Professor Kijewski
June 19, 2006 3:41 PM
Lesson 1 -Years 3 & 4 by Professor Kijewski
Kiva placed Rutter back into the crate for a later purpose. It had been over a year since Stephen had given him back to her and she had promised that he would be able to spend time with the crup whenever she was in possession of him. She was going to keep her promise. She cleaned up whatever the younger students had left behind and then waited patiently for her older students to join her in the clearing.Once she was sure everyone arrived ( a few stragglers wouldn’t make a difference), Kiva greeted the students with a friendly smile just as she had done on her very first day here. “Good Afternoon everyone! It’s so great to see you all back this year. I hope your summers were relaxing and enjoyable.” Kiva always felt a stronger bond with these students. The fourth years had been with her through that disaster of a lesson where the dust storm had made itself a home here in the gardens. And the third years started here at Sonora the same year she had. She doubted the students felt any sort of kinship or bond with her, but she couldn’t help but be a bit softer with them than any of the other years. “You all know the rules by now. No talking when I or one of your peers is talking. Feel free to get as comfortable as you like.” Kiva paused here and looked over at Stephen. By this point in any of her other lessons, he had made a point of doing something that would cause her to pay attention to him. Whether he did such things on purpose or not, Kiva couldn’t exactly be sure.
When everyone was settled down again, Kiva continued. “Today we will be studying Jarveys. I want to warn you all, Jarveys are nasty little buggers when it comes to conversations.” Kiva paused and smiled, “They like to insult people.” Kiva pulled out a Jarvey from the second crate she had brought down with her earlier that morning. A Jarvey looked much like a muggle ferret except that it was larger in size. Immediately upon being pulled from the crate, the Jarvey went about saying short sentences full of foul insults. Kiva chose to ignore them, but she was sure the students would get a kick out of it. “I want no one repeating anything this creature says or else it’s detention.” Kiva warned. She had faith that the students wouldn’t say anything, but she eyed the Craven twins with a stern look just to get her point across to them. They had a habit of not listening to authority. “And if detention isn’t enough, an owl home to your parents might do the trick.” And a good threat often worked too.
“Jarveys don’t have much of a purpose.” Kiva informed her students. “Most people keep them around to rid themselves of gnomes. Now, someone of you may be wondering what a gnome is, and no, I’m not talking about those little garden statues that look like Santa want-to-bes. A gnome is this-” She reached into a sack and pulled out a wiggling potato with legs. “This is a garden gnome to the Wizarding population. They live in holes in a garden and uproot plants. They create havoc in a person’s garden. Every so often, a wizard or witch has to de-gnome their garden. By de-gnoming, you take the gnome by the ankles, swing them about so as to disorient them, and chuck them as far as you can.” Kiva had demonstrated all this with the gnome she had in her hands, sending flying off when she released him from her grasp.
“Today, using the Jarvey, we are going to de-gnome the gardens. I want you all to pair off or go off in groups, it doesn’t matter, and take up a section of the garden. I will leave one group in charge of the jarvey, but first you have prove yourselves of the responsibility.” Kiva said, holding firm to the creature she was talking about and intent to ignore the rude remarks he was making. “Everyone head off to the gardens, try not to go off too far. Hopefully Simo-er-Mr. Tellermen won’t mind us de-gnoming the garden for him.” Kiva said, keeping in check to call other adults by their last names. Though she doubted he would mind being called Simon to the students. “I’ll walk around and be keeping tabs on you all. If you aren’t working, I’ll know. Those who I find are doing the most work, will get the Jarvey for the remainder of the class period.” Kiva finished and then waved them off.
OOC: Alright, it’s a different sort of lesson, but one that should be fairly entertaining. Search for a group of people to work with, don’t be afraid to go with older or younger students. And, if you can, separate from your normal group of friends. Keep the posts long and detailed and make sure you have fun!\n\n
Subthreads: Horrified by Zack Dill with Zoey Welsh
This class is just begging to be the bane of my existence by Jordanna Howard with Asher Tallow
Yuck, chores. by Jake and Bella Santoro with Catherine Raines, Bella
I never liked group work by Jenna Howard with Tally Adams, Tally, Jenna and Jordanna Howard
Seeking out a partner by Dillon Welsh with Anne Wright
Gnome-tossing! by Lily Collins with Lexi Stafford
Surprise allergies. by Kaylie Brockert with Chris Dupree
Is this a lesson or a chore? by Earl Valentine
ATTENTION EVERYONE! by Professor Kijewski with Zack Dill, Asher Tallow, Earl, Zoey, Professor K.
