[Friday, August 27, 2004.] [The day has passed like school days often do. Schoolishly. It's the passing period between third and fourth, and you guys need to get to English. Or Luke will EET YOU. Or not.] [The cold spell is over, and it's hot outside again. That lasted long. But it's not hot in here, because there's air conditioning! Yay! Except in the foreign language and art rooms upstairs.] [There is, but... you know. It doesn't work so good. Anyway! You're here. In English. Or you're getting here. It's two minutes into the passing period, so probably getting here.] [Session Start.] (How long is the break? How many minutes to class?) (Five.) * Charlotte enters into class, taking her seat: front row, center. Today she's wearing black jeans and a short-sleeved red shirt. [Jeremy comes walking in with Ivy in tow. Wow, they're pretty early! They take their usual seats, and a few other students come in, filling out the class. Mostly taking usual seats, too, because why not?] * Charlotte waves. [Jeremy waves to Charlotte as he walks by.] * Krista goes in, not waving at anyone. She sits down at her desk and adjusts her glasses without much fanfare! * Veronica enters into the classroom. She's talking to Christy again this time, but still seems a little more subdued than she was the first day. She makes her way to the window seats. * Luke stands by the front of the class, watching students file in. He's wearing beige slacks and a yellow-white shirt, and he's holding his attaché case in his left hand. ( Dadadadaaaaa da da--- er, sorry. ) [Christy walks in and waves at Luke cheerfully. "Hi, Mr. Mendel!"] "Good morning, Christy." [She beams and goes to have a seat. Want to bet she won't raise her hand anyway?] * Veronica glances over at Christy as she sits down. "You're sure cheery this afternoon..." [Students keep pouring in. Oh God, they're everywhere! Camila walks in, talking to her girlfriend; she's nice and gothy today, and she shoots Veronica a glare before sitting down on the other side of the room.] * Veronica doesn't notice or care! Take your pick. [Christy shrugs. "I had pez for breakfast. Ooh, maybe we'll get to act out Hamlet. Do you think I can be the ghost?"] * Luke exchanges pleasantries with a few more students as they enter. [They pleasant right back. Some are more awake than others.] [And before long, the bell rings. Oh no.] * Luke waits a few seconds for the class to settle down. [The class keeps talking, but they gradually do quiet down. Well, mostly.] * Charlotte takes out her notebook. She's prepared! (How mostly is mostly?) (Like a few whispers, but they'll probably be gone soon.) "Good morning, and welcome to the third English class of the year, or as you probably think of it, the 177th to last." * Krista has her notebook as well and is in no way one of the people who keeps talking! She's looking up Mr. Teachy. * Veronica shrugs in response to Christy. She'd respond but bell rung and all. [Christy starts counting on her fingers.] * Charlotte grins. "Today we are going to hold our first class discussion. This is a standard teaching technique to raise student interest and lower teacher workload. Expect to see it fairly regularly in this class." [Hot Dog Guy raises his hand!] "Yes." Luke points at him. [He lowers it. "Does that mean you're lazy?" This gets a few snickers.] * Krista's face looks a little disapproving at the 'funny man', although she doesn't glare back at him. * Veronica shakes her head but represses a snicker. She was thinking the same thing. ( I bet Luke planted the hot dog guy among the students. ) [Christy's snickering. Screw the repression. Jeremy is, too.] "The subtle reference to lowering my workload gave it away, did it? Darn." * Ivy's got that drawing pad of hers out again. On the plus side, she also has Hamlet out... though it's not really being noted after being put down. * Charlotte stretches in her chair. She leans forward and idly flicks at one of her earrings. "What gets the plot in Hamlet moving is characters seeing a ghost." ( What gets the plot in 2string moving? :P ) (Spontaneous combustion.) ( Plot? What is this "plot"?) ( Not it! ) (The plot is What's Up With Ivy?) ( Hee. Plot is a funny sound. Plot plot plot. PLOT!) (It really does seem to be!) (... I'd say Nic's making fun of me, but it's all true.) "If the characters ignored the ghost because there was no such thing, the play would be much