This is just a practice story. Anything glaringly wrong or suggestions as to how this might be improved is appreciated.

Shakespeare and Scrubb

Eustace was sitting in literature class. It was almost noon. He was meeting Jill for lunch. He couldn't help thinking of Prince Rilian. His mind wandered off the teacher's lecture to Narnia and he chuckled to himself. He hadn't been doing as well in his literature class so he had asked Pole for some help. It was her favorite subject and she wrote well.

There had been times when Scrubb almost dropped off during class. Luckily he had not yet been caught. Literature was a bore for him. Much duller than his biology class. At least there was some real activity in that. He would have taken dissecting a frog or chloroforming beetles any day over this. The teacher's voice droned on and Scrubb's ears were itching for the sound of the lunch bell, which finally rang.

"Pole?" he queried seeing Jill coming over to sit across from him at their usual table in the luncheon hall.

"Hullo. What's up?"

"Not really enjoying Hamlet very much."

"What?"

"…Uh...I don't find it very interesting at all."

"And what makes you say that Scrubb?"

"…It's just sooo dark…reminds me of Rilian…."

Jill laughed. "Yeah bit funny that. Though it was a lot more exciting being in the action than reading about it, don't you think?"

"That's probably why I'm so bored in that class. I don't know how I'm ever to finish my essay….I'm struggling with it…." Eustace's voice trailed off despairingly.

"What part do you need help with?"

"Well I guess the idea of his madness…him going mad enough to kill his uncle. And the bit about driving Ophelia to her death by killing her father, that's such a sad part. The whole play is pretty depressing if you ask me. All a bunch of rot. Don't see the point in studying it really."

"That's the thing about the tragedies Scrubb….the protagonists are hugely flawed. They've got problems. The plays wouldn't be good if there weren't flaws and conflict. I say…aren't you going to get into the comedies later? The level of reading pleasure does improve when you study those. What about "Much Ado About Nothing". Now that's an excellent comedy." Jill's face brightened. "Lots of things to laugh at and appreciate there," she was playing with the potatoes on her plate and noticed the distracted expression on Scrubb's face.

"What are you thinking?"

"Wondering how Rilian is doing. It's strange, but even though it's been years since we've been in Narnia I can't help wondering at times what's happening back there. Remember when my cousins told us they didn't really remember very much after they came back the first two times….once in awhile they had memories of things they'd done but they didn't really concern themselves too much with them because of course-they weren't able to go back there on their own."

"It's been the same thing for us I guess, hasn't it?" Jill asked. "I mean, the adventures were great fun, but part of me is glad that I had them because in some way it's made me handle being back here better."

"I know what you mean Pole. Do you know I hadn't really expected that I would have survived here when I first arrived and now I'm glad Aslan took care of the bullies. I felt awful that I was a part of their group and that I was helping them make others' here miserable," Eustace's face clouded as he thought about his former self.

"Don't let's talk about that Scrubb, that's past."

"Yeah, that would be pretty Puddleglum to do that. Anyway, could you have a look at what I've written so far?"

"Happy to."

"Thanks Pole."

Finis

Note: I know this is rubbish.