Bucket of Bolts [Open]

[Tamara DaCosta]

The rusty car pulled into the shop with a rumble. It was easily the loudest vehicle Tamara had touched in years, and getting the thing to the school was a task and a half. It barely ran as it was, and the fact that the roads were still slick due to the recent ice storm didn't help at all. With a sigh she turned it off, pulled the keys out of the ignition, and stuffed them in her coat pocket.

There was good reason behind picking up a clunker; Tamara wanted to teach more than just simple car maintenance. Any parent could teach their kid that. This car, however, was practically falling apart. The engine needed a lot of work, as did the transmission. They'd have to change the tires, redo the interior as well as the exterior, rewire some of the internal components, replace the heater and the a/c. Everything that could be wrong with it was.

It was perfect.

Thank the Lord that the school paid for the class. This car would cover every subject she could possibly want to go over in car repair and restoration, but the parts wouldn't come cheap. It was for the good of the kids though, right? Hopefully it wouldn't be a problem. Besides, at the end of the semester (or maybe after the next few semesters, depending on how competent her class was) they could get most--if not all--of the money back by selling the thing. It was like flipping a house.

Satisfied with her newest play thing, Mars patted the steering wheel and hopped out through the creaky driver’s side door. It was mid-afternoon, so she'd have plenty of time to put together a list of things she'd need. Before that, the open garage door was making the shop drafty so she moseyed on over to it and pulled it shut.

[Jean Manne]

When the counselors suggested that Jean find an outlet for his boundless energy (mostly so he’d settle down in class), his first instinct was to turn to soccer. Jean loved soccer, and he thought he was pretty good at it. Well… okay, he thought he was really good at it, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that technically, Hammel had a soccer team. But they had yet to meet and there were no flyers, no nothing. So that was that.

He thought about pulling his brother out to play with him, but RC had told him under no uncertain terms that it would be a cold day in hell before he would play soccer with Jean. Which was probably for the best since RC wasn’t that great anyways. Ginny was also probably out of the question. The older girl was awesome, but she didn’t live here. She had college-y things to do eventually.

And then, one day, as though directed by the good will of the universe, Jean had come across a flyer for what could possibly be the coolest sounding class ever:

Auto shop.

Because what could be cooler than fixing cars, right? As far as Jean could tell, there were no age limits, so he hurriedly signed up for the class. Heck yes, extracurriculars. So when Jean pushed open the classroom door, his eyes widened to behold what was probably the most beaten up car in all existence. Like, this car was messed up. Jean was pretty sure everything about it was broken, and they were probably going to have to fix it.

This was going to be the best class ever.

He turned a half circle, looking for the instructor. When he caught sight of a pretty lady with long brown hair, Jean beamed. “Hi!” He greeted, waving, “I’m Jean, I’m here for the auto shop class. Are we going to get to work on this car? That is so cool. I’m not too young to be in this class, right? Because I’m thirteen. Well… okay, I’m not thirteen yet, but I will be in September, which is kinda close, and I’ll be really careful and everything. I’m an alchemist, so this class may help me with my powers, so I can stay, right?” He was practically bouncing with excitement as he looked pleadingly at his teacher. He really, really hoped this teacher wouldn’t make him go away because he was too little. That happened sometimes.

[Tamara DaCosta]

As soon as the door was shut, Tamara moved over to one of the shop workbenches, threw her jacket down, and grabbed one of the craftsman pencils. She hastily pulled out a notepad and started scribbling down the tools that desperately needed to be replaced before they could start work on the car. For the needed parts, she just had to peek under the hood and scope out the damage, but she hardly had time to prop the structure open before she heard someone enter the room.

Tamara spun around and smirked at the rambunctious little boy as she stuffed the notebook into her pants pocket. “Hello, Jean. I’m Ms. Tamara DaCosta, but that sounds formal and this isn't a formal class. You can call me Tamara or Ms. D or T-dawg or whatever. As long as it’s appropriate.” The last statement was tacked on last minute--you never knew what kind of nicknames teenage (or almost teenage) boys could come up with.

"I started working on cars when I was younger than you. If the people over at the office put you in the class, then it's okay with me." She shrugged gave the car a pat before looping back to the boy's first question, "Yeah, we're gonna fix this puppy up over the course of the semester. There's no tests. It's all about practical work here." Really, the class wasn’t even that hard as long as the kids tried and did the best work they could.

“But before that, I’ve gotta teach you guys the basics, like safety and how to properly use tools.” Silly school and its silly rules. Then again, she wouldn’t want to be sued when some moron got his arm cut off.

"Alchemy, huh? That could be very useful and save us some money. Maybe you could get rid of the rust or chrome something," she commented with a shrug. "If you can do that kind of thing, anyway. Glad to have you aboard regardless." The kid seemed a little wired, but anyone who was as excited about getting to play with cars as she was as a kid was good in her book.

