EVENT: The Talk, or Yes, This Is Mandatory

[Event !]

Once again, the auditorium was filled with grumbling teenagers. Some had attended this before and were kind of looking forward to it. Others were dreading listening to the old man on the stage say the word "intercourse."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sometime during the past twenty years, Sean had become a Hammel institution, and his annual lecture/seminar in sexual education had become a Hammel tradition. When it started, it had only been intended for one year, to carry over until they hired a new medical professional or a teacher who would handle the matter as part of his or her contract. Unfortunately, his first year had been a wild success, and Eliza Harding, former Head Mistress, wouldn’t let him transfer the duties to the new hire. By the time she retired and Claude had taken over, Sean already had a decade of experience with the seminar and nobody saw a need to rock the boat.

The telepath had it down to an art form at this point, and honestly, he didn’t mind giving the seminar. Nothing the students might say or do could surprise him at his age, and he preferred that they get their information from a credible source, and in a positive way, rather than learn through Internet pornography or abstinence crusaders, who were equally terrible for different reasons.

The seniors were required to attend every lecture in the seminar series as a graduation requirement, but other students came to this lecture, those who were curious or dared by their friends or forced by their teachers. Sean didn’t mind the extra attendants, since students were having sex all the younger these days. He had an age cutoff, so that nobody too young for eighth grade was allowed to attendant at all, and he tried to keep the lecture to a ninth or tenth grade level for basics. It also wasn’t unheard of for him to ask the younger students to leave after the mechanics were explained.

Every year, in the week leading up to The Talk, he left a drop box, a pencil, and some slips of paper outside his office, to allow students the ability to anonymously submit questions, and he did his best to answer the appropriate ones during or after the seminar. He ignored the inappropriate questions, or questions from the peanut gallery, as those disrupted the seminar.

Speaking of which, Vincent Verax had been locked in the library with a distraction – a dinosaur video if that memo was accurate – courtesy of Eli. From gratitude, Sean had resolved to find a first edition of either Hemmingway or F. Scott Fitzgerald to give to the young librarian. It was fine for Vincent to miss the lecture, after his behavior last year, and considering his short attention span. Besides, it wasn’t as though Vincent was in danger of graduating this term. Nobody else had been caged like an animal yet, as far as Sean was aware, so he had prepared for several situations and a potentially full house.

He’d readied his slides and his video clips; he had his textbooks and his bag of props, some more exciting than others. Walking onto the stage, he removed his jacket and folded it neatly over the back of his chair. He set his materials down, and then faced the group of students. With a quirk of his lips, he said, “For those of you who don’t already know, I’m Doctor Neville. Let’s talk about sex.”

[Sidra Cotton]

It looked like the half damn school had turned out for this “Talk”. Not that they had a choice, really. If they were 'of an age' or their instructors thought they would benefit they were in the auditorium either looking amused, confused, or disgruntled. Sidra was one of the latter group.

She knew about sex. She'd seen plenty of naked people. Her father was a medical examiner, she'd seen what people actually look like without their organs or skin. Talk about being undressed! There had been a bit of research done on different types of sexual relationships and what it meant. That didn't mean the teen was an expert, but she knew more than she figured most other teens did. After all, she was better than them. Smarter. Had more life experience.

Shame that's what almost every teenager out there thought of themselves.

Finding a seat closeish to the front without being obvious about her choice, Sidra sat, tucked one booted foot under her and looked everywhere but at the stage itself. She had plans, oh yes, she had plans. If this guy thought he was going to get away with just chattering about “birds and bees” and other BS like that, he had another thing coming. There was an arsenal of questions about the 'darker' side of things waiting to be tossed at him. Questions about what dildos were safe and what products were more dangerous. All of this, of course, was to try and throw the old fart off his game. And if it made some of the other students think and question, then that was a side effect of her game plan.

C'mon she urged silently, Say something I can ply off of. Say it. Saaaaaaaay it.

