74th Day of Spring, 512 AV Evening Tock was finally back on her feet. Well, in a manner of speaking. After spending four days in an Infirmary bed, she was able to get around now, and that meant getting back to classes. She was eager to get back to her Animation class especially. After the last few weeks of discussing philosophy and spirituality and blah, blah, blah, they should finally be ready to start making things. And considering she was coming to class with not one, but two animated gadgets of her own already, she was confident she could convince the teacher to let her get involved in the hands-on work. Well, she damn well better. She piloted her crutches into the classroom, among the chatting students waiting for the teacher to arrive. A hush fell over the room when they saw the contraption she was riding in, strapped in place with leather straps across her chest and over her shoulders. Using her thumbs on the spring-mounted metal plates that were attached to the front of the supports, she steered towards the back of the room, the crutches lurching with each shaky step. Her classmates stared for a moment, then out came the burst of questions. "Did you build that?" "How long did it take?" "What kind of response controls does it have?" "What did you use for the Source?" "What's its weight capacity?" "Is it sentient?" Not one person asked about her broken foot. They just wanted to know about the Automaton. She loved her classmates. Grinning wide, she opened her mouth to answer the questions, but before she could, the Professor arrived. The class grew quiet when Professor Claudia entered the room. She was rather strict, standing straight-backed, with her brown hair pulled into a severe bun. As was her routine, she strode across the front of the classroom to her desk. Her chair pulled itself out for her, and she sat down. She was wearing a fur shawl, which hopped off her shoulders as soon as she sat, crawling across the table and curling itself into a ball on the corner of the desk. It was Animated with the personality of a cat, and started grooming itself and smoothing its fur, while Professor Claudia looked at her class. Her eyes scanned the students, who were all still half-turned in their chairs to stare at Minerva's machine. The Professor looked up at Minerva, who was still strapped into her pet, and simply watched her for a moment. She had a stare that could make anyone uncomfortable. She pushed her glasses up her nose with the tip of a finger, then crooked that same finger to beckon Minerva to the front of the class. Minerva swallowed. She'd been called up to the front on the first day of class. She had been sitting in the back, carving out a small wooden wheel, and getting wood shavings all over her desk. The Professor had beckoned her to the front of the room with that same crook of her finger, and the look on the woman's face had made Minerva quite sure that she was in trouble. Minerva had walked up to the front of the class, half-completed wheel in one hand, chisel in the other, trailing a line of wood shavings that fell from her apron as she walked. She'd never been in school before. She hadn't gotten any schooling back home. Just her Granddad's teaching in his shop. But that had been work learning, not book learning. So she didn't know what to expect here. The Professor had held her hand out expectantly, palm up. Minerva hadn't known what she wanted. The Professor had then cleared her throat and flicked her fingers in a demanding motion. Minerva had placed the small wheel in her hand, wondering what the problem was. The Professor had then put the wheel into a drawer (which had slid open all on its own, then closed again), and said, "You can have it back at the end of the class." Minerva had stared at the closed drawer, then looked at the teacher, then back at the drawer. No one had ever done something like that to her before. She wanted her project back! But the teacher's cold stare had been... disconcerting. Minerva had been used to people asserting their authority with either shouts or fists. But this woman... she was so cold, so sure of herself, and had such poise and pure authority about her, that all Minerva had been able to do was nod, and return to her seat. She had even swept up her wood shavings before going home that night. That hadn't been the last time Minerva had been summoned before Professor Claudia, and it wouldn't be the last. She just hoped her crutches weren't going to be confiscated. She touched the metal discs to pilot the device to the front of the room, stopping before the teacher's desk. The shawl/cat arched its back and hissed at her invention, but Claudia just watched her calmly. After a long moment of uncomfortable silence, Minerva quickly said, "I done broke my foot, an' I need 'em ta..." Claudia just arched an eyebrow, and that small gesture alone was enough to silence the normally uncontainable gadgeteer. Professor Claudia was the only person she'd met in her life that could actually shut her up. |