Magical Teacher Professor Landry! - Chapter 1: Just a Normal School

[Overcast]

"Ugh, dammit Dean shut up."

He banged his head on the desk a few times, that damn accent driving him up the wall again. He swore that thing was made in hell to torture him, but in hindsight the words used might not actually work to shut him up. He had to keep talking, rant or something, just try to keep his voice up so that the creep didn't have a chance to talk,

"You're stick broke not because Miss Landry made you, but because you really ain't all that bright. You got this stereotypical Scot(slash)Glasgow type-a thing going on, what with the attitude and your total lack of skill in using the English language. You talk about the class like you already know the material. I mean it is fine to have an opinion on what loose things we are asked."

He pointed over to the guy with the large handprint on his face,

"Like Andy was fine until he insulted our teacher, but you can't go throwing around the parts to try to hide your fuckin' delinquent ideology(if you'll excuse my language). Sao's got a point when she says this place ain't no arena, cause being dramatic is fine. It is fun and can help you get inspired for learnin' and all that. Havin' an opinion is fine, cause it gives us some perspective on our studies. But we ain't got no damn reason to say this place should come down to a brawl, it ain't hockey after all, it isn't the only interesting thing that could happen here. So shut it, unless you got something to voice on the lesson cause that damn voice of yours is killin me inside."

So in one fell swoop Jay had brought Dean's mannerisms, attitude, favorite sport, opinion, and intellect had into question. A good rant he figured, might get him talking again though, but if he was lucky professor Landry might try to kill the escalation by clarifying what she thought . Which would be good because this Plato type of conversing was going nowhere fast.

[Teal Mage]

"I suppose," Dal spoke up first, "that means that, if we're to take your premise at face value, we'll just have to find something to love so passionately that it can never be defeated."

Dark eyes glinting behind her glasses, the Professor merely smiled.

"I don't suppose I have any volunteers?" The dark haired fae added, glancing around the room, "Other than Jay, that is." He added a moment later, gesturing to the desk in front of him.

"I don't think any of us know the meaning," Sean returned, possibly in response to Dal, "I don't think 'Love and Fightiology' are anything you can really have prior knowledge of." He elaborated quickly, by way of justification, "The point to the class is to learn the supposed meaning."

"Ignorance is no excuse for cowardice Sean," Professor Landry sighed, shaking her head. "You will see me after class." She straightened her glasses. "Does any one agree with the young Canadian?" The auburn haired woman added, a moment later.

After a moment after, Jin spoke up. "I agree with him..."

Professor Landry fell silent yet again, seemingly content to let her students discuss the nature of love.



* * * * * *

After getting over his momentary surprise at the appearance of a puma in the school's hallway, Michael reacted quickly! "Hey, hey, calm down..." The youth murmured, moving himself between the growling mountain cat and the unnamed blond. "If you go back now," Michael continued reasonably, "I'll make sure to bring you some good meat later."

Grudgingly, the puma's muscles uncoiled, and the cat rose to its full (four legged) height. Slowly, the creature began to pad its way around Michael, amber eyes warily watching the foreign beauty. Its stance was a strange combination of sullen and indignant as it stalked toward the nearby glass doors.

The bribe succeeded?

For her part, the apparent teacher watched the creature move toward the entrance with a vaguely amused look in her pale eyes. It appeared that the danger she had so suddenly found herself in had barely registered to her.

"Ves," She hissed, "vhat's right cat. You'd vetter run."

Having reached the glass doors, the cat spun back toward the blond. Amber eyes narrowed to slits, the creature growled at the woman.

Rolling her eyes, the woman replied flatly. "Voar."

The cat looked taken aback momentarily.

"Vhat are you staring at?" She snapped, "Zhe door is vight there." A pale finger flashed toward the glass doors.

A moment later, the woman realized the problem.

"Oh."

She stalked over to the doors, and pushed them open.

The puma bounded out.

