Fandom High School

It was funny... Reno had never had trouble coming up with a class activity before. Last time he'd taught this class, he'd thrown the students at paintball. But Wednesday camps already did paintball. He'd done rock climbing too, but there was a whole workshop for that shit. And another one for adventuring.

Shit, even arts and crafts had been taken.

So he'd just had the students meet in the classroom today. Sitting at desks.

"Today," he said, "you're gonna work on your game plans. I know at least two of you got the rest of your lives all charted out already, yo."

He was looking at you, Harvard. And you, creepy baby boss.

"We talked jobs the other week," he said, leaning back against the desk, "and it sounds to me like some of you got things to aspire to, even if you ain't sure of whether you can do it. Travel, big fancy school, rule the planet, whatever. Gettin' there takes preparation. Not many people just stumble into how to get where they wanna go, it takes work. So," he waved a hand. "Think about where you wanna be in five years. Then work out a plan for gettin' there. We got computers over there for you to use if you need to google somethin' or if you just wanna check your Twitter an' yell, whatever makes you happy. You don't gotta have your whole life charted out by the end of the class, but if you even come up with one new thing you can do that'll get you there, congrats, you pass, yo."

He waved a hand at the class at large.

"You need anything, I'm right here. Go on."

"Yo, Rookies!" Hello, Reno was on cloud nine today. Seeing most of the adults on the island turned into kids was fun enough when it happened, but being turned into teenagers? Moody little overdramatic teenagers? His life was like fifty percent better this week than it had been even the week before. "I think by now you all noticed the bit of sustained crazy goin' on out there, which is just rife with possibilities for my favorite hobby, so today we're gonna talk about gossip."

Reno did this more often than you'd think. Sadly.

"Even just a simple, 'Hey, who do you like?' can be a goldmine. See, there's more to that question than just findin' somethin' out about the person you're talkin' to, yo. There ain't no better icebreaker when you're diggin' for gossip like askin' somebody about themselves. And then, when that somebody says they like Tifa, like you knew they were gonna say, that's where you turn around and go, 'Man, poor so-an-so. I thought he was hot over her, yo.' Don't be afraid to stir shit up a little. Never know what kinda interestin' things you can find out when someone jumps to correct you."

Okay, granted, the 'who do you like' conversation that Reno was referencing at the moment had been with Rude, and he was pretty sure that Rude had just been playing along at the time once he'd managed to drag a name out of the guy. But the point still stood.

"Information is power, kiddos. An' the information you can get by askin' around for gossip ain't any less important than some of the other shit they teach you in school these days. What you pick up from word of mouth is real life the way the people around you see it, an' you'd be surprised how handy it can be, just knowin' whatever it is you can dig around for."

Life lessons from Reno, kids.

"So, today, we're gonna all pair off an' practice just that. One of you asks a question, one of you answers, both of you spend the class tryin' to find the advantage in the conversation that follows, yo. You don't gotta talk about people you even know, if you ain't comfortable about that. There are plenty of people on TV that exist just for gossipin' about, if you don't wanna drag your buddies into it. Point is to find out just how much you can find out, and see, by the end of it, if you can pick out the bullshit from the diamonds you just got handed."

So, today was a gossip free-for-all. Just the way that Reno liked it. And with this many new teens on the island? Shit, Fandom was a gossip goldmine.

[OOC: Open!]

"Week two, an' people actually came back? I'm touched, yo."

You could tell how touched he was by the way he didn't actually look like he cared, particularly. Which didn't really mean much. This was Reno, after all.

"This week, we're gonna talk wardrobe. People say 'dress for the job you want,' and... I mean, ignorin' that some jobs go right ahead and dress you themselves, there's at least a bit of truth in that. T-shirts and jeans are fine for just bummin' around in. Hell, if your goal in life is to just be comfortable and do that bummin', that works out great, don't it? But if you're lookin' to impress, you gotta put a bit more effort into it than that, yo."

He glanced around the room. Okay, Rufus didn't need any help dressing to impress. But Rufus was the son of a guy who essentially owned the planet. So.

"So, today, I'm gonna get you to put together a look for yourself. Got the Danger Shop all rigged up to be a clothin' store with a pretty healthy variety to it, and you're all gonna go through the racks and start experimentin' with what look you wanna go with for whatever it is you want to end up doing goin' forward."

Suck it, Harvard. Reno could teach useful classes, too.

[OOC: Open!]

Today, Reno's students had been handwavily informed to meet at the main campfire, and to wear clothes they didn't mind running around the woods in. Specifically, ones they didn't mind ruining.

Why?

They'd probably figure it out for themselves when they saw the heap of paintball guns, ammo, and safety gear. And it would probably become abundantly clear when they saw that Reno had taken it a step beyond, and had filled several large buckets with water balloons. Which were also filled with paint.