Of course, for him to say anything, the assembly would actually need to get underway. Other students were still filing in and finding their places, either with their fiends or as far away from their crushes as possible so as not to draw attention to the fact that they were together-together. Like somehow getting talked at about relationships and sex while sitting next to your SO was gonna change things.

Whatever.

[Ann Hudgins]

She didn't want to be here. She did not want to be here. She. Did. Not. Want. To. Be. Here.

But she was.

Ann was swept inside the auditorium just like the rest of her classmates that were either her age, or a senior. She was in line behind someone she didn't know, and in front of someone she didn't know. And she was nearly hyperventilating, trying not to get touched by either one. After they made it out onto the floor, everyone fanned out to get a seat and Ann hurried as quickly as she could for the absolute corner, top row. There was nothing subtle about her retreat there, or the fact that she obviously wanted to put as much space between her and everyone else. She didn't care about it either. She was not going to sit thigh to thigh, back to knee, knee to back with four strangers, touching them and feeling their...reactions to the topic for today.

Sex. What did Ann know about sex? The basics...the anatomy it envolved, what it entailed, and what it was used for. No, she didn't have any experience in it. She'd never even kissed anyone before. Holding hands was an impossibility for her, and sex was just...not even a question for her. Going to this seminar would go one of two ways; embarrass the hell out of her for having to learn about it, or depress her because she'd see just how truly alone she'd always be (unless she got her freakin' power under control).

Her eyes fell on Dr. Neville when he started to speak and she immediately began to blush. Why? Because Dr. Neville was someone she looked up to as a hero, and personal savior. He was helping her through her turmoil and powers. And now she had to listen to him talk about sex.... Their next session will be laden with awkwardness, she just knew it. She buried her face in her hands, wishing she wasn't there.

But she was.

[Eleanor McArthur]

As a senior, Elle went to The Talk, and sat down on the end of a row, her elbow on the arm rest and looking at her fingernails idly. She knew what sex was, what it was for, and what could eventually happen if you did it. From what it sounded like from her mother, if you were unwed, you got pregnant and you died. Of course she was too old to believe that you literally died... but probably unbeknown to her mother, there was another way a she could die. No, not so much spiritually, which was important to Elle, but youthfully. Having a baby took away one's youth. You had to grow up quickly. You had to give up the childhood excuses, the parties, the reckless behavior. And Elle wasn't ready to be an adult yet, as much as she told her mother she was.

Not to mention, Elle wasn't with anyone. The closest she had gotten was in the back of her old boyfriend's car after a rock concert, and she panicked and stopped anything from happening. Elle probably wouldn't do anything if she didn't at least love the guy... would she? She knew temptation only too well. She'd be lying if she said she never thought about sex. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious about it. Elle didn't look interested as she gazed back to Dr. Neville as he spoke the haunting words Let's talk about sex.

They would be even more haunting coming from her own father's mouth, so she was glad that if she had to have the talk, it would be with Doctor Sean Neville rather than her gruff, blunt, and unmeddlesome father. Her father would probably say 'making love' instead of 'sex,' which, if one never heard their father saying it, was soooooo much worse and soooo much more mortifying.

[Horus Richmond]

Horus knew "The Talk". His brothers and sister had all kept him informed as he'd been growing up, his parents liked to throw condoms at him, and Elliot, well. Elliot had chosen more practical forms of education that made the blonde's ears blush. But, he still had to go hear Sean bang on about condoms, lube, birth control, herpes... all the good stuff. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he grudgingly slunk into the auditorium and eyed the people around him. Goth chick, mood ring, I See Dead People chick, nothing to get too excited over. They were just other teenagers, and none that Horus either avoided (read. Zac) or detested (read. Jesse).

Settling into the back row (and putting his legs up on the one in front), the blonde slumped down in his chair, throwing his bag on the one beside it to save it for Benji. Yawning and rubbing his eyes, the blonde gave a short, simple wave to Sidra, whom he thought looked pretty cool. It was a pity Vincent wasn't coming along, and as far as he'd heard, neither was Emma. The blonde had self-banned herself, and the narco was kind of sad he wouldn't be able to hear the hilarious banter and side comments from the two outlandish teens. As it was, he didn't have the energy to cause a fuss, and was pretty sure he might drop off during this long talk.

