TEACHING PLANS AND PLANS TO TEACH

Everything in Lydia's office seemed large scale as one walked through the thick wooden door. The elevated ceiling gave way to massive mahogany bookshelves with intricately scrolled designs hand carved onto the antique wood. These bookshelves surrounded the room, save for the large wood burning fireplace at the opposite end. Swirled white marble encased the strangely absent fire, framed with matching mahogany.

Lydia's large cherry wood desk sat in front of the fireplace. Her black leather executive chair overlooked two cranberry red velvet wing chairs with scrolled cherry wood legs. The dark hardwood floors were covered with various red and brown oriental rugs. The limited wall space was covered with dimensional canary yellow stucco. Antique converted oil lamps added to the warm, yellow glow of the lighting in the room, adding to the tranquil, cozy environment in the large space. Unless one was looking for it, they might not even notice there were no windows in the large room.

She was sitting at her desk, finishing up a few more things before she was supposed to meet with some new teacher. She hated formalities like this. She did not get into teaching for the politics. She had heard some rumors about him and she did not like the reputation that preceded him. She took a breath, remembering that she gave all of her students the benefit of the doubt. She would try to offer this new teacher the same.

Vinny came to the school dressed today in a dark blue suit armed with a black briefcase that contained all his course outlines. Freshly shaves with a haircut, he was hoping to make a good impression, seeing as how his last teaching gig didn't work out so well. He got to the office and knocked on the door. "Hello' Miss" I'm on time for our appointment, I hope."

She stood and opened the door, making an open gesture for him to come in. "Yes, Mr. Smith," she began, "I am Lydia Tolmay. It is a pleasure to meet you.? She extended her hand to shake his. He entered freely and of his own will, eyes looking into hers as he shook her hand firmly.

The time to begin sizing each other up had begun.

Lydia looked at his briefcase and asked, "May I see your teaching plans?"

"Certainly. I brought some old outlines that I need to finish revising, based on the rules and regulations at this facility." Reaching down for his briefcase, Vinny opened it up and pulled out a folder that he held out for her to peruse. "Tell me what you think, please. You know this place and the students far better than I do."

She pushed back a few stands of hair that came loose from her tight lower bun as she looked through the plans. She was impressed with their depth and content, though she would do everything in her power not to show it. She looked back up at him, as the strands fell in her face again. She sighed, then undid her bun, letting her long jet black hair fall around her. Both hands carefully and quickly twisted her hair and folded it while she spoke, "These seem very detailed. Your course on teleportation' Will it be more science based, or focused in magical ability' You may certainly have both involved to any extent you wish, but we like to be clear in our content for students." As she finished speaking, she finished molding her hair into a perfectly smooth bun centered at the base of her neck and returned her gaze to him.

He hesitated for a moment when she let her hair down, and tried not to stare too much. She was the boss, after all. Pulling himself back together, he felt it necessary to educate another of those people who failed to see the connection. "Well, in the research that I have done, it has been my observation that "magic" is simply science whose laws have yet to be determined. Not that they have to have anything in common with what we consider to be the "natural laws" of the universe. The rules can be so long, variable, and contradictory that I'd be laughed at if I ever published my findings.?

Lydia said politely, "No, I don't believe so. Is there anything else I can do or answer for you? My main priority is my students, but I know I must devote myself to my fellow instructors as well in order to assure my students receive optimal education in all of their courses." Fellow instructors. Though she put on false airs when hiring and testing out teachers, when it came down to it, she viewed herself as a simple teacher, just as the ones she worked with everyday. She had her own false bravado that she portrayed to the public.

He thought for a moment before shaking his head, still smiling. "No, I don't think I do right now. I'm getting familiar with the grounds and some of the other instructors. The rest will fall into place soon enough." Politeness and good manners left him sitting in the chair, waiting for her to end the meeting. She stood and walked over to meet him. No longer smiling, only showing her professional, stoic demeanor, she offered him her hand again as she said, "Then I thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing more about your classes."

