Hello readers!
Since I am in such a great mood, I have decided to update early, even though I have received no comments or feedback regarding the last few chapters. I love feedback, and I'm not scary, so please review! As the name of the chapter suggest, we are now up to the 'The Military' scene, which is a little more developed than the musical. It also combines the lyrics of the Broadway version and Off Broadway version, just in case some of the lyrics weren't familiar to you. I wrote this a few weeks ago, when I actually had free time, which also brings me to tell you that I might not update as much as I have been, because I have been having lots of school work and I don't want to get behind on my subjects. But don't worry! Chapters 8, 9 and 10 have already been written, so they will come in much quicker. And I'll try and update as quickly as time can allow me to.
Disclaimer: I do not own Seussical, it characters or its musical numbers. I also don't own any of the Seuss books, characters or the movies based upon them. They belong to their respective owners. I only own Kirsty, Cith, and some of the small OCs present in this chapter.
Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Sophie
Chapter 7: An Unordinary Academy
The sun shone through the window, signalling the start of a brand new day. Kirsty stretched and rubbed her eyes, still half asleep, all her Thinking yesterday draining her energy.
"Good morning, sweetheart. Did you have a good sleep last night?"
Kirsty nodded, seeing Mrs Mayor at her bedroom door. "That's good to know, because you'll need it today. Your teachers have decided to remove your suspension, and have told us you can return to school today! Isn't that wonderful?"
"School?" she repeated slowly, the foreign word rolling uncomfortably off her tongue. She had read books and had learnt a bit about what mainstream schools were like, but had never been or seen a real one before. Would she fit in? Would she even make any friends? The last question she highly doubted herself, knowing she wasn't that good at socialising with people at all, let alone kids her age.
Mrs Mayor smiled, as she handed her daughter a package. Opening it, Kirsty found inside a female uniform in a royal shade of blue. "This is yours. We bought it yesterday after the meeting. Hopefully it fits you; it was rather hard to find something exactly to your size at such short notice. Here, come downstairs and have some breakfast, then I do your hair for you and help you with your uniform!"
Her mother took her hand, and led her downstairs to the dining room, to find her father sitting at the table, having breakfast, next to a young man she'd never seen before. He looked to be a few years older than her, but his eyes looked much older and wiser.
"Morning, my two beautiful girls!" Mr. Mayor's words broke Kirsty's stare, to where she realised she had been staring long at the unknown man, so she quickly moved her gaze to her father, before sitting down at a seat. "Kirsty, I would like you to meet Mr Hamilton, your new tutor and assistant."
"Thank you for the introduction, Mr. Mayor," he said, looking Kirsty straight in the eye. "And you must be the Mayor's lost daughter, I assume?" She nodded slightly, those eyes of his making her feel slightly dizzy. "A little shy, isn't she? To make you feel more comfortable, you can call me Cith if you want. After all, that's what most people call me, instead of using my full name, Christopher Isaac Traumanis Hamilton. Can cause a lot of dramas, especially at functions…" He laughed at his inside joke, slightly under his breath, trying to keep his professional act. "As your father mentioned, my job is to help and assist you as my role as your family's personal butler."
"He is also here to help you with your studies," Mrs Mayor added. "Being an exceptional young role model, he will be most helpful, since all the information is fresh in his mind and it was only a few years ago when he was in your position, and he'll greatly help you reach your full potential. Am I right, Mr Hamilton?"
Cith bowed his head in respect. "Thank you for your praises, Mrs Mayor. I hope that I will live up to your high expectations of me. As for your daughter, I'm sure she has a strong future ahead of her." His last words caught Kirsty's attention, which seemed to slightly quiver, as if they weren't as sincere as they were made out to be.
Before Kirsty could speak, her father put his hands on her shoulders. "Well, I hope you a marvellous day at school. I wish I could take you, but I have an appointment with the council in less than an hour." He kissed his wife on the cheek. "I'll see you soon, my darling. Mr Hamilton? My belongings, if you please."
"Yes, Mr. Mayor." Immediately, Cith rose from his seat, picked up the Mayor's briefcase and his own bag and hat, and followed him out the door.
"You'd think that yesterday never happened," Mrs Mayor sighed, getting up from her seat, talking to herself. After pondering for a few moments, she lead her daughter, who was now standing, upstairs. "Now, we'd better get you ready. First impressions are very important." She stopped half way up the stairs, taking in the moment. "Trust me when I say this Kirsty, both you and I will never forget this moment. This is the day everything will change, for the better!"
"If I may have your attention, class. I have some exciting news to tell you."
The classroom slowly became quiet, each of the twenty student's eyes fixed on their homeroom teacher. She pushed up her thin red rimmed glasses, and continued to address the students. "Now, we are fortunate to have a new student joining our school today. Many of you will have her in some of your classes, so I would like you to make her feel very welcome and if some of you would be so kind as to show her around, I would be very grateful. She is due to arrive any minute now-"
The doors slowly opened, a much older man coming into the room. "Ms Anderson, I have your new student here." Behind him stood a timid Who girl, Kirsty, who was dressed simular to most of the girls in the room, consisting of a royal blue knee length pleated skirt, short sleaved collared shirt, white stockings and a short blue blazer.
