fandomhigh | Paranormal Activity 101, Tuesday, January 4th

When students filtered into the classroom on Tuesday they'd see a new teacher sitting at the front desk, immersed in a texting spree with somebody. He made sure that his phone was put away the second class started, however. Had to set a good example and everything.

"Welcome everybody. Just to make sure everyone is in the right class: You all know this is Paranormal Activity 101, yes?" Alaric waited a minute just to make sure anybody who had came into the wrong class had a chance to make a swift exit. "Okay, good. I'm Alaric Saltzman, but please, call me either Ric or Mr. Saltzman. Nobody calls me Alaric."

"I was going to start this class off with some spiel about how this class is just for fun and vampires aren't real, et cetera, et cetera, but five minutes in this place has let me know that you aren't the average bunch of students that I usually deal with," Alaric said with a smile. "So let's go into this with an open mind and a willingness to learn, shall we?"

"In this class we will be covering a new supernatural being every week, with a brief historical overview and ways you can bring it down if you have the unfortunate luck to be in a situation where one is after you," he said. "Now, just because I will be teaching you these things, it does not mean I want you to go out there and play hero. You shouldn't hunt without the proper training and this class is not the proper training. It's an overview so that maybe you'll have a chance at survival in emergencies."

"And," Alaric leaned against his desk and crossed his arms over his chest. "I am well aware that not everything that goes bump in the night is evil and should be hunted. So while I will tell you how to hurt and even kill the supernatural beings we'll be covering, I want you all to know that it should be taken on a case by case basis. Don't go killing just because you can."

Wow, this was definitely a freeing teaching experience, that was for sure.

"So, today is going to be an easy day. I want introductions from each of you. Your name, age, your experience with anything of the supernatural kind and something you would like to learn about," he said. "I specialize in vampires but I'm sort of a research nerd, so if I haven't heard of what you want to know more about I'm more than willing to read more about it."

"Oh, and I've already picked Ms. Forbes as my TA," Alaric started, gesturing at Caroline. "So feel free to bother her if you have any questions that you don't want to ask me."

[OCD is up]

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"I'm Caroline Forbes," she said, more addressing the others in the class than Ric since, hi, he knew way too much about her already. "Mystic Falls isn't exactly New York, but we have our share of things that go bump in the night. I think class should focus on the good sorts of paranormal things. You know, nice werewolves!"

Bobby grinned at Caroline's introduction. He already thought she was cool, but this just cemented it, oh yes. "I agree with Caroline," he said quickly and then looked sheepish at speaking out.

And the plot thickened with the adorable little brother both in her class and agreeing with her. Caroline smiled proudly and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "As you should, since I'm totally right."

"Yup! And nice werewolves are really cool." Except when they threatened you for going to a dance with one of their friends. "Doesn't it seem unfair that werewolves are nice and everyone thinks all vampires are bad? You have to figure that some werewolves are not so nice and some vampires are better than the movies."

Caroline knew she liked this one! "I like the way you think," she said. "Who's to say vampires aren't good and the werewolves have just given them a bad reputation through trashy novels where vampires sparkle way too much."

Bobby frowned a little. "Huh. So you think there's, like, a werewolf cabal in charge of a public relations campaign against the vampires?" That sounded like something his mom would want to investigate.

"Uh, yes?" Caroline wasn't sure exactly what a cabal was, but it sounded like a bad thing. "They've got to be just a little suspicious with all that hair, right?"

"Why does their hair make them suspicious?" he asked, confused.

"Uh, because hairy things make me think of Sasquatch. And I so wouldn't trust that guy to give me a ride home, you know?" But she'd totally trust a ride from the local newscaster, just so he could give her a concussion and very nearly kill her. No one said Caroline made sense.

"You shouldn't trust rides from strangers anyway," Bobby told her. Yup, fourteen and already sounding like a grandma. "It's dangerous. No matter how hairy the guy is."

"You sound like my mother," she said, groaning at the thought of her mother's reaction. "The Sheriff's way is never the fun way."

"We have nice werewolves in Fandom," Raven pointed out helpfully. Well, one at least, since the other had left. Allegedly there were nice vampires as well, and Maladicta hadn't done anything to hurt anyone as far as she knew, but she couldn't say that with as much surety.

"Seriously?" Caroline was all ears to hear about that. "I'd love to meet them, Are they friends of yours?" It was necessary to be prepared on full moons, after all.

"There are two that I know, though George left Fandom some time ago," Raven said, nodding. "But Jacob is still here, and he lives down the hall from me on the fifth floor."

Except he didn't need a full moon to get all furry, oops.

"I'll have to look him up," she replied, looking intrigued. "Please tell me he's cute." Because it would just be disappointing after Uncle Mason and Tyler, okay?

Raven couldn't help but blush a little bit. "He is indeed very cute," she said. "And frequently does not wear a shirt."

Azar bless Fandom.

"Oooh, shirtless hotties? Count me in." Calm down, Caroline, odds were he hated her kind and could smell her a mile away. "I'm kinda sorry it's not summer now."

"That does not stop many of the boys here," Raven said. "I am surprised you did not see more of it at the welcome picnic. It is tradition for many of the boys to go to that without shirts."

"I must've been too blinded by the crazy to notice," Caroline admitted, frowning at the loss. "Though now I want a repeat picnic."

"We'll be covering both the good and bad parts of paranormal things, Caroline," Alaric said, giving her a look that clearly said 'please don't eat the tiny little boy that has apparently taken a shine to you'.

Hey, it wasn't her fault she was amazingly attractive and enjoyed chatting up tiny boys for information on their very pretty brothers. "I'm just saying, the good is way more interesting and so rarely shown in stories. Why give the paranormal a bad rep?"

It was a mistake letting her be in this class, Alaric knew it. "I'll be sure not to hold any bias one way or the other, okay?"

Caroline took a rather pointed look at his ring. "The least you can do is not let it show - no one can help their particular biases, right?"

"Right, right," he said. "If you feel I'm putting too much emphasis on the dark side of things please feel free to raise your hand and say something."

Sarcasm. He had it.

Paranormal Activity 101, Tuesday, January 4th

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