Pop Culture: Everything I Ever Needed To Know I Learnt From... [Thurs, 1st Period]

[thefearwasreal]

"Oh, good, you're back," Oz said by way of greeting the class, then "Vampires."

"You see, the thing about pop culture, and especially things like genre fiction, is that it goes through phases and cycles, reflecting the changes in the culture it comes from, the fears and hopes of the day, and fictional vampires are a prime example of this for one very good reason, namely that in fiction the vampire is most often used a metaphor. For sex. You know with the whole penetration thing with the biting and the staking and all that, and as you may have noticed from some of our other classes, people can be kind of messed up about sex, so looking at can be an insight to some of the attitudes towards sex particular to that place and time, or at least to the culture or subculture the author is coming from."

You could tell where this was headed, right? "I can be easier to pick up on these things by watching rather than just hearing me talk about them, so today we're going to be watching the film of the book which sparked the most recent upsurge of vampirism in the cultural zeitgeist."

Because apparently they hadn't suffered enough last week.

Improving Your Skills [Friday, 3rd Period]

[so_hawkward]

"So, last week sucked in a lot of ways," Clint said in greeting to his students, once everyone sat down. "But, we all made it back in one piece, so it's time for some introspection, because as much as it isn't fun to think about bad times, even bad experiences can be worth something if you learned from them." At least, that's what Clint liked to tell himself when he replayed failures over and over in his head. "I want you to tell me at least one thing you learned last week, whether it was looking before fully opening doors, or a way to get by on the island while everyone else was gone. Oh, and don't worry about your final next week, it's nothing you need to prepare for." He figured he could be nice like that.

Student Council [Friday, Lunchtime]

[bigdamnprincipal]

When the Student Council members arrived to the meeting room today, they'd find the usual spread of sandwiches, chips, and soda, as well as a vanilla-frosted spice cake.

"It seems difficult to believe that this is our last meeting of the year," Zoe said, smiling at everyone once they were settled in. "Those of you who aren't seniors, I hope to see you again next year, and to the seniors, it's been a pleasure working with you, and I hope you'll be coming back to visit after graduation."

Look, alumni visits didn't always end in disaster, honestly.

"We don't so much plan graduation as plan for it--" That would be her apologizing in advance, seniors. "--but if you all have any ideas for things to do in the remaining weeks, speak up now."

Fandom Invasions: A Survival Guide- Friday, Period One

[furnaceface]

"I suppose it goes without saying that last week was most likely difficult on us all," Jono said, standing at the front of the room with a whole bloody pot of coffee on his desk and enough cups to go around. "We all made it through in one piece, as these things often go, but our experiences in the maze almost certainly left a stain on our psyches. That's normal, too."

He waved at the coffee and the cups, inviting people in the class to help themselves while he spoke.

"That's one of the biggest difficulties of being on this island," he continued. "We can literally go to Hell and back," that had apparently happened on the island at some point before Jono's time, "and come out without a mark on us, physically. But there will be nightmares, there will be those moments that something goes bump behind you and you flinch. And not all of us know how to cope with things like this. Hell, I barely know how to deal with things like this. At least not in a healthy manner. So, I've asked a friend of mine, one of your peers, to talk to you about this for me. This is one of those topics that I can't give advice on. At least, not with a clear conscience. Karla?"

( Coping Class- Cut for Brief Mention of Alcohol as a Coping Tool. )

Jono had stepped out of the room for a moment at the beep on Karla's phone. Now, from out in the hallway, he was opening the door again, and into the room bounded a small herd of puppies and kittens, on loan courtesy of Everything But The Monkey.

"Be gentle with them," Jono cautioned, "but hug them or play with them or just curl up and nap with a couple of them in your lap if you're feeling so inclined. Being a cat owner myself, I can attest to the fact that this one works. They'll be here for playtime for the rest of the class period, and then we'll be sending them back to the pet shop, where you can visit them any time you wish. They're always in need of playmates, probably about as much as many of us are in need of the occasional bit of puppy therapy."

[Open, many thanks to glacial_witch for participating!]

Sex Ed, Friday

[screwyoumarvel]

"So there's...a lot going on lately," Steve said, "and we as your teachers have unfortunately not been able to prepare a class for this week. I know your final exam is next week, and I want to remind you all to study, but for now, we're going to watch some educational programming."

Yes. Educational.