Markham Connor was bored. And he hated to be bored. It wasn't even his problem this time, either. He would have gladly left the classroom to head for the library or mall to entertain himself, but the problem was that he couldn't. He was in his English class and the ever so lovely Mrs. Bishop was running late again. She always had a good reason, but it was mildly irritating none the less. She was a nice teacher. Middle-aged, kind, and quite energetic about her subject (which to Markham was amazing, since English had to be one of the most boring things on the planet), he liked Mrs. Bishop.
With a sigh, he pulled out a small journal and began jotting some notes down into it. The notebook doubled as a diary and a little notebook for his analysis on the other students in the class. It was a little exercise that his dad had taught him. By writing down basic notes about the day as well as about your fellow students, you can learn more about them and yourself.
He looked around the class. It was almost packed although there were still some empty seats (no doubt belonging to students who had gotten used to Mrs. Bishop's routine of being late). 'Well, there's nothing else to do but wait. How boring.'
He wished he was at the mall. There was some music he had to get. He pulled out his iPod and flipped it in his hand, staring at the shiny, glossy front and the metal back. It was amazing how one could listen to 80 GB of music on something so small. Just another product of modern technology.
A Blank Paper and a Blank Mind
Waiting For a Sign
A Blank Paper and a Blank Mind
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MurderWeasel
- Posts: 2566
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:37 am
Everett Taylor sat in his chair, staring at the front of the classroom. He was uncomfortable; the desks were designed for people thinner than he was. He was also bored. Mrs. Bishop was late, again.
Everett sighed, and fidgeted with his tie. He was eager for class to start. Another day of class meant another opportunity to do well, another chance to get good grades and bolster his college resume. Another chance to make his parents proud.
Everett looked over the past night's homework again. He had spent an hour and a half on the grammar problems, going over them again and again, striving for perfection. Making a mistake on a basic homework assignment would be a sign of unforgivable laziness.
He tried to focus on the paper in front of him, but couldn't. It was a little bit hot in the room, at least for Everett, who was, as always, wearing a formal suit. It had its drawbacks from time to time, but he was sure it made a good impression on his teachers, who he would need to write his letters of recommendation for his college applications.
Everett tugged at his tie again, and looked around the room. Everyone was here, except some slackers who didn't respect school. Everett didn't really count them as part of the class; it wasn't like they added anything.
Where was Mrs. Bishop?
Everett sighed, and fidgeted with his tie. He was eager for class to start. Another day of class meant another opportunity to do well, another chance to get good grades and bolster his college resume. Another chance to make his parents proud.
Everett looked over the past night's homework again. He had spent an hour and a half on the grammar problems, going over them again and again, striving for perfection. Making a mistake on a basic homework assignment would be a sign of unforgivable laziness.
He tried to focus on the paper in front of him, but couldn't. It was a little bit hot in the room, at least for Everett, who was, as always, wearing a formal suit. It had its drawbacks from time to time, but he was sure it made a good impression on his teachers, who he would need to write his letters of recommendation for his college applications.
Everett tugged at his tie again, and looked around the room. Everyone was here, except some slackers who didn't respect school. Everett didn't really count them as part of the class; it wasn't like they added anything.
Where was Mrs. Bishop?
(OOC: WOW I AM SO SORRY VOLE. I got hit with a combined wave of lazy and apathy.)
Markham stared lazily at the guy with the suit on. It was only high school yet this guy was dressed for his first job interview. Interesting. His notebook flipped open and he tried to find the page where he had jotted down notes on this character. Ah right, there it was. Everett Taylor. Markham frowned when he reached the entry and realized that he didn't take many notes about him. All he really had was "Wears a suit almost every day. Possible obsessive. Scores fairly well in class."
Well, maybe there would be a chance to learn more about him. Although really he should be concentrating more on the class itself...and speak of the devil, there she was. Mrs. Bishop ran into the classroom with a stack of papers, looking harried as she dumped them on the nearest table and gave the whole class a tired smile.
