[Exam] Scared Straight (Kettil)

[Nio Love]

Selene sent Kettil a small note once she'd gone through the list of students who needed an exam to move forward. The note indicated a specific time to meet her at her office. It seemed remarkably innocent.

As usual.

Pales

Kettil has been formally invited to Professor Selene's Office for your Exam! Please dress accordingly, black tie optional.

 

[Pales]

Kettil was not sure what to make of this summons. He sort of tilted it side to side. He held it upside down but it refused to tell him its secrets. Endzela seemed amused as he tore through the closet for 'suitable' clothes.

The boil ended up wearing something that was nice but comfortable.

He arrived at Selene's office with a polite knock, Endzela perched somewhere nearby just to see how this would play out.

Nio Love

 

[Nio Love]

"Come on in!" When Kettil arrived, the door was open, creaking slightly as he knocked on it. Selene was sitting at her desk, fiddling with some paperwork. The room seemed slightly more organized than usual, clean and tidy. She hardly looked up when the door opened, but her hand waved slightly, urging him inside.

"Please, sit down, we'll begin in a minute! I just have to finish filling this out."

She wrote, with a red pen, on a form in front of her. Her face pinched in thought.

Pales

 

[Pales]

"Yes'm," he replied quietly as he slipped into the office with Endzela following soon after. Carefully the owl perched on a chair that Kettil soon occupied with his hands folded over his lap.

Kettil leaned slightly forward as if trying to see what the professor was so intently focused upon.

Nio Love

 

[Nio Love]

"Are you ready for your next exam? You did so very well last time, I'm very excited to see how you've grown!" She continued to scribble on the paper, which, if he was nosy enough to look at closely, definitely had his name at the top of it.  

[Pales]

He saw his name and he seemed even more intrigued but her question pretty much yanked him out of his train of thought. Kettil sat up straighter in a guilty fashion, "I-I'm ready whenever you are, Ma'am!"

Yep. Totally ready.

Endzela sighed, "...As ready as he'll ever be."  

[Nio Love]

The sound of a second voice finally got Selene's attention, and she looked up, her face brightening in a soft smile at the sight of Endzela. "Hello, pretty bird, you come and sit here on the desk! This will be as much of a test for you as it is for him, after all. Well, some of it, at least. This first part, mmm, I think, just you, my dear Mr. Blacke!"

She slid the paper she was working on under a small pile, and then plucked a completely different paper out, sliding it over to him.

"Please write your full name at the top of the page. You have exactly fifteen minutes to work on the problem before your paper must be handed in. This written portion is only one question, but it is more a test of your quick thinking. Please show all of your work!

Kettils Exam Part 1

Name: _______________________

It is your first scaring. You are in a dark room. Inside, a child is sleeping. The human child's mother checks up on the child every 12 minutes starting on the hour. Every 10 minutes, starting at 5 after, a passing train wakes the child. At what time during the hour should you begin scaring for the maximum possible amount of time to scare? Show your work!

 

[Pales]

Endzela was happy to sit at the desk once it seemed Selene was done doing whatever it was that she was working on. The large owl took wing and eventually ended up on a mostly clean part of the desk, perching carefully.

Then there was Kettil as he intently listened to the instructor and what she wanted of him as she handed over the paper. The boil looked it over a brief second, his eyes scanning and plucking up words while trying to still be attentive.

Carefully he scrawled out his name and started to wrestle with the problem.

Was it a child he'd been looking after for a while? How would he know these habits? It was his first scare. The hypothetical situation was a difficult one for him to think through simply because he rarely thought that far into the future.

Seconds ticked on by only to turn into a minute and then another minute.

Would he have his familiar? Of course he would. Why would he not?

How far away were the train tracks? At what point would he set up?

Kettil began to scrawl out the answer.

Quote:

Name: Kettil Blacke

It is your first scaring. You are in a dark room. Inside, a child is sleeping. The human child's mother checks up on the child every 12 minutes starting on the hour. Every 10 minutes, starting at 5 after, a passing train wakes the child. At what time during the hour should you begin scaring for the maximum possible amount of time to scare? Show your work!

I would wait in darkness and observe the room. When I can feel the rumble of an oncoming train I slink into position with Endzela and stand at the foot of the bed. As the train rumbles past the bedroom window I let the noise it makes, and the light shine briefly upon me as I make myself look like a crazed man-beast with Endzela held above my head looking all puffed up and angry lookin'.

I growl at him at him all menacingly as he screams and has no idea what is going on. Telling him I am the ghost and then before his mother rushes in I use my fear to make myself invisible while he reaches for his mother and isn't paying attention to me.

