NationStates Jolt Archive

St Denis Secondary College is a co-educational Catholic secondary school in the city of Adrienople, on the west coast of the Pantocratorian mainland. It is administered jointly by the Brothers of Charity and the Sisters of Saint Joseph, under the authority of His Grace the Archbishop of Adrienople, and is owned by the Archdiocese of Adrienople. Its patron is His Grace the Duke of Adrienople.

St Denis Secondary College was established in 1912 to service the growing population of the city of Adrienople. It was the first school in the city to teach both girls and boys, although initially students were kept in separate classes divided by gender and only mixed during recess. Since 1933, there have been no boarders at St Denis, only day students, although it did start life as a boarding college (hence the name). Although the school is administered by the Brothers of Charity and the Sisters of Saint Joseph, only the headmaster, the deputy headmistress, and a handful of teachers are actually members of either religious congregation - most teachers are lay teachers.

There are just over 1000 students enrolled at St Denis. Students wear a black and white uniform, with summer and winter variants. The summer uniform for boys consists of black trouser shorts with a white short sleeve button-up shirt with a black collar, dark grey socks pulled up to just beneath the knees, a black leather belt and black leather shoes. The winter uniform for boys consists of a white shirt, long black trousers, black leather shoes and belt, a black and white striped tie, and a dark grey jumper with thin black and white stripes on its collar and sleeves. The summer uniform for girls consists of a white short sleeve blouse with a white collar, over which is worn a black armless dress which reaches the knees, ankle-high white socks and black leather shoes. The winter uniform for girls consists of a similar white blouse as the summer uniform only with a collar which buttons all the way up, a long black skirt which comes down well past the knees, long white socks which end just under the knees, black leather shoes, and the same tie and jumper worn as the boys. Seniors of both genders wear a black blazer with the school crest stitched on its pocket instead of their jumpers in winter. Prefects have white bars around their blazer sleeves and wear their winter uniform throughout the year.

St Denis only accepts Christian students, which is clearly understood to only mean Catholic (and to a lesser extent Orthodox, not that the issue has come up in Adrienople). The school has made an exception to this entry requirement for foreign exchange students in order to participate in the Department of Education's International Student Exchange Programme. This programme fulfils Treaty of Courtland requirements although it has become substantially broader than the programme envisioned in that treaty, now encompassing all nations in the Western Atlantic and perhaps even others. Students participating in this programme are housed with the families of St Denis students who are participating in foreign exchanges to schools in signatory nations of the Treaty of Courtland, and are enrolled at St Denis for a whole school year.

OOC: If you have been invited to this thread, please let's begin by you posting the particulars of the student or students you are sending along to Pantocratoria as part of the Department of Education's ISEP. Depending on your nation, student's guardians may have had to give explicit permission for their student to be assigned to a Church school - I know this is the case in the Resurgent Dream. Please only post students who have had such permission granted!

Everyone in the Western Atlantic region has been invited to participate already on the regional messageboard. If you roleplay with any of us already, and would like to participate, please TG me for an invitation. I'll check it with the other participants first and get back to you!

Name: Nashrat Negash
Sex: Female
Member: Carasia
Religion: Carasian Orthodox
GPA: 8.6 (on a scale of 1-10)
Languages: Amharic, English, French, Greek
Extracurricular activities: Literary Club, Journalism Club, Debating Society
Age: 16
Special conditions: Diabetes

Name: Fábián Elenàrath
Age: Seventeen

Address: Neúvenärta, southern Xirnium

Teachers’ Notes:

Fábián has demonstrated something of a proficiency in Latin and the ancient Xirniumite tongues, but shows little aptitude in any of the contemporary languages save French, for which his teachers have described him as capable though inattentive. His teachers have noted that he has something of an interest in the classics, though he dislikes Greek.

Fábián has proven himself a disappointing pupil with respect to the physical sciences, especially in chemistry. His mathematics teachers, however, have found him a reasonably talented student when he applies himself. Fábián has shown a vague interest in the life sciences, but it requires further nursing.

With respect to English, Fábián appears to show the most promise in the fields of rhetoric. He is an avid reader of literature, but lacks sophistication and taste. He has shown a concerning lack of patience for philosophy or history.

Fábián has demonstrated an unsatisfactory appreciation for music and the fine arts.

