Chapter Text
"Okay, so, if the potion requires 1.278 liters exactly- god, that's kind of precise- of prune juice and we need 3.5 the amount of that in grams of ground minerals... how do they do that? How do they grind up... anyways..."
Charlie and Berry sat at their table in the Sage's magic class, both hunched over a textbook opened to a page that was titled 'Potion of Healing'. This edition of 'Percy Jacob's Guide To Basic Potion-making' was specifically written for students, and had some extra calculation problems involved in it. Charlie had never understood why that was- she despised math, it was the subject she was the least educated on. Sure, she was okay at it... that doesn't mean that she couldn't hate it.
"You have ten minutes before the class ends!" The Sage shouted. "I'll be coming 'round, taking a look at the state of your potions!"
Shoot! They didn't have anything, Berry and Charlie had both spent the hour and a half trying to solve the equations in the book before actually making anything. They had both solved 3 so far, but Charlie was unsure about the accuracy of the solutions.
"Hello, Charlie! Hello, uh- what's your name again?" The Sage said, floating over to the two girls' table. He looked inside the pot. "Oh? Nothing? What have you all spent this precious time doing?"
Charlie felt her face turn red. It was because of those stupid mathematics equations they didn't have anything to show! And the Sage seemed disappointed as well.
"We spent all the time trying to figure out the mathematics before we actually started..." Charlie responded. She really hoped the Sage didn't think she was stupid or anything... that was the exact opposite! She was smart, and got good marks at most of the lessons!
"I see," The Sage said. "While being the smartest man in this world myself, and having no problem with mathematics, I do seem to ntice even the brightest of the students I have taught seem to dislike these editions of Percy Jacobs Guide to Potion Making. It seems you did put in effort into this, so I will extend the period of time you need to solve these equations. You two will have until thursday, and then please pay me a visit in my office in the afternoon."
"Y-yes, sir! Thank you, professor!" Charlie said, bowing her head.
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December 2, ████
Dear Diary,
Today, I got to study with Berry in her section! That's something the instructors do- they let us visit each other's sections when you want to study. But, you have to get permission and you can't do anything else.
Some of the students were playing a very chaotic game of chess, and seemed to be arguing over it. I couldn't hear a lot of coherant talking, but one of them seemed to be a sore loser.
Berry retreated to a corner, which is where we studied for a good two hours. We got four more of the equations done! I solved some of them twice, to make sure that we got the correct answer. Potions need to be super precise, and the math solving only makes it harder. Maybe one of these times, I could go to the library and see if there's a non-equation version of the book... just to compare answers. I know better then to cheat at my classwork with the answers, but if I could compare afterwards than it will help me get even better!
I forgot to eat today... Berry and I went straight to studying after our lessons. My stomach is growling- I really hope I can find something to eat in the morning.