8532/Until the bell.

Until the bell.
Date of Scene:	03 November 2021
Location:	Classroom - Happy Harbor High School
Synopsis:	Bando and Lara both arrive to class early to try to prepare. Bando may or may not have finished his homework.
Cast of Characters:	Lara Croft, Bando George

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Lara Croft has posed:
    It's several minutes until the bell when Lara walks into the classroom. She's not that much older than the students, but she's been on the cover of magazines for her archaeological work. In truth, everyone on staff is surprised every day she comes into work rather than going out adventuring or going back to her gigantic mansion in England. Still, for the time being, she's the teacher of this class, and she doesn't seem to be going anywhere, at least before the school year is done.
    She takes off her backpack and opens it, pulling out a stack of graded papers. This is followed by a very rugged laptop that she opens and turns on. Its solid state drives get it restored from hybernation in seconds. She plugs in the projector and turns it on, revealing a map.

Bando George has posed:
    Bando is a rather unique student. The kind that is hard to ignore. He falls under the category of student who is smart, he's motivated. He works hard. And struggles due to his own personhood. He's easily distracted. He's forgetful. Absent-minded. His papers are often late, or he forgot a critical part of the assignment. But he engages in class, he asks questions. And sometimes is inexplicably tardy by 10-15 minutes.

    He steps on the metal threshold to the doorway, a loud metal clack announcing him, shedding his backpack, noisy like a hurricane. He freezes. Ms. Croft is here early? "Uh, hi Ms. Croft!" He says, a certain discomfort at seeing her already present. He hadn't expected that.

Lara Croft has posed:
    "Bando," the teacher says, turning to face him. Her brow furrows. "You're surprisingly early." Moving to the stack of papers, she flips through then quickly one by one. "I'm glad you're here," she says. "I've been wanting to talk to you about your assignments." She finds his paper and plucks it from the pile, letting the others fall back into place. She doesn't hand it back to him, but holds it in front of herself, skimming it again as she moves to the side of her desk and leans against it. "The quality of your work seems to alternate like a pendulum between mind-blowing revelations of insight and total ignorance," she says. She holds out his paper to him. "You're clearly intelligent, and you try; I'm just not sure how to help you."

Bando George has posed:
    Bando sheepishly makes his way to his seat, and puts his bag down next to it. "I um, I sometimes forget, you know?" he says. "Sorry." His energy level suddenly spikes. "I could do extra credit, or do like a voluntary...detention?" Is that a thing. "For like extra study hall maybe?" He shifts a little on his feet, and reaches out and takes the paper, checking the grade as if it might bite him.

Lara Croft has posed:
    The grade is complicated. There's a lengthy note about this and that on it, then just 'see me' circled. "Detention is a punishment," Lara says as he looks it over. "As I said, you're intelligent enough for me not to think you need it, but the quality of your work leads me to think you might benefit from tutoring, or at least a study buddy." She hesitates. "I can't think of an appropriate way to say this, so I will e blunt. Do you feel your grades are affected by your genetic diversity?" A very kind way to say mutation.

Bando George has posed:
    The question surprises Bando. Not because he hadn't considered it. He just never expected someone to say that out loud. "Because I'm a mutant?" he asks, not concerned about the word himself. He looks down at the notes again, and pretends to read them, and then looks back up again. "I don't need to use my X gene as a crutch," he says, a mild dodge of the question, though it implies a possible affirmative. "I guess I could do tutoring. I just...sometimes I'm not available in the afternoons." AKA, he's out playing superhero.

Lara Croft has posed:
    "I'm not implying you're broken," Lara says. "As I've said, you're clearly intelligent. However, I don't know how you're wired. Only you do. You're attentive in class. You ask questions about things, then seem to know nothing about them when you're writing your papers. I would like to be sensitive to any ways you're wired differently. I don't want to see you fail because I failed to take differences into account when teaching you."

Bando George has posed:
    "I dunno, maybe I just need my adderal adjusted," Bando suggests with a non-commital shrug, one that says he doesn't like this line of conversation. "I can do this," he says. "I just have trouble staying on task. And sometimes I have interruptions that can be /really/ important. Then I get tired and forget, and end up rushed. I just need like, more hours in the day, you know?" he says.

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara considers for a moment. "I'm taking you up on your offer," she says. "You're to report to this classroom after school. I'll have you try to teach me what you learned from the lesson in--" She looks at her wrist and the rugged smart watch thereupon. "--fifteen minutes." She lowers her arm and looks back at him. "I'll assess what you're actually grasping and maybe I'll have a better idea of how to help you grasp the material better." She doesn't bring up his superheroing. It's good to have aspirations, and she's already stepped on his toes enough mentioning his mutation.

Bando George has posed:
    "OK, yeah yeah," the youth lightens up. "That actually sounds pretty cool. Um. And...do you think I could have one more day on my homework?" he asks with a wincing smile. That's right, he was trying to come in and cram answers onto his page that he's supposed to turn in today. Hence he was a little early. Bando does have one of those innocent charms, the type that has probably gotten him out of hot water more than once in life. But certainly not always.

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara smiles kindly. She nods her head with compassion on her face. All signs are pointing to her agreeing to that. "No," she says, standing. She moves back to her computer. "Do what you can," she continues. "I've got to finish setting up."

Bando George has posed:
    And there's the familiar groan of a student that knows he has troubles again. He tilts his head back dramatically, and sits down at his chair. He pulls out the homework quickly, the paper rumpled at the edges where it was peeking out from his history book, and he flops it open. "Pen, pen..." he mutters, digging into his bag. He does have one somewhere in here. Panic! There's no pen. He pulls another book from his bag, and his snack. And a water bottle. There's the sound of rustling...other things in his bag that are assorted along the bottom, and he manages to find a... green sharpie? It'll have to do. He pulls the cap off, and quickly starts scanning the book, looking in the reading for the things he's supposed to gain to answer the questions at the end of the chapter as some of the other students start to file into the class.

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara greets the students who take the time to greet her, soon finishing her setup. She hands back whatever papers she can before the bell rings. There's a couple students who are either tardy or late. She leans on her desk and watches Bando as he frantically tries to finish what he can. Soon, the bell rings. "Pencils down," she says, directly to him. She pushes off from her desk and moves to the first row. "Everyone hand your homework to the middle and pass them forward." And thus begins the students' day.