"I'm so sorry, I got so sidetracked grading papers and preparing this week's readings that I completely lost track of time." She panted, busily getting her things ready. "A-Anyway, yesterday's assignment was to read...the Most Dangerous Game in your school readers? Has everyone finished with that?"
Markham dutifully raised his hand. He had finished it at midnight and was quite interested with the concept of the story. It was almost like that SOTF game that had been publicized through the internet. Except instead of shipwrecked survivors being hunted by some old man with a rifle, it was some fat jolly guy kidnapping students and forcing them to fight each other.
He frowned. Maybe they weren't as common as he had thought. He must have been really tired last night if he drew such a strong connection between the two.
"Well today we're going to be working on our analytical writing skills so..." She passed out sheets of paper that had a quick prompt and a couple of lines to write on. "If you've read the assignment, then all you have to do is just follow the prompt. It should take...no more than 10 minutes."
'10 minutes, huh? More than enough time.' He thought confidently to himself, twirling his pencil in his fingers.
Write a 5-sentence paragraph on how the story's "The hunter becomes the hunted" theme can be related to real life.
He blinks several times and shrugged. Good enough, he supposed. Casting a quick look to see what Everett would do, he quickly began to write.
In the story, The Most Dangerous Game...
Markham stared lazily at the guy with the suit on. It was only high school yet this guy was dressed for his first job interview. Interesting. His notebook flipped open and he tried to find the page where he had jotted down notes on this character. Ah right, there it was. Everett Taylor. Markham frowned when he reached the entry and realized that he didn't take many notes about him. All he really had was "Wears a suit almost every day. Possible obsessive. Scores fairly well in class."
Well, maybe there would be a chance to learn more about him. Although really he should be concentrating more on the class itself...and speak of the devil, there she was. Mrs. Bishop ran into the classroom with a stack of papers, looking harried as she dumped them on the nearest table and gave the whole class a tired smile.
"I'm so sorry, I got so sidetracked grading papers and preparing this week's readings that I completely lost track of time." She panted, busily getting her things ready. "A-Anyway, yesterday's assignment was to read...the Most Dangerous Game in your school readers? Has everyone finished with that?"
Markham dutifully raised his hand. He had finished it at midnight and was quite interested with the concept of the story. It was almost like that SOTF game that had been publicized through the internet. Except instead of shipwrecked survivors being hunted by some old man with a rifle, it was some fat jolly guy kidnapping students and forcing them to fight each other.
He frowned. Maybe they weren't as common as he had thought. He must have been really tired last night if he drew such a strong connection between the two.
"Well today we're going to be working on our analytical writing skills so..." She passed out sheets of paper that had a quick prompt and a couple of lines to write on. "If you've read the assignment, then all you have to do is just follow the prompt. It should take...no more than 10 minutes."
'10 minutes, huh? More than enough time.' He thought confidently to himself, twirling his pencil in his fingers.
Write a 5-sentence paragraph on how the story's "The hunter becomes the hunted" theme can be related to real life.
He blinks several times and shrugged. Good enough, he supposed. Casting a quick look to see what Everett would do, he quickly began to write.
In the story, The Most Dangerous Game...
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MurderWeasel
- Posts: 2566
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:37 am
(OOC: Don't worry about it. Actually, I had just figured we were waiting for a couple more people to join.)
Mrs. Bishop finally hurried into the room, explaining that she was late because she had been grading assignments and preparing for class. Everett smiled. That was a good excuse. He liked getting papers back on time, and more assignments just gave him more opportunities to prove himself.
Mrs. Bishop asked if everyone had finished their reading, and Everett nodded enthusiastically. The reading had been "The Most Dangerous Game", a short story about a man who hunted people for sport. Everett had greatly enjoyed the story. He found it easy to relate to the hunted man, who was forced to use his intelligence and perseverance against a better-armed and prepared foe.
