Tyler smiled slightly at his class as they assembled. No lab supplies were in evidence, just a TV at the front of the room. "Morning. I'm going to take a wild guess that most of you are thinking more about Homecoming, less about class today, so I hope I'm not going to make you suffer too much. We're just watching a video here and then we're going outside for the experiment -- the Diet Coke-Mentos eruption."

He cued up a DVD player at the front of class. "This is an episode of Mythbusters showing the science behind what we're going to do. I would have a lecture, but, really, I wouldn't say anything the magic box won't already tell you. These guys are good."

The episode played, explaining that the reaction, in which Mentos dropped into a bottle of Diet Coke produce a fountain as tall as a person, is a product of the caffeine, potassium benzoate, aspartame, and carbon dioxide in the Diet Coke and the gelatin and gum arabic in the Mentos, as well as the rough surface of the candies.

When it was over, Tyler turned off the TV. "And now, you get to do this yourself. Grab a buddy and we're going outside. I have Mentos, Certs, M&Ms, Skittles, Diet Coke, regular Coke, and plain soda water, plus Diet Pepsi, so you can play around and see what makes the best fountain."

"Remember, no class next week, week after that your midterm experiments are due."

Meeting in the Danger Shop, the class would possibly be surprised by old, sketchy bowling alley before them. Lucky for students, the concessions (while completely not real due to Danger Shopness) were open and free to all.

"Today you bowl. I've been told this is a time-honored Earth tradition involving beer, one-on-one combat, and broken fingers. For non-Earthlings, it's easy enough. Pick up the ball and toss it down the lane hitting all the pins." As Ronon spoke, he demonstrated, failing to use the finger holes in the ball as he sent it barreling down the lane, managing a strike for his trouble. "You break a finger, see Hannibal. No hitting people with the bowling ball unless it's necessary." He was kidding, sort of, but he said nothing about not hitting people with pins.

"Dress out and meet on the lanes."

Upon entering the Danger Shop, the students were greeted with a door and a whiteboard. The messy writing, all in capital letters, read

'GO THROUGH THE DOOR ALONE OR IN PAIRS. MAKE FRIENDS. DON'T GET KILLED. WHEN THE PROGRAM FREEZES, YOU CAN LEAVE.

THE DOCTOR'

The Doctor wasn't present, but chances were he was around somewhere.

Okay! It was Rikku's very first meeting as editor. Not that she was nervous. Okay, she was, but she remembered to bring pastries and coffee, and so she wasn't doing too badly at this editor gig so far. Uh. Right?

(OOC: Welcome, new paper-ites! Please check your invites and be sure to join fhightimes to see fun things like the OOC planning posts. There was an e-mail that went out, too -- if you didn't get it, let me know?)

It was the first meeting of the Young Entrepreneurs Club and, even with everything buzzing in Turtle's head for homecoming, she was ready to go and very excited and even a little bit nervous, although things like this should be old hat for her. She waited until everyone came into the classroom before greeting them.

"Hello! Thank you all for joining Young Entrepreneurs! Hopefully, we'll have a very good semester and make a little money, because that's what entrepreneuring is all about! Today, we're going to introduce ourselves by way of one of the most important items an entrepreneur can have: a business card. If you already have a business card, great! If you don't, there's some sturdy paper, pen, and markers, and you can make a makeshift one, with your name, what sort of business you're really interested in, or anything else you'd like to include. Mine has a little Turtle & Canary emblem in the corner, see? So let's take a few minutes to do that and then we'll just chat and stuff today!

"For next week, I'd like you all to think of lots of great ideas on what we can produce this semester to sell for the benefit of the club, okay?"

[[ ocd a'coming just got approved for a business start-up loan! ]]

The facts were these: Ned...had never run a club before. He was sure that fact was incredibly hard to tell but, yes, he'd never run anything even like a club before.

So, equipped with a cookbook and a pie (might as well bake one for the first club), he found his way to the classroom and gotten it set up as many hours of research had suggested. That was done.

