xp_logs | Scott and Marie-Ange discuss self-defense.

Scott sat behind his small desk in his small office, filing papers. This was his organization time, but he always kept things neat, so he never needed it all. Marie-Ange should be here soon, and he wanted to get everything done before then.

Marie-Ange stood quietly outside the office door for a few minutes, steadying her nerves. Tightening her fingers nervously, she knocked quietly on the half-open door. "Mister Summers?"

"Come in, Marie-Ange," Scott smiled, standing up and putting the last bit of filing away.
He gestured to the seat on the other side of the desk from him. "Sit down," he said as he moved to perch on the edge of the desk himself.

"Merci." Marie-Ange nodded and sat in the chair stiffly.

"Marie-Ange, I know that you are a pacifist. I respect that. I'm also glad that you're still taking the self-defense course." Scott looked up for a moment. "Pacifism can mean many different things, but it doesn't mean that you can't defend yourself if need be. Mr. Wisdom, before he left, thought that you were having a problem with the class. Anything you want to talk about?"

"I do not think it is a real problem. It is just that Mister Wisdom teaches differently from Miss Braddock, and I am having some trouble getting used to it." she pauses, and fidgets with the sleeve of her shirt for a minute. "I want to do well in the class. I.. do not want to get myself hurt if something happens like it did last spring. It is just very hard."

Scott looked at her, tilting his head to the side. "Have you ever given thought to pursuing a martial art? Not like Karate, but Aikido, or Tai Chi?"

No. I.. " Marie-Ange frowns. "I did not know it was available. What is the difference?"

"Aikido is a defensive art. There are no strikes, or hits. The closest you get to hurting someone is putting them in a wrist lock. You use their momentum against them to defend yourself." Scott grinned. "Ever seen a Steven Seagal movie?"

"You don't hit anyone at all? That is strange. The only karate things I have seen are in movies, and I do not think I know Steven Segal ones. "

"Seagal uses more than one form, but he does use Aikido in some of them. We should watch a few, if you can stand watching *some* violence. Then there's Tai Chi. It's a very slow form, mostly defensive as well.... With study and practice, you learn to speed up the moves to where you can defend yourself against attacks. I know more about Aikido, actually. Wrist locks and throws. I think Alison knows Tai Chi."

Marie-Ange nods. "I can watch violence in the movies. I just do not want to hit anyone myself. I think I would like to see those.."

"We'll arrange a movie night this weekend. A Steven Seagal-fest, with his preposition series." He grinned, expecting Marie-Ange to ask the obvious question.

"His preposition.. series?" She wrinkled her nose, puzzled.

"Above the Law, Hard to Kill, Marked for Death, Out for Justice. We can skip Under Siege and Under Siege 2. Save them for later. In the meantime, I'll look for an instructor willing to come here and teach. That is, if after viewing the movies, you want to learn."

"That would be good." she paused. "Do I still have to take the other class? I would not mind, since I am already taking it."

"You can still take the other class, if you want. I ... there's nothing else, Marie-Ange? Mr. Wisdom was rather concerned."

"There is not really anything else. It is just not a class I am used to having to take. Mister Wisdom was really concerned? I did not mean to worry him."

"He's not the kind of man to mention this and ask others to look into it if he wasn't. What happened in the most recent classes?"

"I had a hard time understanding the lesson, and Jamie accidentally hit me in the arm because I did not pay attention."

"How many dupes did he make from the blow?" Scott asked distractedly.

"He did not make any. It was with a stick with padding that Mister Wisdom gave him."

"Good. Mr. Wisdom ... his accent giving you problems understanding him, then?"

Marie-Ange shakes her head. "No, his accent is fine. He uses some words I do not know, but most of them are just what he calls people when they drop things or when Jamie was making cartoon duck jokes."

"Okay," Scott shrugged, giving in. "I'll get the movies for Saturday night and post to the journal about it. And we'll both continue to hope for Mr. Wisdom's quick return, with Ms. Frost in tow. Okay?"

Marie-Ange nods. "Has anyone heard anything, or.. can we not know because it would make it not safe?"

"We haven't heard anything new. They're in Europe. Pete will check in when he can, and the Professor will keep tabs on him too." He touched her shoulder. "When we know more, we'll let everyone know."

Marie-Ange nods silently.

"Okay, then. Thanks for coming by, Marie-Ange. When I next talk to Pete, I'll tell him that you're fine."

Marie-Ange smiles at the latter part of the sentence. "Thank you for the aikido idea. I hope it helps.. "

"So do I."

"I will warn Jamie and Doug and Everett not to eat all the popcorn before Saturday." She stands, and heads out of the office.

"I'll buy some more while I'm renting the films. Just in case." Scott called after her, before going back to sit behind his desk. Now, it was grading time.