Dusting her hands, the woman, turned back toward Michael.

"Vell, zhat vas exciting, no?" The blond asked conversationally, causally smoothing her white blouse. "You did vell." She added, raising her pale hand to her face and, seemingly, examining her nails. Satisfied at whatever she saw, the woman lowered her hand to her side, "Now zhen, ve vere discussing 'ow I could assist you - vhat is your name young man?"



* * * * * *

"If your love can be defeated, is it really love in the first place?" Jack asked, seemingly concerned about something, "Or does it just mean you're not passionate enough?" He frowned, seemingly confused, "But if it's your true love, how can you not be passionate?"

"If the last few seconds with Dal have taught me anything Jack," Jay replied, perhaps seeking to ease the other boy's worries, "it is that when truly passionate love arrives. You feel it. Right in here." He pounded his chest, over his heart, sniffing softly as he wiped away an imaginary tear.

"What we've been told is love is the most powerful force in the universe," Jay went on, "that the heart thumping goodness is the secret to unreasonable power, beyond time and space even. So I can guess that retreat is NEVER an option, for such passionate love can NEVER be defeated."

"Love is-" Professor Landry began, her knowing smile still in place.

"That's a load of hogwash an ye know it!" Dean shouted, slamming his desk as he stood up, cutting Professor Landry off. "The power of love cannae stop a bullet, and it..."

The Professor fell silent, allowing the boy to rant. Oddly, her smile did not vanish.



* * * * * *

"So, Professor Landry I tend to believe that you are delusional, drunk or high on drugs." Andrew flatly concluded, crossing his arms.

Johannah leaned over and slapped him.

"That wasn't necessary." The hazel eyed Sao stated firmly, coming up beside Andy and laying a cool hand on the card player's cheek. "From either of you." She seemed to be inspecting the red mark left by Johannah. Moments later, "You'll be fine." The short haired swimmer pronounced, before folding her arms beneath her breasts and leveling a disapproving look on Andy.

"You may not respect her, but..." Sao launched into a short lecture, swiftly reprimanding both Andrew and Jo for their words and actions. "...is a classroom, not an arena. Please exercise a little more self-control in the future." The dark haired girl concluded, before turning sharply on her heel, and striding back to her desk.

"What are ye talkin about lassie?" Dean interjected hotly, gesturing toward from Sao to Professor Landry, "The Professor there makes a giant spectacle as she enters the room, armed with a durn battle axe of all things-"

Strangely, the axe had vanished in all the commotion.

"-on some crazy speech about love and then..." Dean went on, apparently not noticing the suspicious lack of battle axe near the room's front.

And still, Professor Landry said nothing.



* * * * * *

"...I don't think I've grasped it just yet," Astrate went on, voicing her thoughts on the subject of Love and Fightiology as they occurred to her, "but maybe Love and Fightiology is all about recognizing that there is love and battle in all things if you think about them the right way."

"Besides, nothing like a good fight in the morning to get the blood flowing!" Dean boomed suddenly, "Makes for a lovely day!" He added, merrily striking the desktop he sat at.

"Ugh," From the room's front, Jay beat his head on the desk in front of him. "dammit Dean, shut up." The black haired baseball player continued to speak, telling Dean in no uncertain terms what he thought of him. "Your stick broke not because Miss Landry made you, but because you really ain't all that bright. You got this stereotypical Scot/Glasgow type-a thing going on -" And Scotland as well, apparently. "- what with the attitude and your total lack of skill in using the English language. You talk about the class like..."

He had a lot of thoughts.

"...ain't got no damn reason to say this place should come down to a brawl, it ain't hockey after all, it isn't the only interesting thing that could happen here. So shut it, unless you got something to voice on the lesson cause that damn voice of yours is killin' me inside."

