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[James Louis Hartwell-Thompson]

"Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand?"

He shuffled his feet foward, almost like a drunken reaching for the bar in a nightclub, his hand grasping out at the air. As he took his awkward steps, his face contorted in an expression of both awe and horror.

And then, he turned on his heel, and faced his class, a smile on his face. "And that, my young Padawan's, is how you act out the perfect Macbeth." he said, and then made a comedic look of regret, "Oops, I mean, the Scottish play, of course! There's seven years bad luck for me...or is that breaking a mirror?"

His class chuckled as his quite lame joke, and he clapped his hands together,

"Right, get into groups of three, and I want you to test how each other is portraying our favourite play. I will be watching!"

James Hartwell-Thompson watched as his class quickly got into their groups, and began to slowly act out the scene he had demonstrated. He hated Shakespeare personally, but it gave them a good background of acting, and besides, it was pretty easy stuff.

He folded his arms and began to walk around slowly, watching as each pupil acted out. These kids here were freaks - there was no doubt about it. This school attracted the 'highly gifted' and prodigies of all sorts, but some of them were just rediculously talented. Jeez, how could you teach a kid that was already perfect?

He gave one young boy - Jon - some advice, really for the sake of it. The kid was doing the scene perfectly, but he had to give some sort of feedback. That was his job - to teach. Even if they didn't need it.

He loved his job - he really did. It was well paid, rewarding and...well, it paid really well. Not that he needed it with his fortune, but still, who would turn down that fat paycheck?

[akari dennee <3]

Akari yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. The class bored her today. Usually, she loved this class; cute guys, acting...cute guys. She was standing in a corner, trying to be unnoticed. She didn't want to participate today. She just wanted to blend. She ran a hand through her hair, observing the other students. At least she'd learn something.

Akari loves acting. She likes singing and playing music more, but she still loves acting. She'd willingly taken both types of classes. IT was just that, today, it was particularly uninteresting. She rested her head against the wall, wondering why it was such a boring class.

Akari did not laugh at the teacher's joke. Her tired mind was too weary to even grasp the main point. She sighed, barely getting the gist of what the teacher had said. Something...something...practice...portraying...favorite...play." Favorite play? the lines she heard were from Macbeth. She gagged internally. Macbeth? Why couldn't it be something more fun, and less morbid.

Groups. Partners. Which one had he said? She thought he said groups, and was certain he had when she saw the students get together in groups of three. She was still trying to hide in the shadows, unseen. She so didn't want to do this. You can kiss my sexy little ass, she thought. It was harsh, but it was something you'd expect from her. She had attitude. And lots of it.

She watched the teacher going around the classroom, sinking deeper into the shadows, begging him not to pay attention to her. Macbeth would be torture; especially to her way-too-tired brain. Why did Shakespeare seem to like torturing people? Romeo and Juliet's families had to watch their children die, after all. Now he was making Akari learn his damnable play. she hated that fucker.

Maybe she'd heard him wrong...She was so confused. God, what was wrong with her today? She ran her hand through her hair again, trying to figure out what was going on. She'd gone from cursing a dead man to being totally confused. Congratulations, Akari! You've achieved total 'zonked' mode! You, fag.

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[James Louis Hartwell-Thompson]

James found it very interesting, and a bit worrying, that although these kids were supposed to have brilliant minds, some of them couldn't act out a simple play. Okay, Macbeth wasn't interesting, but surely they should pick it up easily? He could pick up the good actors - he could spot them easily and didn't bother them. The ones he tried tirelessly to help were the ones who, yes, could memorise a script in half an hour, but had no chemistry with acting.

James had spotted Akari - after teaching her for so long, he knew she could be a bit unpredictable and have a bit of an attitude. He smiled a little to himself - typical tennager. They all thought they were fighting against the world, that they were 'cool'. God, they'd hate it when they got to his age!

