#k and j are up and down in vi but there's no guarantee it's the same here

[muggle-writes]

Stretch Thursday

Prompt: "In front of the protagonist, the grocery store clerk just packed several large glass bottles on top of the eggs. The protagonist hears them crack."

Constraint: write in first person

(I vaguely knew how this was going to end, but everything between the first paragraph and the actual prompted moment, and then most of what came after, surprised me on its way out of my fingers.)

Gods above, could this checkout line move any slower, I wondered. Sure, there were only two people in front of me, but the haughty swaggering lump of a human being in front was questioning everything, in search of a nonexistent bargain:

(readmore should be right here but it's not hey tumblr please build a functional app ever maybe?)

Why didn't you accept this week-out-of-date coupon? Why did that coupon only apply to one package of frog eyes, not four. Are you sure this naga skin rucksack isn't on sale? I'm pretty sure the sign said it was on sale. (the leather shoulder bag in a similar size was on sale.)

The poor clerk - Ashley, their nametag said, a pin on the lanyard instructing people to use She or They pronouns - was the only person on checkout duty in the early afternoon. She seemed flustered, but answered every single question in the same patient, even tone of voice.

I wouldn't be able to do that. Actually, when I worked in retail, I got fired from three different jobs for intimidating customers when they started acting like that. Like just because they cleared out a nest of giant rats on the outskirts of town or prevented a band of goblins from establishing a camp in the caves just across the river, that they're entitled to luxury and hero worship, or at least special privileges, from the rest of us. Thank goodness I finally got a job with the local theater, my talents in projecting illusions finally celebrated for dressing the actors up with "no effort" (on the part of the makeup team, not that I don't stretch my magic as far as it can go and then some every night at rehearsal and for hours at a time eight days straight when our shows are open to the public, to turn the bright-but-plain frocks into resplendent ball gowns and every other bit of nonsense that was asked of me). And that's so much better than when I was viewed with suspicion by peers and teachers alike because apparently creating tiny intangible dragons or silent fireworks and lying about my character are the exact same thing, who knew?

I reeled that train of thought back in. There was no need to be bitter about high school bullies considering I'm now living the (pre)Broadstreet dream, and most of them... Well, even the "successful" ones still work ten hour days at tedious office jobs to keep the heat on and the wards up.

The one thing that bitter spiral was good for was that by the time I forced it out of my head, Ashley was calling "have a nice day, Sir" in the same perfectly-bland tone at Mr Cheapskate as he stalked off, carrying three bags on each arm and leaving his cart half-blocking the checkout lane.

He nearly got blown off his feet as he stepped from the store's heat and calm across the ward line, a generous two feet outside the door, into the frigid wind the meteorologists were calling a sneak peek into the blizzard that should hit this weekend. Good riddance.

I met Ashley's eyes as they tapped the rune to pull the items on the conveyor belt forward. I rolled my eyes sympathetically at her forced smile and dead-exhausted eyes. (Not literally dead! Apparently my brain was stuck in high school again because I could almost hear Mrs Primfoot growling about teens and their inability to describe things accurately. Come on. The zombie revolts in Rhodesia were fifteen years ago, and hyperbole is hilarious. Do people just lose all sense of humor when they turn 30?)

Ashley didn't roll their eyes back, she probably worried about losing her job over disrespecting customers in front of other customers, but their lips twitched and their smile seemed a little less stiff.

"Just these two things?" Ashley asked, with professionally-faked curiosity, picking up a large carton of eggs to scan them. "Eggs and milk to wait out the blizzard?" Eighteen goose eggs was a bit much for waiting out a two day storm, even for a bigger family, but some people liked to overprepare. Gods knew I'd seen weirder purchases when I had to check people out. I'd seen weirder people too. This woman, with her sapphire blue, floor-length dress and gray roots belying her dark brown hair, appeared absolutely normal, even with her curls adding at least two inches in height, making her appear barely shorter than me.

"Those are golden goose eggs," the woman corrected her in a syrupy sweet tone that sent a shiver down my spine. Ashley's eyes widened - probably in recognition because they'd been too professional for anything else, but I wouldn't have blamed her for expressing horror. The only customers worse than the adventurers who thought they were better than everyone else, were the governor's many cousins, who were obscenely rich through none of their own effort and not only thought they were better than everyone else but that we were all too naive to understand that.

"For my sweet niece's fourth birthday," the woman continued as though it were obvious.

I couldn't hold back a snort and immediately faked a coughing fit so she wouldn't turn and lecture me in that same patronizing tone.