"Professor!" Quiet until now, the nameless brown haired girl stood up in her desk, yellow pendant bouncing wildly from her sudden move, "Stop smoking your bubble pipe -"

At the front of the room, Professor Landry waited, perched leisurely upon a comfortable, if worn, looking armchair, upholstered in plush red fabric. Her lab coat was neatly arranged around her, revealing the woman's black mini skirt and showing off her smooth, elegantly crossed, legs. One arm rested casually upon the chair, while the other was raised to her face. Balanced on her fingers was the bowl of a pipe, the end of which was held between the Professor's lips. Bubbles floated lazily from the device, slowly rising to the room's white ceiling, before popping.

"- and say something already!" The hazel eyed girl gestured sharply toward Jay, "This has gotten way out of hand!"

Professor Landry removed the pipe from her mouth, a cool smile on her lips.

"Ms. Sue," she began, suddenly seeming surprisingly...Professional? "why do you not combine your marvelous love for order with Ms. Opallios's?" Professor Landry smiled, yet it was cool. "Surely, you two could bring all these students into line." She gestured toward the class vaguely with her pipe.

"My passion for wha -" Ms. Sue (?) started, frowning, before shaking herself, "And that's not my nam - what the hell are you talking about!?"

"Yes, but your parents were too creative with your name for your own good." Professor Landry stated mildly, before pushing herself to her feet. "But, I will clarify."

"Class," Professor Landry began, high heels carrying her across the room's carpeted floor as she paced, "you have all raised some excellent points." She paused, as her steps brought her to the wall opposite the entrance. "Unfortunately," The auburn haired Professor turned toward her class again, "they were sadly irrelevant to the question."

"Life is a constant battle." She repeated, "And this class, this class is a training field for the war that is life." Professor Landry smiled, "And in the war to come, retreat is only an option when the power of your passionate love is defeated." She began to pace toward the door, steps flowing and cool.

"What it means is, as Astrate said, that all that you will do will be a battle." The Professor stopped before her chair, turning toward the class again. "And, should you fall in battle, should your love prove insufficient," She glanced from Dal, to Jay, to Jack, "and make no mistake, even the truest love can be defeated," The Professor's gaze went to Dean, "but your love of your arts are your only defense in battle - but," she shook her head, "that is off topic."

"Students." Professor Landry raised her pipe to her lips and blew out a handful of bubbles. "If you fail in my class," She smiled sadly, "you will die."

[krogothwolf]

Dean stood up again after teacher had finished talking.

"Ye know, ye seem to keep throwin around die an awful lot there professor." Dean said at the end. "Speak or Die, Fail and Die. Do ye really need to threaten us so? Not only that, love isn't even something that's trainable, you either have love for something or ye don't. Ye can't teach someone to love something nor can ye force someone to love something. Ye can grow to love something, but it has to be of yer own free will. That is why Love is weaker then strength!"

Dean then pointed what remained of his stick at the moron with the baseball bat.

"Ye got this yank over there complaining about proper English like he speaks it. Got news fer ye ya daft fool, ye don't speak proper English, just like ye don't play a proper sport. No amount of love for the English language is gonna change the durn fact that he doesn't speak proper English, ye'll just have to teach yerself what proper English is ya fool. Then ye got others here who speak of the things they love. It's all through either an instant connection with it or through growing from likin it to lovin it. That doesn't change the durn fact that love can't be taught or forced on ye, ye gotta have a connection with the thing on an emotional level to begin with. That's one of the weaknesses with love, the other is that it can be exploited against ye to make you do something stupid by threatening something ye love."

At this point Dean really was only speaking more to annoy the hell out of Jay.

"Not only that, if yer running away because yer love was defeated then why were ye fighting in the first place? Ye can't retreat just because something as silly as love got beaten, ye have to fight back against it in hopes of overcoming the odds. Running away from something that beat yer love is admitting yer love is weak anyways, so then ye really didn't love it enough to even have it be worth fighting for it. This is why strength is superior to love, ye can train strength and if it does get defeated ye can always train it some more to become stronger. If yer love gets defeated ye can't really make it any stronger then it already is. I still dinnae see how love is going to win out against strength at all. It's because of all these that I cannae buy the fact that love is yer greatest strength, because a weak and unskilled opponent cannae defeat someone stronger, faster and more skilled with love alone, but it sure is yer greatest weakness because it can be exploited by others easily."

