Aayla was a bit disturbed by the president's sudden visit, but her worries were thrown to the back of her mind. Finals started the next day. Thank goodness that both of her magic theory exams were automatically passed. She finally had breathing room again.
Her first exam was for magic theory. All Aayla had to do was show up. Professor Hartaris let her go study for her next exams in the lab room while the rest of her classmates took the test. She had to admit that those looks of envy were really nice.
Her classmates finished an hour later. Some of them barely seemed alive after that exam. Their "Oh Celestials I Did Not Study Enough For This Test" moans of despair had evolved into "How Am I Going to Live After This Test" tears of sorrow. They could only make up for their losses in the practical exam.
Aayla followed the rest of the crowd to their usual testing area. She sat inside the medical tent and watched her classmates chat excitedly amongst themselves. A familiar group led by a young man with flame-like hair glared at her from across the field.
Aayla did her very best to look lonely and miserable as she gazed out of the tent. Internally she thought that it was best to avoid let others know that she was so excited to miss the practical exam again. Though she was excited to skip it, Aayla was highly curious to know how the final exams would differ from the regular ones.
One of the medical staff would kindly talk with her every so often. It's not like they had much else to do at the time. They would be very busy after the exams started, though.
The final exams varied by class and year. Ultimately, the difficulty of final exams was on a completely different level than normal exams. These would test not just what you know but how well you could apply it. The practical exams were notoriously prone to accidents.
This semester, the first-year students in MAGI 101 had a puzzle type exam. Each student would get one of twenty-five different types of puzzles which changed every year. They had to solve the puzzle with in one hour without physically touching it to pass. Faster times gave higher scores.
The students quickly selected their seats and sat on the ground. The blow of a whistle started the count down. A puzzle appeared in front of each student. Some looked like spheres of dirt or metal. Others like blocks of ice or wisps of flame. Each one looked bizarre and abstract.
The professors and teaching assistants walked up and down the rows of students. They were even more strict than with the regular exams. The medical staff quietly gossiped about the punishments that they heard about for cheaters or saboteurs.
An explosion occurred on a small field nearby. A couple of the medical staff rushed over. Apparently, one of the third years casted a rather unstable spell for their test. Backfires are generally not good for passing exams. Other than a concussion and being covered in soot, the student was fine. Their grade? Not so much.
The medical tent soon bustled with activity. Aayla was soon dragged in to help. It was amazing how many accidents could happen in one hour. Are the exams that hard or are the younger students that bad?
Lysander Foryl watched the medical tent with cold eyes. Tch. So, she did get exempted from the final. Should he say 'as expected of a top tier leech' or 'what a shame'? He had been looking forward to teaching her a valuable lesson. A small flame danced in the palm of his hand.
He returned his gaze towards his own exam. Walking through a tunnel of flames was easy for him. Lyse completed the test ages ago. He scoffed and watched the rest of his classmates struggle to get out. All they had to do was push the flames out of their way or cast an elemental resistance spell.
When did the students of Nafriton get so weak? His posse showered compliments around him which lifted his mood. Even if they weren't as strong as he was, they knew how to recognize talent and pedigree. As for the rest of these fools, they shouldn't have gotten into Nafriton in the first place.
**********
The exams continued without much incident. Aayla finished off the exams for Ancient Celes and World History with a bit of struggle. She swore that the professors gave her a harder version than the others, but it was fine. Exams were over. The entire semester was finally over. And Aayla was still alive. She was close to death a couple times, but she made it.
With Dormi's help, she closed off the dining hall and spent hours getting ready. Those thieving little fluffballs stole all of her streamers. TWICE. Most of the time was spent tracking them down through the air ducts. Aayla was determined to have a spectacular end of the semester party. She earned it.
Apparently, the residents were determined to party as well. Someone brought in brought in bottles of very expensive drinks. The elaborately set tables were pushed aside to form a large open space. Others brought music and the rest brought some moves to the makeshift dance floor.
As the crazy college students happily danced the night away, several students didn't show up. Not everyone wanted to party to get rid of the stress. The urge for sleep and rest was very understandable. She packed up some food and had Dormi send it up. A few were sent back. They weren't in their rooms.
Strangely enough, the boxes for Daren and Chris's room were sent back. Aayla could have sworn that she saw them just before the party. It was not like Chris to miss a party or reject food. She thought for a minute, then decided to go check on them. Dormi and Theo could keep an eye on the party.
Aayla pulled a cookie out of her purse and went searching for gremlins. Less than a minute later one tiny fluffball appeared out of thin air. With shining eyes, it reached for the cookie.
"Do you want the yum yum cookie~? If you want the yum yum cookie then you need to show me where some people are, okay~?"
The gremlin chirped in reply and led the way. It scampered towards the front door, impatiently bouncing up and down as Aayla followed behind. That stupid human was way too slow!
The duo played a quick game of catch-up. When Aayla got close, the fluffball would sprint away. Eventually the gremlin guided her to a secluded spot. Daren was sitting underneath a willow tree. He gazed up towards the moons hanging in the sky.
The fluffball tugged on Aayla's skirt.
< (￣^￣) > -- Cookie hooman! Give cookie now! --
"Yeah, I thought I asked about two people? Where is the other one?"
\( > o < #)/ -- Not on grounds! Doesn't count! --
"Really? You're not saying that just for the yum yum cookie~ are you~? Maybe I should just give you half?"
/(OoO)\ -- NOOOO! Truthy! Truthy! No lie! Other one left! Gone! Not here! --
The willow tree seemed to nod in agreement, disturbing the moon gazer below.
"Fine. It's a happy day, so I'll be nice and give you the whole cookie."
\(^o^)/ -- Yay! Cookie! --
The happy little gremlin snatched the cookie then disappeared in a flash. She looked up then jumped back in shock. Daren was staring right at her. Aayla lifted the food boxes.
"Sorry to bother you, but I brought some food for you and Chris. Do you know where he went? There's a party inside if you want some company."
"I'm fine. You can go."
His stomach decided to protest right then and there. A loud growling sound punctuated the silence. Daren quickly turned his head away. The tips of his ears turned red. The willow branches moved out of the way to make a door.
Aayla walked next to Daren and sat the food boxes down next to him. When she turned to leave, the willow branches had closed. Dormi had other plans apparently. Aayla sat down and placed the food boxes between them.
The pair sat in silence watching the moon. After his stomached loudly growled a couple of times, he subtly reached out and grabbed a box. A tempting fragrance wafted out of the box when he opened it. The meal was healthy and hearty with a large serving of chocolate cake. Within minutes the food was gone.
Daren closed the box and put it down. A willow branch lightly tapped on his head. When Daren didn't respond, it tapped him again.
"… thank you." He uttered.
"My pleasure. Where did Chris go? It's not like him to miss a party."
"…The headmaster suddenly called for him."