妖怪世捨て人The ramblings of a recluse.2017-03-18T17:08:28http://reader.tymoon.eu/Copyright (c) 2014, TymoonNET/NexT
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A Hot Day - Story Time3512017-03-18T17:08:282017-03-18T17:08:28shinmerahttps://shinmera.com/shinmera@tymoon.eu<p>The scorching earth. Forests set ablaze, cities drowned in a fiery inferno. Anna would probably call that an exaggeration, but Monika thought it was a pretty apt description of the weather right now. It was the middle of Summer, and the world wanted everyone to know it. Temperatures were through the roof and drought had set in in a few places. Monika sat in the living room, staring out onto the fields in front of their house. The windows were wide open, but not a single gust of wind blew through them. Monika thought she could hear the hot air simmering under the burning sun, but that might have just been her imagination again. There wasn't really any particular sound, just this strange kind of general noise that lets you know it's summer, permeating through everything.</p>
<p>Monika groaned. She loathed summer about as much as it seemed to loathe her. Hot weather really did not become her. Over time it would transform her into a sluggish blob that just flailed about on the floor and moaned. “Weather like this should be illegal,” Monika said. “You should submit an initiative for that, then” Anna replied, as she went on her business in the kitchen. Monika didn't even have the will to glare at Anna, so she just groaned again. “You could go for a swim in the lake. I'm sure the water is nicely cool,” Anna said while she scoured the cabinets for ingredients. “I don't like to go swimming.” “Oh? Why not?” “It's embarrassing,” Monika mumbled quietly. “Hmm? I couldn't hear you,” Anna chirped back at her. Monika said nothing and stared out the window again. It really was just way too hot.</p>
<p>“How can you be so chipper while this,” Monika gestured lazily, “this state of affairs is going on?” Anna just hummed cheerily and figured a response wasn't necessary. Sometimes you just had to let Monika complain. “Must be in your genes or something,” Monika scoffed as she stared out the window again and rocked her chair. A few minutes passed uneventfully, the relative silence merely interrupted by the occasional cricket chirping in the grass outside. Finally, Anna decided she had had enough of her moping about. “Come on, Monika. Just sitting in here all day is not going get you motivated or inspired.” “But I don't want to go out! It's even hotter in the sun, and I don't see how being burned to a crisp would give me any ideas either.” “Well, maybe you'll catch a nice breeze somewhere. Now quit your complaining and hush on out of here.” Monika growled, got off her chair, and stomped upstairs into her room. “Oh, and you could buy some dinner on your way back!” Anna shouted after her.</p>
<p>Once in her room, Monika grumpily dressed herself to head out. She didn't know why she followed Anna's advice, but she didn't know what else to do either. She put on a light, short-sleeved, white t-shirt, a light-blue, knee-length skirt, and a straw hat. Shortly after she stood in front of her house. The sun burned strongly at first, but soon her skin got used to the light and only the heat remained. Monika got onto her bike and started off down the hill. The lake was quite a ways, but for now the ride was surprisingly pleasant. The head wind was nicely cooling and the bright summer colours that painted the landscapes made everything look happy and inviting.</p>
<p>As she rode along the side of the streets, ever closer to the lake, Monika thought about whether it would be possible to make a kind of noir detective story happen in a brilliant and bright village out on the countryside in Italy. After all, standard noir stories relied strongly on gritty and dark settings. As she mused this time flew by swiftly. She soon found herself at the shore of the Türlersee. It didn't have a pretty, sandy beach like you'd find at the sea, but it was nevertheless a nice place. A sizeable crowd of people could be seen bathing around it. Monika parked her bike in the shade and started for a walk. She didn't really think about anything in particular now, and instead just let her eyes roam and take in the scenery. The air was a lot more bearable around the lake, especially with the shade the trees around it provided. Monika felt at ease.</p>
<p>After a good while of walking, the temperature suddenly dropped and it became rather chilly. Monika turned around and saw a bunch of storm clouds that had crept in from the horizon. Things changed rather quickly, now. The clouds moved in front of the sun and everything became much darker. A gust of wind blew over her, and decorated her hair with dust and leaves. The world felt altogether different now. For a moment Monika just stood anchored to the ground, stunned. But then, she finally managed to gain control over herself again and rushed back to her bike. No doubt it would start raining before long, and she definitely did not want to be caught in a rainstorm on her bike.</p>
<p>Monika raced back to the village as fast as she could, the clouds following just behind her. The wind had now started to swell up and roared in her ears. She was just a few hundred meters away from her house when she heard the first few raindrops fall around her. The sky was now almost completely covered in a musky dark grey. Monika cursed in between breaths. Her lungs burned, and despite the massive reduction in temperature, her head felt like it could explode any minute. With a last burst of energy she raced up the hill and threw her bike under the small roof in front of her house. Just then, thunder struck and the rain started to pour down.</p>
<p>Out of breath, Monika leaned against the house wall and just watched the rain fall for a few minutes. Hearing the rhythmic drumming of the raindrops was pleasantly calming. Once her head had cooled off, Monika got up and tried to go inside, but the door was locked. She wondered where Anna could have gone off to and retrieved the spare key from a specific crack in the wall. As she stepped inside, she found a note on the floor. “I'm going grocery shopping real quick,” it said. Monika sighed and let herself fall onto a chair in the living room. The view in front of the window looked very different now. Instead of the bright and burning world she had seen just a few hours back, it now looked very cold and distant.</p>
<p>Slowly, a grin crept onto Monika's face. She now knew how a detective story in a rural Italian town could work out. Suddenly all of her exhaustion from the bike ride had vanished. Excited and eager to get to work she ran up the stairs and into her room where she kept working until late into the evening.</p>
Anna: The Argument - Story Time3462016-10-15T14:44:392016-10-15T14:44:39mithentmithent@gmail.com<p>Anna leaned back in her chair, shielding her eyes with a hand as she cast them up to the sky. It was a fine day in June, with only wisps of cloud between her and the glare of the sun. Not for the first time, she regretted not having brought any sunglasses with her, odd with her smart pinstripe grey jacket and matching trousers as they might have looked. She’d added a splash of colour with a pink blouse. Denner were an important client, so she’d wanted to make a good impression, as always. But it somehow didn’t seem right for a designer not to have a little something about them. </p>
<p>The briefing meeting had gone well, she’d thought. Designing posters for their next seasonal advertising campaign was, perhaps, not one of the most inventive assignments she’d had, but it was regular work, and she couldn’t really complain about that. She’d had to take the bus to get here, though, and the meeting had conveniently finished just late enough that she’d missed the one she’d hoped to get. Narrowly missing it was particularly frustrating when the next bus wouldn’t be along for another hour, but it would have been inappropriate to cut the meeting short. At least there wasn’t much reason to get home early, since Monika had mentioned that she was going to be out today too.</p>
<p>Anna had decided to get a coffee and spend some time thinking about ideas for the brief she’d just received rather than standing around on the street. She’d seen a small cafe just across the road from the bus stop, so she could keep an eye out for the bus in case it came early. The place was clean but a little tired-looking, strewn with white round tables and plastic chairs. It was a quiet Wednesday afternoon, and it hadn’t taken her long to buy her coffee and sit down at one of the three tables outside - not only the better to watch out for her bus, but also to enjoy the breeze.</p>
<p>She pulled out her notepad and a pencil, placing the former beside her coffee on the table and biting the end of the latter. Gazing around the street, she hoped to spot something that might give her an idea, but nothing about the office buildings or cars around here seemed to help. Putting down the pencil, she drank some of her no-longer-scalding coffee, then picked it up again and doodled a pattern on her pad in lieu of coming up with any ideas.</p>
