Reading Class: Session 1 [MORNING]

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[atrb=vAlign,top][atrb=style,background-color: #454545; padding: 25px 10px 0px 0px;] AST AND FREE FOLLOW ME Save your tears for the day when our pain is far behind. on your feet, come with me, we are soldiers stand or die

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,470,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=style,background-color: #454545; padding: 0px 20px 10px 20px; border-radius: 0px 0px 0px 8px; border-left: #5C246E 8px solid;] █ TAGS something █ WORDS something █ NOTES something TEXT COLOR IS A040ff The door to Class Winter Moon was propped open by a chair that had been pulled out from one of the spare desks. Stacked on it were sheets of syllabi to the class that Dianne Ayers had elected to teach- A Literary Exploration of the Human Psyche. She had hoped that it sounded abstract and yet at the same time overwhelmingly complicated enough to drive most people to choose a seemingly less intensive course for their liberal arts requirement. Truth be told she had very little interest in anything the students could have to offer, and she was even less inclined to have to divulge whatever she thought she knew on the subject, but such were the terms of the arrangement she had set. They hadn't allowed her to head a PE class and certainly not a combat training course, but even with the artsy foo foo subject she had been relegated to, she would make sure that all business was conducted seriously. It didn't mean, however, that she was about to act stuffy and overbearing. Dressed in dark jeans and a leather jacket half zipped to reveal a white shirt and with its sleeves rolled up, the teacher herself was reclining in a chair and fiddling with an iPad set on her crossed knees as the students made their way in. Her purple polarized sunglasses were still perched in her bright violet hair. She still hadn't looked up since people first started taking their seats, even though her chair had been angled to directly face the door. The projector screen had already been pulled down over the blackboard. The slide it was currently displaying contained only the title of the class, splashed on an ordinary white background. MADE BY AYU OF BACK TO NEVERLAND (x)

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,446,bTable][atrb=style, background-color: #FAFAFA; border-top: 3px solid #0E292A; border-left: 1px dotted #0E292A; border-bottom: 3px solid #0E292A; border-top-left-radius: 230px; border-top-right-radius: 10px; border-bottom-right-radius: 15px; border-bottom-left-radius: 15px;] STARRY EYED, Handle bars, and then I let go, let go for anyone. Take me in, and throw out my heart and get a new one. Next thing we're touching, you look at me it's like you hit me with lightning. Oh, everybody's starry-eyed – ;] 'Ugh, morning classes,' the girl grumbled to herself, even as she navigated the hallways with her usual quick, off-to-somewhere-important pace. She had been careful to allot herself enough time for a proper morning routine: fixing her hair, make up, choosing a smart dress. If most other people weren't going to bother dolling up for the unusually early morning class, then she knew she had to take advantage and be the brightest shining star in the room. It was all cut out for her to be able to flaunt her fabulousness in an even more effective manner than usual. In ordinary circumstances, she would have kicked up an enormous fuss over having to take a class that started a full hour earlier than most others, even give the advantage it presented in showboating. However, her interest was piqued when she saw that the Dianne Ayers from her dorm's third floor mixer was heading one of the available classes to fulfill her Literature requirement. And of course she had to be there for the very first class of the day on the teacher's very first day of teaching. Waiting until the 2PM class in the afternoon meant that much time lost on updating her gossip blogs and sending out texts to interested parties. The would-be queen of the social scene had to be aggressive in taking initiative, and she could still utilize her class schedule to present herself as a go-to source for classwork and test queries, in exchange for favors of course. As she pushed the door open, she snatched a syllabus sheet from the seat cushion. Without so much as glancing at its content, Eva set it down on the desk she had chosen, in the middle row, off to the left side of the room to watch both Dianne and everyone else still filing in. She took her large purse, which served as her book bag, and placed it in the seat next to hers to let others know that it was being reserved. With both elbows on the table and her hands interlocked to form a platform to rest her chin on, she watched as the teacher continued to browse her electronic device. At the mixer, the woman had struck her as being very low key, quite unlike what she expected from any kind of educational authority figure, and so far her lax self-presentation in the classroom seemed to confirm it.

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Tatsuya moaned, his head resting on his desk. "Seriously...screw this class..." he sighed, looking up at the front of the class.He had arrived about 12 minutes ago, and was totally exhausted. Atsuko had been running another fever, and Tatsuya had spent all night taking care of her. He would rather skip class and take care of Atsuko than be here.

