Fandom High School

Because it was thunderstorming outside, Bruce had had to shelve his plans to have class meet outside today in favor of meeting in the Danger Shop, which was programmed to look a whole lot like the outside. And in the interest of being true to the source material, the scene of nature that the Danger Shop was simulating was indeed a stormy day on the school lawn, though without the actual lightning or rain.

"Today we're doing nature meditation, but the weather isn't ideal, so we're just 'outside,'" Bruce said, making awkward air-quotes with one hand. "It's another eyes-open technique, which should give some of you something to focus on. Just find a place to sit or stand wherever looks comfortable, take in your surroundings, and try to absorb the sensory details of your surroundings without processing the meaning of it." He paused. "That's, uh, harder than it sounds. What that means is basically to notice what things look like, sound like and smell like, but not actually think about what you know they actually are."

Sounded fun, right?

"We'll do forty minutes today, which should give you some time to find somewhere to sit," Bruce said. "So... let's begin."

Like last week, the classroom was dimly-lit and cushions were scattered around the floor, with a table in the back for water and tea for after the session. Unlike last week, on each cushion, there was a fortune-cookie-fortune-sized slip of paper with one single word on it waiting for whoever sat there.

"Today we're going to be going in a very different direction from last week," Bruce said, "using a technique called story meditation. I find it a little more engaging than your basic mindfulness session, so if you had trouble staying awake last week, you might prefer this." He took a seat on a cushion, as weird as it felt to be sitting on a pillow while facing the class like he had any authority. "Story meditation involves creating a narrative in your own head around a general or specific prompt or theme. Afterwards, analyzing the story you created can shed some light on the way that you think. It can also be... soothing to create something without any obligation to record or recount it, though you're welcome to share your stories after the session if you'd like."

These stories sometimes got weird, though. Bruce wouldn't blame anyone for wanting to keep them to themselves.

"Today I prepared prompts for each of you, but this works best when you don't limit yourself - feel free to diverge from the original topic as much as possible. We'll be at this for a little longer this week than we were last week - thirty-five minutes - so if you want to run in a circle in the hallway to get your energy out first, you're welcome to. Otherwise--" he set a timer on his watch-- "let's begin."

Originally, Bruce had planned to teach first-aid for the full summer. He knew it very well and it was something approximating a real educational class (practically health class, even) to the extent that he didn't feel like he was just screwing around doing nothing.

But apparently diversifying one's course offerings was the thing to do around here, and that was why the students arriving for class today would find a dimly-lit room with a lot of windows and a whole bunch of yoga mats and pillows on the floor, rather than desks lined up in rows. That would seem a little silly, since the name of the class was Introduction to Meditation and all. There was also a table at the front of the room with several pitchers of ice water with lemon, as well as some tea.

Deciding that, for the moment, standing seemed rather less pretentious than lecturing from a perch on his own yoga mat, Bruce cleared his throat and introduced himself.

"Hi," he said, with an awkward little half-wave. "I'm Dr. Banner. This is Introduction to Meditation, which you probably gathered from the mats and everything since I don't think there's a pilates class being offered. For those of you who might not be familiar with the concept, meditation is a broad term that refers to different schools of thought in regards to clearing your mind and achieving a particular emotional state. It's also... used a lot in anger management therapy."

Cough.

"We're going to be looking at theory as well as practice in this class, and there'll be a lot of sitting and meditating, so you're all encouraged to come dressed in comfortable clothing. It's first period, so if you want to show up in your pajamas, that's fine, as long as you, uh, wear pajamas." Please don't show up in your underwear. Jim. "I also want to ask that you please try to show up in a headspace that's conducive for the kind of work we're going to be doing. If you're feeling especially, um, emotional and don't think you'll be able to concentrate, I'll understand if you miss a class. But I think most people stand to benefit from knowing how to do what we're going to be studying, so if you're at all interested in the subject matter, please do come to class when you can."

He cleared his throat. "For today, I think the custom is to have you all introduce yourselves, so if you could please give your name, something you've recently been emotional about -- if you don't mind sharing -- and one academic subject that interests you, that'd be great. Um. Thanks."

Then he sat down. "Oh, and your TAs for this semester are Natalie Adams and--" he consulted a piece of paper-- "Darcy Lewis. So if you need anything and don't feel comfortable coming to me, you can speak to them."