fandomhigh | American History, Period 2 01/22

When students filed into the Danger Shop, they would find themselves in the front room of a large colonial home. Algren, who was, yes, fully clothed thank you very much, seemed almost worryingly amused as he waited for everyone to settle in. He started speaking even as the students were sitting down and thawing out.

"Okay. Last week, we covered pretty much everyone who ever landed in America... Ever. This week, we're going to be nicer to you all. From there, history until about the mid-1770s can be summed up as follows: We didn't like Britain. They were kinda being overbearing jerks. So we wanted out. We fought. We got it. And somewhere in there, to cement our point, we wrote on a sheet of paper to prove that it was ours. It's a pretty important sheet of paper, which states right in the title what purpose it serves. It was the American Declaration of Independence, which was approved by Congress on July 4th, 1776."

Tyler was wearing a t-shirt. It didn't match the surroundings, but he was warm for the first time in a while and he meant to enjoy it. "The reason we're in the Danger Shop today," he contributed, "is so you can watch this lovely -- and completely historically accurate -- re-enactment of the decision to leave the writing of the Declaration to Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. He was young, 33, but he was the best writer in the group that summer. He also didn't manage to talk his way out of it."

He hit a button on the shop console, and five men in Colonial garb appeared in the midst of the students and started to sing.

When they were done and vanished again, Tyler began to read from a sheet of parchment. " 'When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.' That is what Mr. Jefferson wrote."

Algren, arms crossed over his chest, flashed a bit of a grin.

"You will each be given a printed copy of the Declaration of Independence to take home with you to read over the course of the week," he stated, walking across the room to a wooden chest and opening it up to reveal a heap of powdered wigs, enough for each person in the class to have one. "Your assignment today, however, is a more simple one. You are to each take a wig, to help you get into character, of course. We'll be writing our own Declaration of Independence, and you are to discuss as a class what points you would be certain to include."

"And speaking of in character," Tyler added, passing out a thick stack of handouts, "you should each pick one signer to represent. It's up to you whether you want to be John Hancock or Button Gwinnett, with one exception." A specific costume was plopped on the TA's desk. "Ino, you get to be Benjamin Franklin."

Tyler might have still been paying her back for the onsen message.

[OCD is up! Run wild!]

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"I was pretending I didn't know you that well, and we only talked every now and then!" she defended her word-choice. "Neat is a compliment too, you know. She was happy about it."

That shifted Cal's expression to something more like intrigue.

"She was?"

"Yes," she said confidently. "She was. Not, like, hyper chirpy, but she doesn't strike me as much for hyper chirpy."

"No," Cal agreed, ducking his head to bite back a grin, "she isn't."

"You are such a dork," she said, watching his reaction. "Geez."

"What?" Cal asked, turning red through his laughing. "All I did was agree with you!"

"You're happy that she's happy to be liked by you," she said teasing him. "Dork."

"Well, duh," Cal rolled his eyes. "What, am I supposed to be upset that she's happy to be liked by me?"

"Considering," she said dryly, "that you'd probably have freaked out on me if she hadn't liked the compliment 'neat' then I've no idea what you're expecting."

She did have a good point there.

"Well," Cal said, "if she didn't like the compliment, I'd be left wondering why she'd say okay to us being together, then."

"Exactly," she agreed, favouring him with a smile. "And then I'd probably not like her nearly as much."

"See?" Cal said, giving Ino a little triumphant look. "It's all falling into place. It's, like, seren-freakin'-dippity."

"Good," she said. "Now can you stop harping on like I'm going to deliberately try to mess up all your relationships?"

"You've met her once," Cal pointed out, "and that was just yesterday. I'm not agreeing to that until I'm sure you won't have any devious plots. The day is still young, as they say."

"Harp less then, geez, before I decide to live up to your thoughts and mess it up just to prove you right."

"Okay, okay!" Cal held out his hands. "I won't harp!"

She grinned up at him. "Good boy."

Cal rolled his eyes. "Woof," he muttered.

However, there were more important things than sarcasm here.

"So, you like her, huh? Ino seal of approval so far?"

"So far," she agreed, mulling over that. "And she's not blonde."

Which, really, helped quite a bit.

Yes. He knew.

For a moment, Cal regained that uncontrollable dorky grin, but it quickly turned into a smirk aimed at Ino.

"You can't have anything against blondes. You are blonde."

"All the more reason to have things against blondes who aren't me," she informed him solemnly.

"Trust me," Cal said with a wry grin, "after all the blondes I know now, I know to stay away from them."

"...we do seem to gravitate to you for some reason, don't we?" Hm.

"I think there's just too damn many of you."

"You're just jealous you're not blonde," she decided, tucking a bit of hair behind one ear. "That's what it is."

Re: Talk To The TA [01/22]

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