Savia Rodrigues of 11 A modifies the story 'The Stalled Ox' by changing the nature of relationship between Theophil Eshley and Adela Pingsford...
Thirty-eight year old Theophil Eshley placed his head firmly on his hands. The man, employed as the President of the Art Department of the London National Museum, was soaring financially. However, the only thing soaring at the moment was an upcoming migraine. Not only was he missing his precious Penelope’s Inter School Meet (she was an athletic prodigy, after all), but his wife, Adie, had been in a sour mood all morning. Eshley had also received news that a fine piece of art, worth ₤500,000, had been stolen the previous afternoon. To add to the ever growing list, he had burnt his toast that morning, too. The assistant brought in his third coffee of the day – creamy, with two cubes of sugar and a pinch of salt, just the way his mum made it.
Poor kid, thought Eshley, as he saw the assistant scuttering around, probing through various files. However, the feeling of pity was soon swept away but yet another wave of cephalalgia. He remembered the last time he had suffered such splitting head-aches.
Contrary to popular belief, school days had decisively been the worst days for Eshley. With freckles, a toothy grin, and an awkward personality to boot, thirteen year old Theophil had been the Aunt Sally of his school. Even though he had academically been an over-achiever, his social status had not exactly been at the top of the charts. Furthermore, his unruly red hair and significantly large feet (which he had now grown into), had been subjects of great ridicule. His small stature also served as a strong bully magnet. Samuel "Sammy" Johnson was a tall, thick-set fifteen year old with unkempt blond hair and brown eyes. A significant chunk of the student body eschewed him, but none abhorred him as much as Theophil did. In his eyes, Samuel was a perfectly wrapped package sent straight from Your Nightmares Come True™. Badgering Theo into doing his homework for him seemed to be his favourite pastime. Samuel had a way of making Theo feel like scum, like there was no other form of life as inferior as Theo himself. Theophil had contemplated notifying the matter to his parents, but had then decided against it. He had known that his parents would have reported it to the institution’s zenithal authorities, and before long, everyone in school would have known what a namby-pamby he was. Theophil’s evenings always consisted of an entrée of excruciating, mind-numbing headaches, with the fear of Samuel-related nightmares for dessert.
The only ray of sunshine in his school life had been Adela Julianne Pingsford. Her acerbic humour had attracted him to her from the very beginning. Her incandescent auburn hair and blazing cerulean eyes never failed to turn heads, and were the center of attention wherever she went. Eshley also remembered the day they got married. What a cheerful day it had been! Now, was it on the 14th or the 16th of June?
Eshley’s trail of thoughts came to a screeching halt. Of course, he thought, the 15th of June, their wedding anniversary. Unfortunately for Eshley, that day just happened to be today. No wonder Adie had been so indignant this morning. He had to concoct something ingenious, or she would wring his head like a chicken the moment he stepped into the house. Well, a nice dinner would be charming, thought Eshley. He immediately paged his assistant to make reservations for two in that extravagant Turkish restaurant just round the corner.
"Oh, and Sammy, a steaming mug of coffee would be nice. How about a full cream –"
"– with two cubes of sugar, and a pinch of salt", replied the all-too-familiar voice.
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