fandomhigh | How To Get By In A Hostile World, Wednesday

It was a miracle Atton was even here. He'd been sincerely tempted to stay in bed this morning and let Sparkle do all the work, but... some stupid sense of duty he didn't even realize he had anymore had kicked in and now he was standing in front of the class, looking casual because that was about all he could manage right now.

"...Welcome to We-- I mean, How To Get By In A Hostile World," he drawled. "My name is Atton Rand, I used to go to school here, so don't think I don't know what I'm talking about. Okay. If you're in this class, it's probably because you're from somewhere terrifying where you're not exactly on top of the food chain. That may mean being an unpowered person in a world full of near-gods, or somebody who has powers but not exactly the kind that'll shake the world, or maybe you're just some poor schmuck living at the bottom end trying to get by."

Beat.

"Of course, if you're just here to show off how special you are, you can get out. Now."

Another beat. He waited for anyone to get up.

"...Okay, good. Anyway, I have powers now, but I didn't use to - or at least I didn't have the training so I might as well not have had them. Growing up, there was war all around us, and the people who actually had the powers to stop it decided to sit at home and twiddle their thumbs because the situation was quote-unquote 'complicated'. I've seen worlds burn and friends die."

He took a deep breath. He needed it to keep playing casual. "The only way I made it through the first decade or so of being on my own was by thinking on my feet," he said. "Exploring the weaknesses of people stronger than me, figuring out how to squeak by unnoticed, that kind of thing. So that's the stuff we'll be covering."

Atton nodded at a random student. "Talk to me," he said. "Who are you? What situation are you facing? What are you hoping to get out of this class? That kind of thing. Introductions are useful here, because a technique is only helpful if it's tailored to your actual situation."

He planted his ass on his desk. "Oh, and that guy over there with the stupid hair? That's Sparkle. He'll be your TA. If you have any stupid questions, take them to him." You're welcome, Sparkle.

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"Oh, look, we have our first stupid question," Atton said. Why had he consented to work with teenagers again? "Yes, I am. Actually, I wasn't assigned it, I suggested it."

"Wow, rude much?" Evie asked, turning bright red anyway and slinking down in her seat. "I'm just trying to figure out what online university gave you your certifications."

Or had the bachelor's from clown college carried over?

"My qualifications are over ten years of living in places so hostile most people in this room would crap themselves," Atton said. "Which, trust me, is a lot more qualification than most of your teachers are going to have. Now shut up."

He was having a bad month.

For a moment, Evie did exactly what he said, shocked that he'd spoken to her in such a manner. No teacher she'd ever had and very few students she'd ever met have ever spoken to her in such a manner.

"Well, I'll be..." she muttered under her breath once she'd gotten over her confusion. "I'm sure the Maryland Board of Education would be super impressed with those ten years."

Yeah, so, Karina wasn't going to actually admit she agreed with Evie, since Fandom had beaten her down to the fact that she was going to have to accept the fact that the teacher was a former student, barely older than she was, and that the class topic was likely something he could teach and would probably be useful.

She accepted that. Grudgingly. So there was no point in bitching about it.

But she was still going to throw Evie a commiserating glance when the teacher wasn't looking her way.

Because, well, yeah: she totally understood where Evie was coming from with her complaints.

Edited 2014-08-27 12:16 (UTC)

Evie noticed that glance and smiled. Glad to see she wasn't the only sane person in the room.

...Relatively speaking of course.

Joker couldn't help himself -- he burst out in a snicker. "Ooooh, burn!"

How To Get By In A Hostile World, Wednesday

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