12: The Second Half of the Term Begins

Both the Wilderness Survival and the Nature Studies classes were held in a large auditorium classroom in the college’s Maths and Sciences building, for in these classes all the sections met at the same time. Both classes were three hours long, the Wilderness Survival class meeting on Mondays, while the Nature Studies class met on Wednesdays. On Fridays, the sections met together in another large classroom in the Education building for the ‘On Being a Tour Guide’ class. This class only met for one hour and then the rest of the morning was free.

“Well, not exactly free,” Mithrellas pointed out when Elrohir mentioned it Sunday evening during dinner. “We’ll be helping out at the post office on Friday mornings in a couple of weeks. I think the other sections will be helping out on other days of the week.”

“Do they really get so many letters to Santa, do you think?” Elrohir asked skeptically. “And why so early? Christmas is still three months away.”

“I asked someone at the post office once about it,” Cassie said. “She said that children start sending letters around Halloween. She figures that with Halloween the children are suddenly reminded that Christmas is not that far away and so the letters start coming in. Not too many at first, but by the second week of November they get pretty swamped, and all of them have to be answered.”

“Well, it should be interesting to see what the average child is asking for this Christmas,” Glorfindel said with a smile. “No doubt, most of the requests will be inspired by the latest toys and games advertised on TV.”

“No doubt,” Daeron said giving the Twins a knowing smile which they both pretended not to notice. As old as they were, they still acted like elflings at times and nearly every year around the holiday season they were both clamoring for the latest electronic gadget or game or whatever they happened to see being advertised on TV. Since none of the other Elves would ever buy whatever they were clamoring for, the Twins would have to buy it themselves. “Our Yule gift to ourselves,” they would say.

So, Monday morning they all trooped into the auditorium where they found seats. Paul Pettingill was already there, his demeanor stiff, dressed in his forest ranger uniform. There were seven other rangers, both male and female, lined up against the whiteboard, all in uniforms.

“Your section has the advantage of being able to practice what you learn here in actual winter conditions,” Pettingill told them once the class settled down and he had introduced his fellow rangers who would be assisting him with the class. “The other section had to make do with simulated conditions. The snow will be flying very soon and we will be going out in it. However, before we get to that part of the course we will be spending some time learning First Aid. Specifically, we will teach you CPR for both adults and children, as well as familiarize you with the standard First Aid kit and how to use it. If you are certified for CPR or you have emergency medical training you may be excused from the class until we get to the survival part of the course. However, I highly recommend that you take it anyway. Winters above the Arctic Circle are brutal and unlike what most of you are used to, even those who come from the southern part of the state.”

Glorfindel nodded to himself. He, of course, had all the necessary training, but it would not hurt to have his skills refreshed. While he had not been in Search and Rescue for nearly a year now, he had kept up with his certifications and had insisted the others do as well. Still, what Paul said made sense and he made a mental note to order the Twins to take the First Aid course. The other Elves would follow his lead in such matters, but Elladan and Elrohir had a tendency towards superiority over others because they were warriors and sometimes felt that they need not always do as others were required to do.

He recalled an incident when, not long after Nimrodel and Mithrellas had joined them, Elladan and Elrohir had tried to impress the ellith with their superior warrior skills. “Glorfindel taught us everything we know,” the older twin had said with a smirk. “That is very true,” Glorfindel had said, giving them a smile. “However, I have not taught you everything I know.” He had enjoyed watching their egos deflate, while the ellith gave him considering looks.

He dragged his thoughts out of the past as Pettingill continued outlining the course and what he and the other rangers hoped to teach them.

“.... and we’ll show you how to make fire in snow,” he was saying and then his posture loosened somewhat and he actually smiled. “Children love magic and they know that elves are magical creatures. We’ll show you one or two ‘tricks’” — he put his hands up, making a quoting gesture — “that will impress them.”

Glorfindel could not help smiling and warmed to the man, seeing another side of the Mortal beside the stiff former Marine persona he seemed to show to most of the world. He wondered if the ranger was a father. He could see the marriage ring on his finger and assumed that he was.

The rest of the class period was spent in organizing the students into smaller groups of eighteen and giving them their room assignments for the CPR and First Aid classes which would commence after the break period. Glorfindel made his way to the Twins as everyone went to find their assigned classrooms. They were the only ones not leaving.

“You will take the First Aid course,” he said in a no nonsense tone.