0
Professor Kijewski
Lesson 1 -Years 3 & 4
0
Professor Kijewski
1
5
Jordanna Howard
June 20, 2006 1:54 PM
This class is just begging to be the bane of my existence by Jordanna Howard
If there was one class Jordanna couldn’t bear, it was Care of Magical Creatures. For one thing, it was outside, with all the dirt and disgusting insects that made her squeal and all the other unclean things she’d rather not think about.Second, the sun had a tendency to burn her pale skin, and in the deserts where Sonora was situated, it was even worse. Plus, the heat made her sweat, and sweat smelled foul and was gross. Not to mention the class itself, in which she was quite far from a star pupil. She did not feel like learning how to take care of animals, that was peasant work, thank you very much. The blond girl was much more concerned with caring for herself.
Donning lilac robes today (she refused to conform to the ever-tacky school uniforms) she looked for a place in the shade, and was fruitless. How dare they make her burn her skin to watch stupid, smelly little creatures? That was certainly cruel and unusual punishment by her standards. She primped her robes as she stood, not bothering to sit because that would only cause wrinkling, and this class was certainly not worth getting wrinkled for.
Her mind continued to wander to what she considered were more important subjects. Her shoes for instance, were starting to get scuffed; she’d have to buy new ones. Witch Weekly was supposed to have a new article on winter fashions in next month’s edition; she supposed she’d get her idea from there. The time would be better spent reading her magazines than standing here and getting sweaty and gross, anyway.
Jordanna was forced out of her reverie when she heard the sound of an insulting voice- what in the? Oh, just a jarvey. One of her uncles had smuggled them into the Howard summer home once, and it had followed her around for an hour, insulting her hair and her outfit and her appearance in general. Jordanna didn’t take insults very well, especially those aimed at her appearance. She’d suggested making the jarvey into a nice skin or neck adornment, it'd be much more useful that way. Unfortunately her uncle said no. Either way, she never wanted to deal with one of those things again.
She caught the teacher’s last words “Those who I find are doing the most work, will get the Jarvey for the remainder of the class period.” Well then, that just gave her even more incentive not to work.
“Hmm, more work, more jarvey,” she rolled her eyes and gave a short laugh, “It’s like she’s begging us to stay away from the stupid thing.”\n\n
0
Jordanna Howard
This class is just begging to be the bane of my existence
65
Jordanna Howard
0
5
Asher Tallow
July 02, 2006 11:05 PM
Take me to the Kingdom of the Gnomes! by Asher Tallow
Asher spent her first portion of the class sprawled cross legged on the ground, her school robe discarded to keep the grass from itching her bare legs. Her brain, while registering the words her professor was speaking, was focused primarily on a discovery she'd made during the summer.While staying with her mother in her cramped Montreal apartment, Asher had little else but time on her hands. Marguerite Sarto did not believe in television, or video games, or making friends with other building children; she gave her five children each their own library card, and while she would spend her days in search of jobs that weren't beneath her, her children would make the three block walk to the public library.
Asher had discovered a book on memory, misplaced in the computer science section of the library. It discussed the existance of eidetic memory, and its authors claimed that true photographic memory, or total recall, existed only in those people with conversely debilitating brain activity (that was, naturally, a direct quote). She hadn't known what to make of that opinion, since obviously her own memory was, in fact, photographic, and despite occasionally getting- and not admittedly here- irrationally angry, she didn't display any abnormal behavior. She had read more after that, wanting to understand the trait she had seemingly inherited from her father.
All the books she read over the summer agreed with the first: her photographic memory shouldn't, according to them, exist without certain other conditions being present. Asher didn't suffer from issues of self doubt or low self esteem. Occasionally she might feel self conscious or unsure, but she generally avoided situations that might cause her to feel that way, and if caught in such a situation, she would bluster through it one way or the other. But these books, these people with their degrees and years of study, all said the same thing: that there must be something wrong with her.
It made her wonder if maybe the abnormality these authors all insisted she must have might be that she was a witch.
