Party?! In astronomy classroom?!(Tag: teachers and students)

Dean sighed, well that answer didn't make him feel better. It meant that Eli was four years his junior and had done more than Dean had in his lifetime.

"That is still really young to have achieved all that," Dean commented, rubbing the back of his neck self-conciously.

Eli just shrugged, "I'm usually too young for a lot of things." Honestly he was.

"Then again I'm come from China. You aren't allowed to idle at any moment. You must be doing something with every waking hour to help yourself later on in life. The book... was something I did with the time I didn't spend..." Eli dropped off, he shouldn't talk about this here. Too many people. Too many people.

"So, you're a mechanic right? Have a personal favorite vehicle you love above all others?"

"Motorbikes," Dean replied without a second of thought, "No broomstick has ever been as exciting, at least not to me."

This was good, this was a topic Dean could handle, he could shop talk until he was blue in the face. It was a safe topic and he knew where he stood with it.

"Why motorbikes?" Eli asked, suddenly interested. The man seemed to perk up at the thought of the two-wheeled vehicle. Maybe he could get Dean to talk more than he was.

"It's a lot of power in a pretty compact vehicle and they can go places most larger vehicles can't," Dean explained, "Not to mention the adrenaline rush."

The mental high he got while riding a bike was a difficult concept to explain, "It's kind of the same rush any quiddich player gets when they ride a broom."

Adrenaline. Eli knew the chemical well. He was used to the rise of the drug in his system as he fought. Most fighters became addicted to the power they felt with it.

"Are they easy to operate?" Eli had never actually driven one, so it would be easier to ask a man that knew a lot about the vehicle than trying to guess.

"Once you get used it," Dean replied, "It takes a while to get used to the gears and like a bicycle, you have to adjust to the balance."

Dean had started riding motorbikes when he was fifteen and it took him months of constant practicing to be able to ride it without tipping over.

Miranda smiled up at her old friend. "I'm good, Sitka. How about you? Settling in nicely?"
She was ecstatic to see him. She hadn't quite made it up to the hospital wing yet to see him this year.

John let out a lighthearted chuckle. "I don't think I ever grew out of it, to be quite honest," John shrugged. Whenever he visited his friends, they would always continue to try and pull him out of the clouds when they were talking to him. He would just get so sidetracked. One thought would lead to another which would lead to another which would lead to five more.

"Yes," John smiled, "sentiment is good; it's what makes us human." John agreed, taking another tiny sip of his fruity drink.

"Ah." Eli was at a loss to respond.

"Would you find it crazy that I've never actually seen one up close and personal?"

"No, its a particular vehicle that attracts a certain type of people. There are quite a few people who never see more than the glimpse they catch as they drive by."

Dean had seen many teenage boys practically drooling over the lone 1930 BSA Sloper that sat in his father's shop, the very bike that Dean was restoring to its former glory.

"Interesting information." Eli said, humming an approval noise in his throat. He moved to stand next to Dean, watching the others as they had their own outside conversation.

"Do you always tend to ostracize yourself?"

"yeah," Dean gave a sheepish grin, "I don't deal with people well."

It was this moment that made Dean desperately wish for his coffee mug to hide behind.

Miranda returned her attention to the conversation now that Sitka had joined them. "We all have to lose our heads in the clouds sometimes, don't we? In order to keep our sanity in the real world." She stared unseeingly into her glass of untouched champagne.


sentiment is good; it's what makes us human
Sentiment...she thought bitterly to herself. Her heart ached and she looked briefly at the classroom door, wondering if she should just leave. No, she really should stay and socialize. Everyone said she didn't do enough of it.
"Sentiment, sentiment makes us real, connects us with the world around us."

Belle thought she saw something like pain flash across Miranda's eyes. Had she said something wrong? But she was soon smiling again and Belle figured that she had just imagined it. She noticed that somebody else had joined their little group thing. Mr. Pelekai, she believed. He did kind of have an unforgettable face. A lot of the female students pretended to be sick just so they could be around him, and Belle didn't blame them. "Mr. Pelekai, good to see you," she said, smiling. "I can't remember if we've introduced ourselves. I'm Belle Mallery, Herbology teacher."

