slapping her palm against his before following her fellow pupils back to class.

The clock struck three and everyone cheered, glad to get the first day of the week over with. Courtney grabbed at her napsack, slinging it over her head, the strap resting on her left shoulder, and headed for the door. Usually she walked home alone, following behind Duncan who knew the way, but as soon as she made it into the yard, Bridgette came running up behind her.

The young blonde girl began to chat idly, to which Courtney nodded her head, not paying too much attention. She mentioned that she lived in town, which Courtney passed through to get back to the farm. The other evacuee, Geoff, was staying a few houses down from her with one of the other boys in their class. He'd managed to fit in quickly because a lot of the class lived in town, while only two (three including Courtney) classmates didn't.

Courtney knew that Duncan didn't travel into town outside of school often, he usually spent his days hanging around the farm. She wondered if he missed his friends, though she guessed if he did he would have made more of an effort to go see them on the weekends.

Bridgette continued to talk about nothing important, until they reached her turning and she waved goodbye to Courtney and ran after the girl Courtney guessed to be Beth by the way Bridgette shouted her name.

The young girl craned her neck, looking to see if she could spot Duncan anywhere, but he was no where to be found. Courtney knew the way back to the farm fairly well, and figured she could always ask for directions if she did get lost, so she set off without him, only to find him sitting under one of the trees in the first field out of town.

Courtney stopped to stare at him, placing both her feet on the bottom plank of the wooden that encased the field. It gave her a better view, though it also made her be seen.

"What you looking at?" Duncan grumbled, his high spirits obviously deflated. Courtney shrugged in response, not giving her usual witty remark. She jumped down from the fence and began to walk off again, only to hear the creak of the fence as Duncan jumped it behind her.

This time around, he was the one following her home, as if he'd lost his way since this morning. But Courtney didn't mind. She was still smiling from dinner time, and she continued to smile the whole way home.

When they got the farm, four miles away from the school, Mrs. Evans greeted them with a solom smile. Davey and Dale were sitting at the table, a white letter sat between them. Duncan took one look and knew what it was, and Courtney sank into the background.

A/N: Two things.

1) Yes, I did always plan to have Bridgette and Geoff in this. Bridgette as one of the girls who followed Heather around and Geoff as the other evacuee.

2) The high-five did not get popularized until the 70's but you know what? Duncan and Courtney are way ahead of their game anyway ;)

Thanks for reading, please review (:

Love, ChloeRhiannonX