Monty glared down at his electives sheet, stumped. He had been told that monster hunting would be good preparation for the police training, but he also had cooking and horticulture. He was fine with either, but it basically meant choosing between his sister and his best friend. He doubted Nancy would take cooking, as she already had enough teaching in that and he believed she had mentioned something about horticulture, but he knew Feli would take cooking. He bit his lip, lost in thought, before deciding to give up and ask his partner. Tuning back into the conversation, he turned to Regis. First he had to finish the conversation at hand, it would be rude not to.
"Wow uh, that's quite a lot. That must be quite useful. Personally, I only know some basic survival training. But hey, it's kept me alive this long!" He responded, laughing awkwardly. He hoped his partner didn't mind Monty's humor, it was the only way he could think of to lighten the situation.
"So wait, you taught that all to yourself?" He lifted one of his brows at his partner in confusion. Felicity had told him it was a habit of his, though she never specified ether it was good or bad. Seeing as he often did it towards her, he suspected she meant bad.
"That's pretty neat. Uh, but..." Dang, now he was getting awkward again. Was there a polite way to ask your partner why they were alone all the time? Maybe he liked being alone? Monty hoped this wasn't the case, as he himself hated being alone, and was hoping to be able to befriend his partner. Well, he would ask carefully. Yes, that would do, just be very subtle about it. "But why? I mean, uh, what about your parents?" He trailed off, wincing. Well, so much for being careful about offending his partner.
He was about to apologize when a knock interrupted the conversation. One of the volunteers stepped into the room, grinning. "Sorry to interrupt y'all, but there's been a bit of a change bout your electives. Turns out, monster hunting is mandatory now! Something bout 'curriculum requirements' for next year or somethin'. Anyways, y'all have fun with that!" And with a wink at the two she was back out the door.
Monty stood for a minute, processing what had been said. "Well uh, guess that takes care of that." He said to himself, shaking his head. Now all he had to do was choose between cooking and horticulture. As much as he loved horticulture, cooking had more benefits for him. Feli was there, and he was trying to work on his cooking more. Nancy would probably understand, and he could take horticulture next year. Mind made up, he turned back to Regis with an excited smile.
"I'm going to be taking cooking as my elective then." He bent down and quickly marked it on his sheet. "So, what are you planning on taking? All of these seem interesting."
Beatrice watched as her friend was called up on stage, grinning at him. He was nervous. She could see it in his stiff movements as he walked to the stage. She turned her gaze toward the other boy, sizing him up. His stature wasn't very intimidating, but he made up for it in his posture. He looked even more serious than Richard. Great, this was going to be awkward. She had hoped Richard would get someone a bit more... Energetic? Happy? Something to balance him out and ease the conversation.
She could hear Richard from the stage, and winced at his stuttering. She didn't think of it as a problem, but Richard was always so embarrassed about it. Gods, she wished there was something she could do to make him feel less uncomfortable, but there was nothing to be done. He wasn't making eye contact with anyone, and she couldn't exactly make him look up from where she was. She settled for visiting him as soon as possible. Hopefully their dorms were close together.
More people came and went on the stage, and Richard stepped off, away from his partner. Well, that was one of the most awkward things she had seen in her life, but at least it was over. She definitely was visiting Richard as soon as possible, most likely with some coffee candy to cheer him up.
Her train of thought ended just as a woman stepped onto the stage. Beatrice immediately recognised her. It was Professor Knotte A. Munster, the professor teaching the monster hunting elective. It wasn’t hard to recognise her, given her unique appearance. She was in her mid sixties, but the only signifier of her age was her stark white hair. She was incredibly fit, with impressive muscles and many scars from years of battling and training. Most strange about her was her attire. She always wore a armored breastplate, and had a navy blue cape attached to the armor on her shoulders. She had gauntlets and shin guards protecting her arms and legs, and was quite an intimidating figure over all. The room quieted immediately at her stern glare across the audience. She stepped toward the front of the stage, rejecting the mic offered to her by a volunteer. Her voice was already loud enough, and she was easily able to get the attention of the students. Almost everyone knew her, and many students felt uneasy at her sudden appearance, Beatrice included. Had something happened?
“Due to a change of curriculum in my class for the third years, monster hunting is now mandatory for all second years.” Whispers broke out across the room, a wave of emotions crossing the faces of the crowd. “Quiet! You will have one free elective this year. Electives last all year, so choose wisely.”
Beatrice let out a breath as the imposing woman left the stage, just as quick as she had come. Monster hunting was mandatory now? She personally didn't mind, she had taken it first year, and had planned on taking it again. People were frightened at first, but it wasn’t all that bad if you followed the rules, and there were always accommodations for students that needed it. A grin broke out across Beatrice’s face as she remembered the service monsters, specifically the giant dog monster. He was so fluffy, she was hoping the gentle giant would be there again this year.
@Discontent