 Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?
"Okay." Brandon sank into the chair on the left, folding his hands into his lap. He was always tense, but he felt extra tense now, and that stressed him out, which made him even more tense. He watched Professor Carton sit down across from him. Trying to melt the dummies? He shook his head, looking troubled. "I didn't try as hard as I could have," he pointed out. "It wasn't a good faith effort." If he had to try again, he probably would have done the same thing, but he didn't want to lie and say that he tried his best when really he had held back because he felt uncomfortable. He just wanted his professor to have the facts. And he couldn't shake the feeling that he SHOULD be in trouble, because he didn't follow instructions on purpose. His tutors would have already been putting him in trouble by now.
Brandon observed his professor closely. Why did he pick the lesson plan? Brandon had to think about that. He frowned, taking some time to stare at the floor and think about his answer. He cleared his throat. "Turning a cat into a tea cozy would be wrong. And there's no scenario in which that would be life or death. But knowing how to make fire rope could save your life. And if you can't do it, you might get hurt. Or lose someone you care about." He knew all that, and he'd had to fight people before. Brandon was far from a pacifist... it was just that the dummy wasn't hurting him, and he felt like he was being the bad guy. He didn't want to be the bad guy, even if it was only an ice dummy. |