The Fact in the Fiction

[Richard Stone]

Richard walked into his classroom. He hoped that the topic he had prepared for his students would tickle their fancy. After all, it gave them an excuse to watch a movie, or read a book of their choice, or both if there was a movie and book combo on offer. He selected a marker from his drawer and wrote The Fact in Fiction across the whiteboard in a large script.

Once the students began to dribble in, he greeted the ones he knew and welcomed the ones he didn't. When the tardy bell sounded, he began the class. "As you can see, there are no hand outs on your desk, no assigned book I want you to read. For this semester, the work is all on you." He gestured toward the board. "There are a number of movies and books that are based off, of or inspired by a true story. This is your challenge. Find one that means something to you. I want you to watch the movie, read the book, or both, and then research the actual story." He arched his eyebrows as he looked over the class. "This is your chance to be a critic. Compare the fact with the fiction. Which do you prefer? Where did they go wrong when they turned it into a movie or book? What would you have done differently?" He smiled warmly at the students. "You have this class to work out what you want to do your assignment on." He gestured to a box on his desk. "If you don't have your own device to use the internet, there are tablets in that box that you can borrow until the end of class." With that, the man walked back to his desk and sat down.b

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@aedus
Amelia DeFoe
@anna
@calebm
@lisa
@hound3
Cortney Smit
Danielle Green
@echeatherton
@lifesgood
@faolan
@john
Elizabeth Toman
Miranda Florin
@daretodream
Othello Buskirk
Peter Holden
@samanthal
@jasper32

[Danielle Green]

Finally a class that she could relate to, she was comfortable in. With her music in her ears and book-bag on her back she walked down the hallway and turned into the classroom. She was the first one, she looked at the teacher, made eye contact and said, ”Hi.” Seeing as there were no assigned seats she took one in the middle of the classroom and waited for more students to come in.

She sat her bag on the ground and grabbed her notebook. She read the script on the board multiple times just wondering what the teacher had in mind. As more students strolled in she had a feeling this was going to be a big class, which she wasn’t completely happy with but she could get used to it. Danielle thought to herself sarcastically, Yay, more friends. Of course she didn’t actually want more friends, but eh she would meet the people, converse with them, but probably nothing further.

The teacher began class as the bell rang and she listened intently. Her eyes lit up when he told them of their projects. Reading and watching a movie was a great project, her mind started rolling through true stories that she could use, there was Chasing Mavericks, Soul Surfer, Secretariat, The Blind Side, and there were many more but Danny knew the order in which she would choose from, Secretariat, Soul Surfer, Chasing Mavericks. She waited for the next instruction.

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[Deleted]

    Anna was always happy for her English, as it was a literature class, and she loved reading. She quickly found a desk near the front after entering the class and opened her notebook, ready for a lecture. She was thus surprised when they were instead given an assignment to complete. Anna honestly preferred tests to projects, but this didn't seem so bad, given the freedom that they got. She immediately got to work, opening her laptop.

    Rather than researching with the internet, Anna just opened a word document and began listing ideas. She kept a list of books that she liked or wanted to read in her mind, so this wouldn't be difficult since many were based off of true stories. A narrative would be her ideal choice, since it would allow for the author's point of view to be shown, and Anna could then research the historical events that took place in the book.

    After composing a sizable list on the document, she narrowed it down to three items. Her ideal book would be Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior, but she would also be pleased to work on The Glass Castle or The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.

[Peter Holden]

    Peter quickly found a seat in his English class in the second row, but towards the side. He'd gotten there early because it was always a big class and he liked having his choice of the seats for the class, especially if it was going to be for taking notes. He pulled out his organizer as he waited for class to begin and sorted out his homework that he'd gotten so far. When Mr. Stone began to speak, he put the organizer away and pulled out his notebook.

    As the teacher explained the assignment, Peter took notes on what to do, copying down the focus points that they would have to touch upon. The assignment didn't seem as if it would be terribly difficult, and Peter was sure that if he set aside a good portion of time he could get it finished fairly easily.

    When prompted to, Peter pulled out his laptop and began to research books and movies that he could do the assignment on. After poking around a series of websites, he narrowed down his list to decide between October Sky, Apollo 13, and Lincoln. He'd decided to do a movie, as he figured that it would take less of his time in the long run.