He stopped next to a group of three boys, and pointed out their flaws with the scene in the most polite way possible. Basically, they were acting like robots - never good. He sighed inwardly - was his job just a pointless grasp at giving these kids an ability over just being smart?

Leaving the boys to ruin the scene alone, he walked over to Akari - she wasn't getting away with not trying. He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets, and strolled casually over.

"So, is it Shakespeare you don't like, or just the Scottish Play?" he said, but he smiled knowingly.

[akari dennee <3]

Akari swore in her mind as he walked over to her. Why couldn't she just be a slacker in peace? So, is it Shakespeare you don't like, or just the Scottish Play? Akari couldn't help impulsively rolling her eyes.

"Shakespeare and all his high and mighty 'I'm better than you' drama," she answered. She really didn't know why the guy was so damn famous. She knew a lot of people who hated his plays. And some who doubted that he was even the one who wrote them. "But Macbeth is his worst," she added.

Akari yawned, running her fingers through her hair again; it didn't seem to want to stay out of her face. She wished she'd at least grabbed a headband or a ponytail holder on the way to class this morning. But, then again, she was lucky she remembered her books, and to change out of her pajamas. She was actually wearing something decent, which had surprised her once she woke up enough to realize it.

She wondered why teachers always found the need to scold at least one of their students every hour. Or maybe it was the students' faults. Either way, she didn't much care. She just thought it was odd. Akari pressed her back against the wall, and crossed her arms over her chest. She reanalyzed the question and her reply, satisfied with her answer. She truly loathed both Shakespeare and Macbeth.

She couldn't help a slight smirk, and tilted her head to the side a little; her teacher's possible answers whirred through her head. Detention? Laughing? Something in between? Or maybe, with hope, she'd wake up in her dorm, and this would all be a weird, twisted nightmare. She'd come to her real class, and there would be no Macbeth, and no brain-dead Akari. Yeah. Right.


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[James Louis Hartwell-Thompson]

James waited for her reply - Jeez, she looked tired. Well, actually, that was an understatement. These damn kids, would rather stay up listening to music, on the internet, or just getting drunk, rather than sleep. Well.....he couldn't argue, actually. But at least he tried to get a good nights sleep before an early class.

He sighed, and smiled at Akari. So, she just didn't like the 'speare, eh? That was a fair enough opinion - his work was very much like Marmite, and he couldn't force his students to like him. But he did like them to at least try.

He stepped closer, and leaned on the wall beside her, his body facing her, and he crossed his arms.

"Okay, I know this play is dire. And I don't like it too, but I had to teach you a classic, and this was an easy one for you kids." he explained, his Irish lilt sounding almost melodic. "But can't you at least try? I'm only trying to hit my targets as a teacher. And I tell you what," he smiled impishly, "If you have a go at this with me, I'll let you suggest something for the next term."

He shrugged - his offer was a good one, as the students never usually had an infulence over what the teacher taught. This was a first, and she could really be creative if she gave this a chance.

[akari dennee <3]

Akari yawned, fighting the impulse to, once again, run her hand through her hair. She gave him a slightly disgusted look. She felt like she was in Kindergarten, and he was explaining that she couldn't eat glue, or she might get sick. But she'd already had her fair share of metaphorical glue, but, so far, she'd failed to get sick.

Teacher voice. Teacher voice. Teacher voice. For a guy who looked so damn easy to talk to, he sure sounded like one of those but ass ugly college professors that could drone on and on for hours on end. God, she hated people like that.

Teacher voice. Teacher voice. Teacher voice. She was starting to see a pattern here. Good student= conversational tone. Bad student= lecturing tone. It's not that Akari was a bad student. She was smart. really smart. And, under normal circumstances, she worked hard. But she wasn't exactly the poster child for good behavior. That, and her reputation as a whoreish, do-what-I-want bad ass seemed to follow her wherever she went.