<p>A rather petulant woman’s voice interrupted her from her faux-concentration. “I guess it will do. We’ve been walking for long enough already.” Anna turned in the direction of the sound, and saw a tall, tanned woman in a billowy floral dress and a large floppy hat, her blonde hair hanging down the sides of her face. It looked like she was in her thirties. She was accompanied by a harried-looking man perhaps a decade her senior wearing a sharp, dark suit without a tie, his brow glistening with sweat between his neatly-parted dark hair and his half-rimmed glasses. The woman had the air of someone rather wealthy and spoiled, while her companion seemed none too pleased with how his day was going. Anna didn’t particularly care to attract the attention of either. They walked past her into the cafe, and she turned back to her musing.</p>
<p>Before long, though, it was interrupted by raised voices coming out of the door, a few metres behind her. With the road noise outside, she couldn’t pick out exactly what they were saying, but the odd word filtered out. It sounded like the man was apologising for something, and the woman was complaining about a soy milk cappuccino. A minute later the couple emerged and approached the table furthest from hers. The woman drew up a chair, scraping it along the pavement, and sat down heavily, while her beleaguered companion sat down beside her after placing two cups on the table.</p>
<p>Anna once again attempted to turn her attention back to her impending work. She opened a flap on her bag and pulled out one of the documents she’d been handed an hour earlier which listed the products that they wanted to feature in their promotional materials. Even though it was routine work, she hoped to come up with something a little different to make an impression. That might be a challenge with this material, though…</p>
<p>“Why are you looking at her?” demanded the woman, suddenly and loudly. Anna looked up again and saw the woman gesturing in her direction. She looked back in puzzlement.</p>
<p>The man shook his head vigorously. “I was just looking down the road,” he replied with a resigned sigh, and took a drink from his cup.</p>
<p>“Don’t lie to me! You were looking at her over there! And on our anniversary!” she hissed. “You promised me a day out, and so far we’ve gotten lost, wound up at this crummy little cafe, and you’re eyeing up some tart over there!”</p>
<p>Anna bristled inwardly and pointedly turned her chair away, picking up her pencil again and starting to aggressively fill in the doodling that she’d started earlier. She didn’t know if the man had actually been looking at her, and while she had felt a little sorry for him, she certainly didn’t want any part of this. She couldn’t help continuing to hear the argument that was going on two tables away, though.</p>
<p>“No! No, I wasn’t! Look, I’m sorry, it’s been a long time since I’ve been here, and I forgot to take the map, I thought -”</p>
<p>“You didn’t think, that’s right! You never think! What are you going to forget next? I’m surprised you even remembered it was our anniversary!”</p>
<p>The man’s reply sounded even more defensive. “I did! I booked -” He paused, and sounded more conflicted when he continued. “I didn’t want to say, it’s supposed to be a surprise.”</p>
<p>There was the clinking sound of a cup being placed on a saucer. “Oh, a surprise?” The woman now seemed sarcastic. “Well, this is quite a surprise! I didn’t expect to spend my afternoon walking around, in these heels, and getting the worst latte I’ve had in weeks!”</p>
<p>Anna stole a glance at her watch. The bus was due to be along in fifteen minutes. Reminded of her own unfinished coffee, she turned back a little towards her table so she could drink some more. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that the man had placed his head in both hands, with his elbows placed on the table, while his wife ranted at him.</p>
<p>“Where are we going next? The rubbish dump, perhaps? Or the sewage works?” Anna wondered if the woman was, on some level, enjoying this argument - she certainly seemed to be laying into her husband enthusiastically. </p>
<p>“Look,” he interjected, briefly lifting his head from his hands. “I did book a show for later, all right?”</p>
<p>“I don’t suppose it matters, as we’re never going to get there.” His floral adversary folded her arms and glared at him from over her coffee.</p>
<p>He sighed once again. “I’ll see if I can phone for a taxi.” The man got up and walked into the cafe, where he was presumably hoping to solicit help. This left Anna and the disgruntled woman alone outside, separated by the empty table between them.</p>
<p>Feeling uncomfortable, Anna hurriedly drained the last of her coffee and put away her papers and notebook, standing up and leaving the cafe while trying to avoid eye contact with the woman, fearful that she might address or accuse her. She walked off in the opposite direction to avoid passing by her, forcing her to loop around to a further crossing before she could reach the other side of the road and her bus stop. She was still a little early, but standing here was better than sitting over there, especially on her own.</p>
<p>Waiting there, she relaxed a little, suddenly noticing how tense and uncomfortable she had become. The couple sitting across from her had certainly had a rather dysfunctional relationship, or so it seemed from the outside. She wondered why they put up with each other? Admittedly, the man did seem rather disorganised, but his wife’s response seemed totally unreasonable too. She knew she was more particular about some things than Monika, so she hoped that she wasn’t as bad as that - or at least, she hoped to ensure she wasn’t. And she was certainly very glad that Monika wasn’t likely to start ranting at her in a cafe even when they did have reason to disagree about something.</p>
<p>She leaned against the bus shelter. It would be good to be home.</p>
Anna's First Day - Story Time3422016-08-20T20:41:402016-08-20T20:41:40mithentmithent@gmail.com<p>Ring… Ring… Ring… Click!</p>
<p>A small tape started to spin in the machine.</p>
<p>“You’ve reached the Meier household. We can’t answer the phone right now, but please leave a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.”</p>
<p>Click! Beep! Click!</p>
<p>“Oh, Anna - sorry, maybe you’ve left already? It’s only just gone six… uh, well, if you’re still there, I just wanted to say to have a good first day at your new school. I’m sure you’ll do great. Sorry I can’t be there to see you off, but you know, I’m still at this conference… Anyway, see you later, and you can tell me about it then.”</p>
<p>Click!</p>
<p>The machine fell silent, still unheard beneath the drone of the hair dryer upstairs. Anna sat perched on the edge of her bed, wrapped in a cream-coloured towel, holding the appliance in one hand while running the other through her hair. Otherwise, the room was neat and tidy with pale blue-painted walls, furnished in a simple Scandinavian style with a chest of drawers, a wardrobe, a half-stocked bookshelf, and opposite the bed, a desk topped with several well-thumbed books underneath a window looking out towards the lake. The wall adjacent to the bed was adorned with a Clara Porges landscape print. Next to the bed stood Anna’s mother, a tall and fairly slim woman with dark permed hair fringing her olive-coloured face. She was already dressed in a red dress with white spots, hairbrush in hand.</p>
<p>“Anna dear, let me -” She reached out with the brush to Anna’s hair, met with a flap of her daughter’s hand and flinch away from the implement.</p>
<p>“Mum, I know how to do my hair,” Anna replied, not entirely succeeding in hiding her exasperation.</p>
<p>Her mother pulled away slightly at the response, shaking her head a little and tossing her long brown permed hair. “Okay,” she conceded. “But don’t take too long. I’ll go finish up breakfast.” She put the brush down on the bed, then turned and left the room, momentarily turning back to look at her daughter before closing the door.</p>
<p>Anna watched as her mother left her alone, allowing herself only a moment to appreciate her temporary solitude before continuing to get ready. Picking up the brush, she finished off her shoulder-length brown hair by tucking it into a ponytail, then replaced the towel with a pale blue blouse and a navy skirt, paired with a pair of grey socks. Pulling up the second, she checked herself in the mirror. She was a little taller than average for a girl of her age, and perhaps slight of build, rather like her mother. She nodded to herself, feeling that she looked smart in her outfit.</p>
<p>A voice filtered through the door. “Anna! Breakfast is ready!”</p>
<p>With one more check in the mirror, Anna snatched up the near-empty satchel leant next to her desk and swept out of her room and down the stairs.</p>
<p>The kitchen was homely, with wooden-fronted cupboards lining the walls around the stove, while the room was large enough to accommodate a small table. This room, however, was somewhat less tidy, the countertops dusted with flour and strewn with bowls and utensils. The table was set for two, but perhaps stocked for four: bread, butter, honey and cheese sat around a pot of coffee, a mug of milk and several small cakes.</p>
<p>As Anna walked into the room, her mother pulled out a chair for her. “I made magdalenas,” she explained, gesturing to the breakfast cakes as she sat down in the other chair herself.</p>