Name: Philip R. Little
Gender: Male
Nationality: Iansislean (Southern Shieldian)
Age: Sixteen (birthday in early October)

Phil’s family rose greatly in economic and social standing during and after the Revolution due to their enthusiastic support of moderate revolutionary Charles Bradsworth. However, as the country fell into Lawrence Madders’ radical regime, the Littles began to fear for Phil’s life (particularly as draft ages continued to lower in response to the bloody Jaizar campaign). The family used their remaining contacts to get their only child a pass to study outside of Iansisle from the Education Office.

Phil is a bright but socially awkward youth whose inability to keep from showing off academically earned him more than one “behind the playground” encounter through the course of his education at Iansisle’s boarding schools. He is particularly proficient in the areas of law, philosophy, history, and English, although his grades have never been better than mediocre in math and the sciences. Like most who had an education at the private schools in Iansisle, Phil can read simple Latin and speak broken French.

Although Iansisle is not a signatory of the Treaty of Courtland or a member of the Western Atlantic and memories of the Republic’s recent regicide have likely not yet faded, a special dispensation was sought for Phil to study at St Denis. A return offer for Pantocratorian children to study on the Shield was extended, although with the continuing political and social instability in the Gull Flag Republic, it is unlikely any parents would be willing to take advantage of the offer.

Name: Janusz Dozorski
Gender: Male
Age: Seventeen
Nationality: Taraskovyan (Zerth Fiefdom)
Ethnicity: Polavian (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Taraskovyan_Slavs#Polavians)
Religion: Byzantine Catholic (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Byzantine_Taraskovyan_Catholic_Church)

Janusz hails from the Polavian community and from a deeply religious family, albeit he himself does not at all share his parents' enthusiasm for all things ecclesiastic. He himself is more fond of all things military and war related, and this enthusiasm is in turn not at all shared by his parents.

His enlistment with the St Denis Secondary College is maybe the last desperate attempt of his parents to get their son as far away from anything TNDF-related in the year before their son reaches legal maturity. Janusz himself is not entirely happy with the situation, but obeys his parents' authority and complies with their wishes. At least until he can finally apply for the military and then work his way to R&D.

Education wise, he is generally bright in every course, attaining the passing grades without much effort or work. He is yet to be motivated to attain maximum grades in branches that interest him the least (which he sees as useless for in as long as he gets his papers). Such branches as mathematics, chemistry, biology and physics, however, captivate his attention and he is known to excel at them (these are good to know if one is to have a chance at military R&D). Other branches, such as philosophy or law are brushed aside as useless and only see an investment of effort necessary to attain the passing grades.

Languages wise he speaks a more or less understandable French alongside with his mothertongues that are Ros and Polavian. All languages apart from Ros and Polavian are, quite logically, brushed aside as useless.

Name: Ashtae Larskeun
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Nationality: Aerionian
Ethnicity: Eastern Aerionian
Religion: Roman Catholic

Ashtae Vecrosh is from an upper-class Aerionian family living in one of the wealthy enclaves in northern Aerion.

His parents are unusually devout Roman Catholics, his father is an regional executive for Aerionian Hotels and Resorts, and his mother an stay-at-home mom though participates in many social events. They believe Pantocratoria to be a moral, and upright nation. They do not want the secularism of Aerionian's wealthy society to further corrupt their son, who is of legal age in Aerion, and so decided to send him as an exchange student to Pantocratoria.

Ashtae is a somewhat above average student, but out of a will to succeed in life and gain more wealth like many Aerionians rather our of any academic interest. He is more of a social student, and tends toward socializing. His teachers have observed such.

He speaks perfect English and is almost fluent in French as it is taught from an early age both in school and at home to Aerion's upper class alongside English.

Nashrat looked around somewhat shyly as she stepped off the airplane. The young Confederal was dressed in a pair of cut-off jeans and a black t-shirt along with her boots. She carried a small carry-on bag with her. She carried a collection of Pantocratorian poetry with a bookmark near the middle of the book. She had dark brown skin and wore her hair short. She looked around, seeking her ride.

