Hagan arrived at the Wilderness Survival class a few minutes early, he barely noticed Professor Lane behind the stack of papers piled on the desk.
'How did his stack of papers grow overnight, what's even on them.'
"Oh, welcome to class Hagan, your a little early so just sit tight for a little bit."
Hagan nodded and walked over to one of the few desk in the crowded room. There was papers all over the floor at the front, piles of fake stick presumably used to show how to make a fire, sample drawings of leaves and fruits littered a board at the front, there was also some sleeping bags rolled up in a corner.
Once Hagan was seated, he heard the door open behind him, he turned around to see who his fellow classmate was.
"Welcome Luna, say hello to your new classmate, Hagan."
The name Luna was a very fitting one, her hair was white like the moon and her eyes glimmered blue like the stars. She was average height, slightly taller than Hagan.
'Like that matters…'
Her skin was smooth and clean, her hair was clean, and her figure was curvy and attractive.
"It's nice to meet you, Hagan." Her voice was soft and she had a slight smile on her face, seemingly happy to see another person join her in the class. She moved to the desk in the middle, to the right of Hagan, and right in front of the board that had drawing plastered across it.
Hagan remained silent for a moment then nodded, "Nice to meet you Luna."
Professor Lane then announced it was time to start class and began explaining how to recognize if a plant is edible or not.
"There are many ways to tell if a plant is safe to eat. A lot of poisonous plants have a milky sap that can be either toxic or cause disease. Some have thorns or spines, others shiny leaves, an unpleasant odor, leaves in groups of three, or bright colored berries can be signs of a toxic or poisonous plant. There are exceptions to each of these however I recommend to steer clear of them regardless. You can also do tests, although you'll need to be careful with these. A skin test is where you rub the leaves or another part of the plant in your skin, if there's a burning or itching sensation, it'd be best to not eat it. Small bite tests can be dangerous but are a good way to tell if something's safe. Take a small nibble on the plant and either ingesting or leaving it in your mouth for 15 minutes. If it is extremely bitter or soapy, spit it out immediately and wash your mouth out as soon as possible."
Professor Lane continued talking about the kinds of plants that he had encountered and which ones were safe to eat. He also shared some embarrassing stories about the side of effects of certain plants which was… unpleasant to say the least.
Hagan continued to listen as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. On the front it had a picture. It depicted a beautiful woman who seemed to be in her early thirties, she had brown hair with hazelnut eyes, her hair was tied into a neat ponytail, there were silver earrings dangling from her earlobes. Her skin was clean and she had a slight smile on her lips, she was wearing a gray plain gray shirt.
Luna noticed that Hagans expression darkened and he had a hint of sadness in his otherwise dull eyes. She followed his eyes and noticed the piece of paper in his hands, she peered at it and a frown slowly manifested on her face. "Is that your mother?" She asked with a whisper.
Hagan didn't answer until the pain of his Blemish was searing.
"… Yes. She died a while ago."
"I'm… I'm sorry to hear that."
Professor Lane noticed the bleak mood the two students were sharing and paused.
"Pay attention, please."