Construction Post: TOMU 2-36
Oct. 3rd, 2011 03:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexandraerin10/3/2011
3:00-3:30: ~400 words
5:00-5:30 ~1100 words (+700)
5:30-6:00 ~1300 words (+200)
10/4/2011
5:30-600 ~1900 words (+600
[First burst. In order to get past a minor stumbling block, in some places I'm sketching out the sentiments I want to convey even if the character's voice isn't quite right. It's a little bit different from my usual approach.]
"So, there's this dance tomorrow night," was the first thing that Ian said to me at lunch, just after I'd taken a bite of chicken that suddenly swelled up in my mouth and tasted like nothing. "I was thinking it would sort of be like our anniversary. I mean, our first date wasn't exactly my finest moment, but I think it's worth recognizing how far we've come, you know?"
I forcibly swallowed the lump of food in my mouth, my gaze slipping sideways to Amaranth. She'd brought up the point that Ian or Steff might make their own plans for the weekend, but the whole time that we'd been talking about the subject, it had never occurred to me that those plans might very well have involved me or the dance.
"Oh, well, if you guys already have plans..." Ian said.
"I don't know if 'plans' are the right word," Amaranth said. "The subject of the dance has come up, but I don't know if anything definite has been decided."
[]
"I actually got asked by someone else," I said. "I mean, asked if I would be there. It's not like a date, and I don't know if I'd want it to be. My thought was that if I was there with someone else, there might be less awkwardness."
"Oh, yeah," Steff said. "Because the more social connections between variably awkward people you introduce, the less awkwardness there is." [Line needs re-writing, though the sentiment is there]
"Well, there's a thought," Ian said. "Who says you have to go with just one of us?"
"We talked about that," I said. "And I thought about it. But I really wasn't sure how the dynamics of a multi-person date would work out."
"Most dates are multi-person," Steff said. "Unless they're surrounded by quotation marks and involve a box of tissues and a small jar of oil of slipperiness."
"Well, okay," Ian said. "Let's look at it a different way. Why do you need to go with any of us?"
"Because I don't want to go alone," I said. "And leaving everyone at home if I can't figure out who to go with doesn't really seem like the way to avoid hurt feelings and resentments."
"I'm not saying that anyone stays home," Ian said. "But why does it have to be a matter of 'going with' each other, explicitly? We're all adult-ish... and in theory, being in this relationship... these relationships... whatever... it kind of means we can't rely on the usual ways of marking territory." [Again needs re-writing, especially the end. I'm focusing on sentiments right now, will come back and get the voices right later.]
[One hour in. I have multiple things I want the classroom scene to accomplish, in terms of moving the immediate plot forward.]
"So, there's this dance tomorrow night," was the first thing that Ian said to me at lunch, just after I'd taken a bite of chicken that suddenly swelled up in my mouth and tasted like nothing. "I was thinking it would sort of be like our anniversary. I mean, our first date wasn't exactly my finest moment, but I think it's worth recognizing how far we've come, you know?"
I forcibly swallowed the lump of food in my mouth, my gaze slipping sideways to Amaranth. She'd brought up the point that Ian or Steff might make their own plans for the weekend, but the whole time that we'd been talking about the subject, it had never occurred to me that those plans might very well have involved me or the dance.
"Oh, well, if you guys already have plans..." Ian said.
"I don't know if 'plans' are the right word," Amaranth said. "The subject of the dance has come up, but I don't know if anything definite has been decided."
[]
"I actually got asked by someone else," I said. "I mean, asked if I would be there. It's not like a date, and I don't know if I'd want it to be. My thought was that if I was there with someone else, there might be less awkwardness."
"Oh, yeah," Steff said. "Because the more social connections between variably awkward people you introduce, the less awkwardness there is." [Line needs re-writing, though the sentiment is there]
"Well, there's a thought," Ian said. "Who says you have to go with just one of us?"
"We talked about that," I said. "And I thought about it. But I really wasn't sure how the dynamics of a multi-person date would work out."
"Most dates are multi-person," Steff said. "Unless they're surrounded by quotation marks and involve a box of tissues and a small jar of oil of slipperiness."
"Well, okay," Ian said. "Let's look at it a different way. Why do you need to go with any of us?"
"Because I don't want to go alone," I said. "And leaving everyone at home if I can't figure out who to go with doesn't really seem like the way to avoid hurt feelings and resentments."
"I'm not saying that anyone stays home," Ian said. "But why does it have to be a matter of 'going with' each other, explicitly? We're all adult-ish... and in theory, being in this relationship... these relationships... whatever... it kind of means we can't rely on the usual ways of marking territory." [Again needs re-writing, especially the end. I'm focusing on sentiments right now, will come back and get the voices right later.]
[]
"I'm just saying, it seems a little middle school to worry about who's going with who," Ian said. "We know who's involved with who. If we show up at the dance, why does it have to be any different from when we all show up at lunch?"
"I think a dance is a little more special than a meal," I said.
"Okay, it happens less often," Ian said. "But we're talking Generic It's The First Week Of The New School Year Dance sponsored by Campus Something Or Other. It's not that much of an occasion."
[]
"A card came for you but it ended up in our mail," Two said.
"What kind of card?" I asked.
"An appointment card, but I didn't read it because it wasn't addressed to me," she said.
"An appointment card?" I said. "Was it from the healing center?"
