Trebuchets - (Read Physics) (Open

[Marcus Hawthorne]

Marcus stood in the doorway of the classroom. The physics lab was not really a lab at all. It was just a classroom with tables, chairs and counters with drawers in the back. Perfect he thought. Normally Marcus wasn’t one to be excited about responsibility, and teaching a class of 15-20 kids was definitely a HUGE responsibility. But Marcus wanted needed to be here. These kids were stripped from the family he’d run away from. They had a chance to know their parents and live normally, but were stripped from that utopia. (On some level he knew not all of their lives had been easy or as picturesque, but it helped him to think that maybe he could be a paternal figure they missed or needed.)

He set his briefcase down on the large desk at the front of the room and began organizing the tables into clusters of triangles. He was hoping there would be enough kids for the group-work he’d planned. Physics was a tangible science made into abstract numbers. He wanted this class to remind kids that math was just another language of the universe, not incomprehensible abstract mumbo-jumbo that teachers made them learn to waste time.

That’s why he was going to have them build trebuchets. It was hands on and it was fun. What kid didn’t like hurling stones (or golf balls) with a machine they built? And with that he could also integrate some math. He probably should have clarified this with the dean… but asking forgiveness was a hell of a lot easier than permission, especially when he could plead ignorance.

He walked back out to the hall and grabbed the 4ft x 4ft cardboard box and set it on the desk. He pulled out a spoon, some jelly beans, a basketball and a marker—everything to make an interesting lecture… or so he hoped. He sat straddling the corner of the desk farthest away from the door facing the front of the room, clasped his hands in his lap and prayed kids walked in.

[Estelle Flores]

Estelle had to be out of her mind. It was her lunch hour and how was she spending it? Sneaking into a science class. Unbelievable. But if there was one thing she loved in the whole world, it was school, and she didn’t have a whole lot else to do during lunch anyways. Besides, even though she was feeling much better after having talked to Mrs. Barnes the other day, she needed things to keep her mind off of her family situation. If she didn’t, she’d probably start to cry again, and that was never productive. Besides, she didn’t have the energy for that today. So here she was, sneaking her way into a science class that she wasn’t even signed up for, just because she’d seen the instructor lugging in a giant box of something into the classroom. Eventually, Estelle would force herself out of academia. Now, she was going to sneak her way into a physics class. Because she wanted do.

It was entirely possible she needed mental help.

She opened the door and was quite surprised to see no one in there but the instructor. She froze, her eyes wide in a perfect deer-in-headlights look. How was she going to sneak into a physics class when there was no one there but the teacher? “Uh…” Estelle supplied dumbly, looking from the teacher to the door, then back to the teacher. “I’m sorry, I’m not actually signed up for this class… actually, I’m not even that good at science, and I’m worse at math, but I didn’t have anything to do and it’s my lunch hour and I saw you bringing in that big box of stuff and I thought I’d sneak in to see what’s going on and sit in at the back of the class to watch, but I don’t know if that’s allowed and—and…” She rattled off her excuse in quick, embarrassed succession until she promptly ran out of things to say. “…I can leave now, if you want.” She smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck and staring at her feet. She supposed that was what she got for trying to sneak into classes. Well, it was better than sneaking out of them, she supposed.

[Marcus Hawthorne]

Marcus had been waiting for a couple minutes when the door cracked open hesitantly to reveal a petite startled girl. The poor thing looked abashed and ashamed. She acting as if she was committing a grievous sin by coming to his class. Not something enterprising Marcus needed to boost his confidence.

His attitude did a complete 180 when he realized that she was here for his class, but not signed up for it . Her waterfall of nervous explanation practically knocked him off his perch in astonishment, and it showed on his face. When the girl finally wound herself down, he hopped/pushed himself off the desk… or well, he tried to. The rapid changes in emotion had caused his sweat pores to react and secret the adhesive gel on his hands. So while his body left the desk, his hands did not, and he found himself in a very awkward dangling contortion of limbs.

