kylie-clearwater:

Jason was stumped, Kylie could see that. She smirked slightly at him relishing the moment. Kylie watched him as he studied her intently. She hadn’t realized until now how young and attractive Mr. Hastings was. He wasn’t like her other teachers, she could see he actually took interest in his students. She shifted her feet, “Of course,” she said haughtily. “I’m not a caveman.” Kylie recrossed her arms, “But wouldn’t you say the media is moving away from a printed medium? Newspapers are dying out to online articles.” She took a step closer to Mr. Hastings as she spoke, his immense figure towering over her small one.

Jason felt a huge sigh of relief when Kylie’s voice lost it’s edge. Maybe he finally cracked her. “Well,” He started sitting on top of an empty desk across from hers. “It’s debatable. It’s all about what’s easier to read, easiest to get a hold of, more portable. Sure some people still like to sit and read their newspapers while having coffee or what-have-you, but most are reading on the go or at work. Newspapers are still printed in large amounts, sure it’s gotten significantly smaller but it’s practical. People want to go green, use less paper, stuff like that.” He shrugged, “There’s a lot of different reasons for printed media dying out but I can’t see it completely disappearing anytime soon. Some people still prefer printed books to Nooks or Kindles.” He paused for a moment, looking her over. “Any more questions about media?” 

kylie-clearwater:

Kylie let out a small laugh as he took her use of his first name in stride. “Oh I’ve seen it evoke quite a few emotions, it was thanks to media that a friend of mine dumped a bowl of punch over my head. And the stunt seemed to entertain quite a few people,” Kylie said restentment filling her voice. She crossed her arms and continued to look directly at Mr. Hastings. The class shifted uncomfortably in their seats sensing the tension between their new classmate and teacher. The air was thick with tension between the two even Kylie who was normally ignorant of these types of things felt it. She had never stood up to a teacher in this way. Normally she hung onto her teachers’ every word, she wasn’t a teachers pet merely a very attentive student.

People were often surprised to learn how smart Kylie was. She certainly didn’t look the part or act it. But none of this prevented her from taking Junior and Senior classes and acing them. Her long hair, small nose, clothes, and bitchy attitude, it all screamed ditzy popular girl. However, Kylie was never one to fall into stereotypes. “I don’t watch TV,” Kylie shrugged. She was telling the truth. Her father forbid it. On the good days when he talked to Kylie, he referred to it as the greatest evil of all. Kylie had only seen one movie, Lex had made her watch it, “I’ve seen Grease.” She said simply.

“See informative and entertaining” Jason grinned. He continued to stare blankly as she continued with her answer. This wasn’t how he expected this to go down. What the hell was he supposed to say to that. She’d seen Grease, that was it. The class was completely silent, which was an extremely rare thing. 

Jason paused for a moment, still staring at her. He had to think over his next move, what was he going to say. “Do you like to read?” He asked finally. Maybe this would break her, he had little hope it would. He waited calmly for her answer, still trying to keep a smooth face.

kylie-clearwater:

Kylie tapped her fingernails on the desk amused. It seemed that Mr. Hastings wanted to play games. Kylie stood up and looked directly at Mr. Hastings as she addressed the class. “I’m Kylie,” She said in a bored tone. Then a small smile crept on her face, “I’m going to have to go with.. I have no favorite type of media. There are prime examples of the media reporting inaccurate facts and slanderous lies. In fact here in Rivercourt we are just as guilty of it as the rest of the world. We have a site called Gossip Girl which spreads vicious rumors and fuels drama. The media can be an instrument of evil and we let it live on and destroy lives.” Kylie’s eyes never left Mr. Hastings. “But I’m sure you disagree?” Kylie rolled her eyes. “Please enlighten me, Jason, because surely my view is skewed.”

Jason did his best to hide his smirk as he listened to her respond. He kept his eyes on hers. This might be a bit harder than he thought. “No,” he answered with a shrug. “I don’t totally disagree. You’re solely basing your argument on news or the web though.” He pointed out walking around her desk now. “See, Kylie you can’t limit forms of media. You can’t say, ‘Oh well what I see on the news or the web is bad, so it’s all bad.’ Media isn’t just used to inform, it’s used to entertain, to evoke emotions, to make people think or research even.” He made a full circle around her desk, now back where he started staring her down again. “For instance, name your favorite tv show or film.” He instructed still looking her in the eyes.

kylie-clearwater:

“Do you want the honest answer or the bullshit one?” Kylie cocked her head to the right and looked at Mr. Hastings. “Well if I’m going to be honest, I’m probably going to mope around most of the class.” Kylie smiled with an air of false sweetness, “I was going to be in AP Environmental this period.” She narrowed her eyes at Mr. Hastings as though he personally placed her in his class. She took a seat in the front row, she would have prefered the back but those seats were occupied. She looked at the boy next to her, he was sporting a red berat. Definitely a film geek, she thought. “Teach away,” said Kylie with a hint of a challenge in her voice.

Jason did his best to bite his tongue. Who the fuck did this little girl think she was? This was his classroom and she was going to learn that really quick. Jason said nothing and waited til she sat down. He stood up from his seat, keeping a perfectly blank face. Oh, he was going to teach alright, teach this little girl a lesson. “Today,” He started walking over to Kylie’s seat “We’re going to learn all about our new classmate.” He informed the class before looking down at Kylie. “So, what’s your name and your favorite type of media?” He narrowed his eyes at her and lowered his voice. “You have to pick and if you give me a smart-ass answer, I promise I’ll show you up.” 

kylie-clearwater:

Kylie looked her councilor up and down. “You can’t be serious. I am taking Junior classes as a Freshman how much more diverse can I get?” The school councilor sighed, “Kylie, my concern is you are loading yourself with coursework and it’s only your first year of high school.” Kylie supressed a groan and looked down at her schedule. “You want me to take Media and Our World and You’re a Chef? Are these even really classes?” It was now the councilor’s turn to stop herself from crying out in frustration. “Ms. Clearwater, I think these classes will do you some good. Mr. Hastings is the media teacher and I’m sure you two will hit it off right away.” A small laugh burst out of Kylie, She gave her councilor a pointed look. Kylie had already met Mr. Hastings and to say they hit it off would be inaccurate. Finally the councilor snapped, “Kylie you are taking the class and that’s final.” She pushed Kylie out of her office and in the direction of Mr. Hastings classroom.

Kylie trudged down the hallway. Her feet felt like they were made of lead. With a sigh she pushed open the classroom door. “Welcome to hell,” she said under her breath. She surveyed the classroom, it was filled with what appeared to be film geeks and upperclassmen girl, clearly there because they found Mr. Hastings not the course interesting. Kylie walked through the rows of tables until she reached the front of the classroom. There Mr. Hastings was waiting for her. “It’s your lucky day,” Kylie smiled sweetly, “Your favorite student has transferred into your class.”

Jason heard the door open, grabbing his attention. He gazed up from his computer screen to find Kylie walking toward him. He allowed a large grin to present itself across his face. He chuckled, “Look who’s here.” He shook his head. “Are you actually going to do work in here or just mope because you think ‘media isn’t a real class’?” He asked with an eyebrow raised.