"I didn't read it because it wasn't addressed to me," Two repeated.
"Maybe it was from Professor Bohd," Amaranth suggested. "Two, you didn't happen to bring it with you, did you?"
"I did happen to bring it with me," Two said. She reached around behind her back and pulled it out of her backpack without looking. It was only slightly larger than an index card.
[]
"She wants me to stop by her office," I said, "but this is during my melee class."
"She must have figured you'd be done with classes by that time," Amaranth said. "You'll have to either drop by during your afternoon break, or send her a message that you can't make it and asking when she'd like to see you instead."
"Or, alternately," Steff said, "tell her to eat a dick."
"Steff!" Amaranth said. "That's not called for."
"What's not called for is a teacher calling her in on the carpet when she's not even in any of her classes," Steff said.
"We don't know that she's doing that," Amaranth said.
"Right, we don't know anything because she didn't feel the need to explain herself," Steff said. "She didn't invite Mack to stop by, she summoned her like a gen... genuine person one would summon."
"I actually think this does constitute an invitation," I said. "I mean, we don't really know each other socially to the point where it would be appropriate for her to just shoot me an a-mail asking me if I want to hang out, and... well, she's always very professional about things."
"This isn't professional, it's rude," Steff said.
"I mean, I don't know if she knows another way to reach out," I said. "I think she'd be too self-conscious to send me an echo or an a-mail... In her own way, she's as awkward and gawky as any student."
I was actually thinking about Dee when I said this. Dee's stiff and formal manners and the stock she put in things like formal declarations of friendship and explicit invitations weren't necessarily the same thing as Professor Bohd's reserved manner, but I thought they shared a common root.
"What, now professors are more afraid of us than we are of them?" Steff said.
"I agree with Steff," Ian said. "Bohd's a big girl, and I don't believe for one minute she's afraid of the student body."
"I didn't say she was afraid," I said. "I just don't think she knows more than one way to relate to students, and that's as students."
"But you think she should go anyway," Steff said.
Ian nodded.
"Because the benefit of standing on how right you are doesn't measure up to what it could cost you," he said to me. "You've got another three years here. It's not crazy to think you're going to need Bohd's support at some point."
[1.5 hours in. Not a lot of progress because halfway through the half hour, I realized I'd screwed up the order of Mackenzie's classes in a way that would require substantial rewrites to two chapters and a very different approach to this one to fix. As a temporary measure, I've retconned a schedule change into chapters 34 and 35. Not fully happy with that decision, might rewrite them further.]
"So, there's this dance tomorrow night," was the first thing that Ian said to me at lunch, just after I'd taken a bite of chicken that suddenly swelled up in my mouth and tasted like nothing. "I was thinking it would sort of be like our anniversary. I mean, our first date wasn't exactly my finest moment, but I think it's worth recognizing how far we've come, you know?"
I forcibly swallowed the lump of food in my mouth, my gaze slipping sideways to Amaranth. She'd brought up the point that Ian or Steff might make their own plans for the weekend, but the whole time that we'd been talking about the subject, it had never occurred to me that those plans might very well have involved me or the dance.
"Oh, well, if you guys already have plans..." Ian said.
"I don't know if 'plans' are the right word," Amaranth said. "The subject of the dance has come up, but I don't know if anything definite has been decided."
[]
"I actually got asked by someone else," I said. "I mean, asked if I would be there. It's not like a date, and I don't know if I'd want it to be. My thought was that if I was there with someone else, there might be less awkwardness."
"Oh, yeah," Steff said. "Because the more social connections between variably awkward people you introduce, the less awkwardness there is." [Line needs re-writing, though the sentiment is there]
"Well, there's a thought," Ian said. "Who says you have to go with just one of us?"
"We talked about that," I said. "And I thought about it. But I really wasn't sure how the dynamics of a multi-person date would work out."
"Most dates are multi-person," Steff said. "Unless they're surrounded by quotation marks and involve a box of tissues and a small jar of oil of slipperiness."
"Well, okay," Ian said. "Let's look at it a different way. Why do you need to go with any of us?"
"Because I don't want to go alone," I said. "And leaving everyone at home if I can't figure out who to go with doesn't really seem like the way to avoid hurt feelings and resentments."
"I'm not saying that anyone stays home," Ian said. "But why does it have to be a matter of 'going with' each other, explicitly? We're all adult-ish... and in theory, being in this relationship... these relationships... whatever... it kind of means we can't rely on the usual ways of marking territory." [Again needs re-writing, especially the end. I'm focusing on sentiments right now, will come back and get the voices right later.]
[]
"I'm just saying, it seems a little middle school to worry about who's going with who," Ian said. "We know who's involved with who. If we show up at the dance, why does it have to be any different from when we all show up at lunch?"
"I think a dance is a little more special than a meal," I said.
"Okay, it happens less often," Ian said. "But we're talking Generic It's The First Week Of The New School Year Dance sponsored by Campus Something Or Other. It's not that much of an occasion."
[]
"A card came for you but it ended up in our mail," Two said.
"What kind of card?" I asked.
"An appointment card, but I didn't read it because it wasn't addressed to me," she said.
"An appointment card?" I said. "Was it from the healing center?"
"I didn't read it because it wasn't addressed to me," Two repeated.
"Maybe it was from Professor Bohd," Amaranth suggested. "Two, you didn't happen to bring it with you, did you?"
