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

[Overcast]

Choir club had been awesome. He had started out a bit shy, because he was off the baseball field and trying to exercise a skill he hadn't really known he was any good at. He did have some minor issues during the time: don't sing out your nose; k, t, ect are unsingable and you should try to pull the emphasis off of them; don't sing so much with your throat or else you'll get all raspy and terrible after a few weeks. It was nothing more practice wouldn't hurt, and it was all worth knowing before they went on to any kind of actual performance. Allen had said he had the potential to be the lead tenor if he could get some confidence and sharpen his skill. Which made him grin. There was always something nice about being told you have potential.

After choir he dropped by the drama room, just a quick little jaunt down the hallway. They currently didn't have any major plays in the schedule so they were mostly playing around with improv acts. Daniel himself showed off his immense versatility, quickly shedding that ridiculously queer persona he always had for whatever was suited. He was a genius of impressions, when they played something called, "Mirror game." He'd basically beat everyone and still managed to be hilarious. It was a lot of fun, even if Jay had a bit of trouble trying to come up with ideas. Daniel told him the most important part of being funny is being spontaneous, that whole don't think, feel Bruce Lee speech. That if he thought too much about what he was doing he was just going to wreck himself, "Just lose yourself! You'll find your way back eventually."

After that he and Daniel took off to meet up with the other two, apparently just to do some lazing about by building M, which Allen had referred to as, "That big ass stone with the garden on top." Apparently they did this a lot. Often just sitting around coming up with crazy ideas why that thing was there, and how they maintained the vegetation. The whole day seemed to rush by, and while he wasn't sure yet if he loved his class he knew that his friends were awesome,

"Have a good day?"

John would ask later on that night before they drifted off to sleep. Jay would grin big in his pajamas as he stared out the window to the starry sky, heart thumping softly in anticipation of the future,

"Magical."

[Arhra]

"Good to meet you as well, I'm Sean Castevet," Sean said, shaking Jo's hand. "I think we'll get along well," he said as he pulled his hand back. He dropped his voice slightly. "I take it you also like the cold?"

Jo hesitated for a moment and then made a connection.

"Ah sorry, I think I left the air conditioner on in our dorm." she apologised with a slight wince. She'd have to be a little more careful about these things. She smiled. "Glad that's not a problem. I really don't handle heat well."

"So you're half Japanese according to the Professor?" she asked the tall teenager. "Have you spent any time living in Japan then?"

[Bard The 5th LW]

"Ah sorry, I think I left the air conditioner on in our dorm." she apologised with a slight wince. She'd have to be a little more careful about these things. She smiled. "Glad that's not a problem. I really don't handle heat well."

"Huh? Oh no, doesn't bug me. The sun and I aren't on great terms," he said, making a pointing gesture towards his chalk-colored skin.

"So you're half Japanese according to the Professor?" Jo asked of him. "Have you spent any time living in Japan then?"

"Well I was born in Japan," he explained. "Lived there for about a yeaar as a baby, but there was apparently some sort of falling out between my parents. A little while later, my dad and me moved back to Ontario, so I really don't remember much there."

He looked back at the professor for a moment to see if she was ready to talk yet, and he decided he had some time.

"So where are you from Jo? Tell me a bit about yourself."

[Girasol of Chaos]

Shin's perplexed look intensified with the furious handshake that was demanded by the professor. Perhaps Laund-, no, Landry understood how she judged people? The oni returned the handshake graciously, but was simply firm. " Eh, I like the dark anyways."

The hasty introduction to...Sean was short lived. The muscular boy waved, to which Shin nodded in acknowledgement. She would talk to him later, if he cared to. If he was as strong as he looked, maybe she could learn a thing or two.

Turning back to Landry, the confused look returned with the contradictory detention assignment, but was shaken off just as quickly. "Ah, naw, thanks. I'm off to train." A grin crossed her face, almost flashing her tusks, "wouldn't happen to know where a girl can get a good wrassle, would you?"


******

Finding the room in building G wasn't that difficult. It was easier for Shin to remember things she actually cared about.

Unfortunately she was late to this too, everyone had been paired off. The oni instead used the time to opt out of activity for the day. It was no good if she came to a new school and was thwarted in strength. No...she would observe the other members and learn a little about their style before diving in. Among the crowd there were two in particular who puzzled her- a pair of undead.

The mummy was....talkative. So was her zombie partner, who occassionally lost a body part. They had the advantage over fleshy beings due to the lack of pain (or need of oxygen) but would prove easy to overpower if a limb was lost...

And the zombie was better. Next time, the oni would challenge the green-skinned undead. If she won, it would establish herself at least in this group. If -heavens forbid- she lost, then Shinobu would have every need to kick the crud out of everyone in succession.

With the brains-feaster last.

Analysis was completed by the time the two left. Shin continued to observe the other members before retiring to find something to eat at the cafeteria. As she left the room her free hand ran through her mohawk, playing with the strands in idle amusement.