Dean then sat back down, figuring he had annoyed and aggravated Jay enough for now.

[IHateMakingNames]

Now that the puma had left, everything in the hallway was much calmer.

"What the hell was that!?"

Maybe not.

"Why are you acting so calmly!?" Michael turned to the blond teacher, doing some unneeded hand movements to emphasize his points. "There was a mountain lion in the building! A wild predator! Shouldn't you be a little concerned or something? And it was going to pounce! How could you just calmly let it out the door?"

Michael could have ranted a bit more, but took a pause. He wasn't sure if was more interested in how the cougar got indoors, or why this teacher acted so calmly in front of it. Michael had been feeding that thing and it still freaked him out a bit.

[Astral Harmony]

Astarte leaned her head on her hands. Pass this class or die? It wasn't the first time she died, but she was kinda hoping for a lot more time among the living before she died permanently.

"Just try to give it a chance, y'know?" Astarte said to Dean. "We're pretty much all in the same boat. I agree with you that love can't beat strength, but that's because it's my first day in this class. I'm not trying to suck up to the professor or anything, but I think this class may be able to change our opinions on the matter of love versus strength. I've never really been in love before, nor have I ever been passionate enough to defend the things and people I love against those who would give an offense to them."

Astarte reached into her backpack and pulled out a class schedule. "If someone insulted cooking right now, I probably wouldn't lift a finger in defense of it. But who knows? Maybe if I learn the real lessons this class can teach, if someone insulted cooking, especially mine, I would be inclined to make a battle out of it and have to put a crater in someone's face."

For such a cute girl, Astarte's last words were a little...unsettling. "I'm...I'm just saying is all."

[Overcast]

Jay was from the city, by extension he had a certain degree of toughness from insults. The city was full of witty assholes after all, and it took a bit of wit to pierce his hardened skin. Wit that Dean Hunter did not have,

"So you say I can't speak English while spouting your gibber of 'durn's and and 'cannae's."

He said, rising his hand into the air and lifting up one finger, taking count of all the errors he had made in trying to piss him off and making sure to add in the other boy's accent as thickly as he could into the particular vocal ticks,

"You say I don't play a proper sport, but you don't really give a reason why. At least I touched on your sport's meaningless violence, no detail sure, but fuck at least I had some evidence."

Finger two was raised up, as he turned his head slightly to look over his shoulder at Dean, bored eyes showing him how pathetic his attempt really was,

"And you grace us all with your ignorance by waxing on idiotic about topics we should be past by now since apparently we all don't have any idea what love is. What fighting is. What powers there are in all these things. Nah, you just went on saying the same stupid shit you said before with different words."

He raised up the third finger and waved them around with a grin, shaking his head,

"Three strikes. You're out."

He looked forward back to Professor Landry. His look a bit more worried this time, breathing in a bit before letting his thoughts out,

"But I meant that last part Professor. I'm completely lost on your meaning now, and I really would rather not die. I love all the dramtics and all that, seriously awesome, but I'm kinda afraid of death and all that. Mind getting to the lesson?"

[krogothwolf]

Dean shook his head at the foolish baseball loving kid. Idiotic Yank.

"First ya silly little man, I said ye dinnae speak proper english. Ye speak American English, and before ye go on about accents and pronunciation, ye yerself speak with an accent and dinnae pronounce words properly. Not only that, ye Yanks have altered the spellin of the words themselves. Ye cannae talk of speakin in proper english when ye dinnae do so yerself. If ye live in a glass house ye shouldn't throw stones."

He showed one finger to the man himself as well, mimicking in how the guy wanted to go about to make a point.

