by Ian Schrauth
When everyone was settled in their plastic, hard chairs, I recognized nobody. Oh well, I’ll meet more people as time goes by.
“Welcome to Pre-Algebra!” Mrs. Crestle announced. She looked like an old lady and a twenty-three-year-old woman at the same time. Don’t ask me how, because it’s hard to explain. She had a dress that matched her earrings and her shoes.
It was beautiful!
“This class is the next step up to Algebra I, so it will be tricky. We won’t talk about anything as hard as Calculus, but all sixth-grade maths. Now, take out some paper because we will be taking notes.”
I got out some paper, and I copied down what Mrs. Crestle put on her projector.
“Now to figure out the mean of a set of numbers, you add up all of the numbers and divide them by the number of figures. For example. The numbers here are sixty, fifty-five, one hundred fifty-one, sixty again, and forty-five. What do you get when you add all of these up?”
“Three hundred seventy-one!” I yelled out loud. This stuff is easy!
“Now, divide that by how many numbers there are, and what-”
“Sixty-one point eighty-three; with repeating three,” I interrupted and answered.
“Good, but let someone else answer these next questions,” Mrs. Crestle demanded, “OK, let’s do another problem. If we have twenty, eighty-five, forty-six, thirty-six, fifty-seven, fifteen, thirty-seven, forty-five, twenty-nine, and thirty. What do we get if we add all of the numbers up?”
“Four hundred,” I answered.
“Good, Selena let another person answer this time,” Mrs. Crestle demanded again but in a serious tone.
“What do we get when we divide four hundred by ten?”
“Forty,” Another student shouted out.
“I think we get the mean now, let’s move onto the median of a set of numbers. Can anyone tell me what the median is of a set of numbers?”
“The median is the middle number of numbers in a table – in order— from least to greatest,” I answered.
Mrs. Crestle gave me a glare with the most dreadful look on her face.
“Selena let someone else answer!” she yelled, “If we have forty-nine, twenty-eight, fifty-nine, seventeen, eight, forty-nine, thirty-two, and fifty-six, what is the median? Do it on your papers.”
All of the students did it on their papers, and one kid shouted out “Thirty-two!”
“Correct, let’s just say we have six; thirty, twenty-eight, seven, thirteen, and fourteen, what is the median for that?”
Everyone tried to figure it out on their papers, but nobody could figure it out.
Except me.
“Do you know?” Mrs. Crestle asked.
“I do!” I shouted out.
“What?”
“Thirteen points five!”
“Correct, and how did you get that?”
“I put them in order from least to greatest, crossed them off till I got to the two numbers – thirteen and fourteen – and got what was in the middle of it.”
“Precisely!” Mrs. Crestle praised, “Now, let’s go onto the mode, all the mode does is state the number that occurs most often; what is the mode of eighteen, fifty-eight, twenty-nine, sixty, twenty-eight, sixty-nine, fifteen, sixty, forty-six, and eighteen?”
“Sixty and eighteen!” one kid shouted out before me.
Two can play at this game!
“Good, now the range is just the biggest number minus the smallest number. What is the range of ten, five, seven, twelve, sixty-eight, eight-hundred and twelve, zero, and one?”
“Eight-hundred and twelve,” I shouted out before him. I looked behind me at him, and he looked like he would kill me.
“Now, what is the range of sixty-four, forty-two, seventy, sixty-seven, thirty-six, forty-two, seventy-nine, ninety-nine, sixty, fourteen, fifty-six and forty-five?”
“Thirty-eight!” the kid shouted out.
“What if there are fifty, fourteen, twelve, forty-six, and eight?”
“No mode,” I shouted out.
“I think we get this.” She replied.
Please tell me this class will be challenging…
I don’t need another easy class![I18]
8
It was about fifteen minutes after classes when I had checked my personal E-Mail in my dorm..
I looked through it and found some emails from mom!
Selena,
I haven’t heard from you yet, please email back.
Then it started to get a little serious.
Selena,
Have you even checked your email yet? Are you OK?
The next one scared me!
SELENA!
If you do not answer this, I will go up there and see for myself if you are OK!!!
When I read this, I quickly typed up an email.
Mom,
Don’t you even dare come up here! I am fine!
I know it was a little rude, but she started it! I sent the email, and after surfing the web for five minutes, I got an email back!
Selena,
I am SO sorry that I freaked out! I was just so nervous about someone coming to Saturn. I will tell you more later.
Mom.
That actually made me a little nervous. I didn’t know that someone was coming to Saturn with me. Was he going to have a party? I hope so.[I19]
***
“Students, it is time for you to go to sleep. I know you are not used to the times here, but the days are shorter[I20]. We will announce when you will go to bed,” Huxvey announced. “Goodnight.”
“Well, that was short,” I said to Megan.
“Well, the time differs here on Saturn. So you have to deal with it,” she replied
All I could do was sigh and go to bed. Nothing else...
9
When I woke up the next morning, I felt like I had swallowed a ton of cold air. My lungs were frozen like ice. My head was dizzy, spinning endlessly. And my body was like jelly freezing towards solid.
