here we go again ,, darren!

Ashton was a little late to class that morning--he'd been held up when he was forced to take a detour, mainly to avoid the frightening gaggle of Fire students that had been grouped in the main route to the classroom. They had been older than him and exhibiting their usual pack mentality; even though he wanted to be brave enough to walk past them, he knew that during the current tension it would be like skipping through a minefield.

He had every intention of apologising to the professor and expecting a detention, slinking nervously through the door and casting a glance toward the front of the room, expecting his green eyes to be pierced with a glare from the one teaching. However, he found the class to be only half full and the teacher was gone. Furrowing his brow, Ashton approached one of his clasmates--a water elemental--and said in an instinctual whisper, "What happened? Where is everybody?"

His peer shrugged. "Professor doesn't seem to be showing up, half the class has ditched already. I'm leaving if he doesn't show up in five."

A tad worried but not about to leave until he'd given the professor a little more time to appear, Ashton sat down and wrung his hands slightly. People were talking all around him, considering the fact that the class was unsupervised and thus had no rules of which to speak. Though Ashton was generally a very good student, he was also a very bored student at the moment. His grades fluctuated depending--good only meant that he did his best not to talk in class, he paid attention. But some people just weren't cut out to be well-rounded in school. He had a B average with a couple of his favourites spiking into the higher marks, but that was it.

Grades weren't what were on his mind right now, however. Ashton was bored and he wanted to pass the time whilst he waited for the professor to get into class--whatever it was that was holding him up. Sighing, he tapped his fingers on the desk and turned to someone. "Any idea what might have happened?" he asked.