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[color=3B9AAA]"Wait a moment, did I mix the order of events? From which year did they start enforcing this law?"[/color]

[color=darkgray]The pile of documents was growing steadily as Edmund lost himself in the depths of legislative History. Which wasn't even the subject he was preparing. However, he consumed knowledge like a starved man would eat fresh bread. In more than one sense, this was the kind of attitude which got him to his current position.

It was then that he noticed two voices comming from the hallway. A feminine one and a masculine one. What he could hear seemed like a lover quarrel. The only romance he studied was Romanticism. And besides, even if they didn't care to keep their matters private, he certainly didn't care for scandals. Choosing to ignore the commotion, he grabbed a book which should have contained the answer to his question.

And immediately dropped it as he heard a sudden shriek. In an instant, the assistant teacher was out of his chair and walking towards the door in a quick stride. The manner in which one intervenes matters most of all. After all, it is what determines the result. Urgency had to be mesured, calm and decisiveness ensured control in those situations.

As he got out of his room, his eye quickly caught the situation. The two student were next to his wall, the man pressing the woman against the wall. Edmund slammed the door shut and exclaimed :[/color]

[b][color=3B9AAA]"Good morning!"[/color][/b]

"Wh-what?" [color=darkgray]The student turned toward him, startled.[/color]

[color=3B9AAA]"Ah yes, sorry, it is getting a bit late for morning."[/color]

[color=darkgray]The assistant approached the students. The man released the woman and turned fully toward the disturbance. She backed away as his attention fully shifted targets. Edmund, as usual, seemed perfectly calm, unmoved even. In truth, he had to suppress his rising anger to prevent himself from making the wrong move.

He was struggling to remember the man's name. Nolan Kurth? Not quite. Edmund knew he was a minor troublemaker, but not quite a rebel either. Maybe a bit gutless? Well, that would become clear soon enough.[/color]

[color=3B9AAA]"Is there a problem?"[/color]

"What's your problem?" [color=darkgray]The fright was morphing into anger. Nicolas(?) was already agitated and now this meddler had the balls to ask that. And getting uncomfortably close too, so much so that the student felt the need to take a step back to regain his personal space.[/color]

[color=3B9AAA]"I was just asking about that."[/color] [color=darkgray]Edmund said while closing the distance. 

Anger was overtaken by confusion. No matter what expression arose on the man's face, it found neither reflection nor contrast on the assistant's. It was a still façade, giving no push or pull on anger, fear or awkwardness. Nathan(?) tried to recede again and, this time, it was his back which found the wall.[/color]

[color=3B9AAA]"You can confide in me, you know. I can listen whenever it is needed." [/color][color=darkgray]He had no intention to enter the boy's rythm. He would not give him strife, nor would he leave him alone. Edmund intended to force him to react, to show his hand.

But Noah(?) looked to the side and saw that the woman had already left. He let out a sigh and his shoulders collapsed.[/color]

"OK, OK, fine. What do you want to talk about?"

[color=3B9AAA]"... Come with me. We'll have a chat around a cup of tea."[/color]

[color=darkgray]His hands were cold, ready to freeze. In a way, he was hoping the man would react violently. He wanted that excuse. He already planned which moves would incapacitate him.

But it wasn't happening.

Edmund opened his door and invited Norman(?) in. A good lecture would probably make for a better medicine anyway. And he had plenty to say, on good behaviors, on consent, on respect, on the values of the school, etc.[/color]

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[color=darkgray]Alphonse was getting embarrassed by Big Bulma's attention. She was almost too sweet.[/color]

[color=BF00FF]"Oh shush, there's plenty of people who juggle much better than me in here. And I'll be fine anyway, I won't feel anything in just a few hours, for sure."[/color] [color=darkgray]He flexed his body into a confident position. It was mostly bravado and it became apparent when his headache made him grab his forehead due to a burst of pain.[/color]

[color=BF00FF]"Ugh. It [i]should[/i] calm down soon enough. That being said, well maybe I could assist someone today, rather than take the center role. I bet there's plenty of people who would like an opportunity to shine. Actually, I kinda missed the morning bustle here, so how's the family feeling today?"[/color]

[color=darkgray]Alphonse was looking at his show weight. He wasn't happy with the idea. Stepping to the side like this felt like a failure to him. But he knew it was better to take some rest than risking an error in front of the audience. Especially since it wasn't just a matter of pushing through this one day, they were starting a performance of undetermined length.

And anyway, he knew better than to look down on the supporting roles. He played it plenty of times before, especially as he was starting out, and he saw how important it is. There is simply no true one-man show, all performances depend on helpers, on or off stage.

Maybe the right thing to do was to go see those who were busy practicing and who he could lend a hand to.[/color]