shorter, which I'm sure a number of you wouldn't mind, or much duller, which I'm sure a number of you wouldn't believe possible." * Charlotte raises a hand. "Yes, Charlotte?" * Veronica mumbles. "I would. I read Caesar." Sopranos did it without a ghost. "Do you think a ghost would have worked on the Sopranos?" (Unfortunately, Chat uses a drama point and thinks it's okay!) I dunno, but why does Shakespeare need to resort to a ghost to get his play moving? Couldn't he come up with a better idea? "What's wrong with a ghost?" * Veronica watches Charlotte this whole time. Like you said, the play would be much shorter without one, no? "Touché." "Yes, Shakespeare can come up with other ideas. But what's wrong with a ghost? Is it because we think it's too hard to believe?" ( Class participation XD ) (Yes.) (Charlotte will get a good grade. It's even better than XP.) (She's being contrary. I'd thump her skull. >_>) ( You're just jealous 'cause my class participation is higher. ) (Ooh, Charlotte's getting a better grade than Krista.) ( XD ) * Luke looks around the class to see if anyone else wants to answer his last question. (You just know Ard is the type of sick person to offer DP if we write a paper on Hamlet. ;P) (Huzzah!) (I'll just use one of my old ones. *cough*) (... I will.) "Or, more generally, here's the class discussion question for today. Do you believe in the supernatural?" (Write a paper on Hamlet, and I'll give you DP. And maybe an exp point, too.) ( "Hamlet. n. A tiny piece of ham. In Canada they call it bacon." ) (If it's good.) (Sweet! I have lots of good hamlet papers.) (I just have to find them.) * Veronica raises her hand halfway, then lowers it, then timidly raises it again. "Err... define supernatural..." (So do I.) (What if the paper is written in character? *Beams*) (It has to be written in character.) (Excellent.) (God, don't give Summer more things to write.) (* Summer gives Arwen a scanned page of coloring.) (Ivy has a paper written in paper that she orally dictated to Jeremy. ...Miss Thorne. Why is your paper blank? ...) (Do we get DP and exp still if the paper is of D+ quality? Hey, it'd be in character!) (Actually, Veronica's probably more of a C+ student, but hey.) "Ghosts. Demons. Angels. Vampires. Magic. Anything like that." (And half the class spasms at the word 'Vampire") * Charlotte raises a hand. "Like Michael Jackson?" * Veronica winces slightly at that. "What a queer question..." * Ivy looks up at Luke when he says that, her face wary. (Hee. I told Arwen I could get interesting IC reaction to a class discussion.) * Krista blinks and adjusts her glasses again, still looking at Luke. She looks a little nervous, and a lot thoughtful. "All the characters in this story do. They're willing to base their actions on that belief. How hard, or how easy, is it for you as a reader to relate to that?" * Luke pauses, waiting for a volunteer... or choosing a victim. Wait...they all believe in Michael Jackson? * Charlotte raises a hand. "Yes, they all believe in Michael Jackson. Except Fortinbras." "Charlotte?" What if it was actually hologram? * Ivy wrinkles a brow in slight confusion for a moment, but then just goes back to doodling again. * Veronica eyes Charlotte. "Are you saying that if you saw a ghost, you'd think it was a hologram?" Would that be so strange? Why should it be easy to believe its a ghost, but not a hologram? I think the fact that they're speaking thees and thous is a good indication. This ain't Star Trek. (Not even the various Trek episodes I can think of where characters speak that way.) Actually, from what I understand, it wasn't that difficult to produce illusions with the right tools back then. * Veronica taps her pencil and then looks up at Luke. "Mister Mendel. Do you think the time difference is important though? I mean...something so old must be hard to relate to." "Not necessarily. If your uncle murdered your father in order to steal his stuff and marry your mother, would you be pissed?" I'd be sickened first. That sounds like something outta Redneck- aholics. Is that with or without the ghost involved? "Would that make a difference in how angry you were?" * Veronica snerks. "Mister Mendel. My uncle ain't that stupid." * Krista looks back to Charlotte and Veronica the talky ones, then glances down to her notebook before watching the teacher. Watching the teacher is safe! (She used ain't twice in an English