ELEVEN – CHANGING PLACES
"Mum! Tell my stupid brother to stop being so horrible! He made our neighbour cry!"
"I did no such thing! Mum, he is lying to you!"
"I'M NOT! HE MADE GEORGIA CRY! AND SHE'S FOUR YEARS OLD! GOD, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
The footsteps on the landing shut us both up. The door flew open, our raging mother framing the doorway.
"Boys! Stop it! All this arguing, for goodness sake, get on with your homework!"
"Yes, Mum." We both replied, my younger brother shooting me an evil glare as soon as our mother had departed from the room.
It's so easy to wind up my younger brother. He's four years younger than me. Such a baby.
I sneer back at him, my eyes rolling as our mother suddenly bellows:
"JEFFREY WILLIAM HUNTER! HELP ME WITH DINNER!"
Ignoring Lloyd's snickering, I trudged downstairs, wishing that our mother was in a happier mood. As now, any mistakes I made, would be viewed with a screaming fit.
The school uniform looked terrible on Lloyd, but fine on me. My smooth red-flame locks worked so well against the green. Unlike Lloyd's ginger curls. He looks utterly moronic. Tall and gangly. Puffing his chest out to make himself look important.
The rest of our group, SPLAT, fawn over him.
I don't, which shows that I am the only one in that group with a single brain cell.
The others, they're more my brother's friends really. All a lot younger than me, and annoying as hell, but they can be useful. Particularly when they can be used for my own benefit.
People mistake us for twins, which drives me up the wall. Yes, our hair colour is similar and we're both tall and slim, but all similarities end there. I am older, more intelligent and a better leader than he is.
The only reason why I'm not in charge of SPLAT is, because I actually have a life?
We're waiting in the playground, the daily chanting of the other pupils filling our ears. My group are chattering away about the antics of one Eddy Hair. I watch his show, to appease Lloyd, but truthfully… I think it sucks.
Ah, the Prefects! I wish that I was one of them. All of the perks that you receive, plus, instead of having the Headmaster loom down on you every five seconds, waiting for my 'troublesome self' to slip up, the man would be heaping praise onto me, as I am sure that I could do a better job than any of his current Prefects.
Take for instance, Harvey Morgan.
He is the youngest Prefect, even younger than me, Lloyd, Ian and Mandy! Only a couple of months older than Ingrid, (who I am sure likes him or something pathetic) and to my mind, he doesn't deserve such a prestigious position. He's very quiet and although the rest of my group say differently, he doesn't seem to do anything. But then again, my 'friends' and brother are idiots.
Harvey Morgan isn't even the lowest ranking Prefect! Peter Williamson claims that crappy title.
All of the male Prefects are near the bottom in terms of ranking, with Sue Winters being third, goody two-shoes Sarah Price being Deputy Head and the formidable Rose Carter lording it over us as Head Prefect.
It's despicable really. Whilst I am treated like an outcast, Harvey Morgan, a boy of no talents, is given power and feared by many in the school. Well, that will soon change!
Lloyd didn't like my plan for Harvey Morgan. Said that the boy 'wasn't that bad.'
We ended up arguing, and I stormed off. Now, I'm searching for the Prefect.
I find him in the Prefect's room. The others are there too, but I ignore them. I'm raging inside. I need to get this off my chest!
I tower over him, sneering at his short height, and snarl:
"Think you're so good, don't you, Morgan? Well, you're terrible! So short and fat! I've seen your test scores as well! Forty percent, an infant can do better than you! I've seen that scar you have on your chest, heard you had an operation! Well, you should have died in the aftermath! You're so useless, I don't see why the Headmaster keeps you around! You're more like a pet to him than any of the other Prefects! At least they're useful! You're utter shit!"
The other Prefects all drew in a breath, and I smirked, expecting precious Harvey Morgan to burst into tears.
Instead, Harvey cocked his head at me, his hands cradling the mug of tea he had previously been sipping.
"Finished?"
The question threw me, and I stepped back in shock. Harvey's lips twitched into a slight smile, but his words were coated in venom.
"I want to clarify a few things. I may be short, but I am certainly not overweight. Health checks clear that sort of thing up. And I have mild dyslexia, so sometimes, I get bad scores, but that makes me want to improve and because I want to make the Headmaster proud, I actually have something called extra tutoring. Not sure if you have heard of that. The scar on my chest, is none of your business and I'll ignore that death threat you just gave to me. And lastly… do I look like I am wearing a dog collar?"
I stumbled back, gasping at the Prefect's reaction. Turning on my heel, I fled, my freckled face burning bright with humiliation. I cannot believe my plot failed!
Within the Prefect's room, Harvey gazed after the older boy in confusion, before muttering:
"Who even is he?"
"That's Jeff Hunter."
Harvey snorted and sipped his tea. "Was that really the best he could do?"
Favourite Drabble so far! Jeff is the same as one of the Immune children in SPLAT, as he is as a Prefect, whilst Harvey has some changes in characterisation, but he is a lot braver than canon Harvey.