She didn't know how to test that idea though without someone finding out, and the very last thing she wanted or needed was to have someone like Catherine Raines or-
“Hmm, more work, more jarvey."
Or Jordanna Howard. Asher had unknowingly seated herself close to the blonde bane of both her dorm room and house. The Hens was cackling to herself, “It’s like she’s begging us to stay away from the stupid thing.”
Asher's brain had registered just enough of the lecture to know the two most important aspects of the lesson: one, they were to practise de-gnoming, and two, the group that worked the hardest would get to have the jarvey join in. Obviously, Howard didn't know the first thing about what having a jarvey around a garden meant. Asher decided to inform her housemate.
"Actually, Howard, jarveys are the best around at getting rid of gnomes. Having the jarvey equals getting to sit around and watch everyone else work." Asher's expression was more than enough to pass along the rest of her words, kept internalized: Obviously, idiot.
Having an herbologist for a father had taught her a thing or twelve about running a garden. And having four brothers had taught her a thing or six about the more effective ways of getting rid of gnomes- ways that did not entail spinning oneself in circles. The only question was: what could she use for a sling?
OOC: For those of you who grew up on Nickelodeon morning cartoons as well: Gnometastic\n\n
0
Asher Tallow
Take me to the Kingdom of the Gnomes!
1466
Asher Tallow
0
5
Jordanna Howard
July 04, 2006 7:10 PM
I was more of a Doug and Rugrats kid myself by Jordanna Howard
Jenna raised her eyebrows. She had heard it from Catherine that Asher was no longer at the school, yet here Asher was talking to her as if she actually thought Jordanna cared. She made a mental note that Catherine must not be up to date with the gossip as Jordanna had originally thought. Of course, it could have been that she had left sometime last year and returned for the beginning of the new one, but still, Catherine had been her informant and she expected her to know the latest in Sonora.One might think that Jordanna herself should have realized Asher was in the dorm. Naturally that wasn’t so, because in the mornings she liked to focus on herself, and put a lot of effort into her grooming. Most people didn’t seem to realize that it took a lot of effort and hard work to look as good as she did. It was perfectly excusable for her not to exert her energy getting dirty and touching filthy gnomes.
She’d also woken up early, even by her own standards; to do a little… cleanup was the best word she could think of, in the Howard family fashion department. What people thought about other members of her family affected what they thought about her, and she certainly wasn’t going to let them mar all her hard work.
And after all that effort, here she was, sitting next to this person who clearly didn’t appreciate the fine art of being in-fashion who that Jordanna was the more idiotic of the two.
“Then there’s obviously no point in my participation in peasant’s work if the stupid Jarvey is best at it, Daddy can just buy one for his gardens,” she decided coolly, “However, if you can’t afford one, then getting dirty and practicing now is perfectly understandable.” \n\n
0
Jordanna Howard
I was more of a Doug and Rugrats kid myself
65
Jordanna Howard
0
5
Asher Tallow
July 06, 2006 9:29 PM
I lurved Rocko's Modern Life! by Asher Tallow
"Yeah, and I'm sure Daddy will be so super proud of you if you fail your classes." Asher rolled her eyes, cheered unexpectedly by the predictable response from her dormmate. "Being a snob doesn't mean you have to be boring, Howard. You don't have to get dirty either. All you need to be is a bit creative. . ."That said, Asher set her eyes to finding something that would serve as a sling. It would need to be fairly strong, long enough to be looped, and pliable. "My dad is an herbologist," she went on, far chattier than normal considering that she was talking with someone she didn't much like. "So he's constantly having to deal with gnomes and the like. Since he likes peace and quiet, he only resorts to jarveys when it's absolutely necessary. That's where my brothers and I come in. We'd have to- oh, hang on, there we go!"
Asher was considering tearing off the bottom length of her robes, when her gaze fell upon the thick, extra long purple laces that ran through her black sneakers. Quickly, she pulled off her left shoe, balancing in the meantime on the other, and yanked loose the shoelace. "This will work perfectly."
She slipped the laceless sneaker back on, and looped the purple shoelace once, tying off the end so that it made a servicable sling. She left it caught around her elbow and pulled free her wand from her jeans' pocket. Gripping it solidly, Asher called out confidently, "Accio gnome!"
