fandomhigh | Interdisciplinary Studies, Class 2, Friday, Period 1

"All right, kids," Squall said, as he tossed the sign-in clipboard in their direction. "Today we're going to actually learn something useful. But first--"

He produced a bag from behind his desk, reached into it, and pulled out a single-serving-size packed of Fig Newtons. "Turns out, the guy in THIS universe who invented all the stuff I'm about to tell you was named after these cookies. Or whatever." He shrugged. "Hey, I was in the store, okay? And they're good." He chucked a few packets hard at each student, and then lobbed a few in high arcs over the class. "You see the shape they make when they travel? That's a parabola. Because of a constant downward force. Write that down."

"So, today we're going to learn some of the basic principles on which the universe works. Except not really."

Squall fixed the class with a level gaze.

"What I'm about to tell you is a lie. A useful lie. In fact, it's so close to the truth that you'll never be able to measure how wrong it is." He shrugged. "Unless you're travelling really, really fast. Or you're dealing with things that are really, really small. Still, this isn't actually the way the universe works, just a close approximation. I'm not going to tell you the REAL equations, because they're complicated and don't make any sense."

"So. First. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If I push on the wall, the wall pushes on me."

"Second. 'An object in motion tends to stay in motion, and an object at rest tends'... whatever. Things don't move unless you push 'em. Got that?"

"And third." He wrote "F = ma" on the board. "That's the big one. Force equals mass times acceleration. When you apply a force to something it accelerates. And when you understand that equation, you unlock all kinds of secrets of the universe. Or whatever." He pulled out a stack of papers that looked remarkably like they had been photocopied out of a physics textbook. "And my notes say I got those in the wrong order. So... Ah, who cares."

The next 15 minutes that followed were just Squall copying things off the papers onto the board. Lots of math was involved, and little explanation.

"Okay, so. Now we're going outside. I've got water balloon launchers and water balloons. Get into groups of three and try to shoot the balloons as far as you can. Experiment with different angles and see what angle gives you the best distance -- if you were following the lecture, you should already know." No, you shouldn't. "Don't aim at each other, or at any buildings, while I'm looking at you."

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Unless you think you can work a water balloon launcher on your own. Which I don't recommend.

Mel looked around to see who might be willing to nail Squall with a water balloon when he wasn't looking.

Roxas is thinking the same thing. It might be fun to pelt someone on the back of the head.

You know, if the things aren't dangerous.

It would more be a test of 'can Squall's face get any crabbier than it is now', really.

... but he probably won't.

If Roxas was paying attention, he might see that Rikku and Mel (http://community.livejournal.com/fandomhigh/1517237.html?thread=92878517#t92878517) were up to something.

Rikku ties off a water balloon and raises an eyebrow to Mel.

Hey, once you've shared chimichangas with someone, you get to know how they're thinking.

~~Just Chimichangas? Or is that a euphemism?~~

Mel gave a short nod in agreement and tried to hide a grin.

~~I was keeping it PG-rated for class, baby.~~

Rikku judged the distance with a critical eye - hey, score one for listening to the lecture - and sent the balloon zooming through the air. And tried not to giggle like a fiend.

The balloon hit Squall in the back of the head. And he flinched, ever so slightly, but didn't otherwise react.

In fact, it looked like he was sleeping, or meditating, or something.

Well that didn't have the intended effect.

This time Mel grab three water balloons and threw them at Squall in rapid succession.

All three hit him, and still he ignored them. His hands clenched into fists, though.

Cassandra looked around, frowning. These launcher things were silly. Bulky, cumbersome, and hard to use. She was thinking about just wandering around throwing water balloons by hand. At least that way she was pretty sure she could hit what she aimed at.

On the other hand, the assignment was to group up. Maybe that would be a better idea.

Now water balloons were totally something Sora could get into! He smiled happily at Cassandra and moved to play with the launcher. "Wanna try it out?"

"I guess?" She wasn't super-excited, but he was, and she wasn't about to tell him "no".

Jenny nodded to Cassandra and asked her, "Mind if I join your group?"

"Hey, Jenny. I don't mind." Cassandra was never much of the leader type, so that's really as far as she was prepared to go regarding group organization and goals.

Johnny headed over ot the water balloon launchers and started poking at how they worked.

Ronan came over to the same one, waving absently as he examined the launcher before double-taking. "... If you want to go goth, I can give you some good advice on how to do it properly," Ronan said. "It's been a long while since I've gone full-out, but I've still got a lot of my old stuff."

Johnny laughed. "Nah, 's not really my thing. I made a deal withe Gerard, that we'd painted up each other's faces an' wanted to see if we could wear it the rest of the day."

"Oh, okay, that's..." Ronan laughed a little. "All right, then. Want to work together? This looks like it'll be fun."

"Sure," Johnny said. "Wanna see how far we can get 'em to go, or just try an' hit stuff?"

For a brief moment, Ronan considered 'accidentally' aiming at Squall, but figured that would probably not work out as well as he might hope. "Let's go for distance," he said, looking more carefully at the launcher, determining how it was adjusted. "Unless you have a target in mind?"

"None that's around here at the moment." He started fiddling with the balloon launcher. "I hope you understood all that math better 'an I did."

"Yeah, I'm pretty decent at math," Ronan said. "Here, why don't we..." He reached in and fiddled with one of the controls, adjusting the tension on the arm of the launcher. "... try this."

" 'Kay." Johnny grabbed a water balloon from the stack, and carefully placed it into the cradle part of the slingshot. He started pulling back the elastic.

"Ready?"

[Continued here.]

Interdisciplinary Studies, Class 2, Friday, Period 1

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