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.
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 pairs 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, most likely for the last weekend of fall break," the professor said, causing another loud chorus of groans from the class. They had learned to treasure their weekends and breaks and having one impacted by schoolwork was not something they wanted.
The lecturer narrowed his eyes. "There are worse choices. Would you rather we arrange these interviews in the middle of 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 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, Mr. Vks. You shall be a group," he said before moving on to the next students.
Rina turned enough in her wheelchair to give Ezre an amused smile. "You'll have to forgive me for not moving to a better position," she winked as the rustles of pairs moving closer together so they could start their studies filled the room. She had seen Ezre around, but couldn't remember whether she had ever introduced herself. "I'm Rina. I promise I'm not going to be a jackerse and make you do all the work."