FG City Info (and first TV class, kekeke)

Had Fiction TV class today. You read that right. My class is basically a historical study of major tv series in Canada (Quebec, more specifically). This is your cue for major jealousy fits. Go on, I'll wait.

And, as Gabie exclaimed when I entered the cafeteria before class, "Oh my god, CM, you have TV now, don't you?"

That's right. That's right. Whoop whoop.

"Yep."

"Oh my god," she gushes. "I had it last week; you will so love it."

I raise a brow. "Is the teacher any good?"

She sighs (she has a boyfriend but she ain't blind) and says, "Yeeesss. Oh, you won't hear a word because you'll be focusing on how gorgeous he is."

And gorgeous he is indeed. I entered the class with Slim (who is in my every specific class, by the way, and would have also been in my French and Gym classes if I hadn't changed my schedule) and saw that Gabie had it spot on. Our TV teacher is handsome. Not in the clean-cut way that I usually like, but most definitely in that casual just-outta-bed and not showered way. A bit like Aragorn with paler (but still long) hair. Very nice.

I sit in the back, and Slim sits next to me. Amazingly, ever since I stopped pining for him, it's like we get along a billion times better. No expectations, no disappointments. It's great. I started chatting with Liz, who sat on my other side, and we commented on a few of the class' other students. I showed off my newest shoes, heeled open-toe things that get me a few flattering looks, and she wholeheartedly agrees that sometimes, new shoes are absolutely essential to keeping a girl's spirits high.

When at last Luke (our teacher, who doesn't want to be called Sir or Mr. whatever his last name is) closes the door, he looks around as us and decides to sit on one of the desks at the front of the class rather than take his chair. He has the whole casual young adult thing going on. His voice is a little hoarse from, he says, a disappearing cold. I glance at Slim, who suffered two weeks ago from a major case of bronchitis, and he nods sagely.

"Soooo," Luke says, rocking back and forth slowly on his desk, fixing us all with lazy but all-seeing stares, "hey everyone. I'm Luke. You can call me Luke. I'm twenty-eight and studied in communications. Which means we might have the same cultural references. Which is great for me and you."

Slim turns to me and asks, in a low whisper, "Did you see this guy last year?"

I purse my lips. "Nope."

But Luke answers our questions as he continues speaking. "I went on a trip around the world last year, and it was great. But we can talk about the world some other time. We're here to talk about sitting on a couch, immersing ourselves in an important cultural icon: la télé ('TV', in French)."

Liz and I exchange glances and grin.

"Soooo... any questions so far?"

It went on like this, until he got to the class requirements. Slim and I took out our agendas and Luke said, to the whole class, "I hope you all have, like, recorders at home or something like that. Because you'll need to record episodes and... yeah. Though," he says, sitting up a little, "I won't hide I'm a bit of an inveterate downloader, so if you like dee-elling episodes, you go on right ahead, I don't mind at all."

I shoot Slim a large grin, and he smirks right back. Slim and I enjoy downloading stuff from the net; I never thought I'd find a guy with a greater addiction to d/l-ing than I, but there he is, sitting right next to me with the authorization to indulge in his little habit. We exchange a sinister chuckle that sounds not unlike "kekekeke" causing a few scared glances from Liz and Max (who was sitting behind us).

But whatever.

Somewhere during the presentation, Slim pulls out a pocket-size bag of chips, and I stare at him wide-eyed.

"Slim, oh my god, you can't eat during the very first class of the term. Save it for exams or something."

He glances at me with the open aluminum bag in his hand, crunching nonchalantly on a mouthful of potato chips. He blinks, then asks, "Want some?"

I look down into the bag and see a dozen delicious potato chips, Original flavour, my favourite (Slim and I share many tastes, turns out, which is a little creepy after a while).

"Well... yeah, I guess."

Slim nods and fetches into his backpack and hands me an unopened bag, identical to his, with a smirk.

My eyes widen. "Whoa, you're giving me the whole thing? How many packs do you have in there?"

He shrugs but doesn't answer me, eagerly eating more chips. So I open my bag and we sit back in our chairs, listening to Luke as he goes on to talk about soap operas. Between mouthfuls, I hear Slim whisper, "I can't believe we have a class almost exclusively dedicated to our favourite TV shows."

I almost choke on my mouthful as I hold back a laugh. When he finishes his bag of chips, he starts digging into mine. I shoot him a violated pout, and he raises both brows, whispering, "Hey, don't give me that. They're MY chips to begin with."

So I shrug and let him dig in all he wants. Whatever.