Having watched her brothers perform the spell numerous times, and having done it herself times again as well, she was more than assured that her call would summon out a gnome, and indeed, one of the potato shaped little creatures zoomed out from its burrow underground and landed with a comfortable smack in her left hand. She dropped it immediately and used her still laced right sneaker to pin it to the ground.
Holding out her makeshift sling, she explained as she demonstrated the finer art of gnome slinging. "See, it gets really old really fast to have to spend your time spinning around and getting just as dizzy as the gnome, when you can achieve that exact same thing and not even have to touch it." Asher reached down to pick up the struggling gnome from beneath her shoe and pinned it neatly into the end opposite the knot of her shoelace loop. "Well, not much anyway. Less than the normal way."
"You have to first grip it in a short loop, so it can't squirm free, and then," she began swinging the looped gnome by her hip in small easy circles, "you give it some room and start swinging faster. And faster. And faster." Her arm was now parallel with her shoulder, the gnome spinning easily above her head. "And then finally, you flick your wrist like this," she flicked and the gnome made a wide arch that flung it above and over a clump of vined wall. "Bye-bye gnome!"
She grinned widely,and pushed back at her bangs, pleased that her demonstration had passed without a hitch. "It's really not hard. I'm sure even someone like you could do it, Howard. . ." she gave her classmate a doubtful look, obviously baiting her. "Then again, not everyone is able to pull of an Accio right away. . ."\n\n
0
Asher Tallow
I lurved Rocko's Modern Life!
1466
Asher Tallow
0
5
Jordanna Howard
July 11, 2006 3:16 PM
Never watched that one, actually by Jordanna Howard
Jordanna could have explained to Asher that anyone with a bit of money had no reason to care about excelling in peasant class. Or that she would never have to support herself, her family fortune would do that for her, but it would be a waste of her own voice. Then Asher went onto her near endless ramble about her whole life-story- didn’t she realize that Jordanna didn’t care in the least?Needless to say she was surprised when the other girl actually took off her shoe and took out the lace without at all being embarrassed by its ugliness. Her eyes narrowed skeptically as the girl she considered lower than herself in just about every possible way then tied the lace into a sort of knot-thing. Sacrificing your attire for a stupid class in the stupid dirt with the stupid gnomes and jarveys? Jordanna Howard?
Not in this outfit.
Or lifetime, for that matter. She scowled; it just wasn’t going to happen. Tossing her hair back, she watched in disgust as Asher barbarically swung the gross little potato-like thing and then tossed it away. It was totally barbaric. It was peasant’s work. It was certainly not for sophisticated or well-bred people such as her.
And then Asher baited her easily. Had she mentioned a spell in any other subject, then Jordanna might have brushed it off as useless to upstanding people like herself. But Charms, that was a different story. The gray-eyed girl occasionally even enjoyed that subject, or at least certain spells. It was the one subject she had the potential to excel at, if presented in a light that made her care.
She smirked as she unearthed her wand from her sleeve, holding it at the ready. Asher Tallow had no idea what she was getting her dirty little barbarian nose into.
“Well you and your caveman family can make knot-things and dirty your shoelaces all you like. They’re not that pretty anyway. But unlike some people,” she said coolly, “I have expensive outfits to protect, and I don’t need to resort to acting like a barbaric fool to achieve my ends,” she eyed a tubby gnome whose head had popped out of the ground to see what all the commotion was about, “Wingardium leviosa.”
She had to admit she enjoyed watching the gross little things wriggle and squirm pitifully as she guided it threw the air with her wand. Serves it right for making her work, and nearly getting her dirty for a class she didn’t care about. Jordanna let it violently swing back and forth through the air, “How quickly do you think gnomes get nauseous?” she wondered aloud, a somewhat sadistic smirk on her face. She wondered if she could get it to barf all over Asher… but then decided not to push it and went back to a smoother flight. After all, Jordanna really didn’t want to see it throw up or something. That would be too gross.
Taking a few steps toward the vine wall where Asher had hurled her gnome, she guided it to the other side, and then ended the spell, hearing a low “thump” on the other side when it hit the ground.