class! Kill the witch!) "That, or he's got you fooled so you'll never suspect he did it." ....isn't that illegal? [Jeremy raises his hand.] * Veronica looks dubious now, but quiets down for the people actually raising their hand. "Yes, unless you're a celebrity." Luke turns and points at Jeremy. "Jeremy?" * Veronica can't help but snort at the response. [He looks at Veronica. "Yeah, that's the *point*. People do illegal stuff all the time." He looks back to Mr. Mendel. "I think ghosts are possible."] * Veronica eyes Jeremy. The hell was that all about? * Ivy 's eyes glance Jeremy-wards. (Jeremy has wards on him! He can't manifest his true power) (Mwahahaha!) * Luke strolls over Jeremy-ward. "Any reason why?" [He looks a little uncomfortable now, but he says, "I dunno. I mean, there's a lot of stuff that can't really be explained, right?"] "There certainly is." [Jeremy nods. He doesn't say anything.] * Luke pauses a second, as if deciding whether to press the issue with Jeremy, then turns and strolls back the other way, idly switching his case to his right hand. He stops by Krista's desk. "How about you, Krista?" * Ivy goes back to doodling... again! * Krista was in the process of raising her hand when Luke called on her and blinks in surprise at him beating her to the punch. "Ah? Oh, I--" she pauses for a second, then says in a less startled voice, "I believe in angels... and demons, and if I saw a ghost of my family, I'd listen too." What if it was a hologram? (*snerks*) "One second, please, Charlotte." * Veronica gives Charlotte a slight glare. * Charlotte sits in the front and doesn't notice! "If you saw a dead family member, you'd listen to what they told you?" * Krista nods, responding, "It'd have to be a message from God." Beat. "Well, for me, not for Hamlet. His father's one of the angry vengeful ghosts." "Yes." Luke pauses, shifting his case back to his left hand. "How can you tell the difference?" * Veronica raises her hand. * Luke uses his right hand to gesture to Veronica to wait, still looking at Krista. ( Dude, being unnamed and not played rocks! You can coast the whole class without doing any work or getting called on.) (Ha.) * Krista replies in an even tone, unfazed by the question, "You'd just know." * Luke flashes a grin. "I wish I had your confidence." "After all, the devil's a tricky sort, if I remember correctly. He can even quote scripture to suit his purposes, right?" * Charlotte raises a hand. * Luke turns from Krista. "Veronica, then Charlotte." * Krista blinks, perhaps not expecting to get in a religious talk in class, opens her mouth to respond, "Th--", then loses the teacher's attention and cuts herself off. * Charlotte glances at the clock. [It's maybe twenty minutes in.] * Veronica lowers her hand. "Actually, what I was going to say is...it's all a matter of faith, isn't it?" She glances at Krista. "I mean... if your faith is strong, you would feel you'd just know." Short pause. "And... well, I guess these people's belief was that ghosts were part of Hell? Is that what you're saying?" She sounds unsure. * Luke nods. "These people's faith was so strong, for them, it *was* knowledge. Ghosts *existed*. It was just a fact." He looks down at Krista. "Anything to add?" * Krista nods and says, "It's definitely about faith... and I'm not sure where they thought the ghost came from, but it couldn't be anything but bad for them. Angry, portentous, warlike..." * Veronica blurts out. "So which do *you* believe, Mister Mendel?" "Well, I haven't really given the hologram theory a lot of thought, so I may have to reconsider my position. But I've always believed in ghosts." Really? Why? ( Becaue I am one! Oooooo! *floats around the room*) (Luke's been dead ALL ALONG.) (Dammit, Nic.) (He's spoiling plot isn't he?) (Yes.) "I've met a few." Luke pauses for a second then flashes a grin. "Certainly some people who seemed to show no signs of life. Now, Charlotte, you had a question too?" My question was answered already. * Veronica casts a glance at the creaky chair guy at that statement. (Is he sleeping in class again?) But I will observe that it's fortunate for Mr. Shakespeare that his audience believed in ghosts. Well, if they didn't, he probably wouldn't have wrote about it. Good writers play to their audience, y'know? [Creaky chair guy doesn't look back, 'cause he's dozed off. While leaning back. It's a precarious position.] "It is. But