"And now," Luke says, "Enough talking from me. Let's do a practical exercise. Get in teams of four or five, and invent me a TV show by a Quebec firm for a Quebecer viewing public. Your goal is to get a concept that will interest the biggest number of people possible while lasting the longest possible time. Get in teams."

I shoot a glance at Liz, then at a Slim, then the three of us turn to look pointedly at Max, who bursts out laughing. When Max laughs, the whole world knows, because he laughs in sharp, loud bursts. Like 'AAAA-HA-HA-HA". No point saying that, just thought I'd share. It's funny.

We gather round. Before any of us can get a word in, Slim says, "Okay, so here it is: the whole province of Quebec is attacked by natural disasters, which cause an undead riot."

Me (wondering how it could possibly be that Slim is as much as disaster movie fan as I): "Not to burst your bubble, sweetheart, but I doubt that concept will appeal to every viewing public category."

Slim (disappointed): "But... zombies...!"

Liz: "We should go for issues that are really important to Quebec society at the moment. Like reasonable accomodation or the fall of the Parti Québécois, you know?"

Me: "It's true. You know why André Boisclair fell, though?"

Max: "Do tell."

Me: "He was gay and an ex cocaine consumer. Urban stuff, you know? You'll never find those in the rural areas. But the PQ's main supporters were in the remoter regions. Suddenly they didn't identify with him. Wonder why."

Slim: "Zombies."

Me: "Oh, shut up, Slim. We can't have zombies."

Slim: "But―"

Me: "Isn't the third Resident Evil movie coming out anyway?"

Slim: "EXACTLY, let's do RE meets The Day After Tomorrow, except in Montreal!"

Max: "Disagree. Everyone wants sitcoms to happen in Montreal because it's the only major city of Quebec. Let's be different. The majority of the viewing public doesn't have to be in Montreal anyway. Let's give them something new. La grande séduction meets... I don't know, something with general issues."

Me: "An inheritance."

Liz: "Pressures from the United States and Ontario― the English-speaking world chokes Quebec."

Slim: "And shady stuff."

Me: "Five appealing main characters, all different, all related in some way."

Liz: "All dealing with different themes and issues."

Max: "Wait! Slow down, I can't write that fast!"

Slim (smirking at Max, who is struggling to jot everything down): "AndzombieswithResidentEvil andlotsofbloodandgore, probablywithafewtornadoes andearthquakesandtsunamis."

Me: "Don't write that down, Max."

Max (sarcastic): "Oh gee I hadn't realised. Gosh how silly of me."

We had fun. TV class will be awesome.

Oooh, did I promise a city profile? Well, here it is (I'm still writing, by the way. I'm on page 73... slowly but surely...).

Full Name: Castleton, Capital of Hyrule
Leader(s): Princess Zelda Harkinian, Admiral Auru Mage and High Priest Rauru Luz
Town Centre: Citadel of Time
Founded: Start of the First Age
Current political orientation: Hylian Alliance
Location: Central-north of Hyrule, south of the Calatian mountain range
Geographical advantage: In the middle of fields, its visibility range is unhindered in every direction for miles.
Climate: Plains
Weather: Temperate, generally sunny and warm, prone to storms brought on by the mountains in the north and east.
Economy: Bordering on bad. The war has indebted the city and weakened it greatly. Focused on agriculture and aerial trade.
Technology: Medium-advanced.
History: One of the earliest cities, it was a gathering of farmers before turning into an important market town, where eventually merchants became bourgeois, then aristocrats. The most powerful were named monarchs, and the influence of Castleton became the country of Hyrule. Its focus has always been to keep power and protect its people. The Citadel of Time itself is a relic of the ancient temple that is spoken of in legends.
Main races: Hylian, Sheikah, Gerudo, Goron
Layout: Circular, with outer protective wall and inner fortress (Citadel of Time)
Architecture: A mix and match of all kinds of architectures, it has no style and could be considered rather ugly. Cobblestones mix with metallic panels and grates, cement with slate, brick with glass, steel with wood. The Citadel is the only homogenous-looking building of Castleton, its tall tower visible from miles and miles anywhere in the plains of Hyrule.

So that's that for today. Tomorrow's my dreaded dinner-date with Bass, who just called to confirm. Darn. But that's okay. I'll take it coolly and be honest.

Or, as Karl from my job said, "Be so blunt you break his heart so bad he'll remember his whole life to never call anyone 'doll' again."

On a side note, I'd like to congratulate Lyxie for her entry in the UFO Awards!!! I'm so proud of you, girl (and I feel very privileged to be allowed to read your stuff before everyone else ―hush hush)!!

Love,
CM