Well, that one fooled most of you didn't it. A MAN! Mike I do believe hit the nail on the head, but true author, if you want to, reveal all.....

anyway - next....

'It wasn’t my fault’ The boy was sobbing, almost hysterical. Tears were cascading between red blotches on his adolescent cheeks. His words were almost inaudible to Mr Lawson, the Deputy Head. ‘He started it. It was Danielson. He started it,’ Tom mumbled, wiping his nose and cheeks on the torn sleeve of his shirt. It was a lie, of course. But he wasn’t about to admit that. Not in front of the Deputy Head. Not in front of anyone. ‘He hit me with his sports bag.’ That part was true, but the blow was in an instinctive retaliation to a swift kick in the shin as Danielson had walked past his attacker. ‘He hit me so hard I fell over.’ Another truth. And with Tom on the ground, Danielson had followed through and jumped on top of him. Tom arched his back and twisted to his right, using the weight of the slightly heavier boy to roll him off, onto the tarmac of the playground. ‘And then he kicked me,’ Tom sobbed. Relieved of the mass of the other boy Tom had tried to stand. As he did so the two boys’ legs became entangled. Tom faltered, tried to stand, but lost his balance. He fell back to the tarmac. So in truth, it was more of a trip than a kick. ‘Then he jumped on me again.’ Danielson had managed to stand. Lacking in imagination the boy decided, once again, to throw himself onto Tom’s prostrate form. ‘And the screwdriver?’ the Deputy Head asked. ‘Don’t know, Sir’ Another lie. It was school property. Stolen, borrowed, liberated from the craft room two hours earlier. At the start of the altercation it was in Tom’s jacket pocket, nestling against an unopened packet of contraceptives, two felt tips pens (also stolen from the room) and a forged note from his mother excusing him from Wednesday’s cross country. ‘He must have had it,’ the boy said. As Danielson moved towards him again, Tom’s hand was already on the blade of the screwdriver. ‘He said he was gonna kill me.’ Just before Danielson threw himself onto Tom that final time, Tom screamed at him, ‘I’ll finish you, you gutless shit.’ ‘He swore at me, Sir. He meant it.’ More tears and snot mixed with the rouge stained shirt sleeve as Tom wiped his face. As Danielson threw himself a second time, the screwdriver was taken from the jacket pocket. Danielson probably didn’t see the blade, probably didn’t even feel it as it penetrated his grey jumper, white shirt, X-men tee shirt, the pale skin across his chest, the gap between his ribs and the left atria of his heart. ‘It was him, Sir. He started it,’ said Tom, wiping more tears from his face with his bloodied shirt sleeve.

>>>red face

<Added>

oh No its green.. anyway whoever wrote that well done!

Will hazard a guess that this one is male..no idea why it "feels" male..
Ellie.
<Added>
OMG! 3 times?

[Edited by david bruce at 12:10 on 03 November 2003
Reason: extra posts removed]

Smirk, preen, strut!

M

MIke!!! oh brilliant lol

Oh.....sorry. I was mock-gloating at my guess-work; wish I had been smart enough to do a double bluff> Still think I know who as well as gender.

M

This one 'feels' male as Ellie says, although I've no idea why, and I'm probably wrong anyway. Maybe the detailed description of the fight - I can't see a woman even thinking about where their legs were. And did Len (old friend) write the one before with the jam and the pinched bum?

Well, I thought so, but he's remaining tantalisingly silent on the matter..............

Hi,
Yes my pen did write the one about the Vicar's wife and her pinched bum. Well done, Mike. Bullseye.

Anyway I think this recent one flows from the pen of a Lady Writer. It has a 'Maternal' feel about it; so my vote goes for a Woman!

Well - that seems to have killed that!!

http://www.bookblog.net/gender/genie.html

I've just read in the Guardian Mag' ( as I'm sure others have ) about this website which says whether a piece is written by a man or a woman.

Although I haven't tried it myself, I gather Julie Burchill is quite categorically a man!

I hope this doesn't spoil the fun of this particular thread but I suspect there may be many in WW who will enjoy this!

Hilary.

Without wishing any offence to the author, I have to say that this disturbs me. The piece is well written but is it another example of life imitating fiction? Or was it inspired by the very real news report of a young schoolboy being stabbed to death by a fellow pupil?
Dee.

Dee, if I'm not mistaken,I think it was written before the actual event.

At worst, I would say it was unfortunate timing.

Hilary.

That's what disturbs me the most, Hilary. That it was, more than likely, written before the event. It's spooky.
It reminds me of a book that was published in 1911 about a great liner called The Titan which sunk in the Atlantic on its maiden voyage... I'm sure there are other examples which I can't bring to mind this morning.
Dee.

Hi

This is mine. I'm very sorry if it has upset anyone. It was in fact written some days before the event you have been discussing. Could I also add that I was not aware, until this morning, of the tragic happenings of the week. Had I known I would have acted sooner.

Perhaps I could asked David to remove the piece, as I would not wish anyone to be further offended by the story.

John