#bergen_county

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And Sylvi finds herself scrambling. One of her classes is giving her trouble

It would have been too much to hope that all of her classes in senior year would be easy...but why does she have to be having this much trouble with Participation in Government? It's a required course for twelfth graders, and sure, it's important...but it's a pain.

Part of the problem is the teacher's delivery maybe ?or is that something she tells herself so she doesn't have to take the blame?

That's an unpleasant possibility. Okay, she tells herself, taking a deep breath at the classroom door, give him another chance. Maybe it's not him after all.

One more deep breath...smile...showtime. In she goes. Positive attitude. She walks briskly to her seat.

"Now, a few of you have issued in your reports on media's influence on our government..."

...positive attitude...maybe he doesn't mean you....

Bright, attentive expression.

"And I'm sorry to say, a few of you really missed the boat" A shake of his head, and he hands out papers

and the paper handed to her has a.. grade lower than she expected. A note on it 'You really need to stop assuming expertise and coasting'

A blink. She reads that note again.

...assuming expertise...

She frowns. So much for the positive attitude.

And he moves on and hands others. Dirk looks at his paper "huh, cool"

She doesn't mean to whip her head around at him that fast. It just happens. She tries to see what he got.

Did Dirk get an A?! He got an A!

She stares.

Dirk sees her gaze "Whut?"

It may be a few moments before she realizes her mouth has dropped open.

She closes it abruptly, and puts her paper face down on the desk. "Nothing," she whispers sharply.

She instead just clenches her jaw and stares at the board at the front of the room.

The class goes on , the teacher finishes up reports handed out. And goes on about overestimating influencers and 'internet wags'

A determined look, and she raises her hand.

"Yes? Miss Davidson?"

His tone is..indulgent. Almost too much so

She clears her throat. "Mr. Grant, if internet influencers are so prevalent that you're even mentioning them here, then how can you overlook them as a factor in public perception of current events?"

"For the same reason I don't consider grafiti the equal of a newspaper for import. " Mr. grant says "do try not to tie yourself up too much in your little digital kinggdom, Miss Davidson, bubbles like that foil perspective" And he moves to another student "Now, Riley, you had a question?"

"Maybe, sir, you don't understand how much information can get communicated through graffiti, because it's not targeted for you."

Riley starts to speak but stops

"I mean...you have a perspective too, right?"

"Maybe it's not broad enough."

Shut up, Sylvi, she thinks to herself. This is gonna backfire on you.

"Miss Davidson, taking turns with others is a skill you're supposed to have mastered in Kindergarten," Mr. Grant observes "You have your question , now it's someone else's turn."

A few snickers at the kindergarten jab

"I have my question, but I haven't had a real answer."

Riley blushes "I was just.. going to ask if .."

She looks to Riley. "Sorry, Riley. Go ahead."

"Yes, Riley, it seems we have Princess Sylvi's permission for you to speak, do go on" Mr Grant observes

a few more snikers. Oddly, Dirk isn't one

She folds her arms and sits back, frowning.

Riley blushes "Just.. ah.. I was going to ask when our next big test was?"

"Week annd a half from now," He answers "But theree maybe a pop quiz in between to keep you all sharp."

Some groans

and the bell rings

"Please all, do learn from your mistakes... doubling down on them will not help you, in this class" A glance at Sylvi "Or the real world"

And folks filter out