Bowling For Seven Stars Academy (Susan & Maria)

Maria then suddenly realized that this wasn't an open sight, it was a red dot sight. At one point, she considered letting her know. But on the other hand, she allowed her to shoot anyway. While she watched, the Cadet noticed there were still some problems. Aside from the sights, there was the flinching. Susan was obviously anticipating the recoil from the gun due to the first time she shot it earlier. This wasn't good. A combination of fear and not really knowing how to aim were the problems. These were ones that the Cadet aimed to fix. When Susan turned to ask, Maria pulled down her earmuffs and Susan's.

"It's not your fault. Sorry, I didn't realize you used a different kind of sight-- red dot. It's an easier tool to use to aim than an open sight that I talked about. You just need to keep focus on the target and line up the reticle on them. Wherever you want to shoot at, you need to have that reticle on where you're aiming at. But first, since you were shooting to the right you may want to re-calibrate it a little bit to the left," Maria replied as she reached towards the dial to move the dot. If Susan was looking at it, she could see the dot beginning to move before finally stopping straight more at center this time. "But you're still flinching. We can work on that in a bit. Try to fire one more time. Okay?"

She put the earmuffs back on for both of them before making more adjustments to Susan's posture and giving her a pat on the shoulder for the go ahead.

The businesswoman would sheepishly offer her weapon for Maria to tinker with. She wanted nothing to do with it and the less time it was out of her hands the better. Susan was here because she had to be, not because she wanted to be here even if it was by her own volition. But whether or not she enjoyed being at the range was besides the point, she was aware that she had to improve or it would jeopardize her standing with the Cadets. A standing that was no doubt low though she wanted it to sink no further. There was no fight in her, that much was clear, and tonight's poor excuse for performance only cemented in her mind what a poor fit she was to serve this city. The Queen wanted warriors. Apparently she would take anyone who could hold a weapon. She had hoped beyond hope that she could endure through the training and be sent off to make a difference where she could be useful like in the evidence room rather than on the front lines but apparently it just did not work that way. It made Susan have second thoughts though not about the oath that she made. She felt that it wasn't a matter of whether or not she would be willing to do what was necessary but if she was capable in the first place.

"Thank you..." she would mumble as the girl gave her gun back. The meek woman would listen to Maria's critique, sigh, and half-heartedly fidget her way back into her shooting stance while trying to keep the same form that she had been shown. She was tired. Tired from the long day and tired of being a failure. At least she was no longer as nervous as she had been, Susan was much more disappointed in herself instead. The woman would not protest as the nun slipped her ear protection over her head, it wasn't worth fighting. She sighed once more and let go of her breath filled with toxic, self-defeating ichor and pulled the trigger back. This time she didn't flinch. The tired woman was no longer frightened, she just wanted this over with. The recoil kicked harder this time without her death grip but the snare of the submachinegun was just background noise at this time.


Susan had given in. She wouldn't do better at this, it wasn't in her. She stopped being anxious and she stopped trying. And she happened to get three out of four rounds on the target this time. It took a moment to register. She had been halfway mid-breath when it caught in her throat. Her eyes widened in shock. Did that... did that work? She whipped her head to Maria with her bewildered expression, then at the target, and then back to Maria. She couldn't believe her eyes. What did she do that was different?

Susan flicked her weapon safety and placed the P90 down on the bench again.
"I'm not sure what- Oh, sorry. ...I'm not sure what I did differently, do you?" she would ask. Maria was the expert here, not Susan, so she thought it best to check with someone who could explain it to her. Maria may have noticed a few things. Susan's grouping was terrible although some of her shots hit this time. Her breathing was more regular this time around, firing on the release of a breath to steady her shot. And, most importantly, she was relaxed that time as opposed to as jumpy as she'd been all day.

She watched quietly as the woman shot out the next few rounds. Maria didn't expect them to be accurate, but at least to be within the target. This time, her head nodded in satisfaction. It wasn't a fairly accurate shot, but it did hit the target. That was more than what she wanted tonight. While Susan looked back at her in bewilderment, Maria returned with an encouraging smile. That's it, baby steps. No one became an expert marksman overnight.

