[[ I'll give a chance for other people to respond as well, like two hours or so, then continue. ]]

[Okay :)]

((Well my reply wasn't as elaborate as yours. ^^;; ))

Auria listened intently as Daniel spoke. She pulled out a blank piece of paper and wrote her name and the date on the top. It took her a little bit to figure out what she wanted to write but she eventually got somthing down, though it wasn't her best work she still turned it in. She went back to her desk and finished coloring in her doodles.

Ten minutes pass, before Daniel stands up. "Stop. It looks like you all finished before the time limit, that's good." He takes a few papers and reads through them quickly, before nodding. "Let's see what you all wrote. I'll choose a few at random. Let's see..." He picks up a paper from the middle of the stack and reads it. "Okay, this one is by Spica. It says..."
"Alright, how many of you wrote something similar?" He asks the class--a lot of them raise their hands. "Right, right. That is a textbook example of what other art teachers would want you to think. Let's get one thing straight; I am not other art teachers. I don't follow textbook definitions or previous notions of what is considered art. After all, no one revolutionized the art world by copying terms and pieces set and done by others." He puts the paper down and walks to the stereo. "I have an experiment for you all; would this be considered art?" He turns the stereo on, and music starts playing. It's thrash metal, as characterized by it's complex riffs and ridiculous tempo. The singer yells out:

"Soldier boy, made of clay, now an empty shell!
Twenty one, only son, but he served us well!
Bred to kill, not to care, do just as we say!
Finished here, greeting death, he's yours to take away!

Back to the front! You will do what I say, when I say!
Back to the front! You will die when I say, you must die!
Back to the front! You coward, you servant, you blind man!
Back to the front!"

He turns it off and walks back to the front. "Whether one likes to think of it or not, that is art. The band expresses themselves and their anger at certain politics and practices through their music. And let us get another thing straight; I will never ask you to copy what I put down or to make your sculpture or such like mine. I may ask you to do something in a chosen medium, but that is the most I will ask of you. Now..." He picks up a different piece of paper. "The best paper I saw hit the nail on the head for what I wanted to say. This is by Auria." He sees the girl from yesterday sitting near the front and nods, and begins reading what she wrote.

"And that, my students, is what art is. Art is all around us. Art is everything, art is our world." He says, nodding slightly. "And now, let's see..." He looks at the clock. "We started late, so we have about half an hour left. That's good." He turns back to the class. "For the rest of the class period, I would like for you to work on a piece of art. But here's the catch; it cannot be drawing, painting, or sculpting. Any other method of art you can think of is fair game. You will not be graded for what you do, only on participation. Whatever 'art' piece that you work on is due tomorrow; if it must be presented, than you must present it. If you have any questions, I am open to discussion." He says, sitting at his desk and folding his arms, watching what his students start to do. A few girls begin scrapbooking and making collages, one of the students begins playing on the drumset on the back, one student begins just singing out loud.

He looks up at her and raises his eyebrows, blinking. "Huh? You want ideas?" He tilts his head to the side slightly. "I thought you of all people would do well at this assignment." He sighs and gestures to the rest of the class. "If you truly cannot think of any method of creating art besides those I listed, then take a look around you for inspiration." One person is creating a dance routine to another person's drum beats. The girls who are making scrapbooks and collages are really steaming along, getting things done quickly. One person is making a guard tower entirely of toothpicks. "I would help you under normal circumstances, but this project is to see how creative you are and how much you can think outside of the box. But...if you really need that much help, come see me at lunch and I can offer plenty of suggestions." he sounds a bit disappointed in her, but still hopeful nonetheless.

"Very well. I will talk to you at lunch then." He says, waving goodbye to her and the rest of that class as he prepares for the next. He looks through the papers that were handed in and writes in comments on them, giving all of them a check mark because they were handed in and thus; every student that turned them in got full marks on the assignment. And he waits for the next class to begin...

A few of the students from his second period class were filing out. And, indeed, Daniel is still there, doing the same thing as he did first period--looking through papers and checking each one, writing comments and such on them. He has his music on this time, but it's not what he usually listens to. It's very calm and soothing music, but it still has a nice drum beat to it. He looks up at the knocking and nods. "Come in, Auria." He says, his voice calm and quiet. "You are here about your assignment, correct?" He inquires.

"Ah. So you want to sing, if I'm not mistaken?" He looks up at her, nodding. "Yes, that is a form of art. Although..." He pauses, blinking. "I get the feeling that that's not all you wanted to talk to me about. Perhaps I'm wrong, but the look on your face tells me you have something else on your mind, too." He pushes the papers aside and sits back in his chair, watching her. "It is my duty to assist my students in any way I can, so if you have a problem then I will listen." he says, seeming sincere in his words.

He sighs deeply, leaning back in his chair, thinking about it. A few minutes go by as he seems lost in thought. Finally he sits up and nods reluctantly. "Yes, I suppose I could bend the rules for you just this once. I think you've got a special case--singing is one of the hardest art-forms out there. As long as no one knows what movie the song you are singing is from, I don't think we'll have a problem." He leans back again, beginning to grade papers once more. "So, yes, you can. Is there anything else that you wish to talk about?"

"Mmmhmm." He says, looking up at the ceiling. "Well, what do you want to know? My name is Daniel, I teach art, uh..." He scratches his head with his left hand, his right arm holding the papers he's grading on his lap. "And yes, I can give private lessons if you want, but they'll have to be right after my music class so I might be drained by then. Just saying." He says, biting his lip. "Which means they'd be at about eight o' clock every night, or once every two nights. Whichever." He says, seeming to get the subject away from himself pretty quickly.

"That would be fine." He replies, then puts his papers down. "Right, then. I would say my favorite kind of music would be speed metal, honestly. I like the raw expressionism that they produce. Bands like Sepultura and Metallica really click with me; perhaps it's because I wish I could express myself that way. Art medium? Honestly, I probably like sketching the best. Nothing fancy like coloring it in or anything, just straight-up sketching. There's something simplistic that I love about it--no prettying up or anything, just raw creativity. I suppose my favorite color would probably be either dark purple or sky blue, which are the colors of nearly all my clothes." He nods. "Right, well, is that all? What about you--what's your favorite type of music, etcetera?" He makes little movement while he's speaking, just staring at the ceiling as he answers her questions and asks her some back.

"Right. Eating would probably be a good idea." He waves to her as she exits the classroom. "See you tonight, then." he says to her as she leaves, then turns around in his chair and pokes the buttons on the microwave, reheating the food that he had forgotten to eat when she walked in. "Maybe this is going to be more interesting than I thought..." He mutters to himself, finishing the papers and eating the food when it's done heating up.

((So do we jump around or do we wait for everyone else? Not sure who will be wanting to take the music class.))

[[ We wait, I say. I don't want to leave everybody behind. X.x ]]

((Okay. Works for me. ^^ ))

(i totally forgot i was in class, bad slacker)

((Ha ha, just send him your assignment. We're pretty much in our 3rd and 4th classes because there aren't any more teachers.))