Name: Nashrat Negash
Sex: Female
Member: Carasia
Religion: Carasian Orthodox
GPA: 8.6 (on a scale of 1-10)
Languages: Amharic, English, French, Greek
Extracurricular activities: Literary Club, Journalism Club, Debating Society
Age: 16
Special conditions: Diabetes

Host Family (surname): Paris

Christian Names
Father: Jean-Louis
Mother: Christine
Children: Zoë (17), Isabelle (15), Isaac (12)

Family Background
Religion: Catholic
Father's Occupation: Publisher
Mother's Occupation (if any): Librarian
Language/s spoken at home: French

Address
16 Rue de la Pentecôte
COLLINE d'INSURRECTION 92178
Adrienople

Name: Fábián Elenàrath
Age: Seventeen

Address: Neúvenärta, southern Xirnium

Teachers’ Notes:

Fábián has demonstrated something of a proficiency in Latin and the ancient Xirniumite tongues, but shows little aptitude in any of the contemporary languages save French, for which his teachers have described him as capable though inattentive. His teachers have noted that he has something of an interest in the classics, though he dislikes Greek.

Fábián has proven himself a disappointing pupil with respect to the physical sciences, especially in chemistry. His mathematics teachers, however, have found him a reasonably talented student when he applies himself. Fábián has shown a vague interest in the life sciences, but it requires further nursing.

With respect to English, Fábián appears to show the most promise in the fields of rhetoric. He is an avid reader of literature, but lacks sophistication and taste. He has shown a concerning lack of patience for philosophy or history.

Fábián has demonstrated an unsatisfactory appreciation for music and the fine arts.

Host Family (surname): Arnôt

Christian Names
Father: Michel
Mother: Louise-Hélène
Children: Louis (17), André (15)

Family Background
Religion: Catholic
Father's Occupation: Public Servant
Mother's Occupation (if any): None
Language/s spoken at home: French

Address
812 Rue de Southport
XERNA 92091
Adrienople

Name: Philip R. Little
Gender: Male
Nationality: Iansislean (Southern Shieldian)
Age: Sixteen (birthday in early October)

Phil’s family rose greatly in economic and social standing during and after the Revolution due to their enthusiastic support of moderate revolutionary Charles Bradsworth. However, as the country fell into Lawrence Madders’ radical regime, the Littles began to fear for Phil’s life (particularly as draft ages continued to lower in response to the bloody Jaizar campaign). The family used their remaining contacts to get their only child a pass to study outside of Iansisle from the Education Office.

Phil is a bright but socially awkward youth whose inability to keep from showing off academically earned him more than one “behind the playground” encounter through the course of his education at Iansisle’s boarding schools. He is particularly proficient in the areas of law, philosophy, history, and English, although his grades have never been better than mediocre in math and the sciences. Like most who had an education at the private schools in Iansisle, Phil can read simple Latin and speak broken French.

Although Iansisle is not a signatory of the Treaty of Courtland or a member of the Western Atlantic and memories of the Republic’s recent regicide have likely not yet faded, a special dispensation was sought for Phil to study at St Denis. A return offer for Pantocratorian children to study on the Shield was extended, although with the continuing political and social instability in the Gull Flag Republic, it is unlikely any parents would be willing to take advantage of the offer.

Host Family (surname): Fitzchrétien

Christian Names
Father: Jacques
Mother: Cécile
Children: Luc (16), Marie-Claire (15), Marie-Celeste (13), Charles (10), Thierry (8), Marie-Thérèse (4)

Family Background
Religion: Catholic
Father's Occupation: Engineer
Mother's Occupation (if any): None (formerly Architect)
Language/s spoken at home: French

Address
4 Rue de la Reine
COLLINE d'INSURRECTION 92178
Adrienople

Name: Janusz Dozorski
Gender: Male
Age: Seventeen
Nationality: Taraskovyan (Zerth Fiefdom)
Ethnicity: Polavian (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Taraskovyan_Slavs#Polavians)
Religion: Byzantine Catholic (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Byzantine_Taraskovyan_Catholic_Church)

Janusz hails from the Polavian community and from a deeply religious family, albeit he himself does not at all share his parents' enthusiasm for all things ecclesiastic. He himself is more fond of all things military and war related, and this enthusiasm is in turn not at all shared by his parents.

His enlistment with the St Denis Secondary College is maybe the last desperate attempt of his parents to get their son as far away from anything TNDF-related in the year before their son reaches legal maturity. Janusz himself is not entirely happy with the situation, but obeys his parents' authority and complies with their wishes. At least until he can finally apply for the military and then work his way to R&D.