<p>Anna gave a kind but nervous smile. “Thanks Mum,” she replied, “but I don’t think I can eat all of this. We need to leave in fifteen minutes.”</p>
<p>“My little girl needs to eat or she won’t have energy for the day!” She flicked her wrist in conciliation. “But, have as much as you like.”</p>
<p>Anna poured herself a mug of coffee with milk, then set about eating a slice of bread and butter with cheese, plus one of the magdalenas. The latter, at least, was mandatory given her mother’s effort, and the sweet lemony cakes were a part of her Spanish heritage.</p>
<p>After a couple of minutes, her mother paused her own breakfast with a slight cough. “I’m sure you’re going to do great today!”</p>
<p>Anna shot her a hesitant smile, chewing for a few moments and swallowing before replying. “I hope so. I don’t want to lose my place.”</p>
<p>A light tinkle of laughter and rolling of eyes preceded her mother’s reply. “Of course you’ll do well! Don’t worry so much.”</p>
<p>Anna shrugged and took a few seconds to drink some coffee. “Not everyone passes.”</p>
<p>Her mother just smiled again in response, her expression just a little pained.</p>
<p>Meal over, Anna strode off to the bathroom to finish her preparations while her mother tidied away the embarrassing surfeit of leftovers. They met again at the front door, Anna buckling up her shoes and settling her satchel on her shoulder as her mother left the kitchen.</p>
<p>“You know you don’t need to drive me today, Mum,” Anna started. “I’m going to take the bus every other day.”</p>
<p>“Nonsense. I want to see you off on your first day properly!” Her mother took a wide-brimmed hat off the hatstand and placed it upon her head, checked herself in the adjacent mirror and adjusted it slightly, then stepped into her shoes and picked up her handbag from the table beneath the mirror.</p>
<p>The light on the answering machine flashed silently, unheeded, as they both walked out of the front door onto the drive.</p>
<p>The white Ford Escort parked outside was mostly clean, sullied only by slight streaks of dust around the wheel arches. Anna’s mother fumbled in her bag, then produced the car keys, with which she unlocked the doors.</p>
<p>Anna had already strode over to the car, and got in quickly. “You don’t need to go all the way there,” she tried again as her mother sat down in the driver’s seat.</p>
<p>Another smile in response, the pain being hidden slightly less well this time. “I know you don’t want to be embarrassed by your mother, but I want to see you there.”</p>
<p>Another shrug. “I know,” Anna replied, letting it drop.</p>
<p>The engine sputtered, then spurted into life as the car set off on the road into the city. Anna looked out the window for a minute, then opened her satchel, checking her stationery and notebook, then unfolding and re-reading a familiar letter of acceptance to the Realgymnasium Rämibühl.</p>
<p>She had already memorised the instructions for her first day, and her gaze slid down the page quickly. She was relieved not to notice anything new, but it couldn’t holder her interest. Letter exhausted of interest, she sat back in her seat and looked out of the window. The streets of Zürich streaked past the windows, punctuated by moments of stasis when the car came to a stop. It was a warm mid-August day, the light of the morning sun filtered through layers of cloud. The buildings and people passing by barely registered as she rehearsed the day again and again in her head.</p>
<p>The car came to a halt again, Anna’s mother pulling up the handbrake with the car on the side of the road. “Well, we’re here,” she said brightly, breaking her daughter out of her reverie. “Just down the road, anyway. I suppose you don’t need me to walk you to the door.”</p>
<p>Anna looked down momentarily in embarrassment, then fixed her expression and looked back at her mother, tucking a lock of hair behind her left ear in the process. “Ah, yes, I’ll be fine! Thanks, Mum.” Her mother smiled and brushed her cheek with a hand, then leaned over and kissed both. “Now, you have a good first day, and tell me all about it, okay? I’m sure you’ll do great!”</p>
<p>With a brief smile and a nod, Anna briefly embraced her mother and then let herself out of the car, satchel settled on her shoulder. She shut the door and waved, calling out “See you later!” as she set off to the school gate, casting the occasional glance back at her mother watching her as she went. Rounding the corner to the entrance, and finally out of sight, she stopped for a moment to look inside.</p>
<p>Up a few steps was a quadrangle bustling with students. Some stood around in small groups, chatting animatedly, while others hurried across the square towards the large, multi-storey buildings which dominated the other three sides. Anna already knew that she, too, would soon need to head inside, but took her time, scanning through the throng. Two other students from her primary school were also to start at Rämibühl - Stephanie and Thomas. While neither had been close friends of Anna’s, she wouldn’t mind seeing some familiar faces amidst the sea of others.</p>
<p>Familiar faces were, however, hard to find in the crowd. After a couple of minutes of weaving through it without finding any, she supposed that the other new students who had already arrived had probably gone straight to the auditorium. Passing by the large building opposite where she had entered, she followed a sign with an arrow which had been stuck to the wall directing her to the “New Student Induction”. Another sign directed her into the auditorium itself, in which the tiered rows of seats were already filling up with her future classmates.</p>
<p>She quickly noticed Thomas sitting on one end. He was a fairly stocky boy who seemed to be entirely clad in denim, despite the warm weather, with a pair of round glasses perched upon his similarly round face, which was framed with a tousle of blonde hair. Anna hadn’t spent much time with him before - they’d both mostly kept to themselves. But familiarity was, nevertheless, welcome. He already seemed to be engaged in conversation with the boy sitting beside him, though. Anna raised her hand in a half-wave, attempting to draw his attention, but there was no response.</p>
<p>Shrugging, she went to find an available seat instead. The auditorium was filling up quickly as the students arrived; surely, none wanted to be late on their first day at the Gymnasium. Soon enough, her other former classmate walked through the doors. Stephanie was a little shorter than Anna, with her brown hair drawn back into a ponytail, wearing a green blouse with pink trousers. She, too, was more of an acquaintance than a close friend; Stephanie had been one of the more popular students at their primary school, and had chosen her associations correspondingly. They had never come into conflict, though, and in this new place they were, for now, equals.</p>
<p>Anna once again waved her hand, a little more vigorously than before, and this time the gesture was successful. Stephanie smiled and rushed over to sit next to Anna. “Anna! I’m glad to have found you!” she exclaimed, lowering herself into the adjacent seat. “How are you doing?”</p>
<p>Her effusiveness surprised Anna to some degree, given that they had never been that friendly before, but she supposed that she was just as glad to see a familiar face. “Hi Stephanie,” she replied, “I’m okay. I hope -”</p>
<p>She was cut off by a rapidly-growing silence in the room which heralded the arrival of a middle-aged man wearing a grey-checked suit, the scattered grey in his neatly combed hair betraying his years. He walked up to a podium and drew a pair of glasses out of one jacket pocket, perching them upon his nose as he glanced at an index card.</p>
<p>“Ahem,” he coughed, quieting the last of the chatter. “It is my pleasure to welcome you to Realgymnasium Rämibühl. I’m sure you’ll hear a lot of names today, but I’ll start with mine. I’m Mr. Eberhard, the new rector as of this year. I look forward to meeting all of you in time.”</p>
<p>“You’ve already done very well to have passed the entrance exam and to have made it here, and I am sure that you will all do extremely well. I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that we will be expecting to see your ability shine in your first months here.” Some members of the audience shuffled in their seats uncomfortably, and Anna tugged at a lock of hair.</p>
<p>“But that’s for later. First, I’d like to introduce you to some of our second-year students who will be taking you on a tour, and you’ll have an opportunity to meet your class teacher before having lunch. If you could divide yourselves into groups…”</p>
<p>Half a dozen students sitting on chairs behind the rector stood up and distributed themselves around the floor space, and the new arrivals stood up and started drifting towards the closest one. The murmur of conversation started up again as Anna approached the nearest guide, a boy of only about her own height who seemed rather pleased with himself. Stephanie accompanied her, and the two stood nearby as their small group grew.</p>
<p>“The rector seemed nice,” Anna volunteered.</p>
<p>Stephanie shrugged a little. “Maybe! I wonder if we’ll be in the same classes?”