Smushing his eyes dozily, Horus looked sorely tempted to drop off before any talking began, but he knew Sean would wake him up somehow, or punish him, so he grizzled and tried to keep his tired eyes open. Maybe the talk would teach him something he could show Elliot next time he came home. A little sexy shuffle, maybe? But then ew, Horus began to wonder how Sean would know such interesting manuevers, and nearly tossed his cookies, instead hitting the side of his head to try and knock the thoughts out. "N...no..." He grumbled, instead imagining nice thoughts, like puppies, Elliot, kittens, bed. Anything but to imagine the old man as a sexually active creature who put things in places he didn't want to mention.

"I give up." He announced to the steadily filling out rows of people, before sagging backwards - fast asleep.

[Courtney Ross]

Courtney walked into the auditorium, her head down with the hopes that no one would notice she was there. It had been suggested that she attend and Courtney was near terrified of what might happen during this lecture. She carefully chose a seat around the middle of the auditorium and sat at the very end of the row, so that if for some reason she needed to escape or just very quietly hide under her chair, she wouldn't bump into anyone or have to whisper 'Excuse me' a half million times and piss people off.

Sitting down, Courtney opened her slightly sweaty palm and very gently stroked the back of the bumblebee sitting there. Yes yes, it was hilariously ironic that she had a bee for the birds and bees, but Courtney needed something to distract her from the fact that she had to listen to someone talk about sex and if a bee was going to keep her from blushing and melting, then she would take it.

Courtney, of course, knew a little about sex. Her parents had never been terribly specific and had mentioned that sex out of wedlock was out of the question, but her knowledge was vague. She understood the basic mechanics from her older cousins and public middle school, but sex sounded so out there. It sounded messy and complicated and like there was a very high risk of embarrassment, and Courtney wanted none of it. Her hormones were driving her to cry and break out in acne, not to have a rampant sex drive, and she wasn't boy crazy - almost certain now that she would never be boy crazy.

Settling into her seat, Courtney looked up for a moment and then resumed petting her bee, hoping that this talk would go smoothly. It was coming from a teacher, after all, and teachers were nothing if not reliable, right?

[Josef Paerson]

Josef didn't have to be there, and anyone who knew the boy (which, admittedly, was very few people) would think that the inevitable chaos from a bunch of teenagers talking about sex would be something he wanted to stay far away from.
Yet he was there.

He had decided that, since he knew it was going to be chaos, he would be sort of prepared for it, and maybe it would be good for him, to see if he could handle it. Besides, people were all about sex, they were fascinated by it, driven by it, constantly thinking about it, and anything that helped him understand people better would be a good thing. Perhaps one day he'd find the key that made them make sense.
On top of all that, he didn't actually know much about the subject, so it would be educational in the way it was actually intended to be.

The hall was packed, which almost made him leave again, but he found as quiet a corner as he could manage and sat down, even going so far as to take out a notebook and pen.
No daydreaming this time, he told himself sternly, he was paying attention.

[L.C. Milliner]

For the record, L.C. knew more about sex most people cared to know about. Unlike many teenagers, she thought the act was disgusting- skin on skin, sweating, panting, generally getting worked up for absolutely no reason other than to release some pent up stress, she shuddered at the thought. She learned about sex at a young age, not from her Mother sitting her down to talk about it, but from an actual bystander standpoint.

In short, her mother liked to bring her boyfriends home and trailers aren’t known for having thick walls. She and her brother would simply sit on the front porch, and he was actually kind enough to sit her down and tell her what went on inside, including situations if both genders were the same and so on and so forth. Magda would tell her a little, but thought she was too young for such talk, and her Mother was silent on the subject and young Lyra liked it that way.

