Welcome back, everyone. I know it has been a while, but at last I am back with another of these. Enjoy and review.
Study Hall
Study hall was study hall. If it was the same at one high school it was the same at another. Sitting in the cafeteria, Lance looked down at the dull grey table. He was bored, but with classes being seventy-five minutes… Why didn't he just read? He was always like this. He had a book for silent reading, why didn't he read it outside of silent reading?
Lance had been in the process of beginning to read "Candide" when Cleo asked: "So, four film adaptations… Feel like explaining to us who our characters are?"
Unhelpfully, Lance answered: "You are Rowena, Lewis is Ivanhoe, Rikki is Rebecca and Emma will be whoever she is required to read as."
"Feel like giving us some more detail, Lance?" asked Rikki, her tone what Lance could only think of as being half-annoyed and half-patient.
Putting his book down, Lance sighed and nodded. "Okay, sure. Lewis, Ivanhoe is the disinherited son of Cedric the Saxon who followed the Norman King Richard on the Crusades, at least he is disinherited in three out of the four adaptations I've seen. In two of them he returns to his father's house as a pilgrim and competes in a tournament as the Disinherited Knight."
"So, he is seeking his father's forgiveness?" asked Lewis.
"And to marry his love Rowena, Cedric's ward, who is arranged to marry a noble named Athelstane in two of the adaptations I've seen. He is left out of one completely, not even as a mentioned character and in another there is no indication Rowena and Athelstane are engaged." Lance answered.
"I take it that would be the one where Ivanhoe isn't disinherited." Commented Cleo. When Lance nodded, she then looked around and asked: "Who got Athelstane again?"
"Think it was Brian." Emma replied.
"And what about Rebecca?" asked Rikki, interested to know about the character she was reading for.
"She is the daughter of the Jewish… Uh…" Lance began to rub his forehead with his right hand. "W-What is he? Merchant? Moneylender? Her father Isaac of York is one of those. She is part of a love triangle involving her, Ivanhoe and Rowena, at least in two adaptations I've seen, one of them teased a romance with the swineherd Gurth, but anyway in one Rebecca loves Ivanhoe, but he is firmly in love with Rowena, while in the other Rebecca loves Ivanhoe, who loves and marries Rowena, but has a large amount of affection for Rebecca, believing they could marry if not for their religious differences."
"And that's in relation to Rowena being arranged to marry Athelstane?" asked Cleo, writing notes down on a piece of paper.
"Yes, that's right." Lance said with a nod.
"And that leaves you as the jester Wamba." Stated Emma. "What do you know about your character?"
"That he appears in all four adaptations I've seen and he dies in one of them." Replied Lance.
"Well, if he died in only one of them, that means he probably survives the book." Said Lewis as he adjusted his glasses. Leaning in he then uttered: "Alright, so Byron got Rebecca's father Isaac, but what about this Ulrica character that Miriam will be reading for? Who is she? You've brought up Saxons and Normans and Rebecca is Jewish so is Ulrica a Norman noblewoman?"
All eyes on him, Lance could only crack a smile as he gave his answer. Ulrica was a Saxon and she had been a noblewoman, but by the time of the story was just a mad old woman.