An Unauthorized Genetic Experiment: episode two.
Author: Chippewa Livingston Archive: Please ask Disclaimer: I claim no affiliation or ownership of characters or material related to Dark Angel.
Chapter 3. The little old ladies
I was at the school early enough to help Judy set up the classroom. There were no windows, and the fluorescent lights made sure that I got the full effect of the unpleasant green concrete block walls. The two of us moved a dozen 'chair with desk' things into a semicircle around a empty patch of vinyl tiled floor.
"Another fifteen minutes 'till class," said Judy. "The boy's locker room is three doors down." She reached into her tote bag and pulled out a blue and white bundle.
"Right."
***
Industrial green tile, and eight shower heads. Just like home. I wonder if the water heater works here.
A hot shower almost had me convinced that this was a good idea. I stuck my damp hair against the back of my neck, and put on the blue and white cotton kimono that Judy had put in my hands.
There was no one in the hall when I let the locker room door close behind me.
I could hear Judy and a couple of students, their voices distorted by the echo of institutional walls. They went silent as I opened the door to the classroom.
"Class, I'd like you to meet Jack."
"Hi," I said. I counted twelve students. Exactly two were male. One of the women fell into the "little old lady" category. Individually, I couldn't consider any one of them a threat. As a group. . . I told myself not to think about that.
"Are we ready to get started?" Judy asked her class, then made eye contact with me. She was standing with one hand on the back of a plain wooden chair that occupied the exact focus of the circle of chairs.
"Let's go, then," I said. I reminded myself that following directions was probably more important than my skill in unarmed combat. At least right now.
"Okay. Come over here, and sit down sideways on the chair." She backed away as I approached. "I'll take the robe."
The wood was smooth and cool. The air in the room wasn't exactly warm, but I wasn't going to complain.
"Now, turn and put your arms across the back of the chair." I twisted around, and faced green paint. "Stay relaxed. If you have to break position, don't worry about it."
I nodded to the blank wall. This wasn't how I would prefer to sit, but I knew I could stay exactly here, perfectly motionless, for a long time.
"Class, I want you to pay careful attention to the alignment of the vertebra, and the angles of the ribs." She paused for effect. "But, don't loose sight of the over all shape of the pose. You have fifteen minutes."
I tried to let my mind go blank except for the sound of pencil against paper, and Judy's Birkenstocks as she paced back and forth behind her students.
**
"Time to unwind for a couple of minutes." She draped the kimono over my shoulder. "Class, do whatever final details you want, and be ready to start your next sketch."
I untangled the kimono, and managed to wrap it around myself as I stood up. I knotted the sash firmly, and decided to see what sort art had been generated.
In general, it wasn't flattering. As Judy had suggested, her students had concentrated on the geometry of my skeleton, and the twist in my backbone between hips and shoulders.
The 'little old lady' tucked her pencil behind her ear, and turned her sketch pad so I could see it. I rather liked her sketch. She'd managed to suggest that I had some muscle and skin, instead of just ribs and shoulder blades.
"I want a man like you around the house to help me move some furniture."
"Oh?"
"Just the bed, actually."
"Are you really up for that? Sounds pretty heavy."
She winked. "I like where the bed is, young man. I just want to move it up and down some."
Roxanne is going to laugh her ass off, I thought.
"Ready for the next one, Jack?" Judy interrupted.
I stepped back into the ring, and handed over the kimono.
"Now, we're going to do some quick stuff. Five minutes each." Her sandals tapped against the floor. "Try to capture the difference between relaxed muscles, and ones that are in use."
I realized that I was standing with feet shoulder width apart, and my hands linked together behind me. Parade rest.
"Jack, shift your weight onto your right leg, and pick up the chair with your right hand. Are you okay for five minutes?"
****
"That's it for now," said Judy. "I'm seeing a lot of really lively compositions."
I took my foot off the chair, and let it rest with all four feet on the floor again. Judy tossed the kimono back to me, again.
The young woman in the last chair leaned over to the man next to her, and whispered a comment on his sketch. He touched her hand to steady her paper while he looked at hers. I decided that they were probably a couple, and I guessed that they were young enough to be college students.
She must have noticed me looking at her notebook. "Did you want to see?"
"Sure," I said, as I straightened the knot in the sash, for the fourth time that evening.
She flipped a few pages backwards in the book, and showed me her picture of me, sitting sideways on a wooden chair.
"You've got a good eye for details of bone and muscle," I offered. "It almost looks like an anatomy illustration." She's also managed to do an exact picture of the big scar down my right knee, and several of the small ones, and the other one. . .
"It should." She smiled. "Pre-med student. I was hoping to give my brain a break."
"What happened to you?" asked her friend, pointing at the picture.
**
"Feeling OK?" asked the white-coated figure.
I nodded, and she smiled. "You've got the strength and range of motion that you need to get around, so we are going to let you back to your barracks."
Out? I'll be able to talk to Elle.
"Now, just keep in mind -- the amount of damage is pretty close to getting hit by a car. You aren't going to have your usual energy levels for a while, and you aren't going to be doing any combat training either." She tapped her pen against the clipboard for emphasis.
Oh, great. Not. Classroom stuff. Lots and lots of class time.
"Another thing," she continues. "you are going to be doing physical therapy two hours a day to get your knee back the way it's supposed to be. And don't even think about running."
**
"Auto accident," I said abruptly.
"I'm Nathan," he said. "Do you want to come to a party? My sister is in town, and we're getting some people together this evening."
His friend elbowed him. "Asha said she didn't want a big deal."
"It's not a big deal. Just people." He ran his fingers through strawberry blond hair.
"Do you mind if I bring a friend?" 'Roxanne' needs to get out of that apartment, maybe she will cheer up. "A girlfriend?"