"You've learned to relax and steady your breathing. You shot the same time as you exhaled. It helps to keep things steady. But it's mostly because you relaxed. Just think of using the gun like a car." Maria explained as she began to rummage through her pockets. "Relax and stay alert. If you lose your nerve, you won't be able to use it well. That's all there is to it. Can you try to unload your gun?"

She pulled out a quarter and waited for Susan to do so.

Most people would find progress encouraging. Susan was not most people. It had set a new bar for her, meaning that she once again had somewhere to fall back down to. When she was doing terrible it couldn't get much worse but now she had to continue to perform at this new level of adequacy and she did not know if she could meet the demand. The businesswoman shrunk at Maria's kind smile and turned back to her target, rocking herself back into position and preparing for the next volley.
"R-right. Just like... a car..." she would trail off. Oddly it made firearms less dangerous. Cars were multi-ton death machines and she was fairly comfortable behind the wheel, although fundamentally they were different. Cars had air bags and crumple zones and were designed with preventative measures in mind. Guns just hurt people, often killed them, and could do so easily. A mistake on the road might get you into an accident and cost a lot of money. A mistake with a loaded rifle meant someone would be mortally wounded. Susan took a deep slow breath, closing her eyes and exhaling. She would attempt to relax but would make no guarantees. It was much easier when she didn't need to actively think of doing so, the very thought made her shoulders tense.

She would look over her shoulder to Maria quizzically at her request.
"Hmm? Oh, y-yes." The timid woman would fumble with the magazine release, taking a few moments to find it. Tonight was the first time she had actually loaded her P90, unloading it was something she was still unfamiliar with. But she managed to do so and placed the half-full magazine onto the bench before her. She would place her weapon down as well. Hopefully this would mean that they were finished for the evening, Susan would be more than happy to stop at this point. Diminishing returns and all. Not completely separate from the fact that she found no enjoyment in shooting, especially in front of an audience. It was just another expectation she would need to meet, another stressor fer her already taxed state. And she honestly felt that Maria may overestimate her abilities a tad.
"Umm, I don't need to shoot that... do I...?" Hitting such a small target would be an impossible task yet she couldn't shake the feeling she would be asked to anyway. After what she had seen so far the businesswoman had far misjudged her initial impressions of the Cadets.

As usual, Maria waited quietly and patiently for Susan to fumble around with the gun. But always ready to grant her assistance whenever needed. When the businesswoman finally took the magazine out, Maria reached over to the weapon's bolt and racked it back, allowing her to extract the last round from it. She took one quick glance at the gun and it was empty. "Chamber check. Assume there's at least one round in the gun even after unloading."

She placed the round to the side in the shooting booth. It had no use as of now. But instead, she gestured Susan to take up her shooting stance again while pulling out what looked like to be a red plastic bullet with a spring inside. "Of course not. Even I don't think I can do it either, but we'll try a dry-firing trick. Something that might help you instead of firing with live rounds right from the start. Here let me load this snap cap inside..."

With the faux-bullet inside, she then placed the quarter near the sight and away where Susan's face would be. "Try to aim and fire at the target. It won't shoot out the bullet since it's a dud, but you'll feel the mechanism. Try to shoot without allowing the quarter to drop. See how it goes for you. Alright?"

Maria's manipulation of the bolt of her weapon caught Susan off guard enough to jump. When the round left the open bolt her jaw dropped and she caught herself staring between the bullet in the chamber and the nun with a horrified expression. It was another fatal mistake. A very serious one at that.
"I-I apologize, I-I didn't-!" The businesswoman began to respond as if she her slip up had actually caused her to shoot someone before biting her lip to quiet herself.
"...yes. ...y-yes I will be sure to do that in the future..." Her tone was small and resigned. She could deal with minor mistakes of course but they continued to grow and their combined weight was beginning to wear her down and discourage her. At Maria's prodding Susan once more took up her firing stance with a little less shuffling and a lot less enthusiasm than earlier.

She hefted her P90 to her shoulder just as she had done before nonetheless. The nun would load the dummy bullet into her weapon and Susan would mentally steel herself for this next little exercise they would be doing. To be honest it was slightly embarrassing, as if she were firing a gun with the training wheels on. It was to be expected, she was inexperienced, but that made it no less degrading. Still she would go along with it, it was clear that she needed the practice. Still it was a relief to know she didn't need to shoot the quarter, that was a load off of her mind, Susan was worried that was a requirement from the incredible feats she had seen from the other Cadets. She was about to open her mouth to ask Maria why she would place the quarter on her weapon before it was explained to her. That made sense, she could see the benefit of using a training drill focusing on the fundamentals before moving to practical application. Susan had probably been doing things backwards.

