Pay It Forward: Making a Big Difference in Little Ways, Friday, Period 3

[uncertain_dume]

Since it seemed to be the in thing this semester, and since one of their students was roughly the size of a large hovercar, it had seemed prudent to denude yet another classroom of its desks and seats in favor of comfortable cushions on the floor.

... Kanan was kneeling directly on the floor, however. Sitting on a cushion seemed like cheating to him, somehow.

Hera was using a cushion. It was soft, and she saw no reason not to.

"Hey, guys," Kanan said, nodding toward the group once it looked like they had settled in. "I see you've all made it through your first week of the semester. We're going to do that most dreaded of back-to-class-week traditions today, the introductions, but on the plus side, you know this'll be the last time until the spring."

Because this was literally the last class of the week.

"I'm Hera," Hera said, waving. "Those of you not from our galaxy, I'm a twi'lek. I've been here in Fandom...almost two years now, and I run the scrapyard and docking pads. Back home, I'm a pilot and I ship a lot of goods." She was a smuggler and a revolutionary. And not saying that in front of a Sith, thanks.

"And I'm Kanan," Kanan greeted with another bow of his head. "I've been on the island roughly a full year longer than Hera here, which mostly means I'm used to being chased out of bed by squirrels on Monday mornings. Back home I generally do odd jobs. Hauling industrial goods, machine repairs, heavy lifting. I joined Hera's crew around the time she showed up here, so I guess shipping goods with her is the most steady job I've had in a while, now."

And maybe two, three other people in the room would be able to call him on that poodoo. At least it wasn't an outright lie?

"We decided to have this class as a way of making a difference for people on the island and maybe off," Hera said, "and more than that, just showing you what you can do to help out. Sometimes even if you want to help, you might not know what you can do. Hopefully this will give you some ideas."

"For those who might not be certain why they wound up in this particular class," not that Kanan had anyone in particular in mind, "or what the purpose of something like this is..." He spread his hands a little. "There's a lot to be said for the benefits of doing good for the people around you. Treat people well, and they'll do their best. People who are doing poorly worry more about how poorly they're doing than they do about much else. Or they worry about changing that. People can only suffer for so long before they want the suffering to stop." This was all a... weirdly pragmatic outlook for him to lean into, here. But, look, not everyone on the island was a philanthropist. Some people were possibly predisposed to be very much the opposite. "When people are treated right, when they're given every opportunity to do well, most are inclined to take that opportunity, maybe even present it to others."

Maybe, say, do what it took to liberate a galaxy. But perhaps he was getting ahead of himself.

Hera smiled at him. "Eventually it might even come back to you. If you're nice to people, if you help them do better, maybe they'll be there when you need them. Or someone else will."

"So," Kanan said, smiling back at Hera, "that's what we're going to focus on to start. Introductions. Name, why you took this class, and one nice thing you intend to do for somebody this week."

Because yes, you had to, it was homework now.

Comments

Sign In!

[uncertain_dume]

Kindly!

Re: Sign In!

[seriesofbaddecisions]

Sabine Wren

Re: Sign In!

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Prince Sidon

Lecture!

[uncertain_dume]

Listen from your comfy place on the cushions. Or the floor. You do you, guys.

Re: Lecture!

[seriesofbaddecisions]

Sigh. Fine, Sabine was probably just going to have to deal with classes taking place from cushions here.

It was more comfortable, though.

Re: Lecture!

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Prince Sidon: single-handedly revolutionizing the way FH teachers situated their classrooms, and completely unaware of it.

It might hit him sometime next week how few desk chairs he'd actually had to squeeze into this week, but for now, he was happy (and comfortably) sitting there, eager for the class and everything it entailed.

Re: Lecture!

[justice_undone]

Breq arrived to class just before it was about to start, looking disheveled. She seemed calm as usual though, even if she still felt uncomfortable with turning into an armadillo and losing a whole month. At least she was here now, and she took a seat on one of the cushions.

Introductions!

[uncertain_dume]

Name! Why you took the class! A nice thing you're going to do for someone. GO.

Re: Introductions!

[seriesofbaddecisions]

"I'm Sabine, and I'm here because I know you guys," she admitted, and said carefully, "And I'd rather wait for opportunities to be nice rather than planning it."

