Joseph shook his head and continued, "Therefore, it is extremely important for each and every fire bendor to have perfect and precise control over their element. That is what they're testing in the final exam."
"But what's the test?" Aria asked, very curious now. Even though she couldn't bend fire freely or train now, it still held a special place in her heart. Fire had been the first element she had learnt to bend after all.
"You don't wanna sit and listen to that. I can take care of it myself." Joseph replied, interlocking his hands behind his head in an attempt to look detached.
Aria raised her eyebrow, "If I didn't want to listen, I would not have asked."
Joseph let out a long suffering sigh as he spoke, "The invigilator releases a bunch of squirrels in a closed space, like a classroom. We have to try and catch one with fire within twenty minutes."
"Squirrels?" Aria mumbled as her mind wandered to a memory, one that seemed to be from a lifetime ago. She had too once sat in her grandfather's arms and had caught squirrels upon his behest.
"Yeah. It sounds weird, I know. And it is weird to be honest. But it's damn difficult." Joseph spoke, breaking into Aria's thoughts. "Yeah no. It sounds quite difficult. You're not supposed to hurt the squirrels I assume?" Aria asked, quickly pulling herself back to the present.
Joseph shook his head as he slumped on the table. "No. That's what I always end up doing. I end up either hurting them or letting them escape."
A strange silence settled between the two after this. Aria of course knew how Joseph could pass the exam, she could've easily pointed him in the correct direction to practice. But that would practically mean announcing to everyone that she was a monster.
Joseph looked up at Aria's face and shook himself out of his thoughts. "Enough depressing talk. You're done with how many exams in total by now?" he asked.
"Six in water water precision and earth bending, five in water power and seven in wind bending. That's assuming I pass all the exams I took this month." Aria replied, counting on her fingers.
Joseph's eyebrows shot up in admiration as he said, "You've finished three fourths of the course almost! You might become the youngest ever to graduate from the academy."
"No one has ever graduated in two years?" Aria asked surprised. With so many talented bendors, that seemed like too much of a stretch. "Not even the queen, or your father. Professor Thomas?" she added.
Joseph put a finger under his chin as he said, "My father took around three years, and so did the queen. I think. She had passed all exams sometime in the middle of her third year, but she couldn't graduate until the year finished." He continued as Aria nodded, "As for Professor Thomas, I'm not too sure. I don't think anyone's ever asked him that."
"I'll make sure to ask him the next time I see him then." Aria replied with a chuckle and added, "But no one ever in two years?! Never?"
Joseph chuckled, "If Professor Thomas is going to give an answer to someone, it'll definitely be you. And no, I'm pretty sure someone in our history must have graduated in two years, I'm just not aware." he added.