So, Lyra had heard all this before. But, she wasn’t allowed to skip out, no matter how much she found it mortifying. As she slunk in, she glared at Sean with a look of pure unadulterated contempt. Then she climbed to the very top of the auditorium, to the middle of the back row, sitting in a chair that bore no sign of property damage. She made herself comfortable, looked around to the students, then proceeded to slide down in her chair and hide herself from view until her knees hit the chair in front of her and her bottom was literally half in, half out of the seat. She closed her eyes and hoped for many things, including the absence of giggling, laughing, calling out, or generally anything that would cause even more mortification because, let’s face it, she didn’t want to hear this from Sean. Ever.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Horus was already asleep. Sean surreptitiously glanced at the clock on the auditorium wall; they were a single minute into the lecture. He managed not to sigh, although he knew that this would invariably lead to a one-on-one lecture, which would be time-consuming given the boy’s narcolepsy. On the other hand, he also knew that the boy was in a long-distance relationship, so he could cut through most of the nonsense, get down to the necessities, and send him on his way with the sexual education requirement met.

Of the students who had managed to stay awake, which was to say the rest of them, a good portion were mortified, and the rest were potential troublemakers. Unfortunately, this was going to get far worse for them before it got better and everyone was freed. Sean idly thought about what his colleagues, the ones who weren’t chaperones, did during this time; were they out at the diner making fun of his unfortunate lot in life? If he had energy later, he’d leave a diagram at the bottom of a tray of cookies and drop them off in the faculty lounge. If he had the energy.

Conducting a quick head count and comparing them with the files he had on everyone to get an idea of the age range, he continued past the introduction. “Some of you have already learned about sex, either through other people or through personal experience. I’m not here to moralize, and I’m not here to lie to you. You’ll get mechanics, and pregnancy facts, and honestly, I don’t care if you’re already having sex, if you want to have sex, or if you’re never interested in it, because I’m not here to judge you. I’m here to give you facts, and to answer questions you might not get from elsewhere. About anything tangentially related that isn’t intended to make your peers giggle.” That was out of the way, and now for the invariable giggling.

He continued. “I’m going to say this once: there will be no euphemisms or slang in the next couple of hours. I don’t want to hear anyone say ‘boobs,’ ‘tits, ‘thing, ‘pole,’ ‘lady parts,’ ‘dick,’ ‘cock,’ ‘pussy,’ or ‘twat,’ ‘balls,’ ‘jizz’ or any other words like that. You’re all old enough to speak like adults when discussing what is an important, or at least prevalent, part of life for most of the population. I hope we have an understanding.”

Sean reached for his book and began to flip the pages. “Is there anyone here who doesn’t have a basic familiarity with the mechanics? You don’t have to raise your hand or speak up; simply think loudly.”

[Eli Morrison]

Eli tried not to think loudly.

He'd had to attend this lecture when he was a senior in high school, which was ten years ago now. At age thirteen, he had known very little about sex, nor had he cared all that much. He still had no interest in it whatsoever. But he also still remembered every agonizing minute of his previous experience with this lecture.

Why had he been tapped as a chaperone, then? Why not a member of the staff who actually, you know, had sex?

He shuddered as Sean went through the list of euphemisms he didn't want to hear during the lecture. Eli didn't want to hear them at all.

He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, surveying the students in the audience. He knew all of them, because those who never actually went into the library were well-known enough around the school that he had seen them and connected their faces to their names. He had to smile slightly though, because it was notable that Vincent was not there. He'd seen to that.

Earlier that day, Eli had lured the lumbering, half-witted teen into one of the meeting rooms next to the library, with promises of videos of dinosaurs. He had delivered them, as well as several picture books on the same subject. (And a few of them even had words in them as well.)

With a sigh, he decided to actually think a message to the man on the stage. "Please, Sean, don't drag this out. Vincent might eat my books."

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac let out a loud growl as his alarm clock went off, telling him to get up and prepare for the talk. Today was like a rest day for him, all his classes cancelled due to various reasons, so he was really irritated that his nap had to be disturbed all because he had to be in Sean’s seminar. “Sucks being a senior,” he mumbled, dragging his feet across the room.

