Unveiling Crystal Balls

[Mikhail Thatcher]

A smile played across Mick's face as he walked into his classroom, tossing a shiny red apple into the air and catching it again as he headed over to his desk and placed his case on it. The apple was polished and placed front centre of the large oak desk while he opened the case and withdrew the papers he had printed out - nothing more than explaining the homework - and set the laptop up in case he decided that the students needed the power point to go with what he was going to be talking about, though he had a feeling that they wouldn't.

Opening the top drawer, he took two whiteboard markers and walked over to the white board. In black pen, on the top left corner he wrote Mr Thatcher and replaced the cap before placing the pen on the shelf beside the board. Removing the cap op the blue pen, he wrote Mind Reading in a large flowing script on the top centre of the board and then below it he printed can you read mine? Or I yours? He replaced the cap and the pen joined the first as he stepped back, wondering how many of his students followed shows such as The Mentalist and Criminal Minds, both used similar forms of profiling, while the characters of the latter were trained to do so, and wondered if the students had picked up any skills or knowledge from either.

He greeted each student as they entered, encouraging each to find themselves a seat, and when the second bell sounded, he started the lesson. "Welcome to psychology." He greeted with a warm smile. "For those of you who don't know me, I am Mr Thatcher. Those of you that do know me, I thank you for returning." He wasn't a hard teacher, but profiling was something he did well, and that was known to chase some people off. "The idea behind today's lesson, is for you to work out if these world-renowned magicians can actually read your mind, or if they are are getting the answers from something else." He paused as he gave the teenagers a chance to think over what he had said. "Before I bore you to tears with the sound of my voice, what are your opinions on the subject. Is mind reading fact or fiction?"

Students:
✔🔮 Ben Ayers
✔🔮 Cara-Jean Kitchi
✔🔮 Sina Aleardi
🔮 Chase Valentine
🔮 Eloise Spring
🔮 Katherine Lorelia
🔮 Luke Brown

[Ben Ayers]

Ben hadn't quite been sure of which electives to take, so he'd signed up for ones that sounded interesting. Now, as he walked towards the psychology classroom, he started getting nervous. What if the subject was too tough? What if it wasn't something he could manage? Would they let him transfer classes, now that the term had started?

He didn't have much more time to dwell on it, though, as he had reached the classroom. He walked in and smiled at the teacher, nodding at the greeting and picking a seat on the wall, in the middle row. A safe corner to figure things out in. He grabbed a notebook from his backpack, one that hadn't been started yet, and added a pencil to his pile. He then turned his attention to the teacher, who had started class when the room had filled.

He smiled at the topic, something he'd considered occasionally, and felt comfortable enough to raise his hand, "I think mind-reading is fiction. Body reading, though, not really. It's the same as being able to tell if your horse is in a mood, or antsy, isn't it? Just small facial expressions and the like." And a good bit of social engineering, but he'd said enough.

[Cara-Jean Kitchi]

Cara moved her bag further up her shoulder as she walked from one class to another, doing her best to keep out of the way. She had finally decided that she wanted to do something to do in the field of psychology, so she was sticking with the one elective that made her feel uncomfortable.

Walking into the room she bowed her head toward the teacher and walked over to the table closest to the wall at the front of the room. Sitting, she began to set her table up, and when that was done, she opened the binder she used for psychology and wrote down what was on the board.

She placed her pen on the paper as the lesson started. She pressed her lips together at the question, and inhaled through her nose. "It's fiction." She said, pressing her lips together, but pushed on, as she had promised herself that she would try and speak up more. "From what I have heard, they look for cues as to if you are telling the truth or not. As everyone has their tell." She ducked her head, trying to ignore the internal voice that was asking if she had lost her mind!

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina hugged the edge of the hallway as she walked - Usually she'd be in the middle, but people forgot to account for her shadow in the first week of class, so the wall was an added protection. She made it to psychology without incident and grinned at Dr. Thatcher, "Good morning!"

She found a seat in the front row and tucked Der under her chair, grabbing a notebook and a pen before the bell rung and class started. She listened to the introduction and then considered the question. She didn't believe in mind reading, except as a fun fair activity, like the rides and booths. But that wasn't true mind reading. After Cara had finished, Sina shrugged and spoke, since it seemed Mr. Thatcher wanted everyone's opinions, "I agree with them, fiction." She knew Cara's name, but she needed to catch the boy's name still.

[Chase Valentine]

Chase pursed his lips as he pushed through a clique of more popular students. They might have glared at him, but he wasn't interested. Instead, he kept going on his way to psychology. He hoped it would be interesting.

He nodded at the teacher and found a seat. He recognized Cara, but no one else, although he couldn't help but notice a service dog in the room. His mismatched eyes scanned the words on the whiteboard as the teacher began to speak. Listening until the end, he had to stifle a scoff, but he let the other students speak first. "I agree as well. It's fiction. With practice, anyone can identify subtle cues of lying or divert a person's attention to give the illusion of free will. Street magicians do it all the time."