Science Classroom, Thursday Lunchtime

[tyler_gone]

Tyler hummed to himself as he finished organizing the supplies for the prep work for tomorrow's experiment. Stack of newspapers there, paper shredder here, laundry starch and water neatly to one side, plastic dropcloths covering the work tables, and a horde of plastic bottles to serve as bases.

He never minded a little dirty work, but he approved of this whole TA business. Minions made life so much easier.

[OOC: Primarily for two, but open if anyone else wants to wander in!]

Comments

[intraspective]

Ino eyed the set up dubiously from the doorway.

"Seriously?"

[tyler_gone]

"It's an artistic installation," Tyler told her dryly, gesturing her to come in. "Did you think I was kidding about the paper mache?"

[intraspective]

"Hope springs eternal," she noted, grinning a bit. "Though you'll notice I at least dressed like I thought you were serious."

For her, she was downright drab even.

[tyler_gone]

"Perfect lab clothes," Tyler decided. "I would even give you an apron, but it seems kind of overkill unless you have a fear of laundry starch."

"I figure we could either make six and people can team up, or make 12 and let everyone work on their own." He was leaning toward six, though. "What do you think?"

[intraspective]

"Six," Ino declared with a nod, as she wandered over to poke at the newspaper.

Less work for her that way, seriously.

"Have you ever heard of someone with a fear of laundry starch?"

[tyler_gone]

Six was less work for Tyler, too. He approved.

"I'm sure someone here would tell me laundry starch killed their grandmother," he declared. "And you can start shredding that pile of papers anytime. Have you ever used a paper shredder?"

[intraspective]

Ino eyed the paper shredder. "I don't think so," she said, after a moment. "At least the name is self explanatory? Do I just... turn it on and stick paper in it?"

That would be simple, really.

[tyler_gone]

"Pretty much," he said, hopping over. "Let me adjust the blades so we get wider strips. It'll be easier down the road."

He did that, and: "All yours, Ino. We'll probably want the whole stack torn up."

[intraspective]

She started feeding paper to the machine, wrinkling her nose cheerfully at it.

"Good thing we didn't say twelve, yeah?" Ino asked, as she worked. "If we're using the whole stack for six."

[tyler_gone]

"There are more over by the other table. We would have suffered through it," he shrugged, starting to cut the top off one of the bottles for a base. "God thing it's a small class, though. If I'd gotten more than 20 this would have taken all afternoon." He contemplated this. "I'd probably just make everyone do it in class."

[intraspective]

She contemplated that.

"Curses," Ino decided. "Though then, no doubt, you'd have found something else for me to do."

[tyler_gone]

"Anemone has to spar me," he announced cheerfully. "For you ... I might need to get more creative." Which may well spell doom.

"Want to give me a hand cutting up the bottles?"

[intraspective]

...

"Should I be plotting escape routes or something? Creative punishments are bad." Yeah.

"Never!" Ino said brightly, as she nonetheless went for a bottle. "How do you want this cut."

[tyler_gone]

"I'm not going to stick anybody to walls," Tyler sulked. Because clearly that was a much scarier punishment than sparring. "Though I'm still impressed Kerrigan got away with that one."

He held up his bottle to demonstrate. "Just straight across the top. The idea is it makes the crater for the volcano reaction."

[intraspective]

Sparring was fun. Walls were humiliating.

"She did it twice," Ino supplied, before she realized it might not be the best to tell him that.

Following his instructions, she tried it out on one bottle. "Just like that, yeah?"

[tyler_gone]

Exploding pie was fun, sparring was fun, it all kind of worked out. At least in Tyler's head.

"So I was told," he said, snipping at another bottle. "Interesting way to see an ex, but she deserved it."

This may have been more information than Ino needed.

[intraspective]

No, no she hadn't needed to know that.

"...seriously?"

[tyler_gone]

"River," Tyler clarified, with the sigh of a man realizing he had probably gotten in too deep. "Not ... arm-boy, whatever his name is. A thousand years ago when I was younger than her, yeah."

"I forget it's not common knowledge."

[intraspective]

"More people might know," she said, wrinkling her nose at her latest bottle. "But I only talked to River once, so really, not so much with the deep secrets there."

