The World's Most Boring Classroom Brunnhold University
on the 2nd of Vortas, 2719 Morning
Rina knew she should be paying attention to the lecturer. Her parents expected her to go into politics, so paying attention to the lecturer was so hard. She completely understood why the administration had refused to put her in her mother's section of the class, but the professor's droning voice made it difficult for the half-Mugrobi woman to pay attention. It didn't help that this wasn't the area of politics she was going into, and inter-university politics were quite different than the internal politics of the country she lived in. Arranging the transfer of students and research information was complicated, but not nearly as complicated as running the whole nation and, by extent of the treaties that set up the Symvoul, the known world.
So, while she half-listened, she drew in her sketch pad. A quickly sketched drawing of a dress was being refined, details like shading and color being added. At this stage in design, she wasn't sure if she'd have Mr. Feldspar produce the dress -- that was something she decided once the dress was done. If she had her way, she would have all her clothes produced. There was nothing quite like seeing a design come to fruition and being able to see how it turned out, to be able to touch what had once been solely in your head and then on a sketch pad. But Mr. Feldspar had his own business to run and she didn't want to dominate his time. It was probably for the best, since Rina's closet was only so large, and her friends could only take in so many outfits.
"Miss Salifa," she heard the professor's assistant say quietly as he stopped by her desk to hand out her copy of the ledger. She at least had the grace to look sheepish as she closed her sketch book and put her colored pencils away. She flipped through the ledger, sighing.
A girl moved closer to her and she gave her a quick nod of acknowledgement before changing her focus to the lecture. She had seen the girl floating around a couple of times since she came to Brunnhold, but she was one of the more forgettable students. Rina had never reached out to her, the more popular galdor quite happy with her circle of friends.
The next half hour passed in silence only broken by the lecturer, but a chorus of groans was raised as the professor announced that they would be working on a group project. "Yes, I know, you all adore group projects," the professor stated, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "But how can you expect to take proper responsibility for the sacred duty we have to take care of the lower races if you do not know how to work together?"
"Not all of us give a clocking shite about politics," a boy behind Rina griped. Unfortunately, he did it loudly enough that the other students and, more importantly, the professor heard him. Quiet titters broke out, though Rina coughed to hide her laugh.
"Mr. Langerhorn!" the professor chided the student, who gave a dismissive shrug and looked down at his ledger.
"Now, as you'll see, this ledger holds a list of the members of our Assembly and our Incumbents. You will break off into groups of three and will be assigned one Assembly member and one Incumbent to interview. You will produce a paper of at least 10 pages thoroughly analyzing these politician's viewpoints on two of the following topics," the professor explained as he turned to the chalkboard. As he wrote, he read off the topics. "The Resistance, Silas Hawke and the so-called Bad Brothers, The Society for Passive Equality, a bill currently in front of the Assembly, or one of the AAF's current operations."
"Should we also analyze the clocking kitchen sink?" Mr. Langerhorn complained, once again a bit too loudly.
The professor turned back to the students. "Well, since you asked Mr. Langerhorn, I believe your group shall add another topic. Of course, I expect your paper to be longer, accordingly. 5 pages should be enough. If I hear you one more time, I will add another politician to your group, also."
Mr. Langerhorn groaned and put his face in his hands.
The professor gave a very thin, satisfied smile and looked at the rest of the class. "The analysis should include information from an interview I will set up with your Assemblyman and Incumbent, along with an analysis of some of their past votes. I will also arrange suitable lodgings for a weekend trip to Vienda," the professor said, causing another loud chorus of groans from the class. They had learned to treasure their weekends and having one taken away from them was not something they wanted.
The lecturer narrowed his eyes. "There are worse choices. Would you rather we arrange these interviews during fall break?" he asked, his voice sharp as an arrowhead before he moved on. The class's murmurs of discontent subsided quickly.
The lecturer gave a sharp nod. "I thought not. You will stay in the prearranged lodgings, even if you have family in Vienda. You will also abide by the Brunnhold code of conduct while in Vienda. We will be having a formal dinner with all the Assembly members and Incumbents that have been chosen for this project, since we will be in Vienda on the day we will would normally have our formal dinner here. Please be aware that this interview will come very shortly before the paper is due, so I highly suggest you not wait until after the interview to start drafting this paper."
The professor looked like he had finally run out of things to say and started walking along the edges of the seats, grouping students up. He came to Rina and nodded. "Miss Salifa, Miss Hedgethorne, Mr. Vks. You shall be a group," he said before moving on to the next students.