In the Point of View of Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter

"Sit down, Fire Boy." I huffed, watching Leo Valdez scruff his oil-greased hair and sit next to me. "Watch this." A vine materialized out of my fingertips, and grew and tangled itself together.

"And, how is this going to help me for my science test?" Leo put his face in his hands and groaned. I gave him a wink and then stared at the plant.

"I'm going to explain how photosynthesis and cellular respiration are connected! We'll have so much fun together." I giggled, then looked at him expectantly. "So, it all starts when light energy from the sun enters the chloroplast of a plant, then is bonded with carbon dioxide and water to form glucose, and a little bit of oxygen. The plant uses the glucose for energy. And that's photosynthesis."

Leo had a smirk on his face. "So sugar DOES make me hyper?"

I moaned. "No, but that's off topic. Anyways, the glucose and oxygen enter the mitochondria, and those are bonded to form energy, or adenosine triphosphate, water, and carbon dioxide. The plant uses the energy for, you know, energy."

Leo yawned, smacking his face with his palm. "BOOOORING."

Being a daughter of Demeter, I took offense. "Well then." I crossed my arms. "I guess you're just going to fail your science test, which means failing science, which means failing school, which means failing life."

"Ok, ok." He rolled his eyes. "Go on."

"That was cellular respiration. The products of that process that aren't used by the plant right away are water and carbon dioxide. Do you remember when those compounds were last present in my explanation?"

"In the chloroplast….?"

I shrieked. "By, George, I think he's got it!"

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Katie, are you going crazy? Who's George?"

"Ugh." My temper was barely under control. I ignored his comment. "So, those products get transferred back to the chloroplast. Can you guess what happens next?"

"PHOTOSYNTHESIS!" I couldn't help but chortle.

The plant drew back into my hand, leaving a lone leaf resting on my palm. I pressed it between my fingers and stuck the crumbled mess into my pocket. "Good luck on your test."

"Ooooh, I came up with a song: Photosynthesis, YAY, cellular respiration, YAY, should have big emphasis, YAY, and Katie gave me a great explanation!"

3 DAYS LATER

My hand brushed the strawberry vine. I was out in the fields helping the crops grow, like all children of Demeter do, and the sun was barely on the horizon when I heard a violent cry.

"KATIE!" And there was Leo, leaping over the strawberry vines like a madman. Tears were streaming down his face, and he was laughing hysterically. A paper was flying around in his hand, so I knew why he was coming to me.

"Yes?" I stood up from my squatting position.

"I GOT A SIXTY PERCENT ON MY TEST!"

I grimaced, but tried to hide my worry. "A sixty?"

Leo's smile faded quickly. "Yeah…. It's kind of an improvement for me. My grade in science used to be a twenty-three, but now it's a fifty-one percent! And on the last test, I completely failed."

"Um, you failed THIS one."

"I meant, on the last test, I got no answers correct."

I covered my mouth and snickered. "Did that song help?"

Leo's face broke out into a sincere grin. "Duh."

The End!