I suppose even a unique school like this must offer some universally "ordinary" course.

As Shirou Kotomine stood before the door to his first actual class at the Death Weapon Meister Academy, he mulled over the past seven years of his life. In that time, he had been taught not only concepts of theology but also subjects such as algebra, literature, philosophy, psychology, and others. Aside from one particular incident in his life seven years prior, Shirou had enjoyed a relatively normal life until the death of his "father" two years ago. He was not completely unfamiliar with the advanced high school curriculum taught by prep schools, and had even taken several such courses himself. It had been Shirou's love of both literature and human psychology which had ignited his vague interest in this class to begin with. Shirou's amber eyes were as deadpan and sharp as ever, though his attention was on the chair which had been used to prop the classroom door open. He waited for a moment or two, before the sound of voices floated out into the corridor.

Other students are already here. Shirou thought to himself, not altogether surprised by that fact: he was about ten minutes late, after all. Still, better late than never, right? Well, right or wrong, it made no matter; Shirou Kotomine was not about to skip a class on his first day at Shibusen. His heart was set on his career within the DWMA, if only because this was the only path available to him. The red-headed young man noted the pile of papers which rested atop the folding chair. He could tell right away that the stack of papers had been disturbed, undoubtedly from when another student helped themselves to a syllabus. Shirou internally resigned himself to his fate - knowing he would need all the class credit he could get to advance in Shibusen - and leaned over to grab a copy of the prepared syllabus for this course.

He did not trouble himself with rushing into the classroom, and in fact wished he had not been late on arrival. Shirou Kotomine despised drawing attention to himself, and common sense dictated that when a late student entered a class room, all eyes would be upon the newcomer. The thought of it made Shirou want to frown, but he resisted the impulse. No, his expression was an inscrutable as ever, his unusually-hued eyes lending a sharp and serious feel to his stare. The tardy student was not happy at that moment, the realization he would - however briefly - become the center of attention keeping his mood cloudy. But in the end, Shirou Kotomine was Japanese: he knew that some things in life couldn't be helped, after a point. No amount of quietly reading over the syllabus would repair the damage done by being late.

Quiet as a shadow, Shirou Kotomine entered Class Winter Moon, gracefully sidestepping the chair so clumsily positioned in the doorway. The use of a chair to prop the door open told Shirou a fair deal about the instructor in question, but he had no time to psychoanalyze the woman who so obviously enjoyed the rank of "instructor" in the unfamiliar territory. Rather than demonstrating the typical reaction to being tardy, however, Shirou Kotomine's disposition left no room for meek behavior and hurried apologies. His naturally razor-sharp stare was turned now upon the teacher, though no actual disrespect was betrayed by his expression alone.

In his peripheral vision, the young priest made out the presence of several other students: a boy, clearly uninterested in the course. A girl, sitting next to an overly large purses. But Shirou's attention was naturally drawn to the teacher, and it wouldn't be too farfetched to consider the newest addition to the class - garbed in his usual, black, priestly attire, minus his jacket - would also briefly enjoy an unwanted spotlight. But whether the other students ignored or acknowledged Shirou's presence, he would only focus on the teacher first and foremost. That icy, amber-eyed stare would observe the teacher quite closely for only a moment, before Shirou would feel compelled to offer the standard courtesies due an interrupted class.

"Sorry for the interruption, ma'am." He said in a quiet, even voice that was somewhere between whisper and a "normal" indoor voice.

Then, Shirou Kotomine took his seat without another word at the empty desk closest to the door, setting his grey messenger bag down besides him upon the classroom floor.

James yawned as we walked through the halls of Shibusen. It wasn't often that the young athlete felt exhaustion like he did this day and it was almost overwhelming for him. Sadly, he was unable to think of why he was so fatigued! James wandered the halls aimlessly, as though he had nothing better to do with his time. Despite the action, the meister knew EXACTLY what it was he had to do. He had class to attend for most of the day, the sheet of paper he held in his hand was the proof of this. Even so, he was on the other side of the school, far from his classes.

As a bell rang, the meister finally snapped to. He looked back and forth, trying to figure out why he was so far from his class and shrugged. He must have been daydreaming again. Which was the best guess he has had in a long time. He WAS daydreaming. He was thinking how awesome it would be to have helped his weapon partner achieve the status of death scythe. How awesome would it be for him to get her to be such a high status? Heaven knows that she would live it up more than any other death scythe.

