Speaking up... on Elective Hall

Professor McFarlan

April 22, 2007 8:02 PM

Third Year Class by Professor McFarlan

Kathleen reset the crystal to make the room appear as if it was enveloped in space once more. The beautiful 360 degree illusion of the solar system and the surrounding stairs sparkled and glowed in a myriad of colors. Hoping the Third years would enjoy the view as well, she waited for them to arrive. These were the ones she was a little concerned about. At their stage in life, students this age were beginning to ask the first of many hard questions. Hopefully, she could plant the seeds that would help them grow into the adults they were meant to be.

“Come in, don’t be shy.” she said to the first arrivals. “It’s still just the Astrology classroom. Have a seat in one of the recliners and make yourselves comfortable.”

It didn’t take long for the class to fill up. Professor McFarlan leaned back against the front of her desk and allowed a couple of moments for the students to take in the new environment before she introduced herself.

“My name is Kathleen McFarlan and, as you know, I am the new Astronomy teacher. Please follow common classroom etiquette and we’ll get along just fine. I am here to teach you not only how to identify all of these beautiful lights in the sky, but to help you learn how they affect us in nature and in our magic.”

She touched the crystal with her wand. Suddenly, a brilliant comet with a long tail shot from one end of the room to the other. The nearer it got to the sun, the brighter it became and the tail lengthened even more. Touching the crystal again, the scene changed to a perfect view of the heavens from Earth at a time when there was no light or air pollution to ruin it. The comet shone like a distant, elongated star in the heavens.

“Comets are balls of ice and space debris that got caught up in an orbit around the sun. As it flies, the debris is sloughed off , forming the tail. Ironically, something that appears so beautiful is dubbed a ’dirty snowball’ by astronomers. The Muggle scientist, Fred Whipple, coined that phrase and it stuck in both magical and natural disciplines.

“From what we can tell, comets do little to affect the natural order of the Earth unless one should collide with us. They have proved to be the stuff of legends and superstitions throughout human history and they can and do influence our Wizarding skills.

“For instance, some cultures see them as heralding angels bringing prophecy to the followers of the Creator. Usually the message is, ‘Straighten up or you won’t like what I’m gonna do.’ Others see them as signs of bad luck. Evil omens, signs of calamities waiting to happen. The magic it affects seems to weigh this out.

“Dark wizards and witches find that their abilities grow a bit stronger, more effective when comets appear in the sky. Curses and hexes tend to be more potent. A comet, while beautiful is a warning to all of us to more aware, to be prepared, so that we aren’t taken be surprise.” Her emerald green eyes swept the room to see how her students reacted to such ominous news. “On the other hand, messages sent magically arrive at amazing speed and accuracy which can be a very good thing.

“Now I want to hear from you. What you is it you’ve learned or have heard about comets. What are the names of comets we see on a regular basis? Do you know of any cultural myths or legends about them? How else do you think they affect us as human beings, Muggle and Wizards? Just raise your hands and I’ll call on you. “

Professor McFarlan looked for the first hesitant hand. She walked over and stood by the student’s chair and smiled. “Could you tell me your name and then what you know?”

OOC: Now it’s your turn. Google away or use your brilliant imaginations. Just keep it believable and have fun!
\n

Subthreads:

Speaking up... by Morgaine Carey with Professor McFarlan, Saul Pierce

A ring of fire, metaphorically speaking. by Adam Brockert with Professor McFarlan

0 Professor McFarlan Third Year Class 1467 Professor McFarlan 1 5

Morgaine Carey

April 25, 2007 6:35 PM

Speaking up... by Morgaine Carey

Morgaine was actually looking forward to Astronomy. Apart from being a class she found tolerable and was good with, her Astronomy classes were third years only. There was no escaping the twins, but she could at least get by without worrying about someone confusing all the Miss Careys. Her not-cousin couldn't irritate her directly, and her sister couldn't ignore her the way she had been doing ever since school had started back. Morgaine had learned, one way or another, to appreciate small blessings.

Eager or not, she didn't hurry to get to class. She wasn't yet to the point of acting like she liked any class like a geek, even if she did. She was glad of it when she got her first view of the classroom, because there wasn't a chance that she would have willingly stepped onto a floor that to her looked more like a whole lot of nothing. Even the lack of death that followed the first cautious step didn't make her much happier about committing her weight to it, and it was only a moment before she had to close her eyes, dizzy. She had never had a very good head for heights, and though she knew this was no higher than it had been with her last professor, it sure felt like it was.

