|
|
Post by Professor Charles Xavier on May 21, 2009 16:31:51 GMT -5
(I'm an English major, so I'll try to use what I've learned in class.)
Staring through the window, Professor Xavier waited patiently for his pupils to arrive. As usual, he was early for his literature class. Though some claimed he had gone through personality changes, he was still punctual as always. He hoped the students would follow suit. They never did. Such was to be expected.
There seemed to be less and less for him to do recently. He could see that the X-men had adapted to his absence, taking on his roles when he was presumed dead. He was proud of how efficiently they could they could run the school without him, but at the same time, he had a gnawing feeling inside to want to be needed.
He arranged the pens on his desk. The professor ran his fingers against the neat stacks of printed paper and waited for the students.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jasmine Leigh Markus on May 21, 2009 20:49:08 GMT -5
Jasmine was on time for class. Well, at least she thought she was. A quick glance at her watch told her she was three minutes early. Oh well, it was her first day of classes, she was allowed to be excited! She smiled at the Professor as she walked through the door. "Um... Hi Sir. I'm not sure if you were told about me. I'm Jasmine, I'm new." She explained in a little voice. She could feel his deep longing to be needed. That made her feel bad. She would make sure he felt needed. She could also feel his disappointment that his students weren't punctual. Well, she promised herself that she would always be on time for his class. She wanted him to feel happy.
|
|
|
|
Post by Professor Charles Xavier on May 21, 2009 21:50:03 GMT -5
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Jasmine," he replied. "Forgive me for not coming to your acquaintance earlier. I have only recently returned to the manor after a three-year leave of absence. Usually I meet each of my students personally, but lately I have not had the chance. I have been busy with my headmaster duties." The truth was that he normally used telepathy to sense his students. However, his telepathy was quite limited ever since his return to the school. He could not telepathically connect to all his students, especially since he could no longer use Cerebro.
"I hope you enjoy literature class. It seems the majority of the class is rather tardy today. It is difficult to attract students to a literature class unless Twilight and Harry Potter are added to the list of novels."
|
|
|
|
Post by Jasmine Leigh Markus on May 22, 2009 0:14:06 GMT -5
Jasmine smiled. "That's okay. I know you're busy. A lot of people rely on you." She replied, remembering his yearning. She listened to him, fascinated with the way he spoke and moved. She loved to watch people. They were so interesting! She laughed when he mentioned Twilight and Harry Potter. "Heh. I can imagine. Although I much preferred Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies. I love the different levels you can read them at. Like with animal Farm, you can read it as a story about animals on a Farm, or an insight into Communism. It's interesting."
|
|
|
|
Post by Professor Charles Xavier on May 22, 2009 11:45:56 GMT -5
"It is astonishing what can be hidden in a book, what remains buried secretly beneath the layers of literary sediment. The work of the reader to search beyond the superficial, to dig deeper and inspect the ground more carefully. Only then can one find the true meaning of the text," he replied. He looked at his watch. It was two minutes past the time when class should have started, and Jasmine was the only student who had arrived. He sighed.
"And thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges," he commented. "Shakespeare. Twelfth Night. We will be learning about Shakespeare in class. That is, of course, if the rest chooses to grace us with their presence."
|
|
|
|
Post by Jasmine Leigh Markus on May 22, 2009 19:09:34 GMT -5
Jasmine nodded, fascinated. She liked this teacher. She liked the way he spoke to her, not as if she were a child, but as an equal. She smiled as he quoted Shakespeare. She loved Shakespeare. "Are we going to study a particular text or the man in general?" She asked, very happy with the few moments they were getting to themselves.
|
|
|
|
Post by Professor Charles Xavier on May 23, 2009 20:35:36 GMT -5
"We will be studying Shakespeare's sonnets. I want to focus on poetry for the semester. I feel that, at times, poetry is neglected in literature classes. I have prepared both classic and modern poetry. I believe the class will be able to relate to a diverse range of selections." Professor Xavier wanted to remove the obstacle of having the students read lengthy chapters. He knew that they would often skip the reading and depend on Cliff's Notes. If they were too lazy to read a page or two of poetry, then there was no hope of engaging them in learning. But he was optimistic that those who skipped the reading would be few.
