The Secret of Rosewater High: A Naideu's Tail

PACAT

"Good afternoon, class! Today is a rather special occasion," Mrs. Shelsea said as she passed out large packets to each student.

"Pah-Cat?" Luke said in confusion.

"It is actually pronounced like the word packet," Mrs. Shelsea answered.

"Oh," Luke replied.

"Potential And Current Ability Test, otherwise known as PACATs. Over the span of the next couple of days, you will all be taking this test."

A student raised her hand.

"Yes?" said Mrs. Shelsea.

"Will this affect our grade?"

"No," Mrs. Shelsea answered. "The purpose of this test is exactly as it sounds. I am simply testing your current abilities, as well as your potential ones. Unlike most human classes, I like to evaluate my students and teach them at their own individual pace. There are two parts of this test. The first part is what is sitting in front of you. Each of you will answer the questions to the best of your ability. While you are working on the written portion, I will call each of you, individually, into the water. You may begin."

With that, Mrs. Shelsea called the first name and the rest of the students began filling out the packet. Elie was slightly puzzled. After a short survey, the decently sized packet was more like an exam than a test. Some of the questions being:

23. Name four deadly species of coral?

25. How many groups are Jellyfish classified into?

26. What are pearls made of?

27. The distance from point A to point B is a total of X miles. If George the turtle leaves at X o' clock and travels from point A to point B at a speed of X mph, what time will he arrive?

30. What are the different uses for sea cucumbers?

Before Elie knew it, he was being called into the water.

"Ah. Elie Walker, I presume," said Mrs. Shelsea.

"Yes," Elie answered.

"Pretty ironic name,  if you ask me, " she joked.

"Yeah.  I guess so, " Elie shrugged.

"Right. What are your current abilities?"

"Uh...I don't have many," Elie lied. "I can camouflage since we just learned how to."

"Really? Interesting," she replied.

"Yep. Just your average Naideu, I guess," Elie responded whilst scratching the back of his head.

"Yes, I guess so," she said with an all-knowing grin.

Suddenly, Mrs. Shelsea blasted a water ball at Elie. Instinctively, Elie blocked it by creating a pressurized wall of water.

"Just an average Naideu, huh," said Mrs. Shelsea. "I don't know what your definition of average is, Mr. Walker, but that was a level 3 skill. We don't learn that until halfway through the year."

"Oh, I don't know how I did that," Elie tried to cover.

"I know you're lying and I don't understand why you would hide such amazing abilities," Mrs. Shelsea said.

"Alright. You've got me," Elie responded. "When my friends found out, they told me that I should keep it a secret."

"In most cases, I would say that they were right. Some students may feel jealous or inferior if they learned of your current level. However, that's no excuse to leave your teacher in the dark. How am I supposed to teach you if I don't even know what you can do?" Mrs. Shelsea scolded.

"I guess you're right," Elie said.

"I'm glad that we have an agreement. So, what can you really do?"