Homerooms and Hall Passes by Tom O'Donnell

Author:Tom O'Donnell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2019-09-11T16:00:00+00:00

The game of Homerooms & Hall Passes focuses on the actions of the player characters. But what truly brings the Realm of Suburbia to life are all the nonplayer characters (NPCs) they interact with. Many NPCs can be found in The Cyclopedia of Students, The Tome of Teachers, The Album of Academic Administration, and various other sourcebooks. But try to remember that these supporting characters are more than just a block of game stats. They have their own goals, fears, and challenges. You may also consider giving them funny voices. . . .

—Excerpt from The Hall Master’s Guide

“WHAT? WHAT IS THIS?” said Marie Stumpf-Turner. “Valerie is first-chair flute. Why is she sitting all the way in the back?”

“I can barely see her,” said Andy Stumpf-Turner, squinting. “I can’t even tell if she looks sick or not.”

“Shhh,” said another parent in the audience.

Onstage, the James Alexander Dewar Titan Band plodded its way through the first tune of its fall concert. After this week’s practices, Vela had been placed on “indefinite leave” from first-chair flute, and Sharad Marwah had been promoted. In addition, Ms. Peco, the band director, had privately told her, “During the concert, just act like you’re playing, honey. But don’t you dare make a noise with that thing.”

It was a conundrum for a noble paladin. On the one hand, Vela was honor bound to obey her band director. On the other, pretending to play the flute when she really wasn’t felt very close to a lie. As a way of threading the needle, Vela tried to play her flute as quietly as possible. But her musical skill was so poor that she still emitted an occasional shrill squeak. Each time earned her a glare from Ms. Peco, who conducted from the podium.

Out in the audience, Albiorix struggled to stay awake. The lights were down, the Titan Band’s performance wasn’t exactly electrifying, and he’d been sleeping on gym equipment. Still, the adventurers had done well today. They had held strong in their other classes, and Olivia Gorman’s first math lesson had proven invaluable.

Olivia was a tougher tutor than June—she had confiscated Devis’s phone almost immediately—the concepts of algebra were finally starting to sink in. With Olivia’s help, Albiorix had been able to simplify his first equation, and it felt almost as good as casting his very first spell (“summon pill bugs”). The other Bríandalörians were making progress too—only Thromdurr still seemed utterly confused, but perhaps with a few more tutoring sessions, the barbarian would be able to catch up.

Onstage, the musicians were bowing now. After what felt like an eternity, the concert had mercifully ended. As the crowd of parents and siblings milled out of the auditorium, the five adventurers converged in the parking lot. They hadn’t merely come to support Vela’s terrible fluting. They had a plan.

“Are we sure we still want to do this?” said Vela.

“It’s clearer than ever that we won’t pass math without Olivia’s help,” said Albiorix. “We have no choice.”

“Then I have until my mother finishes berating Ms.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.