"It's D, obviously. The one about conflict being inevitable." She'd had a chance to think on it, and judging from the words it was definitely D, conflict inevitable. Final answer. And wait, had he been distracting her with other questions?

She tilted her head at him, finally taking in the actual most recent one. And what he'd said about science.

"Amelia..." She replied, completely out-of-order in answering things. "And science is awesome. You have no idea. " People not passing due to science? That was silly. Ridiculous, even. It was SCIENCE! And SCIENCE was awesome, so yeah...

"What's your name, Mr. 'I hate science with a passion'?" She eyed him suspiciously.

"Mmhm" Jameson said when she got the answer right....because there wasn't room to say anything else. There were answers in there somewhere, but they were out of order, and Jameson had to sort everything out in his mind before he could respond to any of it.

Running a hand through the front of his hair, he nodded. "Pretty name." was all he said in response to her name, adopting an offended demeanor that she didn't remember his name. "Like I said before, I'm Jameson."

"...and I never said I hate science. I was just commenting on the fact that a test that was only over one subject wouldn't do a very good job seeing who was well rounded."

He paused to let that sink in.

"In fact. I'm taking AP Bio next year." This was true...but until this moment, Jameson had done nothing but complain about his mother's insistence that he take the class.

The smirk was back now, and Jameson opened the book once more "Now stop stalling, ready for question two?"

Jameson. Oh. Oops. She'd missed that. She made an effort now to commit it to memory. And pretty name, huh? She made a note of that, too. With a quirked brow.

So he didn't hate science, just wanted the test to be well-rounded... well, that made sense. She opened her mouth to agree that 'yes, that made sense' but shut it. Again. Because they both were doing a lot of talking.

AP Bio. She approved.

Question 2?

And she was stalling? Heh. Sure. Okay.

"Gratz on the AP bio," she shrugged. "I'm ready whenever you are."

Jameson just shrugged and leaned back against the tree, trying to remember what it was that his mom had said about AP Biology.

"Dual Credit classes look good on a transcript." He said slyly, now trying to remember his dad's advice about girls. What was with her quirky eyebrow too...and those pretty eyes? Man, all this was a lot on top of the questions.

Oh crap! He was staring while he was supposed to be asking questions, he cleared his throat and opened the book again.

"Right! Question two! There is no doubt that Larry is a genuine ------- : he excels at telling stories that fascinate his listeners. Is he a:
(A) braggart
(B) dilettante
(C) pilferer
(D) prevaricator
(E) raconteur"

Man. If she got this one...he was really going to be impressed.

"I'll bet," she replied smugly, tilted smile on her face.

Somehow, she got the impression he was interested in more than her brains here and now. This was, she reasoned, potentially a way to pick up chicks. Ask them tough questions, almost insult them, then brag about yourself. And she also got the impression (from overwhelming evidence, no doubt) that he thought she was pretty. Oh boy. Maya would eat him alive.

No reason to crush his dreams now, though. One didn't find a good study buddy every day. Plus, he was so cute when he was trying. She didn't want to scare him away.

Larry, a genuine blank... Was he a...

Braggart. Those were people who people that told crazy stories.

She didn't know what a dilettante was. A pilferer stole things. A prevaricator... prevaricated. Didn't sound nice. And a raconteur... was not a raccoon.

It definitely wasn't a dilettante or a pilferer, nor was it a prevaricator. A braggart would have been bragging, and people might not have found it amusing... therefore... it was probably a raconteur. She recalled a certain music video by a band of that name. Seemed a good name for a band that sang stories. That cemented it.

"Raconteur," she said. "Final answer."

She waited patiently for his reply.

"Hmmm." Jameson said, raising an eyebrow as he studied his study buddy.

"What science class are you taking next year?" he asked, moving away from the question at hand. Amelia, as it happened, was correct with her guess, but it was just too much fun to withhold information at times like this. Besides, if she was a perfectionist then she was probably taking AP Bio too...and there were only a couple of teachers.

"You were right by the way." He added as an afterthought and another grin.

>>"What science class are you taking next year?"

"AP Bio," she replied.

And he didn't give her the answer there. So. She waited. Patiently, with a smile. And then he did. And she was right.

"Thought so," she nodded. "I like that band. Jack White, too."

"Sweet. We'll have to compare schedules." Jameson said, "I've heard the senior project is brutal." That was the God's honest truth too, and despite what he'd said, the teen had a feeling he'd need all the help he could get when the time came to put that whole thing together.
"And yeah, they're cool...easy way to remember the word as well." Dang, maybe this would actually help.

Amelia was happy that she'd gotten the question right, and that was encouragement enough for Jameson to continue. "I think you misled me." He said playfully as he scouted out the next problem. "Have you seen these questions before?"

"Number Three: A discerning publishing agent can ------- promising material from a mass of submissions, separating the good from the bad.
(A) supplant
(B) dramatize
(C) finagle
(D) winnow
(E) overhaul"

He paused for a moment while she thought over the answers and made a ticking noise with his tongue like a clock. "Will she go 3 for 3?"

>>"Have you seen these questions before?"

"Maybe I'm just brilliant?" She suggested.

Question number 3...

She listened. And it was stunningly easy.

She chuckled at the tick tock tongue move and the question. Real funny.

"I've been studying a bit, also..." She admitted. "Which is why I know it's winnow."

Maybe she was just brilliant. Maybe he was way out of his league.

It didn't take long, and she'd answered the question.

"Well done." He said, setting the book aside and clapping his hands. "What could I hope to teach you, when you are already a master?"

He cleared his throat, "Especially since I always thought a winnow was a small fish." He mumbled quickly, and picked up his own book.

"Still. At least I know I need a lot more work."

She shook her head with a laugh.

"You winnow out the chaff from the grain. It's separating the desirable from the undesirable. I think you're learning just by throwing these questions at me. I heard somewhere that is actually still a thing." It hadn't stopped being one just because it might have sounded less-than-cool.

"You're a pretty good study buddy." She added. "Maybe we will have to compare schedules."

Jameson nodded at Amelia's explanation, separating the desirable from the undesirable huh? It would be a good one to know, and to use....maybe even in that science paper. Technical people liked fancy words, especially if they were used correctly.

She brought up the point he'd made to himself earlier about teaching being the best way to learn something and again he nodded his head. Brownie points for it having really been a thing.

They'd have to compare schedules? "Sounds like a plan" he said with a grin, standing up and dusting off his pants. Jameson had just caught sight of his watch, and as it turned out he'd used up all his time.

"I promised my parents I'd be home in time for dinner, and it's getting to be that time." He said with a shrug, unashamed to admit that he still did things like that even though he was about to be a senior in high school. He bent to pick up his back and sling it over his shoulder, book clasped in his hand.

"I'll catch you later Amelia, maybe at school." He said smoothly. They didn't have any classes together, but now that he knew who she was, Jameson had a feeling he'd be seeing a lot more of this girl.

"Alright," she nodded. "I'll catch you later."

Nice guy. Keeping set times with his parents. Which reminded her. She probably needed to be getting home, too. Man. Where had the day gone?

More importantly, how would she manage to haul the massive SAT prep book back without dying a horrible death? Oh well. She would simply have to manage.