He untangled himself and slowly pulled himself off the floor with his hands (which were still attached to the desk). “No. I’m-I’m, alright thanks!” Marcus said sheepishly. Great. He just made a fool of himself in front of a kid who actually wanted to be in his class. Could it get any better? (No don’t answer that.) He finally managed to pry his hands free after more awkward straining and posing…

“Hi. I’m terribly sorry about that. My powers aren’t exactly clutz friendly. I’m Mr. Hawthorne. I’ll be teaching physics here at Hammel. It’s nice to meet you--” he waited for her to say her name. "Estelle. That's a beautiful name." He brushed his hands off and calmed himself down, emphatically thinking dry non-sweaty thoughts. “You’re more than perfectly welcome to stay for my class!” he said emphatically, practically begging her to stay. “I think its wonderful that you don’t have any skill for math… well not like that…” He paused as he realized that he’d started blasting with dynamite into the hole of awkwardness. “I mean I think it’s brave and wonderful that you’re here in spite what you think is a lack of skill. I want to teach kids who don’t like math and science that it can be fun. Math is just another language of the universe.”

He walked back over to the desk and leaned his back against it with a pensive look on his face. “I’d love for you to sit in on the class and audit it so to speak. This is my first major teaching job and I want to do things based on what kids want to learn as much as what I think they need to know. But I’m not exactly…in tune with this generation. Would you be willing to help me? Give me feedback on how I’m doing and ideas for lessons? And I’m sure we could talk to the dean about getting you credit for the work you’d do.” He got so caught up in his brilliant idea that he’d stopped paying attention to the girl to see if she even liked the idea. (Poor absentminded Marcus.)

[Estelle Flores]

Estelle watched with wide eyes as the instructor flailed around, his hands inexplicably stuck to the desk. She took a tentative step forward. “Um. Are- are you okay?” She wondered if his hands had gotten stuck to his desk as a practical joke by a student or by accident or what. When he finally got himself situated, she got her explanation. “Oh, that’s okay.” Estelle assured him politely. His powers? What kind of powers would he have to have to get his hands stuck to the table like that? Usually, Estelle would ask, but since he was an instructor, she thought it would be impolite. “It’s nice to meet you too Mr. Hawthorne, my name is Estelle Flores,” Estelle returned, smiling nervously. Out of habit, she started to hold her hand out to shake it, but then remembered that maybe his power prevented him from being able to shake hands, and she didn’t want to be rude. So what ended up happening was Estelle doing an awkward half-handwave as Mr. Hawthorne brushed his hands off. “Thank you, sir.” She said, smiling at his compliment of her name. She was always rather fond of it.

Estelle grinned, charmed by her teacher’s apparent excitement about his subject, “No, it’s true! I have very little natural skill in math, trust me.” She shuffled her feet, “I want to change that though. So I figured I’d get a greater breadth of knowledge and then maybe the science classes I’m actually attending may get easier.” She shrugged, giving her teacher a shy grin, “But it’s also entirely possible that I just want to go to another class. I have a really long break between classes.”

Estelle looked shocked at Mr. Hawthorne’s offer. “Oh, of course I’d like to help! I wouldn’t need extra credit for it though. It would just be a nice thing to be able to do. I’m… throwing around the idea of being a teacher later on, so it’ll be an interesting opportunity for me to be able to see how teaching works.” Estelle beamed at her teacher, now sufficiently sure she liked the older man. He seemed like a nice person, and a good teacher. “What are we doing in this class, if you don’t mind my asking?”

[Marcus Hawthorne]

“Well I think this is the class for you Estelle.” Marcus was ecstatic at the look of shock and pleasure on her face. “Like I said, I want it to be focused on what kids want to learn, the basic principles of math and how math, like language, is another tool for explaining things. It’s about real world problems,” he picked up the basketball and started dribbling it lazily from the desk. “In English, how do you describe a basketball player making this ball into a hoop that’s thirty feet from him?” He set the ball back down and picked up a tiny golf ball, “how does a golfer know where this is going to go when he swings a club? He paused again, trying to find something that Estelle could latch onto. “Tell me Estelle, do you do any sports or athletics?”

Marcus whistled in obvious admiration. “Really? Wow that’s amazing Estelle.” He was impressed by her dedication to gymnastics and Aikido. Marcus knew both activities were time consuming and required intense amounts of dedication (something he is envious of but doesn’t quite understand about himself yet). “Ok, so when you punch a board in Aikido, or spin on a balance beam, how do you know the board will break or when to stop spinning?” he posed the question and left it hanging for Estelle to contemplate. His own voice was excited and joyful from his talk to the young girl. He looked at the clock in the back of the room, 12:50. He still had 10 minutes before the kids had to be here, and another 15 before tardy. In spite of his enthusiasm with Estelle, the back of his mind was screaming RUN because he knew that not every kid would be as enthusiastic or responsible as her. Maybe, maybe keeping Estelle in the class would keep him here too.