Anna looked once more around the room. There must have been over a hundred new students waiting to be taken off on tours. “I don’t know. When do we get our timetables?”</p>
<p>Their conversation was once again interrupted, this time by Christian, their tour guide, whose name was printed neatly in capitals on a name badge. He carried a sheaf of notes and an air of solemnity. “This way, please.”</p>
<p>The tour brought them around the various buildings on the site, including the piazza, library, canteen and sporting facilities, and also introduced the new students to the history of Rämibühl from its founding in 1832 and the four schools on the site. To Anna, none of this was new; she could practically have recited all the literature she had been sent, and it didn’t escape her notice that Christian was reciting from the same sources.</p>
<p>At the end of the tour, he brought them to a board in the piazza where a list of all the new students had been pinned, with a teacher’s marked next to each. These, Christian explained, were their class teachers, who would shortly be along to collect them. Anna scanned down to the “M”s to locate her name, and read “Ms. Rissler” in the other column.</p>
<p>Stephanie nudged her in the crowd. “Did you find your name?”</p>
<p>Anna stiffened briefly at the contact. “Uh, yes… with Ms. Rissler.”</p>
<p>“Oh, I’m with Mr Miller, that sucks. Take care!” Stephanie pushed through the students approaching the board, leaving Anna behind. Before she followed, she checked Thomas’ name on the list; he, too, was assigned to a different class teacher.</p>
<p>Ms. Rissler was a young, mousy-haired teacher wearing a maroon jacket and matching skirt. She led a group of two dozen new students, Anna included, to an empty classroom in the languages department, posters in French adorning the walls. The desks had been pushed to the side with the chairs arranged in a circle, with the teacher sitting down nearest her desk, looking over a list on her desk and pointing at each student in turn before speaking. Anna took a seat near the front of the room.</p>
<p>“Right! I’m glad to see you all made it here today. I’m going to be your class teacher, so we’ll all be meeting up together regularly, and I want you to feel you can talk to me if you have anything on your mind. I’m sure you’re all excited to be here today! Would any of you like to introduce yourselves and tell us about your hobbies?” She paused, and looked around the room expectantly.</p>
<p>The students did the same, none of them breaking the silence.</p>
<p>“How about you?” She pointed to a student sitting a few to the left of Anna. The victim, a mousy-haired girl with a side ponytail and round glasses, looked briefly alarmed, then swallowed and introduced herself.
“I’m - I’m Elisa Bossart. I’m eleven. I like, um, listening to music. And… watching TV.” She looked around the room nervously, then looked down at the floor.</p>
<p>A boy with slicked-down hair and wearing what clearly looked like a brand new suit was next. He seemed rather stuffy and overdressed, particularly for the time of year. “I’m Julian Tober, and I’m twelve. I ride horses and enjoy going to the theatre.” A couple of students murmured to themselves, seemingly either impressed or envious.</p>
<p>Anna half-listened to the introductions, but quickly found she was focusing on mentally rehearsing what she would say once the teacher moved on to her. Her neighbour started speaking before she had finished thinking, and she sat up straight and tugged at her collar in preparation for her own presentation.</p>
<p>Once the student next to her - whose name she had missed - stopped speaking, Anna waited a moment, then spoke quickly and confidently. “My name is Anna Meier, and I’m eleven years old. Nice to meet you!” She smiled broadly and looked around the room at the staring students. “I enjoy reading, drawing and swimming.” She scanned the circle again with a hint of nervousness, looking for any reaction to her introduction, but little was forthcoming. After a moment, she turned to the neighbour on her right, and the process continued around the circle.</p>
<p>Ms. Rissler thanked the class, then continued to explain the rest of the day. As she spoke, she handed out timetables, and Anna looked over hers. After the induction activities this morning, and then lunch, she would have two lessons today: mathematics and then geography. She rolled her eyes momentarily upon reading the latter, it not being one of her favourite subjects.</p>
<p>Once the session with Ms. Rissler was over, it was time to go to lunch. The class all walked to the cafeteria together, briefly in hushed awkwardness before the more outgoing members of the class started to address their new classmates.</p>
<p>Having set off from nearby seats, Anna walked next to Elisa, who seemed to be studying the patterns on the floor. Anna walked alongside her in silence for a minute, then cleared her throat. “Hi - Elisa, right?” she asked, trying to be polite and friendly.</p>
<p>“Oh,” the other girl replied, looking up. “Yes.” She paused a moment. “Nice to meet you.”</p>
<p>Anna gave her a broad smile. “Nice to meet you too!” she replied. There was no immediate response, so she followed with, “Ms. Rissler seems nice, don’t you think?” They joined the queue in the cafeteria. “She seems nice,” agreed Elisa, but proffered no further thoughts. Anna smiled again, a little awkwardly, then waited as the line shuffled forwards.</p>
<p>The class sat down together on a long table once they had made their selections. Elisa sat opposite Anna, their flimsy connection seemingly counting for something amongst a crowd of perfect strangers. Anna saw her looking at her between bites, and she tried again to make conversation. She learned about Elisa’s previous school, that she had one sister, and which music she liked, but the conversation was awkward and mostly one-sided, so she was glad when lunch was over and it was time to attend her first class.</p>
<p>Mathematics was taught by Mr. Heidecker, an older man with thinning hair and glasses, who spoke rather flatly. Anna was glad she had sat in the front row, as it might have been difficult to hear him well otherwise, especially as some of the students in the back row seemed to be whispering to each other. Perhaps they were carrying on conversations from lunch which had gone more successfully than hers.