He even wrote COOKING CLUB on the board just in case anyone got confused. You know, like Ned himself.

Once people had found their way into the classroom, Ned nervously stood up and said, "Um, hi. Some of you know me, some of you don't. I'm Ned and this is the cooking club. I did some research..." And he hoped no one laughed at him for that. "...and the first club meeting should generally just be an icebreaker so...let's just do names and favorite food. You can add in cooking experience, if you want to and if you have it. Otherwise, we'll just do something nice and easy to get to know each other."

He cleared his throat. "Anyway, yeah, I'm Ned and my favorite food is pie, obviously. I'm partial to apple pies. I've been cooking since I was about nine, mostly desserts but I'm pretty good with any recipes. So...anyone else?"

[Delicious OCD is a coming up!]

Murdock had a TV in the classroom today, but before he got to putting on a movie about a a famous bomber, he had a few notes for the class.

(ocd up in a few)

Today's lunch was Chinese food. Nathan was in the mood.

"Great job to all of you for the work you've been putting in on Homecoming so far," Nathan said. "Today's meeting is for all of you to coordinate any last minute details. You can also feel free to vent about any frustrations." Nathan gave them all a grin. "We'll consider those off the record.

"Our next meeting will be after the break. I'm here if you have questions. And I've taken care of chaperones for the dance, so you can cross that off of the list."

[ooc: OCD is up! Also congrats to Harvey who is our StuCo president, WOOO!]

"You can tell people what to do but they're not necessarily going to agree with you," Nathan said. "In order to get that agreement you need to motivate them."
( Cut tags motivate you to click... we hope )

[ooc: OCD is up!]

Sam had more coffee with him than was possibly necessary as he went to open the library. He was thinking about Homecoming, and how his excitement about possibly getting to go with Peter was balanced out by worrying about who might come back to visit. It was definitely going to be a day of reading to distract himself from thinking about that more.

"Welcome back," Miss Elizabeth Bennet smiled. "As you recall, at the end of last week's class, I asked you to obtain a copy of either Randolph Park or Amelia, were you able to do so, or both, if you were particularly inclined. Rest assured that there is no punishment for not reading either, and I shall try to keep this discussion on a level which all of you will be able to follow.

( Jane Austen was Wrong )

(OOC: I wrote up a meta-ing for the names of the major characters in the two books, so we wouldn't keep tripping over each other in inventing them. You can find that here.)

There weren't any cooking implements today. There was, however, some popcorn.

And what looked like a television that had seen better days. For some reason Deadpool had decided the school needed an AV department that reflected highschools across the country. Luckily for the school and all sanity involved, he got bored after one TV and decided to just have it be the random television in his classroom.

...

He missed Fabian so damn much right now.

"Good morning kids! Today, you're all going to watch the proper way to treat food and travel. The Anthony Bourdain way. So, start smoking, swearing and being as bitchy as humanly possible!"

A beat.

"Okay, so I copped out on this class. Cut me some slack! I have an AV department to plan!"

Zoe would never even know what hit her! Seriously.

"Enjoy!"

A map was hanging on the classroom wall behind Mohinder. "Congratulations," he started. "You're all lucky enough not to be living on a plate margin, and consequently are much less likely to be caught in an earthquake."

"The power behind an earthquake is stunning. Seismic waves running out from an epicentre to upset the surface with faults and slippage - it can be incredibly destructive at a great distance. Especially if the centre is underwater," Mohinder went on, explaining faults and tsunamis.

"With something of so much potential it's vital that we understand it, that we do our best to defend ourselves against the storm that nature has thrown at us. To that end there are efforts to predict not only the regions likely to produce earthquakes, but also more exactly when they will happen."

Mohinder started to pass handouts on earthquake modelling and seisometers. "You should have all you need to either model a quake or detect one."

[OCD has hit!]

