Nathan Algren (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shiroi_tiger) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2010-02-28 11:28 pm
shiroi_tiger) wrote in fandomhigh2010-02-28 11:28 pm
Entry tags:
Japanese Etiquette & Tradition, 3/01/10, Period 5
Really, Algren could have had the class meet in the classroom, and he could have laid out the tatami mats all on his own. But after spending a week in the Bahamas, he was feeling entirely too lazy to put forth the effort. And so, once again, the class was meeting in the Danger Shop, which was laid out... like the classroom. But with a table and tatami mats.
"You all know by now where to sit down, so I'm not going to waste precious eating time explaining it all to you again," Algren told the class, sitting on his mat already. He was rocking a turtleneck sweater today, presumably because coming back to this place after a week in the Bahamas was just cold and depressing. "And I can't imagine that any of you are in a huge hurry to do anything really heavy on the learning front."
A beat.
"So. Say 'itadakimasu,' pick up a pair of chopsticks, and eat. No belching, blowing your nose or talking about toilets, do try to finish your food to the last grain of rice, and when you're done, try to put your dishes back to the positions they were in when you started eating."
Yes, he was feeding them again. Feeding them made for nice, calm classes. Algren could absolutely cope with those.
"There's a handout on how to properly use your chopsticks. I'll take your food away if you give up and stab your takoyaki with them. Not only is that not what chopsticks are made for, it also insinuates that you're delusional and think that, for whatever reason, we're at a funeral right now."
He sat for a moment, and then gestured to the food placed in front of each student in neat little boxes. And yes, it was entirely possible that the best he could do for meals today were some silly bento boxes with noodles shaped like ponies.
[Up early because if I don't do it now, it ain't gonna happen.]
"You all know by now where to sit down, so I'm not going to waste precious eating time explaining it all to you again," Algren told the class, sitting on his mat already. He was rocking a turtleneck sweater today, presumably because coming back to this place after a week in the Bahamas was just cold and depressing. "And I can't imagine that any of you are in a huge hurry to do anything really heavy on the learning front."
A beat.
"So. Say 'itadakimasu,' pick up a pair of chopsticks, and eat. No belching, blowing your nose or talking about toilets, do try to finish your food to the last grain of rice, and when you're done, try to put your dishes back to the positions they were in when you started eating."
Yes, he was feeding them again. Feeding them made for nice, calm classes. Algren could absolutely cope with those.
"There's a handout on how to properly use your chopsticks. I'll take your food away if you give up and stab your takoyaki with them. Not only is that not what chopsticks are made for, it also insinuates that you're delusional and think that, for whatever reason, we're at a funeral right now."
He sat for a moment, and then gestured to the food placed in front of each student in neat little boxes. And yes, it was entirely possible that the best he could do for meals today were some silly bento boxes with noodles shaped like ponies.
[Up early because if I don't do it now, it ain't gonna happen.]
Re: Eat!
"Rookie would have never forgiven me," she decided. "Although it's not like it's an actual cat. Right? I mean, these aren't cat-noodles."
Please, no one tell her if they were.
Re: Eat!
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She only knew a little Wutaian, but she was getting better.
"She's rookie because -- where I work, that's what the newest person is always called. Rookie. Eager little thing that hasn't earned her stripes yet. Reno said I've got my very own rookie, and it stuck."
Re: Eat!
"Ah! It is! It is! I mean, that's not why we named him that, but it totally is! We named him after the first parts of my and Shilo's names: Mo and Shi! Moshi!" Their own little 'hello-kitty'.
She clapped her hands and leaned closer to the other girl. "You know Reno? Is it the same one who went to school here? Red hair with tattoos and really pretty eyes and likes to fly?"
Re: Eat!
She flushed, slightly, and poked at her food. "Reno's ... from where I grew up," she said carefully, hoping she wasn't giving too much away. "I mean, we worked together. Are you another one of his rookies?"
He collected them. Most of them were blonde. Not on purpose, it just turned out that way.
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She grinned. "So you're childhood friends? That's awesome to have a friend that went to the school before you! It's not as scary or weird when you know some of the stuff ahead of time. Ah! Does Rookie get really weird about the walls in your room?"
Re: Eat!
... Close enough. Co-workers might be messier, if this girl knew enough about Reno's occupation. She didn't like broadcasting her line of work unnecessarily.
"So I got the run-down before I got here, although I was expecting most of it to be stuff he made up just to aggravate Tseng." She tilted her head curiously. "Weird about walls?"
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"Yeah, Moshi sometimes scratches at the wall under my bed. I'm starting to think it's just a dumb cat thing?" She shrugged. "It's just annoying and he only does it sometimes. I just wondered."