[Kotone Kato]

Kotone filled out the sheet the Slowking had passed out while the only boy in the class took the initiative to answer Miss Ivers's question. Kotone Kato, 16, Female, Traveling and ancient folklores. Then, as she finished, she glanced around to see if anyone else wanted to respond before standing up to pitch in her two cents.

"Well, while it's true that all types of Pokemon have their advantages and disadvantages, wouldn't it also depend upon the trainer? I mean, in the hands of a good trainer, even a water-type team can defeat an electric-type team as long as their trainer knows how to go about it."

With that being said, she sat back in her seat and glanced around at her classmates, wondering who would speak next.

[Sylvia Lane]

Sylvia took a moment to fill out the form that had (very impressively) been passed out as she listened to their teacher's words. Sylvia Lane, 14, Female, Walking, Swimming, Shopping and Reading. It was a simple enough questionnaire, but she always liked to make sure everything was in order when it came paperwork. She studied her paper while listening to the first two answers to the question Miss Ivers had given the class. It was an interesting question, albeit a slightly strange one. She wasn't all that up to speed on her Pokemon types, but even she could see the tension such a question could bring about.

She finished up her questionnaire just when the second person finished their answer. She put her pencil down on her desk and stood, her eyes set on the instructor. "Like the previous answer, I believe that all types - oh, excuse me," she paused for a moment to unzip her coat and shed it. It had become quite warm in the classroom while she wasn't paying attention. She carefully hung it over the back of her chair, smiled apologetically at everyone in the room, then resumed.

"...that all types have their strengths and weaknesses. A Pokemon, and in turn, a team becomes truly strong when the types are used to make up for each other's weaknesses." Her slow way of speaking made her answer sound longer than it really was, perhaps taking up more time than was really necessary. On top of the time she wasted taking off her coat, that is.

Once she was finished, though, she sat back in her chair and sighed. That was a little embarrassing. She idly poked at her questionnaire with her pencil to distract herself from the heat rising her face but stayed attentive towards any further answers.

[Lithra Trease]

“Karin,” Lithra breathed as she watched her roommate walk into the class. Bell fluffed up at the sight of Karin, about to make a welcoming noise before Lithra squeezed him gently. No talking during class, even if it was the beginning of class, Lithra thought. That would be rude. Not wanting to cause a scene, especially if Karin hadn’t seen her or didn’t want to talk right now, Lithra gave a little wave and that was it. Had Lithra done something wrong? Wait, no, that was silly. Karin probably hadn’t seen her with this many people in the class already.

Turning her attention back to Ms. Ivers, Lithra shrunk a bit in her chair, long hair covering her face. The teacher greeted everyone, but she hadn’t answered the question Lithra asked. Pulling Bell closer to her body, Lithra pushed the Cottonee to her face, inhaling his familiar smell. Someone as keen as Ms. Ivers probably heard Lithra’s question so the instructor must have been waiting for a proper time to answer. And that she was.

Good, Lithra thought to herself, she could keep Bell out. He wouldn’t cause a ruckus and Lithra needed her little security pokemon to gather her confidence. Speaking of confidence, Lithra needed to stop acting so mousey. She was generally eager to learn and just needed the assurance to support that desire.

The paper landed on Lithra’s desk, sliding in front of her as Bell wiggled at the neat trick. Whatever pokemon had helped Ms. Ivers do that was really strong. “Settle down,” she whispered to her Cottonee. She didn’t want them to get in trouble and Bell have to go into his pokeball. Glancing down at the paper, Lithra pulled out a pen to answer the questionnaire. Lithra Trease, 16, Female,…

She left the interests blank.

As other students stood up and answered the question, Lithra nodded along. She agreed with what they were saying even if Bell would want her to say grass, naturally.

[Lilith Sinclaire]

Lilith entered the Teaching Center and quickly started making her way towards the Battle Tactics Wing. She was currently running a little behind scheduled due to waking up a little later. Usually, she would have set her alarm a little earlier, but last night she was a little too invested in completing some outside researcher in her dorm room related to the history of Harmonia Island. She found all of the books that she had burrowed from the library to be quite helpful and engageable. So engageable that she did not want to stop flipping through the pages. Unfortunately, her eyes had grown too heavy for her hold open any longer and she ended up falling asleep at her desk, face down into the book that she had spent numerous of hours reading. Now, she was starting to suffer from those consequences. "I can't believe that I forgot to set my alarm last night, Dorian. Now, I'm running late. I'm never one to run last for class. Especially not on the first day that classes start." She stated, glancing down at Shiny Ralts sitting in her arms. "You're the one who couldn't pull yourself away from those books the last night. If you would have gone to bed on time then you wouldn't be struggling to make it class on time." Dorian spoke to his trainer using his telepathy. Lilith simply sighed as she continued to move towards the Battle Tactics Classroom. Dorian was correct and there was no sense in arguing with him.

