Passionfruit 15, Pomelo 12: Study
Title: Study
Main Story: In The Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Passionfruit 15 (Nature rejects the monarch, not the man - Percy Bysshe Shelley), pomelo 12 (Pride goes before the fall.), My Treat (Ivy is overconfident.), malt (Summer challenge #24: "You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher." - Avatar: The Last Airbender), fresh raspberries (RNA interference).
Word Count: 517
Rating: PG-13 for a couple of f-bombs.
Summary: Ivy flunks a test.
Notes: Prudence first showed up here.
"This is just not possible," Ivy said, for the millionth time.
Prudence buried her face in her hands and groaned, then looked up. "Ivy," she said. "You didn't study and you flunked a test. I don't see how this isn't possible."
Ivy scowled at the crumpled-up test that she'd flung across the room a few minutes later. The ball of scrunched paper lay at the foot of the wall, surprisingly inoffensive considering the look her friend was giving it.
It was a good thing, Pru reflected, that Ivy's propensity for fire did not extend to lighting things with her mind, because otherwise the dorm would burn down and then they'd all be in for it.
"I just don't get it," Ivy said. "It's biology, for God's sake. I'm good at biology. I aced biology. I never had to study in high school!"
"This isn't high school," Pru said.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Ivy growled.
Pru rolled her eyes. "If you're quite finished bitching, this isn't high school. This isn't public school, for heaven's sake."
"Hey." Ivy sat bolt upright. "I went to great schools. And the New York City public school system is better than a lot of other school systems I could name."
Oh, right, Ivy's mother was some kind of bigwig in the educational system. Pru let it pass with a "Whatever. This is college. This is Cornell. You're playing in the big leagues now, little girl."
Ivy leaned back against the wall, balancing her desk chair precariously on two legs, and gave Pru a very calm, considering look. "I just thought you should know I'm going to do terrible things to you if you call me 'little girl' again."
"Then quit acting like a toddler." Pru got up off the bed. "Look, Ivy, you're old enough to get that actions have consequences. You don’t study, you fail the test." She scooped up her backpack and headed for the door, intending to go back to her own room and study.
"I never used to."
Ivy's voice was so uncharacteristically small that Pru did a sharp about-face. "What?"
Ivy had settled her chair back onto the floor, her arms hugged around her chest, her eyes afraid. "I never used to have to study," she said. "I always just managed from doing the readings and the homework. Everybody used to say I was smart."
Pru bit back a comment on the relative intelligence displayed by not studying and said, instead, "You are smart."
"What if I'm not?" She looked again at the crumpled paper, this time afraid. "I mean, what if I used up all my smart in high school?"
Pru dropped her backpack and sat down on the bed again. "Well, first of all, you can't use up smart. It doesn't really work that way, sweetie. Second, you are smart. You got into Cornell, for God's sake. It's just that you've stepped up a level from high school and you haven't adjusted yet."
Ivy kicked a bit at the leg of her chair, refusing to meet Pru's eyes. "I liked it in high school."
That made Pru smile. "Yeah, so did we all. But welcome to the big leagues."
"Fuck the big leagues." Which was Ivy all over, so she had to be feeling better.
"It's the real world, sweetie." Pru shrugged. "We all gotta live with it."
"Ugh." Ivy wiped her hands over her face. "God. So I have to learn to study now?"
"Poor baby," Pru said, in a monotone, then added, "Seriously, yes, but I can help you. Good place to start is to go over that--" she nodded at the ball of paper-- "and figure out where you fucked up. The second thing you do is to do all those readings you skipped because you thought you already knew them."
"Fuck you," Ivy said, but without any heat. "Ugh. Okay, I guess I go back to reading about RNA interference, then. I hate fucking RNA."
Pru grinned at her, and grabbed her backpack. "Study party, then. Let's do this."
Main Story: In The Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Passionfruit 15 (Nature rejects the monarch, not the man - Percy Bysshe Shelley), pomelo 12 (Pride goes before the fall.), My Treat (Ivy is overconfident.), malt (Summer challenge #24: "You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher." - Avatar: The Last Airbender), fresh raspberries (RNA interference).
Word Count: 517
Rating: PG-13 for a couple of f-bombs.
Summary: Ivy flunks a test.
Notes: Prudence first showed up here.
"This is just not possible," Ivy said, for the millionth time.
Prudence buried her face in her hands and groaned, then looked up. "Ivy," she said. "You didn't study and you flunked a test. I don't see how this isn't possible."
Ivy scowled at the crumpled-up test that she'd flung across the room a few minutes later. The ball of scrunched paper lay at the foot of the wall, surprisingly inoffensive considering the look her friend was giving it.
It was a good thing, Pru reflected, that Ivy's propensity for fire did not extend to lighting things with her mind, because otherwise the dorm would burn down and then they'd all be in for it.
"I just don't get it," Ivy said. "It's biology, for God's sake. I'm good at biology. I aced biology. I never had to study in high school!"
"This isn't high school," Pru said.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Ivy growled.
Pru rolled her eyes. "If you're quite finished bitching, this isn't high school. This isn't public school, for heaven's sake."
"Hey." Ivy sat bolt upright. "I went to great schools. And the New York City public school system is better than a lot of other school systems I could name."
Oh, right, Ivy's mother was some kind of bigwig in the educational system. Pru let it pass with a "Whatever. This is college. This is Cornell. You're playing in the big leagues now, little girl."
Ivy leaned back against the wall, balancing her desk chair precariously on two legs, and gave Pru a very calm, considering look. "I just thought you should know I'm going to do terrible things to you if you call me 'little girl' again."
"Then quit acting like a toddler." Pru got up off the bed. "Look, Ivy, you're old enough to get that actions have consequences. You don’t study, you fail the test." She scooped up her backpack and headed for the door, intending to go back to her own room and study.
"I never used to."
Ivy's voice was so uncharacteristically small that Pru did a sharp about-face. "What?"
Ivy had settled her chair back onto the floor, her arms hugged around her chest, her eyes afraid. "I never used to have to study," she said. "I always just managed from doing the readings and the homework. Everybody used to say I was smart."
Pru bit back a comment on the relative intelligence displayed by not studying and said, instead, "You are smart."
"What if I'm not?" She looked again at the crumpled paper, this time afraid. "I mean, what if I used up all my smart in high school?"
Pru dropped her backpack and sat down on the bed again. "Well, first of all, you can't use up smart. It doesn't really work that way, sweetie. Second, you are smart. You got into Cornell, for God's sake. It's just that you've stepped up a level from high school and you haven't adjusted yet."
Ivy kicked a bit at the leg of her chair, refusing to meet Pru's eyes. "I liked it in high school."
That made Pru smile. "Yeah, so did we all. But welcome to the big leagues."
"Fuck the big leagues." Which was Ivy all over, so she had to be feeling better.
"It's the real world, sweetie." Pru shrugged. "We all gotta live with it."
"Ugh." Ivy wiped her hands over her face. "God. So I have to learn to study now?"
"Poor baby," Pru said, in a monotone, then added, "Seriously, yes, but I can help you. Good place to start is to go over that--" she nodded at the ball of paper-- "and figure out where you fucked up. The second thing you do is to do all those readings you skipped because you thought you already knew them."
"Fuck you," Ivy said, but without any heat. "Ugh. Okay, I guess I go back to reading about RNA interference, then. I hate fucking RNA."
Pru grinned at her, and grabbed her backpack. "Study party, then. Let's do this."