Blood and Thunder

Chapter 5 - The Thought Liberator

"Welcome back class. I hope you all had a good holiday, and are refreshed and ready to work. I want you all to work to your best ability. This is where the real work begins..."

A boy with dark, messy hair leant over to Alexander. "Oh, yawn. I swear he gives this speech every term. You alright Alexander? You look shattered."

Alexander nodded, he started to explain the morning's events to the boy. The boy's face lit up and Alexander could see that he was trying not to laugh.

"Good to hear you haven't changed."

A short red haired boy started to laugh at the pair of them.

"Damon, you sound like you haven't seen Alexander in years. It's only been two weeks, don't start getting all sentimental."

"Shut it, before you get us all in trouble."

"Kate, don't worry. You know us, we always find a way out of trouble."

"When did you start believing that Denis?"

"Damon Blakely, Denis Mckenzie, Kate Robins, and Alexander Fawn. You haven't even been in my class for a whole day yet, and already you seem to want detention. One more peep, and I'll see you all tomorrow after school. Understood? Now let's refresh ourselves on what we were doing before the end of term, 23rd century history."

Damon, Denis and Kate were the only three people that made Alexander's school day bearable. It is true that the four of them often got into trouble together, but Alexander never regretted a moment that he spent with them. Damon was a charming, cheeky boy who enjoyed nothing more than a good laugh. He often had the group in stitches and it was never boring with him around. Luckily for them, Denis' intelligence and smooth talking ways, often (but not always) managed to get them out of trouble. Kate often tried to be the sensible one, but it never lasted for long, her curiosity made sure of that. Alexander wouldn't trade them for the world.

Kate kicked Denis under the table, causing him to swear and grab his leg.

"What was that for?" he whispered through gritted teeth.

"For not shutting up, you flipping lampshade."

Alexander sniggered.

"Mr Fawn, seeing as you find my lesson so funny, you can join me at lunch to hear it all again. Now if you can answer this question correctly, I may let you keep your full lunch time. What year was the Great British Rebellion held? You have 30 seconds."

Alexander's mind froze. He tried to read his teacher's mind, but Harrington was blocking him. Harrington had telepathic talents so could block Alexander's use of his mind abilities. His talents weren't going to help him out on this one. His memory wasn't even fully functioning, he was screwed. Think of a random year. He was trying, he really was.

"Erm... 2203?"

"Add another 112 years and you would have had it. I'll see you at lunch and we can brush up on your history. Keep your eyes on the board and follow along."

Alexander sighed, it hadn't even been a full day and already he was in detention. Great.

"So I will repeat what I just said, for Mr Fawn and his friends. In 2315, a group of rebellion fighters thought the government were breaking the right to knowledge. Originally, only one person had the idea that they had been brainwashed into following orders and living how they were told to. They were convinced that the government controlled everything, from what they ate, to what job they did. They felt they had no control at all, kind of like they were a character in a video game."

The class laughed and a boy's hand shot up into the air.

"Yes, Mr Sails."

"Sir, if only one person had the idea. How did it end up with so many people believing it?"