Valhalla High (A Magnus Chase Fanfic)

Thinking is Hard

February 11

In US Constitution, we were studying immigration. Forseti began class by telling us how unless we were Native Americans, we were all newcomers here. Someone raised their hand. "Yes, Alice?" Forseti asked.

"My parents are really into our family," she said, "and they found out we're descended from one of the original settlers at Jamestown."

"So your family has been here for four hundred years," Forseti said.

Alice blinked. "Aren't you going to congratulate me on my ancestry?"

"No one chooses their ancestry, Alice," another student said.

Forseti nodded in agreement. "The point of this discussion is not to flex about our ancestors or hold one ethnic group as superior to another. America was built on immigration. Whether your family arrived here four hundred years ago or four days ago, their journey is part of the very fabric of our nation. As people came over, they brought intangible things: different tongues, accents, ways of dressing, manners, cultures, religions, and ideas."

Someone sighed. "You aren't going to tell us the melting pot metaphor are you?"

Forseti smiled. "I am not. The melting pot metaphor oversimplifies the process of assimilation."

      "What's that?" someone asked.

       "Assimilation is the process of how a minority group or someone from a minority group adopts the customs, beliefs, mannerisms, and culture of the dominant culture," Forseti said. "Oftentimes, immigrants are pressured to assimilate quickly and completely, but there are many groups that have resisted assimilation and others that straddle between cultures. For your next project, I am going to assign an immigrant group to each of you and you will give a presentation on when, how, and why they came to America along with how those already here reacted."

I was assigned Italian American immigration. With the help of my trusty friend Google, I started working on my slideshow. I included excerpts of the 1924 law, which limited the number of people who could come to America from certain countries. The rhetoric and sentiments I read of reminded me of the attitude of people nowadays towards Hispanics and Muslims. I even found out that Columbus Day was originally enacted during a time when Italian Americans were persecuted as a way of recognizing their contributions to the United States.

Funny thing is, I've never heard anyone even mention Italian Americans on Columbus Day. It's weird how a holiday meant to combat prejudice against one minority group can be wielded against another. History class was not much happier. We were talking about the promise of forty acres and a mule. "That sounds like socialism," Magni said.

     Odin shrugged. "Think of it this way: the newly freed slaves needed a way of supporting themselves. The forty acres and a mule would have allowed them to work their own land. It would have provided them economic freedom."

      "Would have?" Magni echoed. "You mean it didn't happen?"

    I turned to look at him. "Haven't you learned by now that history is just one story after another of people doing the completely wrong thing?"

Magni sighed. "I wish it was not."

For once, I agreed with him. "History is more than the actions of individuals," Odin said. "It's also about forces behind anyone's control."

"Like what?" Mallory asked.

"Acts of nature," Odin said. "Chance. Social and cultural influences. History may seem set in stone, but the world could be very different right now if people and things had turned out differently. That's why I want you guys to write about what you think would have happened if every slave was given forty acres and a mule. What would have happened if reparations were given to freedman instead of enslavers? I want at least two pages, double-spaced. It's due next class."

     The class let out a collective groan. Odin looked at us sharply. "I am not grading this strictly. I just want you guys to think."

      Mothi groaned. "We think all day and I don't get paid enough for it as it is. Being a student is a thankless job."

He looked as if he wanted one of us to jump to his defense, but we didn't. If the assignment was graded leniently, then it wasn't too big of a deal, and while we did have to think all day, oftentimes we thought in the concrete. It would be nice to consider the what ifs.

****

We were doing another AP practice exam in Calculus. We'd started doing them this week and they were incredibly boring. "Better boring than terrifyingly new," Saga reprimanded me when I voiced my opinion.

I guessed there was some truth to that, so I let out a sigh and returned my gaze to my exam sheet. When class ended, I was only too happy to go to lunch. The cafeteria was crowded, but we found a table in the corner. Mallory beat Halfborn to the last chair. "Beat it," she said.

     I stood up. "You can have my seat."

     Halfborn looked at me gratefully. "What about you, Magnus?" Alex asked.

     "I shall find another chair," I said.

      Alex stood up. "I'll come with you. It will be an adventure."

    I felt caught up by her enthusiasm. "We are looking for the throne of Lief Erikson," she declared.

     "It's carved from cedar trees," I said.

      "By the most skilled carpenters in the land," Alex added as we walked, looking for a chair.

     "The chair has been lost for centuries," I said.

      "But we shall find it," Alex said, "and slay the dragon who is guarding it."

    I put up a palm. "Or perhaps speak with it," I said. "We may very well settle this peacefully."

      "We can try your way," Alex said, "but if it doesn't work, I'll garrote its head off."

    I laughed because I could totally see her doing it. Luckily, the chair of Lief Erikson (a normal cafeteria chair covered in dust with gum stuck underneath it) was unguarded. We took it back to our table. "You returned!" Halfborn said. "I give a toast to to the return of our friends."

    He raised his carton of school milk as if it were mead. We laughed as we sat down. For thirty minutes, I didn't force my brain to do anything; I just enjoyed the company of my friends.