Naturally, Akari would never deny fitting into the latter category, but whoreish? Really? She'd seen her fair share of prejudices, and this was her least favorite. She ignored these thoughts, deciding to analyze them at a different time, and thought about the little 'deal' her teacher was trying to strike up.

She sighed. "But I've done Macbeth before, and quite honestly I don't enjoy the plot. It's morbid, and unrealistically dramatic." She remembered doing Macbeth in some community class. It was a downplayed version of the play, but the whole damned thing just struck a nerve with her. It reminded her of the Scarlet letter. They were actually pretty similar...except that the woman in this play really did cheat on her husband...and didn't even get court hearing. She was just murdered...by a mad man.

Akari bit down on the inside of her lip. Thinking about this play unsettled her. She thought it was way beyond sad and creepy. She shuddered slightly, trying to refocus her attention. "And why would I want to suggest something for next term? Usually, what you teach is pretty cool. And then you slam us with this God forsaken play. What gives?"

Akari new perfectly well just how stubborn she was being. And she could give a shit. She was always stubborn. It's just part of who she is; who she'll always be. She raised her eyebrows slightly. "And there's no one else who isn't already grouped up," she added, a challenge playing off of every word.

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[James Louis Hartwell-Thompson]

So this was how it was, eh? He shifted his weight, his shoulder still leaning against the concrete wall, his arms folded. He knew this was not good body language - he probably looked as arsey as he was sounding, so he lowered his hands, hooking his right thumb in his pocket.

"Alright, I'll agree with the plot - it is rediculous. But like I said, some things I can alter on the curriculum, others I can't" he held his left hand up in a sign of defence. Every year her heard the students groan at a Shakespeare play, and every year he had to defend his position. However, he'd never had a student openly criticise the choice.

He appreciated what she said about his usual choice - it was true, he usually chose controversial, or abstract stuff - plays and scripts that made them think, that got them really working on developing a style, an artform they would have to create as a unique thing - if they ever wanted to succeed as actor's, they had to make themselves known, and this only came from honing their skills.

He glanced over his shoulder to check on the other students, and he wished he hadn't. Whilst some of them were doing really well, other's just couldn't make the somewhat boring script the least bit entertaining. They were like a room full of robots, with the odd human in the mix.

He turned back to Akari, and sighed, "You're a smart girl, Akari, and I trust that you would chose a thought-provoking, challanging script for you and your peers." he explained, and then grinned - he turned off teacher-mode now she was beginning to thaw. "And I'm not in a group - do one scene with me, and I promise next term won't be as boring."

[akari dennee <3]

She smirked slightly. He couldn't change the curriculum? She had always thought he would be the one teacher who could find a way around it. Maybe he was getting lazy. She bit her lip, trying not to laugh at this thought while he kept talking.

She noticed him looking at the other students, her mind whirring. Ignoring the last things he said, she rolled her eyes. "A.) It would make it a lot easier if you let us do the scene with improv," she started. "B.) As awesome as you are, I'd hate to have to resort to being in a group with a teacher. In fact, my goal in life is to be as socially seperated from any authority figure as humanly possible," she said, a bit sarcastically. "And C.) I don't do Shakespeare. It would ruin my image," she added, gesturing to herself animatedly.

She tried not to shudder at the thought of working with a teacher. On Macbeth. The two things she liked least. She wondered, idly, if she had some kind of phobia. After all, this was one of the very few teachers she liked, and she still felt uncomfortable when she met him outside of school hours. She still had that childish mind set that teachers had no lives outside of school. And she hated seeing them there; in her world.

Especially when the particular teacher she saw liked to give 'extra credit' assignments to his/her least favorite students any time they saw sed student outside of school. She wished she'd never dragged herself out of bed this morning. Today was more like hell then she'd thought it would be.

She crossed her arms over her chest, and straightened up; her signature defiance-mode position. Every thing about her dripped with a challenge. She wondered, idly, as she waited for her teacher to 'strike her down' and 'bring her to justice' why she was so damn bold. Her dad sure as hell wasn't brave. And her mom...well...let's just leave it at that.

