Barrister

Steve passed the exams and was called to the bar in a medieval church. During the after-party, he felt out of place amongst the Poshey barristers and judges but knew this was a real opportunity. As the final stage of his barrister training began, Steve spent his days either in court with a barrister or in chambers working on cases. He drafted pleadings and wrote legal opinions using resources in the old library. Every piece of work was graded and any pupil barrister who was not good enough was told to leave. Some had their work thrown out of windows and other mentally cracked under the pressure. Steve plugged away and received good reports from his pupilmasters. After a year of training, Steve qualified as a barrister and landed a legal job in SmogCity.

With good money coming in for the first time in his life, Steve and Michelle bought a house in the Snook and life became a bit easier. During a trip back to Snookford, Steve proposed to Michelle in a park overlooking the spires. They spent a busy year preparing for their wedding and were married in the Snookington parish church on the hill. Over the next few years, they had two children, Lucy and Jack.

But Steve had attracted some attention from residents in the Snook. In the view of Posheys and Gossips, he had entered an occupation well beyond his station. Outsiders were supposed to be below the poverty line, not doing well for themselves. People of the Snook frowned and shook their heads whenever they saw Steve. Gossips whispered what everyone was thinking.

‘Who does he think he is?”

“Outsiders should not be overachievers.”

“He’s an aberration…”

“…an anomaly.”

“It’ll all go wrong for that Outsider.”

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