A homework assignment for a professor - OTA

[aquawayfinder]

Who: Aqua and anyone who wanders into the open lounge
What: Aqua has been tasked to watch Romcoms. Thank you, Emma Frost.
Where: An open public lounge, since she has no clue how to work the DVD player on her computer.
When: Backdated - Middle of the day, April 7th
Warnings: Will add if needed.


Having been assigned by Emma to watch romantic comedies in order to potentially understand the point in having a date when she chaparones prom, Aqua has done what she has always done when facing a task at this school. She went to the library and took out research material.

Armed with every Romcom the school library had in stock, and wondering why the librarian had looked quite so amused, she found a lounge that no one was using and put in the first DVD. She turned on the player, and sat down to watch.

This... lasted a whole minute before she was up and pacing. She really didn't like sitting still. But... she reminded herself, this was a task, a challenge set before her. A skill to learn and master.

So she sat back down and worked on mastery as she watched, focusing both on the movie and the restraint to stay sitting.

Anyone want to come laugh at the confused look on her face?

Comments

[soccerwhisperer]

Tenma was "taking a break" from homework, really. He had other classes to go to later, and soccer practice after that, so there was no time to settle down and do it, honest. Unfortunately for him, the grass outside was still slippery, and all indoor facilities had been booked at the moment for other sports teams that happened to have more members (that cursed greedy basketball team...).

He doesn't poke his head in the lounge, as much as casually stroll in. He stops mid-stride, finding something a little off about the state of the lounge, and couldn't help but gawk.

One of the more serious teachers?

Watching romantic comedies??

"Ummmm?"

He didn't mean it. The sound just came out.

[aquawayfinder]

She glanced up and paused it, giving him a warm smile. Mastery said she should not make excuses to shirk her task, and she wouldn't, but helping the students was a larger task.

She stood and stretched. "May I be of assistance?" she asked.

[soccerwhisperer]

He nearly jumped at the sound of her voice. He shook his head and waved his hands about like a famous puppet frog.

"N--No! I just...! I mean!"

The words just kept spilling out.

"I didn't... expect? This?" He punctuated awkwardly, trying to search his limited English vocabulary for words.

[aquawayfinder]

"This?" she asked, unsure. "I do not know what you are concerned over. How can I be of assistance?"

[soccerwhisperer]

"I don't need any help, I was just walking." He breathed, relieved he managed to say at least that much without fumbling too much. He looked down at the coffee table, at the pile of DVDs. From what he could gather, they were all romantic comedies, adding more fuel to his confusion. He knew it was rude to ask, but at the same time, it would make things a little less awkward to have something to talk about.

"Are you marathoning movies?"

[aquawayfinder]

She gave a small nod. "I believe that is the proper term in English, yes. Miss Frost said that I should watch these to understand the point that she was making. As of now, I fear I am failing in my comprehension, however, I have only started."

She would put in the work, the effort. "Have you watched any of these before?" she asked. Working with others to learn is something she is comfortable with, and she was a fellow student far longer than she's been a Master or professor.

[soccerwhisperer]

"Miss Frost is scary and confusing." Tenma admitted, looking down.

Aqua's question made him blush a little. "I've seen a few of the Japanese ones. My best friend growing up was a girl, so she made me watch a few." That's not even including the girl's manga she made him flip through to understand what she was talking about. It was only fair, she said. He made her go through all those soccer match archives after all.

[psykick]

"Master Aqua, I wouldn't have thought you were a romcom fan!"

Rinka had been looking for a place to do some reading for her English class, but what she'd found in the lounge was much more interesting. Friendly but serious Master Aqua watching movies. And not just any movies, romantic comedies. Which Rinka happened to love.

"Though, he is... how do you say in English... dreamboat?"

[aquawayfinder]

"I... am not certain I understand the term," she said, a bit confused. It was hard to tell if she meant Romcom or Dreamboat, though.

"I was assigned by Miss Frost to watch romantic comedies, to better understand a point she is making, so I am doing my best to do so," Aqua said.

[psykick]

Rinka had to bite back a giggle. The thought of using romantic movies to prove some sort of point was a funny one.

"What point is she trying to make, if I might ask?"

[aquawayfinder]

"I am not entirely certain," Aqua admitted. "Something having to do with my taking a date when I act as chaperone at the prom."

[psykick]

As chaperones at Rinka's school activities hadn't paired off as dates, she didn't quite get what Emma Frost was trying to accomplish either. But maybe there was something to be gleaned from the romcoms.