The subject being one that it usually paid to concentrate on, Anna listened intently to the teacher, pen at the ready to make copious notes. But the lesson was slow getting started, and seemed to be repeating material that she had previously studied, so she found herself staring at the checked pattern of his jacket between jotting down the occasional line. She supposed that he wanted to ensure that everyone had a solid grounding in the basics before carrying on; on the one hand, it was going to make this class easier for the first few lessons, but somehow it felt like she hadn’t really started properly.</p>
<p>The end of the lesson came slowly, and without any homework being set. The next lesson would be geography, and Anna was sure it wouldn’t go any quicker.</p>
<p>This time, the teacher was a rather eccentric character. Mr. Ruth had a shock of red hair and wore a yellow floral-patterned, open-necked shirt above his long trousers, seemingly looking a little out of time and place, and certainly a marked contrast to his predecessor. He strode into the classroom and stood in front of the desk, leaning back against it, then proceeded to alternate between drawing on the blackboard and walking between the desks as he started talking about the cantons of Switzerland. It seemed he was well-travelled and had plenty of anecdotes and interesting facts to drop into the lesson, and Anna couldn’t help but find herself surprisingly interested, despite her general lack of enthusiasm for the subject - Mr. Ruth was certainly an engaging teacher.</p>
<p>He was not, however, also to let them leave without setting any homework. In fact, he expected a researched report on a particular canton written within the week. Anna was assigned Thurgau, and noted it down with a little trepidation: she wanted to give a good first impression, but her first assignment was not straightforward, and she hadn’t had her strongest marks in geography before.</p>
<p>The end of the geography lesson also marked the end of Anna’s first day of lessons. Her class filed out of the room quickly, breaking off into groups either pre-existing or hastily formed through proximity and the day’s shared experiences. Of those in her class, she had only really connected with Elisa on any level, but she wasn’t enthusiastic to endure more awkward conversations, so she didn’t seek any out. Nor did she know where Thomas or Stephanie might be, or have any way to contact them short of stumbling across them on her way. She decided to stop off at the library to look for a book on Switzerland to research her report before heading home.</p>
<p>The library was, unsurprisingly, quiet, not only in volume but also in traffic. It being the first day of the year, it seemed that most of the students hadn’t started studying in earnest yet, and only a few of the rows of desks were occupied. The stacks of books around the walls, however, were enticing. Anna wandered around for a few minutes before finding the geography section, then spent a few more selecting an appropriate one to borrow. She took it to the front desk to be stamped by the librarian, then walked outside.</p>
<p>There were several small groups of students outside, but none that Anna recognised immediately. The clouds above had darkened and threatened a summer rain shower, so she didn’t wish to linger too long, as she hadn’t brought anything to protect herself if she was caught out. Nevertheless, the bus stop wasn’t far from the entrance of the school, and before long she was on her way home. A couple of others who looked a few years older than her, each with a bag, followed her onto the bus, then sat at the back. Anna wondered if they were also students at her new school. She had selected a window seat halfway down the bus, and leaned her shoulder against it as the other side started to become spattered with rain. She drew the book she had borrowed out of her bag and started reading.</p>
<p>The shower was short-lived, and was beginning to die down by the time that she got off the bus a few streets from home. Nevertheless, Anna walked briskly, clutching her satchel against her body to try to protect its contents from the last vestiges of the downpour. Fortunately, it only took a few minutes to get home, and neither she nor it were too worse the wear for the experience. Her mother’s car was back, so she hurried up to the front door and pressed the doorbell.</p>
<p>Her mother rushed to the door and opened it wide. “Anna!” She flung her arms around her daughter, who returned the gesture with rather less exuberance. “How was your first day?” Her mother’s expression suddenly turned. “Oh, you’re wet! You must take an umbrella tomorrow!”</p>
<p>They went into the living room, dominated by a large sofa rather dwarfing the television screen. Sitting down prompted a long conversation during which Anna was plied with another of the morning’s leftover cakes and asked to recount the events of the day. Her mother, it seemed, wanted to know every detail, and was particularly anxious to know whether Anna was happy there.</p>
<p>“Did you get to know anyone from your new class?”</p>
<p>Anna bit her lip. “Well, I talked to a girl called Elisa. She sits next to me.”</p>
<p>“Oh! Lovely! I’m sure you’ll come to be good friends!”</p>
<p>“Maybe.” Anna shrugged a little, and fidgeted a little on the sofa. “I need to start working on my geography report later.”</p>
<p>Her mother clasped her hands. “I’m sure, dear. Well, I should start the dinner before your father gets home.” She stood up and walked off to the kitchen.</p>
<p>Anna deflated a little into the sofa now that the questioning was over and sat there quietly for a minute, then got up again and turned on the television. There was a quiz show playing, and she followed along, trying to answer the questions before the contestants. She didn’t get very many of them right, but she felt quite good about herself whenever she did manage to. Afterwards, a cartoon started, which Anna half-watched while thinking about the events of the day and how she would approach the report.</p>
<p>She didn’t get to see the end before she heard keys rattling in the front door, followed by the door opening and her father stepping in. Anna stood up and walked over to the door of the living room to greet him. He was around average height and build, and wore his dark blonde hair short on the back and sides atop a face that was beginning to show a few wrinkles. He was wearing his grey suit, as normal, and carrying his briefcase, which he placed down once he came inside.</p>
<p>“Ah, Anna,” he said, taking off his jacket and hanging it up on a hook by the door. “How did it go?”</p>
<p>The conversation was, in many ways, a repeat of that from earlier, although this time Anna was leading the conversation, with her father mostly nodding to her in response.</p>
<p>“… and really I found the geography lesson more interesting than I thought! I even got a book to start my report tonight. I can show it to you if you like?”</p>
<p>Her father put a hand on her shoulder. “Maybe later. I’m glad it went well, but I expect dinner's almost ready. I should get changed.” He patted her shoulder and walked off up the stairs, leaving her to follow him with her eyes before she returned to the living room and sat down again. The cartoon had finished, and the news was starting. Apparently there had been some sort of protest that had made the news, but by the time the headlines were finished, her mother was calling her to dinner.</p>
<p>The meal was of pork filet and Rösti, and Anna sat down to eat. Before long, she was joined by both of her parents. Having largely exhausted the topic of the events of the school day previously, the conversation which did occur over dinner was mostly about her father’s conference. Anna didn’t entirely follow what it had been about, and she wasn’t sure to what extent her mother did, but she listened quietly to the conversation between them. It wasn’t unusual for him to be away on business or to work late, anyway, particularly in the last couple of years.</p>
<p>Aware that she hadn’t yet done any work on her report, Anna asked to be excused once she’d finished her meal, then went up to her room and sat down at the desk with a workbook and the information on Thurgau. It was only the first day, and she didn’t have to submit this for a week, but she would surely get more homework set in the days to come, and she didn’t want to fall behind.</p>
<p>By the time the sun went down, she had finished reading through the relevant parts of the book and started on her report, following the outline that she had written on the first page of the workbook. She was starting to feel quite tired, it having been a long and busy day, but was pleased to have made a good amount of progress on the report.</p>
<p>Before getting ready to sleep, Anna walked downstairs again to say goodnight to her parents. She found her mother in the living room, watching a drama production on television, while her father sat reading the paper. Her mother jumped up and embraced her, kissing her cheek and wishing her a lovely night. Her father put his paper down on his lap and gave her a wave.</p>
<p>Afterwards, she headed back up the stairs and got ready for bed. Before she slept, she pulled out a magazine from a drawer in her beside table. She wouldn’t like to admit that she read the girls’ weekly, particularly to her father, but it did have some fun stories, and some of the fashion tips were useful… and it was nice to not think about schoolwork for a while to relax. She turned out the main light and, leaving the bedside lamp on, settled down to read for a little while.</p>
<p>Finally, it was time to put away the magazine and get some rest. Tomorrow there would be a full day of classes, and she needed to be ready for the challenges the next day would bring.</p>
Award Ceremony - Story Time3052014-12-07T15:36:332014-12-07T15:36:33mithentmithent@gmail.com<p>An alternate version of the awards ceremony story. This was written independently from the same prompt.</p>
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<h1>Awards Ceremony</h1>