[Jean Manne]

Jean’s face lit up in glee, “I could call you T-dawg? And you won’t get annoyed with me? Whoa…” How was Hammel so cool? He was pretty sure that normal schools didn’t have awesome teachers like Hammel did. “I’ll call you Tamara, though,” He nodded, smiling at her, “Because it’d be weird.”

“Yaaay~!” Jean gave a little hop, “This is gonna be awesome!” He peered at the car, looking a little doubtful, “How’re we gonna fix it? It looks really beat up. What kind of car is it?” He was excited to start, but he couldn’t imagine how they would be able to fix this car. It would take a lot of work.

“Oh yeah.” Jean nodded seriously. He supposed he understood the need for safety stuff. It would really suck if he chopped his arm off. RC would be so mad.

“Yeah!” Jean nodded enthusiastically, “I’ll try! I mean, I’ve never tried that before, but I could totally try. I bet I could do it.” He figured it wouldn’t be too hard. “So when do we get started?” Jean asked eagerly, bouncing a little in excitement.

[Tamara DaCosta]

It was cute how kids were pleased by the simplest things. She had found over the past years that her flexibility with her name had been one of those simple pleasures, so Jean’s glee wasn’t all that surprising. “It’s up to you,” she said with a shrug. “I kinda like the variety, but Tamara works all the same. What do you like to be called? Is Jean fine, or do you have a nickname?"

Tammy had also anticipated the kids to ask those kinds of questions, so she had her answer prepared. “You’re right. It needs a lot of work, but that’s why I like it. I can teach you pretty much everything you need to know about fixing cars with this bucket of bolts. It’ll take tools, craftsmanship, artistic ability, and other factors. So in short: we’re gonna fix it in any and every way we can.” She went on to tell him the make and model of the vehicle, and how they would find all of the parts that needed to be replaced.

Jean’s over-excited nature made Mars smile. Although she would never say it allowed, the boy was adorable, and she was going to enjoy having the live wire in class. Granted he did his work, of course, but if his excitement was any indication, she didn’t think slacking was likely.

“Hmm,” she pondered the answer. “Well, we’ll probably work with a different tool or technique each day. So for the next few weeks while we’re waiting for parts to come in, I’ll probably go over some tools and the safety for each. Then I’ll have you guys practicing with them on practice models before I unleash you on the car itself. How long that takes will depend on the class’s collective knowledge, but I don’t think it’ll be longer than a month before we can start the actual work.”

[Jean Manne]

“Jean’s fine.” Jean nodded importantly, “I’m named after a dude in a musical. My parents like musicals, so everyone in my family’s named after someone in a musical. I’m named after some dude in Les….Something. I dunno. But my brother’s named after some wussy dude from Phantom of the Opera. He gets his butt kicked a lot by the Phantom and then gets the girl because she kisses him. The Phantom, not him. Well…” Jean considered it, “I guess she kisses him in the end, but that’s just gross.” Jean made a face. Kissing was only fun in real life. Why would he want to watch other people do it?

As he prattled on in the way that the young are wont to do, Jean wandered around the car, surveying it with great interest. “Wo-ow.” Jean let the word draw out as he listened to Tamara’s answer. “This is gonna be hard.” He was so excited; this was something he could show off with the rest of his family. He resolved to call his dad when he got out of class. Dad would be so impressed. “It’s gonna look super awesome when it’s done.” He announced, though he had no doubt that Tamara already thought this. She was the teacher, and she’d obviously done this kind of thing before.

“Cool.” Jean agreed to the lesson plan readily, “And maybe I could use my powers to help, like you said. My trainer said I had to work on practical application for my powers or somethin’.” Jean looked up at his teacher, “D’you want us to buy, like, protective gloves or something? Or those cool jumpsuits?” He thought it’d be pretty cool to have a jumpsuit. He’d totally wear it around all the time.

“How long have you been working on cars, Tamara?” Jean asked, looking up at her. “Is it fun? Howcome you wanted to be a mechanic? Why’d you wanna teach here?” Questions, Jean was full of them.

[Tamara DaCosta]

Over the past few years, Tamara had adapted to dealing with all different kinds of students. It was obvious by now that Jean was one of the talkative ones, so she patiently listened to his ramble, nodding every so often. “Never was the musical type, so I wouldn’t know,” she commented, both on his lapse on the title of Les Miserables and his summery of Phantom of the Opera. Although it did seem weird, she had to admit that was a pretty interesting way to pick names for your kids.

The kid’s amazement made Mars laugh. “Yep, but I think we can do it.” Her eyes followed him as he walked around and examined the car. “It’ll be as awesome as we make it. It’s all up to you guys,” she responded. She was there to help them along and show them what to do, but it would ultimately be their choices and hard work that would produce the final result.