But she would try her best. The businesswoman would aim down the sight, aligning the dot along the target as she'd been told to do and gave the trigger a nice, gentle squeeze. The bolt cycled. Susan flinched from the suddenness of the movement and the quarter pinged on the ground. She pursed her lips, audibly sighed and dutifully set her weapon to safe before crouching down to pick it back up to try again. Not wanting to ask for help she set about putting the quarter back on her weapon with her non-trigger hand, almost having it slip twice before trying again. The businesswoman did as before, squeezed the trigger and... nothing happened this time. Another trigger squeeze. The same result. Did her weapon jam? She... didn't know what to do if her weapon jammed.

Carefully Susan would remove the coin from in front of her sight and place it on the firing bench before setting her weapon on safe and canting it.
"*haaaaa...* ...I'm not certain what's wrong with it but it isn't firing when I pull the trigger," she would inform Maria though taking the wise decision not to unsafely show her what she was doing and risk breaking weapon safety rules.
"Do you think you know what the matter is, Maria?" As much as she was beginning to despise this sort of training knowing how to clear a weapon jam would be valuable information, she would choose to see this as an auspicious learning opportunity rather than one more reason for her stress headache to come on.

Maria had to admit it was slightly amusing to watch her fumble with the gun. But professionally, the Cadet stifled any signs of mirth on her end. And like clockwork, she pulled the trigger and the quarter fell. Not a single bullet was shot and not even a single muzzle flare can be seen. Thankfully it worked. "Don't worry, it's not a weapon jam. Like I said before, the dud won't shoot out. It's made that way to help you learn how to shoot without using a real bullet. I want you to start practicing how to do that. But speaking of weapon jams, it does happen... You just need to eject the bullet like I showed you earlier. Or you can tap the magazine first, eject, and then pull the trigger. Be sure to aim before you do the last. Though if it's still jammed, you'll want to pull back the rack and lock it. Make sure the chamber is cleared. You may need to use your fingers to pull out any stuck rounds out of the ejection port. When you're done with that put your magazine in."

She began to show off the process herself by taking the gun. Maria was sure to keep it slow and paced to each word so that Susan can easily process it. It wasn't something difficult. Guns weren't complicated machines. Because if they were, it would be a logistical nightmare for any army. Wars needed tools that can be speedily and easily used.

Her phone began to vibrate, the Cadet gave an apologetic glance. She put the gun down after quickly unloading the magazine, ejecting the round, and putting the gun on safety almost in one smooth movement. She seemed almost annoyed at the caller id, but picked up nevertheless. Soon her annoyed and relatively relaxed expression turned into a grimace. "Father Jorge, I believe I told you I would be busy... No, I--I see. I understand, I will be right there."

It was a short call and it ended once she pressed the button and pushed the device back in her pocket.

"Yes, I see..."

The businesswoman would nod and listen to instructions as the nun gave them, though she wasn't exactly being the most honest. Susan did not see, she was not mechanically inclined and many of the parts and functions of a gun just... never occurred to her. She was learning however, and with more instruction she would handle her weapon more easily. She handed over her gun to Maria without complaint and stared in focus at it while she spoke as if the senior Cadet were never there. If Susan could not learn how to shoot a gun she would not make it far in this field, so it was paramount that she focus on the mechanics of her P90 than to the one teaching her. The woman watched with folded hands, her eyes blanking over as she processed this information, as if she were beginning to stare through the gun.

She did not mind that Maria would answer her phone in the middle of her firearms training, Susan often would have to break away for calls herself. But just as soon as Maria set her weapon down Susan would pick it back up to go through the motions that she had seen before. She would fidget through them and fumble on a step or two but in time she would get the hang of things. Of course, the timid woman wasn't hyperfocused on her task. She had been listening to the nun's conversation, it was difficult not to in a sealed room under ground with no one else there. It sounded as if she had to leave suddenly which honestly left her overjoyed. Maria was a pleasant girl but for Susan it felt a little embarassing to be taught like a child by one far younger than she, who outranked her as well. Not only that but it made her feel less capable, she was easily one of the more weaker Cadets who needed special considerations and the difference in standing and age between them only punctuated this fact.

