The end of the school week had arrived and the class Blathers was most dreading was finally here. The anxiety of his Friday class was enough to keep him awake all night. Well, almost all night. He eventually fell asleep after many hours of tossing and turning. A sleep deprived Blathers finally awoke at around 7:05pm. He looked at his clock with disorientation trying to remember which day it was. Friday. 7:05pm. He sat straight up in a panic. His class started five minutes ago.
Blathers leaped out of bed and rushed into his closet, grabbing the first brown argyle sweater vest he could reach for and slipping it on. He picked up his knapsack and sprinted out his door, rushing passed his family and heading right out the front door. His mother and Celeste only saw a brown blur of feathers rush by. His father's eyes glued to the daily paper.
He made it to class roughly 15 minutes late and he was petrified. He nervously stepped into the class that had already begun and found a seat near the back. Luckily the professor spared him any embarrassment. He unpacked his books as quietly as he could and contemplated how he could have slept through his alarm, or perhaps he forgot to set it. He'd never arrived late to anything, always making a point of being early. No matter, the class had only just begun and it didn't seem like Blathers had missed much other than introductions. It was clear Professor Nat was passionate about insects. He started pulling an array of taxidermied insects and placing them on his desk.
"As you can see on these fine specimens, the acetone has kept them in impeccable conditions." said the professor as he finished laying each one out. There were quite a few insects spread out; dragonflies, stick bugs, different coloured beetles and a large moth.
"By the end of the semester, you will all be able to identify each insect with relative ease. For those students who aren't able to... well, you simply won't be earning the credit for the course. Speaking of which, there is no final examination for this class."
The entire class cheered and applauded. He continued, "Instead you will all be given a final project done in pairs worth 70% of your final grade."
The students grumbled with disappointment.
"Before we continue, I'll give you all a minute to go around and find the partner you will be working with. It's a big project, so make sure you select your partner wisely!"
The students began moving around the room chatting with each other. Blathers got up from his seat with trepidation and tried to speak to one of his peers nearby.
"Excuse me, hoot... Hello I was wondering if--"
"Sorry I have a partner already." Said the student beside him.
Blathers walked over to someone else, "Hello, might you be looking for--"
"I've got a partner, sorry."
The professor got the class' attention, "Alright everyone, please return to your seats. If you haven't found a partner yet, you can continue after."
Professor Nat continued on with the lesson, discussing the insects on his desk in great detail. Halfway through his lecture a student barged into the room. The professor paused and looked sternly at the student who entered.
"Sorry I'm late prof'!" He said with a smirk.
"I don't appreciate having my lecture interrupted!"
"Won't happen again!" He pointed at the bugs, "Bring your pet to work day I see."
The class chuckled and the professor irritatedly asked the student to find a seat. Blathers recognized the student by the varsity jacket he was wearing and the smug look on his face. It was one of the boys from the library who was causing a ruckus a few days ago. The student walked over to an empty seat on the opposite end of the class and highfived a few of the other students on the way.
The lecture proceeded and the professor was coming to close, "Before I dismiss you all for the day, is there anyone who does not yet have a partner? Please raise your hand."
Blathers raised his hand and looked around the room hoping he wasn't the only one. Just as he scanned the room he noticed one other person raising their hand. It was the student who'd arrived late. He was filled with disappointment.
"Good! You two can be partners. Looks like everyone is partnered up then."
"Um, prof. What exactly are we partnering up for?" asked the student. The professor sighed, "If you'd arrived on time you would know exactly what you were partnering up for. Have your partner brief you on the project after class."
The professor dismissed the class and the students quickly made their way out the doors. It was Friday night and none of them wanted to stay in class any longer than they needed to.
Blathers packed away his books and saw his new partner approaching him. They introduced themselves.
"Hey, buddy, my name's Kevin."
"Nice to meet you, Kevin. My name is Blathers."
"Pleasure! Looks like it's your lucky day!" He chuckled, "So what's this project the teach was talking about?"
Blathers was already feeling agitated, "It's the final project. Worth 70% of our final grade, which means its very important we put our best foot forward on this."
"Sure, sure. Great, so is it just a report on bugs and stuff?"
Blathers pulled out a rubric that the professor had handed out earlier, "It's a 20 page report on insects, their classification and how best to identify them."
Kevin took a look at the rubric, "Cool! Sounds like a sweet deal."
"Look, I don't suspect you're a big fan of homework and the sort, so you don't need to worry. I'll handle the report and you can focus on... whatever it is you like to do in your spare time. Jumping in trash bins, disturbing the peace and whatnot."
"Huh? Oh, you must've seen our little wager in the library. Hilarious stuff, right? My buddies and I were betting who could land right in the bin. Not that easy, let me tell ya'. But don't you worry, bud, I intend on doing my part. How bad could it be, it's just a paper on some bugs."
He ruffled Blathers head feathers, to which Blathers swatted his hands away in annoyance. Kevin laughed and wrote down his number on a scrap piece of paper, "We're partners now, so if you need me, give me a call and we'll figure out when to work on it." He handed Blathers his number and walked out of the class.
Blathers looked at his phone number and back at Kevin. Kevin joined some friends who were waiting for him in the hall, he put his arms around them and they they walked off turning a corner out of sight. Blathers crumpled up the phone number and dropped it into the trash.
"Won't be needing that." He said as he walked down the opposite end of the hall.
----- Author's Note -----
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