Jade nodded, taking all the information in and remained silent, though she fought the urge to complain sincerely to Sheeta, hoping to have a chance to do so at a later time in amore private place. She did her best to make her frown less prominant as she nodded her head to show that she understood.

Ok this much she knew already from her younger days, with her mother laying a large napkin on her lap, but it was only to augment the napkin that was tucked onto her shirt. Suffice it to say, she was a bit of a messy eater as a child. Steelsheen thus unfolded the napkin and lay it flat onto her lap, smoothing out the creases.

Bella placed the napkin on her nap delicately and looked at the Professor for further instructions.

Jade blinked as a girl walked into the room and made a slight face, wondering why she was blatantly announcing to the teacher that she was late. She silently hoped that the professor wouldn't notice, because it was never pleasant to have House point taken away. She caught Sheeta's eyes, but said nothing. Better to mind one's own business.

Sam listened to Rae and picked up her napkin. That was what serviette meant right? Napkin? She then looked back up at the Headmistress. Seeing that the napkin was being placed on her lap, she tilted her head in confusion again. Why did they have to put it on their lap? Was it to keep them warm? No! It was to catch their food. Right?

Giggling, Issy tried to picture her own little brother trying to push her in. While, yes, she herself was very tiny, Matti would probably still have some problems pushing her in. The idea made her giggle so much she had to press her fingers to her lips and double over a little.

Again, Headmistress Rae was speaking and she listened intently, taking down mental notes. After this class, maybe she and Juni and Becca and Melly could sit down and compile notes and make a copy for Sabrina. That way she'd be abel to do to the homework more easily.

Fold the serviette in half and lay it in the chair. She tucked this into the back of her mind, before turning back to her friends.

"Juniper is crazy," Issy whispered to Melly. "Not thinking she's beuautiful, Bah! She must be blind!" Nodding eagerly, she turned back to Juni. "Can you see yourself? You are very, very beautiful, Juni, and your curls look really great with your dress, I assure you!"

Humming happily, Issy continued to swing her legs, watching her friends. This was all very fun, she had to admit, and she'd forgotten that this was even supposed to be a Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Initially, Issy expected it to be boring and full of lace and frills and ugly flowers, and the such. But really - this was rather fun. Being a lady like this wasn't so bad - they were allowed to have fun, unlike the school rules that seemed to think it was improbable to be a lady and have fun at the same time.

"This is much better than I had anticipated," she admitted.

Issy's flush merely deepened as Melly proceeded to assure her that she was indeed beautiful and for a moment, she was so happy she could feel tears well in her eyes, because Fredreich was the only one who ever called her that. Daddy would tell her she was very pretty, yes, but only Fredreich used that word and it made her feel all happy and bubbly inside for someone else to.

"I agree." Issy giggled, straining her feet and toes to reach the ground. "But what about the older girls? They'd probably look silly in itty bitty chairs. It's not our fault we're ridiculously tiny, right?" She continued to laugh, gently shaking her fring from her eyes and watching Juni and Melly shake out their serviettes.

The very scene was much like it was out of a comical fairy tale - with all the giggling girls and the defiant damsels and the magic and silly lady rules and the delicate-ness of the situation and all the laughter and blunders. Giggling, she turned back to Melly, nodding.

"Uh huh, uh huh. Have you never been to a muggle restaurant? Ooooh you'll have to come with me sometime! A fancy one! With silver and stuff!"

Nikita groaned at all the serviette rules. Was there going to be a test on this? She was hoping not with all her might. How was she to remember it all? And what did it matter if she was coming back to the table or not?

Nikita tried to remember what Professor Rae had just said. Don't fold it in half, don't crumple it, and do refold it. Or was it do fold it in half, and don't refold it? Grumpily, she folded it three fourths of the way as a compromise.

"Of course. That would be acceptable, although you should sneeze like a lady, making the noise as small as possible and not opening the serviette to discover what sort of amazing thing has come out of your nose." She sighed. "I fear for the turn things are about to take, but let's add food to the mix." She tapped the table again and a plate and several spoons and forks out in each direction appeared.

"You use one set per course, and you work your way in from the outside. It's really quite easy when you remember that they will never give more silverware than you need. If you aren't eating seafood, there will not be a shrimp fork. If soup comes first, your first spoon is for soup. If salad course is first, the first fork is for salad. Take time to acquaint yourself with the layout in front of you."

Naomi sat and looked at the silverware that just appeared. she sighed and wondered how much longer it was going to be.

"I hope" Naomi said "Or maybe we will get food which would make this so much better."

Jezz made a face as the silverware appeared. She was a firm believer in one fork, one spoon. "Why can't we just use one for all of them?" She really was confused.

Daphne watched the silverware appear in front of her. She was let down, hoping that actual food would appear. She could use a true, formal dinner. She knew as soon as she would come home, her Mummy would throw one of her famous dinner parties. She shifted her weight, wishing the chair was more comfortable. But she knew better than to insult the hostess, in this case the professor. Part of her hoped they would be tested on this, because Daphne would pass with flying colours. Maybe the test would be an interactive one, a mock dinner event.