<p>The cold February breeze cut into the room through one of the lecture theatre windows, which had inexplicably been left open. A steady stream of students filtered in through the double doors, collecting a leaflet from the pile on their way, and filling up the warmer seats. Those already seated looked out at three cloth-covered easels standing adjacent to the lectern, itself as-yet unoccupied. The benches were as-yet mostly awaiting their occupants, particularly those nearest the open window, but amongst those already seated were Anna and Monika, who had taken up a position half-way back on the warmer side of the room.</p>
<p>Anna sat up straight, wearing a blue jacket and matching trousers, clasping the leaflet along with a handful of other papers showing the pair's poster design, along with several preliminary designs and various notes about the decisions they had made. She flicked through them restlessly. Monika, meanwhile, was slumped in her chair, clad in a baggy sweater and jeans; she hadn't yet removed her scarf, providing as it did some additional insulation against the chilly breeze. She had withdrawn her sketchbook from her bag and flipped through its pages, pencil in hand.</p>
<p>Turning to the list of entrants in the leaflet, Anna scanned down the page, her finger coming to rest next to one pair of names. “Hans and Laura – oh, theirs might be good, Hans always comes up with something striking… and isn't Laura on your course? Hmm…”</p>
<p>Monika looked up at the question, expression momentarily blank in recall. “Oh? Um, yes, I think so.” She shrugged a little with a faint smile, her gaze wandering away after a few moments.</p>
<p>Anna raised her hand, briefly biting a nail before brushing her hair behind her ear. “I mean, is she good? Do you think they might beat us?”</p>
<p>“Oh, she's not bad… I think.” Monika turned back to Anna, sitting up a little straighter. “I don't know if they'll beat us. But you did a good job!” She flashed Anna a smile again, rather more fully than before.</p>
<p>Anna pulled the sheet on which their poster design had been printed to the front, with Monika's illustration in the centre, the labels and heading surrounding it having been set out by Anna, gesturing to it as she spoke. “I know ours is good,” she nodded, “and really, your work is really the centrepiece of the whole thing! I mean, a good design is one thing, but you know, you have to work with what you have, so I really appreciate having some great illustrations to work with.” She looked over directly at Monika, who once again smiled before breaking her gaze.</p>
<p>“Thanks,” she replied, taking her pencil and starting to sketch something abstract in her book. After a few moments, she added, “It was okay,” and continued her sketching.</p>
<p>Their conversation halted, the two each looking into their laps. Meanwhile, the volume of chatter in the lecture theatre continued to build as more students came in and sat down. Around a hundred had arrived; the leaflet named eighteen pairs of entrants, most of whom were accompanied by friends with whom they were sitting. A few others were alone, presumably having come out of curiosity, if not merely to escape the cold.</p>
<p>As the time of the ceremony approached, several members of staff also entered, taking their allocated seats in the front row. Anna peered over the heads of those in front of her as they did, while Monika cast self-conscious glances at the audience that had formed, then leant towards her partner. “Anna,” she muttered, “Will we have to go up there and speak if, well – you know?”</p>
<p>Her attention drawn away from the newcomers, Anna paused a moment. Monika had hunched her shoulders up defensively, her sketch lines having coalesced into a landscape of sorts, but also taking a noticeably sharper and firmer turn as the crowd built and the time approached. Understanding, Anna tried her own disarming smile. “Well, we would have to go up,” she conceded, “but that would be because they liked our work, so that would be good. And, don't worry, I could do the talking.”</p>
<p>Monika softened slightly at the reassurance, her anxiety clearly not entirely dissipated, but seemingly lessened by Anna's words. “Thanks.” A few moments' pause – perhaps slight hesitation. “I hope we do. But it's good anyway. I enjoyed working with you.”</p>
<p>Anna nodded appreciatively. “Thanks. I enjoyed –”</p>
<p>The chatter in the auditorium rapidly died down, conversations abruptly ceasing as one of the staff members stood up and took the podium. The middle-aged man wore glasses, a suit, and a strikingly red tie, distracting observers from the bald spot that had formed on his head. He cleared his throat, the sound amplified by the PA system, and set his own papers down in front of him. Anna once again sat upright in her seat, tilting her head to get a good look at the proceedings, while Monika ceased sketching, leaving her book open on her lap.</p>
<p>“Welcome to the awards ceremony for this year's poster competition,” he intoned. “I'd like to thank all of you for coming here today. It is always marvellous to see the results of collaboration between students in different disciplines, and I am sure that all the entrants will agree that they have learned invaluable lessons from this experience which will serve them well in the times ahead.”</p>
<p>“The calibre of the entries was especially high this year, and all of us on the judging committee enjoyed looking through them. On that note, I would also like to thank all of those who have given up their time to assist me in deciding the winners.”</p>
<p>He clapped a little and gestured to the other staff in the front row, eliciting some polite applause from the audience in return. Anna's contribution was immediate and effusive, whereas Monika added a few claps of her own in response.</p>
<p>“So, on to the awards themselves. It has been very difficult to choose our top three, but, ah, there does have to be a winner. Now, in third place, we have…” He looked down, momentarily fumbling with his papers. “Erika Schmitt and Francesca Bisset!”</p>
<p>More enthusiastic applause erupted as the pair's entry was unveiled by lifting one of the cloth covers from the easels. Beneath it, their poster had been printed on a metre-tall sheet of card, and promoted a range of classic wooden children's toys, selling a warm, sentimental vision of children playing by the fireside. Speeches over, Monika had sat up straighter in her own seat to look appreciatively at the artwork. </p>
<p>The lecturer beckoned to its creators, and Erika and Francesca, sporting green and plum dresses respectively, stood up and edged their way past other students to go to the front. The applause dying down, he invited them to say a few words about their inspiration and the process they had taken. Anna listened intently, her expression beginning to betray her anxiety, while Monika's attention drifted back towards her own sketchbook as the discussion continued.</p>
<p>Another round of applause, and the third-place winners returned to their seats. “And now for second place. The winners are… Francis Cereas and Adrian Achermann!”</p>
<p>Again, the audience applauded for the two entrants, who made their way up to the front to stand in front of their poster advertising a new sports car, blending across the page from a design drawing into a photograph. As they explained how they had achieved the effect, Anna kept glancing down to the list of names on the leaflet, and when they bowed and went to sit down, she sat bolt upright, biting the knuckle of her thumb.</p>
<p>“And so we come to our first-place winners. I must say again how difficult it was to choose, given just how good so many of the entries were. But after much deliberation, we've decided to award the top prize to… Hans Lehrmann and Laura Gallina!”</p>
<p>Once more, the crowd erupted into vigorous applause, but Anna slumped into her chair and thumped her fist into her hand before clapping slowly. “I knew it,” she muttered under her breath. Monika shrugged a little, perhaps a mixture of disappointment and relief, then frowned as she turned towards Anna as the audience quietened. Silence once again having reclaimed the lecture theatre, she didn't speak.</p>
<p>The poster, for ski wear, was simple but elegant, set against a dramatic and beautiful landscape. The winners stood either side of it, beaming with pride, as they discussed their work. Anna slipped further down on her seat and closed her eyes, not seeing Monika's concerned look as she moved a hand towards Anna, then withdrew it again.</p>
<p>Anna was brought back by yet another round of applause, triggering her to once again open her eyes and add some half-hearted claps. Monika tried to say something quietly to her, but her words were unintelligible against the general roar in the auditorium.</p>
<p>The winners had by now returned to their seats. “Before we finish, there were several other entries that we wanted to commend, even though they didn't quite make it into the top three. Please join me in also congratulating Stephanie Schärer and Karl Salzmann, Anna Meyer and Monika Kalan, and Samuel Tschopp and Julien Bossard! If you could please stand up?”</p>
<p>Both Anna and Monika started upon hearing their names, most of the former's disappointment suddenly draining away, while the latter smiled happily, if perhaps a little uncomfortably. Anna stood up amidst the applause, holding out her hand to assist Monika up. She stumbled hesitantly, almost dropping her sketchbook, and then stood up with Anna, smiling at no-one in particular, avoiding catching the eyes of those nearby. Anna, meanwhile, seemed far more comfortable with the attention, giving a brief bob of acknowledgement. A few moments later, and it was over, and both sat down again, seeming a mixture of both satisfaction and relief.</p>
<p>A few more words from the lecturer concluded the ceremony, and the auditorium burst once again into a hubbub of animated chatter. Some of the students stood up and went down to look more closely at the posters of the winners, while others began to file off with their friends.</p>