Everett sometimes felt like that was his life. He wasn't as smart as a lot of people were. He couldn't pass his classes without thought. He had worked for his GPA, and he was proud of it. He kept going while slackers quit or slid by. Everett was disgusted by smart people who didn't do well in school. He found them an intolerable waste of potential.
Mrs. Bishop announced that they would have ten minutes to do a piece of analytical writing. Everett was handed his paper and looked at it.
Write a 5-sentence paragraph on how the story's "The hunter becomes the hunted" theme can be related to real life.
Everett smiled. He would have to write ten sentences at the least. Ten minutes was far too long for this assignment. He uncapped his pen, and began to write neatly.
In life, as in fiction, reversals of fate are common occurrences, with many people believing themselves the master of situations which then spiral out of control. This is illustrated metaphorically in "The Most Dangerous Game", by...
Mrs. Bishop finally hurried into the room, explaining that she was late because she had been grading assignments and preparing for class. Everett smiled. That was a good excuse. He liked getting papers back on time, and more assignments just gave him more opportunities to prove himself.
Mrs. Bishop asked if everyone had finished their reading, and Everett nodded enthusiastically. The reading had been "The Most Dangerous Game", a short story about a man who hunted people for sport. Everett had greatly enjoyed the story. He found it easy to relate to the hunted man, who was forced to use his intelligence and perseverance against a better-armed and prepared foe.
Everett sometimes felt like that was his life. He wasn't as smart as a lot of people were. He couldn't pass his classes without thought. He had worked for his GPA, and he was proud of it. He kept going while slackers quit or slid by. Everett was disgusted by smart people who didn't do well in school. He found them an intolerable waste of potential.
Mrs. Bishop announced that they would have ten minutes to do a piece of analytical writing. Everett was handed his paper and looked at it.
Write a 5-sentence paragraph on how the story's "The hunter becomes the hunted" theme can be related to real life.
Everett smiled. He would have to write ten sentences at the least. Ten minutes was far too long for this assignment. He uncapped his pen, and began to write neatly.
In life, as in fiction, reversals of fate are common occurrences, with many people believing themselves the master of situations which then spiral out of control. This is illustrated metaphorically in "The Most Dangerous Game", by...
Markham tapped his pencil on the desk as he looked at his finished paragraph. It wasn't his best work, but the thing was finished and really that's what mattered here. It sounded good and that's really what mattered in things like this. Appearances were always more important than anything else. As long as it looked good, it'd pass. With his work finished and more than five minutes left to go in the class, his mind began to wander towards his new obsession, namely Survival of the Fittest.
He was certain others watched it because of morbid curiosity or just because they got their kicks out of watching young kids kill and rape each other. Maybe it made them feel better about their own shitty lives, like some warped version of schadenfreude. For him, it was motivated by a pure scientific curiosity in the human mind. However horrible it was, Danya had done what no scientist could ever do. He had shown what humanity would do when forced to compete against each other for their survival. No one could do that in these days. He didn't approve of it, of course, but simply watching the kids gave hours and days of study material into the study of the adolescent mind.
If he ever met Danya, he'd have to thank him for propelling forward science. Then he'd probably shoot the man in the face. No matter what he's done, the man deserved death. There were simply some things one didn't do. He sighed and pulled out his notebook, flipping to his notes on previous runs of the infamous SOTF. It was truly amazing how there were so many different reactions to the situation. There was the founding of S.A.D.D. and the Poison Angels and there were also those who just struck it out alone, somehow surviving using their wits and skills.
"Okay, time's up! Please turn in your paragraphs!" Mrs. Bishop's bright voice broke through his thoughts and he closed his notebook, sliding it back into his backpack. He handed his paper to the person next to him, wondering what exactly Mrs. Bishop had in mind. The Most Dangerous Game had been the the last book they read and it was way too short to write a comprehensive essay on it so...