Vinny stood and nodded as he took her hand firmly and shook. "My pleasure, Miss. I hope you'll keep hearing good things about me as the days go on." She looked into his eyes once more, knowing there was something there, something that made her trust him. She turned and walked him to the door. "If you need anything at all, I hope you will let me know.? He allowed himself one more smile and he made eye contact once more and walked out with her. "I don't believe that will be a problem."

Lydia smiled, then said, "Well, up until now, I have not endorsed you to my students. I'm sure you will find many more will sign up before your class begins." She leaned back in her chair, her smile faded to seriousness, "You see, I was concerned with your ability to teach adequately. Your reputation preceded you, and not in the most flattering way."

Vinny's eyes narrowed for a moment as he looked back at her. "I'm sure my rep also says that I'm psychopathic, a murderer, certifiably insane, a filthy rich playboy, and who knows what else. Most of which are more or less true. But not applicable for quite some time"

"Most of which were not my concern" she stated frankly. She was worried she had unintentionally offended him. She added, "My only concern was if your rumored lifestyle would inhibit your willingness or ability to teach. You have more than proven to me in your outlines that you would make a wonderful addition to our staff. I'm very pleased to have you on board." She paused, then joked, "Though, if you would like to teach a course explaining how to cover up one of your rumored murders, I hope you will take that course to a different place of learning."

That got a small grin from him. "Ha! I'm not going to go into details on any of my murders, because most of them were when I was younger and slightly more foolish. As for my lifestyle, I assure you that most of what you hear are rumors. If you followed me around for a day, you'd see that I'm just another guy with a handful of good looks and two handfuls of cash. Then again, there have been instances where there are more than one of me walking around." That said with a wink that conveyed just a hint of humor.

Lydia could only assume everything he had said was a joke. Still joking herself, she said, "Well, I may have to just spend the day with you one of these days to verify that." Her face immediately fell to an awkward embarrassed look, realizing they may not have came out as she intended. She tried to glaze over it by adding casually, "And I may have my own twin walking around here somewhere." She smiled.

Lydia blushed lightly, giving her pale cream skin a hint of color. She quickly looked down and played with her hands a moment, rubbing off some invisible blemish. She attempted to show her professionalism, trying to speak decisively, though it and her voice were beginning to waver, "Yes, I would like that." Still looking down, she rolled her eyes at herself. She couldn't flirt. She never knew how. That would actually make a good class if she could find an appropriate teacher" always thinking about her work, though she had something else that continued to creep into her thoughts, someone else. She looked back up at him.

Vinny kept smiling at her. This whole bit of her trying to flirt and not really knowing how to react was kind of cute, in a way. It definitely showed him that she was the type that needed to be brought out on the town occasionally. "Good. I'll pick a few once signups are complete and I can let you know. That way, you'll be sure to schedule me in." She nodded.

She knew she should get out of here before she said anything to make matters worse, or before he had a chance to, at least. She quickly got out from the student desk and extended her hand to shake his, to keep up her professional demeanor, as she said strongly, "Then I look forward to it. Keep me informed, Mr. Smith.? Standing up, he shook her hand and left it at that for now. "I will, ma'am. Have yourself a good rest of the night."

She turned and walked to the door. It seemed like an eternity before she finally reached the hallway. She exhaled and moved back to her office.

Lydia was impressed he could earn a full house on his first class. As she sat, she adjusted her simple red blouse. Behind the desk, it covered her longer pencil skirt and matching heels in a dark gray from his view. Her hair was up in her usual bun, without a strand out of place. She opened up her notebook and readied her pencil. She smiled. He sure knew how to grab the student's attention.

"So with that being said, let's get to work. Here's the outlines of all the methods to supplement what?s in the book." A snap of his fingers and everyone had a copy on their desk. Her eyes widened as a book appeared in front of her. She looked around and saw the others on the desks around her. She glanced back up at him with an impressed look. He continued, "First lesson, don't try more than one object at a time unless you're sure of two things. Where the object is when you move it, and where it's going to end up afterwards. The worst thing you can do is try to get an object to occupy a space that's already taken by something else. Even a tennis ball is bad news when it's suddenly inside someone's lungs."

