4835/American History: Aviation

American History: Aviation
Date of Scene:	06 July 2018
Location:	Back Yard
Synopsis:	Who says History class can't be fun and interactive?
Cast of Characters:	Storm, Rage, Twitch, Souvenir

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Storm has posed:
The first class of the day is in for a treat. As soon as the last student enters her classroom, Ororo Munroe does roll call, writes a couple notes in her planner, and then she rises from her desk. She would normally start History class by writing a subject on the white board, but today, she adjusts her long white hair and faces the students. "Alright," she began. "Secure your belongings inside of your desk and follow me.

Starting out the door, Ororo starts down the hallway, makes a right for the main hall, and exits to the back yard of the campus. A couple days ago, there were tables, chairs, and games scattered around the lawn, but today, there was a massive air balloon before them. It is marked with USA, despite being deflated, and looks rather vintage.

"Today, we are going to learn about aviation, and how it was accomplished years before our time," she said. "Before airplanes were designed, the use of the air balloon was an important measure for aviation. Lets try it out, shall we?" She pauses in that moment. "Is anyone afraid of heights?"

Rage has posed:
"I'm not afraid of heights. I spend six months of the year on a plane." Andrea says as she walks around the large air balloon with a wide smile on her face. "I've been in an air balloon once for a photo shoot. Oh, man, it was so fun. Mason and I had to do this Disney poster thing for our show about three years ago and it was really windy outside. I'm sure he almost threw up. They made us take like a hundred shots until they got the right one. I think I still got the pic of that on my phone." She digs it out and starts flipping through her photo gallery, snickering. "Ha. Found it. Holy crap I forgot I had braces."

Twitch has posed:
The day is a good one. Class is heading outside, which means Tyler's ability to focus is going to be pushed to the limits, but he's here to learn and so he will do his best. He's got shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops on today, all the better to keep himself cool. When he sees the balloon his eyes light up and he grins, "Cool! I'm not afraid of heights." Tyler starts looking over the balloon, "In World War One guys used to use these things to spot for artillery."

Tyler looks over towards Ororo and says, "Ms Munroe, this is so cool!"

Storm has posed:
Ororo surveys the class after asking her question, waiting for any objections. Only a couple seconds pass before a student speaks up, Ororo's blue eyes shifting in Andrea's direction. A warm smile forms and she nods at the student, motioning for her to manuever to the front.

"That's perfect, Andrea," Ororo responds, leaning over to get a better view of the picture of her with braces. "My, you have grown since then, young lady."

Looking back to the class, "Would anyone else like to volunteer?" she asks.

Tyler's bright expression can be seen next, and Ororo raises a hand to motion him to the front. "Awesome, Tyler, and that is exactly right," she confirms.

"Blimps and zeppelins were commonly used during WWI, and while I couldn't afford either with my budget," Ororo chuckles, "we are using the next best thing." She walks toward the balloon with her two volunteers, motioning for them to enter the basket. "Go ahead and pull the trigger guys."

Rage has posed:
Giving Ororo a grin, Andrea tucks the phone back into her pocket and then heads over to enter the basket. She steps in and leans back in against the wicker, propping her arms back behind her. She waits for Tyler to join her, then reaches out to give a tug that activates the hot air. "You sure you aren't afraid of heights, Tyler?" She grins at him. "You're not gonna freak out if you look over the edge are you?"

Twitch has posed:
"Alright! Thank you!" Tyler is very excited to get to go aboard the balloon and hops easily into the basket. He places his hands on the side of the basket as Andrea takes control of the aircraft. "I'll be good. I regularly jump between rooftops, after all." With a huge grin on his face he looks at the other students and says, "This is actually my first time flying. I've never gotten to do anything like this before. Never thought I'd be riding on a hot air balloon."

Storm has posed:
Ororo listens to the banter between the two students, catching the tail end of what Tyler says. She briefly squints her eyes in curiosity before turning back to the class. "Anyone else?" she asks, waiting. "Okay."

"This form of transportation was extremely helpful for scouting, but the major drawback, unlike the aircrafts we have now, is that they were at the mercy of inclimate weather change." With a thought, a gust of wind forms, lowering the morning temperature. "There was no way to pilot these crafts, so they were at the mercy of nature." Ororo grins, turning back to the volunteers.

"The balloon is almost ready guys. Please find comfortable positions," she says. "It's going to be a bumpy ride."

Rage has posed:
"You have never flown before and you are going to do a hot air balloon for your first adventure?" Andrea grins at him as she leans in to bump her shoulder against his. Taking a spot along the perimeter of the basket, she takes her phone out to snap a few pictures before lift off, then leans in to her teammate to snap a selfie of them. "A before you puke photo." She winks.

