Pastor Carter (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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fandomhigh2018-08-27 05:51 am
merciful_parable) wrote in fandomhigh2018-08-27 05:51 am
Entry tags:
How to Make Friends & Influence People | 4th Period | Monday
Carter bustled around the room, doing a fair impression of someone trying not to wring their hands (he was totally trying not to wring his hands) as he straightened the cushions that he and Fjord had settled on for the first class, rather than the usual desks and chairs, and tripled checked that his cookies were all neatly set out and that there was paper plates and napkins enough for everyone.
At least the sugar cookies with edible glitter on them, as per Summer’s suggestion, had turned out quite nicely. He was indebted to Summer, really....
He paused as he realized that, somewhere in all his quiet fussing, the class had filled up. And… And Fjord wasn’t here.
Oh. Well. That meant…
Carter straightened, looking a bit flustered as he did so. “Hello, everyone,” he said, feeling a bit overwhelmed at the very idea of teaching. “I am Pastor Carter, one of your teachers for, er, ‘How to Make Friends and Influence People’.”
Goddess, but that sounded terrible. It really did.
"I’ve baked everyone cookies today, so please, help yourselves. There’s also sheet of paper on the table, so if you have any food allergies, I would ask that you note them there." He smiled a bit anxiously. "I shouldn’t want to make something one or more of you couldn’t enjoy!"
That was right about the moment a short, wiry red-haired elf man bustled into the room, hair mussed, glasses perched akimbo on his nose. In his arms he was clutching a stack of books and papers, dropping them every which way as he went, only to fumble the whole lot of it onto the teacher's desk, muttering apologies under his breath in a thickGerman Zemnian accent the entire way.
"Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to be late, I hope I didn't miss anything, excuse me, pardon me..." He looked up all of a sudden, noticed the students on the cushions, then looked at Carter and seemed to startle for a moment. "Oh, oh dear. Am I in the correct room? This is the lesson about first impressions, is it not?"
Carter was… absolutely, and completely, out of his depth here. And totally flabbergasted by the appearance of someone who seemed to be lost. “I’m afraid not,” he ventured, after a moment. “This is about making friends, and today is introductions.”
"Ah, well..." The elf man straightened up a little, reached to straighten his glasses on his nose, and then said in a deep, strong, confident drawl that was totally counterpoint to the voice he'd been using just a moment before, "I do believe the two are rather thoroughly intertwined, Pastor. The right first impression and a strong introduction can both make a great deal of difference down the road."
Carter paused. Then kept on pausing.
"... Fjord?" he asked, rather doubtfully.
"It's the hair, isn't it? The messy hair is probably a bit too much." The elf raised a hand, and then everything around him seemed to shift for just a moment, leaving in his place a much larger, much greener individual, wearing leather armor and a comparatively easy smile. "Apologies, Pastor. I thought I might do a little something to make a point about first impressions for the students, is all."
Disguise Self was a perfectly valid teaching tool.
The apology helped to mollify him, though Carter was not particularly comfortable with either the lack of forewarning nor the fact that his co-teacher had thought to lie to the students on the first day.
"You did make a point," Carter agreed, rather mildly.
Fjord cast him a bit of a curious look at that, but turned to look at the students before speaking again. If he'd overstepped a boundary, he'd make a point to ask the man after class, rather than in the middle of the lecture.
"With any luck, I made the right one," he noted, crouching down to pick a few sheets of paper from the floor. "As the good Pastor has already said, I'm Fjord, your other instructor for this class. Today we'll be covering introductions, and keeping mindful about how we approach those introductions as we do them." He glanced at Carter, smiling wryly. "I imagine we both made very different first impressions. Taking a moment to compare what did and didn't work about either would make for a good exercise, after you've given us your names and a little something about you, perhaps."
Carter glanced at Fjord for a moment, then smiled at the class, as he said, "and, please, feel free to converse with your fellow students as the introductions go on. After all, you should all get to know one another during the course of this class."
At least the sugar cookies with edible glitter on them, as per Summer’s suggestion, had turned out quite nicely. He was indebted to Summer, really....
