Sleep Now in the Fire (closed)

[Appoline Meian]

Few classes at Hammel were mixed; electives and some advanced courses were often the exception to the rule. As such, it was not uncommon to see seniors needing an extra credit or two mixed in with exceptionally bright underclassmen.

Here in the Government & Law elective, however, few enough students even bothered to sign up for it. Unless they were looking for a career in that direction, students tended to avoid it. In a school as small as Hammel, it was almost surprising that the class even existed when it had a third the number of students as a core class.

Appoline took the course for precisely that reason, in addition to the challenge of it. She had no interest being friendly with her classmates, didn't want to know most of them if she didn't have to. A steep learning curve and a strict grading criteria made intense focus on the work all-important, and as such, less likely to force her into enough free time that her absence of friends could be noticed. The fact that it would look good on a college application was secondary, though also important - the farther from Hammel she could get after graduation (and thus her family), the better off she would be.

Sadly, this was not in the cards today.

The assignment for today was a four-week pair project (in addition to case studies and homework), with only a brief subject requirement that it must have something to do with Native Americans as well as government. Reports were to be given at the end of week four, and grading would be done on the subject matter choice as well as formatting, research notes, teamwork. Partners were chosen at random, and in a class of twelve, lucking into a solo project was impossible.

Thus, Appoline Meian now sat with one Irving Coley, Jr., determining their core subject matter. Coincidentally, they were both dressed much more elegantly than their classmates, though the Japanese girl's outfit could hardly be called more formal than "business casual" compared to the well-fitting (and undoubtedly expensive) suit of her partner. Not that it mattered to her, as the lad didn't seem the least bit self-aggrandizing about it. She only cared about getting this project done as quickly as possible and going back to a solitary school experience.

"A historical approach would yield more consistent accounts," she stated, noting the options in neat cursive as she went, "however, the accuracy of the viewpoint could easily be called into question. Contemporary or current events would likely give us a better rounded perspective. Do you agree?"

[Irving Coley, Jr]

Everyone knew Appoline's parents, a fact that caused young Irving to feel a sense of kinship with the older girl. Of course, to most of the students at Hammel even with the rather large presence the current crop of Coleys (and Flemings) had the Meian parents were more immediately familiar. His father might have been well known and well connected in his own circle of wealth and political power, but here...here few enough people knew the names of any of the feds. They knew about his money, but the name of Coley largely meant one of those gaggles of excessively wealthy cousins.

He almost was glad of this.

"Why wouldn't we look at both contemporary events and historical accounts?" Irving asked, tapping his own pen against his desk. "Historical accounts could point to a pattern. But you're probably right that our main focus should be on something more modern. The Dakota Pipeline protests maybe?"

[Appoline Meian]

She couldn't fault the idea; history was rife with revisionism, but the details and perspective were the primary concern when dealing with modern news articles, as they changed not just by the political standpoint but by the day. "I feel that may be too recent," she replied, tapping her pen briefly before continuing. "You're right about the combination of sources, though. What about a long-term issue or series of events to a particular tribe or nation?"

She scanned the whiteboard again, picking out the exact wording of the instructions. "We..." she paused a moment, forcing herself to breathe to stop a stutter from forming, "...could choose the systematic erasure and resurgence of Native Mexican faith by the Catholic Church and, by extension, the Mexican government. The professor didn't say we needed to use North American natives."

There were other things going on as well; the burning of the Amazon rainforest and the assassination of tribal elders after the historic suit in their favor, the Native American "schools" stretching back centuries that were little more than concentration and indoctrination camps, the systemic rollbacks of land treaties by the government to support corporate interests... It was a pretty concerning trend.

[Irving Coley, Jr]

Her rejection of his idea was direct but not brutal. Still enough that his shoulders sagged, brown eyes dropping to stare at the notebook in front of him. The instructions were written in small but legible handwriting, a neatness that was almost second nature at this point in his life.

"That's...clever," He complimented her, chin lifting so that he could look her in the face. He wouldn't have dared be that cheeky with the material on his own, too worried that it might drag down his grades and reflect poorly upon his family name. But with a partner to lead the way there was a certain appeal in testing this boundary. She was correct that the instructions hadn't been explicit here, and if they could argue their case well enough then they could probably get away with it.

"So. Mayans? Or...Aztecs? Inca? All of them?"

[Appoline Meian]

Was she harsh? Appoline didn't think so; she'd merely pointed out a potential flaw in something so contemporary. It wasn't an insult against her partner, after all. Was he taking it too hard, or had she been too cold about it?