for him, that wasn't a question. *He* almost certainly did. It's like saying that it's fortunate for HBO that television viewers believe in gangsters." ["I don't believe in them," Christy says without raising her hand. "I've never met a gangster. I mean, one that tried to shoot me. Maybe they don't really shoot people."] * Veronica gives Christy an odd sideglance. [Christy bounces! Pez!] Yet the notion of a hologram seems ridiculous. But in Star Trek, they certainly believe in them, yes? It's Sci-Fi. Anything goes in Sci-Fi * Luke strolls over to the creaky chair guy. "One second, class." He leans over to place his mouth beside the guy's ear. "FIRE!" * Ivy jolts in her seat, eyes wide as she looks about in fear. * Krista sighs a little at the sci-fi discussion and isn't surprised at all by the FIRE thing. That, she's probably used to. * Veronica rolls her eyes. "This isn't a crowded theater, Mister Mendel." "That's why I'm allowed to do it, Veronica." I think there's still rules against it. Ain't there some teacher's handbook or somethin'? (Meanwhile, is sleepy guy still dozing or what?) (Nope. He burns.) [The guy shouts and starts, nearly falling out of his chair. Which he doesn't, as it clatters to the ground, and he's caught in his desk. He groans.] * Veronica still snickers at the guy's reaction, whispering to Christy. "Smooth move." * Luke looks over at Ivy, having noticed her panic. * Charlotte hides her grin. * Ivy takes a breath as she realizes that, no, there's no fire. She eyes Luke for a moment and then averts her gaze to down at her doodles. [Christy giggles. She covers her mouth, though. She might actually have some shame.] "Are you okay?" Luke asks the somnambulant student. ["No?" he ventures as he lies there.] You're not burnt at least. * Luke offers him a hand up. * Charlotte also decides to doodle. She draws Parliament! Currently a ghost and a hologram are engaged in a heated political debate. ["... Guess not." He takes it and gets to his feet, then sets up his desk. He doesn't seem hurt.] * Veronica snickers again. "Falling asleep in class is a highly dangerous thing to do. I wouldn't risk it again." [He nods and sits down again without leaning back.] "Now, Charlotte raised an interesting point. To a modern audience, is science fiction more believable? It's just as made up, but because it pretends to be 'science', it ties in to something that modern audiences have a sort of faith in." * Charlotte raises a hand. * Veronica raises her hand. (*snerks*) * Veronica then looks at Charlotte and smirks. You go. (Ye gods, why are the jocks gunning?) (I don't know.) ( Who's a jock? >.> ) (I'm a jock!) (She is. Ow.) "Charlotte?" (They're gunning because Luke's class discussion method worked.) (He should sell it and retire, then.) (Next time we should conspire and have a full hour's worth of silence. But then he'd just call on people.) (Or talk. You think Luke can't shoot off his mouth for a full hour?) (He should! I've got sleep to catch up on.) (He can shoot his mouth off for 180 hours.) (Probably two or three times that.) (Depends on how many classes he has.) I think it's hard to say. In Shakespeare's time, they didn't have the notions of advanced science. We in modern times can grasp the concepts of both the ghost and the hologram, but I don't think this would have been possible for the medieval audience. Although I guess you could say it was alchemy, but that explanation can only go so far. "And what *is* the explanation for holograms?" (Also, Charlotte's a Trekker. A total Trekker.) (That would make her the nerd.) (It would! I was just thinking that.) (Gangsta nerd) (Woo! That leave me without a place in the world! *drifts like a ghost*) ( There's no such thing as Charlotte.) (Her gang sign is the Vulcan "Live Long and Prosper") * Krista raises her hand. Wow! Finally! That depends on who you ask. The point is that people can explain holograms, even if their explanation isn't accurate, so long as it sounds believable. But you can't explain the science behind a ghost. (You mess wit' da Vulcans, we death grip yo' punk ass.) Ghostbusters did. [Camila raises her hand.] They didn't explain it to people living in the Middle Ages though. "Veronica, Charlotte, I'll get back to you in one second, but I think we should give Camila a chance." Luke points at Camila. * Veronica snorts. "Fine by me." * Veronica folds her arms and waits for Camila. Stupid