"Second, I dinnae want to embarrass ye by calling to attention the lack of knowledge of yer own sport. Ye see, at the top level of baseball, ye seem to have a smackering of bench clearing brawls all the time, yet that hasn't happened in hockey in a long time. Yer sport also doesn't have a strength vs strength match up, it's very dull and boring to watch. Does it really need to take over a minute for yer guy to pitch the damn ball? The players get the silliest injuries and sit out for em. Then, it seems the only way ye can truly become a star in baseball is to juice up, not exactly sporting is it?"

He raised a second finger and then smiled at the man.

"Third, It is not ignorance, it is the fact me training and instructions on this subject, and I have received it before comin here, is much different then how she is telling us, so I felt a need to explain meself and me view to the teacher. If she feels it is different then she should explain so herself more readily, instead of merely getting all dramatic and mentioning about dieing for not speakin or for failing. Before ye start calling someone ignorant ye should take a minute to think that perhaps they've had a different education on a subject such as this."

He then raised his third finger and then sat down.

"There ye go mate, yer three points answered in kind,."

He then sat back down still smiling. The guy seemed to not like him but Dean didn't really care he was enjoying himself right now.

[Overcast]

Jay didn't even turn around, he would talk, but would shut up if Professor Landry actually got to the lesson, but he had a few more things to get on to put Dean in his place,

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe I am American. That this school is American. That we are living in America. Now the Brits might have the monopoly on English perfection, but what is proper is all about where you are. In the end if I speak like an American that's proper, but when you speak without much care to phonetic organization and punctuation that ain't proper no matter where you are."

Then of course the only real thing that bothered him, that he had said he didn't have a proper knowledge of his own game. It was time for a lesson,

"In baseball you aren't going to see a game carry on if it has gotten violent, because we make it clear that violence shouldn't be part of our game. Unlike hockey. Hell you shouldn't even be allowed to be that violent in the sport, in Football and Rugby there is a reason to get physical. In fact it is almost encouraged. But in hockey you can charge someone into the wall at 50mph but you can't threaten with a stick above the waist. In the end though it is just lackin in the amount of skill and intellect you need to play baseball. I mean sure you got screens and charges, but for the most part you're just lumberin your fat toothless ass to the other side and trying to hit the puck past an overly armored sentinel who doesn't need to move that much to be a livin bulwark."

Insult the logic of the game, insult the skill of the game, insult the intellect of the game, insult the appearance of those who play it. Try not to lie if you can muster it, but it is fine to be caustic because you are trying to envenom your words such that it kills them inside.

"In baseball it takes a few minutes to pitch because there are factors at work, is the hitter left or right handed? Is the hitter the a contact or power? How does he react to each individual pitch type? Can he be easily coerced by the catcher? We sit out for small injuries because the tiniest flaw in your ability can be taken advantage of to a huge degree. A minor twinge in a pitcher's arm can be the difference between the degree of curve he puts on a ball, it can ruin his entire game. Don't you start on juicing though, we get off relatively small compared to the amount in other sports simply because our sport is so complex that taking steroids may cause an unfair advantage. You can bet you're own heroes do their share of roids and stimulants."

Glorify your own game, no need to exaggerate because it is a game of extreme skill and thought as you say. Show what flaws the game has in comparison to the other sport, because some public problems can be seen as a proactive action against things that plague all sports but nobody else cares to fight other than the Olympics,

"You have no training on the subject. If you even bear the illusion that you do it will get in the way of your ability to learn. You're ignorant because you refuse to learn, be it about a superior sport, a better grasp of English, or even what we are in class to learn. You just can't let anything in your thick skull unless, like your old teacher, someone is beating it into your stupid ass. A stupid tactic itself, because I know that senseless violence helped make you into the creep you are right now."

Insult everything that he knows. The way that he learns and thinks. Make it clear that the way that he is, is entirely unwelcome here, and everything he has known thus far is just as useless.

