Task - Choose an 'issue'. Plan and write a scene at school where the reader can guess the issue without the story explicitly saying it. Make sure to use language features!
My example:
The classroom was buzzing with activity when Shaun pushed the door open and stepped inside. He skirted around the group of desks nearest the door and headed for Ms Mitchell’s desk.
“Sorry I’m late, Miss,” Shaun mumbled, dropping a folded up note onto the desk.
Ms Mitchell looked up from her marking and blinked. “Shaun, where have you been?”
Shaun nodded at the note and thrust his hands deeper into his jacket pockets. He could feel eyes burrowing into his back as nosy classmates tried to eavesdrop. “It’s on the note.”
Ms Mitchell unfolded the note, read it quickly, then raised an eyebrow. “Really, Shaun, I expected better of you.”
Shaun spun on his heel and loped away from the desk, his head down. He caught sight of Sara out of the corner of his eye, sneering at him. He considered kicking her chair on his way past, but he knew he was on a short leash after his meeting with the deans. And Sara was originally from France. He really didn’t want to get into any more trouble.
“They call your parents?” Alexis asked as Shaun slipped into his usual seat. There was a poster in the middle of the table with a peace sign half coloured in. Alexis was drawing a dove in one corner while Simon wrote out their group’s definition of civil disobedience.
“Yeah. And said they’d stand me down if it happened again.”
“Stand you down? That’s so unfair.” Simon stopped writing and glanced over at Gunther. He was barking away as usual, flinging insults and paper at half the class. The fact that he was on the far side of the teacher’s desk was the only thing that kept Simon, Alexis and Shaun out of his line of fire.
“Guess I’ll just have to let him get away with it next time. Or grow my hair out before I stand up to him.”
“So unfair,” Simon repeated. He ran a hand over his freshly shaved head and looked out the window, sighing.
END
Guesses welcome as to what the 'issue' this story is based on is :-)
