Private Bones, Bones, Bones

Oz had a secret joy for teaching. He played teacher, and that was enough for him. If he would ever allow himself to fantasize, then he might find the career of a teacher to be a promising one. Oz did not allow himself to fantasize, however, nor entertain ideas that were not apart of the plan he mapped for himself years ago. To do so would feel like he had lost, and given up. Not that anyone could ever explain it to him otherwise. Still, it was obvious he had a talent for it, and the school happily gave him access to spare rooms for lectures and talks.

The advantage lecturing at the school had over the community center was that students often signed up in advance, and Oz could seek advice from school staff on the best means of lecturing each group. For today's lesson he was told to bring snack-sized bones and lots. A puzzling hint, but Oz purchased a baggie of bones from a local butcher and brought them to lecture.

The spare room he set up in was one of the nicer ones, with mostly intact desks and posters on the wall that were from the current decade. Oz knew for a fact that some rooms still had books and charts from the late 1900s. Students filed in, and when everyone was present he jumped into lecture. A quick one he's long since memorized about budgeting and saving money, but no less passionately given. Oz knew finance, and it showed. All in all a half hour lecture with the promise of one on one time afterward for those who wished for a deeper understanding. To those who stayed, Oz handed out work sheets of questions for students to puzzle over. "Any one still confused?" He asked to the room at whole.

@Kathinja

"Why is money even a thing?"

Oz silenced his class with a stern glare. That got the students to shut up. He was not known for being nice, nor tolerant of ignorance. His face softened when he turned to address Dezzie. "Let's use an example." He began and from his briefcase pulled his bag of bone pieces and several pens. Oz pulled a chair beside her desk and set the bag of bones before her, and the pens before himself.

"In this example we'll say that these bones are yours to trade for what you need, and these pens are what I have to trade for what I need." He said, speaking loud enough for the rest of the class to follow along. "And let's say that in this example you have no pens and need them to perform your school work.

"I have pens you need, so you offer your bones in trade for my pens." Oz paused, letting Dezzie digest what he said. "However, I do not want bones. Let's say I want fruit in return for my pens. You do not have fruit, only bones. So, you would have to find someone else with pens, but they may not want bones either."

Another pause, then he brought the example home. "Now, let's introduce money." He pulled several bills from his wallet and placed them next to the bones. "Money has a set value. A dollar has a specific value wherever you go. Bones have a greater worth to you, but less worth to me. A dollar, however, has the same worth for both of us.

"This is why we have coins and paper bills. By using money you can purchase what you need, without taking time to find people to trade with." It was a very simple explaination, and did not account for the varying prices of things, but one step at a time.

Dezzie's excitement pulled a rare, small, smile from Oz. Not only did she comprehend what he explained, but had taken that and applied it forward. He felt genuine pride for her and nodded when she asked for a bone. Miss Dezzie must be his bones student. Oz pushed a bone towards her, "Of course. I have plenty."

Oz glanced around the room, and saw another student waiting with their hand raised. He gathered up the bones and said, "I'll be back in a moment to explain your question." If he left a second bone for her to enjoy, well, it must have been by mistake. The waiting student had only one question, and it was simple to answer. Everyone else seemed content for the moment, quietly working on the problem sheets he provided. No more than three minutes had passed before he returned to Dezzie.

"You asked how prices are determined, and it is not so complicated as you might think." He sat down across from her once again and pulled out the bones. "We now have a system where we trade for goods we want with money. So how is the price of goods determined? By a system called supply and demand. Let's say a lot of people want bones, but few people sell them. There is high demand, but low supply. So, what happens is that the bones will sell for a high price." Oz paused there to let Dezzie digest this new info.

Oz looked proud that she was taking notes. It meant she was a good student and taking this seriously. "Exactly, the limited supply of rare bones means they are worth more than easily available common ones. You're learning fast, I'm impressed." He said to give her encouragement. "Was there anything else you wished to know about money?"