Ficlet: Minor Objections

[vilakins]

This was written a while back, lost, located, and posted for the b7friday take the plunge challenge (or not). 640 words, set pre-series.

Minor Objections

Avon shivered as the evaporation of water on his skin cooled him. He hugged himself and looked around at the others standing on the edge of the pool. It was curious that almost all the boys had their shoulders hunched so that their ribs showed and their sharp little shoulder bones protruded, but most of the girls looked more relaxed. Perhaps they didn't feel the cold as much. Or they didn't like looking like plucked chickens, which Avon was sure he did as well. He deliberately lowered his shoulders.

"All right, you lot!" shouted Wallis, the Phys. Ed. teacher. "One, two, THREE!"

And all down the line, children dived. Some of them made ungainly splashes like Avon had last time, but most entered the water hands and head first, the way they were meant to. Avon alone remained standing, his toes curled over the edge.

"Who's that boy?" yelled Wallis. "Avon Minor? What the hell are you doing?"

"Nothing," said Avon, who considered that self-evident. "Sir."

"Hurry up, hurry up, boy!"

Avon looked at his feet and at the water. He knew what he was meant to do: point himself at the water and fall while somehow getting his feet up into the air, but he had no idea how to do that. In fact he had never felt that his body was connected particularly well to his brain. All he had managed so far after what felt like hours of practice was either a belly-flop--it was amazing how hard water became when one hit it at any speed--or a simple jump at the last second.

"Well? What are you waiting for?"

"What's the point, sir?"

"What's the point? What's the point?" Wallis's face became red and, it seemed to Avon, slightly larger than it had been. "The point, Avon Minor, is that you will fail your diving certificate if you can't execute three dives."

That, thought Avon, was not a proper answer. So far he and the others had succeeded in swimming four lengths (Basic Swimming), swimming underwater and picking up coloured hoops (Retrieval), and now they were doing Diving. The whole endeavour seemed bizarre. Avon could see some purpose if Wallis was teaching survival after a flyer or spaceship crash into water, but where was the instruction on how to deal with hypothermia, or how to float as long as possible? Instead it seemed that one had to swim as fast as one could, which was ludicrously slower than a walking pace, or make a perfect dive when a feet-first jump would be as efficient at becoming immersed.

"Well?"

"Well what, sir?"

"Are you going to dive any time this year?"

Avon made up his mind. "No." Then added, because it was one of the school rules, "Sir." He noted with a certain amount of interest that there were veins (or were they arteries?) standing out on Wallis's neck. Physiological reaction to stress, he thought, savouring the expression which he had encountered in a biology class two days before.

"Ten points from Stalin House!"

Inter-house rivalry had never engaged Avon's interest. He shrugged slightly.

"And now DIVE!"

"No." Avon turned away.

"50 points from Stalin!"

Which was low compared to the number of points Avon had won for class work that term, though he had no doubt that sporting points would count for more with the other pupils. They always did; in fact those he gained in class almost seemed negative. He continued walking.

"YOU'RE BANNED FROM THE POOL!" yelled Wallis.

Avon stopped, then forced himself to keep going so that Wallis would not see the grin of sheer joy on his face. The idiot obviously considered that a punishment, but Avon would be able to fit another class into pool time. Computing, perhaps. Why not? It would be a lot more useful than water sports.

Comments

[corvuscornix]

This is excellent, and most definitely an Avon that I recognise! I love his scientific curiosity about absolutely everything (except pleasing his teacher). :-D

I love being in the water, but I could never learn to dive either (not that we were required to), at least not until I was allowed to practice it by myself at a much older age - and then only from very close to the surface anyway. I completely sympathise with Avon's bewilderment about how to get his feet up. :-)

Possibly stupid question: Are House Points an actual common thing at boarding schools? My only reference is Harry Potter...

[vilakins]

I was the same as you. :-) I loved swimming classes (unlike Avon) but took a long time to "get" diving. At least there was a point to all kids learning swimming here; there wouldn't be for Avon's school which probably taught it as an old tradition.

Yes! Hogwarts is a classic boarding school with added magic and other cool features. All the schools I went to (primary, secondary, boarding, ordinary day school - and I went to three high schools) had houses and house points. I used to earn gold stars or points for academic and art work and a few order marks (negative ones) for disobedience. When we competed individually at sports it for our houses but team sports were for the school against others (or practising for that).

I'm not sure if ordinary schools have houses now; boarding schools still do. They've changed the names of the years and exams in the last couple of decades and they no longer teach swimming (pool maintenance too expensive)? Once every child knew how to swim and I think it's very bad this has changed considering how much we live near and on water all year round.

[corvuscornix]

Wow, even ordinary schools? I wonder how I've managed to miss this - to me it certainly seemed exotic enough that it might have been a Hogwarts thing! :-D

Would a student's personal "scores" be available for to the rest of the school to see? I can understand the thinking behind it, but I confess it sounds a little horrible to me, exposing people like that (and like your Avon notes, I suspect that earning points for your house need not necessarily make you more popular...)

