Passionate year free essay sample

They came in quietly enough, but there was an atmosphere of subdued expectancy of which Speed was keenly conscious; the boys tared about them, grinned at each other, seemed as if they were waiting for something to happen. Nevertheless, at five past seven all was perfectly quiet and orderly, although It was obvious that little work was being done. Speed felt rather as if he were sitting on a powder-magazine, and there was a sense in which he was eager for the storm to break. At about a quarter past seven a banging of desk-lids began at the far end of the hall. He stood up and said. quietly, but in a voice that carried well: l dont want to be hard on anybody, so Id better warn you that I shall punish any disorderliness very severely. There was some tittering, and for a moment or so he wondered If he had made a fool of himself. We will write a custom essay sample on Passionate year or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Then he saw a bright, rather pleasant-faced boy in one of the back rows deliberately raise a desk-lid and drop it with a bang. Speed consulted the map of the desks that was in front of him and by counting down the rows discovered the boys name to be Worsley. He wondered [1 3] how the name should be pronounced † whether the first syllable should rhyme with purse or with horse. Instinct in him, that uncanny feeling for atmosphere, embarked him on an outrageously bold adventure, nothing less than a piece of acetiousness, the most dangerous weapon in a new Masters armoury, and the one most of all likely to recoil on himself. He stood up again and said: Wawsley or Wurssley † however you call yourself † you have a hundred linesl3 The whole assembly roared with laughter. That frightened him a little. Supposing they did not stop laughing! He remembered an occasion at his own school when a class had ragged a certain Master very neatly ana suDtly Dy preten01ng to go OTT Into nysterlcs of laughter at some trifling witticism of his. When the laughter subsided, a lean, ather clever-looking boy rose up in the front row but one and said, impudently: Please sir, Im Worsley. I didnt do anything. Speed replied promptly: Oh, didnt you? Well, youve got a hundred lines, anyway. What for, sir † in hot indignation. For sitting in your wrong desk. Again the assembly laughed, but there was no mistaking the respectfulness that underlay the merriment. And, as a matter of fact, the rest of the evening passed entirely without incident. After the others had gone, Worsley came up to the dais accompanied by the pleasant-faced boy who dropped the desk-lid. Worsley pleaded for the remission of his hundred lines, and the other boy supported him urging that it was he a nd not Worsley who had dropped the lid. And whats your name? asked Speed. Naylor, sir. Very well, Naylor, you and Worsley can share the hundred lines between you. He added smiling: Ive no doubt youre neither of you worse than anybody else but you must pay the penalty of being pioneers. They went away laughing. That night Speed went into Clanwells room for a chat before bedtime, and Clanwell congratulated him fulsomeTy on his successful passage of the ordeal. 4 As a matter f fact, Clanwell said, l happen to know that theyd prepared a star benefit performance for you but that you put them off, somehow, from the beginning. The [14] prefects5 get to hear of these things and they tell me. Of course, I dont take any official notice of them. It doesnt matter to me what plans people make † its when any are put into execution that I wake up. Anyhow, you may be interested to know that the members of School House6 subscribed over fifteen shillings to purchase fireworks which they were going to let off after the switches had been turned off Alas for fond hopes ruined! Clanwell and Speed leaned back in their armchairs and roared with laughter. Commentary 1 . o take prep: to be in charge of preparation of lessons in a regular period at school. 2. to rag {coll. ): to play practical Jokes on; treat roughly. 3. You have a hundred lines