While rushing though the hallway, Lilith soon started to notice the hallway becoming even more crowded. Apparently, she wasn't the only student running late for class. A couple of other students bumped into and didn't even bother to apology for their rude actions. Unfortunately, Lilith wasn't vocal enough to give them words. Instead, she simply brushed it off and continued to move towards the classroom. About three more minutes passed and the raven-haired female had finally made her way towards the door leading into the classroom. Immediately her heart started beating rapidly as her bluish-gray eyes stared into the window of the door. There were already a good number of students sitting in their desk and from what she had gathered just from observing from outside of the classroom the lecture had also started without her. "What are you waiting for Lilith? Go inside, you're already running late." Dorian pointed out to her. She slowly extended her right hand out to touch the doorknob. However, she couldn't bring herself to open it right away, her nerves were getting the best of her. "I-I can't. Not right now." She whispered more to herself than to Dorian. "Don't let your nerves get the best of you. You can do this. Take a deep breath and walk in." Dorian added, giving his trainer some encouraging words. Lilith nodded her head and starting doing a short breathing exercise before twisting the doorknob and allowing the door to open.

She stepped inside and become frozen for a few seconds as shed piercing azure eyes scanned over the classroom. There were times like this that she wished that she wasn't so freaking shy. "You can do this. You're almost there." Dorian spoke to her again. She gave her classmates a coy smile and performed a small bow to her teacher before walking towards an empty seat at the first of the classroom. She placed Dorian into her lap then started to unpack her notebook and writing pen from her backpack and sitting them down on top of her desk. She then started filling out the survey that was placed on her desk while she listened to her classmates engage in the lecture.

---

Name: Lilith Sinclaire
Gender: Female 
Age: Sixteen
Interests: Breeding, Collecting gemstones, Pokemon mythology, researching, and exploring.

---

+1 to hatch count on Misdreavus egg!

[Dylan Reed]

"Dude! I can't believe that you forgot to wake me up this morning!" Dylan shouted at the Piplup that was currently sitting on top of soft black hair. "I'm blaming all of this on you!" He added before stuffing his mouth with a breakfast burrito. Although he was currently running a little late for class the male Wave Dorm did made time to grab a quick bite to eat. "Pip, Pip, Piplup!" Caspian yelled back at his trainer, using his small wings to grip his trainer's hair a bit. "Hey! Watch it! Don't do that, Caspian!" He shouted back at his Pokemon. Clearly, the Piplup did not like the fact that his trainer was blaming him for his tardiness. "Fine, it was my fault that I overslept." He sighed before taking a final bite out of the breakfast burrito then handing it off to Caspian so that he could finish off the rest of it. The small penguin Pokemon chirpy happily as he starting gobbling the delicious snack down with his keen beak.

After a couple more minutes of jogging through the Training Center then down the hallways of the Battle Tactics Wing, Dylan soon found himself approaching the classroom that his Battle Tactics Class would be held at for the day. "Excuse me! Coming through!" He shouted to a group of students blocking the center of the hallway. "Unlike you guys, some of us have places to be right now!" He added as he pushed through them. He didn't care if any of the other students gave him any sass for being so forceful. At least he attempted to give them warning before making his through them. Once he had made it in front of the door leading into his classroom he took a break to allow himself to cool down a bit. "Ah, we made it." He spoke in a quieter voice as he relaxed his breathing. He extended his arm to push the door open without any hesitate.

Once inside of the classroom, his deep blue eyes quickly started examining the classroom. "Awesome." He chuckled after noticing that majority of his classmate were female. He flashed his classmates a charming smile as he walked passed them. "Good morning ladies and gent."[ He greeted his fellow classmates. "Ah, what's up teach?" He greeted his professor with warm smile as he continued to make his way towards the back of the classroom, an overly confident aura accompanying his every move. He found an empty desk in the back of the room and quickly took a seat. He placed his back pack down onto the floor and dug into his pants pocket to pull out a pen to complete the survey sitting on his desk. Meanwhile, Caspian titled his head and glanced down at the sheet of paper as if he was actually reading it as his trainer started listing his information.

