Ecosystem Observation

@"Emy"

"This way, please!"

Seth motioned for his students to follow along as he led them down from the school building to the banks of the lake. The warm sunlight of the nearly-summer day caressed his face, and as he took in a deep breath of the fresh air he reassured himself that this was a good idea. Starlight Academy had so many diverse and bountiful ecosystems in such vicinity to each other; it would be a shame- nay, a crime against knowledge!- not to allow his environmental science students to explore them in depth. Perhaps they might find something of interest! Something new! Something harmful! Something that could be further researched in the lab! Ah yes. Surely this was just as exhilarating an opportunity for his students as it was for him...

However, as he turned around to look at the faces of his class behind him, very few, if any, showed the same level of excitement that he possessed.

....Ah well, he attempted to reassure himself again. At least he was getting them out of the stuffy classroom walls. Besides, who doesn't love class outside? There was the chance he might be considered a "cool" teacher for this. He liked that possibility.

He led them all the way down to the bank's edge, before turning back around to face them. "Right, so, um..." He inwardly kicked himself. He was still not the greatest at giving direction, and he desperately needed to work on that...

"You all can, uh, split up. Each of you try to observe a different part of the lake ecosystem. You can look at the plants, soil, fish, algae, bugs...yeah. Anything. Just take notes on what you observe, and come back here in half an hour." He paused. Perhaps he should make this a part of some larger assignment in order to give them motivation to work? "U-um, these notes will be used to write a report on your observations in class." He nodded at them, reaffirming his own statements. "Alright. So, uh, go forth?"

He watched his students begin to taper off, some of them in pairs and trios, and wander around the edge of the lake, while others stayed nearby to avoid having to actually move very far. In his mind he was taking a headcount, figuring out who went where and with whom and such...

Seth continued to check names off in the attendance list in his mind, as the students dispersed farther and farther away from him. He eventually got to the name Na Lan Tai Hu- and, with a jump, realized that he was right in front of him, having barely moved since they arrived. The lake spirit had taken a few steps into the water, so that his feet were submerged and his robes were beginning to get wet. Seth watched him, curiously, for a moment, but Na Lan didn’t appear to be doing anything at all- just staring down into the water, appearing slightly entranced by it. He started to get a bit nervous.

He didn’t know what to do, really. He didn’t very well want Na Lan to just stand and stare into the lake the entire class- he wanted to push his student to explore, to look at less familiar parts of the environment around him. However, he also didn’t want to somehow offend Na Lan, by telling him what to do. He waited another minute, but the spirit did not move. He sighed. Perhaps he should prod him just a little bit.

“…Erm….Na Lan?” he called over to him, a bit hesitantly. “Y-You know, you can really go anywhere for this assignment, right? Not just, uh…directly in the water…” He hoped that maybe this was a subtle enough suggestion to get him back on task, and out of the lake…

Seth sighed, putting his head in his hand for a moment. He really didn’t want to argue with the-…he almost said child, until he recalled that Na Lan was a spirit, and far older than he could ever fathom. Still, it seemed as if the lake reduced Na Lan to a childlike state, as if it was almost a security blanket for him, and he didn’t want it taken away. Which, he supposed, was understandable. This particular lake was about as free from pollution as you could get these days, which was somewhat remarkable…..Focus. Right. Focus. What was he doing….Ah, yes. Focus on trying to focus your student, Seth...he shook his head at himself, sighing again.

“You don’t, really, um….have to, uh, go anywhere else, per se,” Seth tried to clarify. “It was, um, just, merely a suggestion…” You’re caaaaaving, teacher, a voice in the back of his mind reminded him. He took a breath. “But,” he continued, “the point of the assignment is to branch out, and really explore the ecosystem as much as you can. For example,” he bent down beside him. “Perhaps, instead of just staring at the water itself….maybe look at the plants under its surface? Or look out for any fish? Or maybe examine the wet soil, or…..” His face went slightly pink. He really didn’t want Na Lan to think he was telling him what to do- he didn’t know how to deal with student confrontations just yet, and he certainly wasn’t prepared for that right now, and he didn’t want to end up in mushroom-growing position with his entire class there……he was spiraling. He had to make his point.

“M-My point is, uh, don’t limit yourself with this, yeah? Try to expand your horizons just a liiiiiittle.” He indicated what “a little” was with his index finger and thumb, nodding.

“……andonceyou’vefinished,youcanspendasmuchtimeinthelakeasyoulike.” He exhaled, as if all of that had been building up inside him over the course of this awkward conversation. He took a deep breath, feeling much better at this sort of compromise, and looked to Na Lan, to make sure that the lake spirit felt as good about it as he did.