"Well, maybe she means for you to have someone to converse with so you don't feel lonely at the dance?"

After all, in the movies, no one went to dances alone if they could help it.

[aquawayfinder]

"I do not understand why one would feel lonely at a dance. The point is that there are other people present, yes? It is a public event. And I should not be spending my time conversing for my own pleasure, I am there to aid and assist the students. Is this not the job of a chaperone?"

[shiningscales]

When Caelius stepped into the lounge, he didn't think much of the movie playing. Romantic comedies weren't exactly an interest of his, but it was a public lounge; there was no reason anyone should have any less right to watch them here than anything else.

The intensity of Aqua's expression, on the other hand, did make him double-take, Caelius glancing between Aqua and the television set to verify the content of the movie on-screen. For a woman watching a romcom, she looked awfully severe.

For a moment, he hesitated. Should he... interrupt her? Finally, though, he awkwardly cleared his throat.

"... Miss?"

[aquawayfinder]

She paused the movie grateful for an excuse to take a break. She unfolded herself from the sofa, to stand, needing to stretch out her muscles.

"Yes?" she asked. "How can I be of assistance?"

[shiningscales]

"Oh, no." He shook his head. "I was actually wondering if you needed any help. You were making--quite a face."

[aquawayfinder]

She winced. "I apologize, I thought I had kept my expression more controlled." If her confusion and disgust had shown through, she needed to work on her mastery. She wished, not for the first time, that Terra and Ven were with her. They were skilled at reading her face, and giving feedback.

"I am just working on the assignment from Miss Frost. I did not mean to upset or concern anyone."

[shiningscales]

He waved a hand, brushing aside her apology. He was the nosy one, after all, so there was no need for her to do that. "No, no, you don't need to apologize. Ah, but, if you don't mind me asking... 'Assignment'?"

Maybe he should have let her get back to it. But considering what she had been watching, he had to wonder...

[aquawayfinder]

"Miss Frost was attempting to explain to me the purpose in my bringing a date to the prom, despite my having no interest in romance, and my being aware that at any time I may no longer be here."

"We wound up on a cycle of the same questions and answers, with no further comprehension on either side, so she assigned me these movies so that I could understand her point."

She sighed slightly. "I must admit I am still failing to comprehend, however I am yet early in the stack."

[koukai_kirai]

Hijikata doesn't spend much time in any of the lounges. He's not a public sort of person, in general -- he does his lounging in his own quarters, by and large, and ventures out mostly when he needs to get something done.

Today, he has something to get done. Specifically, he's looking for something -- a book that Souji hinted was maybe somewhere on this floor. He walks into the room, looks around...

The first odd thing he notices is Aqua, who has always struck him as very serious and professional, boggling at something on screen. Which appears to be... a late-90s starlet whose name he can't call to mind, talking to a B-list actress about her Ideal Man.

Then he sees the stack of similar movies all piled up next to her, and just... looks at her, and raises an eyebrow.

[aquawayfinder]

Hearing someone come in, she paused the movie, doing her best to restrain the flash of gratitude that wants to show across her face. Instead, she gave him a warm smile as she unfolded herself from the sofa.

It felt so good to move. She never understood how some people enjoyed staying in one place for so long.

"Hello," she said with a warm smile. "Can I assist you?"

[koukai_kirai]

He gives the screen one last, lingering look of confusion, then shakes his head.

"...Looking for a book. You haven't seen one in here, have you?"

[aquawayfinder]

She dug around under the movies and picked up a few novels that had somehow been handed off to her along with them, all the same sort as the movies, then found the book she was using to make notes, and the book on philosophy she brought that she would rather be reading.

"Any specific book?" she asked. "There were also a few on the end table over there, when I came in. Can I help you search?"

She tried not to sound too eager, but she was about ready to rip her own hair out rather than watch any more of these movies. They made no sense. Only her Mastery had kept her in her seat, enduring the... torture.

[koukai_kirai]

"If you'd like." She sounded almost desperately eager for the escape of being allowed to help, in that moment. It seemed somehow cruel not to let her have it.

"It's about this big. Green cover. Written in Japanese -- it's a poetry collection from the 18th century, if you can read Japanese. I'm not sure if it's in this room, or somewhere else around here."

[aquawayfinder]

"A little," she said. She started walking around, to help him look. "Tales of Ise?" she guessed. She wasn't sure of the century on that, but it was one of the few tomes of poetry she could name off the top of her head, and she was pretty sure that one had been Japanese, hadn't it?