[Riin Whitewind]

Jagged remains of lightbulbs jutted from the cieling like nascent stalactites. Shards of glass - untempered and sharp - sprinkled every exposed surface in the now-gloomy room. Light still filtered in through the windows and open door, but the stream of people made it unreliable at best. With an internal sigh, Sao brushed glass fragments out of her hair and off her desk, adding to the clutter on the floor.

Lifting her skirt so that it floated above the gleaming glass, the Undine stood and stepped lightly towards the door, silk-slippered feet revealed by the raised material. She moved cautiously, intending to pass through the threshold of the class with a minimum of injury to her clothes. Any small nicks on her arms or feet would heal, but a rip in her slippers or skirt would take much more time and skill to mend.

Entering the hallway, Sao was passed in both directions by similarly freed students - If Shuyin had intended his interruption to quiet the building, he had failed, for their bustle and noise had filled the hall far more effectively than any overeagre demonstration of Landry's. She felt sorry for him, having to share a wall with that loudmouth would fray anyone's nerves. Wandering almost listlessly towards the beconing warmth of sunlight outside, she wondered how she would maintain her calm through the coming months.

Landry's rashness was far more alarming than her volume. Her teacher's battle declaration, getting all the students involved... A match on the Field of Honour was not something to take casually - as her homeroom teacher clearly was. Straightening her shoulders, the young swimmer refused to allow that her future - her very existance - would be compromised by this flighty human broad. Her beloved Amaranth, with its vast waters and endless fields, demanded that she be around to care for it. And so she would, no matter what this irritating bird did to sabotage her.

Needing the reassurance that her world would not be swept from under her feet so quickly, Sao headed for building H. Some time spent swimming would be a comfort, but it was too early in the day to leap and splash amongst the fountains and streams of Amaranth. When people were about, it was best to conceal her native form and simply swim as a human would - confined to a tiny pool in the depths of a building, unnaturally heated and treated. Still, it was better than nothing.

[krogothwolf]

Damn, Dean had totally forgotten about all that. He was so thinking about other things today that he forgot he needed physical permission first. Though he always wondered about that if she knew that people entered here and had the ability to do what she did why it mattered. This school was full of strange people after all. He though for a minute, not being to disturbed by the glowing lady.

"Ack, I can dae that instead," Dean finally said to her, "I just wanna make sure she be okay and everything, dinnae want the little lassie to feel I dinnae care or anything, and she does get a little lonely after to long. Sorry I fergot about asking ya directly, been a strange day with Prof. Landry and all...she's a very strange teacher eh?"

Dean then sat back quietly, waiting for Karen to decide what to do.

[Arhra]

"I'm Scandinavian myself." Jo replied quietly to Sean. "Lived to the north in my mother's house. It was so much cooler there."

"I said before I like cloudy days, mysteries and replicas. I like the first because there's more variety, the second because they are strange and puzzling and the third because they're something trying to be something else.

"Also, sports, but I felt that one was too ordinary for a mysterious introduction." she added with a conspiratorial air.

"Speaking of sports, I am still finalising what clubs to join. It seemed to me that it would be good to do a tour of a few this afternoon. Would you like to come?" she asked the pale, tall boy.

"Did you know there's a shark fighting club? I have to see it!" It was quite possible the reality could never live up to the dream.

[Teal Mage]

The sky was orange.

Pendant sparkling in the evening sunlight, Adeline Fletcher flipped open her blue and white cellphone. Orange geometric symbols dominated the black screen within, stating the current time. Six fifteen. The hazel eyed girl read, snapping her phone shut with a sigh. 'nother forty-five minutes, at least. From her sitting position on her impromptu bench - which was really a smooth square shaped planter, containing a towering tree and a handful of ferns of some kind - Adeline leaned back and stretched, letting out a low groan.

"So bored!"

After the debacle that had been her homeroom with Professor Landry, Adeline had quietly snuck out of the room and made her way to the riding club. After a short demonstration of her abilities as a rider, the Club Director - a blessedly normal man - had allowed her to take one of the horses out for the afternoon to explore the many riding paths around the woods. It had been a pleasant diversion.

She'd returned for a late lunch, then decided to explore the campus. Over the last handful of hours, she'd visited around half of the school's buildings, introduced herself (briefly) to the Heads of each of her clubs, eaten a light supper and found her way to the Field of Honour - a weird garden sitting on top of a three story slab of rock near the campus's center.

Now, sitting on the edge of a planter set in one of the Field's corners, Adeline was only now realizing how much her body - specifically her feet - ached from all the walking and riding she'd done that day. She was bored, but, she was also too tired to descend the three flights of stairs separating her from the ground - let alone look for something interesting. The Field of Honour, despite its exciting name, had proven to be entirely dull. It was just a well tended, and strangely high up, garden.

