[Tuesday, August 24, 2004.] [It's early afternoon! About 2:30. It's also Teacher's Institute Day and the day before school. And raining, thus ushering the school year in very... wet- like.] [But the teachers aren't wet, because they're inside! They're inside the school, specifically, and the cafeteria more specifically, sitting on the long, long benches at the long, long tables the kids eat at.] [Since there are no kids there, it's easy to assume that it's cleaner than most of the times people see the cafeteria. That assumption would be correct. There's coffee and doughnuts and punch and cookies, if you want some. This school is high class, dude.] [Principal Sheldon is going over basic procedure, when they expect grades, the school's tardy policy, and all of that good stuff. Most of the teachers have heard this before, so they're sorta zoning out and eating doughnuts. Who can turn down free doughnuts?] [Okay, blah blah description white brick walls blah voice bouncing off of them blah blah teacher coughing and it being really loud has to be fun with lots of students blah.] [Sheldon finishes up, reminding everyone that school starts tomorrow, so they'll probably want to get their offices ready today, check everything over with their department heads, and all of that, as usual. And then he's done! Thank goodness for lazy GMs.] (Arwen's DMing uses the innovative "blah blah" approach.) [Mini Start!] * Luke has been paying marginally more attention than his fellows, since he's new, but not much, since it was all explained to him by Sheldon beforehand anyway and it's not exactly brain surgery. [That's why they're teachers and not brain surgeons.] * Luke is dressed in beige slacks with a matching beige sports jacket, over a white shirt. [The other teachers relax and start talking. From what Luke can hear, most of it isn't about school, but rather what people have been doing over the summer and their kids and all of that crazy life stuff that teachers actually do have.] * Luke's got his briefcase on his lap. He's munching on a doughnut or possibly a donut. (Who are on either side of Luke?) (You say 'donut', I say 'doughnut'...) (RDM says "round cruller"...) (Do I? I'll have to remember that.) (Heh. You were just the other guy in the channel.) [To Luke's left is an Asian man with a receding hairline and thick glasses. He has a rumpled dress shirt and tie on, and his attention is directed away from Luke and to a woman with very curly, dark brown hair in a sweatshirt and jeans.] (Watch Arwen make up NPCs as we speak.) (Hee.) (NPCs we will love and wonder how we ever lived without. Or who will be eaten in this very session. Or both.) (::stealthily replaces Luke's round crullers with kosher matzos while he's distracted by people suddenly appearing next to him::) (Who makes non-kosher matzos? "All the dry unleavened taste, none of the okay with your God!") [To his right! is nobody. But way at the end of the table is a woman about his age. She has frizzy, light brown hair in a ponytail, and glasses. She's wearing a nice sweater and slacks, and she's just standing up now.] (Or is that matzah?) (Or is there a difference?) [Other teachers are congregating in groups. There's one with a man who looks like he's in his late forties and is fidgeting *constantly*, and another, older one with a moustache walks up behind him and slaps him on the back. He nearly falls over.] (They're called saltine crackers ;P and there are non-kosher for passover matzos because some people are crazy and want kosher crackers, and as far I know it's just a difference between Sfardic and Askinazi pronunciations. I also doubt I spelled that correctly.) * Luke, little realizing the woman way over there is actually important and cool, tries to strike up a conversation with the Asian man. (Yeah, this is NPC land. I can go all day.) (You cannot. You've run out of NPCs.) (Well, maybe. There's a lot of staff for a school of two thou.) [The Asian man does not recognize him!] "Hi. I'm Luke," Luke says, proffering a hand. [Or notice he's there. Oh, now he does. He blinks, then turns to see him. "Oh! Hello. I am Dr. Hans." He shakes Luke's hand; firm grip. And yes, the accent is noticeable. "You are new here?"] ["Walter," the curly-haired woman puts in. The Asian guy eyes her. She grins. "He likes giving his title," she explains.] (Oh my god make up NPCs