<p>Monika and Anna looked at each other, each giving a smile. “The competition was very good,” Anna acknowledged, a twinge of disappointment still detectable in her tone.</p>
<p>Her partner nodded, glancing again at the easels, but then looked back at Anna. “But we did a good job too! Thank you.”</p>
<p>Anna, too, nodded in response. “Yes. Thank you too! Say, how about we go and get something to drink to celebrate?”</p>
<p>Monika beamed in response, and the two walked off out of the room together.</p>
Awards Pt. 3 - Story Time3042014-12-06T11:56:122014-12-06T11:56:12shinmerahttps://shinmera.com/shinmera@tymoon.eu<p>“The sixth place goes to the Zürich Park project.” The screen showed a large photograph of an idyllic, green park. The city's crest and a building company's logo were displayed on the bottom and a short blurb explained what the goal of the project was. “Miss Eglin and Mr Furrer displayed great aptitude with their Photography and chose an excellent subject. The intent of the advertisement is clearly portrayed and it seems as if it were taken from an actual poster from our city. It is well deserving of the sixth place and will be displayed in the halls around the University” concluded the beard. Two figures stood up from the front of the rows and hurried onto the stage. As before, they shook everyone's hands, took their certificates and returned to their seats, chattering in excitement amongst each other. Applause.</p>
<p>“For the fifth place we chose this poster for a luxury fountain pen by Miss Kalan and Miss Meyer.” Anna stirred a bit and Monika let out a quiet “oh.” Their poster was displayed larger than they'd ever seen it before themselves. The speaker continued: “With an immediately striking image and very clear-cut message, this advertisement is very effective. While remaining very minimalist in the design, there is still a very distinctive style applied. This combination of flair and effectiveness is clearly deserving of the fifth place.” Anna mechanically stood up and walked towards the stage, Monika following behind her. As they stepped onto the stage, Monika looked back towards the manege. Only now the massive amount of students that filled the hall truly came apparent to her. She felt as if she was shrinking a bit and started to fidget around with her hands. Anna directly approached the glasses and shook his hand, exchanging a few words that Monika couldn't hear. Monika was uncertain whether she should say something too as she shook his hand and tried to avoid his gaze. In her mind she pondered a hundred different things she could have said or done right then, but she had no idea if anything was appropriate, so she just smiled and then turned to follow Anna to the rest of the judges.</p>
<p>Hands were shaken, certificates taken and then they quickly hurried off the stage back to their own seats. Monika sighed in relief as she sat down and just stared at the ceiling for a while. She didn't know what to think or do. Anna seemed unresponsive. “And the final –fourth– place of this batch goes to Mr Durig and Mr Glauser” the voice went on. Monika didn't mind it at all. She looked at the thing sheet of paper in her hands. Her name was written on it in bold, cursive letters. At the bottom were the signatures of all the five judges. She wondered which one belonged to the Coffee shop clerk. Monika looked at Anna, who had closed her eyes for a second, let out a small sigh and then seemed to intently study the Tea advert that was displayed up front.</p>
<p>“And with that we come to the final three places. The each winning team will receive 100, 200 and 500 Chf in cash respectively.” He shuffled his papers a bit. “Third place goes to Mr Joost and Ms Pfenninger.” Anna furrowed her brow upon hearing the first name. Monika shot her a questioning glance and Anna replied “one of my classmates” without looking at her. A picture of the Matterhorn flashed up. Below it was decorated by a few houses and a cheery man suited up with hiking gear. The title read “The Tour of Your Dreams”. “This fantastic touring guide poster truly seems to make the viewer feel as if they were right there, at the foot of the mountain, breathing the fresh air. Capturing such a feeling is no easy feat, so we feel that it is more than worthy of the third place.” Anna seemed to glare at the student as he stood up and walked to the stage together with his partner. Monika smirked at Anna; she couldn't understand why Anna would always get so upset when others beat her, but she couldn't deny that it was amusing to watch her being sulky. Mr Joost seemed to fervently dispute something with the beard. The beard nodded and Joost turned towards the audience: “I just quickly wanted to amend that we forgot to add a small blurb to the poster, but we only noticed after we had handed it in. We're very sorry for that!” He bowed quickly and turned to face the other judges. Anna scowled. The two quietly returned to their seats with certificates in hand. Applause followed.</p>
<p>Then, a close up shot of a box of pralines filled the canvas. The only text on it was “Délicieux” in an extremely complex cursive font. “This fabulously rendered poster of chocolates filled us with both curiosity and the desire to try them out. Unfortunately for us, Mr Neiger and Ms Noser's creation is only an advertisement. We are however happy to award it the second place, both for the excellently done photography and the attention to detail on their subject. Everything you see was crafted by hand.” Anna relaxed a bit and studied the poster intently. It was certainly very well made. She wondered how long it had taken them to learn to make pralines like that. She wanted to ask them about that some day, so she made sure to remember their names.</p>
<p>After the second place had left the stage and the mandatory applause, the hall suddenly turned very silent. The tension was really high and even though Monika and Anna knew it wouldn't be them they intently awaited the reveal of the winners. The coffee shop clerk shuffled his papers once more and cleared his throat. “And with that we arrive at the first place. The winners of this contest have shown excellent handling of all the different crafts involved: photography, calligraphy, graphic design, and writing.” Projected onto the canvas was an advertisement for a wellness hotel. It showed all the different aspects of the hotel: A heated outside swimming pool, massage rooms, a sauna, and of course, luxurious and spacious hotel rooms. The pictures were arranged in a snake-like pattern along the middle of the poster, each accompanied by a short paragraph on either left or right side. The background of the poster was a blurred, large view of the pool with large fields and a mountain range in the back. It really was quite striking and immediately gripped the attention of the viewer. Anna, too, nodded in approval. Monika whispered to her: “I wonder where they took those photos at.” “Ms Amacher and Ms Hübscher have consulted hotels all over Switzerland in order to find just the right ones for their project. Meticulous labour and a lot of travelling later, they assembled a poster for an almost dream-like resort. But not just the photography shows commitment, the text perfectly supplements the pictures and shows both wit and great knowledge of marketing tactics. Thus we award you with five hundred Franks and the first place for this contest!” With applause the two made their way to the stage. One of them seemed quite flustered and surprised by the revelation, the other gleamed with pride and happiness. They energetically shook hands with the judges and quickly claimed their certificates.</p>
<p>After the applause had quieted down, the beard once more set on to speak. “And with that we conclude this event. We have prepared an apéritif just outside and would welcome you to use this opportunity to learn some more about each other. If you were not called up yet you should receive a letter in the mail today, or tomorrow by the latest, which contains your certificate. Thank you all for participating and we hope this event has been a great learning opportunity for you, both to get a bit closer to real-life work and to learn about the other departments of art.” And with that he collected his papers and stood down to the podium. Applause followed once more and people started to get up, chattering amongst each other.</p>
<p>Anna sighed loudly and looked at Monika with a tired face. “Finally it's over” she said and smiled lightly. “So what do we do now?” Monika asked as they stepped down the stairs to the exit. “Well, do you want to go to the apéritif?” - “No, not really. I'm sure it's gonna be crowded.” - “Right.” They squeezed through the mass of people, grabbed their coats as quickly as they could and embraced the open space outside. “Ha ha, wow, I forgot how cool it was outside.” Monika said as she looked at the little clouds of vapour that formed in front of their faces. Anna looked around herself, trying to find something to say, but she didn't know what. Now that their project was over they didn't have any specific reason to see each other again, as they didn't share any classes with each other. They stared at each other for a while, then Monika shrugged. “I guess it'll be a while until we see each other again” she said, looking away from Anna. “Well, we I'd definitely like to meet up from time to time” Anna replied, folding her arms. “We could meet up every week for lunch or something like that” she went on. “Sure, that sounds good” Monika murmured, observing some birds that chattered in a tree close by. She suddenly faced Anna and asked “which day and where?” Anna pondered for a while. “I think until the end of the semester –if I recall the schedules correctly– Thursday would be best. And I guess we could meet up around here and look for someplace to eat then.” - “Sure, that sounds alright.” The two stood still for another moment. Monika shuddered. “Euh, I'm freezing. I think I'd better get home. Until next Thursday then, eh?” She blinked a few times, her face was lit up bright red from the cold again. “Sure, see you then. Don't be late!” Anna shouted after her, as Monika turned to leave. She looked back, waved and grinned: “I'd never!”</p>