“We’re already certified,” Elladan, ever the spokesman for the two, protested. “You made us get recertified before we came here.”

“Very true,” Glorfindel admitted, “but you will take the course nonetheless. We all will.”

“Even you?” Elrohir gave him a suspicious look. “You were in Search and Rescue. You know more about it than anyone else. Why are you taking it?”

“Because what Ranger Pettingill said is true,” Glorfindel explained. “Arctic conditions are brutal and it is wise to know what to expect. You’ve been trained for general First Aid in various, shall we say, normal conditions, but not for this. This is different. Trust me when I say this. I crossed...”

“The Helcaraxë. Yes, we know,” Elladan finished for him in exasperation.

Glorfindel frowned. “You think you know what you face, but you do not.”

Now the Twins narrowed their eyes and gave him almost identical glares. “You forget we were on the Titanic,” Elrohir hissed softly. “We know all about it.”

“No, child,” Glorfindel said firmly. “You do not. You experienced that cold for a relatively short period of time. I spent over thirty years of the Sun trudging across the land bridge between Valinor and Ennorath. If I, who survived the Grinding Ice, am willing to take this course, you can do no less.”

The two ellyn still looked unconvinced, but complied to his demand and followed the other students meekly enough to find the classroom assigned to them. Glorfindel sighed, watching them go. Sometimes he felt as if he were in a constant battle of wills with those two. Perhaps he should just let them do as they pleased, but he had made a promise to Elrond, and an even earlier promise to Eärendil, to watch over his sons and he was not about to stop now.

“They respect you,” Daeron said softly to him, having watched the confrontation.

Glorfindel turned to the ancient minstrel. “Do they?” he asked. “Sometimes I wonder.”

Daeron raised an eyebrow. “Can you doubt it?” he retorted. “If they did not, they would have defied you a long time ago and would have left us to strike out on their own. They grouse and complain and snarl on occasion, but they have never openly defied you. You are their captain. You always will be.”

“I think I should just let them do as they please from now on,” Glorfindel said with a shake of his head. “They’re not elflings, after all.”

Daeron snorted. “They will always be elflings to us. You know this, and so do they. I sometimes think that they enjoy playing the role of being the youngest of our group, tweaking us old-timers with their shenanigans.” He gave the former Balrog-slayer a wry grin.

Glorfindel returned the grin with a disbelieving look but let it pass. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go find our classrooms.”

****

After the break, Glorfindel made his way to the small classroom to which he’d been assigned. He was not sanguine about the Elves not being all in the same class where he could keep an eye on Elrond's sons, but there was little he could do about it. The students had been assigned their classrooms alphabetically and unfortunately ‘DelaFiore’ was nowhere close to ‘Ronaldson’. Daeron and Mithrellas were in the same class but Nimrodel was by herself as was he. He only hoped the Twins would not cause too much trouble. The only one of their Mortal friends who was in the same class as he was Shane and the two took seats next to one another.

The instructor turned out to be Pettingill and Glorfindel sat back and watched the man as he handed out the Red Cross workbook on Adult CPR. “This is a three-hour course,” he told them. “CPR for children and infants is another hour and a half. The general First Aid course that will follow will take yet another session. That will leave us with five sessions for the rest. That’s one session less than the other section had because the final week of classes is exam week. Don’t worry, though. By the time I finish with you, you’ll know all you will need to know to survive in arctic conditions should it happen that you and your party get caught in blizzard conditions or some other unforeseen event occurs.” He gave them a somewhat grim smile and Glorfindel couldn’t help comparing him to the grizzled captain in Search and Rescue who had been his instructor when he had first joined the organization. They both had that same grim look to them that said ‘I’ll teach you what you need to know if it kills the both of us to do it’. Glorfindel had no doubt that Pettingill was more than competent in his knowledge.

“So, let’s get started,” the ranger said. He went to where there were a couple of dummies propped up against the teacher’s desk. “This is Bob.” He pointed to one of the dummies. “And this is also Bob.” He pointed to the other dummy and the class chuckled. “When you are practicing CPR on these dummies, you will address them as ‘Bob’. In real situations, assuming you know the person’s name, you would use their name where here you use ‘Bob’. It is important that you get into the habit of speaking the person’s name. If you take a look on page three of the workbook you’ll see how....”

****

“So, did you learn anything new?” Shane asked Glorfindel as they filed out of the room with their workbooks in hand when the bell rang.