He took his time getting ready, his normal 30-minute bath turning into a one-hour bath-tub spa. Once out, he tried a dozen outfits before choosing the first one he put on. Anything to consume much time and make him late. If it was up to him, he would’ve opted to just drop in when the talk’s about to close already. But no, somebody’s taking note of senior attendance and they say the consequences would be quite severe if one opted to skip out. While Zac could really care less about the punishment, the thought of the clan members hearing he got into trouble again made him shiver.

Like most teenagers, Zac was highly uncomfortable with the whole sex talk thing. He was actually thankful that neither his dad nor Cedric decided to have ‘the talk’ with him, probably because he was taken to Hammel even before puberty happened. ‘I already know more than what I should about the whole thing,’ he thought. He’s heard stories, read books and even watched a few clips here and then to know how sex works (though he’d deny the latter, stating his mind is much too innocent to do such things). He’s old enough to know which is myth and which isn’t. “At this age, even a ten year old can know Sex 101,” he told himself, “I don’t see why they have to continue with this. Tradition bah.”

“Shoot, I’m only a couple of minutes late,” he said, briefly looking at his watch. The doors of the auditorium were closed and he could somehow hear Sean’s voice through the speakers. “At least it already started,” he smiled, trying to console himself.

He quietly opened the door, hoping not to attract unwanted attention. While Zac usually was the spotlight stealer, this event was clearly not one to be proud of. Who knows what might happen if Sean found out a student was late. With his luck, Sean might even use him when stating a sample situation.

The auditorium wasn’t that packed, with some empty seats here and there, but still, Zac was surprised with the number of people who attended. Probably because he saw familiar faces who he knew weren’t required to come really. ‘They must be crazy,’ he thought, ‘the only reason why one would come here if they weren’t required would either be because they have no life or are really that clueless about sex. Either way, screw them.’

He scanned the room for a bit but found no appealing person to seat with. Dopey’s a no-no and so was Lady Goth. He would’ve wanted to sit with self-proclaimed mood ring Ann or the mysterious girl Elle, but alas, he arrived a bit too late. Luckily, he saw Eli, one of the few Hammel staff he’s in good terms with, standing on the opposite side of the room. He tried to move across with much stealth and silence, causing as little ruckus as possible.

“Hey Eli,” he whispered, finally getting beside Eli and leaning on the wall, “What brings you here? Aren’t you a bit too old for these kind of things?”

[Samuel Rixon]

Sex ed.

There was seriously nothing better than wasting an hour or two in the auditorium hearing about sex. Except, perhaps, for being high while the lecture went on.

That was Samuel’s current position. It was the only way he figured he’d get through this thing. Of course, it made things better that Vincent wasn’t going to be there, but as of right this second, he had no idea that his friend had been locked up and banned from attending. Too bad. The stoner boy had been looking forward to Vincent’s plans to top last year’s disruptions. After lunch, but before the lecture, Sam had sauntered back to the dorms and taken a few hits. Now he was happy. He wasn’t worrying about the fact he’d probably just tanked his history exam (a vague scribble of a dinosaur was probably not an answer Mr. Tonaya would accept), and he wasn’t squicking out over the fact that it would be Dr. Neville talking to them about sex.

No, he was happy.

So happy, in fact, that he practically skipped down the hallway as he made his way to the auditorium. He was running a little late, but that was okay, right? All the fun stuff came later? Well, whatever. He was still in a freakishly good mood as he burst into the auditorium. He spotted Ember quickly enough and bounded down the aisle, crash landing in the seat beside hers and slinging his arm over her shoulders. “HI EMBY!” He pressed a quick, sloppy kiss to her cheek before grinning like an idiot and waving at Dr. Neville.

Of course, he was just in time to hear the glorious list of words he should not be saying. Over half of them made him snort with laugher, and he wasn’t quiet about it. They were old enough to use proper terminology? A rush of extra euphemisms that hadn’t been mentioned tumbled through his mind, probably not quietly either (when was he ever quiet?).