Despite herself, a mild blush slipped onto her features. She still felt shy about being complimented, but had managed to remove the need to passively deny the right to the words over time. Instead she (only slightly awkwardly) moved on from it by shaking her head when he spoke, though not in denial of the idea this time.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "Latin American culture isn't a noticeable part of my studies. We could do some preliminary research on the local spirituality and decide from there?"

The library had more books than a school this small really had a right to, and the interests were varied. Plus, both it and the computer lab had almost unlimited access to the internet, provided it was used responsibly.

[Irving Coley, Jr]

Irving nodded eagerly, pushing himself to his feet. "That sounds good," He agreed, and it did, but he would have agreed with most suggestions; he had always been more of a follower than a leader, and this was never more apparent at school than when there was a group project. He was a capable and eager worker, but he hated making any of the decisions necessary about what they would do. So it was nice that Appoline seemed to have some ideas that she was willing to toss out, reacting with more decisiveness than he was willing.

He grabbed his notebook and placed it carefully into his backpack, followed by tucking the pen he'd been using into his shirt pocket. He headed immediately towards the door, pulling it open so that she could go first - because of gender roles and manners this time, not because she was now stuck being the Leader of their project.

[Appoline Meian]

Normally, Appoline would have agreed; being a leader was also not her strong suit, and she tended to manage a small part of a project on her own better than managing a team of people on a project while looking at the completed goal. She preferred direction, but in this case, her partner seemed more comfortable taking her suggestions than forcing his own. In a way, it was a relief; she didn't have to be forceful herself, didn't need to start conflict to get the project done. In another, it felt... not frustrating, nor disappointing. Just... strange.

She packed her own notebook and supplies as well, slinging the satchel bag over her head to sit crosswise on her hip. It wouldn't rumple her skirt or vest this way, and generally kept her posture better than many of her peers. As they left, she hesitated at the door before bowing her head slightly with a murmured "thank you" and walking through.

Also strange; here, no one seemed to do that without expecting something in return. Not unless they were adults anyway.

...But Irving didn't seem to expect anything from her. There was the decision-making of the project, of course, but this had happened after that had been established. Maybe it's his thanks? Or is it his upbringing? She didn't know.

Appoline felt awkward as they walked, a state she wasn't entirely accustomed to anymore. Her partner was just so nice, so earnest - it was disarming in a way few people were. She refused to talk as she figured it out, which filled the air with a palpable silence. At least, to her.

[Irving Coley, Jr]

Irving wished desperately that he knew what Appoline was thinking. Was she pleased to be allowed to lead? Or was she annoyed by him? Telepathy would have been so much better than invisibility; he could have known when people liked him or when they found him irritating and adjusted his behavior accordingly. But instead she remained an impenetrable mystery, silence filling the air between them that he couldn't begin to interpret.

When they arrived at the library he opened those doors, too, mindful to be polite. At least she seemed to take that well. Callista Lowery had nearly bit his head off the first time he'd held a door for her, insisting that she didn't need it and he was trying to enforce old fashioned gender roles on her. If he'd taken an honest look at the manners he'd been taught growing up gender roles were at the heart of many of them.

He had not turned that sort of critical thinking onto his attempt to be polite. He'd only felt hurt, wondering why she believed he had some nefarious purpose behind holding a door.

Once his partner had gone through the door he followed behind, allowing it to swing shut behind them. Brown eyes stared at the rows upon rows of books that lined the library shelves.

"I'll start a search for Mayans in the catalog," He offered, heading towards the row of computers that lined the nearest wall. That way she could search a different keyword, and maybe between the two of them they could find a decent variety of books to read faster.

[Appoline Meian]

Though the idea of being able to immediately know any thoughts of the people nearby was, probably, a desirable trait to most, Appoline would have taken such a gift and placed it on a nearby flat surface with a polite "no thank you" if anyone offered it. The idea of the voices of an entire class, a school, a city in her mind terrified her, and consequently made her apprehensive of most who employed such an ability. If she couldn't hide in her own mind, where could she run to and keep her secrets?

Her power, though upsetting in other ways, suited her just fine. At least, since there was no getting rid of it.

Still, her silence felt heavy and awkward even to her; she wasn't upset, just a little unnerved. A common state of being for her, up until recently. Irving was... well, he was nice. He listened to her opinion, respected it (maybe too much, but that was fine), but still had ideas of his own. He even had manners, a rare commodity for teenagers. She would have been baffled herself at the idea that holding a door, of all things was sexist: though much as the Coleys had their culture, so, too, did the Meians.

