History Lessons

Posted on Tue Sep 19th, 2023 @ 20:18 by Phoebe Hunter & Shane Gooseman

Chapter: All Hallow's Eve
Location: Phoebe's Class Room (History)
Timeline: Nov 5th
1248 words - 2.5 OF Standard Post Measure

Shane was still finding his way around the Avalon Institute. He still could not get his head around such a place. It was a wonder. A place for humans and mutants to live in harmony. A place where young mutant students could learn their abilities and skills in safety without admonishment. Shane wished such a place had existed when he was young. Shane walked the halls in awe, and stroked his beard thoughtfully as he was looking around. This was going to be his new home and he did not know for how long.

In his rush to get here, he had not brought much with him. Just the essentials in his day sack. He wondered if he could get a book somewhere to read at night. He always found reading a book before bed helped him sleep. There must be a library around here, he thought to himself. However he found the next best thing. The history class and Shane enjoyed a good military history book. The door was open and Shane knocked on the frame and said "hello?" as he crossed the threshold.

Phoebe looked up from the marking she was competing in her classroom. Today was the day she had earmarked for clearing the backlog and regaining her footing after the upheaval that had disrupted her routine.

As she spoke, her voice resonated with a mixture of fatigue and determination. "Hello?" Her response was punctuated by a genuine smile that stretched across her face. It was a simple greeting, a small bridge built between her responsibilities and the world beyond the confines of her tasks.

"Hi" said Shane crossing the threshold and giving a nervous little wave "Urrmmmm the names Shane Gooseman. I'm the new P.E. Teacher. "Are you the history teacher Ma'am?"

“Hey, Shane. Come in.” She promoted indicating for him to come inside as she stood from her desk to clean around and greet him. “I am indeed Phoebe Hunter.” Her voice carried a gentle cadence. The hint of her American drawl still lingered beneath the overlay of her refined London accent, an echo of her multicultural journey.

He sat down with a thankful nod. Shane smiled a little as he heard the underlying American accent. "Your from the states Mrs Hunter?" Asked Shane with intrigue. As a Texas man himself, his American accent was a lot more brisk. It would be nice to see another American about the place.

"I was indeed and since coming here I cannot seem to get rid of any Americans. It is like you are all here instead of home." he teased, a playful glint in her eyes. Her words carried a light-hearted tone, hinting at the camaraderie she could create. "I grew up in the States but came here in the early 80's and became a British citizen fully." Phoebe shared, her voice taking on a touch of nostalgia. The weight of years and memories seemed to weave into her words, reflecting the journey that had brought her from one continent to another. There was a sense of pride in her voice as she spoke of her decision to become a British citizen, a choice that had shaped her identity and her connection to the place she now called home.

Shane shrugged a little "fair enough." Everyone had their reasons for going somewhere. Or at least that's what his older sisters used to tell him. He had been a few places in his time, but had never given much thought into becoming a citizen of somewhere else. No to him Texas would always be home and he hoped to get back there one day. He moved the conversation along a bit "I kind of arrived here in a bit of a rush and was wandering if you might have any history books i could borrow to read?"

Phoebe looked him over before she rose from her desk and nodded. “Of course.” She looked along her shelves and pulled out a book. “I know you will like this one.” She held it out to him.

Shane gingerly took the book. It had that school copy tatteredness to it but it was legible and was paperback sized. The cover had a classic Art peace of American Union & Confederate soldiers fighting upon it. Shane nodded his head in approval as he read the title out loud "A history of the American Civil War. Thats perfect how did you know?" Military history was right up his street.

The woman smiled and shrugged as she looked far too innocent. Not everyone needed to know what her abilities were without some type of trust first. “Let’s call it a hunch,” Phoebe explained.

"Well, I really appreciate it" There was a moment of silence, which was ever so slightly awkward so Shane tried to fill the gap. "So what kind of history are you teaching these kids?" He asked inquisitively and with a friendly smile.

Phoebe nodded. She knew he did which was a welcome change from the last week she was thankfully healing enough to not put people off any longer. "Please sit." The woman offered. "I am currently teaching all different things depending on their class year but I am running an after-school club in the new term around local history."

"Oh cool" responded Shane in his thick Texan accent as he stroked his beard thoughtfully. He looked around himself. He really had no idea what kind of history Scotland had "Can such a small country have that much history?"

"You are joking, right? We are stood in a castle and you are asking if a small country has that much history." Phoebe asked softly a little thrown that someone could ask that kind of question whilst standing in a castle. "This castle was a home before America was even a pipe dream."

Shane nodded naively. He was in his 50's, had travelled half way around the world with army and enjoyed military history, but it had always been through an American lens. He knew that the UK was an old place, certainly a bit of a stagnant one but never really considered that their was a lot to such a small island. He pointed to the floor "so this place is older than the gold old US of A? Wow. that is fascinating." He said with genuine interest. "So is a lot of Scotland like this?"

“Whole of Europe. Asia… most countries including America is. America has Taos Pueblo which if you ever go back you should check out but The United Kingdom is a lot like this it’s been here a long time and survived the Romans and Vikings to mention a few.” She got up ran her hand along her books and picked up another book and held it out to him. “For when you want to extend your knowledge to worldwide instead of just America. So much more out there.” She advised pushing her Massachusetts accent forward.

Shane looked at the spine of the book "British history for beginners?" he responded with a wry smile. Even for a beginner's guide it was still a bit of a hefty tome.

"Well, you got to start somewhere. Welcome to the old country," She offered with a laugh. It had to be a culture shock but it did make her wonder why so many Americans were coming to Avalon without research on the lay of the land. She would need to talk to Claire about it all.