Screws Fall Out All The Time pv

Jack sat there with arms still crossed. As professor Boniface talked about how he 'was eleven once', Jack couldn't help but feel the power of irritation and hunger clawing at his stomach. Then came the question about gillyweed. The Hufflepuff and Gryffindor that were sitting in front of him answered almost immediately. Did Jack know the answers? Well...no...but he knew it had something to do with water! However, that wasn't much of a consolation. How did his classmates know so much about this stupid gillyweed? He thought idly about the plant's name; Who was Gilly, (Because Gilly was obviously a person, right?) and what did they do to get a stupid weed named after them? It was probably some boring dumb butt guy who decided they wanted to eat this random plant and suddenly they grew gills. Jack let out a "pshht" as he thought that if he just ate random stuff, he'd only get in trouble.

Jack would never admit it, but he was rather good at school. He liked to learn, and he was relatively good at it too! But in fear of being labeled a nerd or something even worse. Don't even mention if his 'no care attitude' was called into question!? Before he could even open that box of worries, movement caught his attention out the corner of his eye.

Sitting nearby was Jack's friend, Asteria, and she was doing something odd with her face. When he caught sight of her mad eyebrow wiggling skills he couldn't help but crack a smile. He didn't need to be a codebreaker to understand that she was just as bored as he was. So in return for an eyebrow wiggle, he gave a wink.

Little inklings of mischief began to surface in his mind. He left his tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth, as he began to write on a small piece of parchment that rested on the desk before him. Now Jack was no artist, but he felt proud of the work that he had done by the time it was finished. It was a rather crude drawing of himself diving out a window. He thought it was funny, so maybe Asteria would too. After folding the paper neatly, he waited patiently for Professor Boniface to look away. When that moment came, he flung the folded paper across the floor towards Asteria like a frisbee. He wasn't dumb enough to throw the paper through the air. After throwing it, all he could do is pray not to be caught.

Brielle was a smart girl, no doubt about it. So when Professor MacTavish asked them a question, she was quick to open her mouth. Though a different girl was faster, and spoke the answer first. It would be a lie if Brielle hadn't been annoyed by it, that a measly Hufflepuff snatched her chance to look intelligent away from her. Although Brielle wasn't deathly rude, she for sure was one to base others off of their house. It was weird, too, because at the beginning of the year she wasn't like that; something just seemed to change in her.

She giggled when Adlai had questioned if they looked like 'slimy green rat tails'. It wasn't that she was incorrect, just the way she asked made it very amusing to Brielle. She then returned her gaze to the professor with a prim resting face. It wasn't just now hitting her that this session was going to be boring, though she didn't quite think it would consist of the entire class discussion again.

Her eyes then flicked to the side of the room, meeting with a face she didn't particularly like. Jack, that cocky little Hufflepuff. His disruption made Brielle shake her head is annoyance. Although she didn't want to be here any more than he did, was it still needed to be disrespectful? She allowed the thought to drift away as she watched him now fold a piece of paper, throwing it in the direction of Asteria. Brielle groaned at the act, cutting her eyes sharply.

[font=bakersville bold]"Aren't you here for not paying attention in the first place? It would be tragic if the professor made you stay a third time, wouldn't it?"[/font]

The idea that perhaps some professors got a kick out of watching their students fail didn't hold true for Boniface. He was proud of Adlai; glad that she at least knew something. Could the same be said about everyone else in the room, though? He wasn't sure. Smiling at the young girl, he nodded. "Beautifully said, Miss Rod." He replied. Then, his eyes cast to everyone else in the room. "Take note, everyone. If ye're not going to pay attention, at least know the material at hand."

But alas, she wasn't entirely right. "Gillyweed can actually be found right here in the Great Lake, but good guess. However, it is native to the Meditteranean Sea, so you were on the right track." He paced across the room, thinking of more challenges for the young students.

Boniface couldn't help but beam at Sylvie. So they did know something! "Right, Miss O'Niell! Very good!" He announced, still smiling. It was relieving that he wasn't teaching some burnouts- these students were far too young to be that closed off. They needed to wait until at least their fifth year before they started to lose complete interest. They hadn't even been here for a full year!

That was when he noticed young Asteria, without a care in the world. "I see that life-saving knowledge means nothing to a certain Hufflepuff. Right, then. I suppose the next time ye're cornered by Merpeople, ye might just let life take over and not know where to even begin to find Gillyweed. Ye know, Merpeople live right here in the Great Lake? I've been cornered by 'em before. My sixth year, actually." He recalled fondly, still not quite over that night. Had he not known about Gillyweed... Well, Boniface might not be teaching here today.

Then, his attention turned to young Jack. "Ah... Yet another Hufflepuff neglects to learn. It's peculiar how yer house ends up with so many points when there are at least two students who seem to not be bothered. It must be Miss Rod carrying the team, then." He turned to Asteria again. "Do they let ye stay on the Quidditch team with bad grades?"