"Now, if you want to avoid making that mistake, you can always take a page from quantum mechanics and use nature's method of teleporting- entanglement theory. the simple description is like sending a fax. You cause a group of molecules in one place align with what you want to move, and poof. Instant copy." Lydia began writing this down. She loved one's ability to break things down into simple ideas. It showed the person really understood the concept.

"My personal favorite is opening up a rift and pulling whatever I need through it. It's not teleporting in a strict sense, but you can move objects just the same." He opened up a small rift in front of him and reached in, pulling out of coffee mug that he had previously seen on Lydia's desk. "Now, this mug belongs to our esteemed leader and my boss. Which means I'm probably going to get in big trouble for having done this." Slipping a playful wink her way. Lydia looked stunned as he held her mug. But she quickly smiled like everything was ok and going according to plan. She didn't like the students to think she wasn't in control at every moment, whether she was or not. She knew she had to maintain that image in order to gain respect.

A DINNER WITH DISASTER

The locale was something out of an old Bogart movie. Coincidentally, the place did happen to be named Rick's. He'd been waiting out in front for her to arrive, dressed in business casual, which was the usual for him. She'd agreed to meet him here, because it was fairly public, and because he didn't want to seem forward by asking her to his place just yet. There were rules about that with your boss, after all.

Lydia wore a dark blue dress, matching her sapphire eyes. Although it was full length, it did not appear too dressy. It completely covered her, even her neck, save for her exposed shoulders and arms. She wore a few silver bangle bracelets on one arm. Silver heels would peek out from the dress as she walked. She arrived promptly on time, as she always had. She walked across the street, holding her small silver clutch, as she walked up to him.

Vinny greeted her with a smile and an opening of the door for her. "Glad you could make it. You look lovely tonight. Now, I hope you don't some good old fashioned food and drink. This place is beyond retro." It did, in fact look like something out of a 1930's movie. He just nodded to the waiters as they walked in and grabbed a table for the two of them.

She smiled as he opened the door for her. She quickly responded, "I am excited to try what they have to offer. I do not usually get a chance to get out to places like I used to before the Academy opened." She purposefully ignored his compliment. She wasn't trying to be rude; she just never took compliments well. She may have not been out in awhile, but she blended into the environment well, walking with a clear grace fitting of the era of the environment.

He looked up at the waiter, grinning. "Keeping it simple tonight. Two burgers, done the usual way. With the regular fixings. We'll be fine with just the water for now." he looked over at her. "I hope you don't mind that I ordered for you, but there are certain things you must try and this burger is one of them." She was a little taken aback by his ordering for her, but couldn't help but smile at his explanation. She nodded, "It sounds wonderful to me." She paused. She didn't really know what to say. Should she talk about herself, or ask him about himself" Was this a date and she didn't know it' She got lost in her questions. She was never any good at small talk.

As they waited for their food, a couple walked in and pulled out a pair of guns.

"Everybody be cool. This is a robbery. Just put your purses and wallets on the counter and this'll be over quickly."

Vinny rolled his eyes and mumbled a few curses. Of all the things that could go wrong tonight, this was one of the ones that annoyed him the most. Her heart sank as she heard the word "robbery?. She understood now why she rarely went out. She didn't even look at the people. She just looked at Vinny. Her face and eyes were emotionless. He said blankly, "One moment. I need to remind these two that interrupting dinner is a capital offense with me." He stood up and walked towards the pair. "All right. first and last chance to leave before you get sent to the cornfield." Her eyes widened as he spoke to her. She attempted to grab his arm to stop him, but she did not move quickly enough. She stood, hiding her clutch on her seat as she pushed in her chair. She remained standing by their table.

She paused, then continued, "Tell me about the research you do, then."

That got a little shrug out of him. "I've been dueling off and on for so long, it's like riding a bike. I just show up, do my thing, and win what I can. Just so happens that it happens to be quite a lot." Ah, his research. Tonight wasn't the best night to get into all his little projects. Given her reaction earlier, he might scare her off for good if he told her everything. "At the moment, just a little dimensional travel research. Trying to see if I can do a few things with time. Would open up new venues for me and give me something else to do."

