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xp_logsDuring self-defense class, Logan decides to continue his fun of picking on Crystal. It's only a bit of goading this time, and rather than becoming enraged, Crystal finds his taunts amusing.
For what must have been the hundredth time since school began, Crystal wondered what she was doing here. Here at the school and here in self-defense class with Mr. It's-Just-Logan. She didn't really need to take self-defense. Despite what Logan seemed to think, her powers were great for defensive measures, plus she had watched a number of skilled combatants spar and fight with each other and had even been taught by a few of them. Sometimes, however, it was best to refrain from using powers, and Crystal knew that. For minor run-ins with ill-bred, idiotic humans, knowing how to use lesser measures was helpful. From what she had heard, Mr. Logan was a great fighter, and so she had wanted to learn from him. The problem was, he didn't seem to take her seriously at all.
Today's class was all about the fundamentals - how to stand, how to shift one's weight, and how to move. Today he also forbade them to change into gym clothes - he wanted them to get a feel for what it was like to move and fight in regular street clothes. The class was moving along fairly nicely, with one exception. "Miss Amaquelin!" he barked at her. "Would you like to get your head out of the clouds and step forward, please?" he asked.
Her head wasn't in the clouds. She was standing in a gym, wearing her new jeans for the first time, not flying up in the sky. During the previous class, Mr. Logan had told them to remain in regular clothes for this class. Crystal knew that her version of "normal clothes" was not the same as other people's "normal clothes," so today she had arrived in one of the few pairs of jeans that had been altered for her at her request. Hiding a frown, she stepped forward as Logan had told her to.
"Thank you, Miss Amaquelin. Now then, class, since Miss Amaquelin is quite bored by all of this, I think she should demonstrate for us, don't you?" Without giving the class time to respond, he turned back to her. "Let's see what you've got, kid. Up and down the floor, keep your weight centered, knees bent, and do try to remember to get your hips into each move." he told her. "The rest of you, I want you to watch very closely."
He was singling her out. Again. Crystal sighed inwardly, but did as she was told. You're here to learn, so learn, she told herself sternly. Listen, observe, respond. Yes, this was self-defense, but her movements showed that she was a dancer and was in good control of her body and movements.
When she had returned from her journey across the floor, he told her "Fall back in." brusquely. "All right class, did anyone see anything she was doing wrong?" The silence of the class was fairly deafening. "I saw something." he said after a few moments. "Miss Amaquelin here is a dancer. She has good control over her body, but she does not generate power well. She needs to put more _snap_ into each of her movements instead of floating them out there like she was in _Swan Lake_." he said with a grin. "Otherwise, she did a good job with it. Now the rest of you - MOVE!" he said.
And there he was, goading her again. Crystal began the required movements again, not moving far from the spot she stood in, but with more "snap" and force this time. Contrary to what some people thought, dancing did not always consist of slow movements. She could move fast, too. Crystal supposed that "otherwise, she did a good job with it" was his version of a compliment. This school was not into babying the students when it came to classes, and she supposed this was a good thing. Crystal had been told stories of those who attended private schools and were allowed to show up without having completed homework. Here, it seemed you needed to use the old "I'm sorry, but a supervillain took over my brain last night" or "I'm sorry, my roommate incinerated my homework" excuses to even think about getting away with that.
Logan watched Crystal go across the floor again with the other students. Contrary to what she believed, she was actually doing quite well in this class. Her attitude grated on his last nerve, but the kid had potential. "MORE SNAP!" he bellowed to his class, just for good measure. "You're not going to let the _dancer_ show you all up, are you?" he asked them pointed as they returned back to where they started from.
Crystal had to bite back the laugh that threatened to be heard. Logan kept saying "dancer" like it was a bad thing. It was funny, really. Surely knowing how to move properly put her ahead of the clunky students who seemed to think dancing meant flailing your arms and legs in a crowded, extremely noisy room that smelled of sweat and cigarette smoke. That was not dancing. It could be, if done properly, but Americans seemed to turn into something that was more like dancing gone wrong.
"All right, ladies, take five." he said, earning himself a scowl from the mostly-male class.
Once again, Crystal had to wonder at the phrases people used. Was this calling everyone in the class female idea meant to be an insult? Of course, the generic use of "guys" for both males and females wasn't much better, was it? Crystal watched as her classmates relaxed and started talking with each other. Let them take a break if they needed to, she had had longer work-outs than this. Again, Crystal practiced the movements Logan had taught them, making sure to include enough "snap."
Logan noted Crystal's refusal to take five and fought to keep the grin off his face. "If we're boring you, kid, I'm sure we could think of something to burn off all that excess energy..." he told her sotto voce.
Crystal stopped moving and looked at Logan, puzzled. She had been burning off energy, hadn't she? She had been moving and everyone else had been standing around. "What else do you want me to do?"
"Take five. Relax. You're making everyone in class look bad." he told her, still sotto voce. "I'll give you more than enough to keep you amused, don't worry."
"Oh, I see," she replied, noting that several students had been looking her way. "I will relax, then." Crystal was not one for standing still and doing nothing. It was one thing to sit quietly while watching someone perform on stage, another thing entirely to just do nothing. Shrugging lightly, she lifted up about ten feet into the air, closed her eyes, and stayed there, completely unmoving.