Worst of all? When the question about mechanics was offered, the pyro couldn’t help himself. “IF THEY DON’T, ME ‘N EMBY CAN DEMONSTRATE!”

... I never claimed he’d behave. Sorry, Sean.

[November Adams]

Sexual education - between the students sitting with smug expressions and the one's writhing awkwardly in their seats, November was already trying to keep herself in tuned to what Mr. Neville was saying. Of course Ember knew about sex, she wasn't exactly known as a saint at the school. But the whole class was mandatory, and it was only one lecture. She'd get through it, and so would the rest of the students, and probably even the Librarian looking quite anxious to not be there. She heard Horus flop gracelessly asleep in the row behind her, she didn't even bother turning around. He would probably be out for the rest of the period. Ember slumped in the seat, putting her feet up against the vacant chair in front of her, a Composition notebook opened in her lap where she doodled listlessly with a sparkly green pen. Moe sat besides her, being one of the students that looked like they actually needed this class to figure out what any of this was about.

With Vincent, Moe probably wouldn't be wondering for much longer. Speaking of which, she didn't spot the superman anywhere in the room. Brown eyes glancing about but not resting on the familiar mess of hair that he sported. Huh. That was probably a good idea, thinking about it. It would be hard enough to get through it all with Sammy bouncing about. He was late. Per usual.

Scratching her head with the pen, she strained to here Mr. Neville speak over the low chatter of the room. She didn't have much time to actually pay attention as there was suddenly a body flumping into the seat beside here, and a sloppy kiss placed on her cheek. "Ew, Sammy," She groaned, wiping away the spit with her jacket sleeve. "Late again, love?" November's nose crinkled suddenly, smelling the smoke that lingered on the boy's clothes. "Oh you didn't." She said with an exasperated tone, but he wasn't paying attention. He was currently snickering at the "vulgar words" that the teacher was listing off sternly.

She glanced warily at the pyro, getting the very distinct feeling that something very bad was about to happen. Not like the... oh something's going to be on fire feeling, no, it was the Sammy's going to embarrass me today feeling. The time turner knew what it was before the professor even finished the sentence, "Sam-" Her voice was warning, but it was too late. He screamed out his piece on demonstration, and the students were either laughing, rolling their eyes, or just staring at them. "Oh dear god," She gave her friend an incredulous look, suddenly bringing her hand back and smacking him harshly across the face. The idiot probably barely even registered it in his intoxicated state. "Arse," She muttered, sitting back against the chair and staring pointedly at the teacher, her thoughts screaming, "Please move on, please move on, they all know I'm a whore, please move on."

[Misato Hazukashi]

Misato SO didn't want to be here. Hurriedly pushing through the crowd and burrowing between Ember and another student, the dressy boy tried to sink into his seat and pretend he didn't exist. This was so painfully embarrassing for the Japanese boy, who had no idea what entailed most sexual acts, and had never had the talk. All he'd learnt had been from walking in on his room mates (he knocks ALWAYS now) and the internet. His intentions were to keep himself as inconspicuous throughout the whole event, but then Sammy was mouthing off and oh god everyone was staring at them.

Pulling his hat over his head he tried to disappear further into the seat and behind Ember's shoulder, cheeks glowing with shame. Sean's list of rude words only added to the poor boy's shame as he hid his face behind perfectly manicured hands. "Oh... god." He said exasperatedly as Ember's hand hit Sammy's cheek. He loved his room mates dearly but they sucked at being discreet. Grabbing a handful of sweets from his bag, he popped them in his mouth for something to do except stare, terrified, towards the front, one arm curled around November's own for support.

"Do I really need to know this?" Moe squeaked, burying his face into November's shoulder and trying to send out vibes that he wanted this over and done as fast as possible. In fact, if it weren't for the fact Moe thought it was important to learn this stuff with a boyfriend as... sexually interested as Vincent, he would have just skipped out and hid under his bed till the day had ended. "I mean can't you guys teach me?" He asked softly, chewing his lip and shifting away unhappily in his seat.

He was doomed. He just hoped Sammy would shut up quickly before something else happened to make him blush.