"I did happen to bring it with me," Two said. She reached around behind her back and pulled it out of her backpack without looking. It was only slightly larger than an index card.
[]
"She wants me to stop by her office," I said, "but this is during my melee class."
"She must have figured you'd be done with classes by that time," Amaranth said. "You'll have to either drop by during your afternoon break, or send her a message that you can't make it and asking when she'd like to see you instead."
"Or, alternately," Steff said, "tell her to eat a dick."
"Steff!" Amaranth said. "That's not called for."
"What's not called for is a teacher calling her in on the carpet when she's not even in any of her classes," Steff said.
"We don't know that she's doing that," Amaranth said.
"Right, we don't know anything because she didn't feel the need to explain herself," Steff said. "She didn't invite Mack to stop by, she summoned her like a gen... genuine person one would summon."
"I actually think this does constitute an invitation," I said. "I mean, we don't really know each other socially to the point where it would be appropriate for her to just shoot me an a-mail asking me if I want to hang out, and... well, she's always very professional about things."
"This isn't professional, it's rude," Steff said.
"I mean, I don't know if she knows another way to reach out," I said. "I think she'd be too self-conscious to send me an echo or an a-mail... In her own way, she's as awkward and gawky as any student."
I was actually thinking about Dee when I said this. Dee's stiff and formal manners and the stock she put in things like formal declarations of friendship and explicit invitations weren't necessarily the same thing as Professor Bohd's reserved manner, but I thought they shared a common root.
"What, now professors are more afraid of us than we are of them?" Steff said.
"I agree with Steff," Ian said. "Bohd's a big girl, and I don't believe for one minute she's afraid of the student body."
"I didn't say she was afraid," I said. "I just don't think she knows more than one way to relate to students, and that's as students."
"But you think she should go anyway," Steff said.
Ian nodded.
"Because the benefit of standing on how right you are doesn't measure up to what it could cost you," he said to me. "You've got another three years here. It's not crazy to think you're going to need Bohd's support at some point."
"It's not really a debate for me," I said. "I like Professor Bohd, so I'm not going to blow her off. Maybe I'd like her better if she were a little warmer and less, you know, brusque about things... but there are enough people at this university who would be happy to smile while they kicked me."
"As a woman in a 'high magic' discipline, she's probably used to having to defend her right to the same respect her peers get," Amaranth said. "And that's without even considering her non-human ancestry. I don't think any of us can judge her for being a little prickly."
"Oh, come off it, Amy," Steff said. "You don't let Mack get away with prickling at people, and she's got more demon blood than Bohd and she's been out about it longer."
"Professor Bohd is only 'out' about it in the first place because she wanted to support me," I said, "and other students in my position. Anyway, it's my decision."
[2 hours in... after realizing yesterday that I fucked up Mackenzie's schedule, this is no longer going to be a "chapter" per se, though it will constitute a chapter's worth of update. It's stuff that's going to be edited into the events of chapters 34 and 35.]
"I'm sure you will be happy to know that everyone who turned their assignment in on time has received at least a C," Acantha announced at the start of class. "Those among you who earned Bs and As may feel suitably proud. The two people who failed to turn a wand in to me by the stated deadline of three in the afternoon yesterday had their grades lowered one full letter level. You may all come forward to claim your wand and your grade by matching your ticket to the attached tag... hand the ticket to me and I will match it to your grade and record it after class. Make certain your name is written clearly and legibly on the ticket."
The class at large didn't look or sound excited at the prospect of mostly Cs. There was no mass rush to find out who'd scored hire. Despite the work I'd put into my binding I felt a little trepidation as I approached the desk where the tagged wands were laid out neatly in rows. This early in the semester it was hard to have a real feel for what a professor was looking for and grading on. One person's "going the extra mile" was another person's "what are you, some kind of smart ass?"
[]
The note attached to mine read:
My heart stuck in my throat a little bit. There was praise there, but it wasn't unmitigated praise.
And below that was the grade: 102. Even with her rather exact and precise handwriting, I had to squint to make sure that third digit wasn't another 0. There was a break down below that showing how I'd earned the points above average, with +2 listed as simply being "extra credit".
Acantha's voice whispered in my ear.
"I gave you two extra points for the extra steps you took and for the fact that you finished it in class, but please do not learn the wrong lesson from this and rush everything again," she said. "It was bold of you to do so when you had time you could have used to ask me how I would receive your attempt. This time you're being rewarded for boldness. If you want to impress me further, you must next show prudence."
I nodded. I appreciated the personal explanation about my grade, especially as it came as she was being swamped by people who were demanding an explanation for theirs.
"I don't understand what I did wrong," one student said.
"Nothing," she said. "You will note that I took off no points."
"But..."
"You put forth an average effort and you have received average marks," she said.
"This is bullshit!" another student said.
"I explained my grading scale in advance," Acantha said, "and I set a clear deadline based on the amount of work it would take me to evaluate each student's efforts individually, and I was flexible enough to accept several assignments turned in after that deadline."
[]
"So, there's this dance tomorrow night," was the first thing that Ian said to me at lunch, just after I'd taken a bite of chicken that suddenly swelled up in my mouth and tasted like nothing. "I was thinking it would sort of be like our anniversary. I mean, our first date wasn't exactly my finest moment, but I think it's worth recognizing how far we've come, you know?"