Glorfindel shrugged. “No, nothing new, but I have taken this course numerous times. We always had to keep up our certifications in Search and Rescue and this is no different.”

Shane nodded. “It was strange to address a dummy as ‘Bob’,” she said, giving him a wry smile. “That Kelsey couldn’t stop giggling,” she added, naming one of the other students in the class.

Glorfindel chuckled. “Some people find it embarrassing at first. Ah, here are the others,” he said, nodding to where the other Elves and their Mortal friends were gathered in the main foyer of the building. He gave the Twins a searching look. Elladan raised a defiant eyebrow, but Elrohir smiled at him.

“Men maer,” he said, speaking softly for Glorfindel’s ears only. “Gwest e-maethor.”

Glorfindel nodded, satisfied. Whatever their failings, the sons of Elrond would never invoke the Warrior’s Oath lightly. If they gave it, they meant it.

****

The Nature Studies class proved more interesting for Glorfindel. Again they met in the large auditorium, but only Ranger Pettingill was there; the other rangers would not be needed until they were actually out in the field.

“We’ll examine the wildlife that is typically found in this area,” Pettingill told them, “including plants. You’ll need to recognize the different animals and understand something of their habits and habitats, because I assure you that you’ll be asked about all that by your clients. So, our first sessions will be spent in the classroom.” He motioned to several students sitting in the front to come forward to where several boxes were lined up against the whiteboard wall. “This is your textbook,” he said as he indicated to the students that they should start handing the books out. “It’s a Guidebook put out by the National Parks on identifying wildlife. You will notice that it is designed with children in mind, so feel free to buy crayons and color in the pictures.”

He gave them a smile and there was general laughter throughout the class. Glorfindel glanced through the book, smiling at the simple yet accurate line drawings of the various animals. Each animal was given a two-page spread with text describing it and its habitat in clear and simple language. There were illustrations of the animal’s tracks and even color photos. There was also a section on plant life, identifying the various trees and shrubs and such that could be found in the area. The layout was appealing to both children and adults.

“So, let’s take a look at the first page,” the ranger said. He flipped a switch on the wall and a screen came down in front of the whiteboard. Then he had one of the students dim the lights while he fiddled with his laptop and a photo came up on the screen. “The arctic fox,” he announced and Glorfindel compared the photo with the line drawing. “This is what its tracks look like in snow,” Pettingill continued as he showed the next slide. “Notice how....”

****

When the class ended, the Elves and their Mortal friends gathered together as they headed back to the Academy for lunch. The Twins had gleeful looks on their faces and Glorfindel was suddenly suspicious.

“iNad thelil cared, baw!” he commanded, giving them a frown.

Elladan and Elrohir gave him identical pained looks. “Gwestam, unad faeg,” Elrohir replied, his expression hopeful.

“Gwest e-maethor, Hest,” Elladan added in all seriousness.

Glorfindel sighed, not feeling sanguine about it but having no real choice. He nodded. “Don’t make me regret this,” he said, switching to English.

“Regret what?” Zach asked in confusion.

“Whatever it is these two are planning,” Glorfindel replied.

“And what are you planning?” Lily asked, giving the Twins a curious look, which was mirrored by the expressions on the other Mortals’ faces.

“It’s a surprise,” Elrohir told her. “Honestly, we’re not going to do anything bad.”

Glorfindel could see the sincerity in the younger ellon’s eyes and nodded. The Twins gave jubilant shouts and ran off. “We’ll see you later,” Elladan called out as they disappeared into the crowd of students exiting the building.

“What do you think they’re planning?” Daeron asked.

Glorfindel shrugged. “We’ll find out soon enough. C’mon. Let’s get something to eat.”

****

They were halfway through lunch when the Twins showed up again, carrying a couple of bags that Glorfindel recognized came from a department store in town. They did not bother to get any lunch but came directly to the table where everyone was sitting, their expressions triumphant.

“We were able to find enough for everyone,” Elladan said without preamble, “so we won’t have to share.”

With that, he and Elrohir tipped their bags onto the table, the others hastily moving their trays out of the way, and out poured several boxes of crayons. The others stared at the pile for a second, trying to understand what they were seeing, and then Glorfindel broke out laughing even as he reached for one of the boxes. The others all grinned and grabbed their own boxes. Glorfindel looked up at the Twins and gave them a particular look of approval and a nod, a look that he reserved only for when they had done a thing well. The two ellyn practically glowed with pleasure with the knowledge that they had impressed their captain with their idea.