Even if a dozen golden eggs wouldn't cost me over a month's wages, the yolks, with the flakes of gold leaf suspended throughout, gave them an awful texture no matter how you prepared the eggs, and they inevitably tasted metallic. No toddler would appreciate that, not even if she was already spoiled so rotten as to only accept the priciest of gifts. Well, if the kid was allowed to smash the eggs raw and then go "panning for gold" she would probably have a blast, but something about this woman's perfectly symmetric makeup, smooth, manicured nails, and shockingly hairless arms told me that she would accept nothing less than the most picture perfect cuisine, which meant she was likely to boil the golden eggs so she could present them, polished to the classic shine.

Regular egg yolks turn chalky and disgusting when you boil them, boiled golden eggs are infinitely worse.

Ashley didn't respond beyond a mild "ah, of course" as they efficiently double-bagged the eggs and set them aside.

The woman made a vague disgruntled noise in the back of her throat, but didn't say anything.

Ashley reached for the next item, the package of six tall carafes that I was now sure were something other than plain milk. Sure enough, when Ashley picked up the package, their hand moved in an arc, as though the carafes weighed less than they expected. The additional height caused the yellow light from the enchanted ceiling to dance across the bottles, drawing my eyes to the anti-theft runes stamped on each one.

Suddenly I recognized them. If I were going to blow an entire paycheck on luxuries, I certainly wouldn't buy the two or three golden eggs I could afford with that amount, but I might splurge on a set of these corruption-identifying bottles. They were supposed to be equally good for home canning, for jams and pickles and the like, and for potions. the not-quite-clear, milky white glass promised to turn sickly green if the contents of each bottle went bad, or if poison was added, intentionally or otherwise, or if the properties of the potion inside changed even if it was still safe to drink.

As Ashley was starting to tuck the bottles into a new bag, the woman cleared her throat. "Dearie, I'm sure those will fit in with the eggs. No need to waste another bag."

Ashley hesitated. "Ma'am, it's Magemart policy to bag fragile items separately and"

"It's fine, it's fine," the woman interrupted. "There's only two items, and I don't need all this extra plastic.

"Of course, Ma'am," Ashley agreed, monotone. They opened the top of the bag of eggs, which had folded itself shut.

As Ashley tucked the bottles into the bag with the eggs, I thought I heard a sharp clink, like glass on glass. Odd, but whatever. maybe one of the bottles is loose in the package. and ran into another.

"This is your total," Ashley said, straightening up and indicating the display. Either the lack of reading the final price was another breach of policy or there was a clause in the policy about not reading numbers with more than four digits aloud. I don't remember exactly, my own job at the Magemart closest to my apartment lasted barely three days, the shortest of any of my retail jobs.

The woman swiped her credit card, and was just tucking it back away into her wallet when one of the carafes exploded with a tinkling crash that seemed to echo for ages. I flinched at the sudden noise, and Ashley jumped back with a yelp, unflappable facade forgotten.

We all looked at the fluorescent green shards for a moment. I couldn't quite believe my eyes - either I'd badly misunderstood how CI bottles were supposed to work or there was something really horrendously wrong with those eggs. Besides just being golden goose eggs I mean. All of the other bottles had dangerous green cracks spreading throughout, and another looked like it might fall apart into thousands of shards like its fellow at the slightest provocation.

Almost before I had processed what I was seeing, the woman had rallied enough to shout in Ashley's face, leaning over the counter. "What the devil did you do?"

Ashley cowered, silent tears building at the corners of her eyes. They still looked stunned, frozen in place.

"Hey!" I shouted, feigning confidence and trying to get in this woman's face to protect a fellow cashier. She ignored me. "You were the one who told them to put everything in one bag!"

That got her attention. It wasn't quite what I meant to say, but I was having trouble figuring out what I meant to say, and that slipped out in the meantime.

"And you want to defend her for what? Selling me defective goods?" the woman demanded, equally happy to yell in my face. At least I'd kind of gotten into this knowingly. "CI bottles don't work like that! Or if this is some new function, then that means these golden goose eggs are poisoned or spoilt and they shouldn't be selling them to me!" she insisted.

"What do you expect her to do?" I asked, meeting her continued shouting with a tone that I would call 'panicked' but that Sierra once called 'dangerously quiet'. "How should she have known? Is she supposed to spend her shift finding any magical item that might interact with other things, and taking it around to set it on every other item it might possibly be bagged with, to make sure there's no unexpected interaction? Should they be doing that instead of checking people out, while they're on the clock?" I tried to make the scenario obviously illogical but I think I rambled too much to get the point across.

The woman only squinted at me for a long moment before putting her nose half an inch from mine and shouting even louder than before, "I! Want! A! Manager!"

