Party Time. Fiona Cummings

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СКАЧАТЬ think what you mean, Ryan, is that yes, we do have television now. But there wasn’t a broadcasting service at all until 1936.”

      “Imagine life without Match of the Day!” moaned Danny McCloud. “Bummer!”

      “That’s exactly what I want you to do, Danny! Imagine what life would be like,” Mrs Weaver went on. “I want you to think of all the things you take for granted now, and find out when they were invented and how they have developed. Work in your groups, but I don’t want any noise. Understood?”

      We all nodded, and started chattering away.

      “I love doing this kind of thing,” I told the others. “You learn about stuff without even realising it.”

      But Kenny wasn’t listening. She was propped up on the desk, eyeballing the M&Ms. “Open your bags,” she was muttering under her breath. “Come on!”

      “There’s almost too much to think about,” Lyndz said, doodling on her notebook. “I mean, loads of stuff must have happened since 1900.”

      “Yeah, but what’s the most important?” I asked. I looked around the classroom. “I mean, look at computers. They haven’t been around for that long, have they? And now everyone’s got them.”

      “And they use them in supermarkets and banks and stuff where you can’t even see them,” added Rosie.

      “My gran thinks supermarkets are really new!” laughed Lyndz. “She says that she used to have to queue up at loads of different shops for her shopping. Imagine that – it would take ages!”

      Fliss didn’t seem to be listening to the rest of us either. She was doing loads of little drawings. Typical Fliss.

      “Come on Fliss, we’re supposed to be working!” I told her.

      “I am working!” she snapped, showing me her drawings of fashion designs. “Clothes have changed loads since 1900. Women still wore long dresses then. And Mum said that when girls started wearing mini-skirts in the 1960s, it caused a real stir. There must have been loads of changes in between.”

      Fliss did have a point.

      “Drawing dollies, are we?” Emma Hughes sidled across and peered over Fliss’s shoulder.

      “No I’m not!” snapped Fliss, and covered her work with her arm.

      “What are you doing, Thomas? The development of experiments using dolls?” asked Emily Berryman.

      They both giggled in that stupid way they have.

      “And what are you doing? The history of not doing any work, as usual,” Kenny sneered. “You haven’t even got anything out of your bags yet.”

      “We’re just going to look at some books!” Emma ‘the Queen’ Hughes said crossly, and they both stalked past us to the book corner.

      We settled down again and made loads of lists. Nearly everything we could think of that was important in our lives had been invented since 1900. We looked things up in books and on the computer, and the time flashed past. We even talked about the work over break too, which is very unusual for us. Well, the rest of us talked about it – Kenny didn’t. She kept trying to see whether the M&Ms had their bags with them. They didn’t.

      When we got back into the classroom after break, Mrs Weaver said that she wanted some idea of what we would all be contributing to our play. I could see the M&Ms huddled together with their cronies. They kept flashing looks over to our table, then whispering and giggling together.

      “Well, what are we going to do?” I asked the others. “Any ideas?”

      “Fashion!” Fliss piped up. “Please let’s! It’d be dead cool.”

      “I don’t want to get involved in a stupid fashion show!” grumbled Kenny.

      “It won’t be a fashion show, it’s history. Please, pretty please!” Fliss pleaded.

      The rest of us looked at each other.

      “Oh all right!” we agreed, but Kenny looked pretty disgusted.

      “Right then, who’s going to start?” asked Mrs Weaver.

      Emma Hughes stuck up her hand and started waving it about. She always has to get noticed. And with Mrs Weaver, it usually works.

      “Yes, Emma, what have you got planned?”

      “Well, we thought we’d trace the history of fashion since 1900,” she said, ever so sweetly.

      “But that’s what we were going to do!” squealed Fliss. “That’s not fair, she’s copied us!”

      Poor Fliss was quite red in the face and angry.

      “Now, Felicity, there are lots of exciting ideas to cover,” soothed Mrs Weaver. “I’ll give your group a few more minutes to think of another topic. Well done, Emma, that’s a splendid idea.”

      I thought Fliss was going to cry, I really did. Especially when we turned round and saw the stupid M&Ms and their awful cronies grinning at us.

      “We’ll get you!” Kenny mouthed to them menacingly.

      “What should we do?” I whispered to the others.

      “What about television and radio – stuff like that?” suggested Rosie.

      But just then Ryan Scott announced that they were covering television.

      “I don’t believe it!” grumbled Rosie.

      “What about computers, then?” I suggested.

      “OK!” the others agreed, but you could tell that they weren’t very enthusiastic.

      “We’re going to look at the way computers have altered our lives,” piped up Kevin Green, who’s a real swot.

      We all groaned. Mrs Weaver thought that we were being rude about Kevin Green and turned to us crossly.

      “Well, Francesca, what is your group going to entertain us with?”

      My mind went blank. I couldn’t think of a thing.

      But then Kenny piped up, cool as you like, “We’re going to look at medical developments since 1900.”

      “What?” shrieked Fliss. Blood and gore are just not her thing at all.

      “It’ll be cool, Fliss, trust me!” Kenny grinned.

      “Excellent!” smiled Mrs Weaver, clapping her hands. “Books out everyone, it’s time to do some maths!”

      Kenny nudged me. “Watch this!” she hissed.

      Everyone bent down into their bags…and a few seconds later, there was this terrifying scream! Emma Hughes ran for the door with awful slime dripping from her hands. Her friend wasn’t far behind.

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