The Humor of Dr. Langley

The classroom, though built such that a pencil falling to the floor sounded as loud as a slamming door, was silent as tired and nervous students sat, waiting for Dr. Langley to appear. There were lots of rumors spread by upperclassmen and it was up to everyone in the class to determine which were true and which were not. Severin looked around, studying the people around him with the same fun that Moira had as they had walked to school. Nathan had gone back to reading his book and it was very quiet inside so Severin tried to memorize the people and try and guess their instrument. Near the door was an obvious couple- a tan skinned boy and a girl with long black hair were holding hands, looking around with poker faces, trying not to make eye contact with anyone else. Severin thought that they looked like percussionists or maybe violists.

Just then a big group of boys came in, breaking the silence with their chatter. They took seats in the middle of the room and this alone seemed to break the tense air. Suddenly the room erupted with the noise of people talking to each other which lasted for about a minute until finally a tall man with combed blond hair and dark eyes strolled in. Immediately the class hushed to nothing, causing Dr. Langley to stop abruptly and look at them quizzically.

"Why did y'all stop talking?" he asked. "It's because I'm wearing the green shirt, isn't it!" A rather awkward moment passed as people weren't sure whether to laugh or stay quiet. Severin was about to be the first one to talk but Dr. Langley did that for him. "Well, Say something!!! Good morning everyone!!"

"Morning..." the class chimed in, mumbled and unclear. Some giggled while others were still petrified.

"That'll do I guess," Dr. Langley said as he began writing on the board. "For those that haven't met me before, I'm Dr. Adam Langley. My degrees are in Music Theory and Hitting Things With Sticks. You should be in Theory 3 right now. If you're supposed to be in conducting, it's in the band room down the hall. If you're supposed to be in Theory 1 you should go upstairs and tell Dr. Kye a cheery hello from me. If you're supposed to be in Music History wellllll then I'm obviously the wrong guy. I'm not nearly as tall. He's up where I'll be in two hours so you better get crackin' so you don't miss something important."

He then stopped and stared at the class, poised as if he was going to say something else, but just hung there in odd silence. After a good minute he suddenly clapped his hands, causing some people to jump, before going on, "Well, I guess everyone's in the right class then. You know who I am now, but who are you? When I point to you I want you to say 'Hello Dr. Langley' (he said this in a strange, falsetto voice) and then tell me your major and instrument when I ask you. Got it? Good! Let's do this!"

With that, he put on some half moon specs and grabbed the role sheet. He swirled his hand in the air, making a buzzing sound, before stopping at the girl Severin had suspected was a string player in the corner holding the hand of her boyfriend with a "Ding!" from Dr. Langley.

"Do I have to stand up?" she asked.

"Nawwwwwww just say your name clearly enough so I can find it on the role. Also your instrument if you please. You can say major if you really want to but it changes a lot so you don't have to anymore. I changed my mind."

"Ok cool. I'm Trey Dale and I play Bassoon."

"Trey Dale... You possibly related to Vikk?"

"Yeah she's my sister. So is Quinn."

"Cool, cool," he said as he marked his role. He then pointed to her boyfriend.

"Yeah I'm Benjamin Torrell. I play the best instrument on Earth-"
"Tahaha oh please!!" Trey interrupted him.

"No seriously, chill guys I play oboe. It'll be ok!"

"I like your style, young man!" Dr. Langley said cheerfully. "Ding!"

Dr. Langley continued across the room, pointing to random people each time. Finally he arrived near where Severin and Nathan sat, both smiling with amusement at how eccentric Dr. Langley was.

He then pointed at a boy in the front row who was in a wheelchair. He had a hat on, covering his eyes, and brown hair peeked out from around it.

"Oh, I dunno Dr. Langley, who am I?" he said laughing.

"Yes hello Erik," Dr. Langley said calmly and quietly, "You've finally become old enough for my class. I hope you like it." With a wink, he looked up at Erik and in perfect unison they began singing out the beats to an etude that Severin was actually familiar with from his days as a percussionist. The class laughed and he moved on, this time pointing at Nathan.

"I'm Nathan Surcaston," he said quietly, "and I play Horn."

"Hello Nathan! It's so nice to have you here. Don't forget to stop by and say hello after your lesson," he said smiling. Nathan smiled back, a twinkle in his eyes.

Finally Dr. Langley pointed at Severin. As soon as he spoke the whole class turned to look at him because of his thick accent. "My name is Severin Lochgren. I play flute and percussion."

Dr. Langley smiled at him and Severin's began to sink into his desk as he felt everyone's eyes on him. "Ah! Our lovely visitor from across the sea! It's so nice to have you here at our school and I look forward to seeing you in my ensemble!" Severin smiled and nodded, happy that the professors had all so far heard of him.

Dr. Langley continued on until he had reached the last two people. They too were a couple and were sitting closely together. The girl was tall and thin and had no hair. Her head looked like it had been shaved and she wore a headband with a flower on it. She had on a lime shirt and a crimson shirt and appeared to be an art major.

"I'm Willow Gray," she said, "and I play flute."

So I'll be in her section, thought Severin. He was excited, for he thought she would get along well with Moira.

"Ah, welcome back, Willow! I'm so glad you're still wearing the same bright clothing as always. It always brightens my day!"

"Yes, especially for you!" Willow said jokingly.

With one person to go, Dr. Langley studied the role for a minute. Finally, he spoke. "I have no idea how to pronounce your name so surprise me."

Willow's husband, as he turned out to be, had long black hair in a ponytail and a ring in his ear of gold, signifying that he, along with Willow, was from Isle del Akai. "Haha, do you want me to give you multiple choice?" he asked.

"Nah, tell me at once. It'll be a bigger surprise."

"Kay. My name is pronounced... FeeeeeeeeeRENzaahhhhhh." He said this very slowly while those that knew him laughed.

"Dang, I would have been close to right! Dang that Catin E on the end throwing me for a loop! I was gonna say FEE-run-zay. Better luck next time, right?"

"It's all right, only Catins really get that right the first time. It looks weird."

"Right on, I think that's everybody," said Dr. Langley, concluding the roll. "Hopefully I'll know everyone's name now, though," he said turning to the guy in the wheelchair, "I may forget your name."

He did a rimshot impression and then walked to the board. "All right everyone, flip open those pristine books that you got last year and that you've treasured always. We're going to do a little review today. Not a whole lot of lecture, just this little test-quiz-paper to see what we remember so I know if I can skip something. Feel free to talk to people around you as well. It's not like cheating will help you so go for it!"

With that, Severin and Nathan got to work together and began to talk in Keòen about the work in front of them and things about their lives and what they liked to do. They also talked about places they'd been and things they wanted to do. At the early conclusion of class both were confident that a great friendship had been formed. They made their way upstairs to wait for Moira to get out of class and easily found a seat now that the halls were empty of nearly everyone.