Fandom High School

It was finals week, and the class had been instructed to meet up in one of the normal classrooms. There was no Spirit, though. Just a note on the door:

No traditional final. There is no way to test and grade whether you have what it takes. But if you want to, you should go into town now and do something good for her. There is always something that needs doing.
That's the lesson you should have learned.

- The Spirit

Go forth and do good things, kids.

[Ugh heatwaves are not good for me. Neither is running errands during one. So here, have a slightly lame final, and thank you all for participating! ♥]

This week, class was back in the Danger Shop. But this time there was no beach ––

Wel, actually, there was, if they walked far enough. It just wasn't in view right at this moment. See, today's simulation was one of Fandom. A little more noir-ish than usual, but still Fandom. They were standing on Leprechaun Vista, outside J,GoB. "Two weeks ago, I told you to go into town, and look around," the Spirit started without preamble. "Now, I didn't just send you on a leisurely stroll, although if you chose to take it as one, I can hardly blame you." He smiled. "It's a lovely little town. However, that was not the point. The point was for you to pay attention."

To what, that was about to become a little more clear.

Right on cue, a shadowy thug emerged from behind the corner, growling something about the Spirit giving him all his money and no one would get hurt, even though the gleaming knife in his hand seemed to suggest otherwise. The Spirit let the man come closer without even bothering to turn. Then, right as the thug was behind his back, he turned, grabbed one of the chairs meant for the bakery customers, and promptly incapacitated the robber-to-be with it.

It was pretty impressive. He had a lot of experience doing that to people.

Once the thug was safely on the ground and his knife kicked away, the Spirit turned to address the students again. "I could see his exact position by the reflection on the bakery window," he told them. "And, well, you saw the thing with the chair. What I just did was use my immediate surroundings to my benefit. So, kiddos, if you haven't figured it out yet: today's lesson is about paying attention to where you are. What's around you? How can you use it? It may save your life. Your city will provide for you, if you just let her."

Granted, it probably helped to also be unkillable, but still!

"So now, you're going to go to wherever you went two weeks ago – except inside this simulation – and you're going to find trouble there. And I want you to get out of it by using whatever is around you. Then, you can come back and talk about how it went and if you feel like you learned something valuable." He paused. "A little hint: you really should. Now, off you go."

This week, class was actually meeting in a classroom. And don't even ask how even that managed to be a little shadier than usual. Things just turned a little more stylized around the Spirit. Just go with it. At least this time it wasn't full-on black and white but just a subtle change. And they weren't going to hang out in here too long, anyway.

The Spirit, who was leaning against the desk, looked up from inspecting his hat once it looked like everyone had filed in. "Morning, kiddos," he greeted them with a nod. "Last week, you had to use your smarts and your senses to get somewhere. Today, we'll be doing something similar. You're going to go into town for a while, but instead of trying to figure out where you should be going and how to get there, you're going to be really paying attention to where you are. You're just going to walk around for a while, and get a feel for some part of the town. There's no goal, no prize at the end of the line, and there are no thugs out to get you, either. And that makes this harder than last week."

In fact, he was fairly sure they weren't going to grasp the point of this exercise until next week. And that was fine. Give it more time to sink in.

"It just you and this little slip of a town. Walk. Look. Really look. Then come back and tell me what you saw."

He nodded at them again, to signal they were free to leave now.

"I'll be waiting."

For this first class, the Danger Shop was an alleyway in an overly shadowy city. Seriously, had any of them ever seen shadows as black as they currently were in here? It was like someone had splashed ink all over everything. It didn't look like real life, and yet it was exactly as real as... Well, anything else they ever encountered in the Danger Shop. There was a light breeze coming from the street, and distant sounds of car horns and other city life.

As soon as it seemed everyone had filed in, the Spirit dropped down some way behind them from somewhere far above, landing gracefully with his shoes hitting the pavement and his coat settling down around him. His tie was bright red even in the shadows. "Welcome, kiddos," he said, tipping his hat to them. Once they'd turned around. "This is How to Be One with Your City, and I am apparently to be your guide on this subject. I am the Spirit, and this ––" He gestured all around them. "–– is a convincing enough facsimile of my city. Central City, USA, to be exact. She's my greatest love, as her counterparts should be yours, because there is nothing you can need that she cannot provide. All she needs in return is that you take care of her, and keep her streets safe from those who have no respect for her. That is what you're here to learn, because the sooner that becomes part of who you are, the sooner you'll be of use to the city around you."

Had they figured out yet that he was going to wax poetic about the wonders of cities a lot? Good.

He rubbed his hands together. "For this first session, I hear it's customary for everyone to introduce themselves, so that's what we'll do. Names, aliases, whatever nom de plumes you go by." Anyone calling themself 'the Spirit' didn't really feel fair demanding anyone else to give him their real name if they didn't want to – although the Spirit was as real at this point as Denny Colt, if not moreso. But that was beside the point. "Let's have them." A pause, and he snapped his fingers. "And name one thing you like about where you live, while you're at it."

This class was about appreciating your city as much as it was about learning to use it to your advantage, after all. There was a pause, and then he smiled widely. He would've smirked, but these were teenagers. Maybe when they were older.

"Oh, and ladies first."