Creative Problem Solving, Tuesday, period 3

[vdistinctive]

Class met in the Danger Shop, where Eliot had spent the entire night before attempting to learn to program. It may have involved phone calls to Hardison. And teasing him by pretending to not know what a "holodeck" was.

The result was the class meeting up on what looked like the roof of a 15 story building on a bright, cool day. The wind came from the south in short bursts, just hard enough to mess up your hair.

If you think that detail didn't have Eliot scowling and wishing he had a hair tie, think again.

Parker by comparison had her hair tucked up in a little leather beret. Some people knew how to prep.

“Okay! Welcome to Creative Problem Solving!” She beamed at the students. “I guess they usually make you introduce yourselves here, but that’s boring. So, what you have to do is, attach this safety line to your harness--” Both were held up in explanation. “Shout your name, then jump!” She paused. “Really, even if you mess it up, this place won’t let you die.”

So reassuring.

Eliot knew how to prep, dammit. He just really wasn't usually the one on the roof of the tower. Hell, he hadn't even let Parker get him into a harness in the last five years of working with her.

"You won't get injured, either," he said, arms folded over his chest as he tried to pretend his hair wasn't blowing into his face. "If you really, really can't handle jumping off a building --" you're in the wrong class "-- you can find some other way down. There's a window washing platform and stairs. The stairs are locked and the platform is two floors down." He smiled a little wolfishly. "So you'll have to get creative."

“You can work together! You can work alone! You can use your bodies!... not like that,” Parker added, making a vague gesture with her hands. Don’t ask. “Or tools. Or your brains. Or someone else’s tools or brains!” She grinned. “Anything counts as long as you wind up on the ground!” She paused and added thoughtfully, “And there might be evil security guards in the stairwell.”

Eliot frowned. "Parker, I didn't program any security guards." Evil or otherwise.

“Yeah, I know, how could you forget those?” Pfftt. “I put them in when I saw you forgot them.”

Eliot closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head. He wasn't really looking forward to seeing what Parker thought 'evil security guards' should be like. "I'll stay up here to help out anyone who gets stuck." Or needs to be rescued from security guards. "Parker'll meet you downstairs with a treat." He was missing something. Oh, right: "I'm Eliot, by the way. That's Parker. We're teachers. Now get going."

Comments

Re: On the ground

[spin_kick_snap]

"Yeah it does," Kathy said, proving his point with cheeks flushed from excitement. "I only got into it this past year--" after she'd developed her powers or mutation or whatever "--and it's pretty much the best thing ever."

Re: On the ground

[doesnotkneel]

"I've been tryin' to do this sort of thing for a while," Edward admitted. He was bouncing in place, because he had a lot of excess energy all of a sudden. "But climbing up shacks and trees ain't anything like it."

Re: On the ground

[spin_kick_snap]

"Nah," Kathy agreed. "You need something with height." She thought for a moment. "You know, the dorms have six floors. And an entrance to the roof."

...Not sayin', just sayin'.

Re: On the ground

[doesnotkneel]

"I've been thinking about seeing if I can't get out of my room quicker through the window than down the stairs," Edward shared, because of course he had. "But I'd hardly say no to jumping off the roof."

Because of course he wouldn't.

Re: On the ground

[spin_kick_snap]

"What floor are you on?" Because why would she dissuade Edward from trying to find out? She'd had to do plenty of sneaking out her bedroom window in LA when she wanted to go out as Banzai. "I might have to start trying to hop out of my window when I'm running late. I'm on the fifth."

A quick leap out of the building, as opposed to running down five flights of stairs? Definitely faster.

Re: On the ground

[doesnotkneel]

"I'm on the fifth as well," Edward said, grinning even broader. Oh god, bad Ed, bad. "Perhaps we should meet and test it sometime soon. It should make the journey to school in the morning a bit easier."

In a way.

Re: On the ground

[spin_kick_snap]

Hey now! Flinging yourself out of a fifth story window was a much healthier way of waking up than drinking your body weight in coffee!

In a way.

"And, yes, we should absolutely test that theory. It's for science!" The science of adrenaline, maybe. "And maybe plan a day to jump off the roof, too. Hmm. You know, if it takes too long to get through the window, heading up a single flight of stairs and leaping off the roof might work, too."

Or, you know, being normal people and taking the stairs all the way down. You guys could keep doing that instead.

Re: On the ground

[doesnotkneel]

"I say it won't hurt to try both," Edward said.

Ahahaha nice choice of words there, boy, it could most certainly hurt.

"End of the week, gather on the roof?" he said. "We'll see about borrowing some of these harnesses and rope if the professor lets us."

He was fairly confident already that Parker would say yes.

Re: On the ground

[spin_kick_snap]

"That sounds awesome," Kathy said, giving a little clap of enthusiasm. "Followed by a ton of pizza, you think? Because leaping off of tall building makes me hungry."

Kathy, everything makes you hungry. You have a crazy, ramped-up metabolism.

Re: On the ground

[doesnotkneel]

"I would hardly ever say no to pizza," Edward said.

He was working out in his head how many plant-shirts he'd have to sell if he couldn't talk someone else into buying the pizza, but he wouldn't say no to it, no.

"Perhaps the school cafeteria still has some laying about."

Re: On the ground

[spin_kick_snap]

"You convince the teachers to loan us the harnesses, I'll spring for the pizza," Kathy offered. Sure, the cafeteria pizza was okay, but it wasn't anything to write home about. And after a long day of adrenaline surging, she was going to want to eat some hot greasy, cheesy goodness. "I, uhh, eat a lot more than most people expect. So I'd feel bad making anyone else buy for me."