Logan looked up at her and grinned. She was such a babe in the woods in a lot of ways, but at least she listened. Eventually. When she felt like it.
For what must have been the hundredth time since school began, Crystal wondered what she was doing here. Here at the school and here in self-defense class with Mr. It's-Just-Logan. She didn't really need to take self-defense. Despite what Logan seemed to think, her powers were great for defensive measures, plus she had watched a number of skilled combatants spar and fight with each other and had even been taught by a few of them. Sometimes, however, it was best to refrain from using powers, and Crystal knew that. For minor run-ins with ill-bred, idiotic humans, knowing how to use lesser measures was helpful. From what she had heard, Mr. Logan was a great fighter, and so she had wanted to learn from him. The problem was, he didn't seem to take her seriously at all.
Today's class was all about the fundamentals - how to stand, how to shift one's weight, and how to move. Today he also forbade them to change into gym clothes - he wanted them to get a feel for what it was like to move and fight in regular street clothes. The class was moving along fairly nicely, with one exception. "Miss Amaquelin!" he barked at her. "Would you like to get your head out of the clouds and step forward, please?" he asked.
Her head wasn't in the clouds. She was standing in a gym, wearing her new jeans for the first time, not flying up in the sky. During the previous class, Mr. Logan had told them to remain in regular clothes for this class. Crystal knew that her version of "normal clothes" was not the same as other people's "normal clothes," so today she had arrived in one of the few pairs of jeans that had been altered for her at her request. Hiding a frown, she stepped forward as Logan had told her to.
"Thank you, Miss Amaquelin. Now then, class, since Miss Amaquelin is quite bored by all of this, I think she should demonstrate for us, don't you?" Without giving the class time to respond, he turned back to her. "Let's see what you've got, kid. Up and down the floor, keep your weight centered, knees bent, and do try to remember to get your hips into each move." he told her. "The rest of you, I want you to watch very closely."
He was singling her out. Again. Crystal sighed inwardly, but did as she was told. You're here to learn, so learn, she told herself sternly. Listen, observe, respond. Yes, this was self-defense, but her movements showed that she was a dancer and was in good control of her body and movements.
When she had returned from her journey across the floor, he told her "Fall back in." brusquely. "All right class, did anyone see anything she was doing wrong?" The silence of the class was fairly deafening. "I saw something." he said after a few moments. "Miss Amaquelin here is a dancer. She has good control over her body, but she does not generate power well. She needs to put more _snap_ into each of her movements instead of floating them out there like she was in _Swan Lake_." he said with a grin. "Otherwise, she did a good job with it. Now the rest of you - MOVE!" he said.
And there he was, goading her again. Crystal began the required movements again, not moving far from the spot she stood in, but with more "snap" and force this time. Contrary to what some people thought, dancing did not always consist of slow movements. She could move fast, too. Crystal supposed that "otherwise, she did a good job with it" was his version of a compliment. This school was not into babying the students when it came to classes, and she supposed this was a good thing. Crystal had been told stories of those who attended private schools and were allowed to show up without having completed homework. Here, it seemed you needed to use the old "I'm sorry, but a supervillain took over my brain last night" or "I'm sorry, my roommate incinerated my homework" excuses to even think about getting away with that.
Logan watched Crystal go across the floor again with the other students. Contrary to what she believed, she was actually doing quite well in this class. Her attitude grated on his last nerve, but the kid had potential. "MORE SNAP!" he bellowed to his class, just for good measure. "You're not going to let the _dancer_ show you all up, are you?" he asked them pointed as they returned back to where they started from.
Crystal had to bite back the laugh that threatened to be heard. Logan kept saying "dancer" like it was a bad thing. It was funny, really. Surely knowing how to move properly put her ahead of the clunky students who seemed to think dancing meant flailing your arms and legs in a crowded, extremely noisy room that smelled of sweat and cigarette smoke. That was not dancing. It could be, if done properly, but Americans seemed to turn into something that was more like dancing gone wrong.
"All right, ladies, take five." he said, earning himself a scowl from the mostly-male class.
Once again, Crystal had to wonder at the phrases people used. Was this calling everyone in the class female idea meant to be an insult? Of course, the generic use of "guys" for both males and females wasn't much better, was it? Crystal watched as her classmates relaxed and started talking with each other. Let them take a break if they needed to, she had had longer work-outs than this. Again, Crystal practiced the movements Logan had taught them, making sure to include enough "snap."
Logan noted Crystal's refusal to take five and fought to keep the grin off his face. "If we're boring you, kid, I'm sure we could think of something to burn off all that excess energy..." he told her sotto voce.
Crystal stopped moving and looked at Logan, puzzled. She had been burning off energy, hadn't she? She had been moving and everyone else had been standing around. "What else do you want me to do?"
"Take five. Relax. You're making everyone in class look bad." he told her, still sotto voce. "I'll give you more than enough to keep you amused, don't worry."
"Oh, I see," she replied, noting that several students had been looking her way. "I will relax, then." Crystal was not one for standing still and doing nothing. It was one thing to sit quietly while watching someone perform on stage, another thing entirely to just do nothing. Shrugging lightly, she lifted up about ten feet into the air, closed her eyes, and stayed there, completely unmoving.
Logan looked up at her and grinned. She was such a babe in the woods in a lot of ways, but at least she listened. Eventually. When she felt like it.
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