[Deleted]

The class was big. Too big for Chelsea's liking, especially coming from the environment she had. At least the teacher sounded like he had a good head on his shoulders, from where she sat in the back. A smart girl. An intelligent girl. A girl with a taste for things that weren't so... ordinary. At least for a girl. Right. Girl. The word spun around in her head, and she was nearly sick to her stomach. It was the dysphoria that came on sometimes. The worst times. It always was the worst possible times, and as the man at the head of the room gave them permission to use their phones she sighed raggedly, sending a quick text to Charlie. Homesick. One word. One period. That was all.

She waited for the banner to appear at the top, telling her that she had a response. It was as she wavered between Flags of Our Fathers and Braveheart that the response came. A picture of her barn, her grumpy little POA mare that had taught her how to ride, and the cat sitting and glaring. Another knife in her gut, twisting sickeningly. Did Braveheart count? Maybe. Flags of Our Fathers would be the better choice for the assignment... you're making it worse, dumbass. Maybe she'd have to figure it out for certain later.

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[Deleted]

Cassidy wandered into class, wearing her typical fashion (thank heavens this shcool didn't have a uniform!). Skinny jeans tucked into a pair of hi-top black converse, long form-fitting but not skin-tight t-shirt, complete with an intricate design and the name of a band in the middle (The Color Morale, if anyone were to read it) and a cute little coat to boot. Her Classic iPod rested half-in and half-out of her pocket, earbuds plastered into her ears. They blasted into her ears as she walked into the classroom, a few minutes earlier. She took one out to her the teacher's welcome and returned the greeting politely, then jammed it back into her ear and sauntered to the back of the room. She took a desk just left of center in the back row. Only a few students were in the room so far, and none of them she had met yet. 

She sat down, one leg extended out in front of her and the other on her chair, with her knee tucked up to her chest. Her iPod sat on her desk on top of her notebook, opened to the first clean page. Her little bookbag - also band merch, specifically a My Chemical Romance messenger bag, from their Black Parade era - laid on the ground next to her chair. She focused her eyes down, or kept them closed, while she soaked in her music. Ah, she loved it so - somedays she would leave it playing and lay down, listening for hours to everything she could get her hands on.

Her little moment of reverie was shot by the tardy bell, and she begrudgingly pulled her earbuds out and shoved it into a side-pocket of her bag. She let her knee down until she was sitting in the desk a little more proper, though she was still very slouched over. She glanced around at the now-filled classroom as the teacher spoke. Good grief this is a huge class, she thought. 

At the announcement of their assignment, three titles, though all horse books, sprang to her mind. The Eighty Dollar Champion was the story of Snowman, the slaughter-bound plow horse who won unprecedented Champion titles on the Hunter and Jumper Circuits back in the day. Another was one of her favourite titles, the Renegade Champion, about one of the first woman to be competitive and almost accepted on the Hunter and Jumper Show Circuits in the 50s and 60s, and her incredible horse, a Thoroughbred that was a cavalry reject with plenty of problems, but went on to be considered for USET. And of course, Seabiscuit - the underdog racehorse of the Great Depression. Of course, Cassidy wondered if the teacher was sick of stories about horses, going to a riding school and all. She was actually incredibly curious if she could use Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, and compare the book to the life of the actual, historical Buddha. 


Song on her iPod

[Deleted]

Sam stalked to her English class with her hands gripping her bag so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. Granted, school was great for seeing her friends, but the homework just sucked and she didn't want to deal with it. All she wanted was a class that was based off of test grades, not homework or projects. Half the time she didn't even do her homework until the time came around to hand in late work and she still managed to ace tests like they were nothing. Her experience with English classes showed her why she tended to hate doing projects.

She walked into the classroom and found herself an empty seat towards the back. Her striped, one shoulder bag got tucked underneath her desk after she pulled out a pen. Her eyes scanned the students, trying to see who was familiar to her and who was not. She was rather fidgety while sitting in the chair. One hand traced the hem of her soft jacket and the other clicked her pen repeatedly. A steady beat, one like the beat to tiptoe by Imagine Dragons, was made by the tapping of her boots against the floor. In her head she was making up scenarios in which the class would get stopped.

