The students filed into the room and took their seats. Mr. Turner stood at the holo-board tracing something with his fingers. The door to the classroom opened gently, and a frantic looking boy with hair drenched from a hasty shower padded silently over to his seat. "I'll pretend I didn't see that" said Mr. Turner, his back still turned. The class erupted in laughter. This was everyone's favorite class. Mr. Turner addressed the students. "Today we will be analyzing the works of Marcus Kahn," he said, as he stepped out of the way to reveal a bold Marcus Kahn written in calligraphy on the holo-board. The class started grumbling. "What?" he asked. A confident girl in the front raised her hand. "Yes Isabelle?" "I don't like complaining Mr. T, but but first J.K. Rowling and now Marcus Kahn? When are we gonna start on something a little more... I don't know. Contemporary? Mr. Turner paused a moment. The class couldn't tell if he was scrutinizing Isabelle or cooking up some evasive response. "Though some of the technologies of 21st century literature seem outdated, the emotions and characters who experience those emotions provide insight into the mind and life of the author. And that my friends is timeless." The class and Mr. Turner stared at each other in an awkward silence until they took the hint, and pulled out their virtual-books. Soon the lively discussion that is the signature of a Mr. Turner class gained momentum. A small brooding boy with brown hair reminiscent of the Beatles raised his hand and the class lapsed into respectful silence, giving him their attention. "I think the character of the leper brother shows us the insecurities Kahn felt as a twin early in his life." The class had already read the About the Author portion of the book. Another boy, much to large for the standard sized chair, but with clever eyes cried "Oooh Oooh" as his outstretched arm threatened to punch the ceiling." When the class's attention shifted to him he exclaimed "But it's more than that. You can see the purpose behind the novel. He isn't just describing a lonely little boy. He is documenting that boys' transformation into a confident man!" Mr. Turner smiled and nodded his head. It was gratifying to see his students come to the same conclusions as experts in the field of literature. But he saw repetition coming in the talk, and repetition leads to boredom, with boredom resulting in the inevitable disconnection. "Let's move away from the metamorphosis aspect for a moment," he advised. "Instead why don't we focus on the strengths and weaknesses of our dear Mr. Kahn." The class fell deep into thought for a minute. Isabelle broke the silence. "The antagonist in the last novel he wrote was a mathematician. Maybe he hates math." she inferred. "Who doesn't?" piped up an athletic looking student in the back. He high fived one of his friends. "Settle down, settle down" said Mr. Turner, his lips trying to conceal a smile. "If you've read his autobiography would understand that Isabelle's supposition is entirely accurate. But let's get some positives in here. What does he love?" Six hands raised instantly. Mr. Turner pointed to a very pretty red-haired girl. "England!" she cried enthusiastically. This wasn't a stretch considering all of his novels were either set in, or at least incorporated the misted isles. A couple people in the class snickered at the surface-level inference, and the girls face matched her ginger hair. "Ah, very astute Samantha," encouraged Mr. Turner. "In fact in Kahn's autobiography he chronicles the intense effort he made to got o England for a month and a half. And he was only your age" The class seemed a little hung up on the fantasy of their own hypothetical adventures abroad so he plowed on. "And to take it a step further we can identify his passion for history as evidenced by his infatuation with so historical a place." The class was unimpressed by Mr. Turner's conclusion, since almost all of Marcus Kahn's works were st in the past. "And do you know the secret to our dear friend Marcus' success?" he asked conspiratorially. The students all tensed, and their eyes bored into Mr. Turner's face hungrily. He paused a few more seconds for dramatic effect. "A good college education!" The class groaned and rolled their eyes in unison.
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