Education wise, he is generally bright in every course, attaining the passing grades without much effort or work. He is yet to be motivated to attain maximum grades in branches that interest him the least (which he sees as useless for in as long as he gets his papers). Such branches as mathematics, chemistry, biology and physics, however, captivate his attention and he is known to excel at them (these are good to know if one is to have a chance at military R&D). Other branches, such as philosophy or law are brushed aside as useless and only see an investment of effort necessary to attain the passing grades.

Languages wise he speaks a more or less understandable French alongside with his mothertongues that are Ros and Polavian. All languages apart from Ros and Polavian are, quite logically, brushed aside as useless.

Host Family (surname): Mercer

Christian Names
Father: Dion
Mother: Danielle
Children: Marc (17), Geneviève (14), Constantine (13)

Family Background
Religion: Catholic
Father's Occupation: Graphic Designer
Mother's Occupation (if any): Author
Language/s spoken at home: French

Address
92 Rue du Foix
ST MARC 92008
Adrienople

Name: Ashtae Larskeun
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Nationality: Aerionian
Ethnicity: Eastern Aerionian
Religion: Roman Catholic

Ashtae Vecrosh is from an upper-class Aerionian family living in one of the wealthy enclaves in northern Aerion.

His parents are unusually devout Roman Catholics, his father is an regional executive for Aerionian Hotels and Resorts, and his mother an stay-at-home mom though participates in many social events. They believe Pantocratoria to be a moral, and upright nation. They do not want the secularism of Aerionian's wealthy society to further corrupt their son, who is of legal age in Aerion, and so decided to send him as an exchange student to Pantocratoria.

Ashtae is a somewhat above average student, but out of a will to succeed in life and gain more wealth like many Aerionians rather our of any academic interest. He is more of a social student, and tends toward socializing. His teachers have observed such.

He speaks perfect English and is almost fluent in French as it is taught from an early age both in school and at home to Aerion's upper class alongside English.

Host Family (surname): Verdefleur

Christian Names
Father: Charles (deceased)
Mother: Marie
Children: Louis (17), Julienne (16)

Family Background
Religion: Catholic
Father's Occupation: Major (OF3), Imperial Army Legions, Killed in Action (Esperi War)
Mother's Occupation (if any): Preschool Teacher
Language/s spoken at home: French

Address
23/88 Champs-Manuel
CENTRE-VILLE 92001
Adrienople

Subject Enrolment

All students must enrol in 7 subjects. The subjects available at St Denis are:

Compulsory Subjects
Catholic Religious Education
French Literature
Ordinary Mathematics OR Advanced Mathematics

Elective Subjects
Greek Literature
Theatre
Media Studies

Greek Language (for non-native speakers)
English Language (for non-native speakers)
Latin

Physics
Biology
Chemistry
Information Technology

Modern History (French Revolution until the Present Day)
European Historical Studies (Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment)
Ancient History (Classical period, Medieval period ending with fall of Constantinople)
Pantocratorian Historical Studies (Imperial Rome, Byzantium, Pantocratoria)
Social Studies
Economics

Art
Graphics
Music

Health and Physical Education
Manual Arts (Woodwork, metalwork, etc)
Business Studies
Cadet Programme (subject for students who participate in the military cadet programme)

OOC:

Please note that in each case, the eldest child listed in the "children" section of the host family profiles are the ones participating in the exchange programme. They are therefore not in Adrienople, or even Pantocratoria, during this RP.

Since exchange students are enrolled for an entire year, they are required to wear school uniforms. In many cases the missing Pantocratorian exchange student's uniforms will fit the foreign exchange student, and in other cases the host family (or perhaps the exchange student's family) will have to buy new uniforms for their exchange students.

Sorry it has taken so long for me to post these details - I was hoping Knoot would participate, and he might still, but just in case he does not, I am getting things going anyway. Rather than post half a dozen airport arrivals, though, I will simply get on with posting the first day at school. We can assume this day to be fairly soon after the exchange students arrive such that there hasn't been much time for them to do any sight seeing or much other than sleeping off jet lag!

OOC: Yes, that "Ordinary Mathematics OR Advanced Mathematics" is an exclusive or (XOR), you can do one or the other, but not both.