Author: Chippewa Livingston Archive: Please ask Disclaimer: I claim no affiliation or ownership of characters or material related to Dark Angel.
Chapter 3. The little old ladies
I was at the school early enough to help Judy set up the classroom. There were no windows, and the fluorescent lights made sure that I got the full effect of the unpleasant green concrete block walls. The two of us moved a dozen 'chair with desk' things into a semicircle around a empty patch of vinyl tiled floor.
"Another fifteen minutes 'till class," said Judy. "The boy's locker room is three doors down." She reached into her tote bag and pulled out a blue and white bundle.
"Right."
***
Industrial green tile, and eight shower heads. Just like home. I wonder if the water heater works here.
A hot shower almost had me convinced that this was a good idea. I stuck my damp hair against the back of my neck, and put on the blue and white cotton kimono that Judy had put in my hands.
There was no one in the hall when I let the locker room door close behind me.
I could hear Judy and a couple of students, their voices distorted by the echo of institutional walls. They went silent as I opened the door to the classroom.
"Class, I'd like you to meet Jack."
"Hi," I said. I counted twelve students. Exactly two were male. One of the women fell into the "little old lady" category. Individually, I couldn't consider any one of them a threat. As a group. . . I told myself not to think about that.
"Are we ready to get started?" Judy asked her class, then made eye contact with me. She was standing with one hand on the back of a plain wooden chair that occupied the exact focus of the circle of chairs.
"Let's go, then," I said. I reminded myself that following directions was probably more important than my skill in unarmed combat. At least right now.
"Okay. Come over here, and sit down sideways on the chair." She backed away as I approached. "I'll take the robe."
The wood was smooth and cool. The air in the room wasn't exactly warm, but I wasn't going to complain.
"Now, turn and put your arms across the back of the chair." I twisted around, and faced green paint. "Stay relaxed. If you have to break position, don't worry about it."
I nodded to the blank wall. This wasn't how I would prefer to sit, but I knew I could stay exactly here, perfectly motionless, for a long time.
"Class, I want you to pay careful attention to the alignment of the vertebra, and the angles of the ribs." She paused for effect. "But, don't loose sight of the over all shape of the pose. You have fifteen minutes."
I tried to let my mind go blank except for the sound of pencil against paper, and Judy's Birkenstocks as she paced back and forth behind her students.
**
"Time to unwind for a couple of minutes." She draped the kimono over my shoulder. "Class, do whatever final details you want, and be ready to start your next sketch."
I untangled the kimono, and managed to wrap it around myself as I stood up. I knotted the sash firmly, and decided to see what sort art had been generated.
In general, it wasn't flattering. As Judy had suggested, her students had concentrated on the geometry of my skeleton, and the twist in my backbone between hips and shoulders.
The 'little old lady' tucked her pencil behind her ear, and turned her sketch pad so I could see it. I rather liked her sketch. She'd managed to suggest that I had some muscle and skin, instead of just ribs and shoulder blades.
"I want a man like you around the house to help me move some furniture."
"Oh?"
"Just the bed, actually."
"Are you really up for that? Sounds pretty heavy."
She winked. "I like where the bed is, young man. I just want to move it up and down some."
Roxanne is going to laugh her ass off, I thought.
"Ready for the next one, Jack?" Judy interrupted.
I stepped back into the ring, and handed over the kimono.
"Now, we're going to do some quick stuff. Five minutes each." Her sandals tapped against the floor. "Try to capture the difference between relaxed muscles, and ones that are in use."
I realized that I was standing with feet shoulder width apart, and my hands linked together behind me. Parade rest.
"Jack, shift your weight onto your right leg, and pick up the chair with your right hand. Are you okay for five minutes?"
****
"That's it for now," said Judy. "I'm seeing a lot of really lively compositions."
I took my foot off the chair, and let it rest with all four feet on the floor again. Judy tossed the kimono back to me, again.
The young woman in the last chair leaned over to the man next to her, and whispered a comment on his sketch. He touched her hand to steady her paper while he looked at hers. I decided that they were probably a couple, and I guessed that they were young enough to be college students.
She must have noticed me looking at her notebook. "Did you want to see?"
"Sure," I said, as I straightened the knot in the sash, for the fourth time that evening.
She flipped a few pages backwards in the book, and showed me her picture of me, sitting sideways on a wooden chair.
"You've got a good eye for details of bone and muscle," I offered. "It almost looks like an anatomy illustration." She's also managed to do an exact picture of the big scar down my right knee, and several of the small ones, and the other one. . .
"It should." She smiled. "Pre-med student. I was hoping to give my brain a break."
"What happened to you?" asked her friend, pointing at the picture.
**
"Feeling OK?" asked the white-coated figure.
I nodded, and she smiled. "You've got the strength and range of motion that you need to get around, so we are going to let you back to your barracks."
Out? I'll be able to talk to Elle.
"Now, just keep in mind -- the amount of damage is pretty close to getting hit by a car. You aren't going to have your usual energy levels for a while, and you aren't going to be doing any combat training either." She tapped her pen against the clipboard for emphasis.
Oh, great. Not. Classroom stuff. Lots and lots of class time.
"Another thing," she continues. "you are going to be doing physical therapy two hours a day to get your knee back the way it's supposed to be. And don't even think about running."
**
"Auto accident," I said abruptly.
"I'm Nathan," he said. "Do you want to come to a party? My sister is in town, and we're getting some people together this evening."
His friend elbowed him. "Asha said she didn't want a big deal."
"It's not a big deal. Just people." He ran his fingers through strawberry blond hair.
"Do you mind if I bring a friend?" 'Roxanne' needs to get out of that apartment, maybe she will cheer up. "A girlfriend?"