Aria treating it as a learning exercise

Aria smiled as she looked at the water in the container in front of her.

She lightly twirled her fingers and some of the water took the shape of a vase. Aria looked at it and muttered to herself, "What kind of flowers do I want? Hmm..."

It was a wonder that Aria was treating this exam as a learning exercise as she experimented with what kind of vase would look the best and scratched her head about what kind of flowers would look the best.

The other students were really nervous about the fact that they had to freeze the vases and were only going for the most basic style, a vase with some flowers. And many were struggling with that too. Their vases generally collapsed as their concentration broke and water was splashing everywhere, reducing the amount they had to make their flower vases with.

Even Helen was struggling a bit with bending. Though she was easily the most talented in the class after Aria and would probably be among the best students in the academy if she trained, her vase broke two times.

The first time was when she was just done and a student shrieked as all her water had splashed.

The second time was just as Helen had kept the vase in the ice box. Her concentration faltered as the conditions around the vase changed, and it turned back into shapeless water. Fortunately, Helen had enough presence of mind to bend the water back into the container before it could spill all around.

She then set back to work, now knowing more well what to expect when she put the vase in the ice box.

Aria looked around at the students making their vases as she played with her hair. Quite an amount of time had passed and more than half the students had their vases in the ice box. Some were still struggling on fixing the vase to a particular shape, some were trying really hard and concentrating on maintaining the vase they had made while it was in the ice box.

Aria's eyes wandered over to Helen as she frowned and raised an eyebrow. Aria had been trying to give the finishing touches to the petals of her flowers while her vase was in the ice box, and she had just thought of a very great idea. Aria's lips curved into a smile as she slowly moved her index finger.

"You're still bending? Your vase has been in the ice box for quite some time, don't you think it might spoil it?" Professor Dalhia's voice rung out beside Aria's seat as she was walking among the students.

Aria let out a guilty smile, "I was just trying something. And if I do end up spoiling it, I'll know what to expect in the next month's exam."

Professor Dalhia shook her head with a smile and walked away as Aria's eyes fell on Helen, who seemed to have suddenly lost control again.

About half an hour after that, the door of the classroom opened and Professor Iris entered with someone behind her. She looked around and said, "Looks like the students are giving it their all. Lunch for those who want it."

She walked among the students as someone Aria knew from the kitchens set a tray containing sandwiches on the teacher table.

"Great!!!!!" Aria thought. It was way past lunchtime and she was starving.