[Estelle Flores]

Estelle beamed with pleasure as Mr. Hawthorne reassured her of her she would be all right in this class. She liked getting that extra reassurance from teachers sometimes. It meant a lot that an instructor, who by definition had to be older and wiser, said that this class would be good for Estelle. She listened intently to his discussion about Basketball and Golf. If only math was that easy all the time, usually it seemed so abstract. And then the numbers smooshed themselves together and it was just terrible. She was pulled out of her reminiscences by Mr. Hawthorne’s question. “Oh. Um. I do both gymnastics and aikido.” She shrugged, twisting her hands behind her back, “I’m… all right at both.” She supplied modestly, in case that information was relevant to Mr. Hawthorne’s discussion.

She blushed happily at the compliment, glancing down to stare at her feet. It had clearly been far too long since she’d received a compliment, but shh. Estelle looked surprised at the question. “I… don’t know. Practice, I guess? I’d never thought that math would really come into it. Or, rather, physics.” She amended, smiling at her teacher, “I guess that makes sense in theory, but I just always think of physics as crazy theories and math pretending to be science and it’s…” She laughed sheepishly, “A little intimidating, to be honest.” She rubbed her arm, looking around the classroom, “So, what did you bring into class today in the giant box?” She looked at the aforementioned box, still sitting on the desk. It was the object that actually got her there in the first place, so she wanted to know what was going to happen.

She caught Mr. Hawthorne glancing at the clock with an apprehensive look on his face. She figured that as a newer teacher, he was probably a little nervous. “I think students are gonna really like this class, Mr. Hawthorne.” She offered shyly, “It seems really interesting.”

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann spent lunch hiding, again. Zac seemed to have meant what he said about sitting with her so she wasn't alone. He just didn't seem to get that she liked sitting alone. Anyway, she ended up eating on the floor of the girl's bathroom--not that she minded--and didn't hear the bell for class. So haven walked out of the bathroom she stepped into a drastically emptier cafeteria than when she had went in, assuming class had started she had run to her dorm to grab her school bag (because usually she finished lunch with plenty of time to return to her dorm) and then run towards her next class; physics. She hated that class. It just never made sense to her--well it did, but all the formulas were just too much for her.

She slid into the doorway, nearly clipping her foot on the door frame. She pinwheeled her arms to stay on her feet and peered around, her clothes and hair were disheveled from the mad-dash she made. "Sorry I'm...late?" The class was empty, save for another student and the teacher. Which meant that class hadn't actually started. That she was early. That she hadn't missed the bell from lunch--while she was relieved to not have walked into a class already in full-swing, she was a little upset that she had just run that entire way worrying about being late--because Ann was rarely late for anything. "Erm...I'll just be sitting down now." Back row, back corner. So she couldn't be surrounded by people (once they arrived) and so she could maybe focus enough to pay attention and actually learn something from the teacher--which was a rare thing for Ann. Once class usual starts, the emotions in the room keep her too distracted to actually pay attention.

(if you two don't mind...)

[Marcus Hawthorne]

(All are welcome =D )

“Yes practice is how you would describe it. But what I’m asking is how your brain knows that you kicked hard enough to break it? You guess-timate.” He declared as he let her think about the process while he picked up the basketball and walked away from the desk. “But before you did enough turns or kicked through enough boards you thought about what you did right? Here let me explain from a basketball perspective.”

Marcus tried switching to something the girl was less familiar with because her aikido was ingrained muscle-memory reaction, not a conscious process anymore which is what he was trying to explain. “Say I want to throw this basketball into the box? What goes through my mind when I want to do that? I think – ‘Not too hard or I’ll over shoot, not too whimpy or it’ll fall short, my arm has to throw straight or it’ll go to the side, and if I arc it – like so-” he threw the ball in a high (as high as the ceiling would allow) arc that tapped the edge of the box and bounced in, “it has a better chance of going in.” He smiled at Estelle as he did so, (privately proud that he’d actually made it in and managed to look cool) “that thought process that I just explained? That’s all physics is—it’s the language about how to get the ball in the box.

