1999

Competition No 3558

Revealing extracts from the young lives of famous fictional characters.  [NB This long predates the television series Endeavour].

 

YOUNG MORSE’S SCHOOLDAYS

There was a loud thump on the bedroom door: ‘Turn that bloody noise down, Endeavour, and get on with your homework.’

Grudgingly, young Morse slightly reduced the volume of Bill Haley. Stupid old sod, he thought. He hated his name. And he hoped he’d never grow old and crabby like his Dad, listening to nothing but tedious Wagner.

He downed another pint of Tizer, comparing the taste favourably to the beer he had illicitly sampled from his father’s fridge.

He looked at his watch. 6.52. Then how could it have been his father? At that hour he was always engrossed in the boring Archers. Perhaps his father had adjusted all the clocks and watches in the house. (That would explain why he had been late for school). Or maybe the voice came from one of those newfangled tape-recorders.

Another loud thump. He opened the door to see his father, who growled: ‘Turn it down!’ Another unnecessarily complex theory screwed.

Young Morse turned to his Junior Crossword Book. C-T: domestic animal. He scowled, puzzling. He still had a lot to learn, but one thing was sorted. At this very moment Lewis was doing his homework for him.