“That shouldn’t be necessary. The school will provide anything we need protection wise,” she answered with a shake of her head. “It’s part of the funding for this course. Scientists get lab coats, so we get jumpsuits...at least I think we do. This is the first time I’ve done a full car, so...” she shrugged. “They’re kinda necessary if you don’t want to mess up your clothes. I don’t think they’ll deny us jumpsuits if I submit the request.” As a business major, the bureaucracy part of her job was something she understood well.

Tamara’s eyebrows knitted together as she thought about her response. “I started working with my dad--he was a mechanic too--when I was six,” she said with a soft smile. “I like cars. I guess it’s kinda in my blood, but mostly because they remind me of all the good times I had with my dad.” Mars pushed off the car, walked over to the work bench, and sat on top of it. “Anyway, I was planning on giving a small biography in front of the class. I’ll go into more detail then.”

The notebook was resting uncomfortably in her pocket, so she pulled it out and dropped it on the bench. With a smirk, she addressed Jean, "Hey. I was just going over what parts we need to get when you walked in. Wanna help me out?"

[Jean Manne]

“I prob’ly wouldn’t be, but my mom and dad totally are.” Jean said absently, standing on his toes to peer into the car windows, “I’d rather be named after a Transformer, but my older sister said no one would take me seriously if my name was Ironhide. Or StarScream.” Jean shrugged. He guessed Velma had a point. But still. He felt that he had missed out on cool name opportunities.

Jean grinned at Tamara. She seemed like a cool person. Not too stuffy, not like a real grown up. She kind of reminded Jean of a tougher Ginny and he wondered what was up with all these grown up people who acted cool and didn’t treat him like a little kid or something. Hammel was the coolest place ever. He grinned again when he thought of his older friend. Man, Ginny was going to be so jealous. Maybe he could teach her some stuff.

“I hope we get jumpsuits.” Jean mumbled to himself as he poked at the old car. Jumpsuits were cool. They made you look legitimate. Like you really knew what you doing. “Even though I don’t care about messing up my clothes.” They were just clothes, anyway.

“Wo-ow. Since you were six??” Jean’s eyes were wide, “You were little. Your dad let you play with cars? He sounds super cool. My dad wouldn’t let me do stuff like that when I was six.”

At the request to help out, Jean brightened, “Yeah! I can help! What should I do?

[ooc: sorry for the wait! >.<;]

[Tamara DaCosta]

“Ah, Transformers!” She cried following his remark. “Those were my favorite toys as a kid. They were awesome, and I loved the show too.” It made her feel a bit childish to admit such a thing, but then again, she was talking about her childhood here. “Your sister is probably right, though. Not enough people appreciate Transformers like we do,” Mars told him with a sigh. “Still, Jean is a good name.”

She looked at Jean with a small smile. “Yeah, my dad was a good man." It wasn't a subject she was willing to dwell on, however.

“All right!” She said brightly to change the subect, “Come on over here.” The mechanic moved back to the car and pointed at the transmission. “As we’ve already established, this car is old. We’re going to need to replace a lot of the stuff under the hood and inside the cabin. What I need you to do is look around and point out anything that looks really old or like it’s falling apart, and I’ll add it to the list I’m making.” She pointed back towards the bench.

“Just be careful while you rummage around,” she sternly added, “I don’t need anyone getting hurt the first day.” Tamara didn’t like being a killjoy, but she could potentially lose her job with all the safety precautions the school had in place. Seriously, people treated kids like they were made of porcelain or something. After that little warning was over with, she went back to grinning. “The only real danger is getting dirty, though. Feel free to ask questions as you look around.”

((No apology necessary. Obviously, I’m just as bad. xD))

[Jean Manne]

Jean felt his face split in a huge grin. And this lady liked Transformers. This was swiftly becoming his favorite class. “The show is so cool. My mom wouldn’t let me see the new movie when it came out though.” He pouted, remembering the past slight, “She said it was too intense. We saw it at home, though. It was so not a big deal at all.” Jean rolled his eyes, shaking his head slightly.

Jean followed Tamara over to the car like a happy puppy and peered under the hood again. Everything looked like a mess of tangled wires and bolts and rust. Awesome. He listened to Tamara intently, excited that he was being entrusted with the task. “Find the old stuff. Point it out. ‘Kay.” He hesitated, “Um. I don’t know any car part names, so should I just like… point?” He wasn’t sure what to expect, but he didn’t want his new teacher thinking he couldn’t handle it. Because he totally could.

“I will be super careful.” Jean promised, nodding seriously. At the mention of getting dirty, Jean grinned again. He liked getting dirty. It was one of the things his mom bemoaned most about him. Jean liked looking filthy after an activity. He felt it made him look more legit. Like he actually did a job.

