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[2375 | Starfleet Academy] Headaches, Hangovers and Hellos

[ Cadet Isel Nix | Turn-of-the-Millennium Technology Lecture | Starfleet Academy | Earth ] Attn: @Luciain
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She was late.

Cadet Isel Nix cursed as she ran down one of the pathways which criss-crossed the Academy grounds, vaulting over one of the pristine rose bushes which Boothby so painstakingly cultivated and sprinting across the grass, the elderly groundskeeper’s voice calling after her from behind a hedge he was trimming as the Vulpinian raced away. Her head pounded and her stomach churned as she made another vault over another row of rose bushes and Isel was springing up the steps to her destination building. She made to nimbly dodge around a student who was emerging from the doors, though in her hungover state she ended up dealing the unfortunate cadet a glancing blow as she raced past in a flurry of white hair and panic.

”Sorry!” Isel called back as she disappeared into the building, racing down the hallway towards the lecture hall. The door in sight, Isel skidded to a stop, wrenched the door open, and dove into the classroom, panting. A glance at the clock told her she had made it in time, though only just. 06:58 hours. A wary glance about the lecture hall told her the professor hadn’t arrived yet, which caused her clouded panic to ease slightly.

With a sigh of relief, Isel made her way to an open seat at the end of the row and allowed herself to drop heavily into the seat, her bag falling at her feet as she caught her breath. A sideways glance at her neighbour with her mismatched eyes found Isel seated next to the female Human with dark brown hair. Isel swept a hand through her hair to clear her long white locks out of her face and gave her new neighbour a sheepish grin, oblivious to how her prominent canine teeth may appear to the Human. ”Whew, made it!” Isel said with a chuckle, then went about fishing a hair tie out of her bag and tying her hair back in a loose ponytail, revealing her pointed ears in the process. Her hair tied, Isel extracted her PADD from her bag, then gave a wide, silent yawn before turning back to the Human beside her. ”Sorry for my crazy entrance. I’ve never been good at mornings, and may have had a bit too much fun last night... I’m Isel.” Isel gave the Human a friendly smile, offering her hand to shake in the Human manner. ”Mornings have never been by thing. Do me a favour and nudge me awake if I doze off in class, yeah?” Isel gave her neighbour a wink and turned towards the front of the lecture hall with a chuckle, hearing the instructor calling for the class’ attention.

The moment the elderly professor began to speak, Isel knew she was in trouble. The man had the sort of voice which could bore a Vulcan into unconsciousness, a dreary monotone that had all the passion and enthusiasm of a dead cat. Isel groaned as the man read, verbatim, the words which were projected on the large screen before the class.

”This guy makes watching paint dry on a bulkhead seem like an extreme sport…” Isel murmured to her Human neighbour, casting a quick, amused glance her way. Turning her attention back to the droning buzz which was coming out of the man at the front of the room, Isel reached up and massaged her temples, the contraband Romulan ale she’d indulged in the previous night having started to drum a tattoo inside her skull as the hangover raged. ”Ugh… I’m never drinking again…” Isel murmured to herself.

As the instructor launched into an explanation as to why he thought technology from the turn-of-the-millennium was exciting, his voice seeming to take on even more of a droning aspect as he expressed his “excitement”, Isel knew she was doomed. Her eyes already felt weighed down, making their way downward against her will. Isel tried to force them open, her eyebrows arching with the effort, though the attempt made no headway in forcing the eyelids upwards.

Another exclamation of “excitement” from the professor, and Isel was asleep. The Vulpinian let out a barely audible snore as she slumped sideways, her head coming to rest on the shoulder of her Human neighbour.

Re: [2375 | Starfleet Academy] Headaches, Hangovers and Hellos

Reply #1 –
[ Cadet Katherine Locke | Turn-of-the-Millennium Technology Lecture | Starfleet Academy | Earth ] attn: @Fife

There were some classes that you took because you had to, required courses to graduate from the academy and move on. Then there were the classes you took for fun, the classes that kept you from going insane while you studied, injected some bright points into the pressure the academy could offer. Then there were the classes like this one, the classes you couldn’t remember why you had signed up for in the first place.

Katie wasn’t sure if it was the sunlight shining through the window right onto the desk on the soporific drone of the teacher’s voice but it seemed like the entire class seemed like it was an experiment designed to send them to sleep. It was a ridiculous idea, but the sheer idiocy of the idea was enough to turn the corner of the petite girl’s lips up into a smile as she reached out, taking a desperate sip of her coffee in an attempt to stay awake, a fight that the student sitting next to her had clearly lost.

The white-haired girl had blown into the room in a whirlwind of motion and activity, a breath of fresh air, energy in the otherwise dull class. With her white hair and pale skin the girl had certainly made an impression with that first frenetic entry into the room, an energy which soon faded unto the drone of the lecturer’s voice. Katie had barely had the chance to introduce herself before Isel had succumber and fallen asleep. The lecturer had to have some kind of super power, she was almost sure of it. Still, it wouldn’t do to let the other girl sleep through the class, he might actually say something important…and she needed the company if she was honest.