She sat back in her chair, eating a few fries. "So do you do this research at home or somewhere else?" She was obviously more curious of him than she was before, but she had a right to be. She wasn't exactly trying to investigate him, but she just wanted to know if she could trust him. If she learned little things about him along the way, that would be even nicer. He answered, "The lab's down in the basement. It's one of the draws of the hotel. People talk about it, give me free pr and advertising. But no one other than me is allowed down there without my say so." Ask him a question, he'd give an answer. Maybe not a complete one, but he was a bit wary about giving everything out on the first date.

"Wow," she replied, "That is amazing. I've never heard of anything like that." She smiled, figuring probably not many others probably knew about it either, and she was very happy that he would share that knowledge with her. She would continue her small talk, asking a few questions here and there, trying to learn more about the man. She would attempt to flirt a little, but not much. She was supposed to be his boss, after all. What seemed like a short time later, she ate her last fry, leaving her plate empty.

He finished his own meal slightly ahead of her, and had been content to sip his water and keep conversing with her until she was done. "Ready to call it a night' I think we both have things to do come morning." She nodded and grabbed her clutch before pushing in her chair. She would allow him to lead her to the door. He left enough to cover the bill and then some, then offered her his arm as they exited. "Want me to walk you back to your place?" A good night walk would do him some good. Keep his mind clear and let him relax for a little bit.

She answered, "Oh, I think I should be alright on my way home. I think I need a little snack, first, though. You are welcome to come with me?" She began to lead him down the alley next to the restaurant.

Snack"

She just ate a full meal. Should he have asked if she wanted dessert' Anyways, he let her lead on down the alley. He wasn't known for walking down these, but hey, he could defend himself if he had to. "That's fine. lead on.?

MISTAKEN IDENTITY

Lydia was dressed in her normal business attire; pencil skirt, simple blouse, and plain heeled pumps. She stood outside of Vinny's classroom, waiting for his class to end and the students to leave. She normally wouldn't be here. She trusted him and his lesson plan enough to know the students were in good hands. But she needed to speak with him on a personal matter.

It had been a typical class for him. Mostly trying to keep the students engaged without going beyond their intellectual capabilities. As he wrapped up, he took a sip of water and reminded them about the assignment on quantum relativity due Thursday. "And remember, I know where you get your sources, so cite them accordingly."

As the last student exited the classroom, Lydia popped her head in and knocked at the door. There was a clear look of concern on her face. She was never able to hide her emotions well. She said softly, "Vinny?" She would have used his last name while at work, even though they had spent time together outside of the academy, but in this state, she wasn't considering her typical professional decorum.

Uh oh. The boss was coming by with questions or comments. This almost never was a good sign. He involuntarily took another sip of water before motioning her in. "What's up" Or what did I do this time?" Not necessarily professional of him, but until he knew the seriousness of this visit, he wasn't going to act any differently than normal.

Lydia walked inside and quickly closed the door. She turned back to face him. Ignoring what he said, she asked, "Are you alright?" She acted paranoid and almost frightened. Looking at her a little more than confused. "Um, yeah....I'm pretty sure I am. I'm over the hits I took in my last challenge. And nothing else has really been going on with me lately." He leaned up against his desk as he looked her over again. "Why' What's on your mind?"

She said quietly, "Last night, when we went to dinner, when I went to the bathroom, I was knocked unconscious. I woke up maybe about a half an hour later, locked in one of the bathroom stalls. You had already left. I just wanted to make sure you were ok." There was several moments of silence as he thought about this. "Well, if you were in the bathroom, who came back out and finished dinner with me?? Ah, Rhydin. Never a dull moment.

He gave her a quirk of a smile. "Look, just because you have some vampiric tendencies, and I hope I'm correct in saying that, doesn't make you any less interesting as a person. It just means that I'd have to be careful in where I meet you. I suppose high noon outdoors is right out of the question now. This town's big enough to hold everyone's quirks, so no, I suppose I would not be offended."

She smiled. She looked down and shook her head, amazed at how he could be more tolerant of vampires than even she could. She turned her gaze back to him and said, "I do want you to know that I never have" I never did what she did?" She trailed off but continued, "I did not do this to myself, either. She did this to me a long, long time ago." She still felt like she had to justify herself to him.

