Day 1: Introductions

"Mister Crane, this is not a joke! It's mean to think that I'm a joke." the bear said with something that...seemed to emulate a frown.

"Mister Duvall, I'll have you know that I am hilarious. Do you want to hear a joke?" it said, laughing.

"Why did the bear cross the road? To escape world of despair on one side, and enter the world of hope on the other!"

At this point, the bear was laughing so hard at it's own joke it seemed that the bear was having trouble breathing.

Jason sighed. "I'm.... not in the mood to eat." he said to himself, gritting his teeth and looking up at the ceiling.

"Just think happy thoughts, Jason..." he mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose and leaning his head back.

Claire shivered as everyone began grabbing their meals.

"I just have to... survive one dinner," she said under her breath. She timidly helped herself to a plate of plain salad and then began to eat, not engaging any of the other classmates.

Antoine scrunched his face in disgust.

"I thought you said you'd tell a joke. Now I've lost my appetite."

Despite the statement, he grabbed a roll and began to pick it apart, rolling his eyes.

"I'm surrounded by morons. And then a few girls. And then morons." he mumbled under his breath, his mouth full.

Rachel laughed at the joke absently and grabbed a hot dog. "So we have a bear for a headmaster? That's awesome!" she said cheerily, taking a bite of her food.

"This school is AWESOME!" she said, trying not to spit food out of her mouth on accident and only partially succeeding.

At one point, Aris looked over at Jordan's plate. She was about to make a snatch at something on it that was rather close, but Jordan happened to turn to face her when she started making her move.

She looked straight at Jordan, her arm moving forwards to the plates, stabbing something before bringing it back to quickly stuff into her mouth.

The perfect crime.

Ruby wrinkled her nose at the bear's dumb joke. She didn't know who or what the hell the bear was and she wasn't sure she wanted to know anytime soon.

Following the assassin's lead, Ruby grabbed the pitcher of water and poured herself just enough to take with the medicine. Gulping it down, it wasn't long before she felt her stomach calm and sighed with blissful relief.

Dakota tilted her head.

"Bear." Dakota frowned deeply at the thing, and then started laughing, uncontrollably. Her head hit the table, muffling her laughing snorts. "I like this school." she decided, having confirmed that a bear for a headmaster wasn't boring at all.

Food did something to excite her as well. She grabbed some steak, spooned some pasta onto her plate and grabbed enough steak sauce sauce to drown something in.

Lisa snorted awkwardly at the joke, then paused for a moment after contemplating what was said.

"Wait. I don't get it." She paused for another moment, then continued on with her salad.

Miranda's eyes darted around the table as she ate, listening.

She dusted her fingertips.

"I think the bear knows something we don't." She said, reaching over for a steak.

"Excuse me. Can I have one?" She said, quieter, "Are any medium rare?"

Caleb was nearly halfway through the food on his plate. Noticing his lack of dinner conversation, he looked around for anyone to talk to. As he scanned the other side of the table, he noticed Jason hadn't even touched any food.

"Mr. McDorne? Are you not feeling well? It is not a wise decision to skip meals."

"...ah, you all don't get that joke, do you?" he frowned. "That's too bad, it was a really good one, too."

It looked downcast for a moment, but then it quickly piqued up. "How about this? After dinner, I'll explain that joke to you all. Over dessert, even! That way, we can all laugh at it together, and I can prove to Mister Duvall that I AM funny! Upupupupu...!" it gave a creepy smile, considering that only half of it's face was smiling and it appeared to be designed with sharp pointy bits of metal.

Jaden giggled at Rachel. "Awesome yes, but not much of a school," he pointed out. "I've only seen like, one classroom in this whole place."

He addressed the bear next. "Hey bozo, is this really supposed to be a school? Where are we, uh... learning?"

Martin looked at Monobear in disgust and then held up his hands, "I'm not going to question it, it's not worth it." He stabbed the potato he had poked earlier, and cut it precisely down the middle, "It's not worth it," he kept mumbling, adding butter to the spud.

Jason looked over to Caleb, blinking a few times.

"I... nerves, I guess." he admitted, shrugging at Caleb. "I'll... maybe be fine later tonight..."

He grabbed a roll to whet his appetite, holding it with both hands while nibbling on it.

Antoine shook his head.

"That proves just how terrible the joke is if you have to explain it.  I think I'll skip dessert, if that's your plan."

He grabbed another roll.

Jordan caught sight of Aris staring at her, and did the same. Her staring contest skills were near legendary. It was necessary for her job. "I'm afraid I don't recall the introductions well," She took a bite of her salad, "I'm Jordan Gray." She did not blink.

The bear turned to Jaden Masters. "We're on a retreat, Mister Masters! That means we aren't learning yet. I've said that twice now. Please listen more carefully in the future!"

Then it turned to Antoine Duvall. "Alright. Dessert is mandatory, then! I'm not going to need to punish anyone this early for disobeying, am I?"

Claire stayed very still and made very little noise throughout Monobear's and the student's conversations. She ate her salad quickly, then put down her utensils and folded her hands against her chest, not saying anything.

Cobalt finished his chicken fingers and reached for a dish of mashed potatoes, dolloping them onto his plate. Using his spoon, he made a small well in the potato and ladled a small amount of gravy in.

Caleb smiled a bit at Jason nibbling on his roll.

"Oh? Might I ask what sort of confections will be available, Mr. Monobear?" Caleb asked, completely unfazed by the bear's jokes and threats.

Jason was devouring his burger at an alarming rate, and looked over at the bear after swallowing one bite. He turned to the bear as it spoke.

"Mandatory dessert? Is that an oxymoron or something?" he said with a grin.

Perfect! But, apparently she was locked into a staring contest.

Better and worse.

She kept her gaze, her look almost enough to turn someone into stone. "Aris Hanno. You look like a hoodlum." She stated, her hand sneaking back over to Jordan's plate ever so slowly.

Lisa finished off her salad and smiled.

"You'd think salads would taste so similar, since they're all just leafy greens, but then this salad! This salad takes the cake." She smiled and pushed her plate a bit away, grabbing a glass of water and sipping.

Dakota's mouth was stuffed with food, even when she laughed at monobear's joke. And everything else it said for that matter.

"Bear better not take my food," she said, her mouth still inappropriately full. She tore apart the steak with relish and added, "I'll fight you."