Leaning forward the brunette reached up, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear before reaching a hand out hesitantly resting it on Isel’s shoulder. The first shake was gentle, slowly shaking the other girl with increasing intensity before she say her eyes start to flutter open. A warm smile curled up the corner of the brunette’s lips as she slid her coffee cup across the table.

“Here you go, I think you might need this more than I do.”

Brown eyes flicked up to the front of the class before she slid down in her chair, reaching down to pinch her leg. Anything to give her that little spark, that edge to stay awake in class. It was funny, she’d never had a problem with it before, but then she’d never had a professor like this before.

“You know…I think this might be the hardest class we have to take this year, and I’ve got to do dissection too.”

Warm eyes settled on Isel, a comfortable smile on Katie’s lips as she leaned over conspiratorially, eyes flicking to the front of the class to make sure they weren’t in any danger of being caught. Not that there was much chance of that, as lost in the lecture as he was.

“They really should have a warning on the door when you walk in, ‘Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter’. When they said the academy would be tough I thought it would be with you know classes or simulations.”

At least, a problem shared was a problem lessened, right?

Re: [2375 | Starfleet Academy] Headaches, Hangovers and Hellos

Reply #2 –
[ Cadet Isel Nix | Turn-of-the-Millennium Technology Lecture | Starfleet Academy | Earth ] Attn: @Luciain
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Isel’s eyes fluttered for a moment, then she started awake with soft snort, her eyes wide as she took a moment to take in her surroundings. It was only when she glanced to her left and found Katie staring back at her that Isel remembered where she was. Isel smiled gratefully as her neighbour slid a cup towards her, the aroma of coffee filling the Vulpinian’s sensitive nose. Isel grinned as she lifted the cup, taking a sip and savouring the bitter taste. ”Thanks Katie! I didn’t drool on you, did I?” Isel asked the question in a low voice, so as not to catch the professor’s attention, a look of amusement in her mismatched eyes.

As Katie joked that this might be the hardest class they’d have to take this year, including dissections.

”You ain’t kidding!” Isel giggled, taking another sip of the coffee before setting it down between them so Katie could easily reach it as well. ”Dissections aren’t so bad. Once you’ve seen one set of insides, you’ve seen ‘em all.” Isel realized too late what she was saying, and quickly turned her eyes to the front of the class in the hopes that Katie hadn’t noticed anything strange about the comment. If she asked, Isel could simply claim that, being Vulpinian, she was a carnivore. Hopefully the Human would buy it.

Turning back to Katie, Isel ginned. ”Maybe this class isn’t really for turn-of-the-millennium tech. Maybe it’s really meant to prepare us for long, boring operations and increase our resilience to torture.” Isel said with a chuckle. ”Though if the Romulans have someone droning on at me like this, I won’t be awake long enough to answer any of their questions!” Isel shook her head as she laughed softly, grinning at Katie. ”Thanks again for the coffee, Katie. And… you know… waking me up form my drone-induced mini coma.” Isel glanced towards the front of the lecture hall as the professor cleared his throat, worried for a moment that he had noticed the two of them talking, but he had apparently just cleared his throat before launching into an “interesting” portion of his lecture on old Earth chronometers, the drone in his voice changing pitch slightly in his excitement.

Turning back to Katie, Isel leaned a bit closer and kept her voice quiet. ”So, which department are you planning on joining?”

Re: [2375 | Starfleet Academy] Headaches, Hangovers and Hellos

Reply #3 –
[ Cadet Katherine Locke | Turn-of-the-Millennium Technology Lecture | Starfleet Academy | Earth ] attn: @Fife

The girl couldn't help but smile at her companion's observations, letting herself sink lower down in her chair to avoid their professor catching sight of her as she held up her PADD to cover her face. It was one of the most useful elements of having a tablet like this for class, it provided a useful protection for those times when you didn't want to let a teacher see your face.

"Oh, not too much, it's ok, I missed getting to the gym today, so you know I really needed to get the swimming practice in."

Dark brown eyes twinkled playfully as the student leaned forehead, letting her eyes peer around the classroom for a moment. It seemed that they weren't the only students struggling with the lecturer's soporific tone, all around the pair students had slumped down at their desks, dozing or playing on their PADDs rather than maintaining that bright-eyed and bushytailed look that you always saw in the media when they talked about Starfleet Academy. Bright-eyed perfect students cutching their PADDs or engaged in deep conversation as they made their way from one class to the other. And, it had been a little like that while she’d been here. Katie had never experienced a scholastic atmosphere like it anywhere before, but then…there were other elements to school here that she hadn’t been expecting.