"Your answers continue to fail me Dean. I don't know if you're ready for this level of play yet."

And end with a bit of condescension, so that he is pissed off when he responds and says more stupid things you can beat him into the ground with. There was a technique to the way you put someone down. To be honest if he got the kid to try to hit him he had already won, he was just surprised the violent fool hadn't done it yet.

[krogothwolf]

"Maybe then yank, ya should have said American instead if proper english. If yer so smart as ye seem to think ye are you shoulda worded it correcty instead of being the bonehead knowitall yank yer acting like."

Dean shook his head as the pompous ass kept up his superior attitude.

"Ye really have a limited understanding of hockey itself if ye think that. Hockey has a verity of skill ye'd hae to see to understand then. Preforming deft dekes at speed. Putting a pass onto the tape of a speedig player out on a break, putting the puke in the tiny corner of the net where no amount of speed or skill of the goalie can save. Then the goalie themself glovin the puck out the air on shot, getting a foot on the puck even though all the odds are against him from saving it. Managing to stop 3 or 4 successive shots from different angels. Not only do you need strength, but ye need skill, speed, and intelligence to play it."

He really didnt understand this fools hatred towards him. It amused Dean that he seemd to hate him so much.

"So ye have nothing really to say about that but insult me old teacher, who was a kindly old man I'll have ye . Yer really stretching things there and it goes to show yer own ignorance to attacked something ye really know nothing about. Not having anything yerself to say on the subject ye instead say someones wrong. Ye still show bu still talkin about english like yer bastardized american verion is proper, and i dinnae refuse to learn as all I have done is debate the teachers view with my own, and she has yet to expand on it all aside from be all dramtic on the subject. Part of the ability to learn is to understand where ye yeself come from. Yer understanding is limited so I understand why yer so open to her, but my education and training dealt with this. Ye can call it internets question all ye want but because yer own ignorance to the education and training I received is clouding yer judgemeng on it, but if he helps make ye feel superior ye can keep commenting on something ye know nothing about."

[Bard The 5th LW]

Sean was getting a bit worried now. See her after class? She's a psycopath! He was going to have to ask a few things. One in particular.

Pass or die?!!!!!

Sean lifted himself from his chair, making eye contact with the teacher. "Uhh Ma-"

"Ye got this yank over there complaining about proper English like he speaks it. Got news fer ye ya daft fool, ye don't speak proper English, just like ye don't play a proper sport..." Oh look, Dean started talking. Surely he wouldn't be too long. Sean could wait.

Once Dean finished, Sean decided to try again. "OK Pro-"

"So you say I can't speak English while spouting your gibber of 'durn's and and 'cannae's..." Look at that, Jay already had his rebuttal thought out. Fabulous.

"OK if thats done then I'd like to-" Sean of course could not get his question in once again.

"First ya silly little man, I said ye dinnae speak proper english. Ye speak American English, and before ye go on about accents and pronunciation, ye yerself speak with an accent and dinnae pronounce words properly..." Look at this, more nationalism.

"Alright now I'd really like to get to the-" Sean really wasn't sure what he was expecting now.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe I am American. That this school is American. That we are living in America. Now the Brits might have the monopoly on English perfection, but what is proper is all about where you are. In the end if I speak like an American that's proper, but when you speak without much care to phonetic organization and punctuation that ain't proper no matter where you are..."

"I-" The Canadian just had too little a spine to get a proper word in.

"Maybe then yank, ya should have said American instead if proper english. If yer so smart as ye seem to think ye are you shoulda worded it correcty instead of being the bonehead knowitall yank yer acting like..."

"OH MY GOD NO ONE CARES!" Sean yelled out, to both Jay and Dean. "Mrs. Landry, before they continue, let me ask just one question. I'm not going to go in on philosophy at all. No opinion on love or strength. How would i go about a schedule change? And once I do that, can I just no meet you after class?"