She had to open them again sooner than she would have liked to figure out how to get in her seat. Recliners weren't the chair type of choice at Bellevue or Magnolia Grove, and the closest thing to one Morgaine had ever seen was Grandmother Carey-St. Martin's chaise lounge, a piece of furniture even the smallest ones knew better than to play on. She got onto it without, she thought, any great loss of dignity and made sure her skirt was smoothed down and her knees crossed once she settled herself a bit. It was awkward enough sitting in such a position without having her clothes cause trouble.

She tried to look at the professor, but couldn't ignore the background or the affect it had on her head. She gave it up a lot quicker than she usually gave up attempts because the almost-spinning feeling was so irritating, and instead shut her eyes again. If the teacher thought she was sleeping, it was just too bad. She thought she felt a headache beginning just behind her temples, but couldn't tell if it was one of the bad ones, a milder one, or a false alarm. All three had been known to come from that feeling.

Morgaine listened to the lecture exactly the same way she had waited for it to begin: sitting up as straight as she could manage in the recliner, hands clasped on top of her book in her lap, eyes closed. It never occurred to her it might look like a ridiculous pose to anyone who looked at it closely enough. Her eyes opened a little when McFarlan began talking about Muggles, but she said nothing. It was better to keep her mouth shut, especially on that matter. She was not a politician, and had no desire to get into a political argument with anyone. They were too much effort for too little reward. Other than that, her only reaction to the speech was a grim little half-smile at the mention of comets being linked to dark magic.

She started to raise her hand when the new professor asked for information, but rethought it halfway through. She had shied away from offering information in classes since that incident with Kijewski, the one that had let her know once and for all that the odds were against her at Sonora. Only the fear that people would misconstrue her half-gesture as an admission of defeat or shyness egged her into finishing the movement. "Morgaine Carey," she said. "Of the Savannah Careys." She didn't remember exactly when she had begun to use her branch all the time, but it was habit, now. "I'm a Pecari," she added, just in case.

"I don't know any stories or anything, but I believe that Halley's Comet goes by every seventy-five years." She had never liked saying 'the earth', and she'd given up on the whole doing-what-professors-like thing a good while back. The old ones had most likely poisoned the new one against her anyway. "I read it," she added, somewhat redundantly, and made a point of smirking at the Aladrens. Being smart by repute had made most of them a little too confident in her estimation, and it did them good to be reminded every now and then that she was just as smart as any of them.

0 Morgaine Carey Speaking up... 81 Morgaine Carey 0 5

Professor McFarlan

April 26, 2007 12:20 PM

Well, 'tis Herself by Professor McFarlan

When Professor McFarlan observed the young lady as she walked through the door, she sighed. Every so often, the crystal’s images could cause severe vertigo, but it was extremely rare and this poor girl looked as if she was one of those cases. The child’s discomfort seemed to increase as her obviously genteel upbringing wouldn’t allow her to just plop down and relax in the recliner. The professor kept an eye on her as she began her introductory lecture.

Seeing her sitting there with her eyes closed was one of the reasons Professor McFarlan opted to change the scene to a view from Earth. The return to a “normal” perspective usually rectified any unpleasant side effects caused by the outer-space scene. Even though she didn’t appear to show relief, the professor was encouraged when she chose to participate.

“Morgaine Carey, of the Savannah Careys." she’d introduced herself with that superior tone that set McFarlan’s teeth on edge. What was it, just as the European Purebloods were beginning to relax a bit, that caused the last couple of generations of American Purebloods to become even more rigid and parochial?

Oo, we are proud, aren’t we? she thought. Obviously, Milady has not been tutored in global generations or you’d realize that you’re addressing a member of a clan that can trace its Wizarding roots so far back it would make you Carey’s… wait a minute... The Savannah Careys? Och, the poor lass!

Professor McFarlan’s sympathies redoubled for Morgaine. Although she’d been out of the loop and hadn’t heard the latest gossip for years, she realized this girl didn’t need her comeuppance, she needed a safety net. McFarlan forced herself from her musings and continued to listen as Miss Carey mentioned Halley’s Comet. When she finished speaking, even though Miss Carey’s face assumed the oft practiced smug look so common with American Purebloods especially, she didn’t appear to be feeling any relief from whatever was causing her physical distress. Was she truly ill?