"Principal Harrington!" Ms Anderson looked flustered. "You're meant to be in your office! She didn't disturb you, did she?"
He shook his head, a smile creeping onto his face. "Not at all. I was getting some air when I found her wandering around. Whoever was scheduled to welcome her in must have forgotten that our new student was the daughter of our Mayor, as they were nowhere in sight. So I took it upon myself to lead her to her first class." The principal looked to the Kirsty, his gentle yet overenthusiastic smile making her feel more uncomfortable, along with the multiple gasps from around the room. "Remember," he whispered to her. "If you ever have any troubles or don't know where to go, I want you to come and find me. Understand?" She nodded slightly, as the principal smiled again and left.
"Class 9A, I would like to introduce you to Kirsty, the new student in our class." Kirsty didn't say anything, trying to hide her nerves. Some of the class, a few girls in the second row, giggled, causing Ms Anderson to give a look of warning to them, before turning to her new student. "Now, if you could just quickly find a seat, then we can go on with the rest of briefing before the whole school assembly." Walking silently through the class, Kirsty reached the row second from the back, and sat down on an empty seat, trying not to make eye contact with anyone else in the room.
"Is it true you fell through the roof of the council hall?" a high pitched voice made Kirsty look from the board to a seat diagonally in front of her, where a girl with curly reddish brown hair tied up like a fountain was staring right at her.
A girl with honey coloured hair turned around, her eyes burning into Kirsty's. "So, you're the Mayor's daughter. They must have big hopes for you. A shame your image doesn't match the background."
"Davina Whovier and Portia Quilligan, you would be much better to stop gossiping and listen to what we are discussing, or would you like to stay in after school and listen then?" Ms Anderson raised an eyebrow, her voice raising. They quickly turned back around, not looking at Kirsty until the bell rang, signalling for everyone to proceed to the auditorium for a whole campus assembly. From what her timetable she had been given from the principal read, campus assemblies were only held on Mondays and Fridays, and today was Wednesday, so Kirsty was quite curious as to what was so important that they couldn't wait two days to explain.
After stopping to fix her hair, trying not to look at it and create the urge to restyle it to one that wasn't so extreme, she turned to where all the other students were going to when she walked straight into someone, his bag and books flying everywhere.
By instinct and of complete embarrassment, Kirsty swept up the books that had landed by her feet and passed them to him. Seeing her face, the boy nearly dropped the books in shock. Kirsty however, didn't seem to realise who had just passed her, having a possible memory lapse, and was a little confused when he so quickly rushed off. And to almost think that could had survived entire day without creating an accident. Oh well, I can always try tomorrow…
With that, she continued on, heading towards the west wing building to the assembly hall, where student younger and older than her were beginning to find a seat in their respective areas. Looking around, she found Cith, who was standing next to the principal and an older man in a military uniform, his huge hat, countless medals and intimidating presence indicating his high position. Even before she could even wonder why her tutor was at her school, her question was answered, with the Mayor and his wife coming into view, along with the head chairman, his sharp almost black eyes still in her mind from the day before.
Before she could sit down, one of the junior year teachers grabbed her hand. "Miss? Please, follow me to your seat. Your parents are expecting you."
"Uh, okay…" She wasn't sure what else to say, so she just followed the woman as she took her to where the Mayor and his wife were sitting. "What's going on? Why are you both here?"
"Just take a seat." The chairmen ordered, harshly forcing her to her seat. It didn't take long for the assembly to start, as when the older man she had seen only minutes ago stood, a military beat started playing.
"I'm General Genghis Kahn Schmitz," he announced. "I scare children out of their wits. But you'll see at a glance, sir, my school is the answer for shirkers and dreamers and twits." He had been pacing the left side of the room, occasionally glancing at students. He then stopped in one of the middle rows, turning his gaze to a boy sitting on an aisle seat, who was sweating with fear. "And in this case, I'd say the shoe fits!" The General picked the boy up from his seat, shouting out orders. "Ten hut! Feet together. Chin up. Eyes on the prize, forward ... Harch!"
The boy raised an eyebrow, not having a single clue what he had to do. Seeing this, the General pushed him, the teen beginning to march in a gawky fashion. "The military academy is the place where he should be sent. We'll drill the silliness from his head, I'm sure we'll make a dent! We'll teach him fighting and left and righting until he's muscled and tan!" He stopped to observe the boy. "A-hut-two-three! He's pathetic! A-hut-two-three! Unathletic! A-hut-two-three! But I'm betting we can! The military! That's what makes a boy... a man!"
