16 - It's alright
I really don't get it. They gave us freedom of choice, but punished us when we make the wrong choices. If that is the case, then why give us a choice at all? Might as well have the teacher schedule the student's lessons to stop them from straying from the right path. Send me for detention then.
A look of surprise is written all over her face.
My. What an unusual girl you are, RK.
+5 Weird
Well, in that case, I'll excuse you from today's exam. You can cover the material on Saturday with Professor Grabiner.
Sigh. I guess it could be worse, I'm already at 10 demerit points.
Please pass on the schedules to your roommates.
She waves and goes on her way.
I couldn't get anything into my head during class. I guess that talk with Potsdam is bothering me. And seeing Jerkface on Saturday isn't something to look forward to. So, I've missed my first exam. I didn't fail, nor succeed. I merely...excused myself from it.
The next day arrives.
Actually, I didn't take it. Prof. Potsdam said I wasn't prepared. So instead, I have detention today.
What? That stinks! Well, I guess we can tell you what happened, since you would have known if you'd gone.
I listen with interest. Maybe it'll help prepare me for future exams.
They teleported us into a walled-in dungeon room. No doors. So you have to use magic to get out.
Oh. So it's a practical test.
I blew up the wall. Mostly, anyway. Old Grabby said that's the boring answer, but I thought it was fun!
What about you, Ellen?
Well, I just teleported back out again.
She *knows* teleportation?!
Hah! That makes sense.
So will the other exams be more dungeons?
Probably. Weird how the exams are more fun than the classes, huh?
I actually agreed with that. Learning spells without putting it to practice is just silly.
I don't think they are.
Now you're just being silly.
Eh. So what are you guys doing today?
At that moment, there is a knock on the door.
Is that the allowances? Why didn't they just push them in?
I'll go check.
Outside our door, I see a small stack of envelopes - the normal ones with the allowances in them, and also a large brown padded envelope addressed to me. My parents sent me something! I head back inside and hand out the money to the other girls.
+$5 dollars.
Something from my parents. I don't know
It's covered in tapes, it's going to take me a few minutes to get it open.
It'll still be here later!
I guess. I have to go do my detention now.
Good luck..
When I arrive at the detention hall, Donald is already with the Professor.
Yeah, yeah.
Then he notices me.
What are you doing here? Did Urchin sent you?
Uh, no.
Not everything that happens in this school has to do with you, Mr. Danson. As it may not serve my best interests to correct your technique, I choose instead to address your sense of humor.
Wow, Donald must've pissed him off. I wonder what did he do?
The sophomore exams involved a large number of Jirseys. Which means their dungeons need cleaning out. Without magic. Get to it.
Yes, sir.
...Dungeon cleaning as punishment? What?
Now, for you, Miss 47.
He hands me a strange object that looks like some kind of child's toy. It's a large silver jingle bell imprisoned in a tiny wooden cage - two colorful disks held together by narrow bars all along the rims. I can see the bell and shake it and hear it chime, but the gaps between the bars are far too small to get it out. The cage must have been built around it.
Write me an essay describing various magical methods you could use to remove the ball from the cage and the pros and cons of each approach.
But none of my spells are...
You do not need to be capable of casting the spells you describe, but make an attempt to estimate their difficulty and danger.
Oh.
And I require at least ten possibilities before you will be allowed to leave. Get started.
Great. And so the afternoon passes - stressfully. +10 Stress.
On my way back to my dorm, I run into Donald.
It was a crappy job!
Huh?
I was cleaning up after Jirseys, you know?
Football jerseys?
He laughs.
I forgot, you're a newbie. Imagine a horse about as tall as a cat, with bat-wings and a long forked tail. That's a Jirsey.
That's... mind-fuck.
Flying horses?!
More like birds that scream and kick you in the head and go all over the place.
So you were cleaning up after horse - ewww.
Suddenly my detention seems better in comparison.
That's horrible! He shouldn't make you do something like that!
Eh, it's not that bad. I used to help out my buds who had dogs back in normal school. I really wanted a pet and my folks wouldn't let me have one.
Yeah, after what you did to a bunch of toads, I can see why.
I was always bringing things home that I'd found and they'd keep throwing them out again. Except the caterpillars. They let me keep those until they hatched.
Still, that's pretty mean. Teachers aren't supposed to be allowed to make kids clean toilets with toothbrushes anymore.
That's because kids kept blowing up the toilets.
You wouldn't!
'Course not.
Uh. What?
He waves and walks away. Next week - detention again? I hope not. I trudge back to my dorms. No one's there, I pull out the package that my parents sent me.
Well, it's not a package really. Just a big envelope wrapped up in tape. I try for a while to pull the tape off, but it's not giving way. Eventually I pull out some nail clippers and use them to make a small hole and tear it apart.
Guess they haven't forgotten me after all. It'll still be quite a while before I get to home... not until Thanksgiving. But they're not really that far away. If they needed me, they could come and get me. I've been here for about a month now. I guess I'm getting used to this life. I flip open my diary to review last week's stuff.
And my spell book.
It's been a long week. I didn't even get to take my first exam. Oh well, there's always next time.
Monday
Like... president? I don't think...
What do you have to do to run?
Not much. You just have to tell the teachers by the end of this week that you want to run, then next week everybody votes.
Hmm. Maybe I should give it a try...
Oh, and you have to have a clean record, no demerits.
Shucks.
That rules me out. Unless you know how to get rid of demerits?
There must be some way to earn merits and balance your record. Maybe you could ask one of your professors to let you do an extra credit project?
You won't catch me asking for extra work. Anyway... There are only two positions for the freshman class, president and treasurer. The upper classes have more because they do more events and stuff.
Wait, the freshmen officers don't do anything?
I'm sure they do something, just not as much. Like, the junior class is in charge of the prom, and that's not a big deal. And then the same people who run the prom junior next year have to run initiation at the start of the next year because elections haven't been held yet. It's a ton of work.
Well, if I could be a president, I'd change the Initiation ritual.
It's much easier for freshmen. You probably just have to go meetings with the teacher and nod a lot. So are you interested?
I... No one would vote for me.
But that's why I'm asking! See, Minnie Cochran is obviously going to win the president position, so it's not even worth trying for that. But the treasurer position is open.
Oooh. Handling money.
Pastel says Jacob says he thinks he'll win it easy. So I want someone else to win. Anyone else.
Why do you hate Jacob so much, anyway?
William isn't running for president in his class again this year, so it's perfect! He can endorse a freshman candidate and then they're sure to win.
I'm not sure that's...
Why don't you run?
No way! Class officers have to have meetings with teachers! I see way too much of them in class already. Speaking of which, we need to pick our classes for the week.
Hmm...Treasurer huh? I'm disqualified due to my demerit points - but let's see if I can change that this week. For now, let's schedule classes...