“Thank you, Miss Carey.” Professor McFarlan nodded approvingly at her answer.

“Halley’s Comet does pass by our planet every 75-76 years. It is the only short period comet to be visible to the naked eye. Most of the world thought that its appearance was actually several different comets until Edmond Halley discovered in 1682 that it was indeed one comet in a predictable perihelion. There is, however, antidotal evidence that the ancient Hebrews knew this as well. In the Talmud there is mentioned a comet that appeared every 70 or so years that caused the ships at sea to loose their way.

“From what we know of its specific effects on magic, it would seem they were speaking of Halley’s Comet. We know that when this particular heavenly body appears in the sky, ‘Point Me’ spells are next to impossible to perform even by the most experienced wizards and directional charms on brooms are almost completely useless.

“Before we continue our discussion, please open your text books to page 93 and copy down the definitions of the following words in your notes. I promise they will be on your exams. Perigee, Apogee, Perihelion, and Aphelion.”

The class thus distracted, the professor drew her wand and discretely made a circling motion, then walked over to Morgaine and bent down to be level with the little brunette’s large eyes.

“No one can hear us for a moment.” she said, showing her concern for the child’s discomfort. “Are you feeling well? Do you need to lay down or visit the Medic?” \n

0 Professor McFarlan Well, 'tis Herself 1467 Professor McFarlan 0 5

Morgaine Carey

April 28, 2007 12:21 AM

Has my reputation preceeded me, then? by Morgaine Carey

At least things looked normal again. Morgaine gave her head a little shake, then put her eyes in their usual place - on her book, not really looking at anyone or anything. People, for whatever odd reason, seemed to think meeting a person's eyes meant talking to them, and she didn't want to talk. It had a tendency to end in fights, and that would lead to yet another professor putting her on the list of those who bore watching. She was semi-used to it now, but she still wasn't entirely comfortable in the public view. It would be better for everyone if she was quietly ignored and left to her own devices.

She wrote down everything the professor said after thanking her for her comment, understanding less than half of it. It made her feel slightly lost, not knowing what the professor was saying; she hated being the odd woman out and so unable to understand what was going on. The pressure at her temple was irritating, but inconsequential as long as it didn't go to a headache, and there was no telling at this point if it would or not. She glanced up for a moment, appreciative, as they were told to copy definitions, then set to looking for page 93.

227...No, that wasn't right, wasn't even close to right... She flipped back, and found herself on page 87. Well, that was closer than page 227 had been. Forward...97...Back the smallest bit, and...Why was someone standing over her? The assignment wasn't group work, and she somehow doubted that anyone would want to ask her for help with it. She was far from being anyone's pick for Most Popular, Friendliest, or anything like that. Looking up again, she found herself on eye level with the professor.

Her whole body tensed up immediately. There was no logical reason for McFarlan to punish her - she could count all of the non-jerks in her year on one hand and have a few spare fingers, so there couldn't be a rule against that, and she had done everything she was told to - but she could never, in almost three years at Sonora, remember an occasion when a teacher approaching her had meant anything good. She had to admit it was one thing to be punished when she had done something, but the opposite held true as well. Her father, crazy as he was, didn't even punish her for doing what she was told...

The question, once it was processed, startled her so much she merely blinked and stared at the professor for a long moment, confused. It didn't sound like an accusation. She couldn't see a way to twist it into one, either. All that she could pull from it was what it seemed to mean, but it didn't make sense for McFarlan to ask her that. There was no logical reason for the professor to care if she looked ill or not, especially since the scene change had made it look like everyone was getting a bit sick...

Madness was the opposite of logic, so her mind went where it always did when confronted with matters that failed to make sense: to her family. There was nothing about her to suggest 'Vaughn' to the average anything, which meant the cause probably went back to her father or her sister. She had as good as announced that she was Alasdair's daughter when she'd said her branch, since the Richards were known for only having, well, Richards. The name sounded kind of Scottish, but the only link between Careys and Scots that she could think of was her great-great-great-grandmother. Maybe Gwen had said something, something stupid about her sister needing looking after...Gwen was mean enough to do something like that, when the mood took her; she knew how much Morgaine hated being singled out.

