fandomhigh | Cooperating with People you Hate, Friday 4th period

Lana grinned cheerfully as everyone entered the room. Today it was made up like a somewhat posh cantina, plush benches and dim lighting, mostly from the tables. When everyone was there, she stood at the bar and spoke.

"It occurs to me that I've been neglecting one of the most important aspects of cooperation - communication. If you hate somebody, they can of course just be a terrible person, but it's also possible you're operating on faulty data, and you simply don't know each other well enough. Or even if they are a terrible person, if you know more about them, you may learn how best to avoid them. So today's task is this - we're doing a version of those three-minute dates the bar has. Not dating this time, but talking. So, half of you will sit at one side of the tables, and the other half will sit on the other side. We've got an hour, so you've got ten minutes to talk. After that, one side will get up and move one table down, and you'll talk with the next person. Your goal is to discuss whatever you like, but you can't just sit there, and you want to not annoy each other."

Well, any more than necessary. She wasn't optimistic with some of you.

"By the end, you should have at least spoken with half the class, and hopefully you'll have a better insight into each other."

She divided them in two and sent them to the tables.

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1s ping in at your table, 2s try to ping as many of them as you comfortably can!

Talking to people (animals and woodland creatures were a totally different story) was still something Graham didn't have a whole lot of experience with, so he took a spot at a table and looked around eagerly to seize this opportunity for what it was.

Though, really, it didn't seem that in line with a class about people you hate, he'd yet to meet anyone like that here at all.

Billy looked across the room at the other group. His eyes fell on the first person across the way from him so he walked over and sat down.

"Hey," he said with a slight nod, demonstrating clearly how social interactions were not his strong point at all really.

You know what, though, Billy? That was a great start! Graham could totally work with that!

"Hi!" he said, waving his hand. "I'm Graham! What's your name? How has your day been? You're in my blacksmith class, aren't you? With Miss Amaya? Boy, she's great, isn't she? Anyway, mine's been great, I got to do my radio, and then I work at the Maaaaagpie Empoooorium," said with the requisite sweeping of hands and waggling of fingers to give it all the majesty and wonder it deserved, "where I'm really excited to see all the hard work Miss Steph has been putting into decorating the place! Do you have a job? Where is it? Do you like it? Would you like some jelly beans? Popcorn's my favorite, and Gray likes purple and Triumph likes lime. I didn't catch what kind Nell liked, but I have plenty for everyone!"

And to prove it, he pulled a large bag of jellybeans inexplicably out of his cloak and set it on the table with a big, beaming proud grin on his face.

Edited 2022-06-03 18:19 (UTC)

OK... that was going to earn you a bit of a blinking stare there Graham.

"Ummm, I'm Billy. And yeah... we got Blackstone's class together" Billy paused there, trying to decide what else, if anything, in that tirade he wanted to dive into at that moment.

Graham had a suggestion!

"Aaaaannnnnd?" he prompted, gesturing toward the bag of jelly beans expectantly.

That was the most important part of the ramble, after all.

"Cherry I guess," Billy offered with a shrug. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he had even had jellybeans come to think of it. "Cherry or Strawberry."

"Hey, that's a great choice!" Graham complimented. "Help yourself! All the cherries and strawberries are yours! Maybe some watermelon ones, too. They do all kind of look the same."

"Hello," Nell said. They'd already sort of bonded while hiding from the sticky blobs before. "How are you? I'm Nell."

"Yes, I remember!" said Graham, beaming proudly at that fact and already feeling pleased that Nell come up to join him. "Hello again, Nell! I'm Graham, and I'm doing very well, thank you! How are you? Did you want to try more jelly beans? I brought more," he gestured toward the bag still open on the table from his conversation with Billy, "and I never found out your favorite. But I guess you wouldn't have one yet, would you, if you've only tried them the one time..."

"I can't say I have a favorite yet," Nell agreed, "But I wouldn't mind trying another one or two if you'un are sharing."

She smiled at him. "You'un is very generous."

Graham chuckled a little bit at that, going a little sheepish, ducking his head and rubbing the back of his neck. "Well," he reasoned, "I can't eat them all by myself! Well, actually, I probably could; I might not look like it, but I can pack a lot of food in these sticks and bones! But I probably shouldn't. Besides, jellybeans taste better when shared with friends! That's a real fact, you know!"

It wasn't, actually, but Graham rather wished it was.

"Is it? I never heard that before." Nell wasn't sure about that, but she wasn't one to argue. "I do know that meals are always better when shared with friends, though, so it might be the same idea."

Anakin sat at the table and tried to look unapproachable.

Billy knew that look, it was one he had employed many times himself, to varying degrees of success. He gave Anakin a silent nod and a small hand rise in acknowledgement.

"Hello, Dean," Nell said a little shyly. "It's kind of odd to have you'un in my class instead of being in your class."

"I'm here checking up on Lana," Anakin said, nodding.

"Why would you do that?" Nell asked curiously.

Belle took a seat and looked around. She was perfectly content to speak with most people.

"Hello," Nell said. "How are you? I'm Nell."

"Hello Nell," Belle answered, smiling warmly. "I'm quite well today, thank you. And yourself?"

"Oh, I'm good," Nell assured her. "I rather like this class. Never know what to expect."

Cooperating with People you Hate, Friday 4th period

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