gooseberryhigh | PUNISHMENTS

After dinner, Sylvester Stoker and Reid Wainwright are called into Ms. Vector's office for a mandatory meeting with her and Mr. Thorn. The mood in the room is tense, but the two strict teachers get right down to business. They don't mince words.

For attacking a fellow student, Sylvester Stoker is being benched until the new year, January 1. This means he will not be participating in the game against Azurcrest.

He may keep his badge and act as Captain during practices, and he'll have to decide whether he'd like Ira Ashworth or Dinah Dixon to replace him for the next two months or so.

Mr. Thorn makes it clear that if it were up to him, Stoker would have his badge removed permanently.

Further inquiries will be made into whether or not Stoker is a fit captain. This means that interviews will be set up with his team, Coppertale senior and junior prefects, the Coppertale Cheer captain, and the other Quidditch captains.

Stoker has a week to tell his team, after which it will be made clear to senior prefects and the victim of his attack how and why he was punished.

With that said, the boys are dismissed. You can attempt to ask questions or make arguments if you like, but Mr. Thorn and Ms. Vector rarely sway from their decisions. This sounds like a done deal.

Elsewhere, Calvin Evercreech is being spoken to by Mr. Hightower about implications that he had, in fact, tried to frame Stoker. Ribbonfin junior and senior prefects (and the Head Boy) as well as Calvin's roommates will be asked if they can vouch for his character or his whereabouts.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Nisha avoids having to do this as long as she can, not because of any reservations about Sy Stoker as a captain, but rather just a general, white-knuckle aversion to speaking to severe-looking adults. In a last ditch effort, she shoves an entire twinkie in her mouth when she sees Ms. Vector approach her to call her into her office. But that's not stopping anything.

She's "prepared a statement" which she has on her cell phone. (It appears to be written entirely in emojis, and is actually just a gchat conversation she's had with someone whose name appears to be the pizza emoji.) And she rattles it off in a single-breath rush, fidgeting the entire time. The highlights: Captain Stoker made her feel like she belonged in Coppertale and on the team immediately. The Coppertale team's ability to function as a cohesive unit is due in no small part to his oversight. In her brief time here, Nisha has never doubted Sy's dedication not just to the team as a concept but to each of his players, as people. He just really needs to find a more constructive outlet for all that anger. Painting or, like, something. Oh and also his practices are SUPER fun.

She closes out her speech by saying, mysteriously, that violence is never the answer and he probably shouldn't have punched Klein Creepybottom, but Captain Stoker's punches also have the magical ability to bring people together. When she's done, she can't get out of that office fast enough.