"Even though this is English class, I think it would be a little interesting to branch out to other cultures and their writing as well. This will probably help you out in college if you take literature classes and my next choice will be extremely valuable if you ever go to study asian culture." She pulled out a large stack of stapled papers and began to hand those out.
Markham looked at the stapled pack of papers with some trepidation. 'The Three Kingdoms? Really? Isn't this a little heavy for high schoolers? Well, whatever.'
Mrs. Bishop began speaking about how amazing the Chinese epic was and how she loved how she liked their notion of loyalty to their general and lord. Markham half-listened, the other half trying to come up with psychological reasons why they acted like that. Sometimes it was a little troublesome being so obsessed with the mind.
He was certain others watched it because of morbid curiosity or just because they got their kicks out of watching young kids kill and rape each other. Maybe it made them feel better about their own shitty lives, like some warped version of schadenfreude. For him, it was motivated by a pure scientific curiosity in the human mind. However horrible it was, Danya had done what no scientist could ever do. He had shown what humanity would do when forced to compete against each other for their survival. No one could do that in these days. He didn't approve of it, of course, but simply watching the kids gave hours and days of study material into the study of the adolescent mind.
If he ever met Danya, he'd have to thank him for propelling forward science. Then he'd probably shoot the man in the face. No matter what he's done, the man deserved death. There were simply some things one didn't do. He sighed and pulled out his notebook, flipping to his notes on previous runs of the infamous SOTF. It was truly amazing how there were so many different reactions to the situation. There was the founding of S.A.D.D. and the Poison Angels and there were also those who just struck it out alone, somehow surviving using their wits and skills.
"Okay, time's up! Please turn in your paragraphs!" Mrs. Bishop's bright voice broke through his thoughts and he closed his notebook, sliding it back into his backpack. He handed his paper to the person next to him, wondering what exactly Mrs. Bishop had in mind. The Most Dangerous Game had been the the last book they read and it was way too short to write a comprehensive essay on it so...
"Even though this is English class, I think it would be a little interesting to branch out to other cultures and their writing as well. This will probably help you out in college if you take literature classes and my next choice will be extremely valuable if you ever go to study asian culture." She pulled out a large stack of stapled papers and began to hand those out.
Markham looked at the stapled pack of papers with some trepidation. 'The Three Kingdoms? Really? Isn't this a little heavy for high schoolers? Well, whatever.'
Mrs. Bishop began speaking about how amazing the Chinese epic was and how she loved how she liked their notion of loyalty to their general and lord. Markham half-listened, the other half trying to come up with psychological reasons why they acted like that. Sometimes it was a little troublesome being so obsessed with the mind.
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MurderWeasel
- Posts: 2566
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:37 am
Everett had finished his paragraph a minute before Mrs. Bishop called for them, and had spent the intervening time editing it. It was a good thing, too, as he had misspelled "Dangerous" in his closing sentence. Everett grimaced. Try as he might, he never got it right on the first try. He simply wasn't good enough.
He passed his paper on to the person next to him, and glanced briefly at the paper he was passed, before sending it on. It was shorter than his.
Good. Now I just have to hope no one wrote anything of higher quality.
Everett knew his hope was probably in vain. Some of the kids in his classes seemed like geniuses. They never had to study, and could churn out perfect essays in no time at all.
I bet none of the really smart people would ever misspell "Dangerous".
Mrs. Bishop handed out their next assigned reading, a huge Chinese epic. Everett had never heard of it before, or taken much interest in China, but he was pleased with the assignment. It looked long and dense. That meant it was less about intelligence than endurance. Endurance Everett was good at.
Mrs. Bishop started talking about loyalty, a concept Everett could understand. He knew that it was only right to do good things for people who took care of him. That was why he tried so hard in school. He had to prove to his parents that he hadn't been a waste of time. Everett was really beginning to look forward to reading about this Chinese soldiers and lords, as more than just an academic challenge.
