He'd finally managed to get his creepy fake lady into her chair - had she been real she surely would've been covered in bumps, bruises and scratches - and now Branxton wanted him to get her back up again? Oh dear Lord.

Snickering in amusement at the little display from Will, Clifford pulled the chair out for Mrs. Fake Lady, and surprisingly, she actually made it up in one piece!

Eh, it was probably just a fluke.

Ray repeated what the professor did with every detail. It is still easy till now.

Cale looked at his dummy, who was seated on the chair at an angle, with gravity slowly pulling her to the floor. He quickly straightened the doll and then pulled the chair out for her. There. That wasn't so difficult.

Although he really wished that they were actually brewing potions. After that horror show in Borr's class, he really wanted a lesson that wasn't over grooming, or manners, or whatever else they would be teaching them in this school.

Garret watched his dummy with distaste evident on his face. Fake girls were almost as bad as real girls, and his was even taller than him! Well, at least she would be sitting down for most of this "potions" lesson. He waited for the THING to make it's way to the front of the chair and as it prepared to sit, he pushed the chair in.

However, his attention was wandering as he was watching some of his classmates mess up. This resulted in the chair knocking the dummy's knees out from under it and "she" ended up sprawled on the floor.

"Oh..." damn. He almost swore, stopped and glanced around once to check the area, saw it was clear and amended, "Blast."

He held a hand up to catch the Professor's attention, "Professor, if my lady falls, would it be rude to call attention to it by making a fuss? Or should I just wait til she... composes herself?"

Garret just didn't want to touch the scary thing.

Trey now pulled the chair out slightly for his dummy, Kaytee in his mind, to get up out of the chair. This was quite easy. The thought of the old witches pinching his cheeks now clear from his mind. He sat his dummy down and stood it up a few different times showing a real sense of manners.

Nico had taken one look at the set up and realised immediately what was in store for them. He stood quietly as the Professor confirmed that they would be taking part in an etiquette class.

Confident from having taking such classes before, he followed the instructions to the letter. He even so far as to having a little conversation with his dummy under his breath; remembering when he had had to help out with Celandine's etiquette class at home, being her gentleman and beiing sorely tempted to let her fall in front of their sponsor.

He quirked an eyebrow surreptiously at Trey; figuring he would be pretty comfortable with the situation as well.

Will started again. He bowed with a flourish. "Mam'zelle..." He held out his hand. "Charmed, I'm sure. Well-- I'm sure YOU are anyway." He grinned as she rose from her seat and he pulled the chair out smoothly. Then, he led her back to the chair and slid it in -- fast -- before she could fall. It still wasn't terribly graceful, but he hoped in a real situation the lady would have more of a sense of when to sit. At least his dummy wasn't crying this time.

"Don't make a fuss. Drawing undue attention is rude. A very brief apology is all that is necessary as you offer your hand to help her stand," Professor Branxton explained. He then took off his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. Once everyone was seated again he sighed, cleaned his glasses, and began to lecture once more.

"And now, we will review table manners. Do not slouch. Do not lean back in your chair. Do not put your elbows on the table. Do not shout down the table. Do not loosen your tie," he listed off the top five "do not"s an then paused. "I know that is quite a few do nots. Can anyone tell me what you are supposed to do?"

Shel raised his hand. That, at least, he could answer, even though it felt nothing like Potions - not even remotely.

"It is generally acceptable to rest your fore-arms on the table after you have been seated, sir," he said politely. "Though, of course, we must take care not to place our elbows there. It is also necessary to chew with one's mouth closed, after the food has been brought. When needing to leave, we must ask the host or hostess, and excuse ourselves."

He half lowered his hand, before raising it again. "We should hold our spoon in our right hand and tip the bowl away from ourselves, scooping the soup in movements away from ourselves, when eating soup, sir. The serviette should be folded in half and left on the chair when we leave the table, because it shows our intention of returning, and we ought to sit straight in our chair. We must swallow all our food before moving on to a drink, and offer to pour a drink for our neighbour, before pouring one for yourself."

He paused, wondering whether to go on. Enough for now, he decided.

Antwone raised his hand, "Oh professor, I believe you forgot one more. One is supposed to unbutton his suit jacket or cloak when sitting down and after one sits back up you button it up again."

Miles hesitantly raised his hand. "Do you wait until she eats? and then, try and eat ... quietly?"

Miles had never been in this situation, he had no idea. He also didn't know to rvise on this, as it was POTIONS. Grr.