A soft sigh escaped her lips when the teacher addressed the class about project for class. Her head hung a little with a light grin on her lips. She knew it was coming so she had to open up her creative vault and dig through books and movies she knew of.

Aiding and Abetting by Muriel Spark was one of her favorite books that was based on a true criminal case, but it also was something that she would have to reread and dig a little deeper into since it didn't mean much to herself. She had a fascination with books like that but she was also in love with movies like The King's Speech. It had somewhat of a connection to her, but not enough for her to be willing to risk a grade on. More likely than not, she would end up raiding the library later, finding a book that suited her needs.

[Deleted]

  Zak walked to his English class with his black messenger across his shoulder and a smile on his face because so far all his classes had been brilliant and he hoped English would follow the same pattern. He opened the classroom and realised that the class would be a big class. He sat down at a seat closest to the door and put his bag on the floor when the bell rang and listened to the teacher. It would be a project and all Zak could think about was the films he might do it on and so far he could only think of 12 Days a Slave, The Impossible or the old film Let Him Have It. He thought about the books he had read that were based on a true story and all he could think of was a book tie in with a film which was called We Bought A Zoo but Zak did not know if that would be good enough. Then Zak thought that if he got time this evening he might go to the library and find more books to do it on and that would make it easier and he would be finished quicker.

[Amelia DeFoe]

With Wolf at a loose heel at her side, Amy left her previous class and made her way towards the English classrooms. She wondered briefly what they would be doing, but her thought process was interrupted as she had to jump to the side to avoid a locker being opened almost into her face. By that time, she was almost at the classroom, and it seemed like her question would be answered soon enough. When Mr. Stone greeted her, she gave him a short nod before moving quickly to her seat, where she got everything in order to start.

Once the class began, she leaned forward slightly, listening to the project they would be working on for the next few weeks. It seemed interesting enough, and the fact that they got to choose their subject would make it even better. She thought about the books she had read, but as soon as she hit upon one, she knew what she would be doing. Hiding a small smile, she wrote the title, Marley & Me, across the top of her new page, then started writing down ideas and things she could remember about the story. It was quite a bit, seeing as she had read the story just over Christmas break.

[Deleted]

John pushed his chair in as he rose, stretching as he waited for the main rush of students to leave the room, so that they wouldn't block the door. Finally, he slung his bag over his shoulder and walked towards his next class, after a short stop in the restroom. As he entered the English classroom, he looked around, seeing if he could see anyone that he knew well enough to sit by, before finally choosing a seat with some space around it. Sure, there were some people he recognized from around the school, but none of them were really people he'd talked to.

When class started and Mr. Stone started talking, he paid attention to the instructions they were giving. He could think of plenty of things that might be interesting to look into, but when the option came to use the tablets to research, he rose and walked over, picking one up. Returning to his seat, he started up the tablet and got to work researching the movies that he had had ideas for. Books weren't his thing, but he had watched quite a few movies that were based on true events, so he might as well use those.

[Deleted]

Catia left her last class and walked to her next class which was Literature. Catia loved to read. She finally found her way to the class room and walked in. She said a hello to the teacher and took a seat. She set her black messenger bag on the floor next to her chair. Catia took out a notebook and pen out of her book bag. Catia glanced around the class room looking for anyone she knew. Catia saw Amy and Sam. She was happy she had some acquaintances she knew in the class. Catia glanced at the board and read over the instructions. She smiled. This project sounded like fun. Catia opened her notebook to a blank page and uncapped her pen.

The girl wrote books, movies and than books and movies in different columns. Catia wrote down a few suggestions for each column and than narrowed down her choices. For books she had Sea-biscuit,Secretariat and Shades of Grey. She had a few movie suggestions and few few of both. Catia narrowed down some of her suggestions. Catia had 13 Days written down as one of the choices for movies. Catia quickly crossed out both of her suggestions for books and movies before crossing out the horse books she had written down. She also had one more choice for a book which was Anne Frank's diary. The girl loved history so she often read books about it.

It had been a while since she had read the books or saw the movie. She also had The Patriot written down as one of the movie suggestions. She wasn't sure if it counted as a true life or inspired by true life story though. Maybe The Sound of Music or Saving Private Ryan was better suited to the project. Catia crossed out the books and movies she hadn't read or watched in a while. 