Thanking him again, slightly more confidently this time, they entered the library. Appoline also glanced around, knowing that the reference codes were listed on the shelves, and turned to point them to the decimals for Religion. However, she slowed, hand hardly raised as Irving quickly moved to look at the digital catalog. Bringing her hand to her chest instead, as if to adjust her satchel strap, she nodded. "A-all right," she faltered, glancing to the librarian to make sure she wasn't speaking too loudly. "I'll... cross-reference Mexican tribal lands."

If she could find a map of old territories, and the tribes that live there, then they could narrow down their search to something specific. Find cultural and academic experts for sources, locate relevant news articles, and so on. She moved to the 900's - Geography & History.

[Irving Coley, Jr]

Irving settled in at a computer near a boy who had to be about twelve. One of the newer arrivals at the school, face scrunched up in concentration, a glow across his face from the computer screen. Irving didn't speak to him, instead turning his attention immediately towards pulling up the digital catalog. He leaned forward, reading the titles that came up with the tag Mayan.

Jungle of Stone: The Extraordinary Journey of John L. Stephens and Frederick Catherwood
The Blood of Kings
Maya Civilization: A Captivating Guide to Maya History and Maya Mythology
The Guatemalan Genocide of the Maya People

That last one sounded particularly pertinent, and he flipped open his binder to an empty page, scrawling down the book titles. When he'd finished he tucked his binder under his arm and wandered through the shelves, pulling the titles he'd written down until he stumbled upon Appoline. He cleared his throat to get her attention, holding out his bounty with arms that had become transparent enough that his books almost appeared to float in mid-air unless one looked very carefully.

"I think this should be a good start," He offered, voice hopeful.

[Appoline Meian]

As Irving had found a number of books, so too had she; a small pile sat next to Appoline, delicately out of range of the hem of her long skirt as she knelt before the shelf and compared two before putting one of them away. She had cross-referenced the area in one of the book she found, saw a map of tribes and heritage sites, and had picked accordingly:

The Aztecs Under Spanish Rule: A History of the Indians of the Valley of Mexico, 1519-1810
Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs
The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico
Mesoamerican History: A Captivating Guide to Four Ancient Civilizations that Existed in Mexico – The Olmec, Zapotec, Maya and Aztec Civilization
Mexican Phoenix: Our Lady of Guadalupe: Image and Tradition Across Five Centuries

The last one seemed particularly poignant, as it spanned a large section of time including the relative present. She had been just about to search in another area to look for Latin American Catholicism when her partner came across her hiding research spot. She had been moderately surprised he had found her so quickly; fortunately, he hadn't snuck up on her, though it had taken her a minute to be fully cognizant that he was there, even with the polite throat clearing.

Given the state of his arms, she wasn't sure if that was due to his powers being active or not, but took the opportunity to delicately inspect the texts before nodding. "Those look promising," she agreed, smiling briefly. "Thank you for finding them all."

The realization that the way she said that might be interpreted as condescending made her duck her head quickly, hiding a sudden blush of nervousness behind her hair as she gathered her books and stood. "Um-" she hated the placeholder word "-let's find a table and get started, o-okay?"

Her stammer coming back forced her to flee in the direction of the long work tables, moving quickly so she stayed ahead of Irving so he didn't see her nervousness though he probably did oh no. Her haste did not damage her decorum, at least, and she placed the stack of books carefully on the composite surface so not to disturb the other students scattered about. She took a breath, let it out, tried to calm the nervousness.

[Irving Coley, Jr]

Irving beamed at her thanks, incapable of recognizing condescension when it came twinned with praise. He did notice the manner in which she hurriedly left him, though, and he puzzled over her abrupt change in demeanor as he followed behind. Maybe he ought to have responded verbally to let her know he appreciated being appreciated? What had he done. Despite the fact that she was substantially shorter than him she still outpaced him in her haste, and he had to hurry to keep up.

He placed his own books on the table across from hers before moving around and pulling out a chair for her. Despite the fact that he'd apparently offended her he wasn't going to forget his manners (well, okay, he'd forgotten them somewhere or she wouldn't have run away from him; he would have to ask Dr. Neville for help figuring that one out later so he could be sure he wouldn't do whatever it was again.)

"I can uhh. Work somewhere else. If you'd rather be alone?" He offered, one hand hovering on the back of the chair he'd offered her.

