Welcome to Gaia! ::

Histeol couldn't believe his ears when Mr. Tan asked the question. What kingdom were they in?! Seriously?! A teacher should know better than that! He did know, right? If he did, then he was misleading Teo's classmates, and that would not do! No, sir! So summoning all of the strength and knowledge that his sister and her friend had given them, he stood up when it was his turn.

"My favorite animal is a dog, and it belongs in Kingdom Animalia. Phylum Vertebrata. Class Mammalia. Order Carnivora. Family Canidae. Genus Canus. Species Canis lupus familiaris." He ignored groans from classmates. "But if what you meant, Mr. Tan, was is it a mammal or not, then yes, it's a mammal. It's not a reptile or an amphibian, or an...a..." What was it that Eidil called them? She had a fancier name than just "arthropod." But he couldn't remember it right now. "...or a bug. It's a mammal. It's warm and it's fluffy, and it makes milk." He sat back down, proud of himself.

((This is what I was like when I was a little kid. And you thought I was obnoxious now!))

(I have been informed that Dax is going to allow that!)

Callessa moved her backpack and notes over to Eidil's desk with such speed that she nearly collided with her friend going the other way. They put their heads together, both literally and figuratively, speaking in hushed whispers and making notes. Cal's skin tingled in proximity to her friend as their words skittered back and forth.

"Would that--?"

"Technically that's in the extracellular matrix--"

"No, there are some plants that have that, just not many."

"We'll just note that in the margin."

They had their work finished by the end of class, their papers covered in tiny writing and many erasure marks. Flush with triumph, the girls high-fived and returned to their respective desks.

Eidil sighed with relief when her friend visited her desk. Yes! Finally! The dream team was assembled! She and Cal wracked each others' brains and their own with a scientific exactness that walked the line between proper orderliness and obsessive nerdiness. They both wanted to get things right--that's what Eidil loved about their friendship, and about this class. Science was the perfect challenge to get them thinking, and collaboration was in the finest traditions of the field. She was excited to be walking in the footsteps of giants--even the giant that sat across from her, blond hair dangling in Eidil's face.

Their homework at last turned in, Eidil breathed a sigh of relief and high-fived her friend.

Malachi sat quietly beside his best friend, listening to their teacher speak about animals. He loved animals, and learning about them was even better. He kept his attention on the transparencies that he was showing them, even jotting down notes like he usually did as he was a very meticulous sort.

As everyone took their turns as it was time to share their favorite animals and what kingdom they were a part of, he listened most carefully. He loved to learn, and that included learning about those around him. He was far from surprised at Hailey as she took her turn, smiling and shaking his head some. Then it was finally his turn. He spoke softly "I like foxes. They are mammals and carnivores. I like the red ones. They look really cute." And with that, he fidgeted with his pencil.

Eileen nodded her head as the instructor gave his lesson. Astrotomy interested her and she wanted to listen as much as possible.

Maybe she could be an astronomer when she graduates? She certainly had the interest but she didn't know if it was enough. Science wasn't her strong point, but maybe she could learn more.

Once the class was done, she got up and walked out and head to her next class.

Amory listened carefully to the teacher's lesson, neglecting to take notes but attentive nonetheless. She already knew about plants, having helped Howard with his window box for several months earlier in the year, but this worksheet that was being handed out was still a little confusing. Had she been asked before, she would have said the life cycle of a plant was seed, little plant, big plant, flowery plant, dead plant. The sheet suggested that there were a whole three more stages, and none of them looked very dead. In fact, two of them looked disturbingly similarly alive, which troubled her. How was she going to put them in order when she couldn't tell them apart?

Taking a deep breath and planting her small hands on the table to either side of the sheet, Amory pushed her worries aside for now. All she had to do here was plant her seed and put it with everyone else's. Tail flicking as she got up, the chimera grabbed a pot and some soil and got to work. Once her seed was securely planted just the right distance below the surface, she placed it gently on the sill and went to wash up.

　 Cassie fluttered into the classroom, feet only touching the floor here and there. She was in a good mood today and with only one more class on the horizon, she had a bit of a pep in her step. She slid her homework into the pile, straightening it before heading to her preferred seat in the classroom. She thought it had been easy enough and she settled in for the class to start. Smiling, the pink-haired Fallen offered her peers hello, ignoring some of their bewildered looks. It was a really good day, okay?

Aten sat at his chair, listening to the lecture as much as he could manage. The subject was a little dry, but Aten knew there would likely be homework to do after the class was finished. Aten liked to be prepared as much as possible, but sometimes when the source material was so dry as it was today, he had a hard time trying to force himself to stay alert. Today was one of those days ...

But at least Cassie was here. That was a small plus!

"What do you think about astronomy so far?" Aten scrawled on a note, then passed the piece of paper along to a fellow classmate to pass to Cassie. He didn't know if she'd recognize his writing, but he figured it couldn't hurt to make the class go by a little faster.