A chuckle came from the young man's throat as he pulled out his phone, checking the time. Hmph. Five minutes. He thought to himself as he charted his path in his head. The fastest way to get to class without any interruptions. After the "map" was made in his head, the meister was off in a sprint. He was swerving and cutting between people around the campus and made his way to his class.

J.J. looked at all the other students as he panted slightly, catching his breath. With a firm clearing of his throat, James strained himself and regained his composure before cooly walking up to the seats. He noticed his partner and saw the purse in the seat next to her. He could only assume that it was reserved for him and he walked over to stand next to her. "Thanks for saving my seat, Eva." James picked up the purse and set it on the desk and sat down next to the dadao. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head, waiting on the teacher to star.

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,470,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=style,background-color: #454545; padding: 29px 0px 0px 10px; border-radius: 8px 0px 0px 0px; border-left: #5C246E 8px solid;] F

[atrb=vAlign,top][atrb=style,background-color: #454545; padding: 25px 10px 0px 0px;] AST AND FREE FOLLOW ME Save your tears for the day when our pain is far behind. on your feet, come with me, we are soldiers stand or die

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,470,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=style,background-color: #454545; padding: 0px 20px 10px 20px; border-radius: 0px 0px 0px 8px; border-left: #5C246E 8px solid;] █ TAGS something █ WORDS something █ NOTES something TEXT COLOR IS A040ff The slightest buzz of mild irritation went off at the boy-priest's apology, the first reaction she had since the students began walking in. A 7AM class, scheduled a full hour ahead of the ordinary morning classes at the academy, and still people had come? One even felt the need to bow his head for arriving 2 minutes before class actually started- the clock was off when she first inspected the room and as it suited her purpose, she never bothered to fix it. Anyhow, most of his classmates were trying their utmost to catch up on the sleep they had sacrificed to attend the early session. It seems she should have gone ahead with her plan to "mistakenly" announce that the first day of class would be next week. The hope had been that so few would show up that the class would be canceled, leaving her just one class session to deal with and an entire morning free. Alas, it was not so. She hadn't yet looked up when Shirou addressed her, and not even when James burst into the room; Dianne wasn't getting paid to care before class time started. Once the bells chimed over the PA system, she pushed her sunglasses up into her bobbed hair. "Good morning," she greeted, though her voice lacked any warmth or pep to even quality it as anything more than an obligatory opening statement. "Welcome to the early morning session of A Literary Exploration of the Human Psyche. This information is also listed on the syllabus, so you're not missing out on anything, Green Pigtails in the 3rd Row." Remaining in her leisurely posture, Dianne tapped at her iPad as she went through the presentation slides on display. "Thisis obviously a reading class, which entails analyzing and discussing the selected novels: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, and so on and so forth. I hated these books when I had to read them in school and this is my gift to you, that you may also be overcome with the urge to throw them against a wall the moment you see their covers." "Participation in class discussions will be 25% of your grade while weekly essay assignments total up to 15%. You will have a 5-7 page paper on each of the novels that we have read, as well as a group presentation. I will accept no late work and no emailed assignments. Attendance and tardiness will also count towards your participation grade." "As stated in the title of the class itself, we will be looking to the literary tradition to see how Madness and falling to Madness is a recurring theme in the human condition. That's right, it's not enough to merely combat it in the field- you will also be dissecting it in art so that you may become the well-rounded students your parents are paying for you to be. You will study the character's mental and emotional processes and analyze what thought trains are leading them to react to their specific circumstances in the way that they are. There is logic and reasoning behind Madness. For each afflicted individual, they see it as the best way to deal with the world they think they are inhabiting. Life rarely makes sense but in fiction, readers' expectations for clarity and neatly tied ends means we have plenty of fodder to dissect it to our hearts content." "Are there any questions?" MADE BY AYU OF BACK TO NEVERLAND (x)