I wiped spittle off my face, and she stamped her foot, which seemed to be the impulse needed for the second and third bottles to shatter, with another echoing crash.

Someone in line behind me muttered about a manager, before rushing off. ...Probably. I didn't exactly turn to look, with the woman still glowering in my face. Hopefully they ran off to get a manager who would take this belligerent lady out of my and Ashley's faces.

Fortunately, that's exactly what happened. A manager showed up to talk to the woman right around the time she started making threats, and Ashley and the line of people waiting to check out shuffled over to a new register without glass shards everywhere.

We all kept our positions in line, so it was finally my turn to check out. My heart was still pounding from the confrontation as I handed Ashley the bag of moonstone chips to scan.

They offered me a weak smile. "Illusion magic? Isn't that really hard to learn?" Ashley asked, with a tiny but genuine spark of interest in her eyes.

I nodded before I fully processed the second question, already fumbling for my company credit card. "I work hard at it," I said, stretching the truth a little. I certainly didn't have the usual trouble developing the basics, but I push my limits near-daily at the theater and stumbling out of my comfort zone proves to me that I can do more.

"Will that be all," Ashley asked, but tapped the appropriate button on the register before I could reply, my card already poised over the place to swipe it being answer enough. "Your total is 10.53," she said, the next line in the cashiers' script that I still unfortunately have memorized.

They skipped the part of the script asking me if I wanted a receipt, just grabbed it when it printed and scribbled a quick message on the back of it, before finally presenting it to me, holding it out with the handle of the plastic bag with my moonstone inside. "Here is your receipt Ma'am."

I grabbed both, gently, and before I could pull my hand back to look at the message, she flipped her hand over to grab mine.

"Hey.... Thanks," they murmured, then let go.

I flashed her what was either a reassuring to smile or a pained grimace. Hard to tell from inside my own face. "Cashiers ought to be allowed to yell back at people like that," I said. "I'm glad I could get her attention off you."

Ashley opened their mouth to respond but the person behind me in line cleared his throat, and she turned to him, professionally flat expression back in place.

I flipped the receipt over to read what Ashley had written. It was her phone number and the message

I get off at 5. May I treat you to coffee?

I pulled out my phone to text her a yes, and fumbled putting the basket back into the stack for future customers twice before I paused typing long enough to focus on putting the basket away.

I wasn't really bothered by my klutziness. For once my hot head earned me a hot date instead of a hot mess.

[quills-and-spills-blog]

A Good Environment

For this I used the prompt: “Write a piece about a school club” from @dropkickwritersblock​ (find the prompt here: x ). Thanks for the inspiration!

Warning: this text discusses anxiety, implied animal attacks, scarring, panic attacks, and descriptions of pain. It is, however, a happy story on the whole. Stay safe kids!

The character of Vi belongs to @evanescencerps​ and the character of Adam belongs to @artsy-mcbang​. If you like Gus, he’ll definitely be back in future writing pieces!

Enjoy!

“And what exactly would this club being doing?”

Gus looked up at Miss Fenwyck, eyes wide and nervous as ever.

“Um, v-volunteering at the, um, animal shelter, M-Miss. And m-maybe, uh, f-fundraisers? To h-help the sh-shelters g-get b-by…”

His English teacher’s neutral expression drew into a small frown. Gus grabbed the hem of his shirt and fiddled with it nervously. His already considerable anxiety level soared with every silent second she spent studying the application he’d handed her. She cleared her throat.

“Gus,” she began, rolling the word slowly as if she was using the time to carefully plan out how best to to break bad news to her already unstable student, “I appreciate your desire to help our furry friends, especially after...”

She paused for a brief second as she studied his face, giving him a sympathetic smile. It ended up  being more of an awkward grimace. Gus returned it with a nervous smile, wincing a little as the still-tender marks on his face puckered uncomfortably. Miss Fenwyck continued carefully.

“...However, this application does not have much to do with the school itself. It’s also incredibly specific, which is a club feature that tends to work against its formation.” She bit her lip. “Do you have any interested students?” She looked back to the application.  “Or a representative teacher?”

Gus shrank into himself a little. “Um...n-no,” he said quietly, “I...th-this was...um, I was hoping...m-maybe with a c-club...um...”

Miss Fenwyck stopped him with a sad smile. Though the expression stung a little, Gus appreciated not having to admit his lonely state out loud. “I see,” Miss Fenwyck sighed, “And I sympathize, Gus. But you need at least three more members and a teacher overseeing your activities before I can authorize a club. Perhaps you can join one that’s already been formed?”