"No, ma'am," she said finally, falling automatically back into the speech patterns of her youth. How many times had she thought about going to the medic and asking if he had something that could help the headaches? She knew she was too proud to ever do it, though, and there was nothing he could do about what caused them, anyway, even if she were to explain. That was less likely to happen than her going on painkillers; it was Carey business. "I'm fine."

0 Morgaine Carey Has my reputation preceeded me, then? 81 Morgaine Carey 0 5

Professor McFarlan

April 29, 2007 1:16 PM

Oh, I Have My Sources by Professor McFarlan

No, my darling child, you are not fine. The corners of Professor McFarlan’s eyes stung with angry tears that had to remain unshed. The girl flinched, actually flinched when she approached her. Childhood should be a time of joy and wonder! Where did these monsters get off molding the innocent into automatons who were afraid to breath in the wrong direction? When does status, power and wealth become so important that they would sacrifice the souls of their own children on those altars? If she had a galleon for every time she’d bitten her tongue today… The Devil take them, take them all!

Morgaine was obviously in physical distress that had nothing to do with the fantastic scenery around her. McFarlan was half tempted to make an issue of it and force her see the Medic. That would quite possibly ruin any modicum of trust she’d possibly earned in their brief encounter. Besides, even though she hadn’t actually met Medic Wolfe, rumor had it that his bedside manner wasn’t the warmest and that might do more harm than good. No, she would wait and allow the girl her dignity unless it became obvious that she had no choice but to intervene.

“I understand, Miss Carey.” Professor McFarlan nodded. “You’ve already made a valuable contribution to the class today. You may relax and listen to what the others have to say. If you feel the need to leave later on, just let me know or, if later, you feel up to joining in the discussion, just raise your hand. All right?”
\n

0 Professor McFarlan Oh, I Have My Sources 1467 Professor McFarlan 0 5

Morgaine Carey

April 29, 2007 7:35 PM

I'll take that as a 'yes'. by Morgaine Carey

What was this woman's deal, anyway?

Morgaine had said she was fine. She had made it as clear as she knew how that there wasn't a problem, and she had never been known for bad acting, except when she was angry. There was no reason for McFarlan to seem...odd about it, then say that Morgaine could leave later if she wanted and basically do nothing in the meantime. The teacher should have smiled, thrown a mental Mardi Gras over not having to deal with her any further, and left her alone.

You don't understand anything, Morgaine wanted to tell her. How could she? She wasn't a Carey, nor did the chances seem high that she was linked to one in any way. Saying that she 'understood' also implied, in Morgaine's mind, that she thought Morgaine was lying. That it would be, if she knew anything about how she reacted to things like this, a lie by the time class ended was unimportant and disregarded. Having headaches wasn't a big deal. She was one of millions, and few of the others had ever died from one. This one, too, would pass.

As for her information being so valuable, well, Morgaine wasn't even going to bother with that one. She wasn't so sheltered that she couldn't recognize that kind of line. She might have been in a minority, but she was sure that she wasn't the only person there who sometimes got bored enough to read her textbooks. Aladrens supposedly did it when they weren't bored. Geoffrey Layne or Devian Dupree could have said it as easily as she, and the only reason she really had had been to show them up.

She wanted to tell the professor exactly what she thought of her commentary, but she had it rough enough here as it was. Enough professors hated her already for her to go in the books as one of those who bore watching to ensure the safety of everyone else. She didn't need anyone else with it in for her, and she didn't want a detention. Those got back to her father, like getting hauled up before her own Head of House and someone else's. "Yes, ma'am." If Lila could have pulled it off any better - the other girl was a Crotalus, it was true, but she was also arrogant to an extreme - then Morgaine was Jordanna Howard.

0 Morgaine Carey I'll take that as a 'yes'. 81 Morgaine Carey 0 5

Saul Pierce

April 30, 2007 2:53 PM

Page what? by Saul Pierce

Saul stopped short just inside the door of the astronomy classroom and his mouth hung open in shocked surprise. "Whoa," he breathed in awe, the beginnings of a broad grin slowly breaking through his stunned look and ending with a gleeful laugh. He took a few more steps, feeling like he was floating in midair even though he could still feel the floor under his soles.