"Lydia, I keep telling you, don't fret out over this." He chuckled slightly, but kept it short. "I've learned in my many years of being a little eccentric is that the important thing is that you're ok with what you are and you can live with your actions. You do that, and you can tell anyone who might have a problem with it to piss off."

She nodded. "I'm sorry to have bothered you with all this. I can let you get back to what you were doing." He smiled a little brighter. "It's ok. I'm just happy you're ok and that we got this all straightened out. Though it does mean I owe you a whole dinner one of these nights."

She looked down again, hiding her smile. She said, still looking down, "I'd like that." She glanced back up at him and said, "I really should be going. I have a meeting." She put down the glass on one of the desks and began to walk out before she made a bigger fool of herself. She looked back and added as she got to the door, "I hope you have a good evening."

He nodded and smiled. "You too. I'll see you soon, I'm sure.?

He snickered just a half second. That was a terribly exciting night she had planned. Though to be fair, his wasn't going to be much better. Lab work was usually tedious unless something went wrong. Then it was panic, chaos, and making sure that it didn't get out into the general environment. "Getting out early is always nice. I can't find any argument with that. I'll be holed up down in the lab working on a few things I need to finish up tonight before they go bad and become unviable."

Her eyes widened. "Oh! I love research directly in the lab setting. It's so amazing to be experiencing things first hand like that. Changing one element at a time, seeing the impact it can have." She assumed he meant simple boring laboratory research work, which was exciting enough for her.

If she meant that by one element at a time, he'd be changing around DNA sequences targeting specific genes, she'd be right. "Well, it does have to get done firsthand. Mike can do a lot of the work for me, but he lacks actual hands. Why he hasn't built his own yet, I'm not sure. Did you want to swing by and take a look" So long as you promise not to touch anything, it should be fine."

She about stumbled backwards from enthusiasm. "Oh yes! Of course. I certainly won't disturb anything. I know how sensitive certain experiments can be." Sensitive, indeed. If she only knew. But she was about to find out. "Good. Do you want to take the quick route, or the long boring one there?"

Granted, she had extra time to take the long route tonight, but her excitement would not allow her that option. With eyes still lit up, she answered, "I'm eager to get there as soon as possible.? She cringed slightly when she realized how she worded that, but she shook it off with a smile.

He took her by the hand and, after a little nose wiggle, they were in the lobby of the hotel.

Mike spoke up. "Hey, miss. This is about all you'll get to see of me. My main housing is a level above this, and I'm super picky about letting anyone in there. Even knucklehead here only gets let in when absolutely necessary." Mike had his good, nice voice on tonight. Which made him seem like an excited thirtysomething.

She smiled at the greeting. "It's nice to meet you, Mike. Vin"," she paused and corrected herself with a teasing glance to Vinny, "Knucklehead has said so many nice things about you. I'm Lydia Tolmay." She didn't know if he knew of her or not, but she still wanted to be able to politely introduce herself.

"Pleasure to finally be officially meeting you, as well. I've seen and heard you many times before, but normally I'm supposed to stay quiet and just observe. Besides, it's annoying to always be hacking into places just to be heard, and knucklehead edits my comments it I tell him to say something." Vinny was trying to hold down a smile and not laugh at hearing all this. Mike was in some ways a big kid, and could be unflinchingly honest and direct. Unless you made him angry.

She turned to Vinny with a confused look on her face. "He has seen and heard me before?" Many times, he said. Many. She was really looking for any type of explanation on this one. He tapped the side of his head. "I've got a little microrecorder implanted. Mike sees what I see, and hears what I hear. Usually, it's just for recording, and I can turn it off if it bothers you once in a while. But he'll get pouty and pester me for a rundown of the experience later."

She stared off for a moment, processing that. She only felt more self conscious, trying to go over all of the things she may have said or did wrong. She always tried to be well composed and didn't think she did anything too outlandish except' Oh, no. Mike undoubtedly saw what Vinny had seen Leta do that night in the ally when she had a late night snack of some man. He probably also heard her admit to being one of the same" She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them, looking at Vinny. She said blankly, "So he knows about' what Leta is" and what I am?"