She couldn't help but look around at the dissatisfied students, all looking like they would rather be else where. Perhaps they needed examples of how this would apply in the real world. Raising her hand, she couldn't help but cast disapproving looks in the directions of the disgruntled classmates. "Professor, do you think you could explain some real world applications of this very important lesson?" she queried in an unusually formal and condescending voice. She hadn't intended to be so blunt, but that was how it came out.

Melinda awwed at the silverware in front of her. "Umm...so, anything that comes first...will be the first....meal to eat..." Melinda asked the professor.

*Sheeta jumped slightly as the silverware poofed into existence. Though the napkin had not shocked her, the tingle of silverware hitting the table made her react.*

Oh dear. Nikita thought to herself when she saw the astonishing array of silverware. It was all so shiny and distracting, she wondered if she'd remember even the simple directions of working from the outside in.

Shrimp forks...that would be potentially bad if there was a serving of shrimp, Nikita being allergic to it. She raised her hand. "Professor, what if you're allergic to something? Should you just tell the hostess and not eat it?

Jade squinted slightly at the rudimentary explanation of the silverware setting. In Russia, almost all meals were served with a similar pattern and, truth be told, she had thought this was common knowledge. Still, she nodded formally and, keeping her back and shoulders as straight as possible, continued to absorb the knowledge, no matter how long she had already known it.

"Man, whenever I begin to get use to the last instruction, she gives us something harder!" Sam thought. She closed her eyes to try and hide her exparation. When she opened her eyes again, the silverware was still in front of her. She sighed and looked at all the sliverware again.

"Oh look at that. We get knives now." she thought to herself. There were way to many spoons on the table. What were they for? "Professor Rae? What is this big spoon for?" she asked, picking up the big spoon and holding it up in front of her.

And once again, Melly found herself giggling. How could she have thought that this Belle's school was going to be a nightmare? It certainly wasn't! Sure she had to handle the flowers, the lack of books and the scary teachers, without mentioning the lack of males, but as long as she had these girls next to her, she knew she was fine. Truly, she couldn't recall getting as many friends so quickly when coming to a new school.

"Hmmhmm, you are beautiful, Juni," She smiled sweetly at the girl, rocking her legs back and forth. Actually, she was under the impression that they were all very pretty at that moment with those dresses and all that.

"I agree," She nodded at Issy, absent-mindedly. Ah, if only they could do it again someday...

Once the tiny girl spoke, Melly turned her head around and, upon listening to Issy, she couldn't help but giggle. "That IS true, indeed. Maybe there's some potion that could help us to grow? At least for a few moments that is," She suggested with a snicker. "That way we wouldn't look so weird, no?," She beamed.

It wasn't that she wanted to grow that badly. She did want to get taller but there were more important things that she needed to do first and growing was not exactly at the top of her list. Besides, she had already accepted her height as part of herself and she doubted she'd know how to act if she was as tall as the other girls. And she'd have to get new clothes, which would be expensive. Too expensive.

"Of course I have," She replied, still smiling. "I'm a muggleborn after all. Not that I've been to many. Usually my parents go and I stay home with my little brother but I've went to enough to know how to act," She informed.

Seeing silverware in front of her, Melly tilted her head. She just would never get used to seeing things pop out in front of her. Those too were not new to her, though she had to admit that those looked particularly pretty. Must be thanks to the magic, She thought with a smile.

ooc: and i'm off to bed if anyone talks to my charrie XD
 

"It's just tradition, my dear. You don't have to do it this way in your own home, but you want to know how to do it in case it comes up."

"I suppose wanting to be comfortable in any situation would be enough of a reason, but for those who hope to go on to do more than serve in the Ministry, it's nice to know how others live, and it's nice to be able to fit into such a situation. I know I had to impersonate a real lady when I was an Auror, but of course they chose me to do that because I'd had those awful lessons."

"The first course, yes."

"Simply do not eat it. A good hostess would be aware of a food allergy, but in this case, with a group this large, it can't always be helped."

She clapped her hands. "The first course will be rolls and a soup. Remember that when eating soup, you tip the bowl away from yourself and spoon outward, so the dripping doesn't happen on your gown. You may apply butter with your knife, but you may not cut the bread with your knife. And last, we do not eat as the vulgar Americans do. Fork in your left hand with the prongs facing down, knife in your right. You do not switch them back and forth. Once a utensil is picked up and touches food, it does not return to the table. If you're finished, lay it across your plate and the silverware will be removed with the plate. Let's give it a try with this course."

Nikita winced a bit. Vulgar Americans? Having grown up in America, she had learned to use forks their way. She turned the fork prongs down for practice. It felt very, very strange. Sighing, she put down the fork and dipped her spoon into the soup and tasted it. At least they were being fed in this class. And the formal dress, that was nice too. I'll have to get one like this, Nikita thought. Dressing up wasn't all as bad as she had thought. And it was nice not to have to worry about being offensive by avoiding any shellfish.

Nikita felt grateful to the Professor for making this entertaining and serving delicious food. With any other professor, this class could very easily have been torture.