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#1: Wondering Author: Squirrel, Location: St-Andrews or Dunfermline

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 1:34 am

Has anyone lost a medium sized, red haired rabbit? I dont know the name of it, but it came along tonight and hung off of one of my toes until I agreed to write this down. I'm blaming Patmac for inspiring the wretched thing with her other drabble about the bunnies!

Anyhow, it's done now, perhaps I can get some sleep. Here it is for your inspection.

I sat on the road in the sun, watching the troop of girls in their brown and flame uniforms going on their ramble. Then I tagged on the end, part of the group, hoping that no one would notice that I was an outsider.

I was wearing the regulation uniform, and looked vaguely like one of the other girls so I might just get away with it. The ramble was a long way from the school, and though I looked young I was quite a bit older than I appeared, so when they came into view, one of them looking rather tired, I was able to slip in next to her and give her a hand along.

Her partner Vi took me to be one of the older girls, and relatively new at that since she did not know me. I chatted to them both quite happily. Then it happened. The girl I was helping slipped, and I pulled her up on my back to help her get along. She must have been very tired indeed for the next thing I knew she fell asleep.

I carried her the rest of the way to the school, and even got into the building where I was allowed to sit with her, though Vi told me it was very unusual for this girl to fall asleep when someone she didn’t know quite well was with her. Then she noticed the similarities between us. “Oh are you a relation?” she asked in surprise, this girl was not supposed to have much family left.

“Only a distant one, and she has never met me” I responded quickly, “It’s possible that she noticed some family traits about me though” I suggested, smiling weakly, for I knew not how else I could account for it.

I was allowed to accompany her into the san and sit with her until she woke, since she had not met me and would want to know a little bit about me. When she did wake I told her the complete truth about all that had happened, and we hugged like the sisters we were. Then I left, fully expecting never to see her again.

Suddenly as I was walking along the road I found her walking next to me. She seemed much older, and I wondered how the school would account for their missing pupil, and how I was going to explain the sudden appearance of a twin sister.

I need not have worried, it seemed that people did not remember a time in which I did not have a twin, and the series took advantage of the fact that my sister had disappeared from the story to make her into something completely different to that which she once was – Head Girl of the school and everything.

For yes, it was my fault that Verity Anne Carey became the poor girl she was. The author based her character on me, and I chose to meet up with her. Then she decided that she wanted to stay with her real sister, and so we stuck together.

When the author suggested that we might allow her to write in some twins based on us we refused at once. For by this time we realised how detrimental to the stories the removal of Verity Anne’s character was to the series, and we knew that since we understood how we could meet up with them we would not be able to stop ourselves doing so.

And now I wonder, how many of the other girls who starred in one book, were brought home by the people the author based them on, and do they know what they might have done to the series by this action…

… I do not know the answer, but I do wonder.

Last edited by Squirrel on Thu Aug 18, 2005 8:59 pm; edited 1 time in total

#2: Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 8:22 am

Thanks Squirrel

Excellent explanation of what happened to the 'forgotten' pupils

Liz

#3: Author: Nell, Location: London, England

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 9:47 am

Thank you Squirrel. Very interesting and clever.

#4: Author: Joey, Location: Cambridge

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 10:21 am

Excellent, Squirrel! That makes so much sense. Thank you!

#5: Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 8:49 pm

It definitely isn't my plot bunny that has disappeared as I don't have any plot bunnies to lose. Crying or Very sad

Thanks, Squirrel. Which forgotten pupil had she become? I got a bit confused.

#6: Author: Squirrel, Location: St-Andrews or Dunfermline

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 8:58 pm

Ok, I guess I didnt make it as clear as I might have done in the writing itself. I think the idea is that the main character is someone who EBD knew in real life, and with permission she wrote her into a story. I ended up pitching on the character of Verity Anne for this, though in reality it could have been anyone who was important in one book, and then became less important.

The 'real' person somehow got themself into the book, and 'met' with this
part of herself. In other words, the process of turning the girl into a
character, put part of her into the book. That is why Verity recognised
her, because one was the fictionalization of the other.

Then, having met up and made some contact with her'sister' the main
character then went back to her own life, leaving Verity behind in school.
Verity however chose to follow her, and I am suggesting that this is the
reason that Verity changes in character from being a very determined girl in 3 go, to becoming dependent on Mary-Lou in the later books, and being
described as 'a broken reed' once she has left school. It was commented
upon in some of the recent book descussions.

At any rate, I have made it that the girl knew the books before she went into the story to meet up with the character, and in that version of the series Verity was Head Girl (believe it or not!) but that removing her from life as a book character long before this time meant that she had a lot less influence on the books than before, so Mary-Lou became head instead.

#7: Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent, England

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 9:31 pm

Thanks, Squirrel. I'm sorry I didn't understand the first time around. I understand now. Thank you for explaining it to me.

#8: Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 10:37 pm

Very clever idea, and brilliantly executed, Squirrel. Well done!

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