Time was passing, and the students still hadn't arrived. This created a deep disappointment in him, though he didn't say it. How could an entire class be tardy? He wondered if there were some emergency or if he had forgotten to post the schedule.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jasmine Leigh Markus on May 25, 2009 7:38:06 GMT -5
Jasmine smiled. “Ah. The sonnets. He did some lovely ones.” She said, remembering her collection of Shakespeare plays at home. She wished she’d brought them. She thought for a second. “You know, there’s a good one…” She trailed off, thinking hard “What’s it called? Um… Eve to her Daughters? By that Australian Poet Judith Wright. And another one… I think it was Five Ways to Kill a Man, I don’t remember who wrote that one though.” She said.
She felt his deep disappointment and it made her terribly sad. She concentrated for a minute. She’d never been able to separate different emotions to take away, so she took them all. She reached out into his mind, trying to take his emotions. His disappointment doubled inside her, slowly etching it’s way into her heart. She frowned slightly and took it. So maybe he was emotionless, but it was better than sad.
|
|
|
|
Post by Professor Charles Xavier on May 25, 2009 16:03:57 GMT -5
Professor Xavier's disappointment suddenly vanished, replaced by a sense of vacuous neutrality. He was surprised that his emotions had taken such a turn, but he assumed that perhaps he was learning to accept the students' apathy. It was for the best. The situation could not improve if he focused on disappointment and pessimism.
He noticed Jasmine looked a bit sad but did not question it. After all, most of the adolescents in the manor came from difficult backgrounds. It wasn't easy being a mutant these days, even with President Staines' newfound positive attitude towards mutants.
"Edwin Brock," he replied. "Indeed, a poem that explores the complexities of war and cruelty in the 20th century. It is a such pity that people have to lose their lives for no reason at all. If only humanity were different, we would not have to deal with so much strife."
He studied carefully Jasmine to watch her reaction. He had sensed that she was growing to like him, and he hope that would coax her listen to him.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jasmine Leigh Markus on May 26, 2009 7:03:25 GMT -5
Jasmine had to work hard to concentrate on keeping his emotions away from him. It was difficult. It was as if his mind had it’s own natural barriers. But she wasn;t going to let him be sad.
Edwin Brock
Edwin Brock…
That was it!
“Yeah, Edwin Brock. But it wasn’t the humanity I was interested in, it was the comments on it. I mean, the way he put into simple- even cold words, the way we treat each other. It was very matter-of-fact. I loved it!” She enthused.
|
|
|
|
Post by Quickdraw on Jun 5, 2009 1:05:39 GMT -5
"Is this, uh . . . let me look a second." A slightly muscular blonde girl with short hair burst through the door. She stared at the schedule in her pale hands. "Is this Literature 101 with Professor Charles Xavier? I wasn't sure if it was the right room. There's a sign on the door that says 'CLASS CANCELED.' I didn't trust it because it looked it was written in lipstick. You had to look really hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure of it." Normally she would take any chance to miss class, but she heard this class was really easy. Besides, she was eager to meet the mysterious headmaster. People were saying all sorts of crazy rumors about him. Someone from her gym class told her that he was really an alien who took the body of the professor and used it like a fur coat. One pudgy boy at lunch told her that Xavier was a zombie risen from the dead and that he ate people's brains at night. Whoever he was, he sounded interesting, and she wanted to know why he was here.
She looked at the girl who was talking to Xavier. She seemed like sweet and innocent type, a bit girly. Marcy was sure that the girl was the type her parents would love. But most girls were like that, anyway.
|
|
