Coping With Change, Friday, Period 3

[furnaceface]

Today, Jonothon's class would come into the room to find him leaning back against his desk, as usual, arms crossed over his chest, as usual, looking thoughtfully over the classroom with two eyes, as was hopefully going to remain usual. He had most of his head back, and he was going to consider that... more or less a win.

//Welcome back,// he began, nodding to the students in the room. //I feel as though I ought to apologize for the past several weeks, but the man standing here in my place wasn't anything I had any control over, any more than many of you had control over your own selves. So I'll simply begin with assuring you that no, I'm not going to fail anybody who showed up to class last week. Not those of you who came into the room, and not those who turned back at the door.//

What? He had no eyes and his entire perception of the world came from his psionic senses. If you were a living being with capacity for thought, he knew you had been there.

//Next week we'll get back to... what's left of the syllabus. This week, we're going to do what this class is meant to teach you to do, and we're going to cope, either with the changes you experienced before, or with having changed back, now. You are all welcome to talk, today, to share your concerns or your relief, to raise questions and to answer them, to sort through what we've all been exposed to. None of you have to speak if you're uncomfortable, of course. Or if you'd rather discuss anything personal without the entire class as an audience, I'll be staying late today.//

Yes, he did usually stay late. Still, it was worth making certain people knew, just in case anybody who needed to talk was worried about holding him up.

//I think that's about it. If anybody needs to talk...//

[Open!]

Comments

Re: Discuss!

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

Eleanor cleared her throat, wondering how much she should say.

"I'm angry," she started, "about ... what I saw, and who I was, and what that meant. I'm frightened about another me, one who was ... completely without any sort of moral code. I'm worried about one of my friends, something that she learned, and wish I knew more that would help her." She dared to dart a quick glance at Celia, hoping that wasn't too much to share.

"And I ... had something entirely unexpected but very nice happen," not looking over at Joker, dammit, "and ... that's good. But that's an odd counterbalance and I keep shuffling through moods like someone's changing those music discs down at the store."

Re: Discuss!

[furnaceface]

//So, it's complicated,// Jono offered, nodding a little. //It's difficult to find a balance with so much going on, when it isn't just a matter of your own troubles and those of your friends, but also the troubles of another you, and other versions of them, and while some good might've come of it, it sits parallel to that. It doesn't undo any of it.//

Re: Discuss!

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

"Exactly," Eleanor said quickly, relieved that he understood. "So I'm glad for it but I feel as though it's difficult to catch my breath. And I find myself second-guessing whether I ought to be happy and whether I should be more upset and ..." She shuddered. "It's hard enough having all of these feelings, but trying to add 'should' and 'ought' on top of them is just making it worse."

Re: Discuss!

[pasunereveuse.livejournal.com]

Celia arched a brow, looking over at her friend. When she felt confident they wouldn't necessarily be overheard, she whispered over, "Unexpected but nice? Are you holding out on me?"

She could use some unexpected but nice, these days.

Re: Discuss!

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

Eleanor turned pink and tried not to giggle. (And failed, miserably.)

"I am," she said. "Horribly. I ... have news."

The way she darted her eyes over to Joker and back might give Celia a good idea of what her news was.

Re: Discuss!

[pasunereveuse.livejournal.com]

"What happened?" Celia demanded, her gaze shifting briefly to Joker as well. She was smiling for the first time in days -- Eleanor's excitement was infectious.

Re: Discuss!

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

The full story would require being somewhere other than class, preferably without the boy in question sitting ten feet away.

"We had a date," she said, her eyes dancing. "A-and another one tomorrow, for the dance."

Which reminded her that she didn't have, well. A dress. Or any idea how formal this 'prom' thing was. She didn't want to show up to it in jeans, however.