After a few moments of doodling and scribbling he offered the paper back toward her. There was an array of colored pens where he sat, he'd gotten them each out of his pouch. Just for this.
 

[Nio Love]

Selene looked absolutely overjoyed at how quickly Kettil seemed to be done with his paper. And it looked absolutely filled with art that would help describe exactly what he'd done to..

...

Her joy lessened in noticeable doses.

"Well!" She chirped out quietly, her voice breaking with embarrassment. "This is my fault, clearly. It must have been in the question writing. My fault, entirely my fault! I'm so sorry, my dear Mr. Blacke. But this was actually a math question. Though.." As she continued to read it, the joy filtered back into her face. "This is quite an inventive and wonderful explanation of how you would scare the child! Honestly, this alone could have fulfilled the requirements for your second part. Perhaps I will waive it, just for you!" She slid the paper back at him with a smile.

"... If you complete the mathematical equation correctly, this time."

Not so fast there, slick.  

[Pales]

Kettil let out a small sound of dismay. Math problem. Rigght.

He reached forward and pulled it over turned it onto the back where there was a fresh blank page for his new atrocities. Kettil had hoped it wasn't that kind of word problem and that he could just wiggle out of it by being clever.

It seemed not.

He cleared his throat, "Y..You don't have to waive anythin' on my behalf," he said simply and started working again.

Just because she explained what she wanted, it apparently didn't make him half-a** it in any sense.

Kettil handed that back in with another clearing of his throat and directed his eyes toward the ceiling.  

[Nio Love]

Taking the paper back, Selene scans it quickly, nodding politely at the math involved, and then puts it down. She leans in and pats his hand.

"A very good try my dear. But unfortunately completely wrong."

Without even blinking an eye (not that she can) she managed to tell him this. Then she turns the paper around, and draws a long timeline. "I'll show you how to do it, though! You see, you write the timeline, and you place the indicators on each interruption point. Here, at five after, you start the ten minute intervals. 5, 15, 25, 35, 45, 55. And the intervals of the mother visiting, 12, 24, 36, 48. Yes? Okay! Then you just find the period that has the most uninterrupted.. aha, here we go! The most uninterrupted time is between 25 minutes in and 35 minutes in. So the answer is 25 minutes into the hour!"

She didn't look disappointed in him. In fact, she looked elated that he'd actually tried.

"I still like the inventive way you tried to answer at first! Let's put that creative mind of yours to good use, now, hmm?" She held out her hand, and stood.

"You too, dear bird! You're obviously an important part of his scaring technique!"  

[Pales]

Oh he was wrong.

Then again he never claimed to be the boss of math.

Much less anything else. He just acted that way.

Kettil scooted forward in his seat and watched curiously as she worked over the problem. He wasn't too disappointed that he didn't get the answer right, "Gonna admit," he said with a small shrug, "math was never my strong suit. Plum forgot I could even make a diagram to figure this stuff out," he laughed a little.

"Thank you for showing me!" He sort of stood up while he took Selene's hand. Endzela got ready to take wing so she could follow.

"Coming~," She chimed at the professor cheerfully.  

[Nio Love]

"Only too happy. Now you've learned a new way to plan out efficient scare strategies in difficult situations!" Selene squeezed his hand, and led him out of the room, into the classroom. It was a much bigger space, wider and taller, and much more familiar. She let his hand go, and turned around.

"Part 2! Remember all your clever ideas, I'm sure they'll serve you well! And no math this time, I promise!" She giggled faintly, and then took a step back.

And another.

Then she paused... and took one more step just to be safe.

A few moments later, the tiny, mouselike features of the quiet professor had been replaced by a giant, monstrous snake slithering, coiled tensely in front of the boil. She towered over him, looming dangerously. The long, snakelike tongue slithered out, flickering just in front of his face.

"All right!" Her voice was louder, in this form, but no less friendly. "Sssssssssscare me!"  

[Pales]

He let her lead him around, almost like a child being led about by a very adored auntie or a similar family member. Kettil then when she changed there was apparently a change in his demeanor as his eyes grew wide and his mouth agape as his body just went limp and to the floor.

It seems he'd passed out.

Endzela, oddly enough, was no where to be seen despite having been following them there up until now.  

[Nio Love]

"Oh... dear."

Without thinking to change back, Selene slithered to try and nudge him with her hood, shaking his body gently. "Come on now, Mr. Blacke, no sleeping during your exam! Up, up you go! Ahh, dear bird, are you here? Could you help, perhaps?" The snake's head lifted to try and locate where Endzela had gone.

"This will not look good on my report.."