I forcibly swallowed the lump of food in my mouth, my gaze slipping sideways to Amaranth. She'd brought up the point that Ian or Steff might make their own plans for the weekend, but the whole time that we'd been talking about the subject, it had never occurred to me that those plans might very well have involved me or the dance.
"Oh, well, if you guys already have plans..." Ian said.
"I don't know if 'plans' are the right word," Amaranth said. "The subject of the dance has come up, but I don't know if anything definite has been decided."
[]
"I actually got asked by someone else," I said. "I mean, asked if I would be there. It's not like a date, and I don't know if I'd want it to be. My thought was that if I was there with someone else, there might be less awkwardness."
"Oh, yeah," Steff said. "Because the more social connections between variably awkward people you introduce, the less awkwardness there is." [Line needs re-writing, though the sentiment is there]
"Well, there's a thought," Ian said. "Who says you have to go with just one of us?"
"We talked about that," I said. "And I thought about it. But I really wasn't sure how the dynamics of a multi-person date would work out."
"Most dates are multi-person," Steff said. "Unless they're surrounded by quotation marks and involve a box of tissues and a small jar of oil of slipperiness."
"Well, okay," Ian said. "Let's look at it a different way. Why do you need to go with any of us?"
"Because I don't want to go alone," I said. "And leaving everyone at home if I can't figure out who to go with doesn't really seem like the way to avoid hurt feelings and resentments."
"I'm not saying that anyone stays home," Ian said. "But why does it have to be a matter of 'going with' each other, explicitly? We're all adult-ish... and in theory, being in this relationship... these relationships... whatever... it kind of means we can't rely on the usual ways of marking territory." [Again needs re-writing, especially the end. I'm focusing on sentiments right now, will come back and get the voices right later.]
[]
"I'm just saying, it seems a little middle school to worry about who's going with who," Ian said. "We know who's involved with who. If we show up at the dance, why does it have to be any different from when we all show up at lunch?"
"I think a dance is a little more special than a meal," I said.
"Okay, it happens less often," Ian said. "But we're talking Generic It's The First Week Of The New School Year Dance sponsored by Campus Something Or Other. It's not that much of an occasion."
[]
"A card came for you but it ended up in our mail," Two said.
"What kind of card?" I asked.
"An appointment card, but I didn't read it because it wasn't addressed to me," she said.
"An appointment card?" I said. "Was it from the healing center?"
"I didn't read it because it wasn't addressed to me," Two repeated.
"Maybe it was from Professor Bohd," Amaranth suggested. "Two, you didn't happen to bring it with you, did you?"
"I did happen to bring it with me," Two said. She reached around behind her back and pulled it out of her backpack without looking. It was only slightly larger than an index card.
[]
"She wants me to stop by her office," I said, "but this is during my melee class."
"She must have figured you'd be done with classes by that time," Amaranth said. "You'll have to either drop by during your afternoon break, or send her a message that you can't make it and asking when she'd like to see you instead."
"Or, alternately," Steff said, "tell her to eat a dick."
"Steff!" Amaranth said. "That's not called for."
"What's not called for is a teacher calling her in on the carpet when she's not even in any of her classes," Steff said.
"We don't know that she's doing that," Amaranth said.
"Right, we don't know anything because she didn't feel the need to explain herself," Steff said. "She didn't invite Mack to stop by, she summoned her like a gen... genuine person one would summon."
"I actually think this does constitute an invitation," I said. "I mean, we don't really know each other socially to the point where it would be appropriate for her to just shoot me an a-mail asking me if I want to hang out, and... well, she's always very professional about things."
"This isn't professional, it's rude," Steff said.
"I mean, I don't know if she knows another way to reach out," I said. "I think she'd be too self-conscious to send me an echo or an a-mail... In her own way, she's as awkward and gawky as any student."
I was actually thinking about Dee when I said this. Dee's stiff and formal manners and the stock she put in things like formal declarations of friendship and explicit invitations weren't necessarily the same thing as Professor Bohd's reserved manner, but I thought they shared a common root.
"What, now professors are more afraid of us than we are of them?" Steff said.
"I agree with Steff," Ian said. "Bohd's a big girl, and I don't believe for one minute she's afraid of the student body."
"I didn't say she was afraid," I said. "I just don't think she knows more than one way to relate to students, and that's as students."
"But you think she should go anyway," Steff said.
Ian nodded.
"Because the benefit of standing on how right you are doesn't measure up to what it could cost you," he said to me. "You've got another three years here. It's not crazy to think you're going to need Bohd's support at some point."
"It's not really a debate for me," I said. "I like Professor Bohd, so I'm not going to blow her off. Maybe I'd like her better if she were a little warmer and less, you know, brusque about things... but there are enough people at this university who would be happy to smile while they kicked me."
"As a woman in a 'high magic' discipline, she's probably used to having to defend her right to the same respect her peers get," Amaranth said. "And that's without even considering her non-human ancestry. I don't think any of us can judge her for being a little prickly."
"Oh, come off it, Amy," Steff said. "You don't let Mack get away with prickling at people, and she's got more demon blood than Bohd and she's been out about it longer."
"Professor Bohd is only 'out' about it in the first place because she wanted to support me," I said, "and other students in my position. Anyway, it's my decision."