[tyler_gone]

"If she was in the right mood she knows yours anyhow," he said flatly, cutting the top off the last bottle. "Psychics."

This was not a train of thought likely to lead to good places so: "And I think it's time to start building the volcanoes, if I'm reading the directions right."

[intraspective]

"I know," Ino said. "That's why I only talked to her once."

Her mind was her own, thanks.

"You haven't done this before?" Neither had she, but still. He was the teacher. "What awful job have you for me now?"

[tyler_gone]

Tyler thought about it. "Maybe in middle school?" he guessed. "I mean, I know the process for the main part. Just not the specifics of this part." His experiments were usually a little more dangerous.

"And it looks like your next awful task is crumpling up newspaper to make a kind of pyramid volcano base thing around the bottle then taping it down." He smirked, starting to do one himself as a demonstration. "I'm such a slavedriver."

[intraspective]

"Middle school?" How many schools did they have around here?

"It's awful," Ino said, nodding agreement as she copied him. "I know I'm totally feeling punished and remorseful."

[tyler_gone]

"The school right before high school," he explained. "It's where they store adolescents and try to keep them from killing each other."

He paused what he was doing at her next statement, tried to catch her eye. "Is there anything I could have done that would make you punished and remorseful?"

[intraspective]

"Funny," she said dryly. "In my school they taught us how to kill each other."

Ino considered that, staring at him. "Seriously? Not really. No one got hurt, and it went off well. I count it as a victory, and I'm not honestly going to feel bad 'bout it."

[tyler_gone]

"Did anybody do it?" Tyler wondered mildly as he held her gaze. "And that's about what I thought. You aren't going to be sorry, I can't force you to be sorry, I don't really expect you to be sorry. At least I get some help for the day out of the deal."

[intraspective]

"Kill someone?" Ino shook her head. "Accidents happen, of course, when you're weapons training a bunch of kids but nothing major. It's happened in some villages though--one kid killed an entire graduating class."

She shrugged. "Help I can do. What next?"

[the_merriest]

Rikku was ... slightly frazzled as she wandered into the classroom.

"Sorry," she said. "I had to go get yelly at someone and now I'm all ... bleh. Are there any steps to this that are smashing things?"

[tyler_gone]

"Jesus, I bet their parents were pissed," Tyler decided, eyes wide as he taped a base into place. "Next? Next we - " He was interrupted by Rikku's entrance. "Next I get your co-TA up to speed while you keep taping those down, then mix up some laundry starch and water for the glue."

[tyler_gone]

"It's not a very smashy kind of day," Tyler half-apologized, as he came over from his work with Ino. "We got to starting to make the paper mache without you, though, if art therapy will help."

He rubbed his chin. "Anything I can help with?"

He hoped he wouldn't regret asking.

[the_merriest]

Rikku shook her head. "Some guy. Dated this girl forever, dumped her, and like a week later he's off with someone else. She's one of my good friends, but I'd get in trouble if I took a baseball bat to his rib cage, so I had to settle for yelling. Boys suck."

She stopped abruptly blushed. "Boys not meaning all guys or um teachers or, um, you know, anything bad like that. Uh. Okay! Here to help. What's up?"

[tyler_gone]

Definitely not his business, then. "Everybody sucks sometime," he shrugged, a little awkward. "We're doing paper mache volcanoes. Ino's done the bases, so really all I need is for you guys to mix up the paper mache -- the recipe is on this handout -- rescue the newspaper from the shredder, and start building volcanoes for class. That okay?"

[the_merriest]

"Ooooh, papier mache," Rikku bounced. "It's all sticky and messy and gross. That's almost as good as smashing things."

Rikku had strange priorities.

[tyler_gone]

"I'm glad you approve," Tyler said, with a genuine smile. "I can give you an apron or gloves if the glop stresses you, but mostly, this part is pretty basic." Thanks to Ino doing the actual work. "We need to make six, so just ..." he waved a hand vaguely. "Start volcanoing?"

[the_merriest]

"I so don't need an apron or gloves," Rikku bounced. "I'm all about the glop. And possibly flinging dried bits of it onto other people later. Lemme go pester Ino and see what's what."

[tyler_gone]

"You are the perfect TA," Tyler said. "Go ahead and get to it and I'll start writing my lecture."