Susan would diligently flick her weapon on safe as she practice and turn her head to meet the nun.


She spoke with a soft smile, happy she no longer had judging eyes to damn her every mistake.
"Oh, yes I have two. May I keep this, please?" Susan ejected the dummy round to have it fall on the floor, furrowing her brow as she had to go through her ritual in making the weapon safe and putting it on the bench before picking it up to hold it.
"I would like to use it for practice. Also, may I stay a bit longer or will you need to lock up? I wouldn't want to keep you longer than I already have." After receiving her answers Susan would stall just a bit before speaking again. It was important that she be honest, it wasn't fair to her.
"Thank you for taking time out of your evening to teach me. I... I am sorry if I carried a bit of a sour attitude," appologized Susan, gazing at the ground, "I... do not enjoy being reminded that there are things that I can't do... or that I require special treatment... I-I wanted to make certain that you knew I wasn't upset with you at all."

Despite the hiccups, Maria still enjoyed the teaching session they had. She had some doubts about Susan, but it isn't like you couldn't get better with time and practice. If anything, the Cadet remembered she was almost the same as a child in the previous five years ago. But now, here she was, as a growing successful Cadet. "Of course, keep it. I have no need for one anyway. It was something I used when I first started out. The person who taught me was far more thorough than I. You can keep practicing if you want. Just lock it up for me, won't you? Return the key to the lady in the main office. You can't miss her."

Maria handed the key to Susan. It was something to make sure to keep the place locked down. Even though non-Cadets shouldn't be present in Class Zero to begin with, it was better to keep a level of caution for places like these.


In hindsight, perhaps Maria should've been more considerate to her feelings. It was a mark that she was still an inexperienced teacher. It was a sore feeling, but there wasn't much she could do about it. At the same time, it made her feel more appreciative of Father Jorge even more so. "Well! I need to get going. I'll see you later, Susan. Let me know when you need me for any practice. See ya!"

She waved cheerfully at her and then left with her belongings.

[Exit]

"Oh, thank you!" Even as frustrating as this evening had been she would show her gratitude for the opportunity and assistance. It wasn't fair to Maria that she had to take time out of her no doubt busy day to help her and Susan would feel uncooperative and standoffish. It wasn't her fault she was feeling worn down, it was the woman's own fault for not accepting her lack of skill and choosing to commit to improve in the face of humiliation. That was a bitter pill to swallow.
"I very much appreciate your assistance in this matter, and the dummy bullet. I will be certain to return the key when I am done."

She accepted the key gratefully, placing it in the back of her shooting glove so the discomfort wouldn't let her forget to return it. Maria's praise was... conflicting. Susan didn't believe she had been all that pleasant, not as much as she could be given that the nun had spent her valuable time instructing her when she could have been doing something more valuable. The woman did not feel worthy of praise for her failure to cooperate as a pupil and a small part of her felt patronized for her encouragement, though she knew it was genuine and heartfelt. This made her feel terrible as well, that she would think ill of someone's kindness at all. It was insulting to her, she wished she felt nothing but gratitude for the help yet something tugged at her and chewed at her mind... though the guilt was nothing new to her.
"Y-yes, I am sure I can be." Susan would shyly agree with Maria for the moment if for nothing than to avoid being rude. If Maria believed in her it would not do to undersell that belief.

Though Maria did have to leave and Susan would not keep her.
"Yes, thank you again for taking your time to teach me. I-I don't mean to keep you. ...Goodbye Maria!" As the door clanked shut behind her Susan would breath a sigh. Perhaps she was going about this wrong, it was easy to fall into a submissive role for her. Perhaps she could learn better by acting as a peer of sorts? She rubbed her eyes as she thought, it was rather late but she would practice for another couple dozen minutes or so. Admittedly she did better without Maria there, she did not deal with pressure very well and alone she could focus on her own technique rather than worry about the judgement of others. Feeling satisfied, she would return to her car, nearly forgetting to return the key in the process. As she marched out of the building with her suitcase in hand she would not feel anxious as she did when entering. If nothing else, Maria had taught her that this was normal along with other simpler techniques. Perhaps she could arrange for another training session, though she would make certain to be considerate of her schedule.