Fandom High Dormitories

After coming up with the idea last night, Hoshi had been busy all day trying to pull everything together. To emphasize that this was not a Valentine's celebration, there were no hearts. Instead, as a nod to Chinese New Year, Hoshi had decorated with paper lanterns. In the kitchen, there was plenty moddable food from Ching Tai, desserts from J,GOB, and even ice cream from Chilly Boulder in the freezer if anyone wanted it.

The dance floor was ready for use. Hoshi had carefully picked a selection of music that was not sappy or mushy at all. However, she suspected she would be spending more time in the ball pit than the dance floor.

Welcome the the Anti-Valentine's Day Party. No date? No problem!

[Open to all, whether or not you have a date! Please wait for the OCD is good to go!]

There were wee little gift boxes with shiny ribbons all over the gym today. "Please don't assume they're from me, since they were here when I showed up," said a puzzled-looking Hoshi. "But help yourselves. I got a really nice mechanical pencil in mine. Anyway, I thought this would be a good time to talk about being safe when it comes to dealing with cash with the holidays coming up. However, we don't use currency at home. My first time handling cash was in Fandom, so it's not exactly my area of expertise. If you guys have any tips or experiences to share, please don't hesitate to do so. I'm sure many of you know more about handling cash than I do."

She started passing out a handout. "I've got to admit that some of the tips that this author gives seem kind of weird to me, but it's a good starting point," said Hoshi. "If you're going gift shopping and you have lots of cash with you, don't advertise it. Even better, it might be safer to leave the cash at home and use one of these credit card things. If you lose cash, you won't see it again. It's also best to be aware of your surroundings and not carry too many packages with you. If you are paying with cash, make sure you count your change and don't flaunt any large bills. You don't want to attract attention. It's also a good idea to familiarize yourself with the local currency and know how to spot counterfeit bills."

At the end of her talk, Hoshi added, "The mats and punching bags are set up if you want to work on any kicks and punches, or if you want to demonstrate how to take out a purse snatcher."

"Today we're going to work on an exercise that improves your balance and footwork," said Hoshi with a sly smile. "We're going to be playing hopscotch. This is a game that started out in the Roman empire as a training exercise for soldiers. They would run the course in full body armor. I'm not sure how well it works as training, but I figured we could all use some fun today."

[Please wait for the OCD.]

Today, Hoshi made sure that there were plenty of soft, cushy mats all over the gym for the activity she had planned. "Welcome back, everyone," said Hoshi. "Instead of working on offensive moves, today we're going to do more defensive moves. Back home, I used to study aikido, which is a form of martial arts that doesn't use a lot of kicks and hand strikes. The idea is use your opponents force to throw him or her to the ground. Your objective is to get control of the situation, not to hurt your opponent."

After warm-ups, Hoshi demonstrated a couple of forward and backward rolls. "I want you guys to pair up with someone else before practicing these moves," she said. "You should both take turns at attacking and defending. Oh, and if you're doing any of the moves that require falling, make sure you're working on a mat."

After rehearsals, Hoshi had commandeered the kitchen area of the fourth floor common room to bake cookies. There were numerous baking sheets lined lemony sugar cookie monsters, some already baked, others waiting to go into the oven.

Granted, some of them were bound to get eaten before even making it to the bake sale tomorrow, which is why Hoshi made plenty extra. It didn't hurt to a few samples if it meant people came to buy more tomorrow.

[Open, with cookies!]

Hoshi had a spread of Japanese dishes in the common room, including beef teriyaki, various types of sushi and lots of little pink rice cakes. There was also a delicious-looking cake. What Hoshi didn't bother with were any sort of decorations. It would be hard to tell that this was all for her birthday.

[Open to all! Minor OCD coming is up.]