I'm not sure exactly how it's done here today, but I remember getting at least some basic swimming lessons through primary school, and the rest, I think, in "swimming school" - swimming and water safety courses (Avon would have approved! :-) for children held by the Swedish Life Saving Society that felt like part of school too, since everyone went to them. I certainly hope that all children get the chance to learn it (and I've not heard otherwise), outdoor swimming is such a natural summer pastime here, it would be very cruel to be excluded from it.

[vilakins]

Hoqwarts does it with magic but the custom's an old one. All the schools I went to had four houses. At the primary school it was Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, and my sister and I were in Blue. At high schools they tend to be named after people who founded the school or were head teachers there. I was in Stanford in one and Wilson in two--two different Wilsons, sheer coincidence.

No, earning points for your house did not always make you more popular. It depended how you did it. If it was sports, then well done you! If it was for coming top in class then you were a swot. I had a long line of gold stars for work and art but I made up for them by being the class clown, getting order marks for that. It did make me more popular, and drawing cartoons to spec helped a lot too. the marks (US: grades) we got in class weren't displayed like that, just the stars or black marks. Teachers used to give the stars for extra-good projects or an extra effort put into something, so it wasn't always the top pupils who got them which was nice. For sports though you had to be a winner.

Every school had a swimming pool when I was a kid but now I think they just take (some?) kids to lessons at public ones or private gyms. It was one of the sports I loved and it's sad it's bot a big thing any more. We had to pass various tests, some of which I refer to in the fic.

[corvuscornix]

Perhaps it's just that I suspect this system would have been bad for me. ;-) Considering what a weird and, let's face it, probably rather unsympathetic kid I was, I actually got off surprisingly lightly when it came to bullying etc. I have a feeling that a system to draw attention to my fairly regular "top of the class" performances might have been provocative enough to change that, and the (very few) "order" marks that I might have earned would have been for things like refusing to do what the P.E. teacher wanted (a lot like Avon here, actually) or for trying to read novels in class if I finished assignments early... So no help there. Your solution simply would not have been an option for me I'm afraid, having never been witty or spontaneous enough to take on that kind of role.

But I can see that it might be a good thing in some cases like those you mention, providing motivation and spurring self-esteem where needed.

I just took a late evening swim (or float, rather!) in a small forest lake last night, and it was heavenly. There are very few - if any! - things that I would trade for the ability to do things like that.

[vilakins]

refusing to do what the P.E. teacher wanted (a lot like Avon here, actually) or for trying to read novels in class if I finished assignments early

We are so alike! I've got into trouble at work for reading when I've nothing to do. Apparently it;s better to stare into space than read. Utter stupidity and enough to drive me crazy.

I never got marks for acceptable things like sport but being funny and eccentric made up for it.

How wonderful! I envy you your house and surrounds and having a job.

[corvuscornix]

I know! It's always about appearances and how "it doesn't look good" and never about the facts. These things start to make a little more sense (well, as far as the internal logic of it goes, anyway) if one starts thinking in terms of how neurotypical behaviour and values often are concerned with promoting group cohesion above everything else, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating to constantly have to deal with. :P

I know how incredibly fortunate I am, but the stress has been wearing me down for some time now even so, and I really needed that little bit of emotional cleansing. It is such an incredibly soothing, almost unreal experience, floating weightlessly in the near glass-still reflection of the glowing summer night's sky... I tend to come away from it with an irresistible urge to write lots of terribly unsubtle and metaphysical poetry ;-) But most importantly, I just feel better about everything. I wish I could give you a piece of that perfect moment.

[vilakins]

I think it's the rule of the extroverts: conform and obey. Sod that.

I wish I had something like that to make me feel better. I am so depressed and hopeless right now and it's dark wet winter so the lights have to be on all day.

[corvuscornix]

I thought to send you a share of that lake in the post, but all the envelopes got wet and broke. :-(

*hugs*

[vilakins]

Thanks!

[kernezelda]

Ha, I like this glimpse of young Avon, self-willed and indurate.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I enjoyed swimming myself but young Avon was surprisingly fun to write.

[daiseechain.livejournal.com]

Yes. Avon through and through this one. Love that Avon pulled victory out of defeat without even intending to or actually trying, but just by being himself and thinking things through.

And I've been here. Unlike Avon, I enjoyed swimming class. Exactly like Avon I could never see the point of diving. I always started in the pool itself and still usually managed to beat most of my classmates. Never did get the point of diving.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I loved swimming too (and was one of those who liked "bombing" from the high board). Of course this is based on his dislike of water sports. :-) There's a point here, though schools don't seem to teach it any more, but not in Avon's society.

[vjezkova.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I recognise our Avon there!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I loved swimming (all kids used to learn it here) but he just wouldn't have seen the point.

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

Very him.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Based of course on his remark to Dayna.