[James Louis Hartwell-Thompson]

James listened to her defiant comeback, and could see that she did not want to budge. He didn't really care - after all, she would be the one losing out. He'd have to make sure he chose 'Taming of the Shrew' next term.

No, what would be way too mean, surely?

But he'd definately pick something boring. And mundane.

He was lucky with his career that he was such a damn cool guy - most teachers were rule sticklers, boring people who did nothing but plan lessons and mark papers in their spare time. He didn't do this - he stayed behind for one hour after classes ended, and then he stopped, no matter how busy he was. Once 5pm came around, he either wanted to go out and get hammered, or call one of his...'lady friends' (Some of which were fellow teachers, which made things easier).

His students saw the fun side of him, alongside the authority. He loved the role of being the one guy they liked, but still with the power to tell them what to do. Man, it was an amazing trip the day he gave his first detention to a nasty little bully back in his first school he taught at. He'd felt like Superman - bringing justice to the world of teenagers.

Okay, maybe now it had lost it's novelty, but still he was in a good position. The girls held secret crushes on him, the boys looked up to him like an idol, and the other teachers followed his lead. He was well set.

But sometimes, a thorn grew on the rose, and today that thorn was Akari.

He sighed heavily, and gave Akari a lopsided grin, "Alright then, I give up. I can't obviously affect your image." he rolled his eyes as he said that - these kids were obsessed with how other's saw them.

Then he had an idea.

"You sure you're not going to join in now? This your final answer?" he asked, his eyes twinkling with mischief for the first time in ages.

[akari dennee <3]

This guy suddenly reminded Akari of one of her old teachers. He had been cocky and arrogant; thinking that every girl in the school had a crush on him and every boy was scared of him. Of course, all of that had been true. Then, there was Akari. The one girl who got A's in his class, because, instead of staring at him and thinking up insane fantasies, Akari was actually trying to get out of that hell hole.

She didn't know why, exactly he'd reminded her of Mr. Anderson. He just had that weird look in his eye. That 'I've got it all' look. That really pissed her off. What pissed her off even more was that he wasn't like the rest of the teachers. They tried to 'break' her spirit. He seemed to not really care.

Of course, Akari was careful not to let the fact that she was unsure of herself show in her bod y language or facial expression. She figured her old dramatic arts teacher would have been proud of her. That was the first thing she'd taught her students. She'd taught them never to show their real emotions on the surface; even in life. Akari had taken those words seriously, and she'd gotten through some tough spots because of it.

Akari had, admittedly, let her mind wander, therefore diffusing a bit of her anger. But that damned confident expression on his face, and the what he said got to her. Careful to keep her expression blank, she screamed at him in her head. How dare he role his eyes at her? How dare he mock her? And how dare he think he fucking understood her. So, pretty much, all this spelled three words to Akari; that fucking bastard.

She waited for him to finish talking before she said anything. Damn. For a fucking acting teacher he's pretty damn horrible at hiding his emotions, she thought, referring to the triumphant look he was giving her. Oh, please.

"First of all, this isn't 'I want to be a Millionare' , Meredith," she started. "And second, and I'm pretty sure I've said this already, I've already done Macbeth. Worst three weeks of my life. And for God's sake, stop trying to be my 'friend'. I don't know about the other kids here, but I sure as hell don't see you the same way they do. You aren't cool. You're a teacher, and that makes you an old, smart-ass geezer," she said, cursing herself as soon as she said it. She was frustrated, and she'd let it get the better of her. Some acting class this was turning out to be.

She put her hands on her hips, her just-give-me-the-fucking-detention-slip-already face fitting in nicely with what she'd said. But then again, this guy had been known to keep his cool over some pretty big shit. Akari wondered if she should have stepped it up a notch, while she waited for the verdict.


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