fandomhigh | Defying Expectations, Tuesday Period 3

Karla had gotten to the island early today so she could hunt down the moose in the office and clear up a few things. Little things like: how had she become a teacher? Where was her class? When was her class? What was her class? Did the school normally just inform random people that they were teaching now?

She'd gotten a shrug to her first question, a copy of her class roster for her second, third, and fourth, and an eyeroll for her last. She hadn't even known moose could roll their eyes. But the roster had the really relevant information, like what the Hell her class was even supposed to be about, so overall the visit was a win. A few hours in the Perk had been enough to cobble together something to get her through her first class, which, if memory served, was all introductions anyway.

At least with the time difference between Kaeleer and Fandom, she'd have two more weeks to put together the rest of the class--and break the news to her Court that she was now teaching on the island.

Good times.

"Welcome to Defying Expectations: Staying Yourself in the Face of Destiny," she greeted the class when the bell rang. "Or, err," she checked the roster again. "Staying Yourself in Spite of Destiny. Whatever, close enough. We'll be calling it Defying Expectations for the rest of the semester anyway." She debated informing the class that she'd just found out she was teaching this semester on Saturday, but in the end decided not to undermine herself quite so immediately. "I'm Karla, Fandom alum, and this is actually a topic I struggled a great deal with when I was attending classes here. I'm a Queen, which means something a little different in my world than it likely does in most of yours, but the bottom line was that I knew that after I graduated, I was going to have to go home and rule my entire Territory." Which was an abbreviated version of things, skipping over pesky details like the murder of her parents and a civil war, but that wasn't really relevant to the topic at hand. "At a time when most kids were thinking about what college to apply to or what occupation they wanted to enter, I was trying to figure out how I was going to rule over an entire nation of people. It was intimidating as Hell, to say the least."

Still was, most days.

"One of things that always scared me the most was thinking about the ways I would have to change when I left Fandom. I would have to go from being 'Karla', the person I am, to 'the Queen', a person who was a mystery to me. I was afraid I'd lose myself, that everything that made me who I was would get subsumed by this faceless entity that existed only to rule and to govern." She shrugged. "Obviously, it didn't happen, but it was a very real fear of mine that manifested in nightmares and some really unhealthy behaviors. Now, I can't promise that at the end of this class, you'll walk out of here completely confident in whatever future you've got ahead of you--and, considering this place, could be anything from the next king or queen of a kingdom to the chosen one destined to save humanity. This is more about learning strategies that can help you find and keep your footing, as well as compromises you can make that won't leave you feeling out of touch with who you are."

With a smile she added, "But all of that starts next week. This week is the time-honored introductions week, which you will all be heartily sick of by Friday. So, name, class, and what you've got ahead of you after your graduation. Don't worry if it's not some huge and life-changing destiny. Expectations exist all around us, from society to parents to peer pressure and all that good stuff. If you want to, feel free to add if you're feeling unsettled by whatever comes next. Do your parents want you to be a lawyer, but your dream is to dance? Are you next in line for the throne but you're actually an anarchist? Share whatever comes to mind and whatever you feel comfortable with. Also, Kaylin? The great moose in the office has declared you to be my TA. So thank you for being voluntold."

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"I am Yeul," she said, when it was her turn. "I don't remember my class name."

She probably could remember it, if she tried, but the entire topic of the class left her feeling out of sorts and so Yeul didn't want to remember it.

And because she was fairly certain saying her death awaited her, perhaps even before graduating from school, was too melodramatic, not to mention had the potential to upset other people, Yeul just... left her introduction there.

Maybe Karla wouldn't notice?

Unlikely, Yeul. But A for effort?

"Did you want to talk about what awaits you after high school?" Karla prompted.

She tried!

Yeul's smiled softly. "I will die," she said simply. "There is no way to get along that."

And, indeed, she was unsure if she'd make it to graduation...

"We're all going to die," Karla said, just as simply. "Though I take it yours is more imminent than that."

"Yes," she said, smiling a bit more at Karla's response. "It will happen sooner rather than later."

Yeul shrugged slightly, her fingers curling against the edge of her skirt.

"Is that the destiny you're trying to fight against?" Karla asked. "You certainly don't need to talk about it any further if you don't want to, but as inevitable as it is for all of us, there's no shame in wanting more time or not being reconciled to the idea. Especially when you're so..."

Hmm. Wait.

No, young was not the word Karla would use. Yeul's psychic scent was heavy with age, the same way Saetan's was, or Draca's, or Geoffrey's.

Yeul's green eyes were calm as she studied Karla. If she wondered what Karla had trailed off for, she did not ask.

"I do not fight anything," she said quietly. "It will happen as it happens. Being here was an attempt to break the cycle, for my Guardian's sake. It has failed and I will die."

Again.

"Cycle?" Karla asked. "For it to be a true cycle, this all would have needed to happen to you before...?"

"Yes," Yeul said agreeably. "Many times over."

That was probably not super useful, Yeul.

Karla raised her eyebrows at that. That was one she'd never heard before, but after four years on this island, it took a lot more to unduly shock her.

"So, your Guardian was hoping that by being here, you could break the cycle and live?"

Defying Expectations, Tuesday Period 3

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