Gavin hadn't ever really run a club before so he figured the first one, he could just kind of wing it and hope someone told if he was doing it wrong. If John told him he was doing it wrong, John was getting smacked in the head.

Maybe.

Anyway, it was the first meeting of the Flight Club and it was taking place at the flight shed. Gavin had some snacks and drinks set up on a small table he'd brought. Snacks always made it better, right?

"Hey guys," he said when everyone finally arrived. "Welcome to the first meeting of this semester's flight club. I'm, uh, Gavin and some of you probably know that. For those that don't, I'm a senior and I've been flying X-Wings for about two years now. Since this is the first meeting, I figure we'll introduce ourselves, tell what, if any, flight experience we have and in what way we fly and then we can just go from there. Our adviser's Professor Skywalker and he's a much better flier than I am."

With that, he nodded and waited for everyone else to introduce themselves.

[OCD is coming up!]

The Danger Shop was set up like classy, high-stakes casino, with Bond sitting in the dealer's position at a large poker table, idly shuffling a deck of cards.

"Today we'll be looking at gambling," he began, once the class was seated. "The kind you play against an opponent, rather than relying on luck, or the skills of people or animals other than yourself, simply because they rely on on the kind of skill sets that it would be frowned upon for me to teach you." As opposed to teaching them to play cards, yes.

"However," he continued. "The game is not stud, nor baccarat, nor Texas Hold'em. Instead you will be merely cutting the cards, since today, I'm going to be teaching you about bluffing, which is one of the most important skills a gambler, or anyone else for that matter can possess."

Bond then went on to explain bluffing as it applied to poker, and some of the ways you could pick up on if your opponent was bluffing or not, displaying a remarkable poker face the entire time. "Now, I want you all to pair off, and each of you will pick a card from the deck, I then want you to bluff your opponent as to the value of your card, betting on who has the higher value. You can play multiple games against multiple opponents if you wish, or watch a particularly interesting match so long as you don't overly interfere."

[ooc: wait for ocd up.]

[Class Roster|Previous Classes]

"This is our last class before fall break. I hope you enjoy your time off and conduct yourselves as gentlemen and ladies during your leisure days. When you return, we'll jump right into the midterm project which will be half of your grade."

"Today we're discussing pregnancy." He took a moment to look out at the class. "Procreation," he said finally, "is a divine gift. Sex is not inherently evil or sinful. When two people join together within the bonds of wedlock, they not only experience the joy of exploring the bodies God has given them but they also have a chance to create new life."

"Each of you began as a collection of cells barely large enough to be visible to the naked eye and now look at you! You are each intelligent, individual beings capable of creating new life yourself! It's little wonder that the appearance of a new child in this world is called a 'miracle.' But this is a miracle we can understand. Today we'll discuss how an egg," he held up one hand, cupping the air, "and a sperm," he cupped the air with his other hand, "join together and develop into a baby." He clasped his hands together.

He brought out the slide projector again and discussed prenatal development from fertilization to birth.

When the lights came back up, Edward brought out five Empathy Bellies. "Thanks to modern technology, each of you can experience a simulation of a new life growing within you. Join up with your groups and make sure everyone has a chance to try out the belly!"

( Groups )

Karal had a headache, which was why he was sitting at the counter, sipping willowbark tea.

The headache showed no inclination to leave, having been welcomed by the pile of work he'd received from home, so he was trying to negotiate a peace with it.

There were things he wanted to read about today, things that didn't involve problems he was expected to solve. Altra was curled up on the desk near Karal's mug, purring quietly.

"When it comes to the matter of superhuman strength," Jean-Paul began his lecture today, "my options were many and varied. I finally decided, in the interests of fairness, on someone who is not a mutant." He turned on the projector. "Meet the Hulk. Horrible doses of radiation do not always kill; sometimes they turn you into an incredibly strong, tough being with the intellect of a tantrum-prone two-year-old. But I would not take the risk. The Hulk also poses a problem of mass I will not get into at this time. Curiously, the angrier the Hulk gets, the stronger he gets; this perhaps is tied to adrenaline production. No one really understands his biology. He can break tanks and support mountains on his back. Obviously, his muscle structure is very different from a normal human.