At that moment, a group of over twenty older boys entered the room from the side doors, wearing a green and gold military uniform and each had a sword in hand, giving off the impression they must have been cadets. "Schmitz, Schmitz, Schmitz, Schmitz, Schmitz, Schmitz, Schmitz, Schmitz," they all chanted, marching in perfect unison, making the poor boy next to the General look completely useless.
For this whole time, Kirsty had been watching the boy, wide eyed. She quickly flashed her eyes across the room, again and again, not believing what she was seeing. Even though this was all new to her, she was interested as to why everyone was just sitting there silently, not reacting at all. Was this something normal, or did they see the same thing as she was seeing?
"The military's extraordinary good for somebody meek," the General continued, all the cadets marching into their position. "He'll bunk with bullies who beat him up-"
"At least three times a week!" The cadets added.
"He'll sweat and shiver and eat raw liver. It's all a part of the plan!" Schmitz explained, coming back up the front.
"A-Hut-Two-Three!"
"When they suffer,"
"A-Hut-Two-Three!"
"Boys get tougher!"
"A-Hut-Two-Three!"
"And its time he began!" Schmitz sang. "The military! That's what makes a boy…"
"That's what makes a boy…" The cadets echoed back. "A man!" On the general's signal, a handful of cadets pushed the boy across the side of the room, while the rest formed a line behind Schmitz, chanting as they went into position.
The General looked towards all the adults at the front of the room, who were viewing the cadets with awe. "Look at these boys," he pointed his sword at an older cadet. "Why, you'd never know that just a few short months ago, this one hummed in the shower!" he then pointed his sword another cadet. "This one couldn't colour within the lines." He moved to the end of the row, to a rather short cadet. "And this one actually had an Opinion!"
As the line dispersed into small group, Schmitz went over to where the Mayor, his wife and Kirsty were seated. "Our boys believe in the right of every Who to eat their bread, Butter side up!" He saluted to Mr. Mayor, as did all the cadets.
"Butter side up!" they agreed.
"One thing we trust on this fragile speck of dust is eating bread, Butter side up!" He moved across to where Kirsty was seated, not looking at her.
Kirsty raised an eyebrow, trying to take in all he had said. Did she even hear him right? She had seen plenty of crazy things in her short time she had been in this world, but this was just ridiculous. "Butter side up?" Kirsty repeated, getting up from her seat.
Schmitz did a 180 turn around, glaring right into Kirsty, who was backing away in fright. "And as for those who like their butter down…" He moved closer to her, causing her to continue to walk backward, before she bumped into some cadets.
"Down! Down! Down!" they sang, menacingly pointing their swords down at her.
"We'll go to war and run them out of town!" Schmitz declared. Before she could get trampled, they all moved away from her, and Mrs Mayor picked her up and brought her back to her seat. The boy from before then came back into view, now dressed in a similar gold and green uniform to the cadets, and began to copy them as they performed exercises, which were all from simple military drills. He tried his best to follow them, but kept getting lost and confused.
Kirsty tried to block out the music, her mind focus on the boy. I know him. I know I do. We've met before, I just don't know how or why…
"A-hut-two-three!"
"We enlist 'em," Schmitz shouted.
"A-Hut-Two-Three!"
"In our system. And boys soon see nothing's easier than... The military! That's what makes a boy..."
The cadets joined him at the front of the room, marching to their spots. "That's what makes a boy... That's what makes a boy ... That's what makes a boy... A man!" Schmitz went to the head of the line, as they all began to walk out of the room, single file.
"I do not like green eggs and ham!" Schmitz ordered, as her watched the cadets.
"Do not like green eggs and ham!" the cadets echoed.
"I do not like them, Sam I am!"
"Do not like them, Sam I am!"
"Sound off!"
"Eggs and ham!"
"Sound off!"
"Sam I am!"
"I do not like green eggs... And ham!" They finished, as the General gave the boy his sword and hat. As the boy passed Kirsty, their eyes met, and a shock of realisation struck her full on.
That boy was Jojo.
Jojo seemed to notice that she finally knew who he was, and discreetly passed her a small bulging envelope, before following the other cadets. Kirsty stood, her eyes going straight to her parents, who were signing what looked to be a regal form the General was holding.
They had sent him to the academy. Because of what she had done.
"Schmitz, Schmitz, Schmitz, Schmitz..." the cadets chanted as they left the room. Schmitz just tipped his hat and closed the door behind the cadets. The room was only quiet for a few moments, before the principal went on with the assembly like none of that had happened. For the entire half hour, Kirsty didn't speak a word, still recovering from the beginning presentation. They had done this for a reason, and that hidden message was now loud and clear to her.
Follow our rules, become one of us and never try to defy us. You can try and hide, but we'll find you and we'll get rid of you. For good.
(EDIT: This chapter was redone on the 02/03/2014. I have changed a lot of the flow and structure of the chapter, adding in a completely new part, getting rid of a section and changing the ending, to keep everyone more in character. I have also done some much needed spelling and grammar fix ups and changed dialogue tags and whatnot. If you have the time, could you please comment on this edited version?)