History of Poisons, Thursday Per 2

[glacial_queen]

Word had been sent around for students to meet in a Danger Shop, as well as a note taped to the classroom door (along with a handy map for the newbies), for those students who hadn't yet figured out email. Inside, the Danger Shop had been programmed to look like an elegant dining room, with enough chairs for each person to sit. On the table sat six pewter serving trays of different foods, a carafe of a deep purplish-red liquid, and a vase filled with lilies of the valley, but none of the chairs had plates in front of them. Their teacher sat at the head of the table, drinking a mug of coffee.

Hey, it was the Danger Shop. which mean it didn't count. If she wasn't supposed to be a role-model right now, her cup would likely have been filled with something a lot stronger.

( Welcome to History of Poisons )

"But enough about me, back to the stuff that's really useful. Poisons surround us every day, moreso if you're from worlds or countries or times that are not as developed as America in 2015. It's not just the wrong unknown berry that can kill you, even foods you eat every day can be lethal if you eat them at the wrong time of year, or eat the wrong parts, or eat them when they haven't been prepared properly." She gestured to the items in front of them. "Several of these are poisonous, others are not. I'd like to go around the table and have each of you give me your name, class, and your best guess to what is the most poisonous thing on the table is. I'll tell you now, no poisons have been added, that's not something you have to worry about. These are all poisons you could stumble over in the wild. And don't worry if you can't tell apples from arsenic, just give me your best guess."

Library, Thursday [1/8]

[wildandbrave]

What, Cosette glad to be back in the library and surrounded by books again? Of course she was. All her classes for the week were over with, and the only thing really standing between her and the weekend was work, but that was hardly a hardship with as much as she enjoyed it.

Most days, anyway. When the books weren't being recalcitrant, and for the most part today they were behaving just fine but every now and then there was a series of soft thunk sounds from the stacks and whenever Cosette would go to investigate it she'd find books falling one by one off the shelves and onto one of the library carts while music played softly in the background.

They seemed to be stacking themselves up into rows, forming a tower. When some of them managed to arrange themselves into a perfect row they'd disappear from the cart, and Cosette might have scolded them for that but when she went to investigate she found they'd gone right back to their proper places on the shelves.

"It's very nice of you to not make more work for me," she told them after the second round of this. "Do try to be careful though, all right? Or I shall have to be cross."

Self Defense, Thursday, Period One

[suitably_heroic]

The class had been told to meet up in the Danger Shop. There, they found a simulation that covered both a gun range and a bunch of punching bags. There was no one else there.

After a couple of minutes, their teacher came swaggering in - he wore a dark Jedi tunic with a brown-and-white jacket slung over it casually. The combination didn't quite work, but somehow it worked for him. "So, you've all had some time to poke around," Atton said. "Hope you took advantage of the opportunity, because it's all the lead-in you're getting."

Beat.

"Well, except for this. Hi, I'm Atton Rand. I'm teaching this class because this island can get pretty dangerous and I'd be marginally sad if some of you died. If you got put in here by mistake when you actually want to be in the advanced fighting class, let the office know, because I'm by and large going to assume you people barely know how to take the wings off a fly."

He clapped his hands. "That being said, I want to know where you people are at. Yell your name, hit that punching bag as hard as you can, then run over to the range, blast the target, and, I don't know, tell me something about how you feel about beating things up. Now go, I don't have all day."

Yes, he did, but he was trying to get them motivated.

"... and if anyone wants to be my TA, come see me after class."

Independent Study: Thursday - Period Three

[wandering-stone.livejournal.com]

The door to Jones' office was open and she sat behind her desk waiting for her students to arrive. The office was currently filled with several boxes filled with books waiting to be unpacked however there was just enough room for Jones and her students to squeeze in.

When everyone had gathered, Jones greeted everyone politely though it seemed to lack any kind of emotion. She then launched directly into class discussion.

"The goal of this course is for you to pursue a course of study that interests you," she began. "At the end of the semester you will be doing a presentation in front of the student body on the topic of choice. How you present this information is up to you though I will warn you this is 100% of your grade. There will be other activities in class as we go along. Some will involve your topic of choice. Others will not."

She leaned back slightly in her chair causing it to groan loudly. She leveled a look at each of her students as though she was evaluating their every move.

"You will be expected to do research outside of class as well as within. Today we shall keep things simple: Tell me and the group what topics you would like to research and why."

The Art of BS [Thursday, January 8, 2015]

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

Josh, dressed in a navy blue suit with a light blue tie, was up at the front of the room leaning casually against his desk. "Hello everyone, and welcome to the Art of BS, which as far as classes being taught this semester is probably the second most useful after how to adult correctly."

Because really, who needs ethics. Josh worked in politics.

"As it is the first day of class, introductions are standard, but I want to see what level of natural bullshitting ability I'm working with, so your job today is to introduce everyone else. All you'll have to work with is their name and what they're wearing. Make up a plausible backstory for as many of your fellow students as you'd like. I'll also be playing along, to show you how professional-grade BS looks. I'm Josh Lyman, and I've worked for two presidents as well as several members of Congress, so believe me when I tell you I can bullshit with the best of them."

He pointed at random. "You. Skippy. Give us your name, then find another student to introduce to us all."