fandomhigh | Practical Philosophy, Monday

"Last week, some of you wound up talking about moments from home you miss," Ender said, once everyone had filed into the classroom - and sat down in the circle. "And that the formative years of our lives - the places we grew up in, the things we did - determine so much of how we see the world that comes after it."

He smiled briefly.

"For a lot of people, high school's the moment they really get tossed out into another world," he continued. "Especially here, at this boarding school, where people from all universes and times and places wash up on the shore and go to class. It's a shock to the system, a readjustment of your vision-- everything is new or different, and yet a lot of things might not be."

He sat forward. "So what I'm curious about," he said, "Is the things you miss, and the things you don't. The things you can adapt to, and the things you can't. This is your point of comparison towards the life you used to know, and I know all of you think about these comparisons, maybe even every day, every hour, every minute."

This was where a normal teacher would have probably dug into his own experiences in order to share, but Ender was not as inclined to do so. Instead, he said, "So talk to me. What's new and what's old? Does it mean anything? Or is it just a new background stapled onto your old reality - just an extension of the life you used to know?"

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Cassidy smiled. "Protocol exists here in some ways, but that it's different than back home."

"You know, that's an interesting thought," Ender said. "We don't have Protocol as writ in books - at least not officially. But we've all got our own rules."

He quirked another smile. "Is there a particular example you can think of?"

She laughed. "I don't have any males here that think they need to know why I'm doing what I'm doing at all times."

"That has to be both a relief and disorienting," Ender mused.

She nodded. "It really can be sometimes. I mean, I enjoy the freedom and knowing that if something happens, there are people here that I can go to. On the other hand, I'm so used to things being a certain way at home that I can still get confused. Oh, and phrases that mean one thing at home in Kaeleer can mean something completely different here so I have to be careful what I say sometimes."

Ender nodded. "That makes sense," he said gently. "Have you ever run into trouble that way?"

She nodded. "Oh yes. I can think of two things at home that can have a completely different meaning here. It was distressing because neither one of them are negative things back home, but when I first mentioned them here, the people I were talking to were a little unhappy."

"What were they?"

"Well, the first one was when someone heard me thanking the Darkness for something," she said carefully. "It was hard to understand that there are people in this world who believe that any mention of Darkness is evil, but where I come from, The Darkness is how we were created. We were born from the Darkness and to the Darkness we will return." She bit her lip. "It was really hard at first."

"I know," Ender said - softly, again. "And I've read a great deal about your home, you know that. I understand."

He offered her a smile. "But you adapt quickly," he said. "That's a gift."

She nodded. "I know and I hope that you know how much I've appreciated that you have done so."

She smiled again. "There's so much to learn here and adapting is part of learning for me."

Practical Philosophy, Monday

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