He took a deep breath before answering. "Yes, he does know. But luckily he's about as judgmental as I am. Which is not at all." Being a computer system, Mike had some funny ideas about things. And he hoped that she didn't ask him about his views on sex. She nodded, trying not to look as uncomfortable as she felt. She tried to diffuse the situation by changing the subject to the real reason they were there. "Well, tell me about what you are working on now.?

Vinny made a few small adjustments on the dials. "I was aware, and instructed them all. It's like watching a bunch of tv's all at once. and playing videogames on them. Not quite like that, but you get the idea. It does have other drawbacks though, including possible psychosis, disconnect from reality, and an overload of sensation resulting in brain death."

She nodded, "Oh yes, I'd believe there'd be all kinds of potential complications to you, and to them. But when you offer it to the general public, it would stay in more of a replacement role" You could offer bodies free from disease and defects. Would you even be able to offer bodies of a different race than the buyer?" She was curious just how far the process could be stretched.

"Oh, it's certainly doable. I'd just have to make sure that everything was matched up correctly. I meant it when I said whatever they wanted. Just don't stray too far from normal. Animal/plant hybrid stuff is still a little beyind me for now."

"That is certainly understandable. I guess I'm more excited to hear if" maybe? you might be able to give someone a human body that might not be one?" She turned away as if studying his work. She resented Leta for turning her into a vampire and always hoped that one day she might be ale to become human again, though she did not try to let anyone know her inner thoughts and hopes.

He paused for a sec as it sunk in just what she was asking for. This was always a touchy subject when he discussed it with people in theory, but this was the first time he'd had someone be serious about it. "The short answer is probably, yes. The long answer is that I haven't done it on anyone but me before and I'm not sure if the new body would take."

She tried not to act as though she was as interested in the thought as she was. "Well, it may be something to look into later, then. Maybe it might be profitable in the future. I'm sure someone might be interested in something like that." She paused, still casually looking around, "I guess a lot of this would be related to possession in some way. Are you concerned with that theory?? She looked up at him.

Mike hesitated. Which usually meant he was trying to form a lie. It gave him away everytime. "One of the times you were there I sent up a weather balloon. Yeah, that's it. Weather balloon." Long pause as he waited for Vinny's impending retort.

"Weather balloon....right. Mike, I've got to get a lying program installed in you, because your attempts are as transparent as glass. We'll discuss this later. In the meantime, I'll take her there if she wants." He looked at her, figuring it was her choice and all. "Did you want to go?" She still looked at Vinny, but this time it followed with a question. "What is Algol Siento?"

Vinny blinked. "You mean I never mentioned it before" It's my little place of silence and peace tucked away behind a portal. I found the place as I was dimension hopping and cataloging things and built it shortly thereafter." She smiled brightly. "Oh, I think that sounds wonderful, but maybe not tonight. Can I get a rain check?" She still wanted to work on a few things tonight for her class tomorrow, and she definitely didn't want to be out all night with someone" she wasn't that kind of girl, after all.

"That's fine. Let's call it a night then. You probably want to get back before it's too late, and I should check to see if my place is still standing and get back in time to catch a little rest." He saw the signs and didn't press any further. Best that she headed out soon anyways.He looked around to make sure that everything was where it was supposed to be, then led her back to the elevator. "Hope you enjoyed a peek at the place."

She smiled and said, "Oh, I did. Thank you so much for letting me see what you do. It's no wonder why you do so well in the classroom. You get to experience everything hands on." A few buttons pushed and they were inside heading back up to the lobby. Vinny said, "Welcome. I do get to play with all the fun toys. Partly why I'm good at what I do. Did you want a portal back or had you planned on walking?"

She smiled at his question. She never minded doing something the hard way. "I'm fine with walking. It will let me clear my head and allow me to go over my lecture for tomorrow. But, thank you for the offer." He nodded as they stepped out into the lobby. "In that case, be safe. I'll see you around soon, most likely." He leaned in for a simple kiss on the cheek and left it at that. She held back her smile as he kissed her cheek. As he pulled back, she looked at him and said quickly, "Thank you, again. Have a good night." She turned and exhaled, then made her way out and back home.

See the related story at http://rdi.dragonsmark.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=24597. Thank you for reading.]