World Academy W (present)
A still-shot of the school in the evening. We see the amphitheatre where the Language club is taking place. Today's topic is "How to promote your language".
"Alright then" we see Arthur's head in front of the blackboard "Your 5 minutes are up. Who would like to go next?"
Francis raises his hand eager. He prances to the front and starts. As he talks, the background becomes shiny and bubbly. "How would you like to feel the sea air of the French Riviera? The rebellious spirit of the revolutionaries? Or feel romance in the most beautiful capital in the world?" he asks as students become more and more intrigued. "All the art, history...All the passion is contained in this most magnificent language. Join me in exploring it together!" he says as rose petals cover the screen. Many students are astounded with their eyes turning to little hearts. "Yes" they scream excited.
Francis smiles and winks. He turns to the board, ties his hair into a scrunchy and takes a piece of chalk.
Next scene: "Nous avons, Vous avez, Ils ont" he says in a monotone voice. The students, seeming pretty bored, repeat. "Good, good" he says turning back to the students. We see that he now wears a pair of over-sized black glasses. "And now again, from the beginning" he says in the same monotonous voice.
The students groan. Arthur, who is sound asleep, jerks and wakes up. He clears his throat and adds: "Thank you Francis. Would anyone else like to try?"
Next scene: Antonio stands smiling. "Spanish is a Romance language but that is not important right now. It is a language used by almost the entire South American continent, so if you like fajitas or telenovelas, then Spanish is the language for you!" he says in a charming pose.
"Hey! Telenovelas are my thing" Joe protests. Antonio looks at him and blinks. "Yes but they are in Spanish."
"But I am the one that made it popular. I even convinced Alfred to take it up as a second language" Jose states. "Duos margaritas por favor" Alfred says with a very heavy accent.
"See?" Jose points.
Others clap. "Thank you. Moving on" Arthur says ushering Antonio back to his seat. He frowns but does not say anything.
Next scene: Wang Yao states: "I have two languages actually, but despite that it is still the most spoken language in the world. It's not as hard as it may seem. Learn the basic 100 Chinese characters and you're golden!"
The Asian students nod while the others look at him confused.
Next scene: Lukas is out seeming a little shy. "At first glance, Norwegian may not seem like a popular foreign language to learn but you would be wrong to dismiss it altogether. With the economy in Norway being the way it is, more and more people want to come and work there and knowing the language is very appreciated. So, if you want to understand the land of fjords, oil and magical creatures, consider Norwegian a must-have!" as he states this, his magical friends appear behind him smiling. "Oh and it's also the language of Thor so..." he finishes his presentation seeming more confident.
"Excellent presentation. Let's hear the next one" Arthur says and the others agree. "Would love me some of that oil" Alfred says with a Texas accent.
Arthur raises his eyebrow. He comes closer and quietly asks: "Why on God's earth are you doing?"
"Well, since you have a hold on the English language, I figured I could flaunt some of my local accents, you know what I'm saying?" he answers as a New Yorker.
"Please stop that" Arthur whispers with a big vein popping out of his head.
"Why? Still upset because I spilled your tea" he adds with a Boston accent to which Arthur twitches mad.
He clears his throat and continues in a calm manner: "Moving on?"
A commotion is heard from the seats. "Why can't I go? I want to go. It's my language after all."
A moment later, a hand raises to the protest of a few of his companions. The student in question, walks to the front and starts: "The German language. It may seem scary because of the cases but if you studied Latin, you will easily understand the rules. It has many similarities to other Germanic languages too. However, you do not have to take my word for it. See for yourself." As he finishes, the student with glasses and a neat uniform, looks around. The others listen to him attentively. Some even clap at the end. Most importantly, no one frowns or curses him.
"Thank you Ludwig" Arthur says carefree. He goes back to his seat in a much better mood.
Next scene: "Serbian is a Slavic language and, like most of them, it's relatively difficult to learn. It has seven noun cases, three genders and verb conjugation. Trust me, even if you decide to live in Serbia, a few phrases and some local curse words will be enough" Yasna says completely sincere. Students become excited. They clap and some even make bets on who will learn it faster.
Yasna is genuinely surprised by the reaction.
"Snatching popularity points anyway you can, eh Yasna?" Arthur mocks a little bit through his teeth. Sensing a bad intent, she turns to him.
"Your roots are showing" she says with a friendly smile. The club president gulps. "Roots?" he mumbles trying to seem calm.
"I'm sorry. Silly me! I made a lapsus lingua. What I meant to say is 'your horns are showing'" she says in a teasing way. "Hooves too."
Arthur nods just a little acknowledging a warning. Her face stays neutral as she returns to her seat.
