fandomhigh | Paranormal Activity 101, Tuesday, January 25th

Alaric seemed to be in a better mood this week thanks to the fact that his apartment had heat again and he didn't have to trudge through like a foot of snow to get here. The good mood translated into Alaric preparing a long lecture and a stupid-ass activity that would give him great joy to watch people try to pull off. He asked the students to meet him in the Danger Shop, which had been transformed into a pretty large graveyard with a section closed off for desks and a chalkboard since there were notes to be taken before they got to the dirty work.

And there would be dirty work today.

"Okay, due to popular demand, this week we will be covering ghosts. They're not something I'm personally experienced with, but there have been mentions of ghosts and things ghost-like since before the ancient Greeks so I'm inclined to believe that their existence is pretty legitimate." Of course after Mystic Falls he was liable to believe in anything. "A ghost is typically defined as the soul or spirit of the deceased that can manifest itself in various ways, both visible and non-visible. Reasons for their existence varies. In a lot of Greek mythology, ghosts often provided warnings for people. Nowadays you often see movies where angry ghosts are around to get revenge for their deaths. A popular form of this are ghosts known as White Ladies, who stick around because they want revenge against their lover who betrayed them. There's a bunch of reasons for a spirit not to move on to whatever afterlife there is out there."

Alaric launched into a deeper discussion of ghosts, their history across different parts of the world, where they were likely to be found and on the different types of ghosts one might encounter. He was quick to explain that not all ghosts wanted to hurt people, and that some were there to warn others of something and some just didn't realize they were dead. He then got into ways to detect ghosts, namely through EMT meters, witches and psychics. Then, finally, he got into how to get rid of a ghost if you needed to. Iron was known to get them to dissipate for a short period of time, and that finding, salting and burning the bones was always a good way to get rid of a ghost permanently.

"Okay, so, today we're gonna do something that I hope you won't ever have to do in the future, but will definitely count as your exercise for the day," Alaric said, smiling like the evil jerk he was. "I want you all to grab a shovel, some salt, gasoline and a lighter. Then I want you all to dig up one of those graves and salt and burn the bones in there."

Honestly, this was completely unnecessary and he knew it. He just didn't much care. "Don't worry; they're fake bones and there won't be any gross corpses to look at or smell. I apologize in advance if your clothes get dirty."

He so didn't care.

[OCD up]

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"I wasn't particularly looking to dig out a fake grave today, no," he said, glancing down at his feet and then up at her. "My shoes aren't that important but I've a few other reasons to not want to do this. You've a way to avoid this exercise?"

"Maybe if we talk a lot, Ric won't notice?" Caroline suggested. "I mean, it's not like he's all that into it himself."

Bod glanced over at Professor Saltzman and couldn't disagree with Caroline's assessment there. It didn't look like he was going to be joining anyone with their grave digging.

"All right," he answered once he'd glanced back at Caroline again. "Talking sounds like a rather good plan. I haven't done a lot of it lately so maybe I've some interesting things stored up to share."

"Ooh," Caroline's eyes brightened. "I do like stories. Though, uh, I gather from radio that us sharing much in class might be a bad idea." And look at her pointed glance to a certain other blond girl in the room. Caroline was so not capable of being stealthy with looks or inflection.

Bod followed her gaze even if he knew where it was going to end up. He only looked for a minute before he was shaking his head and pulling his attention away.

"She doesn't care anymore," he said dryly, shrugging a shoulder. "Though, if you'd rather not share too much right now, I'm willing to wait to share some things out of class with you. I'm sure there are places away from crowds of people that I could show you."

Edited 2011-01-25 17:51 (UTC)

"I thought maybe it'd be complicated for you," she admitted. "I mean, I totally get the ex-thing. Mine was a total ass but there was no avoiding him before I came here. What sorts of places do you mean, though?"

"It's not complicated," he lied because it was but he wasn't going to just out and out admit that. He was trying to bury it all. "I promise, it's not complicated."

Later, he'd wonder when he'd become rather good at lying when he'd been rather bad at it for years. "Anyway, I'm not sure how much exploration of the island you've done but I tend to walk around it quite often. I mean, you've seen the bar, obviously, so you know of that place."

Well, yes. He made a face when his cheeks turned a little pink. "I tend to go to places like the boardwalk, the graveyard, and through the preserve most days. If it's cold, I've taken to the bakery because I've discovered a rather voracious sweet tooth and they provide in spades."

"I've wandered a bit." Mostly to see if there was anything awesome happening. "But I've never really done the hang out at graveyards thing. It seemed a little creepy or asking for trouble."

"A lot of people think that," he said, nodding. "I've always found them familiar, if that makes sense. Being around them is relaxing for me due to growing up in one. I don't deny the creepiness, though. Even where I'm from, it wasn't always peaceful."

Bod was really never going to forget those ghouls and his near death at their hands. "I just tend to walk through there and say hello to the ghosts that I'm certain are there. But anyway, no graveyard for you. Is there a place you'd like to check out?"

Being dead with no grave to mark it was kind of the creepy part for Caroline, not that she was spilling. "I don't know. I'm kind of at a loss here because there's no like, one restaurant where everyone hangs out at and you know that wandering in will mean seeing that guy you like or your BFF and her guy or meeting interesting people who turn up dead the next day." Oh, she should've left the last one out. "You get what I mean, right? No social center!"

Really, that last part didn't even bother him that much. He had dead friends and dead family and an undead guardian. He was used to being around and amongst the dead. It was kind of comforting.

"I understand," he said and chuckled. "It's a small island, though, so it doesn't really surprise me that there's not something like that here. The bar is the closest we have and even it's not always crowded. I'd be more than happy to take you back there, though. I'll even offer to buy your drinks for the night."

Edited 2011-01-25 18:38 (UTC)

No wonder he seemed to like hanging around Caroline.

"Oh really? Free drinks, conversation, and the Bod Owens tour of Fandom? I think I hit the jackpot while avoiding classwork today," she replied with a grin.

"I think you might be the only person who feels that way but thank you," he said, grinning himself and looking down at his feet to avoid showing a blush at the compliment.

"But yes, though, whenever you've a free night, I'm more than happy to provide a tour, free drinks, and a multitude of boring stories that include me being arrested and me breaking my ankle and having first aide down by a witch. But really, that's just for a teaser."

"Ooh, now that is quite the teaser," Caroline replied. "I don't know if I can hold out very long to hear more." Or like, remember it for all that long.

"Oh yes, I'm very exciting," he said, clearly just making fun of himself now since he didn't think he was. "All that and I bought a new hat the other day to keep my ears warm. Fascinating, I'm sure. And despite being quite taken with said hat, I'm sure I'll be able to put it aside to buy your drinks for a night of your choosing at the bar."

"What kind of hat? Do I get to judge your taste in outerwear while you buy me drinks?" Caroline wondered.

"It's a...ridiculous hat," he said and laughed. "Do you want me to wear my ridiculous hat? I don't mind. It keeps my ears warm so I'm very fine with taking all insults about my choice of attire."

Paranormal Activity 101, Tuesday, January 25th

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