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,446,bTable][atrb=style, background-color: #FAFAFA; border-top: 3px solid #0E292A; border-left: 1px dotted #0E292A; border-bottom: 3px solid #0E292A; border-top-left-radius: 230px; border-top-right-radius: 10px; border-bottom-right-radius: 15px; border-bottom-left-radius: 15px;] STARRY EYED, Handle bars, and then I let go, let go for anyone. Take me in, and throw out my heart and get a new one. Next thing we're touching, you look at me it's like you hit me with lightning. Oh, everybody's starry-eyed – ;] With her chin still resting upon her interlacing fingers, Eva turned her head slightly as James took as his seat. "Someone totally didn't wake up late today," she said in a low voice. She took her own syllabus sheet and placed it on his desk, and reformed the posture she was in previously. "Easy. I've had to read most of these already in the old high school. You better stay awake, we've got some premium info to uncover here." Eva was definitely in a business state of mind, and the early morning chill only served to keep her even more on point. She had been continuously staring at the woman for at least 5 minutes. One usually got a sense of being observed, and though there Eva's look lacked the unnerving aloofness of a scientist observing something under a microscope, the even, unwavering gaze should have been obvious. Even though the sunglasses made it somewhat difficult to actually see her eyes, Eva was quite sure that Dianne's eyes remained glued to her iPad screen the entire time. She chalked it up to being completely absorbed in her device, as who would be all that interested in generating small talk with a half empty room of kids who were trying their best to catch up on sleep? Though when the woman remained outwardly oblivious even to the prim boy in priest's clothing, Eva refined her conclusion: everyone in the room was like a gnat to Dianne, present and an annoyance for it, but invisible and so insignificant that she could not be moved to actually express it. It was a completely different reading from the laid-back but talkative Dianne at the dorm floor mixer, though the radically changed context had to be one of the causes, if not the main one for her closing up as she did. Eva kept up her initial confidence about the coursework being a breeze. Of course it was. She was in honors classes, this was the same ole same ole for her. It might have worked to intimidate the others, or even have them completely reconsider their enrollment in the course, but it wouldn't work on her. She broke her gaze to take a look at James. Was he regretting actually agreeing to take the course now? She never did imply that because it was so easy for her, she'd be available and willing to help him. The girl remained perfectly poised, with her demeanor unfazed. As soon as the floor was opened up to questions, she raised her hand to half its length. Everything was smooth and casual, from the fluidity of her motion and quality of speech, though Eva was keen on being the first to get any kind of answer out of the new teacher. "Professor, or.. Ms. Ayers? Sorry, you didn't specify which you preferred which one to go by in the classroom," she began. Her tone was pleasant enough, and she smiled a little as she continued on. "You still haven't told us anything about yourself in your introduction." The statement was somewhat untrue as it applied to Eva herself, as Dianne had offered a few tidbits at the meeting. However, it was still true as it applied to the rest of the class, to whom she was still a complete stranger to. The girl assumed a familiar voice, almost like she was teasing the older woman into tossing a few bones at them.

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Fuck. One of his first classes and he was already running late. As though he didn't get made fun of enough as it was that he was a Moore now everyone was going to start bitching about how lazy he was because of his family. This wasn't going to go well and he could feel that in his bones. He didn't even know why they had signed him up for a class like this, I mean, who the hell wanted to take such a complicated looking class? He didn't ask for the class but his schedule was made late and so it looks like this was one of those classes they kind of dumped him in. He wondered how long it would take to get a transfer, he didn't want to take a class having to do with the human psyche, or literatry exploration. Nothing about this class sounded fun but the weapon wasn't being given an option, at least not today.

Incredibly lazy eyes lingered up towards the room number which would tell him he was in the correct lecutre hall much to his dismay. He was already late but had managed to get his pass which meant it was excused, or at least on paper it was but most of the teachers chrewed kids like him out. Who could blame him for being late though, it was the first day of school and he had already been ripping pavement to get there the few minutes late he was. The tardy was also excused because of the fact that his father said something along the lines of him having some kind of appointment or whatever. Issac knew so little about that kind of stuff he didn't even bother talking about it or arguing since it was a lie, though he was just going to have to move on and try to at least look like he's not guilty.

Issac filed into the classroom without saying a word. Even if he did have something to say he wasn't trying to make his lateness obvious even though he knew he would recieved the very unwelcomed and uniform head turn at the sound of the door. He wondered if he knew anyone in the class but he assumed he didn't, he had always hung around with kids much less intelligent than he was, he never even needed to consider otherwise since he always liked feeling smarter than everyone else. This class was going to make him feel totally stupid and he had no idea how he was even going to survive in such a hard sounding class. He looked towards the teacher, apparently the syllabus was passed out already. Great, now he had to ask for one. He just stood awkwardly, not sure if she had assigned seats or not. Issac refused to make eye contact, there was no way he was going to embarass himself by looking at any of them.