He peeked under the hood. This… thing. Looked old. Jean peered at the mass of metal and bolts before looking up at Tamara sheepishly. “Um… This… thing? It looks old. I don’t know what it is though.” He poked it to show Tamara what he was talking about. Some kind of pipe thing stretching from one side to another.

[Tamara DaCosta]

Whether or not the kid actually thought the movie wasn’t scary (Tamara couldn’t tell if he actually meant what he said or if he was just trying to be tough), Jean’s attitude amused her to no end. Bravery was something she loved to see in kids, as long as they weren’t using it as an excuse to talk back to her or not do their work. Regardless, she thought he was an adorable kid, and while this was becoming his favorite class, he was quickly becoming one of her favorite students.

She nodded. “Yeah, that’ll work just fine. I wouldn’t expect you to know much yet anyway. I can tell you the names if you want, but we’ll cover the parts in more detail in class.” This was more of an exercise to get the kid interested in the class than to actually test his knowledge, and she didn’t mind that he wasn’t familiar with the part names.

Mars went back to the bench to retrieve her notebook then joined Jean by the car again. She started to rummage around and jot stuff down with terrifying speed. This thing really was in an awful state. When Jean spoke up, she stopped to look at what he found. “Yep, good call,” she praised. The mechanic wrote down the objects name, showed it to the boy, and explained what it was for. “So anything else you see that looks as bad as that, tell me.”

The only problem was that everything looked that bad. The teacher finally realized this fact as she went back to identifying things that need to be replaced. “Hm,” she pondered allowed, “Maybe it’ll be easier if I assume everything needs to be fixed and just write down things that don’t need to be replaced.” It would have been nice if she thought of that sooner. “What do you think?”

[Jean Manne]

“Ummm….” Jean looked at the car quizzically. “I think everything in here looks like that. Except for that thing.” Jean pointed into the mess of wires and rust, “That thing looks worse.” Seriously, what did the past owners do to this car anyway?

Jean was a little relieved when Tamara came to help him out by the car. He didn’t want to accidentally mess something up on his first day of class. That would just suck. He watched with wide eyes as Tamara started speeding through the inspection, jotting things down and taking things out without hardly even looking at it. It was totally awesome. “How long d’you havta work with cars before you know all the parts and stuff?” Jean imagined it must be a really long time, since there were so many parts.

At Tamara’s suggestion Jean nodded, wiping his grease-stained hands on his jeans absently, “Yeah, I think that’s prob’ly a good idea.” He looked up at Tamara eagerly, “So what do we do now? Do we take it apart?

[ooc: this is teeny >.<;; sorry!]

[Tamara DaCosta]

Jean made a very good point. Everything did look that bad, and individually pointing out that every single part of the car had to be replaced was just going to be a waste of their time. It also meant that waiting for replacements would be horrendous, as would placing the order for all those parts. Tamara raked her scalp and sighed. "I guess we should just scrap the whole thing, huh?" She did find it in a junkyard, and who knows how long it had been sitting there rusting before she picked it up.

"Hmm," she pondered as she stuffed her notebook back into her pocket. "A few years, I guess. It wasn't like I actually spent time studying it, I just worked in the shop a lot." After so many days of coming into the shop after school as a kid, it just became natural. Like learning to play a new game rather than working. "Although it did take a while for me to get to try everything." How was that for an indefinite answer?

She smiled at the boy, not really noticing the clean pants abuse. "Not right now, I want to do that with the entire class," she informed him. After all, dismantling it would be half of the work. "But we will do that eventually." For now, since she couldn't mark down all the needed parts all at once, they would have to wait, but maybe she could save some time by getting the rest of the class involved. Mars closed the hood as she thought about it, then went over to the bench and pulled a tarp out of a bin. "We'll keep it covered up for now. A secret project," she told him with a grin and a wink. "Help me toss this over it, will yah?"

[Jean Manne]

“I guess.” Jean said reluctantly, looking at the old, mangled car. “What are you gonna do with it?” Jean couldn’t imagine why they would keep it around if they weren’t going to do anything with it, but it was kinda cool. It would be a shame to totally get rid of it. Maybe they were just gonna work on it later. Jean glanced around at the empty classroom. Maybe when there were more people…

“That’s cool.” Jean grinned up at his teacher, “I bet it was kind of hard. Like learning to ride a bike? Or… playing an instrument?” His parents could play instruments. Jean never had the patience to learn anything like that, but it looked cool. He wondered if he would have the patience to learn auto stuff. He hoped so. It looked really awesome. Wait until he told Ginny…

“Okay!” Jean grinned and grabbed ahold of the other end of the tarp, helping his teacher pull it over the car. “So what do we do now?”