The last person was Brielle. A Slytherin. "Since ye'd like to talk while I'm teaching, a second offense, then I'll ask ye the next question. Tell me exactly where Stinksap can be found." Boniface intentionally asked her a question that she wouldn't know; one that he just got through teaching his third years. It would be too hard for her to answer, but the point was the wakeup call, not so much how unfair it was to ask her to begin with.

Adlai nodded as Professor Boniface corrected her and took note of what Sylvia had said. Perhaps these facts could aid her on a future assignment, though she knew very much so she wouldn’t be able to focus then either.

“Merpeople?” Adlai mumbles surprised to hear that word. So their real?- she thought to herself. Everyday she was learning more and more outlandish things about the world she was tossed into. She now began to wonder what these merpeople were like. They couldn’t possibly be all that friendly if the Professor said that they could trap you.

Were they in the lake surrounding the school? Adlai yearned so deeply to go out and explore but her classes and nightly homework generally had her shut inside. Besides, she would never go anywhere outside the school alone. What she got lost or encountered a creature she’d never seen before?

Yes, she knew what she had to do in order to protect herself. After all her mother had drilled basic self protection facts into her and her sisters minds from birth. “Don’t talk to strangers.” she’d say, “Don’t follow strangers, don’t open the door for strangers.” don't this or that. But if Adlai had done any of those things she’d most likely not be where she is today.

• • •

Sylvie, though full of pride after being acknowledged, shivered still at the thought of being cornered by the Merpeople that lived in the Great Lake... But at the same time, of COURSE she wanted to see them. At the very least! She'd read they weren't beautiful, but who cared? They were still mermaids all the same. It's not every day you get to see one of those, pretty or not. The thought of such an encounter filled her with a sort of wonder.

Listening to the Professor scolding the other students pulled her out of her merperson daydream and she couldn't help but cringe. He even brought up the Quidditch team. It was always awkward, at least to her, when her peers were scolded in front of her. What was she supposed to do in a situation like that? Besides watch, of course...

Sylvie hadn't even heard of the "Stinksap" he had asked about. Thinking it was something she hadn't paid attention to in class, she shifted a bit. Perhaps she'd need to read up more on that... The girl was a nervous laugher, so she pursed her lips and tried to at least block out some of the Professor's words of disappointment for fear of laughing and coming off as rude.

In her seat, Asteria shook with a combination of a barely contained anger and the faintest tinge of embarrassment. It wasn't the fire-like anger she was used to though, a whining creature that longed to bite out at whoever came close, all impulse and reaction, no thought behind it. No, this anger was more direct, a thing of ice, that focused her ire, left it calm and directed towards a specific subject. It scared her in a way, having her temper this honed. 

(Part of her knew that this was her fault. She had gotten Jack to throw the note, she had been the one to stare into nothing. The omnipresent anxiety that lurked at the back of her mind make sure to remind her of this fact, that she could always be blamed for things going wrong. It was just a fact of her life.)

"I'll just make sure to not find myself caught alone in magical bodies of water, sir," she replied, emphasizing the honorific at the end ever so slightly, "And for your information, my grades are all perfectly adequate in other classes. Sometimes, the blame can't be placed on students, but rather, ill-prepared professors."

The minute she said it, Asteria regretted it. It took most of her willpower to not clap a hand over her mouth, run out of the room, and sob. Talking to her fellow students like this was one thing, but her professor? Someone that her dad had specifically told her to treat with respect? That was something else altogether, a failing that she couldn't quite live down. 

She starred straight forward, not wanting to meet the gaze of any of the other students, wishing that she could be a ghost and sink through the floor. Her icy anger had melted, leaving her with only a mess to mop up. 

Jack did feel somewhat bad that he had thrown the note, but he felt that the comment made by professor Boniface was somewhat uncalled for. They were just kids right? Just leave us be. Just because he didn't pay attention to magic plants and whatnot doesn't mean he wasn't productive. Jack couldn't help but roll his eyes.

A certain part of him wanted to be a good student and pay attention. However, an even larger part of him wanted to be taken away on an ADHD fueled tangent. Thus, creating a small rift in the boy. He just wanted to leave and have a good time.

A snarky comment filled the room, and much to Jack's surprise, it wasn't from him! A glance around the room and his eyes finally fell down on Asteria. Had she really said that? Mad respect, but those words felt like a death sentence. He agreed with the sentiment, but it took some major guts to say that to the professor's face!

That's when he saw Asteria's expression. It was not a good one, to say the least. Maybe it was about time to relax and suffer in silence... No more note throwing... or eye-rolling.

I am locking this thread due to inactivity, though if any of you should wish to continue it, please send me an owl.