now!) * Luke gives an easy grin. "Well, he earned it. I never got more than a M.B.A." He offers her a hand as well. "And I didn't catch your name?" [She laughs, taking the hand and shaking it. "May. I'm the singing teacher."] ["So," she says, retracting her hand, "What are you in for?"] "I'm the new English teacher." Luke gives a self-deprecating grin. "Someone has to see they have the metaphor-identification skills that life demands." ["Did you transfer in from anywhere?" Hans asks, peering at Luke through the glasses.] "The private sector." [Hans blinks. He looks confused. May, though, just nods. "You did some private teaching, then? That's good." She smiles. "It's not that different. Public school kids really *aren't* more evil than the private ones." She pauses, then adds, "Much."] * Luke looks abashed. "No, this is my first teaching job. I meant that I had a corporate job before." [May looks surprised and makes a little 'oh' sound. She exchanges a look with Hans, and Hans says, "Burnout." May nods.] "Pretty much. The pay was good, but I couldn't take the eighty hour work weeks." [Hans laughs a nice, full laugh. "Eighty hours! Makes me think of what would have happened if I went and played professionally."] [May chuckles, her eyes back on Luke. "Well, we have our own kind of burnout here. It usually happens after we can't take dealing with the brats anymore." She says 'brats' affectionately enough.] ["I think that's the real reason behind summer vacation," she adds. "It's for the teachers."] * Luke laughs. "It's for *me*, that's for certain." ["There should be a law against that." Hans shakes his head. "Eighty hours..."] "You play the game if you want the pay. I just finally decided I didn't anymore. It's no way to live." Luke bites into his donut, getting a bit of chocolate icing on his lip. (This is odd, because it's maple cream.) (Now I want a doughnut.) (Mmm... Donut.) ["There is more to life than working," May agrees. "It's why I don't take a job over the summer, really, besides the private teaching I already do."] [There's some bustle as teachers gradually leave the cafeteria by themselves or in groups.] * Luke nods. "So, what's the dirt I didn't get in the speech? Any advice for the new guy?" [Hans leans forward and says, "The kids. They will eat you." May rolls her eyes, and Hans glances back, then he looks to Luke. "They will!"] ["You might be treated like a sub for a while," May agrees reluctantly.] "Ah," Luke says, clearly understanding from his days as a high school student what *that* means. ["I found that hitting the blackboard with a ruler is a good way to get their attention when they're running rampant," Hans continues. "Just don't hit the kid. That means trouble." May coughs into her hand.] "I wasn't planning on it, but thanks for the heads up." ["We had an incident about that years ago, but that's long over." May hrms. "Don't be too nice. I mean, be nice. You want them to like you. But if you're too nice, you'll be pushed over."] ["Yes," Hans says, "they make a big deal about how awful detention is, but it's not that bad."] * Luke nods. "I'm told I have the 'honour' of running detention. I think it's some sort of initiation." [May snickers. "Yeah, you won't need to do it so much after you've taught here for a few years. Uh, detention..."] ["Most of the students in there are there because they were tardy," Hans interrupts. "Or passing notes in class. Small stuff. Make sure they don't talk and it should go okay."] "I heard something about gangs..." ["Oh," May says, and Hans clears his throat.] (Dammit, we try to cover that up. Now we have to kill you.) ["The thing about the gangs," the doctor says, "is that they don't usually get into fights during school." May nods, and Hans continues, "And we tried to do things about colors, but there isn't much about that. Maybe report them if they have the signs, yeah? Like you see on the graffiti."] "I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong?" Luke seems embarrassed. ["Oh, no," May says, waving her hands. "It's just... well, it can happen. If things get really bad, we can end up in a lockdown. But that's not normal at all," she adds hurriedly. "It's really generally safe. The police can be here in under ten minutes if it gets out of hand."] * Luke finishes off his donut. "On a more pleasant topic, is there much socializing among