James looked at his partner from the corner of his eyes at her comment. She was being sarcastic.... but it was true. He didn't sleep late. What he ended up doing, however, was a blur to him. He didn't remember many things that he did early in the morning. His body was moving, but his conscious stays in sleep mode until certain times each morning. It varied most of the time. So... does this mean that Eva was right? Nah. She wasn't right. He was technically awake.

The meister was pulled from his thoughts as the professor stood up and addressed the class. At the same time of her introductory speech, James started to recall what Eva said before about the list of books and what was to be expected of them in the class. Maybe Eva would even be able to help him get by in the class. Another thought that he shrugged off.

Not before long, Eva was speaking. It almost distracted James from looking at the late student that just strolled into class. He blinked as he listened to how Eva's personality changed a little. He coughed a little and scratched the back of his head. Oh wow... He thought to himself as he looked back towards the professor, waiting on the woman's response.

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[atrb=vAlign,top][atrb=style,background-color: #454545; padding: 25px 10px 0px 0px;] AST AND FREE FOLLOW ME Save your tears for the day when our pain is far behind. on your feet, come with me, we are soldiers stand or die

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,470,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=style,background-color: #454545; padding: 0px 20px 10px 20px; border-radius: 0px 0px 0px 8px; border-left: #5C246E 8px solid;] █ TAGS something █ WORDS something █ NOTES something TEXT COLOR IS A040ff Dianne tilted her head slightly in Eva's direction as the girl spoke with cloying sweetness, though she froze as her questions assumed an undeserved chummyness. A certain hardness set into her eyes as she made up her mind to establish a firm distance between classroom relations and whatever type of standing they may have outside of it. However, the arrival of a late student saved Eva from becoming the receiving end of a harsh dressing down. In complete contrast with the undercurrent of annoyance that she had hidden with varying degrees of success just previously, Dianne smiled at Isaac. It was not exactly a sunny look but still a decent enough attempt at looking amiable, as she reached towards him to hand him a copy of the syllabus that was in front of her. She could act if she wanted, which was essentially the only way she managed for so long to get through all of these hated social rituals. "Eva over there can give you a quick debriefing of what we just discussed in class. Won't you, Eva?" she said, addressing her before turning back to the hopelessly lost student before her. She waved her hand in the general direction of the empty seat behind James and Eva. "Come earlier next time if that arrangement isn't to your best liking." "Thank you Ms. Liu for bringing up a good point. For you yourself to get a better grounding of how you might need to approach this class, why don't we share what we expect from the course and why you chose this one, out of the other similar classes offered in the department?" Little made her eyes glaze over as quickly as other, relatively unimportant, people discussing their feelings, and if it meant a good several minutes spent not having to pay attention she was keen to capitalize on it. MADE BY AYU OF BACK TO NEVERLAND (x)

J.J.'s eyes darted back and forth from his partner and his new teacher. The lady's demeanor seemed to change a little at the demon dao's question. Of course, James thought it was an unnecessary question. He didn't really see a need for the woman's history, so long as she didn't fail him in the class. Other than that, he was perfectly fine with their professor preferring to be a "mystery" to them. It was more professional anyway, and J.J. was perfectly fine with that.

As Ms. Ayers told the late arrival his new seat, James gave the boy a casual wave. The dreaded athlete leaned back in his seat and put his hands behind his head. It was gonna be another long, boring day. He wasn't really ready. His mind started to drift off into his own imagination land, filled with basketball and women. Lots and lots of women. The voice of the teacher yanked him from his dream land and he looked to Eva. He felt that Ms. Ayers' question was directed at his partner to answer first, but he decided to interject. Hopefully he threw Eva off and not too much of a scene would be made.

"Well honestly," the meister spoke up, clearing his throat a little, "I don't expect to do much but read in this class. I don't see how we could do much else, y'know?" James possibly came off a bit more direct and blunt than he would have liked, but it was the best he could do at the time. It was a moment when he had to think on his feet and he supposed that the best way to do so, would be to just say what he had to say as fast as he could say it.