One Year Before High School

Chapter 6

lla was never really a good student in terms of academic grades, but there's got to be a line somewhere right?

For the record, science sucked in her opinion.

Of course, Ivy had no problems with it; she could breeze through science.

The class started when the bell rang, and a teacher strolled through the door.

"Alright class, my name is Mrs. Revado, and I will be your science teacher for this year"

Ella caught Ivy mouthing the last few words and snickered to herself. It was getting a little boring.

Mrs. Revadas had the typical teacher look, except with long, brown hair and thick, black-rimmed glasses.

"Now, I assume you all have your textbooks. If not, then please remember to bring them next time and follow along in your notebook" she said.

She turned to the weird whiteboard and picked up a marker. She tapped on the board, and it instantly turned a light blue. Everyone gasped.

Welcome Class, to Science enriched with Mrs. Revadas, said a voice.

Ivy was impressed with the technology. Ella was slightly startled; the rest of the class shared her feelings.

Mrs. Revadas tapped on it, and it showed a few folders. She swiped and selected one that said Science enriched.

The whiteboard turned into a blue again.

"Now class, this is an Iridescent Board. It's what teachers use here. Nothing new, nothing new. It's convenient, and kind of like a smartboard, in case you didn't know. Now, let's start with chem. Please turn to page..."

And they were back in the rhythm.

Mrs. Revadas is a nice enough person, but her pace is kind of fast. Still, she could always steal the notes from Ivy and review them later, reasoned Ella, who didn't want to call attention to. Instead, she focused on how cool the Iridescent Board was. It could draw complex shapes, bring up images of the textbook, and even play audio and QR codes.

One science class later, they were in the cafeteria. It was right beside the main elevator, which means a lot of people. Ella reflected on how she wished she was taller.

Luckily, Maci had saved them a table. Ella gratefully sunk into the chair; she had started to worry that she would have to eat in the ladies room again.

"Thanks so much, Maci," she said with sincerity. Maci beamed at that, "No problem Ell's!" she chirped, "That's what friends are for. Now, let's wait for the others"

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"The others" arrived not long after. Like Ella, they thanked Maci for the table. Ivy noted with interest that Carla seemed the most grateful.

"I'm going to wait in line, what do you guys want?" asked Tanya and Emily. Maci rattled off her order, Carla gave hers, and Ivy ordered for Ella.

Students buzzed in and out like ants. Ivy picked out the freshmen from the seniors, because all the seniors had somewhere to be, and would be hurridly shoving a burger or something else with more fat than nutrients into their mouths while holding up about twenty things at once while reciting all of their formulae to the tune of twinkle twinkle little star.

Contrast to the freshmen, who were sitting near the trash cans, the doors, and the hallways due to not getting a seat fast enough, looking around for others of their year. Most of them were a little shy and jumpy.

When Carla came back with their food, she seemed unhappy about her wallet. Ivy almost rolled her eyes as she took her wrap. The others took that as a sign to start eating and started sorting out their own. Carla noticed the almost-eye-roll, but she had waited in line for thirty minutes, and it wasn't worth it to comment. Besides, she as hungry.

After lunch was over, they parted ways.

Language class was taken by everyone regardless if you were in advanced classes or not. Ella and the others of her year were in the same class. The entirety of the first years was split between three classes since the other two were unavailable. Ella, Ivy, and Tanya were in the same class, she noted.

The whiteboard started to glow, and words appeared.

Good afternoon students. Language classes are taught by computers such as myself. Now, please turn to page...

After the abrupt introduction, Ella and the rest of the class hurridly snatched out their books and the humdrum rhythm of the class started.

It was only a while into the lesson that they realized Stephany sat two seats north and one east. She seemed not to have noticed, but Ella couldn't be sure. Maybe she was just pretending not to have.

The lesson was fully digital, which was a novel experience for Ella. Contrary to smartboards, the Iridescent Board had vivid images, crystal clear audio, and moved at a pace slow enough for her. The little circular devices could be given to students as mini-holograms so that they can follow along with the lesson more easily, like a personal Iridescent Board. Ella particularly liked this feature.

The lessons in English were easy enough, but after the class ended, they had one more. Ivy had picked for Ella, and they chose to learn French. Maci was more of a Spanish-speaker, and Carla gravitated to Portuguese. They had the largest variety of languages, and each of them personalized. After completing English, they stayed in their classes and put on headphones, so their personal holograms could teach them what they needed to know.

It was a strange experience.

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Apologies for the short chapter! I think the plot will pick up in another two chapters or so, but until then, please bare with me!

Anyways, as always, thank you for reading, and I hope to see you again!