School of Hard Knocks

Howdy chummers! Today, we talk about children. It is a hard life in the shadows, even more so if you have progeny running about. You want them to be well-prepared, but you lack the time and skills to teach them everything. This is where the School of Hard Knocks comes in, not the proverbial one, but a literal one.
Located in Riverplex, this extracurricular teaching program has retired criminals teach your children all the skills they need to surpass you as a runner, or at the very least be able to run away when your past inevitably catches up to you!

— Moenen

Riverplex, née Nijmegen, always had a left side to it, in the form of communism, socialism, and nowadays neo-anarchism. It is typical of the youth to want to rebel, which some choose not to grow out of. Yet as their children grew into teenagers, they worried. So they decided to team up and teach their children together.
This evolved over time and grew into the School of Hard Knocks, with a curriculum expanding on that of normal high school. Languages to criminal lingo, PE to parkour and firearms training, chemistry to explosives, and so on. It is almost surprisingly well-organised, unofficially ranking third of all schools in the region.

Disclaimer

This is a sponsored entry with enough details obfuscated that people's privacy is somewhat protected. Additionally, only verified users with confirmed children will be able to access this article.
If you do not know why you can read this, please contact the Helix administrators, we may have shocking news for you.

• Vrouw Holle

Location

Riverplex

Staff Count

~10

Student Count

~50

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Location

Riverplex is a chimaeric cityplex, the fusion of countless cities and villages, their cores sewed together into a Frankensteined patchwork blanket of infrastructure. One of those city cores is the old Nijmegen centre. Directly outside it, you will find the rich and famous, living in their skyscrapers. Inside the centre, you will find significantly less money and altitude. And somewhere in one of those nearly slummy neighbourhoods, in houses that seem normally decrepit, with normally distrustful residents, lies hidden the School of Hard Knocks.
The school is spread over multiple houses, with dedicated rooms per class type. Underground the lengthy PE room doubles as a shooting range while also including a parkour obstacle course. Classes are mostly held in the evening, with the occasional weekend study trip.
If you wonder why I am being vague, well, I see no reason to risk their safety with loose lips. Additionally, for full disclosure I should note I have an ongoing deal with the school. As part of that deal, I offer all of its students a twenty percent discount on all Riverplex safehouse services.

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History

Real Estate

So how did we get here? For that we go back two decades to 2063, back when the UNL chose to bend its knee to the Corporate Court. While politicians negotiated final details, the people grumbled. They knew this move would give the Megacorps an opportunity to seize control over the country, at the cost of the common man. Angry riots of course failed, but the bad blood remained.
Still, Nijmegen did manage to shore up its defences, trying to prevent Megacorps from taking over the city. And then came Crash 2.0, leaving so much chaos that the corps could have exploited. Instead, Neo-Anarchists and like-minded criminals struck gold. Nijmegen had a lot of rules that were meant to protect house owners from hostile takeovers. These very rules now allowed the criminals to strike.
Within mere weeks, squatters took over hundreds of abandoned houses and other buildings, most with unclear ownership. By the time the dust of the Crash settled, a lot of forgeries and court cases later, there still were a few dozen Neo-A bases left that had become nearly untouchable. Even now, most of those still stand.

The Idea

Those bases allowed the local anarchist population to thrive, even as elsewhere the corps employed their iron fist. Even if many of the bases were actually owned by other criminals, using the places for money laundering, they still would support the cause and provide support.
As time went on, some older anarchists brought along their offspring. Always the friendly bunch, folks would teach the kids all the wrong lessons. And then, realising the potential but also the lack of stability, some of the property owners got an idea: A more formalised education curriculum, aiming to build up the next generation of anarchists and criminals.
Opinions were sought, decisions made, deals bartered, and then there was a school with its first generation of students. Word of mouth drew attention and soon some members of organised crime covertly came knocking, wanting to make use of the program. This was allowed, as long as school fees were paid. Those fees are now evenly distributed across staff, to help them pay for the required class supplies.

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Staff & Curriculum

There was a significant amount of staff churn in the beginning, but nowadays things are more stable. Despite the Neo-A origins, most teachers are not anarchists themselves, but usually shadowrunners that do share the same ideals. Most are retired, but some still have an active career out there. Which means that occasionally the school needs a substitute, on account of a teacher having to lay low after a dramatic run.
The primary aim is teenagers from ages 14 to 18. Classes complement the normal high school curriculum, teaching a wide variety of skills. From how to fast talk or drug a security guard, to shooting properly and making your own explosives. Even how to identify a so-called Romeo, an undercover cop. Once a student completes the entire program, they can handle themself in a riot or run. After that, the world is their oyster.

Don't assume these younglings are just random street trash. I've run with several of its alumni and they do well. There are experienced runners out there that are still outperformed.

— Erasmus Player

They essentially are trained as Jack-of-all-trades, which means they might surprise you with how often they have something to contribute during a run.

— Vrouw Holle

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Individuals of import

Ms. K. (short for Kaboom)

If you look up the term 'Pink Mohawk' in a Dutch Shadows dictionary, you will see her masked face next to it. As a runner, she would blow her way into and out of target locations.
Ms. Kaboom teaches Cooking classes from the Neo-A Cookbook. Makes a killer cocktail too.

Mr. Clean

Before his retirement, he would clean the city streets by day, and earn an extra paycheck cleaning up crime scenes at night. For the wrong side.
He now works as janitor for the school, keeping the halls clean and teaching students how to erase their tracks.

Replay

Child of a member of organized crime, this student has been deliberately failing his exams for three years straight as a way to stick it to his absent father.
The teachers pretend they do not know, and he pretends not to realise they are covertly teaching him the advanced classes.

Flare

A Decker alumni who has been making a living doing flashy hacks, often serving as a distraction for other runners going after the real target.
She learned proper subtlety at the school, yet deliberately ignores it unless necessary, to catch everyone off guard. She also donates part of her ill-gotten gains to the school.

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You may wonder why the School staff would ask me to advertise them, and even share some personal info. Well, the Week of Death may have passed by Riverplex, but the local Neo-A still refuse to remain unprepared. They want their existence known, so that they can forge alliances and provide shelter for possible targets.
So look at your child. Do you think you have prepared them well enough? Would you bet your life on that? Theirs? Maybe you should take steps to guarantee their safety. The School is there, as are my safehouses. Stay safe, keep your child alive. Pay up, or cut a deal. Moenen out.

— Moenen

Fraggin' typhoid piece of choleroid drek. Unfortunately he has a point, which is why we allowed this entry. Do not forget, the next enemy may very well be right around the corner.

— Vrouw Holle

Possible Runs

Exam Duty

The school's holding its annual exam in the form of a milk run. Runners are hired as competition, turning the run into a race. Direct sabotage isn't allowed, while the students get an obvious head start.

Red Tape

Word on the streets is a Megacorp is covertly getting its hands on property deeds somehow, preparing to take over the school's neighbourhood. The staff needs a team to figure out how and put a stop to it.

Umbrella Program

An associated Neo-Anarchist group needs help training an influx of new members. The runners are asked to help with a protest, while undercover cops plan to frame the anarchists for wanton violence.

Supply Lane

The PE teacher is running short of ammunition because his main supplier got nicked. He needs runners to rob a Saeder-Krupp convoy and restock his supplies, paying them with laundered materials.