IC:

St Denis Secondary College was an attractive school whose grounds were built along a ridge at the highest point of the suburb of Colline d'Insurrection. Its buildings were built primarily of red brick and offset nicely with white square columns and white masonry. They were set amongst thick-trunked trees of considerable age, although there was a quadrangle of brick and concrete between the school buildings themselves where it was easier to supervise students on their recesses. The mighty oaks which grew about the school grounds were not dense enough to be called a forest, but they nevertheless formed a pleasant ring of greenery between the school and the city. Coupled with the fact that Colline d'Insurrection was a relatively quiet suburb which was outside the central business district of Adrienople (although it was still quite central), St Denis was a peaceful oasis.

The arrival of students changed that, of course. In the morning a steady stream of cars and busses started dropping students at the school entrance, which was at the bottom of the ridge. The students would talk and laugh and joke and shout loudly, as teenagers do, as they made their way up the winding path through the leafy trees up to the top of the ridge and the school yard itself. At this point they would generally get even louder as they separated off into their groups of friends and congregated around the various feature points of the quadrangle - particular gardens, water bubblers, chairs and tables, and so on. The noise would get louder still as many students started to play one game or another - most usually with tennis balls in some modified form of racket-less tennis or the like.

At 9am, bells started ringing and the Headmaster, Brother Marc Lais, ascended the steps to a large red brick podium between the two main classroom blocks, which linked them by way of a bridge built between each classroom block and the podium. On the front of the podium, beneath the microphone stand, was the school's crest, with the motto "Pietas et Fidelitas" displayed proudly beneath it. The students began assembling according to house groups in lines in front of the podium, and the various homeroom teachers began appearing and helped organise the students in their homerooms into line. As they reached the exchange students, some of whom, like Nashrat, were instantly recognisable as foreign, and others of whom they recognised as exchange students simply because they looked lost and new, they showed them to Monsieur Cecieux, who was an English language teacher and in charge of the exchange programme at St Denis. Monsieur Cecieux, after collecting all the exchange students, took them up next to the podium, although he didn't embarrass them further by literally putting them up on stage with the Headmaster. Once the student body was all organised into house and homeroom groups, standing at attention and quiet, the Headmaster began to speak into a microphone.

"Good morning children, and peace be with you." Brother Marc said.

"Good morning Brother, and also with you." the student body echoed back as a chorus, albeit a slow and not particularly enthusiastic one.

"Children another school year is upon us and I am sure you would all rather still be on holidays. This year we have been particularly lucky in that we haven't lost anybody over the holidays, something we should all be thankful for in these turbulent times." Brother Marc began. "We are also lucky in that this year, for the first time, St Denis is participating in a student exchange programme. For those of you in final form, I am sure our exchange students will introduce themselves to you in the classes they will be sharing with you. For the rest of you, if you see our exchange students about the yard, please go out of your way to make them feel welcome here at St Denis. On to administrative matters, the first assembly of the year will be on Thursday at midday, in place of fourth period. At that assembly we will announce which final form students will be prefects this year. Football sign-ups will begin on Wednesday, with try-outs this weekend. Sign-ups for the Army Cadet Programme will also begin on Wednesday, with an information seminar on Tuesday afternoon. You can obtain permission slips for football and cadets at the school office. And finally, children, I would like to begin this school year as with all other school years, with a prayer."

The Headmaster and the assembled school crossed themselves at this point, and began to pray the school prayer, once again in a droning chorus.

"All-Knowing God, grant me knowledge.
Watch over my classrooms,
Help me in my lessons,
Assist me in my studies,
So that I may learn.

"All-Wise God, grant me wisdom.
Watch over me in the playground,
Help me one the sportsfield,
Assist me in my endeavours,
So that I may grow.

"Mother of God, intercede for me.
St Denis, pray for me.
Grant that I be a good student,
A better Christian,
And that I may always, and in all things,
Have as motto:
Pietas et Fidelitas.
Amen."

The Headmaster and student body crossed themselves again.

"Dismissed." the Headmaster said, and the student body broke up in its groups and headed for their respective homerooms. Monsieur Cecieux told each exchange student where their homerooms were.

Nashrat stood quietly through the assembly, trying to listen to the French in French and avoid the temptation to translate it into Amharic in her head. She did pray and respond as appropriate. The whole place seemed so unfamiliar. She was the only black girl in the school, something she knew shouldn't matter but somehow still seemed to, especially sitting next to a young man from Iansisle. She knew that country's reputation for prejudice and, although she knew in her head that it was just a wrong to make assumptions about Philip based on his origin, she couldn't help wondering what he was thinking.

