I'm off to take my finals at the Wright-Rieman Laboratories. I've managed to go over just enough of the review material for my Introduction to Philosophy final that I might just be able to pass, "might" being the key word here. I'm still dressed in my funeral clothes, wool coat and Gobi silk cashmere leggings and all, but I'm sure Professor Faulken won't mind. I don't even have time to change out of them.

I proceed to head on down to the Wright-Rieman Laboratories and make my way into the room where I'm supposed to have the exam. For once, I'm not early. However, I can't help but notice that almost the entire room is quiet except for a few students talking here and there. I wait for a little bit before Professor Faulken walks in and sets her tote bag down onto her desk.

"Alright, class, it's time to take the final exam," Professor Faulken announces. "I hope you've been going over your review materials. They've covered everything that's on the test. You can also use notes to help you if you like, but I would prefer that you do this without other materials. Before we begin, please put away your cellphones, laptops, tablets, textbooks, scouters, or whatever else you got laid out besides your notes."

We all do as she says. With that out of the way, we proceed to take our exams with the best of our abilities. I try my hardest to remember the material I went over, namely the stuff regarding the field of ethics. Okay, so... philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general subject areas: metaethics, normative ethics, and... what else was there? Oh yeah, applied ethics! Metaethics investigates where our ethical principles come from and what they mean. Normative ethics takes on a more practical task, which is to arrive at moral standards that regulate right and wrong conduct. Kinda sounds like what Quilene and I have been planning to do with Jonah, which I guess is fitting for this sort of thing. And then there's applied ethics. What exactly does applied ethics do? Think, Hope, think. You can just take out your notes and use those. I flip through my notes, flipping and flipping until I get to what applied ethics are. Okay, applied ethics involves examining specific controversial issues like abortion, infanticide, animal rights, environmental concerns, sexuality, gender identity, capital punishment, or even nuclear war. Good, good. Just what I needed.

I manage to get through the exam slowly but steadily, making sure to carefully go over the multiple-choice questions and the essay questions. Finally, at long last, I've managed to finish this thing with little worry. All that's left to do now is to get up and hand my exam over to Professor Faulken. As soon as I've transferred my exam into Professor Faulken's hands, I give a polite little smile. She reciprocates. I take this as a cue to go back to my desk, collect my things, and then leave.

Just like that, I've managed to get through the first day of final exams. I head back to my dorm and flop down on the couch with my backpack by my side. In an instant, I can feel something poke my face. I look up to see Quilene staring at me.

"So... how did your final exam in Intro to Philosophy go?" Quilene asks me with a glint in her eye.

"Pretty well, I must say," I reply confidently. "It wasn't easy, but I managed to pull right through it."

"Must have been really difficult to get through it, though, especially since we just attended Professor Hohenheim's funeral earlier."

"It was pretty hard, but I finished it just for him. I wanted to make him proud."

"It's just too bad he died when he did. It would have been interesting for you to have him as a professor next semester, but oh well."

"Don't worry, I'm sure there are plenty of professors around here just as good as Van was."

Quilene just nods and smiles. "Yeah. Professor Hohenheim was the best one, though. I don't think he can ever be replaced."

Before we can continue any further, my iPhone starts going off.

"Huh... I wonder who that could be?" I think out loud.

I lift my iPhone from out of my pocket and answer. It's Mom.

"Hello?" I ask. "How's it going, Mom?"

"I'm alright," she replies. "How have you been holding up? Did you take your Philosophy exam? How did it go?"

I give a soft but sad smile. "I'm okay, just still a little shaken up by Van's death. Yeah, I took the exam. I actually got through it just fine."

"You did? Didn't you say you were too upset to keep studying?"

"Yeah, but Professor Faulken let us use our notes for the exam. It's a good thing I took so many notes during class."

"Oh, good. Listen, I'm proud of you for working so hard this semester. I'm sure you'll do even better next semester."

"Thanks, Mom. I'll be sure to study as much as I can for the remaining finals."

"That's good to hear. Oh, I have to go. I'm supposed to eat with your grandmas for dinner."

"Oh, okay. Bye bye, Mom. I love you."

"Love you too, Hope. Bye bye."

With that, Mom hangs up.

"Was that your mom?" Quilene asks me curiously.

"Yeah," I reply. "She just wanted to know how well I did on that exam earlier today."

"Oh, okay. I was just wondering, that's all."

"I have absolutely no doubt that the remaining exams will be just as hard as that one was, but I'll just have to keep studying anyway."

"Well, I've already sent your Aunt Maya a video of some puppies playing together from YouTube. I'm fairly sure she's gonna give me a passing grade."

"Good, you deserve it."

Quilene checks her watch. "Oh! I gotta go! I ordered us some Domino's pizza for dinner. Just stay there and rest for a bit. I'll be back."

I can't help but watch Quilene leave and close the door behind her. She's right. I should rest up and save my energy for now. Not only did Van's funeral take a lot out of me, but so did that Introduction to Philosophy exam.