3:00-3:30: ~400 words
5:00-5:30 ~1100 words (+700)
5:30-6:00 ~1300 words (+200)
10/4/2011
5:30-600 ~1900 words (+600
[First burst. In order to get past a minor stumbling block, in some places I'm sketching out the sentiments I want to convey even if the character's voice isn't quite right. It's a little bit different from my usual approach.]
"So, there's this dance tomorrow night," was the first thing that Ian said to me at lunch, just after I'd taken a bite of chicken that suddenly swelled up in my mouth and tasted like nothing. "I was thinking it would sort of be like our anniversary. I mean, our first date wasn't exactly my finest moment, but I think it's worth recognizing how far we've come, you know?"
I forcibly swallowed the lump of food in my mouth, my gaze slipping sideways to Amaranth. She'd brought up the point that Ian or Steff might make their own plans for the weekend, but the whole time that we'd been talking about the subject, it had never occurred to me that those plans might very well have involved me or the dance.
"Oh, well, if you guys already have plans..." Ian said.
"I don't know if 'plans' are the right word," Amaranth said. "The subject of the dance has come up, but I don't know if anything definite has been decided."
[]
"I actually got asked by someone else," I said. "I mean, asked if I would be there. It's not like a date, and I don't know if I'd want it to be. My thought was that if I was there with someone else, there might be less awkwardness."
"Oh, yeah," Steff said. "Because the more social connections between variably awkward people you introduce, the less awkwardness there is." [Line needs re-writing, though the sentiment is there]
"Well, there's a thought," Ian said. "Who says you have to go with just one of us?"
"We talked about that," I said. "And I thought about it. But I really wasn't sure how the dynamics of a multi-person date would work out."
"Most dates are multi-person," Steff said. "Unless they're surrounded by quotation marks and involve a box of tissues and a small jar of oil of slipperiness."
"Well, okay," Ian said. "Let's look at it a different way. Why do you need to go with any of us?"
"Because I don't want to go alone," I said. "And leaving everyone at home if I can't figure out who to go with doesn't really seem like the way to avoid hurt feelings and resentments."
"I'm not saying that anyone stays home," Ian said. "But why does it have to be a matter of 'going with' each other, explicitly? We're all adult-ish... and in theory, being in this relationship... these relationships... whatever... it kind of means we can't rely on the usual ways of marking territory." [Again needs re-writing, especially the end. I'm focusing on sentiments right now, will come back and get the voices right later.]
[One hour in. I have multiple things I want the classroom scene to accomplish, in terms of moving the immediate plot forward.]
"So, there's this dance tomorrow night," was the first thing that Ian said to me at lunch, just after I'd taken a bite of chicken that suddenly swelled up in my mouth and tasted like nothing. "I was thinking it would sort of be like our anniversary. I mean, our first date wasn't exactly my finest moment, but I think it's worth recognizing how far we've come, you know?"
I forcibly swallowed the lump of food in my mouth, my gaze slipping sideways to Amaranth. She'd brought up the point that Ian or Steff might make their own plans for the weekend, but the whole time that we'd been talking about the subject, it had never occurred to me that those plans might very well have involved me or the dance.
"Oh, well, if you guys already have plans..." Ian said.
"I don't know if 'plans' are the right word," Amaranth said. "The subject of the dance has come up, but I don't know if anything definite has been decided."
[]
"I actually got asked by someone else," I said. "I mean, asked if I would be there. It's not like a date, and I don't know if I'd want it to be. My thought was that if I was there with someone else, there might be less awkwardness."
"Oh, yeah," Steff said. "Because the more social connections between variably awkward people you introduce, the less awkwardness there is." [Line needs re-writing, though the sentiment is there]
"Well, there's a thought," Ian said. "Who says you have to go with just one of us?"
"We talked about that," I said. "And I thought about it. But I really wasn't sure how the dynamics of a multi-person date would work out."
"Most dates are multi-person," Steff said. "Unless they're surrounded by quotation marks and involve a box of tissues and a small jar of oil of slipperiness."
"Well, okay," Ian said. "Let's look at it a different way. Why do you need to go with any of us?"
"Because I don't want to go alone," I said. "And leaving everyone at home if I can't figure out who to go with doesn't really seem like the way to avoid hurt feelings and resentments."
"I'm not saying that anyone stays home," Ian said. "But why does it have to be a matter of 'going with' each other, explicitly? We're all adult-ish... and in theory, being in this relationship... these relationships... whatever... it kind of means we can't rely on the usual ways of marking territory." [Again needs re-writing, especially the end. I'm focusing on sentiments right now, will come back and get the voices right later.]
[]
"I'm just saying, it seems a little middle school to worry about who's going with who," Ian said. "We know who's involved with who. If we show up at the dance, why does it have to be any different from when we all show up at lunch?"
"I think a dance is a little more special than a meal," I said.
"Okay, it happens less often," Ian said. "But we're talking Generic It's The First Week Of The New School Year Dance sponsored by Campus Something Or Other. It's not that much of an occasion."
[]
"A card came for you but it ended up in our mail," Two said.
"What kind of card?" I asked.
"An appointment card, but I didn't read it because it wasn't addressed to me," she said.
"An appointment card?" I said. "Was it from the healing center?"
"I didn't read it because it wasn't addressed to me," Two repeated.
"Maybe it was from Professor Bohd," Amaranth suggested. "Two, you didn't happen to bring it with you, did you?"
"I did happen to bring it with me," Two said. She reached around behind her back and pulled it out of her backpack without looking. It was only slightly larger than an index card.