Catia decided to do either The Sound of Music or Shades of Grey. After thinking for a few seconds about which she knew more about she decided to do Shades of Grey. Catia wrote down all the information that she could remember about the book. Catia would have to wait until her parents sent her the stash of books she had asked for. She would check and see if her parents said they would send them. If so then they should be here today. She had Shades of Grey as one of her favorite books. Though she was from Russia she didn't like what Stalin did and neither did anyone else she knew. Her babushka told her stories about what her babushka's mother had said it was like. Though the book got some things correct some things were wrong in it. Catia finished writing down all the information she knew about the book and than the stuff she knew had happened for real. Catia set down her pen but left it uncapped so she could write down some other info if it came to mind.

[Miranda Florin]

Miranda finished washing her hands and picked up her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder. As she walked through the hallways, she considered the work they had been given for her last class. She wasn't sure what she was going to do for the project yet, but luckily, it was a small thing. It wouldn't take more of an hour or two, and they had a week to get it done. No, she wasn't worried about that class for a while.

When she made her way to English, she grinned at the teacher, "Hey Mr. Stone!" She made her way to her seat, smiling at Cassidy as she walked by the girl, although her seat was further past the other girl. When she sat down, she hung her bag across the back of her chair, then pulled out her notebook. Flipping to a new page, she put her pencil diagonally across the page and waited for class to start.

Once they were told to get started, Miranda considered the options she had, then landed upon the perfect book and smiled, writing Seabiscuit across the top of the page. She would love to write about the horse, and there were plenty of things she could look at.

[Deleted]

Kennedy walked in and sat down, looking around curiously to see if she could find out why there were no papers or books on the desks. This was english literature, afterall. She finally shrugged and turned back to the teacher, taking a moment to study him. He looked like someone who knew what he was doing. She settled back to listen to his instructions.

Upon hearing them, she took out a piece of paper and jotted down a few book titles before crossing every one of them off. None of them really seemed to call to her, so she tried movies, but even then, none were really up her alley. As she thought, she stared out the window at the barren grounds. Winter really did suck.

Kenna sighed and tapped her pencil on the paper. She was about to just ask the teacher for a suggestion when one hit her. She vaguely rememvered reading a book just a few years ago that had horrified her, especially upon finding out it was based on a true story. With a small smirk she pulled out a new sheet of paper and jotted down the title; A Child Called It. It was a horrifying book that had brought her to tears when she'd first read it and she suddenly found herself really looking forwards to the class.

[Deleted]

Evan walked done the hall to her English literature class and her bag banging against her leg as she power walked to the door. She picked a seat near the front. Evan wondered why there were no books or tests at the desks. She looked at the teacher with a "I'm confused" face. Then the teacher explained to the class that they were working as critics. Evan had never really criticized anything before such as a book or a movie but she was looking forward to it, so she quickly grabbed a piece of paper and started writing down options about what true story based films or books she had seen and to be honest there was not many. There was only one that came to her mind that she really wanted to do and that was Wolf-The Journey Home and it was good book but she did not know if that would count as a true event but she wrote down some more ideas just in case- Cool Runnings, The Blind Side and then a light bulb switched on in her head maybe she should do it on the movie Seabiscuit which Evan watched many years ago but still remembers it well.

[Deleted]

Seth took long steps towards his English Literature class, mentally praying he was not late to this one as well. Getting lost had not been as much of a problem this time around, as he had pretty much went in the general direction he knew until he began to figure things slowly out. Well, he had had to ask for sure which classroom it was and where it was meant to be, but as long as he had not been stuck in the wrong area entirely like last time...

Soon enough he found himself sitting in a desk, on time as planned. He had brought his Notebook with him, which was pretty useful and convenient considering the miniature size. Within a few minutes he had started the computer and plugged in his headphones, opening Microsoft Word as he opened up Google Chrome as well. He had absolutely no clue what to do, as Seth had never been a person to sit still long enough to watch too many movies. Which meant his choices were narrow.

As he went through a mental list of all the movies he watched, he came to a horrifying conclusion. He had never read or watched a true story before. Which meant that he would have to for the class. Standing he walked over to the teacher's desk, and waited for the teacher to acknowledge him before speaking, "Mr. Stone?" He said the name with uncertainty. "How long do we have to finish this assignment?" 

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