Sage [Roger / Vasco blitz]

marguerite harvard d2a (zori)
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Sage [Roger / Vasco blitz] Aug 28, 2020 23:22:27 GMT -5

Post by marguerite harvard d2a (zori) on Aug 28, 2020 23:22:27 GMT -5

V A S C O

Standing outside of Irisgate reminded me of all the times Xuxa would have us over for tea as kids. Mostly because she’d have us help her and Ayena clean the house, which was hard enough for both of them to maintain as it was. They’d put drop cloths on furniture in the rooms they hadn’t used, and as the years advanced, seemed to take over the entirety of the house. We were there to sweep out the dust, put a shine to the windows, weed the gardens, and of course help Ayena with whatever sort of project she had in mind.

As I turned the handle to the iron gate I smiled as it chirped, just as it had every time I’d ever come to visit. Only back then the roof had started to give in places, and part of the grass had missing patches. Now it looked as though the kids coming to the place had been put to work with fresh tiles overhead and a lush green yawn to rest their heads on.

I skipped up to the porch and hesitated before giving a knock at the door, knowing well enough that the kids here came and went as they pleased.

It made me a bit nervous. Not because I felt like I was doing something wrong, but more – I’d never thought of school after we’d finished years ago. I wasn’t exactly top of my class, and thinking of my teachers had me rubbing my knuckles from all the times they’d whacked me with a ruler.

“Oh. Uh.” I looked up to find a man standing there. “I – well, hi. Hi. Is Ayena here?”

elegant

fireflyz
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Sage [Roger / Vasco blitz] Aug 29, 2020 17:40:06 GMT -5

Post by fireflyz on Aug 29, 2020 17:40:06 GMT -5

It had been fairly quiet all day, almost too quiet if Roger knew any better, but he figured that his students deserved freedom from his watchful eyes for once. Besides, not having to pretend-reprimand some reckless teenagers allowed him more time to read. In between grading assignments Roger had found some old district documents stashed away in the library, and he'd intermittently switch from a red pen to a black one, scribbling notes on an adhesive pad to remember when he next went to class.

Roger was en route to his classroom when a knock came at the door, and his eyebrow slid upwards quizzically. Usually, people just barged in around here. Could be a prospective student. He secured the pad he had tucked under his elbow and strode forward, hand reaching forward to twist the doorknob. Sunlight sidled into the foyer as the door opened, and Roger realized that he was not looking at a teenager, but rather the top of the mayor's head. He grinned. "Senor Izar, what a pleasure."

Mayor Izar glanced up almost reluctantly. "Oh. Uh. I - well, hi. Is Ayena here?"

Roger nodded, stepping back to allow him space to enter. "'Course. I'm sure she's around here somewhere. Come on in!" He gestured for the mayor to follow him before turning and heading down the hall, pulling the folder from under his arm into his hands.

"Quite a happy coincidence you came by today, Senor. I've actually been reading some government notes from the olden days." Roger waved them beside his head before lowering them to peer at the words again. "Guess Xuxa got ahold of them somehow. Although, I'm sure you're making history of your own up in the district square."

Last Edit: Aug 29, 2020 17:40:35 GMT -5 by fireflyz

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marguerite harvard d2a (zori)
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Sage [Roger / Vasco blitz] Aug 30, 2020 1:23:27 GMT -5

Post by marguerite harvard d2a (zori) on Aug 30, 2020 1:23:27 GMT -5

V A S C O

I hadn’t met this gentleman before, though Ayena had mentioned they had a few professors working here now to help teach the different subjects. He opened the door to let me pass, and I nodded. It felt strange to cross into the foyer then and not have Xuxa standing at the foot of the stairs in a gown, fan waving away the summer’s heat. I shook away the daydream and turned to the young man as we walked down the hall.

“History?” Xuxa and Ayena had always told us stories of times long ago, but half of what my aunt had spoken of seemed a stretch of the truth. It surprised me less that Ayena had books that told the truth. She’d never trafficked in lies, and had a mind sharper than any I’d met. Her family had once owned half the district back when she was a girl, or so Xuxa would tell it. All that was left now was this house, a fortune disappeared over the course of a ninety years.

“You keep them here, somewhere?” I looked past the hall and back to him. “What did you say your name was?” Ayena could wait, at least a little while.

“You know I’ve always wanted to know what it was like before… well, what things used to be like. They don’t teach that sort of thing, at least, not when I was a kid.” We’d suffered through the propaganda of panem, history books with Snow’s face on every other page. I’d taken to drawing a mustache over his beard when I could.

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Last Edit: Aug 30, 2020 1:26:32 GMT -5 by marguerite harvard d2a (zori)

fireflyz
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Sage [Roger / Vasco blitz] Aug 30, 2020 14:01:41 GMT -5

Post by fireflyz on Aug 30, 2020 14:01:41 GMT -5

Roger grinned widely at the mayor's interest, and he absently skirted his fingers along the papers. "Yep. It's mostly letters, but there's some other stuff in here too. Did you know that they had an entire plan to refurbish the district square once the Games really got going?"

He paused, rubbing at the coarse hairs on the nape of his neck. "Well, you probably did," he said sheepishly. "I didn't, though. I find it so fascinating! They said it would please the public in every particular¹. Considered using limestone powder in the buildings because it was lighter², but they were concerned about potential attacks bringing the entire structure down. Some chemical reaction I don't quite get."

He wrinkled his nose in thought, but Vasco's question brought him back to earth. "You keep them here, somewhere?"

"We have a library," Roger answered with a nod.

"What did you say your name was?"

He quickly shook his head with a slight laugh. "My apologies, Senor. I'm Roger," he said, offering his hand to shake. "Roger Fladgate. I'm an instructor here."

"You know, I've always wanted to know what it was like before," the mayor continued, and Roger placed his free hand in his front pocket. "Well... what things used to be like. They don't teach that sort of thing, at least, not when I was a kid."

He nodded slowly, a jumble of half-formed memories entering his mind. Even if he had devoted himself to school more back then, Roger was certain that he wouldn't have learned much more. The education system was built that way.

"I've learned more as a professor than I did as a student," Roger admitted. "It's a bit jarring learning alongside the kids sometimes, but hey, makes me feel closer to them somehow."