Although she tried to stay focused on Brother Marc's words, she was a teenager and her mind couldn't help wandering now and then. Sometimes it wandered to a couple cute Pantocratorian boys she had picked out of the crowd. Sometimes they wandered to the other exchange students. She'd noticed she was the only girl. Sometimes her mind wandered to her classes. She was taking Catholic Religious Education, French Literature, Ordinary Mathematics, Latin, Greek Literature, Theatre and Media Studies. She wondered if any of the other foreign students would share those classes as she left the assembly and headed for her homeroom.

Ashtaen was not pleased at all with his parents, for he also knew what Pantocratoria was about, and that they were far more stricter on their youth than Aerion was on his. He considered, once reaching legal age in Pantocratoria, attempting to leave the school but then he knew his somewhat strict father would in fact cut his future promises such as of buying Ashtaen a luxury home upon graduating from one of Aerion’s colleges for the elite.

He had barely any time to get to know his hosts, and he was not all that friendly to Marie when she greeted him at the airport. He had with him an inordinate 6 pieces of designer luggage, perhaps ridiculous for such a young man.

He had been enrolled in the required courses of Catholic Religious Education, French Literature, and Ordinary Mathematics. In addition he had decided to take Theatre, Pantocratorian Historical Studies, Business Studies, and because of his father’s urgings he was to be put into the Cadet Programme.

He stood there, jet lagged, agitated, and to say the least pissed off. He had prayed the necessary prayer, then subtly rolled his eyes following the ending. He then left with the other student to what he hoped would be easy classes.

If Nashrat was uncomfortable sitting next to Phil, the reverse was true as well. He had never been so physically close to a colored person before in his life. Granted, there had been plenty of natives on his family's extended holiday in Gallaga, but they spent nearly all their time at a secluded, whites-only resort high in the mountains to avoid the heat.

The only natives he had any contact with were impeccably dressed porters, bell-hops, and waiters trained never to make eye contact or conversation with the guests. In the end, he had more contact with Gallaga's animal life, kept at the hotel's menagerie, than he did with its people. He knew that solitary tiger that prowled up and down in its small cage better than he knew the person who changed his sheets and he understood the great bull gaur with his transfixing blue gaze better than the dark-haired man who delivered his father's newspaper. He had experience with darker people, but never as an equal, which in the end was all the more disconcerting.

Nashrat's discomfort was probably not all in her head, as Phil had started at his seat assignment, then deliberately tried to suppress it. Still, he was extremely uncomfortable, which probably showed in his body language slightly.

That discomfort might later be attributed to his attempts to follow the French. The time with his family, the Fitzchrétiens, had accustomed his ears to the language, but he found himself still thinking in English and attempting to translate the words in his head. In Iansisle, it was considered vaguely unpatriotic to learn a foreign language. Almost everyone learned a bit of Latin, for either the Church or the classics, French was mildly common in prestigious boarding schools which fed into the diplomatic service, and there were special schools connected to the Gallaga Office which taught Bengali, Hindi, or Marathi. Only in rare cases were these languages taught or pursued with any great enthusiasm, however, and most often they served as a 'slack' period in an otherwise serious course of study.

Phil had been a particularly good French student, relatively, and thought he would be easily able to fit into Pantocratoria. He soon found, much to his chagrin, that proficient on the Shield was grossly inadequate elsewhere. He stumbled through the prayer, missing about every third word and mispronouncing the rest -- hopefully God would be able to hear the intact English version playing through his head. He gladly crossed himself when it ended and made off for his homeroom, making sure to trail Nashrat by as much as possible.

He had taken the required classes, Catholic Religious Education, French Literature, and Ordinary Mathematics (he never had much of a head for numbers), as well as a fairly well-rounded Liberal Arts course including Modern History, Media Studies, Art, and (on a whim) Health and Physical Education. Phil had played second on the baseball team at Dalnor, his last Shieldian boarding school, located near the sleepy town of Dalwick-on-Timmen, Pentonshire. He knew that baseball was not a favorite sport of Pantocratoria but, ever optimistic, he had brought along two gloves and a handful of balls hoping that one of the other foreign exchange students would be from a country that played the sport.