Camila. * Charlotte checks her watch, then glances at the clock. * Krista 's hand lowers partially as Camila is called on. [Camila rolls her eyes at Veronica's statement. "What if the audience wasn't even supposed to believe in the ghost?" she asks as she twirls her hair around one finger. "Like, what if Hamlet was had the whole time?"] "Actually, that's an interesting point, because that question is also a central part of the plot." * Veronica whispers to Christy. "Like... for sure." * Veronica sniffs for a second and then her head raises up in alarm. "Hey... you smell that?" Um... Yeah. * Luke... sniffs. * Charlotte glances towards Camila. * Ivy doodles! She apparently still notices that! "Smell what?" ["Yeah. I think he was totally-" Camila stops and glares at Veronica.] * Krista also manages to fail her smell things roll, and so just sits there with her hand half-raised waiting for the opportunity to speak. * Veronica stands up a bit and looks at Camila. "No... I'm serious. I think something's burning." "Where?" "Does anyone else smell anything?" Luke asks the class. (AKA the NPC horde.) [The creaky desk guy creaks his desk, and nods. "Yeah."] * Charlotte points. "Camila? You're smoking!" (Ah. It's The Witch.) [Camila looks around in alarm, then down at herself. Her friend stares at her.] * Veronica stares at Camila. * Luke looks at Camila. * Krista looks back at Camila upon being told someone is smoking. * Krista's eyes widen! Wow! [The smell of smoke fills the room, and it's quickly becoming obvious that Camila *is* smoking- the tips of her hair and edges of her clothing first, then her skin. She has just enough time to get out a scream before she bursts into flames.] (People with fast reaction time? Act if you've got it.) (Haaa ha ha hell no.) ( The plot gets moving! XD ) (Is there a fire extinguisher in the room?) (Luke has Fast Reaction Time.) (Sadly, it's not a chem lab, so no.) * Ivy whirls her head toward the scream, her eyes wide as she takes on the scene. She jets out of her seat. (Sprinklers?) * Veronica rushes out of her desk and starts taking off her jacket. "Shit!" She runs towards Camila to cover her with her coat and smother the flame. (There are sprinklers in the ceiling, yes. The alarm hasn't gone off yet.) "Drop and roll, Camila!" Luke shouts, running for the fire alarm pull thing. (Or whatever activates sprinklers.) (They're activated by voice command whenever someone shouts Stop Drop and Roll) (Nifty.) [She *doesn't* drop and roll. She's too busy screaming. Luke runs for the fire alarm and yanks it, getting purple ink sprayed all over his hand and sounding the alarm.] (Sadly, you forgot the Stop, so they'll never activate.) * Ivy puts her hands over her ears, shaking her head back and forth in fright. Not even a second later, she rushes toward the door. ("STOP DROP AND ROLL, PRIVATE." "Buh?" "Former Drill Instructor.") [The sprinklers don't go off just yet. Veronica covers Camila in the jacket. It probably helped, but the edges of that are starting to catch fire, too. Fun!] [Pre-emptive round over. Go! We all know Ivy's running.] * Charlotte knocks her desk to the floor as she darts to her feet and promptly does... nothing. She looks at a complete loss for what to do. But she does shout, "Someone call 911!" "Frank, get the school nurse!" Luke shouts at a student as he heads back for Camila. [Frank looks panicked for a brief moment, then dashes out of the room.] * Ivy runs out the door and proceeds to RUN down the hall. * Veronica hisses. "My favorite jacket too." She calls out. "Anyone got something heavier to smother it? Leather or something..." (Bwah! Frank! That's going to mess with me...) * Luke looks around for something good for smothering. Fire. * Krista gets up and backs away from the woman on fire, into the corner, watching and murmuring a quiet prayer. [Camila's friend's stood up and is screaming her lungs out. She looks absolutely terrified. Everyone else is jumping to their feet, too, and it's getting loud. Very loud.] * Charlotte isn't wearing her leather jacket today, so she doesn't get people mad at her by refusing to allow them to burn it! XD ["Ivy? Hey!" Jeremy runs after her.] (Does Luke see anything for smothering fire?) [Luke finds loose papers and books and stuff. ... That's not so good.] * Ivy is heading toward the exit! She's not slowing down. [Christy's pulled out her cell and is dialing, actually. She