Which meant she was trying to do things like make sure her depressed roommate had things like food in the room and art supplies, but she didn't want to get into that in public.

Re: Introductions!

[uncertain_dume]

"Hey, Sabine," Kanan said, giving her a little smile and a nod. "Good to have you back. And I get wanting to keep your 'nice' things pretty spontaneous. I'll tell you what, though. If you decide you are looking for something helpful to do, you can always take that TA position we still conveniently happen to have open."

Look, when somebody said something like that as carefully as that, there was a good opportunity to steer the subject elsewhere.

... Besides, they really did need a TA.

Re: Introductions!

[futurespacemom]

"Hi, Sabine." Hera smiled. "It's good to have you back. Maybe we can help you find more opportunities, then."

Re: Introductions!

[unusual_sith]

"Lana Beniko." She nodded to the instructors. "I took this class because it's something I know nothing about, and was intrigued."

She frowned. "I'm going to try to make sure my roommate is doing well?" she offered. Nell seemed like she'd need a bit of looking after.

Re: Introductions!

[uncertain_dume]

Okay. Kanan nodded back to Lana, his smile going a touch crooked. Calm Kanan was calm, damn it. See how calm a Kanan could be?

"Hey, Lana," he said. "Welcome aboard. Seems to me like making sure your roommate is doing well is a good start. I'd guess that isn't something they tend to encourage back where you were before?"

Re: Introductions!

[justice_undone]

"Breq. I've been... an animal for a month, so someone must have signed me up, but I'm happy to be here."

She liked the teachers after all.

"I haven't have the time to consider that question," she continued. "I suppose I... could listen to someone about something they find important to share."

Re: Introductions!

[uncertain_dume]

"It's good to have you, Breq," Kanan said, smiling faintly. "If you want someone to catch you up on what you missed, hit me up any time."

He paused, and then added, "And sometimes all it takes to be kind is an open ear. That's a good one."

Re: Introductions!

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Introductions! Sidon's favorite! And his last of the new semester, probably, so he'd better make it count, which meant standing up, to get the full effect of his whole showmanship's display.

"Hello," open his arms enthusiastically, "everyone! I am Sidon!" And there it was, the classic pump of his fist in the air across his chest, the winning smile, the light catching off his fangs, a move that Fandom High as as a whole had fully come to love and expect. "The Zora Prince! I am taking this class because my royal advisor Mizu signed me up for it, but I cannot help thinking he did so with my desires in mind, as it is just the sort of thing I would greatly enjoy doing. For example, just earlier this week, I did a very nice thing by offering to help transport class materials for one of my other instructions...and he was nice enough to let me!"

Because those materials were puppies.

Re: Introductions!

[uncertain_dume]

"Sidon," Kanan chuckled, giving him a nod in greeting, "it's good to have you back in one of my classes, and that does sound helpful. Hopefully there's something we can have you guys do that'll keep you feeling helpful, too. If you've got any suggestions for us, feel free to let us know."

Re: Introductions!

[misshapen_spark]

"Uh, I'm Yang, I didn't sign me up for this one, and, um, I'm going to take Nell shopping for stuff, since she didn't plan to be here?" Yang offered. "I don't really do things in 'little' ways, I'm more of a 'big' type of girl."

Re: Introductions!

[uncertain_dume]

"Hey, big helping is even better," Kanan pointed out, grinning faintly. "And helping out a new person here out of their depth is a solid move. I'm sure Nell will appreciate the assist."

Re: Introductions!

[unusual_sith]

"What does she need?" Lana asked. "She hasn't said anything to me about it."

That was because you wore armor or short skirts, Lana. Nell wasn't really into Sith aesthetics.

Talk to the Teachers!

[uncertain_dume]

When they tag in!

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan? Still here. Still kneeling on the floor.

Absolutely around if anybody wanted to talk to him.

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[unusual_sith]

"You wished to speak with me, Instructor Jarrus?"

Was she certain of his title? No. Was she going for 'as respectful as possible in case I'm in trouble'? Absolutely.

Re: Talk to the Teachers!

[futurespacemom]

Hera? Also here! And comfortable on a cushion and looking approachable.

OOC!

[uncertain_dume]

This week has been so, so weird.

At least I'm back to making props that make sense at work again. That'll be nice.