If Ashtaen wore a look that could only have been described as very annoyed, the expression that darkened Fábián’s countenances was one much more difficult to read. Perhaps it was a look of disappointment. The Arnôt family had been kind enough, of course, indeed they had been nothing short of pleasant, but dreadfully conventional. The mother was a housewife, the father a bureaucrat. Fábián wondered if there could have been a more archetypical Pantocratorian family. That there were no daughters his age did not help the situation. Naturally he had been perfectly polite, almost to the point of coldness, but it was a coldness not without some desire for greater intimacy.

Had the school prayer been uttered in Latin and not French, Fábián might have joined in with the rest of the students. As it happened he merely stood quiet and impassive, his thoughts occupied elsewhere. It was not that he objected to prayer on any conscientious grounds, although he was stubborn as a rule. Fábián was an atheist, and more than capable of lying if the situation called for it. Perhaps he chose to remain silent simply because no one else had, or maybe it was to use the opportunity to study the discomfort of his fellow exchange students.

Accustomed as he was to a much more prescribed and formulaic curriculum, the great choice amongst subjects that Fábián encountered had come as something of a surprise. Latin was taken up without a moment’s second thought. Greek he absolutely would not choose, and the chance to drop chemistry was greeted with particular, almost too eager, delight. Still, it would not be wise to entirely ignore the physical sciences, and so, consoling himself with the thought that only astronomy could have been more pointless for any career that he might conceivably pursue, he chose physics as his second elective.

This had left two to go, but not many attractive choices. Perhaps he should take a more systematic approach, ruling out those that he didn’t like? The young man had never thought much of a career in the military, and the prospect of playing soldiers did not sound much more enticing. He could thus safely ignore the cadet programme. Business studies, the manual arts and informational technology were all far too vocational and pragmatic subjects, and so Fábián felt studying them beneath him. Dates and names produced blank forgetfulness, so unfortunately history was out too.

Botany had always interested the young man, and some of his dearest possessions were heavy monographs on the subject. Indeed systematics was one of Fábián’s more peculiar pastimes. Biology had therefore been selected as his third elective. Art was selected last, but deliberately so. Fábián had chosen it for its own sake, he would make a Xirniumite yet.

Homerooms at St Denis included students from every grade, and were arranged according to house. There were twelve house, each named for an apostle. Each house had five homerooms, all of which were on one level in one of the main classroom blocks. Each homeroom was allocated around 18 students each. The house and homeroom allocations were as follows:

Nashrat Negash - Saint Pierre House, Room 402 (M Nummin)
Fábián Elenàrath - Saint Matthieu House, Room 204 (Mme Vaude)
Philip Little - Saint Matthias House, Room 303 (M Vacit)
Janusz Dozorski - Saint Jean House, Room 315 (Mlle Pont)
Ashtae Larskeun - Saint Pierre House, Room 404 (M Dophiles)


OOC: Sorry about the brevity of the post - no, I don't really expect anyone to be able to do anything with this, I just thought I'd post something to reassure people that I was in fact alive. I'll follow this up with a proper post tomorrow!

The introduction ceremony. Hoq quaint and unoriginal, utterly unoriginal. And yet, he felt it was still needed, it was part of the discipline, something which united every student in that school. He knew that he would be faced with similar ceremonies once he enrolled for the army. Just another year. Just another year to wait…

He did not pray along. His lips moved in a fashion as to make seem that he was, but it was not required to be a skilled lip-reader to see that he was just moving them senselessly. He did not know the prayer, he did not bother as it was in French.

And so Janusz just glanced around himself, spotting the students he would have to be side by side with for the following year. He made a quick mental note of any cute female faces he spotted.

And he was quite relieved when the dismissal order came forth.

