Chapter 230: Midterms announcement

Chapter 230: Chapter 230: Midterms announcement

By Monday morning, St. Albion had developed a new favorite subject.

It wasn’t Economics.

It wasn’t Mathematics.

And, judging by the conversations filling the corridors, it certainly wasn’t the upcoming midterm examinations.

It was the Sports Fest.

Students gathered outside lecture halls discussing registration, teams, and possible competitors. Every few minutes, someone mentioned polo.

Who would enter.

Which organization had the strongest riders.

Whether the Polo Club would make it to the championships.

The sixteen-team limit had only made the speculation worse.

Vivienne heard fragments of the conversations as she walked toward the Economics lecture hall with Claire, Amelia, and Eleanor.

"I heard the Polo Club is already choosing their riders."

"Of course they are."

"Who do you think they’ll put in?"

"I heard they are requiring certain members to represent the club so they won’t lose the championships."

"That makes sense."

"So you think Blackwood and Ashford would play for the polo club this year?"

"Then how about Archibald? Will he still play for the student council?"

Vivienne smiled faintly.

She didn’t need to hear the rest.

She already knew.

Damian and Anthony would ride for the Polo Club.

And Christopher—

She resisted the small flutter that accompanied the thought.

Christopher would be riding for the Student Council team.

She knew that much already.

The novel had made it clear.

And, more importantly, Christopher himself had mentioned that he will participate in polo. She was not relying solely on what she remembered from the story anymore.

Two teams.

Three familiar names.

And an entire week of competitions after the examinations.

It was difficult not to be curious.

Still, she had other things to worry about first.

They entered the Economics lecture hall.

The room was already nearly full.

Students were still talking as they took their seats, and even after Vivienne settled beside Claire, Amelia, and Eleanor, the conversations around them continued.

A few rows ahead, someone was arguing about which organization would have the strongest polo team.

Behind them, two students were comparing the Sports Fest schedule.

Someone near the window was apparently trying to convince his friend to join the swimming team.

Vivienne opened her notebook.

Claire leaned toward her.

"Do you think they’ll actually limit polo to sixteen teams?"

"They have to," Eleanor said from the other side.

"Otherwise the schedule would become impossible."

Amelia sighed.

"I still want to watch the final."

"So do I."

Vivienne smiled.

"Then we’ll just have to survive midterms first."

Amelia groaned.

"Don’t say that word."

Vivienne laughed.

"You were talking about exams yesterday."

"Yesterday was yesterday."

Claire shook her head.

"You’re the one who kept saying you wanted to watch polo."

"I can have priorities."

Before Amelia could continue, the classroom door opened.

Professor Hawthorne entered.

The conversations did not stop immediately.

He walked calmly toward the lectern, placed his folder down, and looked across the room.

Then he waited.

One by one, the students noticed.

The remaining conversations faded.

Professor Hawthorne glanced once toward the clock.

Then back at them.

"I see the Sports Fest has become considerably more interesting than Economics."

A ripple of laughter moved through the room.

Amelia lowered her head.

Claire smiled.

Vivienne couldn’t help it either.

Professor Hawthorne waited until the room settled.

"Unfortunately..."

He picked up a piece of chalk.

"...you will have to earn the privilege of enjoying it."

That got everyone’s attention.

He turned toward the blackboard.

And wrote:

MIDTERM EXAMINATIONS

Underneath it, he added:

NEXT WEEK

The room became noticeably quieter.

Professor Hawthorne turned back toward them.

"Yes."

"I thought I should remind you before we begin today’s lesson."

A few students exchanged uneasy looks.

"You have been remarkably distracted this morning."

More laughter.

"And I suspect the Sports Fest is responsible for at least some of it."

He gestured toward the words on the board.

"So let me make some things clear."

"Your preliminary examinations were conducted within your regular classes."

"They were intended to assess how well you were adjusting to university-level work."

He paused.

"Midterms are different."

The atmosphere changed.

Even the students who had been joking moments earlier were listening carefully now.

"These will be departmental examinations."

"Your schedules will be posted separately."

"You will not simply take whichever examination happens to fall during your regular lecture."

He wrote another heading beneath the first.

TWO EXAMINATIONS PER DAY

Vivienne stared at the board.

Eight examinations.

Spread across four days.

At least they weren’t all being crammed into a single morning.

Professor Hawthorne continued.

"The examination schedule will give you sufficient time between papers to prepare for the next subject."

"Use that time wisely."

He looked around the room.

"The preliminary examinations were your first major assessment at St. Albion."

"They were, in part, diagnostic."

A few students nodded.

"You were still learning how your professors teach."

"Learning the University’s standards."

"Learning how much was expected of you."

He paused.

"Midterms are no longer an introduction."

The words settled over the room.

"They are a measure of what you have learned."

"And the standard will be considerably higher."

Vivienne’s fingers tightened slightly around her pen.

There it was.

That familiar academic pressure.

Not overwhelming.

Not yet.

But unmistakably present.

Professor Hawthorne glanced at the clock.

"Your examination schedule will be posted by the end of the day."

"Once it is posted, I strongly recommend that you plan your study schedule accordingly."

He turned toward the board once more.

"And before anyone asks..."

He underlined NEXT WEEK.

"You still have an entire week."

A few relieved expressions appeared.

"Which means you also have an entire week to study."

The relief disappeared.

Laughter broke out.

Professor Hawthorne allowed himself a small smile.

"Now."

He set the chalk down.

"Since I have successfully ruined everyone’s morning..."

More laughter.

"Let us begin Economics."

Vivienne opened her notebook.

Around her, pens began moving.

The Sports Fest conversations had disappeared completely.

For the moment.

Vivienne glanced once at the words still written on the board.

MIDTERM EXAMINATIONS — NEXT WEEK

She exhaled softly.

All right.

This week was going to be about studying.

The Sports Fest could wait.

At least for a little while.

Economics wouldn’t be a problem.

That much she was confident about.

The other subjects, however...

Vivienne looked down at the blank page in front of her.

Governance.

Mathematics.

Reading & Composition.

Philosophy.

History.

Biology.

Geography.

Seven subjects that had varying degrees of success attached to them.

She could already feel the headache coming.

Then, inevitably, another thought slipped into her mind.

The Sports Fest.

More specifically—

The polo tournament.

She already knew who she wanted to watch.

A small smile threatened at the corner of her lips.

Christopher.

She quickly lowered her eyes to her notes.

Economics first.

Everything else could come later.

For now, she had a lecture to survive.

And an entire week to study.

--

Tbc