---

Dylan Reed
16
Water and Ice Pokemon, battling, swimming, exploring, surfing, diving, beautiful women and learning.

[Seraphina King]

More students seemed to pour in until the teacher finally decided to talk. She greeted everyone, gave her name, and gave them some information about the class. It was Battle Tactics, huh? She coulda swore it was breeding class. Regardless, Seraphina listed to the teacher, then watched as that big pink thing brought papers to everyone's desks. Fancy. Hehe. Picking up the paper she looked over it carefully. Not because she was especially interested in what it said, but because she couldn't read very well. Luckily, the teacher was able to supplement what the paper's contents were. Simple enough, until she realized she had nothing to write with. Oi, roomie. Can I borrow a pencil real quick. After getting her pencil, she carefully wrote down the answers as best she could.

Name: Seraphina King
Age: Teenager
Gender: Girl
Interests: Fighting

Her name was easy enough, but age was a little tough. Should she give an estimate or should she lie? Eventually she just stuck with a vague but honest answer. Gender was also a no-brainer, unless she was living a lie all this time. She went with 'Fighting' as an interest since it was already hard enough to write, and the fact that it was her favorite thing.

She was much too preoccupied with writing the letters correctly that she pretty much missed the teacher's question. She probably wouldn't answer regardless since she didn't even know there was a best type. It would be better to stay quiet. What she did catch was that boy speaking. Seraphina had to turn around and look at him for a little bit. She stared for a second before turning around and whispering to her neighbor. What the hell did that kid just say? It seemed like a different language. But she seemed to be the only one who was caught off guard by it, so she ignored it. She would probably see a lot of things she wouldn't expect at school.

Sure enough, a few more people came into class late but nothing else of note happened. Seraphina gave the pencil back to her roomie and simply returned to leaning back in her chair again, while all these kids stood up and gave answers to a question she completely missed. Off to a good start.

[Christina Douglas]

Not too long after Christina sat down, the instructor had decided to speak. Their instructor was Fiona Ivers. That was a name she'd have to remember. She had also mentioned something about only keeping one Pokemon out at a time. The thought hadn't even really occurred to Christina that having Poli out might have been considered rude. However, there was no way she could get the Poliwag into a pokeball even if she wanted too. It as something to keep in mind for the future though, if other instructors had a different policy.

Not too long after a piece of paper appeared on her desk. The instructor's Slowking had moved them with nothing but a wave of its hand. Fascinating. She wondered what else the instructor's Slowking could do, what it's limits were. Maybe she could ask after- Christina then slightly shook her head, stopping that thought process. It would have probably been rude to ask to test the Slowking so soon. She had to remember she was a student here. Bringing her attention back to the piece of paper, she heard Miss Ivers say to fill out the at least the first three fields. Ah yes, data collection. That was something Christina was familiar with, though usually she was the one collecting data. It felt odd to be on the other end for a change.

Christina took out a pencil and started scribbling down on the paper, while a few more people came in. She couldn't help roll her eyes at the guy who came in a bit later, what a goof. Once she was done with the first three fields, she returned her attention to the question Miss Ivers had asked. hat type was best? That... was a strange question. Objectively speaking, there was no best type. Each had their own strengths and weaknesses. Maybe if she had been more specific when asking, there could be a more definitive answer. As Christina pondered this, others in the class pretty much said the same. There was even mention of it even depending on the trainer, which she would agree with as well.

Since she agreed with what was spoken, Christina quietly sat in her seat. It was still hard to think of herself as a participant and not an observer. She returned to the piece of paper on desk. The last field was about listing interests. Something else that was open-ended. Christina started listing some as she listened to what else might be said.

---

Name: Christina Douglas
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Interests: Research, history, anatomy, science, physics, mythology, literature, acquiring knowledge, Pokemon - mythology, history, habitats, behaviors, capabilities, etc.

[Zoey May]

The teacher had given them permission to let out one pokémon. No, she was not going to let out trick in her first class ever. She knew that the possibility of her trying to ruin the entire class was to high. This might be a good opportunity for Titania to to get some experience with people. She quickly let the little blue Ralts out of her pokéball without making to much noise. The other girl she greeted earlier seemed to be a little on the shy side. Well class was starting, would be rude just to talk to each other now.

The Teacher's pokémon delivered a piece of paper to each student and on it there were only 4 things. Each which spoke for itself. She took out her pencil and started to fill each field in.


Name: Zoey May
Gender: Female
Age: sixteen
Interests: Sports, Pokémon.

