Crime Scene 19.1 Learning and Finding New Paths
Wednesday. 4:00pm. Angie’s House. Study Session.

The Hernandez-Oliver-Tran (or H.O.T., as Angie’s parents liked to abbreviate it) house was actually a sprawling complex near the foothills that housed the members of their three extended families. It was easy to spot the house: they had their initials displayed in giant metal letters on their front lawn.

The property was spacious enough that it didn’t feel cramped or crowded. Other than when they arrived, they barely saw signs of the rest of Angie’s family other than one of her moms (formerly Ms. Oliver) who came by with healthy snacks and an aunt (from the same branch) that came by later with not so healthy snacks. Angie’s room was spacious and airy with thin white curtains and lemon custard walls that matched her sunshine personality. Even with the sky overcast outside and the sun starting to go down, the room felt bright and open. Aside from a bed and desk, she also had a pull-out couch and coffee table large enough for Ellie, Geoff, and Cliff to sit at. Cliff was a last-minute addition—they had met their overstressed classmate on the way out of class. Had her seat at the desk and Angie perched on her own bed.

In contrast to the soft, sunny furnishings (though Angie seemed to think it perfectly congruous), Angie decorated her room with merch and posters from her favorite true crime and horror podcasts with garish titles like “Fishing for the Truth,” “Vacuum Under the Rug,” and “Eye of the Dark.” The last poster watched on with bleeding, glowing eyes as the group geared up for the study event of the semester.

Since they didn’t all share the same classes, the plan was individual study but with mutual support. Each of them held each other accountable to reach their study goals for the afternoon. Angie had promised to provide drinks and snacks, which got Geoff fully on board. Angie had a well-established food-reward system they would be following. They also put Ellie on a limited coffee drip, only allowing small cups as she completed each review section. Sia was surprisingly sharp eyed and sternly stopped Ellie whenever she tried to sneak an extra cup. For her part, Sia was locked off the internet and her phone except for study purposes. Cliff helped set the permissions on her devices to keep her honest. They would finish off the session with delivery pizza dinner.

Group study was an even greater success than Ellie had anticipated. With the other three present, Ellie had help keeping Geoff on track and even engaged with the material. Every time his attention wandered, someone could redirect it. It was amazing. Ellie learned a few new studying techniques she hadn’t thought of. Some more unconventional than others. Angie explained how studying while trying to balance stimulated certain areas of the brain, increasing memory formation. They combined that with Cliff’s preferred method: blurting. Geoff would read-while balanced and then they would take away his notes and he would have to restate what he had read while still standing on one foot. Geoff loved that one and spent an hour balancing on one leg, then the other while reading and reciting notes.

It was a productive afternoon, but even the friendly support could only get them through so many flashcards and notes. By mutual agreement, they agreed to break for half an hour before dinner. After that, they would dive back in until they dropped. Geoff opted to play a video game and he was happily joined by Cliff. Ellie needed a walk.

“We have a garden on the side,” Angie suggested. “Just a random mix of flowers, some herbs and veggies. Oh! And the avocado tree. We just passed avocado season, but be careful in case there’s some still up there.”