Hearing Antwone, Shel raised his hand again. "Picking teeth out with your fingernails is a big no, too, sir," he said. Yes, that was another don't. "The 'do' for this is to use toothpicks whenever you need to dislodge something from your teeth, though it is usually not considered very polite to indulge in such an act - even with toothpicks - while the food has just arrived, and the others are eating."

Godfrey was in agony. His mum always said that his etiquette was horrid every time he visited her. Not that anyone else complained, but her standards were severe. He always thought that his dad's manners were impeccable, and he tried to emulate him...but this was POTIONS CLASS. The one class he was looking forward to the most. Godfrey raised his hand timidly, "Sir, forgive me, but are you saying that the sooner we get through this lesson on manners the sooner we can start brewing potions?" Godfrey thought for a second that although etiquette had been important to him before, that it was soon reaching a desperate level of importance if it were a means to an end.

"Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. I don't know about the rest of you but, I for one am not fond of lessons in manners taking up valuable time that could be used for studying potioins," he responded, clearly irritated.

"Ah yes, how neglectful of me. That is exactly right. Thank you for the reminder," Professor Branxton replied, having done just that though it was such an unconscious gesture at this point he hadn't thought to tell the students.
"Very good. Hopefully everyone was paying attention so I do not need to cover that material again."
"Excellent. Whilst there is no set rule on when to begin eating after your host instructs you to do so, it is polite to wait for the lady to pick up her fork before you indulge in a decorous manner."

"No, do not pick your teeth even with a toothpick when at the table. If you must pick your teeth, excuse yourself and do so in the bathroom.

"You should also note that it is not necessary nor prudent to expound upon why you need to be excused. Just ask to be excused and do so once you have received permission or acknowledgment.

"Now, everyone take your serviette and place it on your lap," Professor Branxton continued. "Who can explain the utensils?"

Jose put his hand up "once the girl is seated and doesn't need you anymore you go and sit on your seat, you sit upright not sloppy if you are saying prayers then you say it and say ahmen at the end of it

If you remember: liquids on the right, solids on the left, you’ll never eat someone else’s bread again! That’s your coffee cup to the right of the plate, and your bread plate on the left!

Your napkin is always placed somewhere within your dining territorial borders.

2. As soon as you are seated, unfold your napkin and place it on your lap. The napkin remains on your lap (except for use) until the end of the meal. That’s when the diners are leaving the table, not just when you finish!

If you need to leave the table temporarily, you may leave the napkin in your chair as a signal to the waiter that you will be returning. This is also a consideration for the other diners who won't have to look at your soiled napkin on the table!

Use your napkin before drinking from a glass or cup.

At the conclusion of the meal, place your napkin partly folded, never crumpled, at the left of your plate. Even a paper napkin should never be crushed and tossed into your plate.

No Oars! Once silverware is picked up from the table it NEVER touches the table again. Place it on the outer rim of the plate between bites, but never rest silver gangplank fashion, half on the table and half on the plate.

When to Start – in gatherings of six or less people, begin eating only after everyone is served. For larger groups, such as banquets, it is customary to start eating after four or five people have been served, or permission is granted from those not yet served.

Bread and rolls are broken off into bite-size pieces (why do you think they call meals, breaking bread!!!) and butter is spread on each bite as you eat it. Never use a knife to cut the bread, nor butter a whole slice at once!

Butter should be taken when passed, and placed onto your bread plate, never directly onto your bread.

7. Dishes are passed from left to right. When a waiter serves you, food will be presented on your left, and the dish will be removed from your right side when you’ve finished.

Salt and pepper are always passed together, even if someone asks you only for the salt. They are considered “married” in proper dining circles.

Hold a stemmed glass by the stem! This is to prevent chilled drinks, such as white wine from becoming warmed by your hand, but it holds for non-chilled drinks as well.

The finish – when you are finished with each course your knife (blade turned inward) and fork should be placed beside each other on the plate diagonally from upper left to lower right (11 to 5 if you imagine your plate as a clock face). This is a signal to the waiter that you are finished. And don’t push your plate away or otherwise rearrange your dishes from their position when you are finished.

Barry placed it in his lap and waited he could not answer with the embaresment he may be wrong.

Patrick felt ready to sleep but obediently put the nakin on his lap. This wasn't Potions and as such he was having great difficulty resisting the urge to get up and walk out of the room. Without asking to be excused, just to show some contempt for this institution.

