[CLASS ROSTER INCOMING]

The days leading up to and just after Remembering Day had always been a bit difficult for Isaac.  The remainder of the year he tended to be the sort to look at all the good things he had, but this particular time of year he couldn't help but focus on what had been lost all those years ago.  On this particular Monday morning he was finding it rather difficult to return to his normal state of mind, and he had found himself uncharacteristically late for his first class.  That hadn't happened in nearly all of his years of teaching.  Cup of coffee in hand he hurried down the halls and into his classroom, seeing it already full with students.  He was only a few minutes behind, but the walk through the halls had seemed to take an eternity.

"Good morning, class," he said making his way to the front.  "I apologize for the delay this morning.  Thank you all for waiting."

He placed the cup of coffee and his notes for the day on the desk, taking a moment to survey the room.  Someday the faces staring back at him from those seats would have even less of a connection to Remembering Day then many of those who occupied them at the present moment.  Perhaps someday the whole affair would get easier as well.

"I had a thought as I was rushing down the hall," he said, "so I thought we might change today's topic a bit and lightening things up.  Wizards and Witches obviously have few excuses for being late with our means of transportation, and obviously some things are universal.  However, I thought we'd see if anyone knows some of the lighter issues that might cause a Muggle to run late."

When it came to Muggle Studies, Zel was painfully average. However, his winter and spring break had both been spent with his older brother, who was a squib. His sister-in-law was a muggle. Their house was strictly non-magical (as his brotehr’s dear wife didn’t know about the whole ‘magic’ thing.) After playing ‘muggle’ for a few weeks, Zel felt like he was getting the hang of it. It seemed like all muggles did was use electricity. One of his favorite muggle devices was this thing called ‘wii.’ Like ‘whee’ but spelled odd.  It was probably named that because it was fun.

 It was like a muggle wand,  but it only worked on their televisions. Zel wasn’t sure how it worked, really, but it was neat.

“Lighter issues… So not getting into a fight or anything like that then?” Zelig asked quietly, waiting for clarification. He squinted his eyes at  the professor in thought, trying to remember what it was when you played that car game…
“There is this thing… Mario car? On Wii?”

He reached into his bookbag and pulled out a wii remote. Apparently he had broken it with magic so Garrett had allowed him to take it. Zel had kept it in his bag since spring break, hoping that it would somehow become relevant. "This can make muggles late." He spoke with a certainty that was unusual, but a nice change from the usual stuttering and nervousness. Obviously, the Hufflepuff was confident about his answer.

The only reason Phillip was taking this dicky mint of a class was because it was so pants it was actually brill. Everything he thought normal was alien to these blokes, and that was just a good larf on any day. "It's kart, Zel, you knob" he couldn't manage the laugh that was threatening to turn into a bloody fit. "And it's an 'anging game is what it is"he added with a bit of a scowl. "Super Smash Bros. beats it by like a.. galaxy" he snorted shaking his head, albeit fondly.

"But narr, there's a lot of much lighter issues that can make me late" he said, turning his eyes to the 'Fessor. "Le's'see... top of me bounce. Me alarm clock for once, that fu— minger just never rings properly" he muttered something insulting. "Then there's the water pressure, which is pants in the mors" he snorted, thinking fondly of his old neighborhood. "The TV, leaving yer gas on, forgetting to lock yer door, shaving" he almost groaned.

"But the bloody worst, 's the traffic. And buses that never come on time. Bobbins, aye" he rolled his eyes. "At leas the tube's fairly okay..."

"All good answers," Isaac said to the first two students to offer answers.  "Obviously magical transportation eliminates traffic for witches and wizards, but if anyone has ever been in a car or on a bus it can be rather frustrating."

He had done his share of riding public transportation over the years.  Observation had been a rather large part of his job when he was a researcher, and usually being out among the masses watching a large group go about their daily life was an excellent way to get some insight.  There was nothing quite like seeing that person who was clearly just rushing through life get stuck on a bench waiting on the next bus.

"Anyone else? he asked, scanning the class.  "Any other thoughts on what might cause Muggles to run late that we don't usually have an issue with in the Magical community?"

Halfway through writing "Reasons Muggles are Late - Class Notes" on the top of the day's note page, Sasha set his quill down and allowed the scroll to roll itself back up.  Even he could see this was one of those pondering, idea sharing class topics that did not require diligent note taking. 

Most of the notes would have centered around his own classmates' behavioral tendencies and he didn't exactly need notes for that.  For instance, it was no surprise that Kinsey provided a proverbial cornucopia of tardiness excuses, ranging from heavy sleeping to forgetfulness.  And, something about water pressure which Sasha didn't quite understand but, given the source, it was probably safer not to ask for clarification.  He could be referring to something vulgar just as much as ... shower pressure that was prone to morning laziness?  He'd never found himself in a living situation where the water users outclassed the water supply until spending the holidays at the Trishnas with many girls.  He'd assumed that was an isolated incident brought on by abnormal circumstances.  People didn't actually live with such obstacles on a daily basis, he was certain. 

Raising a hand, Sasha shrugged.  "To some degree, it can be a matter of cultural differences and, well, personal values.  As a generalization, Italians aren't as ... don't always value punctuality as much as Germans.  Our trains run on time - their trains regularly run late.  We're just ... peo- muggles view punctuality with differing levels of importance.  If you believe it to be important enough, small things like shaving wouldn't make you late.  And you'd catch an earlier bus if you knew they tended to run late."