the staff?" [May laughs. "Oh, yeah. We all generally know each other. I'm not sure how tight-knit your department is, but you're welcome to visit myself or Hans any time."] ["We don't get a lot of other visitors," Hans says with a grin. "Besides students wanting practice rooms."] "I'll remember that." (Incidentally, I actually *had* a music teacher in Middle School who insisted on being called "Dr." or "Doc".) ["Yes, those students." He looks at May. "Last year, I found one of them eating in there instead of practicing! Eating!"] ["That's horrible," May says insincerely. But she keeps a straight face.] * Luke lets a quick laugh at Hans' indignation escape, then composes himself. ["It is!" Hans gives a wave, not noticing May's tone or Luke's laugh. "Those kids! They eat anywhere!"] (Well, that had to be a fun music teacher.) "The nerve," Luke says in an amused tone. "Want another donut?" * Luke passes Hans a donut. ["Thank you." Hans grabs the doughnut, not caring about what kind it is, and munches sullenly.] [May pats him on the shoulder. "And the year hasn't even started yet." Hans groans.] "Maybe this year the students won't require eating," Luke says comfortingly. ["Maybe," Hans says. "They're okay kids, you know, but so much eating! Around the instruments! They get everything dirty, leave crumbs everywhere..." He has another bite of doughnut, and a crumb falls to the table.] (Yay for irony!) ["Like that?" May asks, pointing it out.] ["Yes! Just like that." Hans grumbles and looks for a napkin.] (Is the place almost cleared out now?) [The cafeteria is nearly empty now, yes. There are about three small groups besides yours, still hanging around and stealing doughnuts.] * Luke glances around. "Am I keeping you?" ["Oh, no," May says with a smile. "I've already moved all of my stuff into my office." Hans still seems distracted by his quest for the napkin.] * Luke has a sip of coffee from a styrofoam cup, then winces as he realizes it's gone cold. [There's more coffee! Over by the doughnuts. It's probably warm... er.] * Luke reaches for the pot, and pours it into his half empty cup. Now he has a full cup of lukewarm coffee. [If this were an adventure game, he'd put it in his inventory, and it would somehow become useful in defeating the demon queen weeks later.] (Yes!) (I love adventure games.) (But then, Ben would kick ass in that sort of game.) "I've just got a cardboard box full of books in my trunk to move into my office, so it won't take long." (* Ben uses the iron skillet on the monkey with the chainsaw...) ["Aha!" Hans says, finding a napkin ever so triumphantly. He wipes the crumb away.] ["Do you need any help?" May asks, since she's actually paying attention.] "Nah," Luke says, waving a hand dismissively. (Though Luke may have to make two trips, because his Body SUCKS.) ["Oh, really, it's no trouble!" May says. She stands. Hans looks up and says something around his doughnut, but it sounds like it might be agreement.] * Luke shrugs. "Okay then." He gives her a grin. "If you insist." * Luke stands up too. "Nice meeting you," he says to Hans. [Hans finishes his doughnut and wipes his hands with the napkin. "And it is nice meeting you." He stands. "Though I think I may be doing this helping thing, too."] [The cafeteria is now completely empty outside of the trio.] [The boxes of doughnuts *are* completely empty.] "I must say, you Illinois-ians are quite hospitable." ["Some of us are," May says with a laugh. "It varies everywhere, you know?"] (Like, Ms. Balen? Not so much.) (Not really, no.) * Luke nods. "I do indeed. Shall we?" [May nods. Hans walks ahead and gets the door, holding it open for the others.] [Hans holds open the door! May walks through. "Thanks."] * Luke follows. "Thanks," he repeats. ["You're welcome." Hans walks through, too!] [No teachers are loitering around the hall they step into. "Where did you park?" May asks.] "In the teacher's parking lot on the west side of the building." Luke glances around the hall. "Though in which direction that is from here, I'm not sure." [Hans just starts walking. "This way," he says. May tags along, because getting lost is no fun. Not that she would.] * Luke does too. ["What did you do before you decided you wanted to teach?" May asks curiously.] "Mostly I wrote advertising copy." "But I think I'm going to like working here a lot better." [Mini End!]