Spinning in place, his wide blue eyes took in the planets and stars on display all around him. "Crazy mad cool," he said, aloud but mostly to himself. He was distantly aware that he was spending way too much time around Echo if that was how he was phrasing his amazement.

Walking backwards a few steps as he admired the view of Mars, he nearly knocked himself to the floor when he ran into one of the reclining chairs that circled the middle of the room. Briefly checking that nobody was sitting there, he dropped his bag next to it and let himself fall into the cushions. Realizing that this chair was facing away from Mars, he got up almost immediately and picked a different one that faced his favorite planet.

The class began and Saul watched with wonder as the comet approached the sun, barely paying any attention to what the professor was actually saying. It was a little disorienting when the visual shifted to a planetside view of the heavens and Saul was sad to see that the floor no longer decended into infinity. He also wasn't entirely sure which of the pricks of light was now Mars. Was that dot over by the Orion belt a little redder than the rest?

He focused back on the comet after a little while since that seemed to be the point of the day's lesson but thought it looked way better in the solar system panorama and he soon lost interest in it as his eyes were drawn to the rest of the stars again. Maybe that one was Mars instead?

Shortly after that, he looked around and saw that his classmates were flipping through their books. Realizing that he had, once again, missed the all-important answer to the question, "what are we doing in class today?" he sighed and pulled out his own text. Leaning over to look at the person beside him, he turned his book to page they were on. It wasn't as easy as peeking when they were sitting at adjacent desks, but he was pretty sure that the page number he'd squinted at had been page 83.

He stared down at the page but he still didn't know what he was supposed to be doing with it. Nobody seemed to be talking or finding partners so it was obviously individual work. That boded ill for Saul's grade. Hadn't the teacher just been saying something about bad omens, too? Great. Saul sighed heavily. He was doomed.

Deciding some parchment and a quill would be a good next step, he slowly got those out and stole another peek at his neighbor's paper. This being in reclining chairs did not make it easy to do that however and he was sure everbody in the class could see perfectly well that he had no idea what was going on. Fortunately, the professor seemed to be quietly helping out Morgaine on whatever they were supposed to be doing so maybe she didn't notice that Saul was copying.

Between the distance and the handwriting, it was nearly impossible to tell what the other student's paper said, but it looked like it might be some definitions. So Saul settled back in his chair and started writing out the definitions that were showing on pages 83 and 84.

Meteor: a transient fiery streak in the sky produced by a meteoroid passing through the earth's atmosphere; a shooting star or bolide.

Meteorite: a mass of stone or metal that has reached the earth from outer space; a fallen meteoroid.

Crater: a circular or almost circular area having a depressed floor, almost always containing a central mountain and usually completely enclosed by walls that are often higher than those of a walled plain; ring formation; ring. Compare walled plain.

Saul had no idea what any of that had to do with comets, but she was the boss and if she wanted them to copy down definitions, Saul would copy down definitions.

1 Saul Pierce Page what? 82 Saul Pierce 0 5

Professor McFarlan

May 03, 2007 11:03 AM

News Travels by Professor McFarlan

Professor McFarlan sighed. The door of trust that seemed to crack open slammed shut with the flash of anger that passed through Morgaine's eyes before she adopted her well practiced mask. Pushing the girl would do more harm than good. Small steps would be the only way to prove to her that Kathleen was a person she could trust. Just don't let me catch anyone hurting you, Baby Girl.

Without further auguement, she nodded, stood and removed the muffling spell. "Who can give me the definition to the first word on the list?"\n

0 Professor McFarlan News Travels 1467 Professor McFarlan 0 5

Saul Pierce

May 03, 2007 1:09 PM

List? What list? by Saul Pierce

[ooc: In order to move along faster, I'm presuming that getting called on can be assumed based on the nature of the board. Also, based on the 1 & 2 year class, I'm further guessing that you would have asked for his name. If you consider either of these writing for you, we can pretend Saul just called out an answer and didn't identify himself.]

Apparently, his spying on his neighbor's work had gone unnoticed. Good. The professor stood up and asked the class in general for somebody to read the first definition. Saul's hand shot into the air. Answering a question would assuage all guilt for not paying attention earlier.

