Chapter 11: Chapter 10
Our teacher for the second to the last subject did not arrive. Also, our last subject meant we had four straight hours of vacant time, and all we did was talk to each other and have some conversation about the upcoming special exam.
When we got back from washing Ira's nose, Austin and Ms. Cristina, who were chitchatting before we arrived, asked if Ira was fine and what caused the commotion.
Ira gave Austin the cold shoulder but took Ms. Cristina's handkerchief to his heart when the lady saw blood dripping down Ira's nose.
His nose had another reason to bleed. Ms. Cristina abruptly took both of Ira's hands and held them as she asked him if he was okay.
The idiot whose smile could almost reach his ears, gladly held Ms. Cristina's soft hands as tight as he could and told the lady where he was hurt.
'What a simp,' I thought to myself.
Then eight o'clock struck, and our class for the day ended.
I felt stiff, my heart thumping wildly inside my chest as we got escorted by Prof Denise to the special exam location.
We were all quiet and followed Prof Denise as he had instructed.
"While we are on our way, I will start with the explanation about the special exam. Each course will have the same special exam, and the exam will take place in the forest. Yes, you heard me right. You, floriculture students, will compete against other courses. It's called capture the flag."
"Capture the flag? Does that mean we will work as a team?" Jarvan asked.
He is the nerdy guy, always fixing his eyeglasses, and talking about how pathetic others are.
"Not exactly. You can still work as a team, but the points you would gather per flag capture will only apply to yourself. Each student will be given a flag of their own. A flag costs 50 account points and 1 personal point. At the end of the special exam, all account points you have garnered will be automatically added to your account. And the personal points will serve as the determiner who triumphed and is at the bottom."
We arrived in the forest, but we did not see the other students. It was only us, floriculture students, present in the forest.
There was a bag full of red flags and a bunch of flashlights. It was already dark, and mosquitoes flew around, biting our arms and bare skin exposed to them.
We went there using our flashlight on our phone, listening to the crickets and other bugs making sounds, which killed off the fear in everyone's minds.
"I will give everyone five minutes to review the contents of the special exam. After five minutes, I will have to collect everyone's phone and would give each of you a flashlight and a flag."
As the cuckooing of the owl echoed in the forest, moonlight passes through the small gaps on the leaves, the melancholic vibe of the night spread throughout the whole forest, and each one of us opened our phones and checked the special exam's content.
We scrolled through our phones, scanning the contexts of the special exam while Prof Denise prepared the flags and flashlight. The clock was ticking on us.
One cold breeze came, and I was grateful for it, for it swept my uneasiness away, the fear I was feeling at the moment.
[Capture the Flag]
[Rules and Regulations]
[1. Each student will be given a course flag. Every course has different flag color so that confusion won't get in everyone's way when the exam is ongoing.]
[2. One flag has a value of 50 account points and 1 personal point.]
[3. Teams can be formed, although the accumulated points will be added to those who have the captured flag. Everyone can always split the captured flags up!]
[4. The special exam will last for about an hour.]
[5. Account points will be added to your account by the end of the special exam. You will see a QR code on the flags. Your assigned professors will give back your cellphones, and you will be able to scan them later. Personal points work differently. There will be standings by the end of the special exam where the individuals that come up on top will be beautifully rewarded.]
[6. The top three students who capture the most flags from another course will be rewarded with account points and do not have to worry about failing the current semester! However, those at the bottom, the last three individuals who have the least captured flags will be penalized and might need to worry about their grades.]
[7. The top 1 individual will contribute 1000 account points to the whole class. The top 2 will add 600 account points, and the top 3 get additional 300 account points for the whole class. The additional points will be given next month. Of course, if there is great compensation for hardworking students, there are also consequences for the last three students and their class. The last student will not only deduct 2000 account points but also deduct 1000 points they will receive by the start of the month. 1500-600 to the second to the last, and 1000-300 to the third to the last individual.]
[8. Can anyone from your class snatch away the flags you've captured? Yes, but punishment will be conducted on those who play it dirty. Inflicting harm to each other is inevitable, but anything further than that will not be overlooked. If you look around you, on the trees, there are wireless cameras monitoring everyone's movements. So anyone can not make such false accusations, for every movement is being watched, even right now.]
[9. What will happen if you don't capture a flag and keep your flag with you? Each student will start with 0 flags, but when they capture a flag, their flag count will become 2 in the case of capturing 1 flag. Also, the 50 AC and 1 PP won't add to your count unless you capture 1 or more flags. So don't be sitting ducks, even if you are afraid of the dark, or you might fail your 1st semester!]
[10. You won't be eliminated if your flag ever got taken from you. What if your flag got taken from you and you got one flag will your count be 2 or 0, or perhaps 1? The answer will be 1.]
~
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone