fandomhigh | Practical Philosophy, Monday

Ender had always preferred to teach his classes outside whenever possible. When it became obvious the morning would be a little chilly but not rainy, he posted a note on his designated classroom's door pointing all the students towards the dorm lawn.

He sat down on the grass out there, legs folded. By his side was a bag full of sandwiches, just in case any student had missed breakfast. And there he waited, quiet and patient, until everyone had arrived.

"You'll notice I didn't bring any books," he said, once they had. "Because despite what the title of this class might imply, I'm not actually here to tell you about Hegel or Kant and what they were thinking. They might come up, but if they do, it's because they have had interesting ideas that might be useful to us."

He stretched his legs out. "My name is Andrew Wiggin, though some people call me Ender," he said, "And I don't bring books here because I don't think they have all that many answers. I don't spite them for that, because I don't exactly have a lot of answers of my own. What I have are questions, which are far more useful in the long run. You can keep asking questions as the situation changes - answers tend to be the same thing no matter when you check up on them."

He smiled wryly.

"This class is about questions," he said. "And it's about opening a dialogue with those questions. Everyone here has sat through something in their life that they have questions about - though whether they want to admit that is another thing entirely. We're here to talk about those questions as they come up. No more, no less."

He tilted his chin up - maybe at Cade, maybe at nothing in particular. "Of course, that means I expect all of you to participate," he said. "You don't have to share about yourself if you absolutely don't want to, though I'll have you know that it helps. But I expect you to talk along. If you don't, I'm not going to apologize for the kinds of questions I'll ask. While we're at it, I also won't tolerate shaming anyone in this class for any reason."

Having said that, though, Ender's mouth quirked up. "Enough with the threats," he said. "I don't believe in classic introductions - I think I know what most of your names are, and I'll learn the ones that I don't, and what year you're in is of absolutely no concern to me."

"Let's open a dialogue instead," he finished. "For some of you, this is all new. How is it working for you? Are you elated? Annoyed? Don't want to be here? Achingly happy to be here? And for those of you who aren't - how has the past year treated you? Has there been anything that made you cry or made you think or made you wonder?"

"We can talk about that. Or we can talk about something else. I'm open to talking about anything, as long as you think it's worth questioning. Because you can assume from here on in that I really don't know a thing; but maybe by educating me, you can find something worth educating yourself about."

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"No," Yeul said, smiling slightly. "That is not my lot in life." There were plenty of things she'd never had but how could she miss them when she'd never had them? "I hope it being yours is something you do not mind."

"I'm glad," Emily said with a smile on her own. She really didn't wish her life on anybody. "It's part of what makes me...well, me."

"Right," Yeul said agreeably. "And only you can be you."

She hesitated. "And that's a good thing, right?"

She didn't know if it was and didn't want to assume.

Emily shrugged; there was someone else in her world that was her...but that was complicated. And strange. And revenge-y.

"It is how it is. I do believe it's a good thing though," Emily said at least. That meant revenge was her's alone. "Is it for you? I've never compared this sort of stuff with other people, so I'm kind of curious."

"I have never thought to compare it with other people before," Yeul admitted, sounding vaguely amused. "It did not seem important. I am... who I am. Whether it's a good thing or not I have never really decided."

Then I guess we both are pretty terrible comparison subjects, then," said Emily, grinning a bit. "As long as you're okay with it, I don't think it should really matter anyway."

"I do not have a choice about being okay with it," Yeul said, with a soft laugh. "But that is well enough for me. I think being poorly comparable is not a bad thing, not when it comes to this."

"Should I ask why not? I don't mean to stick my nose somewhere I shouldn't." Not twice in the same class, at least. "Well, if you ever feel like talking about that, or anything, I'm usually around; I don't think there's enough people that would talk about this kind of things anyway."

"I think by the end of this semester, there will be a few more," Yeul said, with a faint smile in Professor Wiggin's direction. "He is very good at directing conversations and leading into questions."

She shrugged slightly. "I do not mind you asking," Yeul said, as she glanced at Sholeh and Evan thoughtfully. "I do not think this is a good place to talk about it though."

"One can hope, right?" Emily said as she glanced around.

"Would you like to meet somewhere else and have that talk sometime?"

Yeul gave the question due consideration before shaking her head slowly. "Not now," she said, smiling. "Perhaps later in the semester but for now... I think it's all right."

Practical Philosophy, Monday

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