Twitch has posed:
Tyler looks up at the balloon itself, watching to see how it inflates, still holding onto the side of the basket. "Hell yeah!" Tyler replies to Andrea as she bumps him. When she goes to take the picture of them together the young man is already smiling. "If I puke I'm blaming you. You're driving, right?" Like there's anything to do other than inflate the balloon and hope. "I wish I'd brought my binoculars. This is going to be so amazing."

Storm has posed:
"Lets see how your classmates fair in different weather conditions," Ororo says to the class. "First, we'll focus on strong wind."

With another thought, a more focused thought, the intensity of the gusts of wind increases. It supports the base of the hot air balloon as it rises into the air much faster than what is considered normal. Ororo extends her right hand, raising it up as the balloon follows suit.

"I'm driving," Ororo replies to Tyler.And soon enough, the balloon is above the mansion. The basket shakes as the wind around it is forceful, but still focused. Clouds begin to form in the sky, collecting together almost as if directed to do so. They grew bigger and bigger, and BIGGER. And then, darker and darker, and DARKER. Finally, thunder.

"These soldiers endured all sorts of weather conditions, including rain."

Rage has posed:
As they soar into the sky with a jostle, Andrea lets out a loud squeak and finds herself clinging to Tyler's arm. Swallowing tightly, she tries to steady any panic as the clouds come and start to rumble. "Um .. Miss Munroe, you aren't gonna start shooting lightning about are you?" She asks nervously as another boom causes her to flinch.

Twitch has posed:
There are a number of ways to respond to being on an out of control hot air balloon. One could cry, shriek, tremble in fear or panic. Tyler does none of those things, instead grinning like a fool and starting to laugh!

"This is so cool!" he exclaims as he hangs onto the edge of the basket, looking all around to see what might be visible from this position. "This is the best. I never would have done this at my old school."

Storm has posed:
Hearing Andrea's concern all the way on the ground, Ororo grins, fighting off a chuckle. She is enjoying this. What is education without a little fun?

"Things are about to get very exciting," Ororo announces to the class. "Last chance to experience what your ancestors did during the war." She looks around with peaking interest, silently wondering where the excitement had gone.

Rage has posed:
Hugging Tyler about the arm tighter, Andrea's eyes are bugged out of her head as the basket rocks and sways with the force of the wind. She stumbles about a bit before she shifts her weight into the basket to try and plant her sled steady. She clenches her eyes shut and grinds her teeth. "Our ancestors were nuts!"

Twitch has posed:
"Are you kidding? This is intense!" Tyler speaks to Andrea, seeming to find the intensity pleasurable. As he holds onto the basket and Andrea holds onto him, Tyler keeps looking around for what's going on on the ground. "You'll be okay, Andrea. Ms Monroe isn't going to let anything happen to us." He keeps his knees slightly bent to absorb the impact caused by the sudden shifts the wind causes. "This is better than a roller coaster."

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir tags along. Something is obviously nagging at her, because she's been being extraordinarily quiet the whole time, watching everybody. But now she finally raises her hand, "Sure, I can come along." and moves forward. Hmph.

Storm has posed:
The silence of the class is disappointing, until Ororo finds a hand in the air. Tilting her head to gain a better view of the owner of said hand, the instructor smiles. "The bravest soul in the class. Come on up, little one."

Ororo extends hand for Erika, and when both clasp together tight, she says, "Deep breath and hold on tight." Blue eyes milk over as the weather manipulator stares upward towards the heavens. With a single step, the air around them swirls and collects their bodies as they begin to ascend. For Ororo, this is merely child's play. And then, they propel upwards until the balloon is within arm's reach. "In you go, young lady."

Another rumble of thunder bursts through the sky and droplets of rain fall.

Hovering like a Goddess of Nature, Ororo continues, projecting her voice a little louder, "There was no way to shield oneself from the torrent of rain." The droplets multiplied, and it starts to pour. "They only had the clothes on their backs -- jackets, scarves, minor articles of clothing. But they endured, even when it snowed." Is the class ready for a snow day?

Twitch has posed:
"Wow! You guys are flying, too?" Tyler calls out to Ororo and Erika as he watches them float towards the balloon's basket. As rain begins to fall on him Tyler brushes his hair back from his eyes so that the water can hold it there, hopefully. "You guys need some help?" he asks the two flying women, taking a hand off of the side of the basket to offer over to provide assistance. "It must have really sucked to do this during winter. Especially with people shooting at you. I bet you can't dodge bullets very well stuck in this basket."