He glanced at the clock. Class was almost over. That was good. As soon as the school day was done, he could go home and get started on his homework. Normally he wasn't excited enough about it to look forward to leaving school, but today he had some truly fun homework to do.
Thank you Mrs. Bishop. Your being late to class was completely worth it.
He passed his paper on to the person next to him, and glanced briefly at the paper he was passed, before sending it on. It was shorter than his.
Good. Now I just have to hope no one wrote anything of higher quality.
Everett knew his hope was probably in vain. Some of the kids in his classes seemed like geniuses. They never had to study, and could churn out perfect essays in no time at all.
I bet none of the really smart people would ever misspell "Dangerous".
Mrs. Bishop handed out their next assigned reading, a huge Chinese epic. Everett had never heard of it before, or taken much interest in China, but he was pleased with the assignment. It looked long and dense. That meant it was less about intelligence than endurance. Endurance Everett was good at.
Mrs. Bishop started talking about loyalty, a concept Everett could understand. He knew that it was only right to do good things for people who took care of him. That was why he tried so hard in school. He had to prove to his parents that he hadn't been a waste of time. Everett was really beginning to look forward to reading about this Chinese soldiers and lords, as more than just an academic challenge.
He glanced at the clock. Class was almost over. That was good. As soon as the school day was done, he could go home and get started on his homework. Normally he wasn't excited enough about it to look forward to leaving school, but today he had some truly fun homework to do.
Thank you Mrs. Bishop. Your being late to class was completely worth it.
"You just have to remember that society in ancient China was a lot different than it is here and now, so some things that you read you may find offensive. I just ask that you look at this with an open mind so that you can understand the theories and concepts instead of just looking at things skin deep." Mrs. Bishop placed down her notes and looked up at the clock. "Oh, we only have a few minutes left. Well, you can leave early since I've covered everything I had planned for today. Remember to read the first section tonight!"
Markham just placed the thick sheaf of papers in his backpack and got out of his seat. Not that he was glad he was getting out of class. Mrs. Bishop was one of the few awesome teachers he had and pretty much the only one he would be willing to stay extra for. But rules were rules and he had to get to his next class.
At least tonight's reading would prove to be great material to analyze. With a sigh, he said his goodbyes to the teacher and left the room.
((Markham Connor continued in Debate Exposes Doubt.))
Markham just placed the thick sheaf of papers in his backpack and got out of his seat. Not that he was glad he was getting out of class. Mrs. Bishop was one of the few awesome teachers he had and pretty much the only one he would be willing to stay extra for. But rules were rules and he had to get to his next class.
At least tonight's reading would prove to be great material to analyze. With a sigh, he said his goodbyes to the teacher and left the room.
((Markham Connor continued in Debate Exposes Doubt.))
This is an archival account used by staff to port posts belonging to the handler Tythanin. While this handler hasn't been around in quite a while, should they return and wish to take custody of this account and/or its posts, they are welcome to do so by contacting staff.
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MurderWeasel
- Posts: 2566
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:37 am
Mrs. Bishop warned the class that there were things in the reading that could possibly be offensive. Everett smiled. Offensive things made wonderful topics for essays.
Mrs. Bishop dismissed class early. Normally Everett would have been upset about this, but today it was alright. He decided to head to his next class. If he was early, as he usually was, he thought he would get a head start on the reading instead of rechecking his homework again.
He politely wished Mrs. Bishop a good day, and then left the classroom, smiling.
((Everett Taylor continued in The end of a torment.))
Mrs. Bishop dismissed class early. Normally Everett would have been upset about this, but today it was alright. He decided to head to his next class. If he was early, as he usually was, he thought he would get a head start on the reading instead of rechecking his homework again.
He politely wished Mrs. Bishop a good day, and then left the classroom, smiling.
((Everett Taylor continued in The end of a torment.))