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<p>Afternote: Phew, finally done. The ending took me a lot longer to write since I finished it once and had to scrap it all because I didn't like it. It was quite difficult to figure out how to gauge the two's reactions to the announcements and how the story should end. I still think it could've come out better than it did, but for what it is, I think I did a good enough job and I'm glad to finally have finished writing this.</p>
Awards Pt. 2 - Story Time3012014-11-23T22:40:002014-11-23T22:40:00shinmerahttps://shinmera.com/shinmera@tymoon.eu<p>With four minutes delay (Anna had counted them) the organisers of the contest entered the stage. One of them, a man with a scraggly beard, square glasses, and a suit with tie stepped up to the podium. He coughed lightly, looked around the audience and started speaking with a coarse and monotone voice.</p>
<p>Monika only took notice that there was actually something going on when Anna gave her a nudge. She had been too busy with her drawings to pay attention. On the stage Monika now saw a man who didn't seem to fit into the clothes he wore even in the slightest. She didn't recall ever seeing him before and wondered if he was a teacher or held some other position. His looks really puzzled her and she couldn't determine what kind of job he would have, wearing an unfitting suit like that. Monika figured that he might also be just some random guy they picked out from behind a café counter, stuffed into a suit and then told to hold this ridiculously boring speech. Yes, a café seemed a much more fitting place for someone like that. She could picture him now sitting behind a brown counter with a purely white shirt and dark green apron. Monika wondered what kind of customers he would have to deal with on a daily basis. Did he look like he'd be a polite clerk? Probably. Though one thing she knew for sure, he would not enthusiastically greet customers. No, that would not fit into the atmosphere of his little shop anyway. In the mornings as the sun rose rays of light would make the air glitter as the specks of dust were lit up, the smell of freshly roasted coffee beans in the air and people rushing by the large windows, hurrying to their jobs.</p>
<p>Her imagination went on more and more tangents until she was once more interrupted by Anna's nudging. Monika reflexively stared blankly into Anna's face and immediately turned red as she encountered Anna's glare. She knew she'd have to pay attention now, so she tried her best not to think about the coffee shop clerk and instead actually listen to what he said. It appears he was about to announce the first batch of results: the teams ranking from ten to seven. Apparently they wouldn't get any prizes at all, just honorary mentions. Monika didn't care so much for winning a prize, but she could well imagine that a lot of people would not be happy to be called up for any of these ranks.</p>
<p>Each announcement went exactly according to the following procedure: The number was called, then a copy of the poster was projected onto the screen behind the committee members. Scraggly beard man then quickly read down what they had thought of it. Finally the team was called up to the stage to shake everyone's hands and to pick up their certificate. After a short round of applause they then went back to their seats.</p>
<p>Neither Anna nor Monika knew any of the names that were called up for the first batch. The posters were all well made, but none of them seemed too interesting. The awards were for posters of a lipstick, a university, an Italian restaurant, and a shampoo, in that order. Out of all of those, Monika was most partial to the restaurant advertisement, although mostly because she noticed that she was getting hungry. Anna appreciated the way the lipstick ad had tried to use a single colour to make it more effective. The beard then set on to another speech that introduced the next batch. The winners of these would have their posters hung up around the university for the next semesters with some name plaques underneath.</p>
Awards Pt. 1 - Story Time3002014-11-22T09:11:102014-11-22T09:11:10shinmerahttps://shinmera.com/shinmera@tymoon.eu<p><strong>Introductory Note</strong>: Please read the <a href="http://blog.tymoon.eu/article/299">introduction</a> to know what this is all about.</p>
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<p>It was as cold a day as any, the air felt crystal clear and small clouds of vapour rose as people breathed. Streets were frozen over, not a single leaf could be found on the trees in front of the large auditorium of the ZHDK. Today was to be a big day for a great many of the students that attended the university of arts. After a long semester of hard work, they would finally find out what their efforts wrought.</p>
<p>No, it wasn't the announcement of the finals, but something else of almost equal importance. The university had organised a large inter-departmental event in which students were grouped together randomly and tasked to create a poster to advertise an invented product or company. Participation was voluntary, but since there were real prizes to win, a lot had signed up. Two of the people that had also partaken in this test of skill were Monika and Anna.</p>
<p>As per usual for the two, they arrived quite some time too early. After a hasty greeting they quickly hushed inside to escape the cold. Monika's face was burning red and her eyes sparkled with excitement. She let out a quick sneeze and blinked. Anna watched her bemused.</p>
<p>“Come on, let's find a good place to sit. – And I should take off my coat, I'm burning up.” Monika gestured to Anna and the two went ahead through the entrance into the main auditorium. It was a big, half-circular room with many tiers of altogether too small chairs on one side and a large stage on the other. The podium on the stage was empty and Monika instantly felt a bit sad as she looked at it. With the dim lighting and the emptiness of the hall it felt almost abandoned. She averted her face as Anna pulled her up the stairs to the middle rows.</p>
<p>Anna strategically determined that the outer two chairs of the very middle row would yield the best results as they could easily get up, but would also have a good view not too far and not too close to the stage. The only problem with choosing the places at the edge would be to let people pass as the hall fills up. However, Anna argued that the upsides would outweigh the problems in this case. Monika didn't take notice of any of these facts and just neatly planted herself onto the seat Anna had chosen for her.</p>
<p>Having taken off her coat and settled down, Monika felt a lot better. Her nose and cheeks were still gleaming red though and she had to sneeze a couple more times. Anna crossed her legs and studied their surroundings. A few other students had arrived early as well, but other than that the auditorium was entirely empty. All of the spotlights were turned off and the general lighting was turned down to a minimum to conserve power. The atmosphere was a bit gloomy and it made her tired. She had to yawn and tried to hide it behind her hand, but to no avail. Monika smirked and shot her a knowing glance. Anna sighed. Having exhausted all there was to look at already and with a good half an hour to go until the announcement she let her mind wander off to worry about whether she had forgotten to hand in anything and whether they could have still improved something about their poster.</p>
<p>As it stood, what they had done was an advertisement for a luxury fountain pen. The pen itself was drawn using a striking, blue ink. They had taken especially big care to make the lines appear precise, but still not without a touch of elegance and style. The ad didn't have much text; the two had concluded that reducing the text and focusing on direct impact would make the ad more effective. All they had on the poster therefore was the drawing of the pen itself, the name in a beautifully rendered cursive font, the logo of the firm they had made up and a short note of the special features the pen had.</p>
<p>All in all, she didn't really know what they could have still improved about it without just beginning anew entirely with a different idea. But exactly that part gnawed on her mind. What if their core idea just wasn't good enough? What if the entire premise would make them fail? No, it couldn't be. Her mind raced, considering all the options they had come up with along the way and reiterating the reasons why they had been discarded.</p>
<p>Monika had tried to garner Anna's attention by shuffling about on her chair a bit and leaning forwards and backwards. It was all to no avail, Anna was lost in thought, a strained expression on her face. Monika sneezed again and fumbled around her jacket to find a handkerchief. She blew her nose a couple of times and because she couldn't think of anything else to do, accessed her secret stash on the inside of her jacket: A pen and a crumpled block of small paper. She eagerly began scribbling away, heeding no attention to her surroundings.</p>
<p>The hall slowly but surely filled up as the time of the announcement moved closer. Monika and Anna were shortly interrupted a few times as people had to pass by them, but they quickly returned to their own worlds. Five minutes before the start the hall was buzzing with activity. The seats were almost completely taken and with about two hundred students wildly chattering about, the noise level reached annoying heights. Monika was particularly agitated as she couldn't focus on her scribbles anymore, so she leaned back in her chair and tried to entertain herself by making the most foul grimace she could. The noise didn't bother Anna as much, though she would've certainly preferred it to be just a tad quieter. She had had to forcefully abort her previous line of thought as she was getting too stressed out over it. However, she was able to convince herself that nothing would change the results now and, after all, they would find out soon enough if they had failed or not.</p>