Homeroom was the first opportunity the exchange students would've had until this point to see the classrooms in which they would be spending so much of their time at St Denis College. This likely wasn't the most exciting part of their trip to Pantocratoria thus far, even though they hadn't yet had the opportunity to do much sight-seeing, as a classroom is a classroom no matter where one may roam. The rooms all had whiteboards (the last few blackboards in the school had been replaced over the holidays), a sort of stage at the front of the room (raised by perhaps two inches) to make it easier to see the teacher, and the usual rows of desks. Hanging on the wall above the whiteboard in each room was a wooden cross with an immolated Christ hanging on it, made of silver or gold in most rooms, but in some others of realistically painted plaster. Hanging on the wall above the teacher's desk in each room was the same official Silver Jubilee photographic portrait of the Emperor and the late Empress in their coronation robes. Against the wall on the opposite side of the board (the right hand side from the perspective of seated students), a two-foot tall statue of the Virgin Mary stood on top of a small cabinet in which spare whiteboard markers and erasers were kept. The statue varied in style from room to room but always depicted the same subject. The rooms used for homeroom had no particular unique features - if they were used exclusively for one subject or another or by one teacher or another, there was nothing in the way of individual touches to indicate that.

Room 402
Monsieur Nummin was an imposing man, just past middle age, with a buzz haircut, a thick neck, and a large jaw. He looked like a rugby forward, in fact, but he had no cauliflowered ears. The students in his homeroom seemed subdued but not scared by his presence, and Nashrat may have inferred from their reactions that the man wasn't the sort to tolerate much nonsense, but was fair nevertheless. None of the students said anything in particular to Nashrat as they all entered the room, although some of the younger students in particular noticeably observed her.

The students, for their part, tended to sit in groups according to their form. Whether this was by explicit organisation or by chance was uncertain, and while the distinction between students from one form and that immediately above or below it may have been difficult to make, the difference between the youngest and the oldest was readily apparent. The older students, who must have been in the final two forms, sat by the right hand side of the room, nearest the door and furthest away from Monsieur Nummin. The younger students, some of whom looked particularly silly in ill-fitting uniforms they would no doubt grow into as the year wore on, sat on the other side, in front of Monsieur Nummin's desk. There were ten boys in the class and eight girls, including Nashrat. The teacher waited a few moments for the students to find their places.

Room 204
Room 204 was a touch chaotic when Fábián arrived. Madame Vaude was engaged in conversation with a gentleman carrying a box full of little books in black and white covers, and while she was thus engaged, the students were engaged in lively conversations of their own. One of the younger children was showing off his new PeacockPod to the other younger students, creating a little huddle around the device. The rest of the students seemed to have clustered themselves more or less in age groups and sat around talking fairly casually. Given Fábián was dressed in the same uniform as everyone else, and there was nothing unusual about the way he looked, he didn't immediately draw the attention of his fellow students.

OOC: Sorry for those for whom I have not posted yet, I will try to do so tomorrow but it is 3:23am now and I must sleep!

Nashrat moved quietly to have a seat with others who looked to be about her age. She set her books on the desk and adjusted them, taking one notebook and opening it to the first page and arranging the other books neatly in the upper left corner of the desk. She took out her pen and set it neatly next to her notebook. After briefly looking around, she focused on Nummin and waited.

Nashrat expected, based on her own past experiences, that he would begin by reviewing the school's rules and regulations, including the very obvious, in great depth. She assumed that most of the other students would have heard more or less the same regulations every year of their school experience. She tried to peek at Nummin's desk to see if anything that looked like a pile of small rulebooks could be seen. She wished that she hadn't been separated from the other international students. She was unsure what actual purpose had been served by having them stand near the front, unintroduced, and then separated to go where they would have gone anyway.

Absentmindedly touching at his tie, Fábián cast his eyes about the room, searching for any empty seat. The scene was one that would have been familiar to almost any Xirniumite student, although whiteboards were rare in most ordinary classrooms, reserved almost exclusively for computer labs and the like. With an ironic surge of loyalty Fábián reflected that the classrooms at home were better, he much preferred the aesthetic of dusty white chalk and the dark slate grey of a blackboard. He was interested to see what else would be different.

Knowing nobody in the room, he naturally sat on his own, finding a chair towards the end of a middle row. Nearby, a group of younger schoolgirls seemed to be recounting their holiday experiences with one another, and barely turned at his arrival. Like Madame Vaude and the students of Room 204, Fábián was similarly engaged, though not with anyone nearby. He had just downloaded some e-mail from his school-friends in Xirnium, and was for the present involved with one of them in an online game on his flashy new “bluePhone”. The game was a fairly unsophisticated, charmingly quaint side-scroller, with an ice giant from Xirniumite mythology as the central antagonist and the recovery of a goblin mirror the main quest. It would suffice to pass time while the teacher remained preoccupied.