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Springing into action, several guards stumbled and grappled over each other, desperately trying to fling themselves upon the ring and necklace, but before any of them could reach it, they were thwarted by Kalen’s body weight slamming into the cluster of them and sending them flying backwards, tumbling onto the carpet painfully. While trying his best to right himself with his tied hands, Agatha picked up the slack and wriggled haphazardly, a fish caught in twine, until she was semi-righted into a strange frog squat. Leaping forward she crossed the distance, a sharp prick in her side where the bite of her ring met soft skin as she landed, scrunching her nose up at the definite assurance of a bruise. Meanwhile Kalen had been able to surge upward after a short period of struggle just in time to be met with a vigorous thrust to the nose, head flying back in sheer force and bringing his weight scuffling backwards a step or two as a result, almost knocking into one of the columns breaching into the hallowed ceiling.
“Spades, that hurt,” he groaned. The guard who had delivered the blow paced in front of him, drawing his sword with a high metallic shrill. “Blackwell, the boy is mine.” Excelzia sibilated from amongst the fray, shockingly unrumpled with face dispassionate. The fact that the stone-faced woman herself put a claim on his life chilled him; dying at the hands of a witchblade… a fate no kinder for any warlock. Slowly the woman crossed the room, knuckles white in her grip on her blade, her men parting for her even through the throng of chaos. Kalen glanced over at Agatha, who had maneuvered so the ring was clenched in her teeth as her lips lifted into a snarl. The amulet was tucked tightly in a fold of her shirt, between her side and her forearm, and a small light shone off of it as Kalen stared towards it. An idea framed inside his mind. The last time he had attempted such a thing was in the boundaries of his bedroom, among the silence of his bedsheets and books, and even then his concentration had failed and wreaked havoc on his home. If he had more time a better plan would have been more appealing; however they were lacking in the former, so it was the best idea he could summon. “Agatha, close your eyes,” He bellowed from his position. Excelzia stopped her advances, as well as the soldier, Blackwell, who had halted his pacing in wake of his commander nearing. “You have lost your amulet, son of evil. Do not fool us with your petty bluffs,” The king yelled, cowering behind his wall of metal knights blocking the throne. Kalen breathed, attuned to his heartbeat only. He grappled for the string in his mind that tethered him to his artifact, searching, searching for the rush of sensations that came with it’s abilities. Deep in the red of his soul stained with memories, he found it. Glowing and whispering foul secrets it had curled in on itself, but now it burned an angry hue, and he felt it all come back as he touched it. He breathed. Inhale. Exhale “Kalen, do it,” Agatha said through the metal in her mouth. “Goodbye, warlock,” Excelzia growled. Ignite, He thought. And as the world disappeared around him, Prince Kalen of Kingdom Bellamy, Warlock, breathed a cloud of fire into the throne room of Castle Mundoch. Ivie Gordon Staff Writer
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Finals At the end of every course that a student takes in a school year, students must take an end of course (EOC) exam and/or a final. These tests can vary in difficulty depending on what class a student takes, especially if the student is enrolled in AP, IB, or Dual Credit.
If the course being taken has an EOC, it will be included in the STAAR test (state regulated test in texas), and a final can be exempt. For the final to be exempt, the student must have passed the STAAR/EOC and be passing the class for the grading period. If a student does not meet these requirements, the final exam, made by the teacher of the class, will be assigned to the student. Absences play a role in the classes that do not have an EOC exam, in which the student must have less than 9 absences and have a certain grade that corresponds with the number of missing days to exempt the final exam. “I like how the EOC is in the STAAR test because that means that’s one more thing you don’t have to worry about at the end of the year,” M. Diehl (12) said. Finals week is the last week of school, between June 4 through June 6, in which students will take a final exam for all classes that have not been exempted. However, some classes take finals before finals week, but most of these classes are AP or IB. The reason for this is because the tests are longer and have more questions and topics to cover, and have essays attached that need to be graded, so the teachers need as much time as possible to grade the exams. If a class does take their final earlier, the day assigned to that class on finals week can work on a project, assignment, or something else. “Sometimes, AP students and IB students don’t do anything on the day of finals, so if you took a lot of AP or IB classes, that finals week just drags out forever,” Z. Soniwalla (12) said. Finals can be stressful for many students, as the final is a culmination of the whole year and sometimes students worry about failing or scoring poorly on the last test of the year. Since the final usually makes up about 20% of the class grade, it is a test that should not be taken lightly, and that causes anxiety in some students who have test anxiety. “I go to tutoring and study the night before, as well as getting good sleep and eating a good breakfast to calm my test anxiety. It usually works,” S. Wray (9) said. Most teachers have their classrooms open the day before the test open for tutoring so that students can study and get one-on-one time with the teacher to make sure all the topics are covered for the student. Some students take advantage of this tutoring time, and study the whole week leading up to the test, as well as using outside sources like Kahn Academy or Sylvan Learning Center to get outside help on subjects they don’t fully understand. “I used Kahn Academy to help me study, and I like it more because it goes a lot more in depth on the subjects i was looking for,” K. Mora (9). Brady Davis Staff Writer Movie Review over Love SimonFor the most part, Simon’s life is totally normal. His dad was the quarterback in high school, and his mom was the valedictorian. He has a younger sister, drinks iced coffee, watches 90’s movies, and eats at Waffle House with his best friends. Everything is totally normal except he has a huge secret. A secret that has taken over. Love Simon is a relatable film about the average teenage life, but is also a beautifully constructed film about a boy named Simon who is facing society and learning how to live his new life when word gets out that he is gay. Throughout the film, viewers are taken on an emotional rollercoaster through laughter and tears. Not only is it the perfect balance of humor, sadness, and romance, it is also an empowering film that encourages adolescents to not be afraid to be themselves. The plotline of the movie begins with Simon going about his normal routine. He knows he is homosexual, and has known for a while, yet he has kept it to himself for years. When he finds out that another male at his school has the same secret, the two begin emailing each other under aliases. Though Simon has never met this mystery boy in person, and doesn’t even know his real name, he falls in love. When a classmate comes across their messages by accident, Simon is blackmailed and if he doesn’t comply with the blackmailer’s requests, the messages will be posted online for the whole school to see. Because Simon is afraid his mystery boy will disappear, he obeys and because of this his world turns upside down as friendships are torn apart. Throughout the whole film, Simon tries to guess who the mystery boy is. Hints are embedded throughout the plot line, but the result is eventually revealed, and it’s left to find out. Professional ratings vary, though the majority are positive. On the Rotten Tomatoes website the movie has 92% fresh tomatoes, and only 13 total rotten tomatoes out of all the critic reviews. The calculated average audience rating in a 4.5 out of 5. I personally loved Love Simon, and it is currently my favorite movie. I saw it once in theaters, and I enjoyed it so much that I went a second time. Typically I don’t rewatch movies or series while they’re still fresh in my mind, but this movie was just as good if not better the second time around. I was able to pick up on new details previously missed. All in all, this movie was great and I highly recommend it to romantic comedy lovers, or anyone in for a good love story. The reactions of the other viewers in the theater made the movie even more enjoyable and also made for a memorable experience. It is really great to watch in a group setting if the chance is presented. Madeline Sturdivant Staff Writer |
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