[Appoline Meian]

He really hadn't done anything wrong, of course. Appoline was simply nervous; the feeling of being observed creeping in on her, making her anxious over all of her actions and decisions. So when he moved around the end of the table to pull her chair out, she was suitably flustered, face tinting pink at the gentlemanly gesture. She was about to thank him again (though surely she would stammer over it and embarrass herself further), when he offered to work... elsewhere?

"N-no, no, it's alright," she replied, calming considerably as her own decorum took over and forced her into the chair. "Please, sit; we have a lot of work, and it would... would be better if we were close." Her face flushed again. "Ah, nearby, I mean. In case... in case we have questions?"

She hated out her voice trailed off into a query. It felt insincere, or rude. To cover up the mistake, she slipped her notebook out of her bag and opened it, gesturing for Irving to have a seat next to her on the end. "You don't have to sit o-over there. We should," Appoline bit her lip, trying to not stumble over the statement, "sit closer, so we can read together if one of us gets confused."

This was, probably, one of her worst nightmares. Being in a pair project was bad enough, but being paired off with someone so polite and nice who looked to her as a leader? Mortifying. She didn't even know how to respond, or lead; the Japanese girl just said whatever came to her head, making her feel like a rambling mess. Especially right now. She hadn't even grabbed the last book she wanted to, because she'd been so concerned with coming off as superior when Irving hadn't even... She took a breath, trying to calm the racing thoughts. Panicking would only make it worse; he might think that she was tittering or some other such nonsense. She should just go, get the book, and use the quick walk to calm herself. That would be safe.

"I, um, I left a book in the stacks. I'll go get it, i-it'll only be a minute, okay?"

[Irving Coley, Jr]

Irving settled into the chair at the end of the table at Appoline's suggestion, looking anywhere but at her face. "Oh. Yeah, that's...a good point," He agreed, feeling silly about his initial offer. But he wasn't inclined to believe that she really wanted to be in his presence when she almost immediately ran off with the excuse that she'd left behind a book. He sighed and pulled the top book off the stack he'd brought over, flipping to a random page and allowing his gaze to wander across the paragraphs about agriculture and hunting. Ugh, no, none of that was relevant to the topic they'd chosen. Perhaps if instead they'd wanted to write about sustainability and indigenous responses to the climate crisis...

He was startled from his thoughts by the sudden and thoroughly unwelcome appearance of his cousin in the seat Appoline had left behind. Irving jumped, and hated himself for jumping.

"George," He greeted the other boy with a sigh, one arm moving to cover up his notebook while George leaned over to get a look at what he was writing.

"Ving," George returned the greeting, looking much more pleased about this entire situation. "Say, I was wondering if you could help me out? I saw you and the Meian girl come in together, she's not...?"

Irving felt something like anxiety twist inside him. "I'm...seeing Poppy," He answered, because he wasn't going to deny his girlfriend even as he was dreading the direction this conversation was heading.

George smiled brightly. "That's perfect, then." And he disappeared, popping up behind Appoline a moment later.

[Appoline Meian]

Back in the shelves, Appoline looked vaguely upwards, scanning the shelves without seeing them as she struggled to regain composure. She just needed a minute, that's all; just a few deep breaths, a mental mantra for calm, and to be away long enough to stop being so flustered.

Irving was nice. He was polite, and accommodating, and seemed to treat her with respect despite their clear difference in status. He followed her lead, which while unusual was not unappreciated, and he had independent drive needed for a group project that would be done primarily in individual study periods. Irving was just nice.

Heart still pounding in her throat from nerves, it was no wonder that she startled when George Fleming suddenly appeared as she turned to look at the shelf behind her. His grin and whatever words he'd been about to say were rather suddenly cut short, as the startle reflex activated a wildly untrained power and a thoroughly trained martial ability. The whole scene went by so fast, Appoline wasn't even sure what happened. Her hand, clenched tightly into a fist, ached and stung something fierce; George had moved from inches behind to quite a few steps away, clutching a now bloodied nose; and Appoline's heart had once more jumped into overdrive, pounding in her chest so hard she could barely breathe.

What just...?

The other student's cry of pain had brought the librarian running, as well as a few curious onlookers. Immediately, the Japanese girl began to shake, and she pulled her hand to her chest, feeling the twinge of pain in the scuffed knuckles. "I-I'm so sorry," she stammered, looking horrified at the bloody mess she'd made of someone else's face. "I-I didn't... I j-just... I'm so sorry!"