She wasn't about to let others know she still enjoyed Fairy Tales that easily. Even if they were a teacher, who knew where the sheet would end up? It wasn't she didn't trust the teacher, she just didn't knew her that well. The teacher than asked what was according to them the best "type" of pokémon. She thought herself for a bit, the best pokémon. First she asked herself, what would be the ideal pokémon? She then came to the conclusion that it couldn't exist. It would have to be many things at once, both cute and tough. Both strong and skilled. Even if a pokémon was a powerful fighter, if all it could do was fight it wouldn't really be a "good" pokémon. She waited till she could stand to formulate her own answer.

"Each pokémon is different. Bugs may generally not be the best direct fighters, but they can easily cover terrain with their webs. I don't think we should value how they are 'best' in battle alone." She said loud enough, so the entire class could hear it clearly. While this class was called battle class, she didn't ask which was best in battle. Maybe the others could think of better ways what she meant. She wasn't good in painting out the big picture.

[Sophia Schuster]

Filling out the sheet of information was quick and easy. Putting aside the fact that the teacher utilized her Pokemon in a way that facilitated the class's proceedings, she had nothing of note to comment on- at least, she didn't up until that loaded question popped up. That was actually a trick question, wasn't it? While her mind raced, and her body hesitated, she offered a writing utensil to Seraphina, as requested, before inwardly cursing herself as she realized she lost the initiative.

One boy, the only boy at that time, answered. He had a. . . unique dialect, but, with a little stretching of her imagination, she managed to understand what he meant, and what he did. He gave what Sophia could only consider the “right” answer. Answering with any of the types likely would have landed the answerer in a trap. She could only nod before smiling slightly and stifling a laugh as her shoulders quivered with the comment from her roommate. How mean. She remained silent, though. No need to parrot what she believed was right; her classmates that had answered had given plenty of details. At least, the ones offering something relevant to the subject.

She still wanted to kick herself for letting her initiative go, though.

[Fiona Ivers]

The first answer that came was one that brought a warm, though painfully brief, smile to the woman's face. It was correct- a number of them were correct, it seemed- but that accent was pretty familiar. Good times. Either way, it seemed like she was too worried that her student body was biased, as most people tended to be. There was a reason cities had mono-type gyms, after all. Some chose not to answer- maybe out of a lack of confidence, or seeing no need to preach to the choir. There was only one comment she needed to make note of- something to clear up before they proceeded. Fortunately, it tied in with the point of the day's class.

Before that, though, she waved her hand to the side. Samuel raised his hand, and the doors to the classroom locked. Late-comers will be required to wait outside for now. Additionally, they will receive no rewards for the class.

”I was being generous today. It's our first class together, and all. Do note, I expect you all to be here on time with the next class. If you're late, you'll need to knock. When you're admitted to the class, enter quietly.” Since it seemed like it might be an issue, it was good to note then and there. ”Young lady, you're correct in saying that we shouldn't value a Pokemon based on combat ability. After all, Pokemon are our friends, partners, and allies. I believe everyone here can agree with that sentiment. However, while you're free to adhere to that mindset, and I do advise you to hold onto it, this is Battle Tactics. You're here to learn how to best make use of a Pokemon's combat ability. To all of you, keep this in mind.” This wasn't a class about alternative utilization of a Pokemon's abilities or skill sets. The name was on the tin, so to speak.

”Fortunately, it seems like a number of you are already on the right track. It makes me feel that I worried for nothing. Yes, there is no 'best type'. Each type does have its strengths, but it also has its weaknesses. Offensive, defensive- each has points where they're strong, but also where they fall short. I'm not here to teach you theories, to teach you 'estimations'. I'm here to teach you facts. 'The Steel-type is the best' is an opinion. 'The Steel-type is the most comprehensive defensive type of Pokemon' is a fact. Battles are layers upon layers of situational events. Even a team that is properly trained and equipped can be defeated if taken by surprise with an unexpected tactic, or if their weakest link is broken. This is fact. No matter how strong you are- how strong you think you are, or how capable your partners are- defeat is always a possibility.” Oh, how true that was. If raw strength was everything, she wouldn't be there, after all.

”This first class was intended to serve as a message to you all regarding my teaching style. I am not a person that enjoys battling. I simply have experience and the knowledge. I will not fill your heads with delusions of invincibility, but with the reality that you will, no matter how strong you become, still be vulnerable. All I promise, as the instructor here, is to teach you to think outside of the box, to utilize what you have as best you can to lower the probability of loss as much as possible.” She paused a second to let that sink in. It was true, though. Her teaching method was one designed around bluntness and careful guidance. Maybe her colleagues were different. She didn't know. She didn't care.