Marcus hoped that Estelle really did get what he was trying to say and wasn’t calling him a crazy loon in her head. “I didn’t bring anything in the box.” He said innocently, “But if you stick around for another 15 minutes or so, you’ll get to decide what goes in it.” He winked at her with a sly smile that said, curiosity killed the cat. Marcus breathed a sigh of relief at her assurance, maybe he wasn’t so cooky after all...


Just as he was going to ask Estelle to take a seat wherever she liked, the door slid open slightly and then exploded in a flailing mass of brunette hair and arms. She seemed as surprised as they were by her sudden explosive entry to the room. The new comer made a B-line for the back of the class, and while Marcus was in an exceptional mood he was still a teacher.

And so he did a dicky-teacher thing. “Excuse me miss, I didn’t quite catch your name as you came in.” He blew up the girl’s anonymity.

[Vicky Barnes]

Outfit

Ah, class day! Though sometimes annoying, sometimes it was a fantastic break that allowed Vicky to slow down a little. Today, there would be no running around arranging things and worrying about not finishing projects in time.
Today, she just had classes to worry about. Nice, structured classes that started on time and ended on time, classes that required you to just sit and listen to what the teacher had to say.
Just the thought of it brought a pleasant little smile on the girl’s face as she made her way to her Physics class, heels clacking loudly against the floor, and an enormous book-bag slung over her shoulder like it was light as a feather.
Alright… alright… maybe she was going to do some things after her classes ended… but for now, she could relax a little.

As she approached the classroom, she couldn’t help but notice how silent it still was. Maybe the teacher hadn’t shown up yet? Nah… it would’ve been a lot more chaotic if the teacher wasn’t around. Maybe the teacher was the type that ruled with an iron fist? Oh joy.
Checking her watch, it suddenly all made sense. The class hadn’t started yet! She was a bit early, which was excellent because that way she could get the best seat in class and set up her things.
“Hello!” she announced brightly as she turned and entered the classroom, noting that – aside from the teacher – there were only two other girls. “What a crowd!” she laughed as she set her bag down by a seat in the front of the class before turning and walking back to the teacher and extending her hand politely, “Greetings sir, my name is Victoria Barnes. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
Of course, it would’ve been rude to just plain and simply ignore the other students, and so she politely nodded her head in greeting towards them, “Good day to you as well.”

[Estelle Flores]

Estelle listened raptly to his explanation of physics and was shocked to find that she actually… understood it? She blinked, “Wait… that’s all it is? But that’s… so simple.” She grinned, “And here I thought it was all complicated numbers and abstract theories. And rocket ships.” She laughed, “I don’t know why I included rocket ships, but you know.”

She looked interestedly at the box. “Ohh… okay.” She grinned at her teacher, now thoroughly excited for the class. What were they going to be doing?

When the other girl burst into class, she smiled, giving her a small wave. The brunette looked a little nervous, and Estelle wondered if it would be rude to introduce herself now that Mr. Hawthorne was asking for introductions on his part. She decided that the other girl looked too nervous for Estelle to not say something. “Hi, I’m Estelle Flores. It’s nice to meet you.”

At that moment, another girl walked into class with a smile on her face that Estelle easily returned, “Yeah, we’re quite lively.” She responded with a wave. “I like your plaid… thing.” Estelle was not well-versed in fashion. Or anything of the like. But she tried, “It’s really cute. My name’s Estelle Flores. It’s nice to meet you.”

She glanced up at her teacher, hoping that her desire to meet new people didn’t cause her to step on his toes in running the class. She just liked to talk to people, is all.

[Ann Hudgins]

If there was one thing Ann could say she hated, above all else, it was being singled out in a classroom. Now, in this particular situation, the class wasn't full or in full swing, but still. She was washed over with embarrassment. "I'm uhm...Ann. Hudgins." She pointed towards the door, meaning her entrance. "Sorry for busting in, I--" she was cut off by the entrance of another girl, she curled her finger back into her hand and lowered it. She hoped the new girl, Vicky, was a good distraction from the her and the teacher would then leave her alone. The old physics teacher should have left a note, or something. She hate having to explain this to new teachers--most of the time they wanted to 'make a difference' and help her. She was working on it. And being brought up to the front of the class or asked specifically to share her opinion was not[/b] going to help in the slightest.

