fandomhigh | How to Win Friends and Influence People, Friday, Period 1

At the front of the classroom this morning, Kanan was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, turning bemused, vaguely amused glances toward Bob. This? This was somehow his life now.

In his hand, he had a book. The odds that he had actually opened that book to look at anything beyond the table of contents were slim.

"So," he said, looking at the class at large. "Welcome to How To Win Friends and Influence People."

As taught by two guys who clearly were already masters of this.

"If you're from modern Earth, you might have seen this book." Bob waved at the book in Kanan's hands. "It's apparently rather popular." He snorted. "It's rubbish. Good table of contents, though, so we'll be going with that."

Kanan opened that book right to said table of contents, and then started to read aloud.

"Twelve things this book will do for you," he said, and then shook his head. "That's right in the class title. Garbage. Clearly we're here to learn how to make friends and influence people."

This was what happened when Kanan just let the school assign him to a class, apparently.

"Which you might or might not be able to do by the time we're finished this semester."

"So," Bob said, "That's what we're going to do for you. Next question is what do you want from this class? More of the winning friends or the influencing people? What sorts of reasons do you need to use it for? Oh," he added, "and who are you? We should probably start there."

"I'm Kanan Jarrus," Kanan said, because they probably should be the ones to kick all this off. "A pilot, first and foremost. Briefly a smuggler. You'd be surprised just what sort of people you meet when you're flying around the galaxy sneaking contraband from planet to planet."

"And I'm Hrothbert of Bainbridge. Or 'Bob' if you prefer," Bob said. "I'm a former necromancer and long-time teacher of magic. Currently a ghost, so don't try handing me anything."

"If you need to do that, I serve multiple purposes as both a teacher and a guy with solid hands," Kanan offered. "That said, we are in the market for a TA, if we have anybody interested in volunteering for the job. Perks mostly include getting to carry things for this guy," he pointed a thumb at Bob, "when I don't feel like it."

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"They really are," Kanan agreed, giving Lucille a little grin and a nod of his head. "I imagine living away from people leads to a whole unique set of difficulties when it comes to reading them, huh?"

Lucille gave a small nod in return. It was a friendly response, but she realized that perhaps she had come across as socially inexperienced.

"Knowing people well makes them predictable in a way that strangers are not."

Her parents, for example.

Well, coming across that way wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It meant that Kanan and Bob could but a bit more emphasis on some places where Lucille might be stumbling.

"I can imagine," Kanan replied. "I've got the opposite end of the spectrum happening, myself. If you get to know everybody at least a little, there's not really room to know any one person very well. Great for working the room and trying to stir up business or get a job. Not the best for feeling out what to do if somebody wants to really start sharing. That kind of thing generally takes me some work."

It was a bad thing if you didn't want to let anyone know your weaknesses, which, although Lucille didn't think of it, was kind of the point of taking a class.

"Yes. I see what you mean. But even if you know someone well they might not be prepared to share."

Her parents had never been prone to do that.

"No, I suppose not," Kanan allowed. "Though, like you said, it makes them easier to read. I have to work with what I think they're likely to do based on what most people might. Sometimes, that means I get surprised."

Lucille hesitated for a moment before asking: "And are the surprises usually good or bad?"

"That..." Kanan frowned. "That really depends on the situation. People are... they're capable of great kindness, of sympathy and compassion and warmth. They're also capable of committing horrors. My best advice is to be careful, but don't close yourself off entirely. You want to be safe, but that shouldn't need to involve missing out on everything good that people have to offer."

"That... seems to me like human nature as I have come to understand it."

That wasn't entirely true, as Lucille would have liked to include the vast majority who were mostly annoying.

"Well, then you're already on the right track," Kanan replied. "We're a hateful, beautiful species. The trick is figuring out which of those things is most relevant at the time."

"Then I believe this class will offer what I expected."

That was true, at least.

How to Win Friends and Influence People, Friday, Period 1

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