January 7th, 1894 - Spare classroom space

---

Violetta had been thinking about this for a little time, she had exquisite penmanship having the skills instilled into her from a very young age but it had only this year dawned on her the true disparity between her and some of her peers. Her roommate thought her a subpar witch, and her mother thought her a subpar daughter but she was neither of those things, she couldn't have been picked a prefect just because her family was rich... could she? By trying to help her peers she could tell herself that she was good, and why shouldn't she?

She had asked for this small room to test the waters, she hoped to submit to the faculty a new club, a penmanship club, but she wanted to see how it went and whether she was even capable of helping someone like this. There was only one student here today, personally invited by Violetta who also offered her discretion and an agreement that this was a private session.

She turned to the student, she stood in front of a board on which she had written a poem in English and then below in French. The content of the poem was unimportant but the structure of the words showed her talents, and she thought it looked pretty.

"Thank you for coming, mon ami, I won't pretend to be a professor but I would like to say a few words, oui?" She gave a beaming smile, she had told him of her intention and that she was practising something herself.

"Penmanship or calligraphie is an art form, it is considered a hobby of the wealthy and the aristocrat but I tell you that it can benefit anyone. A letter, penned beautifully can open many doors that may otherwise have remained closed. I also suggest that there is nothing about your house, class or blood that makes you more or less able to learn this talent. It is like dancing, with talent, anyone can do it beautifully. Do you have any questions?" There was a grin on her face, she hoped she had come across well.

---

Leonard Blank

The following 1 user Likes Violetta DeCroix's post:1 user Likes Violetta DeCroix's post
   Leonard Blank

---

Leonard slunk into the empty classroom and settled behind one of the desks. Violetta DeCroix had invited him to this test run for, he supposed, a sort of group about writing pretty letters. After their last run-in, he couldn't have said no to her. He owed her, and he knew it. Still, now when he looked at the poem on the blackboard, he felt a bit desperate. Did she understand that he struggled to even read that?
"It's awful pretty, Violetta," he said, resigned to his fate.
"What do you say we do? Should I try to copy it?"
He could, he supposed, try to draw it and recreate the lines, like drawing linework for a nice landscape picture. That would tell him little about the contents, but perhaps it would please her.

---

Violetta DeCroix

  

---

Violetta raised an eyebrow, "My introduction or your handwriting?" she laughed and waved her hands dismissively. "We can fix both mon ami." she stepped over and nodded to his question before pulling out a small piece of paper that she had had printed with the structures of various letters on it.

"Before I learned the shapes, my governess had me place these beneath my paper and trace them. The content is less important than learning the soft muscle memory for now."

She thought for a few moments as he began.

"Perhaps... do you have a favourite book or piece of text you enjoy, perhaps I can seek it out and copy it for you to then copy me, oui?" her eyes sparkled as she had this idea to use work that her "students" already knew to help them learn.

---

Leonard Blank

  

---