[]
"She wants me to stop by her office," I said, "but this is during my melee class."
"She must have figured you'd be done with classes by that time," Amaranth said. "You'll have to either drop by during your afternoon break, or send her a message that you can't make it and asking when she'd like to see you instead."
"Or, alternately," Steff said, "tell her to eat a dick."
"Steff!" Amaranth said. "That's not called for."
"What's not called for is a teacher calling her in on the carpet when she's not even in any of her classes," Steff said.
"We don't know that she's doing that," Amaranth said.
"Right, we don't know anything because she didn't feel the need to explain herself," Steff said. "She didn't invite Mack to stop by, she summoned her like a gen... genuine person one would summon."
"I actually think this does constitute an invitation," I said. "I mean, we don't really know each other socially to the point where it would be appropriate for her to just shoot me an a-mail asking me if I want to hang out, and... well, she's always very professional about things."
"This isn't professional, it's rude," Steff said.
"I mean, I don't know if she knows another way to reach out," I said. "I think she'd be too self-conscious to send me an echo or an a-mail... In her own way, she's as awkward and gawky as any student."
I was actually thinking about Dee when I said this. Dee's stiff and formal manners and the stock she put in things like formal declarations of friendship and explicit invitations weren't necessarily the same thing as Professor Bohd's reserved manner, but I thought they shared a common root.
"What, now professors are more afraid of us than we are of them?" Steff said.
"I agree with Steff," Ian said. "Bohd's a big girl, and I don't believe for one minute she's afraid of the student body."
"I didn't say she was afraid," I said. "I just don't think she knows more than one way to relate to students, and that's as students."
"But you think she should go anyway," Steff said.
Ian nodded.
"Because the benefit of standing on how right you are doesn't measure up to what it could cost you," he said to me. "You've got another three years here. It's not crazy to think you're going to need Bohd's support at some point."
[1.5 hours in. Not a lot of progress because halfway through the half hour, I realized I'd screwed up the order of Mackenzie's classes in a way that would require substantial rewrites to two chapters and a very different approach to this one to fix. As a temporary measure, I've retconned a schedule change into chapters 34 and 35. Not fully happy with that decision, might rewrite them further.]
"So, there's this dance tomorrow night," was the first thing that Ian said to me at lunch, just after I'd taken a bite of chicken that suddenly swelled up in my mouth and tasted like nothing. "I was thinking it would sort of be like our anniversary. I mean, our first date wasn't exactly my finest moment, but I think it's worth recognizing how far we've come, you know?"
I forcibly swallowed the lump of food in my mouth, my gaze slipping sideways to Amaranth. She'd brought up the point that Ian or Steff might make their own plans for the weekend, but the whole time that we'd been talking about the subject, it had never occurred to me that those plans might very well have involved me or the dance.
"Oh, well, if you guys already have plans..." Ian said.
"I don't know if 'plans' are the right word," Amaranth said. "The subject of the dance has come up, but I don't know if anything definite has been decided."
[]
"I actually got asked by someone else," I said. "I mean, asked if I would be there. It's not like a date, and I don't know if I'd want it to be. My thought was that if I was there with someone else, there might be less awkwardness."
"Oh, yeah," Steff said. "Because the more social connections between variably awkward people you introduce, the less awkwardness there is." [Line needs re-writing, though the sentiment is there]
"Well, there's a thought," Ian said. "Who says you have to go with just one of us?"
"We talked about that," I said. "And I thought about it. But I really wasn't sure how the dynamics of a multi-person date would work out."
"Most dates are multi-person," Steff said. "Unless they're surrounded by quotation marks and involve a box of tissues and a small jar of oil of slipperiness."
"Well, okay," Ian said. "Let's look at it a different way. Why do you need to go with any of us?"
"Because I don't want to go alone," I said. "And leaving everyone at home if I can't figure out who to go with doesn't really seem like the way to avoid hurt feelings and resentments."
"I'm not saying that anyone stays home," Ian said. "But why does it have to be a matter of 'going with' each other, explicitly? We're all adult-ish... and in theory, being in this relationship... these relationships... whatever... it kind of means we can't rely on the usual ways of marking territory." [Again needs re-writing, especially the end. I'm focusing on sentiments right now, will come back and get the voices right later.]
[]
"I'm just saying, it seems a little middle school to worry about who's going with who," Ian said. "We know who's involved with who. If we show up at the dance, why does it have to be any different from when we all show up at lunch?"
"I think a dance is a little more special than a meal," I said.
"Okay, it happens less often," Ian said. "But we're talking Generic It's The First Week Of The New School Year Dance sponsored by Campus Something Or Other. It's not that much of an occasion."
[]
"A card came for you but it ended up in our mail," Two said.
"What kind of card?" I asked.
"An appointment card, but I didn't read it because it wasn't addressed to me," she said.
"An appointment card?" I said. "Was it from the healing center?"
"I didn't read it because it wasn't addressed to me," Two repeated.
"Maybe it was from Professor Bohd," Amaranth suggested. "Two, you didn't happen to bring it with you, did you?"
"I did happen to bring it with me," Two said. She reached around behind her back and pulled it out of her backpack without looking. It was only slightly larger than an index card.
[]
"She wants me to stop by her office," I said, "but this is during my melee class."