When he was called on and asked for his name, Saul almost got distracted from the answer he was trying to give. He put his finger on the word meteor on his parchment, though, so he wouldn't forget. "Pierce," he filled in his last name. Because it was important given that there were two Pierces in the school, he added, "Saul, not to be confused with Conner in the fourth year. No relation, but he's cool."

There was something else he'd been going to say. Something besides his name (and Conner's) that had prompted him to raise his hand. He looked down at his parchment and found the answer. "Oh, right, and the definition of meteor is a streak of fire in the sky that's made by a meteoroid passing through the earth's atmosphere; a shooting star." He left out the parts he didn't understand and rephrased the parts that just sounded like they'd been pulled out of a dictionary.

Done. He leaned back against the reclining chair, satisfied that he had fulfilled his part of the class discussion.

1 Saul Pierce List? What list? 82 Saul Pierce 0 5

Professor McFarlan

May 04, 2007 1:13 AM

Distracted, What? by Professor McFarlan

OOC: Not a problem. Actually, this works just fine.

BIC: Professor McFarlan looked down at her feet for a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking. While she didn’t want to humiliate young man, he obviously was concentrating on other thing rather than her instructions. She had to point this out but she didn’t want to appear to caustic. On the other hand, being too delicate… too nice, she would appear weak and unworthy of the class’s respect.

“That would be a very good answer Mr. Pierce,” She met his eyes with a rare stern look. “That is if we were on the subject for our next class. However, today we are not studying meteors, we are studying comets and the definitions I asked you to take down are perigee, apogee, perihelion, and aphelion. They can be found on page 93 of your textbook. Why don’t you take a moment and look up the definition of perihelion and share it with us.”
\n

0 Professor McFarlan Distracted, What? 1467 Professor McFarlan 0 5

Saul

May 04, 2007 3:08 PM

Peri-what? by Saul

Saul blinked, completely floored by this discovery that even with peeking over at his neighbor's books, he hadn't done the task right. It was definitely probably better than the time he did the wrong potion in Professor Connell's class, though. Now that had been embarrassing, especially since he'd dragged Echo down with him. The younger kid hadn't taken Saul's word for what assignment they were doing since, which probably saved both of them from failing.

This particular mistake was about par for his academic carreer so, despite his astonishment that he'd copied the wrong page, he wasn't the least bit put out by the correction. He was not the best or most attentive of students. He'd long since accepted that fact of life. "Oh," he said like someone had just explained the secrets of the universe (or at least explained why the definitions he'd copied down had nothing to do with comets), "Ninety-three." Next time he copied his neighbor's work, he was going to use binoculars.

He turned ahead ten pages in his book and wished for the meteor chapter back. Were those bold-type words even English? "Pear-ree-he-lion," he sounded out the first one. It sounded more like a male lion named Perry than anything to do with astronomy. He read over the following definition and wondered why they couldn't just call it 'the closest point to the sun' instead of making up big scary words for it. "Which is a planet or comet's closest point to the sun."

Having just been on the meteor chapter, it occurred to him to ask, "Does that count for asteroids too, when they're not falling onto planets or moons and becoming meteors? Like for the ones in the asteroid belt near Mars? Cuz they orbit the sun, too, right?" Another thought occurred to him, so he asked that, too, "And how can planets have a closest point to the sun anyway? I mean, they circle it. The sun's always right in the middle."\r\n\r\n

1 Saul Peri-what? 82 Saul 0 5

Professor McFarlan

May 12, 2007 11:00 PM

Glad You Joined Us by Professor McFarlan

OOC: Sorry I took so long. Please forgive me
BIC:

As if a light went on in the student’s head, he seemed to come alive to the subject of the class. "Does that count for asteroids too, when they're not falling onto planets or moons and becoming meteors? Like for the ones in the asteroid belt near Mars? Cuz they orbit the sun, too, right?"

“Yes, it does count for asteroids.” Professor smiled. “They are basically min-planets that obit the sun. The belt you mentioned is between Mars and Jupiter where 98.5% of our solar systems asteroids can be found. We’ll study these in more detail next class.”

The professor had barely finished answering the first question when he shot off another one relevant to the discussion. "And how can planets have a closest point to the sun anyway? I mean, they circle it. The sun's always right in the middle?”