“Why is it so cold in here?” I asked, waking Megan up.
“What the… IT’S COLD!” Megan yelled. “Turn on the air!”
“There is no hot air conditioning.”
“WHAT THE HECK?!” Megan said, grabbed my cover, and fell back. What a thief…
I pulled the cover off of her, and she snatched it from me.
“Students, time to get up for school,” Huxvey announced over the intercom and hung up.
“At least she was nice about it,” I said to Megan.
“Ugh,” Was all she said.
I decided just to let it go and get dressed. If she wants to be late, then let her. I minded my own business, got dressed, and headed to my fifth block class. Saturn Government. Bleh! I hate any Social Studies class, but maybe I would like this one.
When I arrived in the classroom, Mr. Snookie wasn’t there, so I decided to just sit down. I had done that on Earth once, and they kicked me out of the classroom.
As I was sitting on my computer, I heard footsteps come into the room. “Who are you?” I asked.
“Who’s that?” he asked.
“Selena Dixon,” I replied
“Was the door unlocked?”
“Yup. Who is that?”
He came into the classroom, and it was Mr. Snookie. Great…
Mr. Snookie, from rumor, is one of the rudest teachers in the entire school!
“Did someone tell you to come in here?” He asked.
“No?”
“Then what are you doing in here?”
“I just wanted to be in here so I’m not late when the bell rang,” I replied.
“Well, you can leave your stuff here, but you cannot be in here when a teacher is not in,” He complained in a strict tone. “Now, I will let this slide, but next time it won’t go so hot[I21].”
Yeah… Next time, I will go down to the office and complain about your butt! I wanted to say that to him, but I knew I would be sent back to Earth just because I got into a fight with a teache
r.
Mom would be mad! Anyway, back on track…
“How long until the bell rings?” I asked.
“About fifteen more minutes.”
“Good!” I got up from my seat and headed down to the library.
* * *
The bell had finally rung, and I walked to class. I just didn’t want to be in the class, but hey… I have to deal with the junk that I don’t like.
When I arrived in the classroom, there were many students. Most of them were boys, and only a few (about three including me) were girls. Great…
As I sat down, the bell had rung and Mr. Snookie started to speak.
“Welcome. I know you are all tired, but you will have to be awake in this class. If I see you [I22]sleep in this class, there will be consequences. The first time, I will yell at you. The second time, I will throw a rubber ball at your head. The last time is a write-up,” He warned. “Understand?”
This guy was a jerk! No wonder why people hate him! I wanted to punch him in the face, but then I would get suspended. Possibly sent home.
“Now, we are going to take notes today,” He stated.
We did as he said.
* * *
The class was over when the bell rang, and my hands were hurting from writing too much. They hurt like hell!
“Now, your homework is this worksheet. Do all the questions and turn it in by the next class,” He demanded and passed out a worksheet.
I got hold of the worksheet, and it was FIFTY questions for us to answer! What the heck?!
“All of the questions?” I asked.
“Yes. ALL!” he yelled.
After that, I stormed out of the room, mad that he had yelled at me. I mean, who doesn’t like to be yelled at if you don’t understand something? I have a feeling he’s going to be a bad teacher.
Next…Potions
* * *
When I arrived in my potions class, I was greeted by Ms. Xjung with a science apron on.
“There is no seating chart for today, so sit wherever you want,” she said and headed back into the kitchen-office to finish up something. Must be a surprise…
I headed to a vacant seat and waited for the other kids to pile in. While they were heading into the room and taking their seats, I watched Ms. Xjung make something. She noticed me and shut the curtains so I couldn’t see.
Guess it’s top secret.
When everyone was in the classroom, the final bell rang, we waited for Ms. Xjung, and the door to her office opened but nobody came out.
Creepy!
I heard someone walk around, close the door to the classroom, and then saw chalk float on the chalkboard writing “Welcome to Potions I!”[I23]
That’s when I knew it was her.
“Welcome!” said a devilish, dark voice as someone started to appear.
Ms. Xjung!
“This class is a beginner class for Potions one, two, three, and CC Potions. Let me demonstrate some potions you will be able to make,” She announced. “Before anything, we are going to play a little introduction game.”
I had the strangest feeling that the game would be crud…
“Let’s start with that table. You,” She said and pointed at me. “Stand up.”
I stood up, and asked, “Okay?”
“Say your name and anything else you want.”
“Hello, my name is Selena Dixon. I am an author,” I announced. After I had said that, people started to whisper to one another.
“Are the books…like…nasty and gross?” One asked.
“Now, what type of stupid questions was THAT?! My books are for middle-grade and young adult! I take that as an insult! They are NOT erotic!” I said in anger.
“Well, you didn’t have to—”
“OK. Enough! Let’s not start trouble! Next person,” Ms. Xjung announced.
I sat down and waited for the others to finish their introduction.
* * *
It was the end of class and I ran out of the place like a bat flying out of hell and reached my Sathinish I class before anyone else.
I entered the classroom and saw there were symbols everywhere of different Sathinish words. I took a seat and waited for the other kids to come.
