Welcome to Gaia! ::

This was ridiculous. Sure there were students but Iah studied and studied and studied and his grade either was worse or there was hardly a change at all. He got up, ripping the test up again and throwing it into the garbage can. He needed to get out of the school, and apparently have a long a** talk with Vanna. After all he had said that if failed science. You needed really good grades to make it in med school and he had failed so many tests in the span of a week. His sister would have a field day and taunt the crap out of him. He didn’t even want to see Amy’s face. He should probably study harder but it wasn’t getting him anywhere.

A passing grade is any grade you don't have to reroll.

Okay, that was slightly better than before.... Rica was trying to not think too hard about it.

[reroll 1]

Eight exams, eight... She buried her face in her hands. Why couldn't she understand this? She couldn't even look Mys. Grey in the eyes.

[reroll 3]

Geyser Eelborn

So.... biology isn't really her thing apparently quq;;

Aren thought that it was so cool thaat they were going to get to go stargazing. He was never very good at actual science but certainly this couldn't be messed up, plus it would be dark so he could blend right in. He was always parioniod of standing out. He was tall even for his race and that gave him such anxiety. He bundled up later and met at the designated time, the teacher pointed out different constellations and Aren thought that was really cool. When it was all coming to a close he realized this was one of the most fun things he'd done in a long time.

It had been a fun day for Erzalie, even if the whole point of the field drip to the beach had been educational.

And if it had been too bright. And too sandy. And too noisy. The air had been crisp and salty, with just a hint of decay that the chimera found incredibly interesting. They had gone wading into the water with the group, watching the life teaming in the shallows and where the waves broke - the little holes were for breathing!! Now, back in Mys Grey’s classroom where the AC spewed cool-but-mostly-scentless air about, they and their classmates were busily scratching out their assignments.

[My favorite thing about the beach was the ocean. It was really bright and the sand kept getting into my sandals but once I was standing in the water everything became really nice. I loved learning about the little crabs that make breathing holes in the damp sand that make bubbles when the water tide goes out. And the smell of the ocean is so fascinating! It’s salty and kind of heavy in the lungs and there’s this little smell of decaying things (like seaweed and fish poop - ew) but mostly it’s just nice and makes you wanna breathe really deep.

I also liked learning about the different kinds of seaweed and tasting some of the kind you can eat! It didn’t taste very good but maybe that’s because I knew I had a sandwich and some cookies waiting for me. I bet if I were really hungry, it’d be as tasty as the best cookies!

We should definitely do more field trips, I think I learned a lot.]

Ezra signed their name with a flourish and then brought their paper up to Mys Grey’s desk to be graded; once that was done, they returned to their desk to finish out the class, playing with a small sea shell the whole time.

—————

[Sorbet - who does not have a port made yet oops]

The bakaneko looked around the classroom with bright eyes and slowly twitching tails; another Freshling - one with pink hair - had already turned in their paper, but Bey hadn’t done more than put name and date down. He sighed and slouched in his chair - the beach had been fine, but the ocean had terrified him. Too much water, too many ways it could get him — no thanks!

[The beach was a scary-but-cool place. I really liked the sand and how it squished between my toes, but there was way too much water! And when Mys Grey told us about undertow? There was no way I was going to go deeper than my ankles. I don’t want to get sucked out to the great dark sea to drown and be eaten by the fish and monsters! I can’t believe beaches are basically made of teeny tiny grains of quarts— particulate or granules — and that there can be all sorts of different colors! I really want to see green or pink sand now, I bet it would feel really neat and maybe it would have a stronger scent than the sand we saw. Since we weren’t on a tropical island, our sand was mostly quartz with a little feldspar and some other rocks I can’t remember, but tropical sand is made when the surrounding reefs break down and the calcium carbonate particles and swept up to the land. That’s why it looks so white, it’s made of ocean bones! Gotta go see it sometime, maybe get to look at it under a microscope, that’d be really cool.

I also really liked the tiny critters that live in the sand, especially the hermit crabs! I’m gonna get one for a pet, I think. Oh! And the rich scent of the ocean - it might be scary, but it’s got a very complex aroma. So many layers I never knew could be in water. Salt and rot and fish and plants. It felt kind of like a symphony for my nose. I’m definitely gonna go back!]

Sorbet stopped scratching pencil across paper and ferried the finished assignment up to the teacher’s desk. He peered at the stack of papers already there and felt the familiar itch to rifle, to be nosy, but quashed it down. Returning to his desk he surreptitiously got a cookie out and quickly ate it before - he hoped - Grey noticed. All that writing had made him hungry!

———————

Stargazing. Now this was something Warren could get into. Being a practical-ish sort, he checked the weather repots and dressed appropriately - he didn’t know how long they’d be out on the softball field with the telescope, but he didn’t want to end up going without and regretting it later because he couldn’t concentrate on the astronomy lesson.

Warren arrived five minutes before eight, dressed in sweater and coat over jeans (under which he wore leggings for extra warmth) and his typical boots. He was holding a notebook and had reading glasses on (whether he needed them or not was a mystery and one that he preferred to keep that way). “Good evening.” The Geist greeted the instructor and his peers, settling in to wait until the lot had gathered and Mys Grey was ready to begin the instruction.

Being a studious sort, he got his face to the telescope and eyes to the sky as often as was seemly - and as often as Grey would allow - and wrote his observations in his notebook with neat, precise cursive.

It’s amazing, he thought to himself, The longer I’m looking through the telescope, the more I can see. Probably because my eyes adjust to the lower light of the heavens…actually, I’m sure that’s it. Still, it’s so beautiful up there. I wonder if I’ll ever get to travel in space. It would be so cool… His reveries were cut short by the sound of Mys Grey finishing up with showing the last celestial object they’d been observing to the last student; they were done for the day, it had been quite long and Warren was pleased that he’d dressed in just enough layers. Some of his peers had ignored the weather forecast - and the instructor’s warning - and come in an inadequate amount of suitable clothing. Outwardly he’d expressed empathy, but inwardly he’d been amused. Serves you right, not paying attention! There are reasons to listen to a teacher. Or the weather forecast! Maybe next time you’ll learn better!

But then he sort of felt bad about it and offered to lend someone his jacked on the way back to the dorms. Warren might have had a small superiority complex, but generally he wasn’t a jerk.

Noah gingerly touched his sunburned cheek as everyone filed into class. The trip to the beach, the day before, had been an exciting adventure but the aftermath was not something that Noah was enjoying. Having not really been out in the sun’s rays for long periods of time, Noah’s skin was rather sensitive, despite the rays not being quite as strong as Above's. He had enjoyed himself, though, and so, when he sat down to write about his favorite part of the trip, Noah didn’t have any trouble putting words to paper.

My favorite part of the beach was the water. For as long as I can remember I have always loved to swim. This was the first time I’ve been able to experience it outside of a public pool, however, and it was great! I can’t wait to be able to go back to the beach again.