Chapter Two
Hermione tried to stiff a yawn as she took notes from the lecture portion of her computer course. They were going over the Office Suite and from what she could see it looked rather easy but she was still vigilantly taking notes on the formatting and making sure to date and label all her handouts that would go in the pocket folder that went with the class. It was only four weeks in to the eight week course and the entire left side of her pocket folder was already full.
The lecture held her attention but it was the practical part she loved. She could learn by any method but hands on work seemed to stimulate her mind more than anything.
Soon enough it was time for their break between the lecture and the practical and her teacher, a Ms. Quinn, asked her to hold back for a moment.
"Hermione, I'm going to be honest. You've passed everything so far with 100%, if I give you the final during the break you can work on it for two hours, if you need that long. If you pass it with a 90% or above you'll receive your certificate for this course. I would recommend enrolling in a GCSE course through your private school if you have the time for it."
Her teacher seemed pretty confident in her ability to pass this final so Hermione bit the bullet and sat down to begin to take it.
Only thirty minutes had passed when Hermione stood to turn in her final, but Ms. Quinn wasn't surprised. She started the rest of the students on their practical portion and then began the very quick process of grading Hermione's final.
"100% dear, like I said look into the GCSE course, I would hope it would challenge you enough that you actually have to think on it." She said laughing "There's a letter in that packet for your parents. Now do you have bus fare or would you prefer to call your mom to pick you up?"
"I'll call my mom, I'm sure she would like to talk to you about this." Hermione said, unable to hide her excitement at being moved up so quickly.
It only took Hermione's mom twenty minutes to arrive at the center and when she did she was grinning from ear to ear as she went into the conference with Hermione's teacher.
"Are you sure she's ready for GCSE work?" she asked, hardly able to contain her excitement.
"She is beyond ready for GCSE work, she's been taking Latin for two years correct?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes, she's getting an intensive summer course the first part of June for Latin III." Her mother said, smiling at her daughter.
"To get her ready for her summer as well as to test for her boarding school entrance exams I would strongly recommend she move up to GCSE practice books and practice tests. I have some old practice tests from last year I can make you a copy of that way you have something to practice with until the new ones come out this year."
Jane looked at Hermione who nodded her head yes before making a mental note to talk to the Abbot at Hermione's boarding school about staring her on GCSE prep work when she dropped Hermione off later in the evening.
When Hermione returned to Saint Mary's Abbot Dawn looked over Hermione's test scores from the previous weekend before agreeing to place her into the GCSE prep work.
Thankfully the books where provided for this course in the enrollment fee. A copy of the syllabus was inside the packet as well as the coveted reading list for the Literature portion of the exam, they syllabus for the six month course was ten pages long but it went into detail of what would be covered when, for how long and what exactly was on each test.
"There is also a college level study skills class that is being held tonight, it actually starts in an hour, I would strongly recommend you slip into that class tonight. Don't worry about the fee; I'm going to go talk to the instructor about it anyway. The notes are already typed up, you just have to follow along and listen and then review them and put them into practice." She paused for a moment and seeing the interest in Hermione's eyes continued.
"You'd get out at ten, but everything you need to know would be covered or at least mentioned in the course. The handouts and books will be included so you can go over it some on your own and Dr. Granger, you're more than welcome to sit in on it as well."
Jane and Hermione decided to first pick up the packet for the study course before walking around the corner for a cup of coffee and tea.
As their drinks arrived they began flipping through the thick packet of information.
"This is pretty thorough stuff." Jane said, taking a drink of her black coffee, knowing she would need it.
"You've wanted me to take one, and what better way than getting in on a free voucher." Hermione said, eyeing the coffee her mother was drinking.
"It has too much caffeine for you, sweetie. You'd be bouncing off the walls." Jane said, even as she slid the cup over to Hermione.
"I know but I still have a book to finish and ten source cards to do, plus whatever work I need to catch up on for the GCSE course, it's already four weeks into the course."
Hermione said, flipping to the syllabus page, eyes bulging at the amount of work that was covered in four weeks.
"Assessment test, a chapter a class, and then the four tests I've missed on Saturdays. That's twelve chapters and five tests mom." Hermione said, not so sure she could do it.
"Calm down sweetheart. Instead of doing only tomorrow's work do two chapter's worth and so forth and you'll be caught up in two weeks, it's not that hard it's just a lot of work. That's where the caffeine comes in handy. Drink." Her mother said, pointing to her cup of coffee.
Hermione tentatively took a sip and found she actually liked the taste of it. Her mother always put two creams and two sugars in her coffee, she knew that by heart.
The book that came with the course was only a hundred and thirty pages long, but it covered everything from learning types to studying habits to note taking processes and formats. So far the Cornell method or modified Cornell method stood out to her the most.
As they did an example out of the packet on the Cornell method both regular and modified she found she liked the way it presented information in a clear and concise method all on the fronts of the paper.
Studying habits was also a favorite of hers as it mentioned how to set up an effective study place and how to use it to its max potential and then they were showed a few desks and asked to rate them on how effective they were thought to be.
By the time Hermione left the lecture she had already figured out how to rearrange her office as did her Jessica, her roommate, who had sat next to her during the lecture.
When they returned to their shared dorm Hermione showered before beginning to read through her book for her paper, highlighting her sources as she went, going as far as to preemptively color code them by key points she had in mind. She finished her book by ten thirty which would give her two hours to work on her book for her science lecture. Friday when they arrived at the seminar a paper was due on Charles Darwin's 'The Origin of Life.' The bookstore had been out of it when she tried to get it three weeks ago and they were only able to get a copy in today.
From there it was two lectures that first night, and five each day between Saturday and Sunday and a cumulative paper to be mailed back to the seminar on what they learned if they were there on an academic voucher like Hermione was. Thankfully everything was provided in print, something that was always handy, even if she typed up her own notes as well. It always helped to annotate the notes that were taken in class as well as outline the chapter if possible.
The book wasn't a terrible easy read but it was easier than some of the books she had read before and it certainly wasn't the hardest and she had a decent set of notes to base her paper off of when she started on it tomorrow.
A glance over her planner showed nothing due tomorrow, so she began the process of laying out her school uniform. The uniform was maroon in color with a gray skirt and jacket to offset the deep red color of the blouse and necktie. She checked her school bag, happy to see the new set of legal pads that where inside and the brand new pens her mother had purchased for her nestled inside their new pencil case.
She attended St. Mary's Junior School and every semester a new list of rules would come out, but they weren't one of the best schools in the country for no reason. You had to have certain pens, and notebooks, right down to the same lunch pails but uniformity was their goal so that vanity would not come about.
Once her bag was ready to go for the day she entered her bath room and began her nightly ritual. First she washed her face with a gel cleanser and then a foam cleanser, followed by an astringent and toner before applying the smallest bit of moisturizer to her face and adding some lotion to her hands, arms, and feet before finally brushing her teeth and changing for bed with thoughts of the days to come but the biggest thought that entered her mind was if only she could stay young forever.