"But superstrength is not always caused by superhuman means. Consider the case of Liam Hoekstra, a child from Michigan in a mundane universe who, thanks to a genetic disorder, is capable of feats of strength and agility Olympic gymnasts would envy.

"Your assignment for today is to break into pairs and discuss some of the advantages and drawbacks of superstrength. Begin."

Anemone was a bit late opening the library because her mun has been convinced all day that today was Weds, but she hoped Dr. Jones wasn't going to mind too much.

If he did, well, she had cookies.

[OOC: I fail at keeping the days of the week straight. OCD-Free, SP disclaimer applies.]

When the students came into the Danger Room, they found John leaning against the by-now familiar black car, the main street of a small town behind him.

"Good afternoon," John said when they all had arrived. ( Your mission should you choose to accept it... )

[ooc: wait for the ocd's!are up]

If any of the members arrived at the originally scheduled time, they would find a note on the classroom door:

Meeting postponed until 5, due to cheerleading try-outs. Sorry for an inconvenience! Come back in an hour and bring any instruments with you if you have any. --Chad.

And so when five o'clock rolled around and try-outs were over, Chad and his guitar and his naked cat were there in the classroom, ready to get the first meeting started. He waited until a good amount of people had filed in before saying anything, although he strummed on his guitar a little while waiting.

"Sorry about the hold-back," he started out, "but cheerleading's moved back to Wednesday, so today's the only time there'd be a conflict. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Yasutora Sado, and everyone calls me Chad, and I started this club because...well..."

There was a bit of a pause; he thoughtfully strummed an upscale on his guitar.

"Music's important. It's kind of one of the most basic, visceral expressions of the human experience. Except maybe, like, sex or something. But, anyway, yeah. I don't have a lot of big plans for this club, just to get together, talk about music, play music, jam a bit, recommend music, maybe do some performances or something, and I don't know. You guys are just as much in charge of it as I am. So let's at least get to know each other today? Maybe, if you brought an instrument or like to sing, do a little experimental jamming?"

He shrugged. "And stuff."

[[ ocd on the way~ is now rocking in the free world! ]]

Hoshi waited for everyone to arrive before starting. "Lulu had something come up, so you guys get to deal with me instead," she began. "Today, we're going to be cooking with rice. It's a pretty basic staple found in cuisines all over the world, so it's always a good thing to have on hand. You can make so many things with it, from arroz con pollo to biryani to congee. We're going to make something as little less exotic today, but if you want any recipes, let me know."

She passed out a handout before continuing. "Butternut squash risotto is great at this time of year. Squash looks like a scary ingredient to work with, but all you really have to do is cut it in half, remove the seeds, peel the skin and dice it. If you've carved a pumpkin before, then you can handle squash. With the risotto, the key is to thoroughly coat the rice with oil and cook it a bit before slowly adding the stock. I'd suggest you work in pairs so you can divide the work up."

"Welcome back, guys," Lily greeted the class once they'd arrived. "Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Plus Monday. There's really no good opening on a Tuesday, you know? ( cut for happy trees! )

Today the class was meeting in the Danger Room.

"Welcome to your midterm," Anakin said, pacing across the flight deck of a ship. Behind him, thousands of pricks of lights showed that a space battle had been paused for him to talk. "Today, you will get to be Jedi."

( Episode III, yay! )

She was quite pleased to see her class this morning, considering, and as they filed in, they might notice more lab equipment up on the tables, as well as a handout.

"Today, we will be working with Gold, the noblest element in alchemical study. No doubt, upon hearing the word 'alchemy', you thought of 'making gold', but as you will hopefully learn as the semester progresses, such a search is far more of a spiritual and mental concern for the modern alchemist than a physical one.

( Gold... )

[ocd coming up!][also, thank you Mr. Kollerstrom]