He paused as he realized that, somewhere in all his quiet fussing, the class had filled up. And… And Fjord wasn’t here.
Oh. Well. That meant…
Carter straightened, looking a bit flustered as he did so. “Hello, everyone,” he said, feeling a bit overwhelmed at the very idea of teaching. “I am Pastor Carter, one of your teachers for, er, ‘How to Make Friends and Influence People’.”
Goddess, but that sounded terrible. It really did.
"I’ve baked everyone cookies today, so please, help yourselves. There’s also sheet of paper on the table, so if you have any food allergies, I would ask that you note them there." He smiled a bit anxiously. "I shouldn’t want to make something one or more of you couldn’t enjoy!"
That was right about the moment a short, wiry red-haired elf man bustled into the room, hair mussed, glasses perched akimbo on his nose. In his arms he was clutching a stack of books and papers, dropping them every which way as he went, only to fumble the whole lot of it onto the teacher's desk, muttering apologies under his breath in a thick
"Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to be late, I hope I didn't miss anything, excuse me, pardon me..." He looked up all of a sudden, noticed the students on the cushions, then looked at Carter and seemed to startle for a moment. "Oh, oh dear. Am I in the correct room? This is the lesson about first impressions, is it not?"
Carter was… absolutely, and completely, out of his depth here. And totally flabbergasted by the appearance of someone who seemed to be lost. “I’m afraid not,” he ventured, after a moment. “This is about making friends, and today is introductions.”
"Ah, well..." The elf man straightened up a little, reached to straighten his glasses on his nose, and then said in a deep, strong, confident drawl that was totally counterpoint to the voice he'd been using just a moment before, "I do believe the two are rather thoroughly intertwined, Pastor. The right first impression and a strong introduction can both make a great deal of difference down the road."
Carter paused. Then kept on pausing.
"... Fjord?" he asked, rather doubtfully.
"It's the hair, isn't it? The messy hair is probably a bit too much." The elf raised a hand, and then everything around him seemed to shift for just a moment, leaving in his place a much larger, much greener individual, wearing leather armor and a comparatively easy smile. "Apologies, Pastor. I thought I might do a little something to make a point about first impressions for the students, is all."
Disguise Self was a perfectly valid teaching tool.
The apology helped to mollify him, though Carter was not particularly comfortable with either the lack of forewarning nor the fact that his co-teacher had thought to lie to the students on the first day.
"You did make a point," Carter agreed, rather mildly.
Fjord cast him a bit of a curious look at that, but turned to look at the students before speaking again. If he'd overstepped a boundary, he'd make a point to ask the man after class, rather than in the middle of the lecture.
"With any luck, I made the right one," he noted, crouching down to pick a few sheets of paper from the floor. "As the good Pastor has already said, I'm Fjord, your other instructor for this class. Today we'll be covering introductions, and keeping mindful about how we approach those introductions as we do them." He glanced at Carter, smiling wryly. "I imagine we both made very different first impressions. Taking a moment to compare what did and didn't work about either would make for a good exercise, after you've given us your names and a little something about you, perhaps."
Carter glanced at Fjord for a moment, then smiled at the class, as he said, "and, please, feel free to converse with your fellow students as the introductions go on. After all, you should all get to know one another during the course of this class."
Re: Introduce Yourselves!
Fjord paused. And then cleared his throat a little and looked faintly sheepish.
"But at least influencing people is something I happen to know."
And making friends, Fjord. Don't forget the making friends part.
Re: Introduce Yourselves!
Look, she'd seen you use magic, Fjord. And that's how anyone she'd grown up with would have used it.
Re: Introduce Yourselves!
He wasn't terribly certain about that one. He'd never really had many friends.
Re: Introduce Yourselves!
She'd just stand here looking deeply skeptical. "Not too late to turn this into a blow-off class," she offered.
Re: Introduce Yourselves!
Funnily enough, Fjord's friends had been crew. And now they were either dead, missing, or possibly the reason the rest were dead or missing.
Explosions at sea were a bitch that way.
"I suppose it's not," he agreed, smiling wryly. "We'll see what way it goes, I guess."