sticks a finger in her other ear. "Someone's on FIRE!" she yells into the phone.] (Christy's been waiting all school year to use that line.) (All three days.) [Camila's still at her desk, screaming. She's clawing at the jacket over her face now.] (Darn right.) (She was disappointed because she didn't get to use it last year) * Veronica scowls. "Calm down and roll!" She physically tries to DRAG Camila to the ground, using the non-burning part of the jacket to protect her hands and arms. "Camila, calm down, drop to the ground, and roll!" Luke shouts again as he continues to look around for something to use to fight the flames. [Camila relaxes a little at Luke's words, and when Veronica yanks her, she doesn't struggle, allowing herself to be pulled to the ground. She rolls, but the fire's taking its sweet time to go away.] [Next round. The sprinklers turn on.] ( Unfortunately it's Greek fire. ) (The green kid melts.) * Charlotte glances around uneasily. * Veronica takes back her jacket and lets out a huff. "Finally." She goes about putting out the fire on her own jacket. * Krista gets wet and lets out a slight yelp. NOW she rushes out of the classroom. "Pull the desks and chairs away from her!" ["FIRE! Lakeview High School!" Christy's yelling over everyone.] * Charlotte can do that! She starts shoving desks out of the way. * Veronica gets to work doing that at first opportunity. [The people around Camila, including her friend, snap out of it and start to help, too. Her friend's sobbing.] * Luke's getting wet. His hair isn't that affected, being short and spiky, but his clothes are clinging. He wipes away some water pouring down his forehead into his eyes. (My my. Fanservice.) (Darn right.) (Wet for everybody! Too bad Ivy ran off. *cough*) (Ha!) (Veronica's usually got a white shirt on under her jacket? >.>) [Water seems to do the trick, and the fire on Camila starts to go out. !Combat over.] * Charlotte stares at Camila as the fires go out. Her hands are shaking, so she rests them on the back of a chair to get them to stop. * Veronica runs her fingers through her wet hair and looks at Camila. "This is just too fucking weird," she comments before checking the damage on her jacket, then checking around Camila's desk. * Charlotte walks over to Veronica. "What could've done this?" ( My theory: a hologram.) Like the hell *I'd* know? (A flamethrower!) (Matches!) (Fire Gnomes!) (Teflon Billy!) (Ha ha... sorry.) (Damn that Teflon Billy.) * Veronica keeps searching around Camila's desk, talking while she does so. "Don't dare remove any clothing. It might be burnt onto her skin." (It's a reference to a comic.) "Do you- Does anyone here have medical training?" And someone raise her legs. * Charlotte takes a step back at that. She leaves Veronica to her work and crouches down, brushing Camila's backpack and looking like she's unsure of whether to open it or not. We've gotta keep her from going into shock... get a pillow or something. Prop her legs up. [Christy's finished yelling random junk into the phone and hangs up. Camila's friend is crying, and another friend is giving her a hug. Nobody's touching Camila, though some people can't stop staring.] * Luke grabs a backpack lying nearby and slides it under Camila's legs. * Charlotte assists Luke. Thanks... [Camila, for her part, has stopped rolling around and is just lying there with her eyes closed. Her face is mostly obscured by burned hands. The smell's *nasty*.] * Charlotte shudders. (But since Luke failed his Smell roll, he barely notices.) * Veronica keeps looking for something. * Veronica gets up as she fails to find anything. "Nothing... damn." She goes back to Camila and inspects her, kneeling down. "You hear me okay, Camila? I'm gonna check you out, alright?" "What were you looking for?" Just to see how serious the burns are. (Does anyone else picture Veronica learning medicine just to heal people she beats up so she can beat them up again?) ( She was born in Singapore. ) (I buy it.) [Camila doesn't respond. She probably passed out.] [Christy pops up behind Veronica. "Is she okay? ... She's not okay."] Be careful. I read somewhere that you're not supposed to touch people if you don't know what you're doing or you can make it worse. * Veronica scowls and goes about loosening the collar of her shirt and belt if she's got any. "This isn't good. She could be going into shock." "What do we do?" * Veronica