“So, should we see who can stay inside the lines the best?” Matt said with a sly grin and the other Mortals laughed, though the Elves did not understand the joke.

“We should go through the guidebook and color in all the pictures,” Shane suggested, “and then at the next class show Ranger Pettingill.”

Everyone thought it a good idea and they decided that Saturday afternoon would be a good time to get together for the project. In the meantime, the Twins grabbed a quick lunch and then everyone went to ready themselves for the afternoon’s athletic classes.

****

On Friday, they gathered for the Tour Guide class. Roland Smith was a rather colorless man, tending towards the pedantic, using twenty words where five would have done. Glorfindel was glad that they only had to endure him for an hour a week. Still, he could not deny that Smith knew his subject. It had never occurred to him before this that there was so much that a tour guide needed to know about the tourism business itself. He had simply assumed that all he had to do was to lead groups of people around to various activities and that would be it. But, no. There was much more to it than that.

“Regardless of where you will be employed,” Roland Smith told them, “it is incumbent on you to have a plan for each and every group to which you are assigned. Every group will be different in their constitution, every group will have different goals and different expectations of what they think their holiday should entail. You need to be aware of this. When you are given a group to lead — and don’t worry, we will give you plenty of time to acquaint yourself with the group before they arrive — you will need to understand just what they are looking for in terms of activities. You need to be aware of the ages of any children in the group as well as their genders, because experience has taught us that boys and girls are interested in different things and you need to provide a balanced blend of activities that will satisfy both, as well as their parents. Planning ahead, then, is the key to success. And planning alternative activities will also be important, because weather conditions might not allow you to do certain activities. Having alternatives already in place just in case will make the experience much more pleasant for everyone concerned.”

He paused for a moment to hand out sheets of paper. “So, to help you with this, we have designed planning sheets that you will fill out for each group. Over the next few weeks, I will give you examples of typical clients and typical tour packages that are offered by the various resorts and safari companies and you will learn to fill out these sheets for each. So, today, let’s take a look at what we have here. You will see at the top of the page....”

****

“Whew!” Cassie said with relief when the class was over and they were all leaving. “He really likes to talk, doesn’t he?”

“But he does know what he’s talking about, you have to give him that,” Glorfindel pointed out.

“These planning sheets are actually quite good,” Daeron said. “It’s one thing to plan, but it’s another to execute the plan successfully.”

Glorfindel nodded. “I was unaware that there was so much more that we as Elf Guides will have to do.”

“That’s for sure,” Zach said fervently and everyone nodded in agreement.

“Well, what’s everyone planning to do now?” Nimrodel asked. “We’re free until the afternoon.”

“Why don’t we go into town and do some shopping?” Glorfindel suggested. “I want to visit the bookstore and I need some more toothpaste.” Everyone agreed to the idea. “Then, we can stop at the Gold Nugget Café for lunch,” he added, remembering his one visit to the place and the waitress who had given him such sage advice. He had not had an opportunity to return to it and he was interested in seeing Esther again. “I’m getting a little tired of cafeteria food.”

That idea appealed to everyone even more, so they quickly divested themselves of their pens and notebooks and walked into town together. When they entered the café after doing their shopping, Glorfindel looked for Esther, wishing to say hello, but he did not see her. He also noticed that the café’s decor was different from when he was there last. When he asked their waitress about Esther, he was told that there was no one by that name working there.

“Are you sure?” he asked in confusion and gave a description of the woman, thinking that the waitress might be new and would not know all the other employees.

“Very sure,” she said. “I’ve been working here for ten years and I promise you there’s no Esther working here. Never has been.”

Glorfindel thanked the woman and gave her his order, but he did not have much appetite after that, picking at his roast beef sandwich while pondering the mystery of just who Esther was and why she had been there on that particular day when, on impulse, he had wandered into the café. If the others noticed his pensive mood, they gave no sign.

****

Words are Sindarin.

Men maer: ‘We (were) good’.

Gwest e-maethor: Warrior’s Oath.

iNad thelil cared, baw!: ‘Whatever you are planning, don’t!’, literally, ‘The thing you are intending to do, don’t!’. Baw, meaning ‘no, don’t’, is used with intentions.

Gwestam, unad faeg: ‘We promise, nothing bad’.

Gwest e-maethor, Hest: ‘Warrior’s Oath, Captain’.