Ann was a little sad she couldn't give Estelle such a nice warm welcome in return, she could tell just by looking at her that she was a very friendly individual (also by the way she greeted Vicky), but Ann was not about to willingly bring complete attention back to herself. Nope.

[Marcus Hawthorne]

Marcus positively beamed at Estelle. “Physics really is simple if you think about it in that context. And here’s a bigger secret,” he leaned in close and mock whispered, “it can even be fun.” He stood back up and extended his arm gesturing to take a seat wherever she pleased. He was going to have to talk to the Dean about getting her independent study credits or something. She was going beyond what most kids even thought of as their best, and she deserved that same effort from him.

Marcus could tell from Ann’s exasperated look and hesitation to give out her name that he’d done something the girl obviously found uncomfortable and displeasing. Ooops he thought. In a meta –school it’s always hard for teachers to tell if a student is simply anti-social, or if they have side effects that lend to that attitude. Marcus decided it was better to err on the side of caution rather than force the girl into something that would be painful for her, “Thank you Miss Hudgins. I just like to put names with my students’ faces.” He smiled genuinely at her, hoping she understood his roundabout apology and turned to Vicky so that Ann could at least try to recreate her shroud of anonymity.

“What a pleasure Miss. Barnes. I’m Mr. Hawthorne. I’m excited everybody decided to be early for my class instead of late. I hope this trend continues.” He heard the cacophonic roar of voices start to build outside that let him know the majority of students were finally on their way to class. “Please come in and find a seat.”

Marcus leaned back on his desk as groups of teenagers trickled through the door in groups of 2’s or 3’s. When all of the desks were filled, he walked over to the door to ensure it was closed and adopted his best stop-a-hormonal-riot-with-one-sentence voice. “Alright everybody. Quiet down. Quiet down.” The conversations started to wane and finally ceased. “Thank you. Welcome to introductory physics I’m Mr. Hawthorne. This class will not be like a normal mathematics or science class in 2 specific ways.”

“First, most of the work will be conducted in groups: you will not be learning rote equations and repeating them endlessly on your own, though you will need to learn some equations for your work. And second, we will be examining real-life problems either assigned by me, or collectively agreed upon by you as a class. The main goal of this class is for you to understand that physics is just like English or Spanish, or Chinese. It’s a language that we use to describe the universe.”

He walked to where Estelle was sitting at the front corner of the room and handed her a stack of papers. “I’m handing out the syllabus and class schedule to be passed around. Please take a moment to look through them and ask me any questions before I begin outlining your homework for next class.”

[Vicky Barnes]

While the teacher was speaking to a girl in the back of class, Vicky turned to Estelle and grinned when she heard her compliment.
“Thank you! You look very nice yourself! I’m Victoria Barnes, but you may call me Vicky – everyone does.” She smiled and reached down to shake her hand, “Oh wait… Estelle Flores? You don’t happen to be a member of the Newspaper Club?” she asked excitably as she placed a hand on her chest to indicate she was in it as well “Me too! I guess that means we’re co-workers. So… nice to meet you, partner! Do you mind if I sit with you?”
By now, the teacher had turned around and introduced himself.
Vicky couldn’t help but smile at his apparent relief over at least a few students showing some effort by coming to class early. “So do we get extra credit for being such good girls?” she giggled and winked jokingly before turning and walking back to her seat, already hearing the mass of students stomping their way to the classroom.

Slowly but surely the classroom filled up, and quite a few students were eagerly pressing their way to the back of the classroom, as far away from study material as possible. It was to be expected. Not many people enjoyed class as much as Vicky did. Or Estelle and Ann, it would seem, for they arrived even before she did. It was always good to know other people took their studies seriously, which was also the reason why she’d asked Estelle to sit next to her. If there was to be group work, she’d prefer to do it with someone who would at least try to help out. The other girl – Ann, if she’d heard correctly – had retreated to the back of the classroom, and probably had her reasons for that. Maybe she was as lazy as the others and had accidentally gotten here on time? Who knew?