sighs. "I know that. First Aid certified." CPR too... just never thought I'd have to *use* it like this. (I always pictured using it for a gunshot victim.) * Charlotte blinks a few times. [The sprinklers go out.] * Charlotte suddenly screams and clutches at her face, spasming on the ground. * Veronica looks back on Charlotte. "What the hell is this, a freakout convention?" She runs over and clears the desks. * Luke looks over at Charlotte. * Charlotte stops shortly thereafter and sits up, clutching her forehead. "Oh God... It must have been awful. It..." She looks at Camila then gets up and heads out of the classroom in a brisk walk. You *think*? She was just set on fire, you... * Veronica watches as Charlotte goes. "What the hell is wrong with people today?" ["Gee, I don't know," Christy says. "Maybe they were set on *fire*."] * Veronica glances at Christy. "What did 911 say?" ["They're coming."] I meant besides Camila. (The Powers That Be would have sent that vision sooner, but they lost track of time.) (Pesky PTB.) (Always sucking it up.) (The PTB do indeed largely suck.) * Luke turns to Veronica. "Shock, Veronica. What do we do?" * Veronica looks at Luke and snorts. "Look at me. The teacher's asking *me* for advice." * Veronica then gets serious again. "We've done all we can... just make sure you keep her warm from now on. I know it sounds weird but... cover her and keep her comfortable." Everything else we've already done. "You know first aid. I don't." * Veronica eyes Camila. "We should also get those burns covered with something wet and loose." * Veronica sighs and takes a deep breath. "I don't do well with this kind of pressure..." (Where's that school nurse? Stupid Frank. I knew he was unreliable.) ( He thought you said hurse. ) (His last name's Furter. He went to get a hotdog.) (Camila is completely covered with burns, right?) (Head to toe.) (And it really hasn't been *that* long.) "We can cover her with wet clothing. Would that work?" It's better than nothing. As long as it's light. But I'm stripped as much as I'm gonna get for the boys in *this* class. [Right about now, Frank comes running in with the school nurse. They're both gasping for breath. The nurse, a tiny, Latino woman with long, curly black hair and very dark skin, spots the problem right away. "What happened?" she asks with a thick accent as she heads for Camila.] "She caught fire. We haven't found the cause yet." (At least one person has high perception!) * Veronica turns to the nurse. "She caught on fire." ( You've got flame.) (She angered the gods) [She kneels to get a look at Camila. Upon seeing the burns, she winces and averts her eyes. "This is no good. She's in shock... I'm going to need a stretcher or something. Does anyone have something to keep her warm? A jacket?"] * Luke around for a stretcher-like object. (Luke has his choice of a desk or another student!) (Another student. XD) (I swear, English classes are the worst places to be caught on fire.) (Are these wimpy little plastic school desks? They wouldn't be big enough.) (I bet a male student would love to have Camila on top of them) (Burns or no) (Maybe you could use the big teacher's desk!) ("...And how did you know she was a witch?" "We built a bridge out of her, thus demonstrating that she was made out of wood!" "...") * Veronica sighs and hands over her jacket. "Here. It's half burnt anyway." She thumbs towards the exit. "I'm going to check on the others..." * Luke walks over to the teacher's desk, and just starts to shove stuff off the top onto the floor. "This is the best stretcher we have." [She takes the jacket and nods to Veronica, carefully covering Camila with it. "Someone get me water," she says.] Christy. You take care of Camila for me, alright? I haven't gotten a chance to tell her what an idiot she is today. ( What about second period? Oh. Right. Yeah, screw 'er, then.) (*snorts*) (Actually, I *do* think she has her second period.) [Christy looks at a loss. "I can get-" she stops. "Okay."] * Veronica heads out. ( "I can tell her for you!" ) [Veronica passes a paramedic as she leaves. He looks over the room, spots the nurse, spots the burned body, and runs over. "Another one? ... Shit." And he picks up the radio. "Bill, I need another stretcher, room 164. Now."] * Luke stops clearing his desk. [He keeps talking, kneeling by Camila with the nurse. "Burns all over her body. Third degree or