Miles got it right? He felt really happy, and praised. He sat down and put his serviette on his lap. He still wasn't used to this, but if he carried on .. then potions would arrive faster.

With a small sigh, Clifford set the serviette in his lap. He'd never knew eating a meal was supposed to be quite so ... strict! Eating was meant to be fun! Something he loved doing! But no, even this new cruddy school was taking that away from him. This sucked.

Now they had to explain utensils? Bleh.

Cale raised his hand. He knew a thing or two about utensils...but only a thing or two. "Don't you use the utensils on the outside and work towards the inside? For example, the outside fork is for your salad, right?" he asked. "But, on your right hand side, the knife on the inside is used for the first course."

Gentlemen, choosing the correct silverware from the variety in front of you is not as difficult as it may first appear. Starting with the knife, fork, or spoon that is farthest from your plate, work your way in, using one utensil for each course. The salad fork is on your outermost left, followed by your dinner fork. Your soupspoon is on your outermost right, followed by your beverage spoon, salad knife and dinner knife. Your dessert spoon and fork are above your plate or brought out with dessert. There is also a chance you will encounter a fish fork and fish knife from time to time depending on the menu. Normally the set up will contain no more the 3 forks, 3 knives and 3 spoons, excluding the dessert silverware. If you remember the rule to work from the outside in, you'll be fine.

There are two ways to use a knife and fork to cut and eat your food. They are the American style and the European or Continental style. Either style is considered appropriate. In the American style, one cuts the food by holding the knife in the right hand and the fork in the left hand with the fork tines piercing the food to secure it on the plate. Cut a few bite-size pieces of food, then lay your knife across the top edge of your plate with the sharp edge of the blade facing in. Change your fork from your left to your right hand to eat, fork tines facing up. (If you are left-handed, keep your fork in your left hand, tines facing up.) The European or Continental style is the same as the American style in that you cut your meat by holding your knife in your right hand while securing your food with your fork in your left hand. The difference is your fork remains in your left hand, tines facing down, and the knife in your right hand. Simply eat the cut pieces of food by picking them up with your fork still in your left hand.

Do not push your plate away from you when you have finished eating. Leave your plate where it is in the place setting. The common way to show that you have finished your meal is to lay your fork and knife diagonally across your plate. Place your knife and fork side by side, with the sharp side of the knife blade facing inward and the fork, tines down, to the left of the knife. The knife and fork should be placed as if they are pointing to the numbers 10 and 4 on a clock face. Make sure they are placed in such a way that they do not slide off the plate as it is being removed. Once you have used a piece of silverware, never place it back on the table. Do not leave a used spoon in a cup, either; place it on the saucer. You can leave a soupspoon in a soup plate. Any unused silverware is simply left on the table.

Antwone raised his hand, but realized he didn't know much about the current subject.

Nicholai had sat down and placed his serviette in his lap. An expression of bored disdain flickering on his face. He looked down the table as another student began to lecture.


"There will never be more silverware than needed; so you do not need to worry about a salad or a shrimp fork or a soup spoon if those are not served," Nicholai added. Before scowling down the table, "The American style is vulgar and only appropriate in America." He adjusted his serviette slightly, before turning to his dummy and adjusting 'her' serviette appropriately also.

Will placed his serviette in his lap and raised his hand.

"There are several utensils... There should be a set of utensils for each course. Utensils should be placed in the order of use, with those for the first course farthest from the plate and those for the last course closest to the plate. Utensils for liquids should go to the right of the plate, while those for solids go to the left, with the exception of the knife. The butter knife rests across the bread plate, dessert utensils go above the plate, spoon on top (handle to the right) and fork below (handle to the left). Other utensils (including steak and fish knives) are added to the setting in the order they will be needed, from the outside in." he said, trying to remember mum's lessons."

"There are three forks, a salad fork, a dinner fork and a dessert fork. These are all on the right hand side, the salad fork being on the outside since that is the first one eaten with, and the dessert fork being on the far inside since that is the last utensil used. On the left side is a soup spoon, then a tea spoon and the knife on the far inside. The napkin is folded and placed on the right side, under the forks. The salad plate is usually placed on top of the regular dinner plate and then is taken away or placed to the side after this course is finished with. The bread plate is a small plate which is to the right side of the main dinner plate. Your napkin should always be placed in your lap immediately, and all utensils are to be placed across the plate after you are finished with them, never laid back onto the table." Jason thinks all this is right and hopes it is right.