Naturally, everyone started talking to one another about silly things like the lunch they just ate. Honestly, hadn’t they gotten enough time to talk to one another already?
It took a few minutes, but finally the teacher, Mr. Hawthorne, had managed to get everyone to shut up and began explaining what the class would be about and that there would indeed be group work involved. He proceeded to hand Estelle a stack of papers before speaking up again.
“Do you need some help?” she whispered softly so as not to interrupt her teacher.

[Ann Hudgins]

From his expression she guessed he figured out she wasn't actually being rude, she was just doing what she had to to get through the class. Ann would never actually just act rude to someone--her power just usually had her come across as rude for her short sentences and lack of eye contact. Looking directly at people made it easier for her power to focus on the emotions coming from them--not that it lowered the intake of everyone elses'--and it also made it harder for her to stop those emotions from influencing her own. She managed a nod towards her teacher before she just curled up in her ball of please-don't-notice me.

She looked up, however, when the girl...Vicky mentioned the Newspaper Club. Ann had signed up for that as well, on a whim. Ann knew she needed another way to make friends, because her rate of meeting one person every now and then and then not seeing them again just didn't cut it. She needed people she was around, on many different occasions so she got used to then, and started to know them. A club just seemed like the best place to do it, and with all of Ann's skills in mind, she had joined Newspaper. She probably would have been great in that self defense class, but her physical handicap stopped that idea before it started.

Then everyone started coming in, bringing in with them all sorts of different feelings and Ann was washed away by it. If one were to look at her once all those emotions hit her, she would appear just the faintest of seasick. Her eyes shut tightly, her breath became a little labored, and her hands clenched into fists in her lap. Not to mention she slouched down in the chair, to as close of a ball as she could get. She was vaguely aware that the room was filled with talking, but she was too focused on keeping her shields in place for her to actually hear a word of it.

Then the general noise of the room lowered and everyone (more or less) focused on the teacher. Everyone had their own reactions to what he was saying, and Ann felt the general majority of them--specifically around those who she was sitting around. He made physics sound not as crappy as Ann had before, and for that she was...less abhorred to the idea of having another class as it as the subject. Ann, however, would still rather be in an English class, or a history class. She could definitely understand those subjects better.

Subjects that were hard for Ann were even more so because of the amount of difficulty it took her to teach the subject material to herself. The way her usual class went with a room full of teenagers with all different opinions, she just spent the whole time trying to keep herself to herself and everyone else away from her. That left little focus to even recognize there was a teacher in the room. So after class, she would go to the library, or her dorm room, and reteach herself what the teacher had gone over and do her homework/classwork. Most teachers didn't exactly complain about it, because her work was generally always on time, and Ann was a B+ average student, she got A's in the subjects she really like.

So, would try to hear and retain everything Mr. Hawthorne went over today, but the odds were against that. And she would just end up in the library going all over it again.

[Estelle Flores]

It was official: Mr. Hawthorne was awesome. Not only was he okay with Estelle sneaking into one of his classes, he understood that she was curious but cautious about the subject matter, didn’t make her feel like a loser for trying to get into a class she might not immediately understand, was tactful about whatever was bothering her fellow classmate (Ann. She filed the name away for future reference) and described math in the context of language, one of Estelle’s favorite things. She beamed at him as she sat in the front corner, excited for the opportunity to learn more.

She grinned at Vicky’s compliment, “Oh thank you. This is my favorite sweater.” She felt that everyone needed to appreciate the sweater. It was like a security blanket, but for her torso. She shook the other girl’s hand enthusiastically, “Nice to meet you too!” Estelle brightened, “Yeah, I am a part of the newspaper club! Awesome! Nice to be working with you, partner!” She squinted, trying to remember the names on the list, but was distracted “Barnes! Are you by any chance related to the biology teacher?” Estelle beamed, “She is like… one of my favorite people.”

Estelle looked a little surprised when Mr. Hawthorne handed her the papers, but stood up promptly, determined to earn the responsibility her teacher was asking of her. When Vicky offered help, Estelle smiled, splitting the pile in half. “Thank you, that would be great.” The faster she got the papers handed out, the faster Mr. Hawthorne could get on with the lesson. She was being efficient. She glanced at Ann, huddled in the back, and resolved to talk to her one of these days. She seemed like a very nice person; maybe she just needed a friend.