fh_trips | Washington DC [Sunday Morning]

Entry tags:

field trip 2006: washington dc

Washington DC [Sunday Morning]

After arriving in front of the Air & Space Museum, Veronica passed out maps and told her students, "You can go anywhere and take pictures, but I recommend the places circled on these maps. You're also free to check out any of the museums on the Mall."

[~~please wait for~~ OCD up! All Photography and Flight & Flying students can play in either post. Field trip is Sunday in game, but posts are open for slow play.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"It's hard to teach something that's so instinctive to me," he admitted, taking another sip of water. "But going home will be fun--assuming no one wanders off and gets arrested or something."

Veronica's eyes widened. "Well, we haven't gotten any calls here yet," she pointed out. "So they must all be behaving."

Anakin smiled. "I'll give them a talk before letting them loose on Coruscant," he said. "The beings there can be...twitchy."

"So can the Secret Service," Veronica pointed out. "Um, they're the special police force that protects the president," she explained, not sure if he knew.

"I hadn't even thought about them getting close to the president," Anakin said, looking a little pale. "Though the Chancellor would probably love to meet them." He blushed. "He's kind of my mentor. Long story."

"Is the Chancellor like your president?" Veronica asked. "That would be a mighty powerful mentor to have."

Anakin nodded. "Except he's chosen from the Senate, so more like a prime minister, I guess. He took an interest in me when I first joined the Jedi and has been a good friend ever since." He shrugged. "Jedi don't tend to have many friends outside of the Order, and I don't have many friends in general."

"I think you probably have a lot of friends now," Veronica said. "But I know what you mean. I didn't have very many friends at my old school."

"I have a lot of people who know me," Anakin said, not looking up from his plate. "I'm not sure if they're all friends."

"Around here? There are probably a lot more people that count you as a friend than you think," Veronica said. "It's one of the things I'm going to miss about Fandom when I leave."

"That most people accept you for who you are?" Anakin asked. "Without the baggage or the past or fear of the future?"

Veronica nodded. "Exactly. People here know about things I've done in my past that I'm not very proud of and still accept me. I don't think it's something I'll find anywhere else."

"Hardly ever," Anakin said quietly, lost in his own memories.

"At least we got to experience it for a short time," Veronica said with a half smile. "And we'll always know that there's one place in the universe that we can be ourselves without fear."

Anakin gave Veronica a small smile. "There was," he said, sounding a little sad. "I'll miss it."

"Me too," Veronica admitted. "Will you be able to come back for Homecoming and other special events?" she asked. "Or at least keep in touch through email or something?"

Anakin shook his head, setting his braid swinging. "Once I'm home, I'll be home," he said. "Our resources are getting stretched pretty thin to allow for a Padawan to be heading back to a different galaxy whenever he'd like." He bit his lip. "And I'd love to set something up to let people write me once I'm home, but I'm not sure the technology'll translate."

He stared at the table. "It's probably going to be a forever kind of goodbye in August to everyone."

"That's very sad," Veronica said. "With all the techy geeks we have running around the school, you'd think we could set up something for you to keep in touch."

"I'm working on it," Anakin said. "There are people I don't want to lose, but I'm trying not to keep my hopes up."

"Talk to my friend Mac," Veronica suggested. "She's one of the best geeks I know."

"I will," Anakin said, smiling. "Thanks. Sorry to be so depressing." He pressed his lips together. "I'm not great at letting go."

"You don't have to apologize," Veronica said. "I don't think any of us are good at letting go of people we care about."

"But that kind of makes me a crappy Jedi," Anakin admitted. "We're not supposed to get attached."

"Even though you're a Jedi, you're still a human, right?" Veronica asked. "Human beings have emotions. We form attachments, whether we like it or not."

Anakin was quiet for a while. "But that's what makes Jedi different," he said. "We're supposed to be impartial--to give of ourselves completely for the greater good without partisanship or emotion."

He looked at Veronica, nervous. "I know that sounds insane, but that's who I am. What I am."

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC

Re: Have Lunch Somewhere in DC