worse. She's breathing and in shock."] ( It gets worse that third? ) (Actually, yes.) (It goes up to four.) (People usually only talk up to three degrees of burns. Fourth is down to the bone.) ( Maybe it's murder I'm thinking of. ) (No.) (There are only two degrees of murder.) (Less than second degree is manslaughter.) * Luke watches, not really doing much. He rests his attaché case on top of the half-cleared desk. [Camila's friend cries and cries. A lot of the students also generally seem to have no idea what to do, but they don't go anywhere. Talking is now in hushed voices.] * Luke glances at the clock. ( Is it time for lunch yet? ) (He's got a sudden craving for barbeque.) [Twelve minutes left in the period!] (Arwen, is there some sort of standard procedure Luke would have been told for situations where there'd been an accident?) (When all else fails, follow the HHGttG) ( "... And in case a student bursts into flames, see appendix B of the teacher's handbook." ) ( (Appendix C is for UFO attacks) ) (Not really. Get the nurse, have students leave the classroom, try to ask the student before you do anything to help him/her...) (Well, have them leave if it's... you know, big enough that they're going to cause a problem.) "Okay, class dismissed," Luke announces. "But behave. We've had enough excitement for one day." ( "Do those burns hurt? Should I do something about them? *scream and pass out* ...Well...guess that solves that.) (Ha. It's actually an issue, Rowyn. :P) [The students seem hesitant to leave, but they start to file out somberly. The paramedic looks to Luke. "Can you tell me what happened?"] [The nurse stays by Camila, speaking to her quietly in Spanish.] "I didn't see what started it." (Sadly, Camila doesn't know Spanish.) [He nods. "What did you see?"] (Hee. Chad must pray he never has an accident.) (Darn right.) "By the time I noticed the problem, smoke was already emerging from her clothes." [He frowns. "Where?"] [Right about now, the second paramedic shows up. He takes one look at Camila and starts prepping a stretcher.] * Luke points to show where. [The paramedic nods. He goes about helping his friend, and together they get Camila on the stretcher. Her friend, incidentally, didn't leave the room. Neither did Christy.] "Do you know her home phone number?" Luke asks Camila's friend. [She nods once, then nods again and again. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."] "Christy, can I borrow your phone?" ( It's written everywhere in the boy's bathroom.) ( And you know this how?) [One of the paramedics slips a blanket over Camila. They lift her. One nods to the nurse, who nods back, and they carry Camila out.] [Christy hands over the phone without a word.] "What's the number?" [Camila's friend rattles off a number. Apparently, Camila has a 630 area code.] * Luke enters the digits one by one as they are spoken. [Luke dials a number!] (Thrilling.) (Hawt! Dialing! Action!) (It really is.) (See! Fingers flash. See! Keypads ring!) (See! Cheesy ring tones!) (I'm suddenly having flashbacks to ShortCircut 2) (Christy's ring tone is the beginning of the Imperial March, as Veronica would know. :P) [The phone rings four times with no answer. He gets a male's voice: "You have reached the Lopez residence. Please leave a message." Beep!] ( I had that for a while, then I switched to the opening of Star Trek... I mean, uh nothing.) "Mr. Lopez, Mrs. Lopez, please call Lakeview High School as soon as possible." "This is Mr. Mendel, Camila's English teacher. Your daughter had an accident in my class today. She's receiving medical attention now." * Luke supplies the school's phone number, hangs up, and hands the phone back to its owner. (Look at Luke, doing the secretary's job for them...) [Christy takes the phone back. "Do you think she'll be okay?"] "I hope so." Luke looks over at the nurse. [The nurse sighs and looks back to Luke. "I'll let you know when they call."] "Thank you." [She smiles sadly, then pats Camila's friend on the arm. "Come on," she says gently as she leads her out the door.] [The girl sniffles and lets herself be led. Christy looks around. There's just her and the teacher. "So, um... I guess... there really is supernatural stuff."] * Luke turns to Christy. "Yes. Yes, there really is supernatural stuff." He looks over to where Camila had been. "Dammit." [The alarm shuts off, and the fifth period bell rings.] [Session End!]