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

So... Clem's obviously not an unbiased voice here, both as Sy's girlfriend and as a Quidditch captain with a record of punching people. But she manages to keep a level head and deliver a well thought out, impassioned speech about how Sy is both an excellent captain for his team and a team player. She tells Vector that he was a huge help to her when she was the captain of the Gooseberry team last year, and mentions how he asked to be put in as a reserve only after Levi had already been subbed in.

But when pushed on the actual topic at hand - Sy literally attacked someone, and that's unacceptable - she pretty instantly breaks down.

"He's trying so hard," she insists through blubbering and frankly embarrassing tears. She goes on for a little while longer about how much better he's been doing over the last year, and how much the captaincy means to him. She's excused from the meeting before she gets her weepy-ness under control, and ultimately leaves feeling like she wasn't much of a help.