"Yo, Rookies!" Reno himself was decked out in a suit that had clearly been on the receiving end of a few such water balloons in the past. He'd been on the island long enough, he was getting to be an old paintball veteran. "Today's final is gonna be whatever you make of it, yo. I got paintball equipment here, enough for all of you, and I went and marked off a chunk of the preserve for you guys to run around in. In the woods? Gift certificates for Pizza Planet an' Chilly Boulder. Enough for each of you to have one. Your mission if you choose to accept it is to get in there an' raise hell until you find one of each. When you're done that, you're dismissed. Bring your paintball crap back here an' go enjoy your large pizza an' sundae, yo."

What this had to do with attitude, the world might never know.

But it seemed like it would be fun. Or amusing. Or both. And so Reno was totally game.

[OCD up, and class is in session!]

"Yo, Rookies!"

It was possible that Reno was laying it on a little thickly this week, to make up for an overabundance of manners and cute fuzziness over the weekend. His usual sharp grin was extra sharp today, and there was an unmistakable hint of trouble in his eyes. The fact that they were gathered in the Danger Shop today probably wasn't too reassuring, was it?

"Today, we're gonna talk about a little thing that most people like to call 'hobbies,' and I like to call, 'not bein' a pussy,' yo." He shoved his hands into his pockets and gave a grin at the group. "Sure, there are plenty of things that any of you can do to pass the time. Hell, any of what we covered earlier might even be part of it; gossip, shoppin' for nice things, givin' people a hard time. But there's more to life than any of that, an' if you wanna really impress people, havin' a hobby that's worth bein' impressed about can help with that, yo. Added bonus? It's good for provin' you can suck it up in the face of somethin' intimidatin'."

He pressed a button, and the Danger Shop shifted into a wide open area with several activity stations set up. Admittedly, this stuff probably wasn't really a valuable life skill for most people, but Reno wanted an excuse to do most of these things himself today, just for kicks, so people were going to have a hard time wiggling out of them.

"So, today, we're gonna take advantage of the Danger Shop to give a few of 'em a try, yo. You can pick one activity, or see how many you can get through before class ends, yo. Have fun with that!"

[Open!]

"Yo, Rookies!" Oh, Reno was in a good mood today as he stepped into the classroom. The blinds were open to reveal the awesome view, and he was practically humming.

Well, it was a near thing.

"Today, we're gonna talk about a topic that's near an' dear to my heart, yo. We're gonna talk about rules." See, that wasn't so bad, was it? "And breakin' 'em."

Ah.

"The thing about honin' your attitude, ladies an' otherwise, is that you gotta figure out just when the rules you're lookin' at are friggin' ridiculous, yo. Do this? Don't do that? Okay, that's cool. But what harm is there in chewin' bubblegum in the classroom? An' why the hell should anyone care if you're sittin' around in the mall for a few hours doin' nothin', just so long as you ain't hurtin' nobody? An' why you gotta have short, naturally-colored hair to get a job out there? Who the hell are those tattoos an' piercings even hurtin', anyhow?"

Yeah, Reno was totally the type to loiter, with his long hair and pierced ears and tattooed face. But he usually did so while well-armed, and nobody generally bothered him, as a result.

"Today, we're gonna talk about different rules you've seen around that just don't make no friggin' sense to you, and you're gonna tell me how you think doin' those things ain't hurtin' nobody, and just how you plan on goin' about breakin' it. An' if anybody sees a reason why the rule you wanna break is valid, they're gonna go right ahead and tell you why, yo. This class is about separatin' the rules from the guidelines, but if someone's gonna legitimately get hurt over this shit, I ain't havin' none of that, yo."

Reno was a real sweetheart when he wanted to be. So there.

[Open! Roster and Syllabus!]

"Yo, losers!"

Nope. Not 'Rookies,' today. Reno had a syllabus, and that was the sort of thing that happened when he tried to stay topical while following it.

One of the many reasons why Reno should never have a syllabus, kids.

"I'm Reno, an' this is your Attitude workshop for the first half of the summer, yo. I can tell you're all thrilled." Smile for the crazy ginger at the front of the room, kids. Show him how pleased you are to be here. "So, if you're one of them kids that actually signed up for this course, congrats. You get to learn how to stop bein' a loser before the term is through. Maybe you'll even be good at it, yo! If you ain't one of them kids an' you got no clue what you're doin' here, good job, you or the office managed to screw up your paperwork, an' now you're stuck with me!"

It was kind of eerie, the way he sounded so cheerful through all of that.

"Now, since it's the first workshop an' all, we're gonna take it easy, yo. Introductions, but with a twist. Today, I wanna hear your name, what you're doin' in this first class, and the worst insult that you can remember anybody ever throwin' at you. And then I want you to throw somethin' at me. Do your friggin' worst, kids, and toss in a rude gesture while you're at it, yo."

Yep. Reno was telling you to tell him off. And maybe to flip him off at the same time.

"Try an' keep your pants up, yo."

[Open! Possible warning for strong language in the intro thread, so click from work at your own discretion. Syllabus and Roster are here!]