Fandom High School

So Australia was playing the Netherlands at the World Cup, and Herc wasn't a huge football fan or anything, but he knew enough to decide to just not look at that. Much the way one might not look at a car wreck. It was better for everyone.

Instead, he had brought photos of coral reefs to pass around to the students as he said, "Here's a fun fact for you: coral reefs cover point one percent of the ocean's floor, yet contain a quarter of the ocean's known biodiversity. Now, I, personally, think that's really cool." It probably had something to do with the giant one that uh...hadn't done so well what with the kaijuu and all. "Coral reefs thrive despite the fact that the waters they're found in tend to be very nutrient-poor by recycling nutrients, making them a very efficient system. And that's your fun fact for the day. The rest of your class period is assigned to what this class is all about: enjoying the beach. Have fun."

Today on the beach, the students would find tables with various types of fish and shellfish tossed on the barbie, mostly grilled, along with seaweed snacks and...vanilla and chocolate ice cream.

Herc began with, "As you're probably already aware, a lot of food comes from the sea. Now, there are factors to be aware of, such as overfishing--some fish may be delicious, but they're not sustainable at the rates they've been fished, and so we need to not eat them so much so their populations can hopefully recover--and pollution and how that affects the fish. Fish toward the top of the food chain in particular, such as tuna, can have very high levels of mercury, and so that's something you need to watch out for." Still a sight better than 'has it been exposed to Kaiju Blue?' as a concern, but it was still there.

"Now, you're probably wondering what the ice cream is doing here, and it's not just because we needed dessert. Some ice creams, including these, are thickened with , which is made from seaweed, and it seemed kinder than serving you seaweed-flavored ice cream. So, enjoy. Try the seaweed snacks, they're good."

The students should have received an e-mail or other missive requesting they meet at the beach today, since in Herc's opinion there wasn't much point in teaching a class on the beach from inside a classroom. He had, however, set up a canopy to protect them from the sun, since sunburn was not conducive to beach appreciation. Max could be found under a corner of the canopy, sacked out on a sailcloth dog bed and chewing on a toy shaped like a fish. No, Herc didn't half spoil that dog, why did you ask?

"Good morning!" Herc said to his assembled students. "Since you're here, I assume you caught on to the word 'beach' in this class's title. We're a small group, but that's all right. I'm Herc Hansen, I'll be your teacher, and that's Max. Be nice to Max, and don't feed him too many treats. He needs to watch his weight. Now, where I come from, there's been some...problems, and while the Atlantic is actually still quite nice, the Pacific, not so much, and we didn't appreciate what we had until it was all messed up. So let's appreciate! You'll actually learn some things in this class, don't get me wrong, but a big part of it will be just enjoying the beach and taking the time to experience it. Now, you're welcome to wear your swimsuits to this class, or whatever beach-appropriate clothes you want, as long as all the necessary bits are covered, yeah? If you need sunblock, I've got a couple of tubes of it to give out, so please take one if you don't have any, but I'm afraid it won't do you much good today, because you need to apply it at least fifteen minutes before you go outside for it to be completely effective. So, take it with you, and use it from here on out. To cover your entire body you'll want to use about an ounce, which is approximately enough to fill a shot glass, and if you're going to be outside for longer than this class, you'll want to reapply your sunscreen every two hours. Otherwise you're exposing yourself to UV radiation, which could lead to a sunburn in the short term and skin cancer somewhere down the road, which is even less fun.

"So, on that bright note, let's move on to introductions, since I'm afraid I don't know most of you yet. I'd like everyone to give me their name, age, and what they like best about the beach or the ocean. After that, we're going to build sandcastles. I have a variety of moddable buckets and whatnot to work with, and you can work together if you like. I find it's more fun when it's an interactive thing, yeah? And if you've not built a sandcastle before, I or I'm sure one of your fellow students will be happy to help you. So, introductions, starting with, eh, you," he decided, pointing to one of the students at random.