”As you are likely aware, we do have more than one teacher per subject. You may wish to keep this fact in mind if you feel uncomfortable with a teacher that isn't a battle fanatic, or that my lessons are not satisfactory. I will not be offended, and there's nothing stopping you.” Slowly, she sat forward. Her expression was properly blank again.

”Now, are there any questions regarding this class, specifically, that anybody wants to put forth? Please hold personal questions, or those regarding advice, for after class.” If there was nothing of note, then the children that did come could have their rewards and leave. If they wanted, at least. And if there were questions? Well, she'd do what she could to answer them.

That was her job, after all.

[Karin Cantrell]

Karin watched in awe as a piece of paper floated onto her desk. How cool, she thought. Karin started writing her name then paused. Would Ms. Ivers want her full name? Or would just her first name suffice? After a moment's thought, she wrote her full name. Age and gender were easily answered. Now for interests... She didn't exactly have any hobbies, and she didn't think eating counted as an interest. Eating was necessary to survival. Karin wrote down a single word after some hard thinking. She looked the paper over and nodded. This would do.

Karin Cantrell, 15, female, Pokemon. 

When the teacher asked, "What is the best 'type' of Pokemon?" Karin was sure the obvious and correct answer was, "There is none." She chose not to vocalize it though, instead she looked around the classroom, listening to the other students answer. She couldn’t understand what the only male student said, but assumed he said something reasonable. Upon noticing her roommate, Karin gave her a little wave. Hopefully Lithra would notice. She would call out to her, but that would probably disrupt the class. Karin settled for chatting to Lithra after class.

As Ms. Ivers continued speaking, Karin listened intently. She took in the teacher's words. Ms. Ivers is pretty cool, Karin thought. She would be attending Ms. Ivers's classes again. While Karin might be too hasty in making a decision now, she was captivated by Ms. Ivers's coolness. Karin stood up after Ms. Ivers said, "Now, are there any questions regarding this class, specifically, that anybody wants to put forth? Please hold personal questions, or those regarding advice, for after class."

"So, Ms. Ivers, what are your interests?" Karin asked. It was a personal question relating to class, but it was only fair, right? Ms. Ivers would know all of their interests, but they wouldn't know hers. Hopefully, she won't be punished for asking such a question.

[Lithra Trease]

Karin had seen her! Lithra noticeably perked up at her roommate’s attention, returning the wave with a smile before she looked back at the teacher. It didn’t surprise Lithra that Ms. Ivers addressed the guy who arrived late and with a loud mouth. Ms. Ivers didn’t look like the kind of lady who tolerated disrespect, especially when it came to her classroom. Personally, Lithra liked that about a teacher because that person had control over the class and then the students could actually learn instead of dealing with troublemakers.

After listening to Ms. Ivers, Lithra made a mental note never to be late to this class. She didn’t want to lose out on the rewards of class, of course, but she also wanted to a good student. Good students weren’t late. The girl could feel Bell stretch in her lap, settling to fall asleep while everything else went on. There wasn’t much point in taking a nap, Lithra wanted to tell him, not while it seemed class was going to end.

Truthfully Lithra was a bit disappointed if her first class at the Academy was going to be over in less than twenty minutes. Usually when the instructor opened the floor to questions there weren’t any and that was it. Surprisingly, however, it was Karin who asked something. Lithra was proud her roommate actually took the opportunity to ask something instead of staying quiet like so many others in the room. Lithra beamed over at her roommate. As for the smaller girl, she opted to stay quiet. Lithra would have more to ask when more was presented.

[Sylvia Lane]

Thankfully, Sylvia's embarrassment didn't linger. So she was able to properly take in the progression of the class after having given her input. But, to be honest, not much happened. A few late comers arrived to the class - some quietly, some not so quietly - and took their seats, and one more answer was given to the question that Ms. Ivers had posed. Quite a bit was crammed into a few minutes, but it only pushed the session itself forward a tiny bit.

Her attention was pulled back on their teacher when she noticed her wave her hand. But not even a second later, it was yanked away again at the sight of the Slowking lifting its hand, followed by the soft sound of the door locking. Sylvia stared at the door for a moment. That's awfully ominous, she thought with some humor. She smiled to herself, then turned to look back at Ms. Ivers. When she began to speak, Sylvia rested her hands in her lap and sat up a little straighter. The very picture of attentiveness.

