6 Vhalar, 720
Zur was not a man of high social class, being that he was not a very good conversationalist. He had difficulty relating to people and overcoming his innate shyness. But in order to pursue his task set by the university, and in order to achieve his discount for a certificate (after acquiring a letter that is), he had to step outside his comfort zone and approach people.
His task was to inquire various personalities about their view on the world and its current events.
Zur had spent a long while contemplating how he would go about asking complete strangers on their global outlook. He would need to introduce himself, which was of little issue, but to pry for honest opinions without seeming strange was something else.
He had never been approached by a complete stranger and asked what he thought about life before so he didn’t have the experience of how to handle the situation.
He had practiced a little with Ash and together they came to the conclusion that Zur should announce his status as a prospective student and what his intentions were in seeking his answers.
A woman, not too tall but not too short and not too heavy but most certainly not slender, had taken a seat at an adjacent table from Zur at Tio’s Teahouse. He had found this destination out of all places to be a great place to start cordial conversations with people.
In one hand he had a cup of tea to which he sipped from generously. In his other hand he held a pencil. Under his resting arm on the table lay his notebook, exposed to a blank page where he would take his notes.
The young man leant forward and cleared his throat, making eye contact with the woman at the other table.
“Enjoying your day?” He asked. It was a decent introduction, he thought.
The establishment was not in its busy hours, so no rambunctious noises fought for dominance against Zur’s soft voice.
“I am, thank you. How about you?” Replied the woman, setting down her cup of tea.
“I’m having a great day as well. In fact, I was wondering if you could spare some time to answer a few questions for me. My name is Zur and I am a prospective student at the University,” Zur explained, picking up his belongings so that he could move to the woman’s table. “May I?” He gestured to the open seat in front of her. When she nodded her head in acceptance, he dutifully sat down.
“What are you planning on studying?” The woman asked, pulling a lock of sandy brown hair behind her left ear.
“I’m interested in medicine.”
The woman smiled. “A respectable profession, being a doctor. What would you like to ask me?”
Zur readied his hand so his pencil hovered mere inches above his paper. He studied the woman with interest, ensuring to give her his utmost attention.
“I’m interested in learning about your perspective of the world. Perhaps I should ask what you do for a living, if that isn’t too bold of a question.”
The woman’s smile slipped, her lips returning to their previously held line. Her smile had vanished not because what Zur had asked was offensive, but because she had taken on a more serious disposition and it required effort for her to think about what to say to him in response.
She took a sip from her drink before saying, “I work in agriculture, which is something I have wanted to do since I was a little girl. I suppose my profession gives me everything I could possibly need: a roof over my head, access to a decent meal every night, some extra money for extracurricular activities, but…”
She trailed off, leaving Zur at a loss for what it was she was going to add.
He gently pressed. “But what?”
The woman shrugged her shoulders. “I wish I could have gone to school like you,” she said, looking wistfully toward the ceiling.
Zur tilted his head with curiosity. “Why don’t you?” He asked.
The woman stifled a giggle. “I don’t have that much extra money. Besides, I have children at home that need me.”
“Your children must be very happy to know they can spend the time they need with you.”
She nodded her head. “I hope someday they will have the opportunity to go to school and get a good job. The world is a very difficult place to live in without one.”
Zur took note of this, scrawling in his leather bound journal about the woman’s aspirations and how they were pushed to the side in favour of her children. He wrote about how her view of the world was that it was a challenging place to live in if someone didn’t have proper education and therefore a decent job. He also added that the woman had hope, a trait that was too important to ignore when life could be so rough so as to leave some individuals abandoning their hope.
“I’m sure your children will grow up to be successful individuals,” Zur said.
The woman snapped her attention away from the ceiling and back towards Zur. She smiled at him, displaying snow white teeth.
“Thank you,” she replied before packing up her things. “I must go back to work now.”
Zur stood as she did and offered his hand. “I appreciate you taking the time to discuss your thoughts with me,” he told her as they shook hands.
“It was my pleasure.” The woman then turned to leave and exited the building, sending a wave in Zur’s direction as she did.
He was curious now. The woman’s point of view was a relatable one, but would everyone’s perspective be similar?
He turned to look behind him and noticed an elderly man with a dirty beard enjoying a messy snack.
Zur, with his belongings pressed tightly to his chest, his cup of tea in hand, strode toward him. He would ask another person what they thought of the world and this man seemed like a good candidate.
“Hello, sir,” Zur began, tentatively taking a seat in front of his next interviewee. “My name is Zur and I am a prospective student at the University. Could you spare a few moments to answer some questions for me? I am doing a report on various individuals’ perspective of the world,” he explained, setting down his utensils, as well as his tea.
The man grunted and wiped at his mouth, missing several crumbs that sat trapped within his wiry beard.
“The world is shit,” he deadpanned, giving Zur only a glance before going back to eating his meal.
The half blood bit his lip and cocked his head. This was a very different opinion than the woman had.
“Why do you say that?” He asked, readying his pencil and paper to take more notes.
The man set down his snack and eyed Zur warily.
“I was a military man for ten arcs and all I can say is that the world isn’t as good as most make it out to be.”
“Can you explain what you mean by that?” Zur asked, hoping he wasn’t prying for any information the man wasn’t willing to give.
“Look son,” he began, with a mouthful of food. “People will do whatever they can to get what they want. I’ve seen good men turn into the worse kind of people just to survive. And those that don’t are forever haunted by their righteousness. That’s what war does to you. Now,” he took another bite from his snack. “If you’ll excuse me, I only have a little longer of a break before I need to get back to work.”
Zur heard the man loud and clear. He picked up his things and moved to a table on the other side of the building. Once sitting, he quickly wrote down what the old man had said.
He wrote about how he seemed to have a more pessimistic view of the world in comparison with the woman he had previously questioned. He wrote about how war changed a person sometimes for the worse. He also detailed about how war in general was a commodity, at least for the old man, and how it was generally an unpleasant part of some people’s lives. The very fact that war existed proved to him that the world was not as good as many made it out to be.
Zur finished his tea and set the empty cup to the side. He reread his thoughts and scanned for any grammatical mistakes. There were some, but not enough to take away from the meaning behind his notes.
He felt rather good about the two perspectives he had written about. He even liked how they were somewhat contrasting of one another; it would offer two sides to the coin. Like any debate, it was good to have two sides. It gave… well, it gave perspective!
The sun was now hanging much lower in the sky than when he had arrived at the tea shop. Zur had best return home or else Ash would be left wondering in his absence.
Perhaps later tonight would be a good time to flesh out my notes and turn them into a proper essay, Zur thought, grabbing his things and heading out the door.
He had yet another large task ahead of him.
OOC
I know pennies don't exist in Idalos, by the way 