"She must have figured you'd be done with classes by that time," Amaranth said. "You'll have to either drop by during your afternoon break, or send her a message that you can't make it and asking when she'd like to see you instead."
"Or, alternately," Steff said, "tell her to eat a dick."
"Steff!" Amaranth said. "That's not called for."
"What's not called for is a teacher calling her in on the carpet when she's not even in any of her classes," Steff said.
"We don't know that she's doing that," Amaranth said.
"Right, we don't know anything because she didn't feel the need to explain herself," Steff said. "She didn't invite Mack to stop by, she summoned her like a gen... genuine person one would summon."
"I actually think this does constitute an invitation," I said. "I mean, we don't really know each other socially to the point where it would be appropriate for her to just shoot me an a-mail asking me if I want to hang out, and... well, she's always very professional about things."
"This isn't professional, it's rude," Steff said.
"I mean, I don't know if she knows another way to reach out," I said. "I think she'd be too self-conscious to send me an echo or an a-mail... In her own way, she's as awkward and gawky as any student."
I was actually thinking about Dee when I said this. Dee's stiff and formal manners and the stock she put in things like formal declarations of friendship and explicit invitations weren't necessarily the same thing as Professor Bohd's reserved manner, but I thought they shared a common root.
"What, now professors are more afraid of us than we are of them?" Steff said.
"I agree with Steff," Ian said. "Bohd's a big girl, and I don't believe for one minute she's afraid of the student body."
"I didn't say she was afraid," I said. "I just don't think she knows more than one way to relate to students, and that's as students."
"But you think she should go anyway," Steff said.
Ian nodded.
"Because the benefit of standing on how right you are doesn't measure up to what it could cost you," he said to me. "You've got another three years here. It's not crazy to think you're going to need Bohd's support at some point."
"It's not really a debate for me," I said. "I like Professor Bohd, so I'm not going to blow her off. Maybe I'd like her better if she were a little warmer and less, you know, brusque about things... but there are enough people at this university who would be happy to smile while they kicked me."
"As a woman in a 'high magic' discipline, she's probably used to having to defend her right to the same respect her peers get," Amaranth said. "And that's without even considering her non-human ancestry. I don't think any of us can judge her for being a little prickly."
"Oh, come off it, Amy," Steff said. "You don't let Mack get away with prickling at people, and she's got more demon blood than Bohd and she's been out about it longer."
"Professor Bohd is only 'out' about it in the first place because she wanted to support me," I said, "and other students in my position. Anyway, it's my decision."
[2 hours in... after realizing yesterday that I fucked up Mackenzie's schedule, this is no longer going to be a "chapter" per se, though it will constitute a chapter's worth of update. It's stuff that's going to be edited into the events of chapters 34 and 35.]
"I'm sure you will be happy to know that everyone who turned their assignment in on time has received at least a C," Acantha announced at the start of class. "Those among you who earned Bs and As may feel suitably proud. The two people who failed to turn a wand in to me by the stated deadline of three in the afternoon yesterday had their grades lowered one full letter level. You may all come forward to claim your wand and your grade by matching your ticket to the attached tag... hand the ticket to me and I will match it to your grade and record it after class. Make certain your name is written clearly and legibly on the ticket."
The class at large didn't look or sound excited at the prospect of mostly Cs. There was no mass rush to find out who'd scored hire. Despite the work I'd put into my binding I felt a little trepidation as I approached the desk where the tagged wands were laid out neatly in rows. This early in the semester it was hard to have a real feel for what a professor was looking for and grading on. One person's "going the extra mile" was another person's "what are you, some kind of smart ass?"
[]
The note attached to mine read:
Entertaining variation. I am uncertain if you fulfilled the letter or the spirit of the assignment, but either way I resolve the question you have hit all marks on one or the other. While the point of the assignment in no way depends on learning and mastering the particular spell that I outlined, in order to prevent the taking of undue shortucts I will reserve the right to demand you demonstrate the understanding of any spell you substitute for in the future if I am not certain you are capable of it.
My heart stuck in my throat a little bit. There was praise there, but it wasn't unmitigated praise.
And below that was the grade: 102. Even with her rather exact and precise handwriting, I had to squint to make sure that third digit wasn't another 0. There was a break down below that showing how I'd earned the points above average, with +2 listed as simply being "extra credit".
Acantha's voice whispered in my ear.
"I gave you two extra points for the extra steps you took and for the fact that you finished it in class, but please do not learn the wrong lesson from this and rush everything again," she said. "It was bold of you to do so when you had time you could have used to ask me how I would receive your attempt. This time you're being rewarded for boldness. If you want to impress me further, you must next show prudence."
I nodded. I appreciated the personal explanation about my grade, especially as it came as she was being swamped by people who were demanding an explanation for theirs.
"I don't understand what I did wrong," one student said.
"Nothing," she said. "You will note that I took off no points."
"But..."
"You put forth an average effort and you have received average marks," she said.
"This is bullshit!" another student said.
"I explained my grading scale in advance," Acantha said, "and I set a clear deadline based on the amount of work it would take me to evaluate each student's efforts individually, and I was flexible enough to accept several assignments turned in after that deadline."
[]
"So, there's this dance tomorrow night," was the first thing that Ian said to me at lunch, just after I'd taken a bite of chicken that suddenly swelled up in my mouth and tasted like nothing. "I was thinking it would sort of be like our anniversary. I mean, our first date wasn't exactly my finest moment, but I think it's worth recognizing how far we've come, you know?"