“An excellent question, Mr. Pierce. The sun is in the middle of the solar system and all things being equal, you would think an orbital plane would be circular. But remember that all the planets, their satellites, comets, etc. have their own gravitational fields. They pull against the sun and each other. The result of their cosmic tug of war elongates the orbital patterns of the members of our solar system causing their trek around the sun to form an oval or egg shaped. Sometimes we are all closer to the sun than others.”

The daydreamer rectified himself in Professor McFarlan’s eyes. Sometimes those most appearing to be distracted were the more intelligent students. They just had so many thoughts running through their head, that they got lost.

“Those were good insights. Do you have anything to add, Mr. Pierce?”
\n

0 Professor McFarlan Glad You Joined Us 1467 Professor McFarlan 0 5

Saul Pierce

May 13, 2007 1:58 AM

You did not just call me smart. It'll ruin my rep. by Saul Pierce

OOC: No problem. We all get busy sometimes. BIC:

Good insights? This remark was even more astounding than the discovery that he'd done the wrong assignment. There was precident for that (though usually when he peeked at his neighbor's work, he was at least on the right track). Nobody had ever told him he had good insights.

Some particularly encouraging teachers would tell him that he had creative answers, but usually that just meant he was wrong. More often, he was told that 'Yes, Mars does have a candy bar named after it, but that's not the information we were looking for in this assignment.' Or something similar. Not that it had mattered that time. Even if Saul had won that planet facts contest, Professor Chatterjee had lied and there was no pizza for a prize.

Come to that, it looked like Professor McFarlan had lied, too. She'd said comets were bad luck and see what happened? He had 'good insights'. Of course, he was fresh out, so he shook his head when she asked if he had anything else to add and said, "Uh, no, ma'am." He'd probably just jinx it and make her take back the comment if he said anything else. She must have heard him wrong or something. That had to be it.

Well, it could be one of those times when he'd guessed something right. Those happened sometimes - quite frequently on tests, but not so often that he was in any danger of being mistaken for an Aladren - but he hadn't really been guessing anything. He'd just paraphrased the book's definition when prompted to do so and asked some questions.

Though, she did call his second question 'excellent' so maybe that was it. Maybe he could actually get a good grade in this class instead of just a decent one if she was one of those professors who liked students to ask a lot of questions. Saul always had a lot of questions, when he was focused enough to follow the discussion. They weren't always quite on topic (even if Saul thought they were), so some of his past teachers just told him to stop interrupting.

Maybe later, when the shine of having had a good insight or two was wearing thin, he'd test the theory that this professor liked stupid questions.

Of course, that meant he'd need to remember to pay attention. That was so much easier when it was Aunt Regina teaching just him, Neil, Sam, and Jason instead of a relative stranger teaching a whole classroom full of people.

1 Saul Pierce You did not just call me smart. It'll ruin my rep. 82 Saul Pierce 0 5

Adam Brockert

May 23, 2007 10:14 AM

A ring of fire, metaphorically speaking. by Adam Brockert

The moment Adam trudged into the Astronomy classroom, he saw something that made his blood run cold. It was not the apparent lack of floor in the room that upset him so much. It was the fact that the chairs were in a circle .

It didn't matter if the chairs were those soft recliners. As far as Adam was concerned, they had might as well be full of sharp metal spikes for all the comfort he was going to feel in this class. The fact that they were in a circle meant that everyone would be looking at each other and Adam couldn't hide. The fact that only his year was there didn't really help as much as it should either. Even though it meant fewer overall people who would be watching his every move, most of his classmates were not very nice.

Adam's knees felt a bit weak and he began to feel lightheaded. He collapsed into the nearest chair, without even being able to check and see who was next to him.

As the new teacher began her lesson, Adam could feel everyone's eyes on him, judging his every move critically. His breath quickened and he felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest. There was nothing that Adam would have liked more than to bolt out of the room, for he truly couldn't stand this. He wouldn't of course, because that would only make matters worse. The fact he was beginning to shake uncontrollably was bad enough.