There were the parties, nights spent drinking an relaxing, something the girl ha never really seen before. It was…heady, enough to blow you away and she could empathise with her new friend, when she’d first arrived there were nights she’d stayed up way too late drinking before stumbling into class bleary-eyed and barely aware. It was a trial that everyone went through, trying to find a balance between work and play, something that would no doubt serve them well as they moved on to positions later on ships and stations. Although, that perhaps wasn’t the only thing they were teaching them. That grin pulled up the edge of her lips as she leaned closer to Isel, a finger flicking up to point at her.

“You know, I think you might be right there, I bet this class is secretly some kind of special test by intelligence. Trying to weed out the students with the potential to be spys, or to withstand torture, cause let’s be honest, it doesn’t come much more cruel and unsual than putting us through something like this. I mean, it’s got to be against some kind of convention or the other right?”

She leaned back for a moment, letting soft brown eyes check on the lecturer before twisting around to look at the white-haired student.

“My pleasure, besides, I’m sure you would have done the same for me. We torture victims need to stick together right?”

A wink as she shifted slightly in her chair.

“I’m in the Medical Academy, so I guess I really don’t need to be here, but I figured it would be a good elective to take, something unusual that I’m never really gonna be able to find out about right? Show’s me for trying to be clever.doesn’t it? I should have gone for something more reasonable, like…well anything outside on a day like this. What about you? What ended up dragging you in here?”

Re: [2375 | Starfleet Academy] Headaches, Hangovers and Hellos

Reply #4 –
[ Cadet Isel Nix | Turn-of-the-Millennium Technology Lecture | Starfleet Academy | Earth ] Attn: @Luciain
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Isel chuckled at Katie’s remark about the level of boredom in the class likely being against some sort of convention, then gave Katie a grin as she remarked that they, as victims being subjected to the torturous monotony together, had to stick together. ”You ain’t wrong, my sister from a furless mister!” Isel agreed with warmth, the Vulpinian taking a liking to the Human.

Isel nodded as Katie explained that she was in the Medical Academy, the news making sense to her as, with the Human woman’s warm and friendly demeanor, she would likely make an excellent medical officer. She chuckled as Katie lamented her idea that this would be an easy and interesting elective class to take. Isel had begun to feel the same way. When Katie asked what had made Isel decide to take the course, Isel pursed her lips and thought for a moment.

”I guess I was sort of curious, more than anything. I don’t really know all that much about Humans, never came to Earth until I came to the Academy.” That wasn’t strictly true, but it wasn’t entirely false either. ”I thought that, since I’ll be serving in Starfleet and surrounded by Humans, it might help to learn a bit about their technology and the developments it’s undergone. I’ve always like working with mechanics and engines, though I don’t know if I’ll be able to learn much in this class if I keep falling asleep.” Isel gave her Human neighbour a grin. ”But I’ve met someone to endure the struggle with, so it’s not all bad! Besides, I won’t need to really know any of this. I’m planning on going into CONN, or Tac CONN if I can get accepted. I like working with engines, but I like flying them more!” Isel gave Katie a somewhat impish grin as she confessed, ”I might be a bit of an adrenaline junky...”

”So, what made you decide to go into Medical? You’ve got to have quite a brain to be going into that! That or you just like poking and prodding people.” Isel gave Katie a wink. ”I mean, I’ve played doctor before, but I think we have different ideas of what that entails…” Isel chuckled, reached out a hand and took another sip of Katie’s coffee.

Re: [2375 | Starfleet Academy] Headaches, Hangovers and Hellos

Reply #5 –
[ Cadet Katherine Locke | Turn-of-the-Millennium Technology Lecture | Starfleet Academy | Earth ] attn: @Fife

The young brunette could barely suppress her laugh, a hand coming up to cover her mouth as she attempted to turn it into a cough, or at least her best impression of one. A hand came up, waving away the attention of the other students who'd perked up for a moment, energized by the thought that something interesting might be actually happening in the classroom, turning away with a sigh when they saw it was just a coughing student. If only they knew.

The look that Katie turned on Isel was amused, lips twitching beneath her hand as she finally brought herself under control, lowering her hand as she leaned closer to her new friend, a smile curling up the corner of her lips. She kept her voice low, soft enough that only Isel could hear her.

"I don't think you're wrong, it's certainly a more interesting way to play doctor than the way they teach us...although you know sometimes the prodding and the poking can be fun if it's done in the right way."

Two could play at that game. if Isel wanted to play, well then she wouldn't find Katie lacking. Besides, this was probably the most fun she'd had since arriving at Starfleet Academy and space only knew that she needed something to help keep her awake during this class. The brunette slumped down in her chair, catching her head in her hands as she stared at the front of the class for a moment, trying to listen to the professor droning on before shaking herself out of the stupor that was threatening to overwhelm her. Delicate hands reached up to rub at her eyes before she glanced over at the other woman.

"You know, if you want to get to know about humans, about what makes us tick and how we use our technology this might not exactly by the best place to do it. There are a couple of better options I can think of, well one that really strikes me. I assume you like drinks and food right?"

- FIN
 
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