I forcibly swallowed the lump of food in my mouth, my gaze slipping sideways to Amaranth. She'd brought up the point that Ian or Steff might make their own plans for the weekend, but the whole time that we'd been talking about the subject, it had never occurred to me that those plans might very well have involved me or the dance.
"Oh, well, if you guys already have plans..." Ian said.
"I don't know if 'plans' are the right word," Amaranth said. "The subject of the dance has come up, but I don't know if anything definite has been decided."
[]
"I actually got asked by someone else," I said. "I mean, asked if I would be there. It's not like a date, and I don't know if I'd want it to be. My thought was that if I was there with someone else, there might be less awkwardness."
"Oh, yeah," Steff said. "Because the more social connections between variably awkward people you introduce, the less awkwardness there is." [Line needs re-writing, though the sentiment is there]
"Well, there's a thought," Ian said. "Who says you have to go with just one of us?"
"We talked about that," I said. "And I thought about it. But I really wasn't sure how the dynamics of a multi-person date would work out."
"Most dates are multi-person," Steff said. "Unless they're surrounded by quotation marks and involve a box of tissues and a small jar of oil of slipperiness."
"Well, okay," Ian said. "Let's look at it a different way. Why do you need to go with any of us?"
"Because I don't want to go alone," I said. "And leaving everyone at home if I can't figure out who to go with doesn't really seem like the way to avoid hurt feelings and resentments."
"I'm not saying that anyone stays home," Ian said. "But why does it have to be a matter of 'going with' each other, explicitly? We're all adult-ish... and in theory, being in this relationship... these relationships... whatever... it kind of means we can't rely on the usual ways of marking territory." [Again needs re-writing, especially the end. I'm focusing on sentiments right now, will come back and get the voices right later.]
[]
"I'm just saying, it seems a little middle school to worry about who's going with who," Ian said. "We know who's involved with who. If we show up at the dance, why does it have to be any different from when we all show up at lunch?"
"I think a dance is a little more special than a meal," I said.
"Okay, it happens less often," Ian said. "But we're talking Generic It's The First Week Of The New School Year Dance sponsored by Campus Something Or Other. It's not that much of an occasion."
[]
"A card came for you but it ended up in our mail," Two said.
"What kind of card?" I asked.
"An appointment card, but I didn't read it because it wasn't addressed to me," she said.
"An appointment card?" I said. "Was it from the healing center?"
"I didn't read it because it wasn't addressed to me," Two repeated.
"Maybe it was from Professor Bohd," Amaranth suggested. "Two, you didn't happen to bring it with you, did you?"
"I did happen to bring it with me," Two said. She reached around behind her back and pulled it out of her backpack without looking. It was only slightly larger than an index card.
[]
"She wants me to stop by her office," I said, "but this is during my melee class."
"She must have figured you'd be done with classes by that time," Amaranth said. "You'll have to either drop by during your afternoon break, or send her a message that you can't make it and asking when she'd like to see you instead."
"Or, alternately," Steff said, "tell her to eat a dick."
"Steff!" Amaranth said. "That's not called for."
"What's not called for is a teacher calling her in on the carpet when she's not even in any of her classes," Steff said.
"We don't know that she's doing that," Amaranth said.
"Right, we don't know anything because she didn't feel the need to explain herself," Steff said. "She didn't invite Mack to stop by, she summoned her like a gen... genuine person one would summon."
"I actually think this does constitute an invitation," I said. "I mean, we don't really know each other socially to the point where it would be appropriate for her to just shoot me an a-mail asking me if I want to hang out, and... well, she's always very professional about things."
"This isn't professional, it's rude," Steff said.
"I mean, I don't know if she knows another way to reach out," I said. "I think she'd be too self-conscious to send me an echo or an a-mail... In her own way, she's as awkward and gawky as any student."
I was actually thinking about Dee when I said this. Dee's stiff and formal manners and the stock she put in things like formal declarations of friendship and explicit invitations weren't necessarily the same thing as Professor Bohd's reserved manner, but I thought they shared a common root.
"What, now professors are more afraid of us than we are of them?" Steff said.
"I agree with Steff," Ian said. "Bohd's a big girl, and I don't believe for one minute she's afraid of the student body."
"I didn't say she was afraid," I said. "I just don't think she knows more than one way to relate to students, and that's as students."
"But you think she should go anyway," Steff said.
Ian nodded.
"Because the benefit of standing on how right you are doesn't measure up to what it could cost you," he said to me. "You've got another three years here. It's not crazy to think you're going to need Bohd's support at some point."
"It's not really a debate for me," I said. "I like Professor Bohd, so I'm not going to blow her off. Maybe I'd like her better if she were a little warmer and less, you know, brusque about things... but there are enough people at this university who would be happy to smile while they kicked me."
"As a woman in a 'high magic' discipline, she's probably used to having to defend her right to the same respect her peers get," Amaranth said. "And that's without even considering her non-human ancestry. I don't think any of us can judge her for being a little prickly."
"Oh, come off it, Amy," Steff said. "You don't let Mack get away with prickling at people, and she's got more demon blood than Bohd and she's been out about it longer."
"Professor Bohd is only 'out' about it in the first place because she wanted to support me," I said, "and other students in my position. Anyway, it's my decision."