While I was waiting, I was admiring the symbols that were on the board. I knew a little Sathinish from my mother, so I knew the translation to some of the words. I know that “Juiheh.” (Pronounced Yoie-heh) was “Hello.”, and “Sumti.” (Pronounced Some-tea) was “name.”.
When everyone was in the classroom, Mr. Davis started the lesson. A lesson on the introduction day? That’s so un-cool!
“Now, the English alphabets are used in Sathinish because the letter means the Sathinish letter with a different sound. Let me make an example, “A.” is written like this and it makes the ‘M’ sound. But it’s not always that way. For example, the letter “T.” is written like this and pronounced as ‘Vuh’ sound,” He chatted on and on, “Now, there are two “L.” sounds in Sathinish, “One L.” and “Double L.”. The One L is written like this and pronounced like ‘Hu’ and Double is pronounced like ‘he’…”
He went on, and on about the language, but I fell asleep after the “L.”.
I could tell that I was out, and that’s when a voice hit me. “SELENA! GET UP!”
“What?” I asked, “What happened?”
“You were sleeping!” Mr. Davis Yelled. “Now, what does the Letter “J.” represent in Sathinish?.”
My mind went blank. “Uh…I don’t know.”
“Exactly,” Mr. Davis [I24]said. “Detention.”
Great…
10
The day is almost over.
The day is almost over!
I kept saying that in my head over and over again, and then the worst happened in the intro to dreaming class.
“Will you send Selena Dixon down to the office for her detention?” Huxvey asked.
“Sure,” Mr. Sauda, my Intro to Dream and sleeping literacy teacher replied. “Bye Selena.”
I packed up my things and headed down to Huxvey’s office. I was sorta nervous! What would she do to me?
When I arrived in the office, I walked up to her desk, and asked, “You called me?”
“Yes, you’re in detention for sleeping in class,” She said, “Don’t think we forgot about it; you can’t get away with it.”
Darn! I thought they forgot about it!
“What do I need to do?” I asked.
“You take this Sathinish dictionary,” she started and slammed a Sathinish dictionary on her desk in front of me, “and copy every word up to the ‘EH.’ sound.”
“Up to ‘E’?” I asked, “That’s easy!”
“Uh… No, the 'EH.’ sound is equivalent to the letter Z in the English alphabet,” Huxvey clarified, “Now, head to the detention room and get to work!”
I headed out of her office, and into the detention room. When I entered the detention room, I saw it was full of Finalmen copying words from the dictionary. What did I get myself into?
I sat down in a desk and opened it to the first page with the definitions on it.
“Mu, musmoo: husi; muny.” Was the first definition. I wrote it down and moved onto the next definition.
“Mumuon' Amol: B. Mucopuvemmusvuv-Fuimo (Iumovuhj)” It said. Now, what on Earth is a Mumuon’ Amol? Is it some type of animal? Or it is a type of plant? I don’t know! I just decided to copy word for words – and learned a couple of words that looked mean – and the hours started to go by quick.
* * *
When I was in the ‘Ve’ section (That’s C in English) there was a private announcement in the room.
“Students, detention is now over.”
Yes!
I ran out of the classroom and headed to my dorm. “What’s new, Megan[I25]?” I asked.
“Nothing. Just doing some homework.”
“Students, it is now time for bed. Please go to sleep,” Huxvey said over the intercom. “Goodnight.”
I dug out a notebook that Mr. Sauda gave us, and went to sleep. If you don’t know, we have to record our dreams in intro to dreaming, so we can learn how to Lucid Dream.
I fell asleep and was out before I knew it.
* * *
The next week had hit me like a bullet, and I couldn’t remember any of my dreams. Great, now I have nothing to write down. Then I will fault the assignment.
GREAT!
I just decided to let it go and get ready for school. I really didn’t want to get up for classes that day, but I had to.
I walked over to Megan, grabbed my pillow, and started to beat her with it. “Wake up!”
“WHAT THE—“
“Wake up! School starts in five minutes!
“DON’T HIT ME!” She demanded, took her pillow, and threw it in my face. That hurt…
“Students, please get up, and get ready for school,” Huxvey announced over the intercom.
* * *
Soon enough, I was sitting in English class[I26], and I was bored as ever! We were talking about nouns, verbs, and all of the other stuff that I know. I didn’t know how long I could take it! I didn’t know if I was going to blow any minute or blow any day. But I hope it isn’t any day because I don’t want to be sent home. Have I said that before? I think I have…
“Selena, can you please read page fifteen?” Mr. Xjungtha asked.
“Sure. I replied, and looked at the page I totally forgot we were reading a fifteen-page children’s book for FUN! What the heck?!
“Jonny hit the ball. Josh caught the ball. Josh threw the ball. Harry got out. The end, “I said.
“Well, now we are going to do a worksheet,” He said and handed out a worksheet. “This worksheet is about what we have learned in the past hour. Now, begin.”
I took out a pencil, and I wrote down every answer the way I knew it. I knew that a noun is a person, place, or thing, and action was something you do. EASY!
