[u][b]Luke Schwarz -- Phone a Friend[/b][/u]

...

...

[i]Come on, you can do this. It's negative exponents.

Derivatives of negative exponents.[/i]

Wh-What was the rule for those again? He'd written it down somewhere...

Okay, he'd found it. Negative exponents are fractions, right. Duh. Rewriting it in a less abstract format now...

But, that was only one out of many, many steps to this particular [i]doozy[/i] of a problem, and try as he might, he was thinking that he may have found a roadblock insurmountable on his own. His efforts to do so were admirable, but mistaken.

[i]Luckily, I [u]do[/u] get to bring friends![/i]

A glance to his left-- Ben was trying to talk to that quiet redheaded teammate of his. Sangue Naga. No dice.

To his right-- Jack, out cold and stubbornly refusing to change it until he heard a bell. Nothing.

To his rear-- Napoli and Gratia, whose very presence seemed to tick eachother off. Sc-Scary!

To his front-- A familiar, newly cut short head of hair. [i]Perfect[/i].

Reaching out with the eraser end of his pencil, he tapped the only truly present teammate he had in this class, who once again had proven herself a reliable lifeline.

[b]"Cian,"[/b] he asked in hushed tones, not wanting to be to abrupt or disruptive. [b]"What do I do with the e on number 13? It's giving me a real headache."[/b]