George Adamson Lives with Apes

No Longer Behind

George was thrown into class by the human tank. The other children were in the middle of a home economics lesson being taught by Miss Pratt. Miss Pratt's teaching method usually consisted of boring the children with a story about herself, whilst eating a Victoria sponge cake she'd had them make for her the day before.

    The children looked around in hushed awe as the jubilant boy got up from where he had landed and strutted to his desk, beaming his megawatt grin. Ruby looked sheepishly sideways at him as he slid into the chair beside her. Sally watched angrily from the front of the classroom. How could George forgive Ruby so easily after what she had done to him? He needed someone to show him how mean she was. Ruby was going to get him into trouble again if he wasn't careful.

    "You've got some explaining to do." George whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

    The marble white girl somehow grew even paler at George's words, and she twiddled her fingers on top of the desk.

    The megawatt grin was still in place and the eleven year old boy let out a chuckle.

    "Only kidding Ruby red," He whispered, elbowing her playfully. "I trust you with my life."

    In the classroom all eyes were on George, the children were finding it difficult to stay calm and muttered excitedly between themselves. At the front of the class Miss Pratt was growing increasingly angry and her face was starting to turn pink.    

    "Miss Pratt, round and fat, watch out for her bottom, it could squash you flat."

    To say that Miss Pratt enjoyed her food was an understatement. She ate three square meals and six cakes a day. Miss Pratt was round, she had a big round head, round eyes, a large round piggy nose and round curly hair. She also had a humongous big round bottom. Miss Pratt's bottom had won her the "Biggest Rear Of The Year" trophy ten times running at the local village fete. It was famed for miles around and celebrated by the other grown ups at Slaven castle. The children however were quite terrified of it.

    As an only child Miss Pratt had been over indulged by her horrible parents. They too were fat and mean and owned one of the Mills in Macclesfield where the orphans were often sent to work after they had finished school at Slaven castle. Miss Pratt would sometimes choose children she particularly disliked from her classes to work at her parents mill. That way she could continue to torture them long after they had finished at the school.   

    Miss Pratt was getting steadily redder and redder as the whispering in the class continued but George and Ruby seemed to be the only two aware of it. Without warning a huge text book flew the length of the class room slamming into a wall at the back in a flutter of crumpled pages.

    "QUIET YOU OBNOXIOUS VILE URCHINS!" Shouted the disgusting red faced sow, all of her chins wobbling in unison. Utter silence descended upon the room. The children snapped instantly back to earth, trembling.

    "Poor Mildred," Whispered Ruby in a barely audible sigh that only George was close enough to hear.

    Miss Pratt, satisfied that the children were terrified enough, continued with her self glorifying account of the previous years bottom awards. The Sickening woman stopped now and then to stuff a handful of food into her large round mouth, smearing butter cream all over her face and spilling crumbs onto her huge flowery dress.

    At the back of the classroom Mildred Potts felt a sneeze coming but try as she might she was completely unable to stop it. The terrified girl frantically held her nose but eventually the troublesome sneeze burst itself out.

    Pratt ceased scoffing fistful's of cake and cast her saucer shaped eyes around the classroom.

    "WHO WAS THAT?" The mountainous woman demanded.