11 Adam Brockert A ring of fire, metaphorically speaking. 78 Adam Brockert 0 5

Professor McFarlan

June 22, 2007 1:02 AM

Don't Worry, This Room is Fire Proof by Professor McFarlan

Professor McFarlan was quite concerned about yet another student in the class. Unfortunately, the class discussion was underway and she’d no idea how to address the young man without drawing attention to him. When he’d first sat down he’d appeared a bit nervous, but that wasn’t unusual. Many students were initially unsettled when entering what appeared to be nothing but outer space. The problem was, this young man seemed to become more and more agitated as time wore on. Professor McFarlan could actually see that he was shaking. She decided to keep a close eye on him.

The rhythm of the discussion rose and fell. McFarlan was delighted that the third years were so well informed. There came a point, as was common in any class, where the free flow of speech seemed to come to a grinding halt. Now was the time to encourage students who hadn’t contributed yet. Many times, people were intimidated by the more outgoing in a group and didn’t believe they had any worthwhile thoughts. This tended to be the opposite of the truth. Most of the time, a quiet student had something valuable to contribute even if they didn’t believe it at the time.

The professor had been marking off each student on her attendance sheet as they took their turn. She took a moment to go over the list to look at the names of the students who hadn’t a chance to speak yet. Keeping her eyes on the list as she spoke, Professor McFarlan called out the name of the first unmarked name she spotted.

“Let’s see,” she said. “Mr. … Brockhert, is there anything about comets we haven’t mentioned that you’d like to contribute?”

\n

0 Professor McFarlan Don't Worry, This Room is Fire Proof 1467 Professor McFarlan 0 5

Professor McFarlan

June 22, 2007 1:08 AM

OOC by Professor McFarlan

I apologize for taking so long to respond. Please forgive me. I’ll do my best not to let it happen again.\n

0 Professor McFarlan OOC 1467 Professor McFarlan 0 5

Adam B.

July 03, 2007 2:50 PM

Re: OOC by Adam B.

No problem, we all forget or take awhile sometimes.

11 Adam B. Re: OOC 78 Adam B. 0 5

Adam B.

July 13, 2007 7:38 PM

And I went down, down, down, and the flames went higher by Adam B.

Oh no, this was the last thing Adam had wanted to happen, to be called on, if the focus wasn't on him already (because some people probably found Astronomy dull and didn't listen and he was shaking like a maniac,) it certainly was now .

He avoided looking around the room, as he could feel his classmates eyes boring into him, waiting for him to screw up. His hands clutched at the arms of the chair, in an attempt to steady himself. Beads of sweat formed on Adam's forehead and he felt like he was going to faint or be sick. The room took on an even more surreal look than before. He just couldn't handle this.

But, Adam had to say something . If he didn't, he'd look really stupid. Not that he didn't already but if he didn't respond or say something, it would make matters worse. He feverishly racked his brain for any little thing. Most of the really obvious stuff had been said already and with the stressful situation he was in, it was hard to think of much that wasn't automatically said. All Adam could remember was an old legend his great-grandfather had told him. "Um," he started out in a trembling voice. "Th-there's an old legend that states that a coment signifies either the birth or conception of an especially evil wizard.

11 Adam B. And I went down, down, down, and the flames went higher 78 Adam B. 0 5

Professor McFarlan

August 05, 2007 10:41 PM

...And It Burned, Burned, Burned... by Professor McFarlan

OOC: Again I apologize. I didn't see that you responded.

IC: Professor McFarlan felt her cheeks warm. The last thing she wanted to do was to cause Mr. Brockert more discomfort. She had to give him credit. In spite of his condition, he forced himself to contribute to the discussion with more intelligence than many of those in his group. The best thing she could do for the young man at the moment was to give him positive reinforcement without overdoing it.

“Yes, she began. “Many notorious wizards and witches’ births coincided with the appearance of a comet, two within this last century alone Many great people and world leaders were born as a comet burned brightly in the sky. Your own former Astrology professor once wrote and article for BAMA arguing that the star of Bethlehem and Haley’s Comet are one and the same.”

She looked at Adam as kindly as possible. McFarlan so wished she could do something to make up for her faux pas. The best thing for her to do know was to draw attention away from him quickly, but as with all of her students, she left the door open.

“Thank you, Mr. Brockhert. If you have anything to add, feel free to raise your hand.” She smiled at him and called on the next student. Hopefully, someday he would feel comfortable talking things over with her. It made her heart ache that she was powerless to help him at the moment.
\n

0 Professor McFarlan ...And It Burned, Burned, Burned... 1467 Professor McFarlan 0 5