She spent the first part of her speech addressing the very last answer that had been given. Sylvia felt a small pang of sympathy for the girl that the answer belonged to, but he felt that Ms. Ivers had handled it quite well. Of course, she was intimidating woman, so despite the care she'd placed in responding to the answer, there was still a layer of ice to it that sharpened the delivery. Quietly, Sylvia hoped that the girl wasn't especially sensitive. Maybe she'll talk to her after class in case she was...

The rest of her remarks were very interesting. Encouraging too, considering Sylvia's lack of confidence when it came to battling. It was ironic, considering how she had said flat out that everyone in this classroom was capable of losing a battle regardless of their skill. But Sylvia respected and welcomed that straightforwardness. Maybe, she thought, looking down in her lap, if she put some serious effort into this class, she could conceal her vulnerability, if only a little.

Sylvia didn't have any immediate questions she had to ask, so she kept her mouth closed in case someone else did. Then, lo and behold, someone did take her up on the offer. She lifted her eyes from her lap after hearing the girl's question and blinked. That was pretty daring. Despite being told very clearly to leave personal questions for after class, she had decided to voice one anyway. She felt that was a bit...inconsiderate, but was curious to hear the teacher's answer in spite of herself.

[Seraphina King]

Well, all the other students gave their two cents, but it seemed like those who did answer all had similar responses. If Seraphina answered, what would she say? Probably something along the lines of 'her Pokemon' since she raised them, and would therefore be the best to use. So, all of the answers were pretty standard, up until that last one. The girl spoke pretty loudly as if trying to make a point; saying that how good a Pokemon was in battle was not the sole determining factor of what qualified them as 'the best.' But. . . wasn't this Battle Tactics? Sure, the teacher hadn't used those direct words, but hadn't the girl heard of 'context clues?' Seraphina stared at her in disbelief for a moment. She had essentially answered the teacher with 'Just because a Pokemon is the best at battling doesn't make them the best at battling!' Sure, that's not what she was trying to say, but her failure to understand the question resulted in her statement being assessed as such. Naturally, she couldn't hold it in.

Pft. . . HAHAHAHAHA. Smacking her hand against the table, Seraphina let out a big laugh that she simply couldn't be bothered to contain. Eventually, she managed to calm down. A few deep breathes, then a cough. Sorry, I thought of a funny joke. She propped her head up in her hands as she leaned forward onto her desk as if nothing happened after that, and began to listen to the teacher once more.

She had plenty of sound advice, as well as a few answers of her own. The only thing that Seraphina may have wanted to comment on was the idea that defeat was always a possibility. While she was right, she wasn't sure how to feel about that. She could imagine that some people out there could end up getting so full of themselves that they let a weak opponent do them in. But at the same time, she wanted to believe that 'victory is always a possibility.' But was that the case? Sure it was like that in her old profession, but with pokemon? Who knew. Not her, that was for sure. That way of thinking was what got her where she was today. She saw no reason to break that way of thinking just because of a change in scenery. So Seraphina remained. . . relatively silent. She asked no questions or anything, but she would listen all the same. If she was going to bother to come to class, she was going to listen to what the teacher had to say.

[Serena Miller]

Serena watched the teacher closely as she locked the door and calmly explained things.  While, she had no intention of ever being late, this made it clear that even small mistakes would be harshly punished, and that idea made her squirm in her chair.  The teacher was a little scary honestly, but it was in a way that Serena preferred to other options.  She simply knew what she wanted, and what she expected out of the students and made it clear what it was.  There were no doubts as to what she wanted, and that meant that it would be easy to figure out what she should be doing in classes.  She just hoped that the teacher would continue this lecture style of teaching so she could just sit quietly and listen.  It was hard to mess up listening, but it was easy to mess up mock battles or some other more hands on tasks.

In the end, she was glad the class was going to focus on battling.  That was were her interests lied for the moment, even if she didn't think she'd do very well.  Because she figured she'd always lose anyway, it made it pretty easy for Serena to accept the overall message of the lesson.  For the time being, she didn't have any questions, but she still furrowed her brow trying to make sure she really didn't have any.  She was curious to know what Ms. Iver's personal favorite type was, but that sounded more like a personal question that should be asked after class according to what she just said.  Then her focus was broken by that one girl laughing loudly, and a somewhat inappropriate question being asked.  It was a good thing she didn't ask hers after what was going on.  This was just kind of disrespectful.