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir takes a couple of deep breaths. Okay, this is intense.. but she's kind of getting used to intense feels, a little bit. Well, maybe not exactly like this. She smiles at everybody some., a bit nervous, but this is a thing she needs to try. She looks down with some concern, chewing her lip a bit more. She grabs the basket and climbs in, accepting the hand in, before clinging to the side and looking down.

"I think old guns kind of sucked, really." She holds tight, a bit white knuckled, and looks over the lay of the land.

Storm has posed:
"Exactly, Tyler," Ororo responds. He gets brownie points for the participation. "Imagine being a scout and having your gasbag punctured. Also, just a little tid-bit, parachutes did exist during World War One but a lot of the men were not allowed to wear them."

The rain and the wind take on a slower pace and the temperature goes down.

"And yes, Erika, their guns weren't as efficient as the ones we have now," Ororo adds. "In fact, we are very lucky to live in the age that we do." Despite mutant-human relation issues that seem to plague the news. That, and mutant fungus that is growing all over the world and destroying produce.

The temperature drops some more and the rain stiffens. Without warning, flakes of ice fall from the sky. It is snowing!

Twitch has posed:
"I don't really know a whole lot about guns. They're not really my thing," Tyler says as he leans slightly forward over the edge of the basket to try to look around the balloon towards the sky to see the snow. "I'm glad I wasn't around back then. People used to have to do more stuff with less technology." A hand reaches out to try to let a snowflake land on it, "Your powers are so cool, Ms Monroe! This is like the best thing I've ever done at school."

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir isn't worried about rain or snow - after all, she's standing underneath a big balloon. "Yeah, and they kind of treated girls shitty. No time machines for me!"

She oohs and watches it though. "Anyways, it's your ancestors. My parents are immigrants. The new kind, not just 'a couple of generations removed'." She hmms, thinking.

Storm has posed:
"Thank you," Ororo replies, the compliment from Tyler making her smile.

Attention shifting to Erika, Ororo gives her a mildly stern look and then nods, "Language. But yes, women weren't treated the nicest in those times. In fact, they weren't allowed to join the army."

The timer on Ororo's watch sounds in that moment, and a disappointed expression is clearly seen on her features. She lets out a breath of air and the environment slowly begins to shift and revert.

"We're out of time," Ororo announces. "Hopefully this experience has given you a general idea of what aviation was like during the war. Next week, we will discuss the Tuskegee Airmen. Class dismissed."

Turning to the volunteers, Ororo smiles. "Thank you for participating, guys. Did we learn something today?"

Twitch has posed:
"This is probably the best time to be alive, even with all the crappy stuff that's happening to people," Tyler says as he eyes the snow, looking down at the ground to see how people down there are taking things. "Man, you can see forever from up here. It's so cool."

"You're welcome," the young man tells the instructor with a bright smile. "I learned that flying is bad ass! And that military flying isn't always about dog fights and bombing runs. Dudes used to have to risk their lives up in balloons being targets while directing people on the ground. It's intense just being up here, let alone when the weather picks up."

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir thinks a little more. "That and you should probably learn how to shoot different guns so you will know more about what they can and can't do at different ranges. That's kind of an important thing to know, right?"

She eyerolls a little. "I'm not even worried about the military. Anyway, this is neat. I wanted to look around some. That's why they used balloons in the first place, right? I can't fly or anything. "

Storm has posed:
"Yes," Ororo says to Tyler, "And, that depends on your interests, Erika. Personally, I don't like guns, but I don't mind learning more about them."

The balloon falls slowly to the ground and Ororo descends along with it until her shoes touch the ground. She begins helping the students from the basket, nodding a polite farwell to each of them.

"Until next time, children! And don't forget your homework assignments!"

Twitch has posed:
"That's a good idea, Erika. I'll have to see if I can find a place to try shooting. My brother could probably get me into one of the police ranges if they allow family members," Tyler says thoughtfully as he continues surveying the ground from his elevated position, enjoying it as long as it lasts. The boy needs no help exiting the basket, but accepts it anyway to be polite, "Thank you so much, Ms Monroe. I'll make sure to keep up on my work. Don't want to lose my 'A'."

Souvenir has posed:
Erika Kristasdottir nods, "I know, I was looking things up yesterday. I don't really like this part of history, it's all written by white guy stables and when you look at any other opinions it feels like they weren't even talking about the same part of the world. Like, what do you trust?"

She sighs a little bit and takes the help to get down, not seeing any reason to show off for anybody and happier to get the hand.