>>766327A paper airplane nails you in the ear. You look over and see the silhouette student, sitting nearby. Evidently a cheeky retort to your remark just now.
>>766330Dexter looks back at you from atop a shelf. You can trace the path he's taken through the room. Rather than leaving behind a trail of destruction, as most energetic pets would be wont to do, he's left behind a trail of organization. Stacked papers, sorted books, tidied tchotchkes.
>>766328>>766329>>766332The others nod, sharing a few minor anecdotes of their own from before the test– examples of perfectly ordinary college life, free of all dangers except social ones.
"That's a relief," Ride says. "Hopefully only our major tests will pose such a threat while we're here. Students have enough to worry about without also needing to fight for their lives."
Herb snorts. "You'd take issue with most anime, then."
"Actually…" Ride begins. For some reason he's now wearing swirly glasses.
But before this tangent can get away from us, Zamrud examines Kirk's notebook… and finds that a new set of pages have been filled in.
https://youtu.be/IMtABufh0jQ?list=PLA0KqNE_ppfAPeYtMyt4QzyU1aB5cizrDHerb's crew gathers in close as Zamrud flips through the new pages. While the first section of the notebook was kept orderly, this section's writing is much more dense. No lines are skipped, and in fact, there are several boxes drawn on the far side of the page, where it seems that Kirk – or whoever wrote these new pages – made another section of notes on the same page.
Another difference: The first section of the notebook was kept to calculus, but this section comprises many subjects, from chemistry, to business, to electrical engineering, history, architecture, poetry, dance– but most of all are the languages. Manedarin, Horspanol, Prench, Eqrussian, Mareabic, even less commonly spoken ones originating among giraffes, buffalo, griffons, and other peoples. If this notebook is to be taken as a record of Kirk's studies, he's taken on impossible number of classes.
Finally, in the latter half of this second section, the notes give way to pictures. Quite literally, in fact. The latter half's notes border on illegible, for each line's words and letters get scratchier, and then flatter, as they, upon the very page, give way to a landscape drawing. It depicts a loamy field of earth– out of which a great set of roots ascend. The roots ascend toward the far side of the page… but the next page is blank.
No more notes follow after that.