Adeline sighed again. Climbing up here had seemed like a good idea at the time. Well, parents aren't here for another fort- She checked her watch again, forty-three, she amended mentally, minutes. Shrugging, Oh well. Adeline reached behind herself, before grasping and pulling her braid forward. I'll find something to do.

She began to redo the braid.

At least this place is quiet.


* * * * * *


False mahogany wood panels covered the walls of Amaranth High's main Cafeteria, a large - nearly perfect - square room in the center of building D's first floor. Circular tables with tops of plastic - coloured like wood to match the walls - were scattered throughout the room, the room's size allowing them to be a fair distance from one another. All told, the room could sit most of the school's student body comfortably, with some space left over.

Several doors led into the room, ten all told, nine for students, distributed three each to the South, East and West walls of the room. The North side held a single door, reserved for the Kitchen Staff and leading into the kitchen. A long - fake - wooden counter ran the length of the north wall at mid-chest height, sectioning part of the cafeteria off from the rest of it. The Kitchen Staff stood behind it dressed in white uniforms emblazoned with the red flower crest of the school. Covered silver trays were set at even intervals along the counter, containing a variety of hot dishes. For a school Cafeteria, the food was far fresher than you'd expect.

It was just after six, the supper rush was nearing its end now. Five-Thirty seemed to be the most popular time for students to arrive in Amaranth, and many of them only stayed long enough to sit down and eat. Already, half the seats in the room were empty.

Black hair standing proudly in her trademark Mohawk, Shinobu Meguro was one of those students still occupying a seat in the Cafeteria. By the food in front of her, the deliquent Oni was eating supper.

Such a normal evening.

[Riin Whitewind]

Dressed in a set of Institute-issued sweats over her still-damp suit, Sao finished tying up her running shoes. Her normal clothes were folded neatly in a gym bag on the bench beside her, waiting to be carried out of the confines of the girls' locker room. A heavy smell of clorine and sweat was already starting to permeate the building, even with the extensive airing out it had undergone during the off-season, but the Undine didn't mind. It called to mind the salt and brack of an ocean-fed river, complete with the feeling of competition and challenge. Amused, she ran her fingers through her hair, spiking it while it was still damp. Feeling ready to face the outside world again, Sao grabbed her gym bag and headed home.

Before she had even reached the end of the hall, her path was revised. First food, and then home. Drowning her sorrows had taken up more time than the black-haired woman had realised.

It was only a short walk to building D, and soon Sao found herself in front of one of the mildly ornate cafeteria doors. Reaching for the handle, she took a startled step back as it opened before her, a small group of female students streaming out. The group flowed around the swimmer as if she didn't exist, talking amongst themselves about how their first day had gone. The Undine couldn't help but watch until they had turned the corner towards the stairs, feeling uneasy and lonely all at once. Being ignored was never a comfortable feeling.

Once the students had moved out of sight, she tried the entrance again. This time the door opened easily under her hand, allowing her into the warmth of the cafeteria proper. Collecting a tray, some utensils, and a plate of salad from one of the uniformed servers, Sao looked for an open table to claim. Or... Maybe... The feeling of loneliness persisted still. Changing her mind, the Undine looked for a table with only one occupant - and easily spotted a black mohawk rising above the sea of styled hair. Such a distinctive hairsyle for a school such as this, it could only belong to the tall, somewhat intimidating girl from the last minute of 'class'.

Steeling her resolve (and realising that she had stood frozen by the servers long enough to attract attention), Sao set her tray down near Shin's. Holding a tanned hand out to shake in the neutral area between them, the swimmer introduced herself. "I'm Sao Opallios," she smiled, trying to be friendly, "We're in the same homeroom class."

[Girasol of Chaos]

STEAK

Delicious, bloody protein was being ravenously devoured by Shin, who had forgotten that she hadn't had her daily dose of meat. That is, until her mouth was blessed by its presence. Although she wasn't entirely barbaric about eating her food, it was enough to make some of the more....elegant students feel uneasy. But none of that mattered, and it mattered even less at this moment. She had her steak, and at this point nothing else existed in her world.

Her thought process-or lack of- was interrupted by a tan, somewhat toned girl. The smell of chlorine seemed to follow her, a swimmer? A hand was offered, much smaller than the ogre's, "I'm Sao Opallios. We're in the same homeroom class." The girl's hazel eyes offered that she wasn't quite as confident as she was acting, but it was certainly good effort. A bit too polite as well...

Swallowing, Shin took the offered hand and gave a firm shake, "Didn't notice you to be honest. I'm Shinobu." The oni's hand retreated and went directly back to picking the remnants of her meal with a fork. "So what do you need? You're the first person to talk to me here. You must want somethin." Shin's red eyes fixed on Sao, judgemental. It was terribly difficult resisting the urge to grin. Would she run?


The Sao girl seems harmless, but you never knew who was going to up and punch you.