She pivoted around back to Asher, obviously very pleased with herself as she put her wand back in her sleeve. Jordanna didn’t even realize that in a way, she had played right into Asher’s hands by doing the work, “See- even peasant work can be completed in a civil way. Now why don’t you put those ugly laces of yours back out of my line of vision?”\n\n
0
Jordanna Howard
Never watched that one, actually
65
Jordanna Howard
0
5
Asher Tallow
July 14, 2006 4:47 PM
Hey Lily! I've got your first victim! by Asher Tallow
Asher's rather impersonal good-feeling was quickly evaporating. She hadn't forgotten the selfish nastiness of Jordanna Howard, not in the slightest, but somehow her mind had managed to conjure up some sort of expectation of a change. Surely growing older meant changing, did it not? And surely wouldn't such a change be for the better?(No. . .no, a must adament no.)
But Jordanna continued to speak, and whatever irrationally placed idealism Asher felt fleeted ever further away with each word that dropped from the girl's hateful, bigoted little mouth. "You're exactly what's wrong with everything in the wizarding world, Howard," Asher spat, her neck reddening in the flush of her anger.
"You're so convinced that magical ability makes you superior, that somehow your blood makes even that ability more superior, that you fail to recognize how very pathetic you are." She angrily began picking up her few jotted notes. "You call it civilized- I call it boring and old and easily done by anyone with a wand- including most any muggleborn that can outshine you."
She threw her shoelace into her bag as well, not caring about her loosened sneaker, nor about the level at which her voice had now risen. "You're pathetic," she repeated. "You're not capable of the slightest bit of originality. Everything you've ever done or will ever do will have come from someone else's instruction. Originality? Your mind is so filled with your parent-fed snobbery that you couldn't think an original thought even if imperio-ed."
Her words had gained a shrill sort of ringing that carried easily in the open air, the tones diction-precise and unnaturally mature. It had long become obvious that Asher had stopped talking about Jordanna Howard specifically, and was now addressing a different audience- an audience that was not there standing amidst the grass, but was living far to the north, in a cramped apartment, drinking her conjured cafe-au-lait while dreaming up visions of recapturing her long since denied inheritance. All that her mother had missed out on by having her and her brothers: prestige, position, authority, and blood-enriched notoriety. The most laudable line of Sarto.
Pathetic.
She stopped her frenzied movement sharply, her dark hair barely settling against the long mold of her scalp; it tickled at the base of her neck. She felt suddenly quite calm, and when she again spoke, it was in a very different sort of voice. Civil, patient, and inexplicably childlike. "You're so sad to listen to, Howard, if only because you'll never understand how much you miss out on."
She walked away then, her unlaced sneaker slapping up against her heel in muffled pads. She was very much ready to return to her dormroom now; she needed to rest.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
0
Asher Tallow
Hey Lily! I've got your first victim!
1466
Asher Tallow
0
5
Jordanna Howard
July 25, 2006 8:49 PM
What the- hey! Professor! by Jordanna Howard
Jordanna could have told Asher that just because something was simple, didn't mean it was any less efficient than a more complex solution. And that if something worked well then there was no need for change, no matter how old it grew.She'd like to tell Asher that if someone was put under the Imperius Curse (not imperio'd, as she called it) then of course they couldn't think an original thought. That made no sense whatsoever. Even Jordanna knew that.
But of course, rational thinking was wasted on people like Asher Tallow, who didn’t understand the concept of controlling one’s temper. The kind of people who took little care of their attire, which was already tacky to start with.
Watching her roommate walk off in her unlaced shoes, Jordanna thought she’d rather die than be caught looking like that. Any girl would. Someone really ought to teach that girl a little discipline.
A thin, runty little gnome ran past her feet, how disgusting. Wand still out, she muttered the spell for the full-body bind ‘Petrificus Totalus’ and continued on her way. A very temporary solution (but then, so was throwing them out of the garden) but Jordanna didn’t have very much time on her hands. The wand was hastily stuffed back in her pocket, and she only took a second to flatten out any wrinkles. She was a girl on a mission.
If Asher thought Jordanna was above of being a snitch and ratting her out, then she was horribly mistaken.
“Professor!” she called eagerly, striding towards the teacher, waving her hand daintily in the air trying to catch professor-what’s-her-face’s attention, “Professor, I’m quite sure that there’s a school rule that clearly states that students cannot be dismissed from class without the teacher’s consent,” she glanced back at Asher momentarily before folding her hands neatly on her right hip and continuing her little campaign in a most saccharine tone, “And I don’t think that anybody should be exempt from the rules, do you?”\n\n
0
Jordanna Howard
What the- hey! Professor!
65
Jordanna Howard
0
5