"I guess it just gets... taking used to?" Eli questioned his own thoughts, his own words. That was the correct phrase, right? He hoped so, he really didn't want to seem below par in logic to the man next to him.

"Getting used to," Dean corrected automatically, "And yeah I suppose. I guess hiding under cars whenever a customer comes in isn't very good practice."

Dean was slowly relaxing and becoming more comfortable around the other man the more alike they seemed. It was easier to talk to someone who felt just as awkward as he did.

"Hiding behind fists are just as bad." Eli chuckled out, he could see the man working under a car with the biggest smile on his face as he worked.

"Things are easier to talk to than people. And pets, fire ferrets in general are a nice companion compared to a human."

"That it does," John smiled, glad someone else understood - though, he couldn't help but notice something with Miranda, and he wondered if she was alright. Perhaps it had been something he had said. He couldn't help but notice how many people had made up this group - a little too much for his comfort of people he was just meeting. He gave them all a smile and excused himself from the group, perhaps he should grab some snacks to go with his drink.

He had been lost in his thoughts, as he often was, as he made his way over to the snack table. Because of this, he hadn't been watching where he was going and his shoulder accidentally bumped into someone else. "Oh, I'm sorry," John apologized, looking up to see he had bumped into the young potions professor; Eli, correct?

"A what now?" Dean had never heard of a fire ferret, but then magical creatures was not his strong suit, the only animals that seemed to like him were cats.

Mentally he pictured a normal ferret spewing fire Tom its mouth, but he brushed the thought away, it was too farfetched to be accurate.

"A fire ferret. You've never..." Eli almost hit the person that bumped into him out of sheer habit and reflex. He had, fortunately, contained himself as he nodded dumbly.

"Y-yeah, it's okay." Eli said, looking at John before back as Dean. He wasn't sure where to look now back he continued his explanation.

"Yeah, fire-ferret. They're like... red pandas but more squirrel like and cuddly. They tend to love fire-benders more than others but can enjoy the company of other benders and or non-benders." He explained, said liking the fact he knew something the mechanic didn't know.

John was about to continue on, but he was generally intrigued by their conversation. A fire ferret? John didn't know much about animals, but he had known he had never heard of that one before. Perhaps it was a rare breed. Still, it would be awkward to butt into a conversation, but when Eli mentioned benders his intrigue rose.

"I hate to interrupt," John turned to them. "I couldn't help but overhear. Do you mind me asking what a bender is?" He had never heard of benders, which meant he really wanted to know. Knowledge was key to him, he loved learning everything and anything he could.

Dean nodded to show that he had understood Eli's information. He had started a little when the tall gangly professor had bumped into his companion.

When the taller professor asked about benders, he too, looked to Eli expectantly. Dean liked learning new things, he was just very rarely successful with the things he learned.

Eli looked at John before looking at Dean. He almost wanted to groan but he walked himself into this one. He took a step forward before turning around to face them.

"A bender is a wizard that can manipulate their inner magic to create elements and control them. It takes many, many years of training before one can even be called a Master in the art. And it's highly unstable to someone who is an amateur." Eli winced, he had a burn on his forearm... well used to before she healed it.

"Benders can range from Earth, Fire, Air, Metal, and Water. The ability to do this is Genetic. People who do not show signs of having an ability to use some magic without wands will never be able to use Bending techniques." Eli continued on, this was a topic he knew move than enough information to help ease their confusion and wonder.

John listened intently, quite marveled by the fact that there were people who were like this. Wand-less magic seemed impressive. He brought his hand up to his chin, tapping it thoughtfully. He was a little surprised that he had never heard of them before, though, and wondered if maybe he should research it a bit.

"That's quite impressive," John admitted out loud, "So their wizards who are able to do wand-less magic relating to the elements? Interesting. I've never heard of them before, and you are a bender?" John asked, his eyebrow rising in curiosity.