Gus’s large front teeth chewed at his lip nervously. He felt his chest tighten and his vision swim a little with his growing anxiety. “I um...I w-waited a l-little l-late to j-join any, um, clubs, so...m-most p-people have k-kind of s-settled in? With f-friends and s-stuff? And I d-don’t w-want to interru-”

Gus jumped as the door to the classroom swing open suddenly. It hadn’t slammed into the wall, but the whooshing assaulted Gus’s senses strangely. He spun, ducking a little as he did so out of reflex. He’d been on high alert the past couple of days, but hadn’t thought much of it. He’d just chalked it up to his accident paired with the all the psyching up he’d been doing to hand in this application.

A shaggy head poked into the room, lighting up with a grin as the man who owned it strode in with long, lanky strides. He adjusted the large overfilled binder in his arms before looking down at his colleague. “Ah! Miss Fenwyck! Crushing another grand club pipe dream, it seems?” Miss Fenwyck’s face pinched into something between a pout and a scolding glare, but the man just waved a big hairy hand good-naturedly. “You know I’m just kidding.” He looked down at Gus with an easy smile, his grey eyes soft and reassuring. “Right?”

Gus felt himself smiling back automatically. A piece of Gus’s brain tried to puzzle out why his panic begin to ebb away the more the man remained in his presence. His mounting anxiety could never be completely erased, but the level it was at now was an all-time low in a matter of seconds. He decided not to question a good thing, choosing to shake off the feeling in favour of a reply. “Ha, um, yes Mr. Gilani.” The biology teacher just chuckled in response.

“I did come to do a little brainstorming about a student we’re both having trouble with, Olivia, but two birds and one stone and all that.”

He studied Gus’s face, his nose twitching slightly. Gus caught a strangely musky scent in the room as well, like wet earth. He wondered what it was. “Well, if this boy can’t found a club, let a club find him!” Patting the cover of the binder he held as if to affirm his statement, Mr. Gilani pulled a piece of paper out of the back pocket and handed it gently to Gus.

“If you don’t mind tramping around in the outdoors, the environmental club would be more than happy to have you!”

Gus blinked at the club member application in his hands and then up at Mr. Gilani.

“I, but...but isn’t everyone already...together? Like, with friend groups and stuff...”

The biology teacher brushed his worries away with another sweep of his big hand.

“Don’t be worried about making friends! We’re a small and tight-knit group for sure, but I guarantee you’ll fit right in and be part of the gang in no time.”

Gus stared at the application skeptically, but felt a surging tug of heart-tearing hope in his chest at the thought of finally finding friends. Mr Gilani took his silence as hesitation.

“If it’s any help in your decision, we have a sleep away trip planned for next week with all expenses paid thanks to our super successful bake sale the other week. Nothing like a good campfire-and-cabin situation to spark friendships!”

Slowly Gus nodded, the movement becoming more enthusiastic the longer it continued.

“Yeah...um, yes, I mean, I’d love to. Do, Um, d-do you have a pen?”

He scribbled down his information while the teachers talked shop and waited politely for them to finish speaking to hand in his application. Returning the completed sheet to his binder, Mr. Gilani rewarded him with a thumbs up and a grin. “Good to have you kiddo!” he said enthusiastically as he followed Gus out of the classroom. He snapped his fingers suddenly.

“Oh, Gus! I don’t mean to pry, but how long ago was your...”

He pointed gingerly to his own face before continuing.

“I just want to make sure it’s healed enough to be running around in the dirt, you know?”

Gus touched the scars on his face.

“Oh, um...it’ll be a m-month by the c-cabin t-trip? Is th-that okay?”

A strange look crossed the biology teacher’s face; not unfriendly, but something between concern and sympathy.

“Of course! But Gus? Do come to the trip, please. It’s important you come. For your sake. Promise me?”

Gus looked at the taller man, puzzled, but nodded after only a brief hesitation. Mr. Gilani’s returning smile seemed tinged with relief.

“Good man. Well, see you in class!”

With a wave he turned back the way he’d come and disappeared down the hall, leaving Gus to mull over the conversation on his walk home.

Gus’s nerves were as frayed as his backpack straps, his fingers picking at the fabric. He stood alone in the school parking lot, the first to arrive for the club trip. Not even the bus had pulled in yet. Gus eyed the sky as the light bled out into evening. He would have come at a more reasonable time - his brother Theo kept trying to convince him to arrive at least a couple minutes late - but even a month later he was hesitant to walk anywhere in the dark. He rocked from his heels to his toes and back again, channelling his nervous energy into kinetic energy. He was focusing so much on this simple task that he almost didn’t realize another person had shown up until he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Already in motion he sprang a into the air, projecting himself away from the mysterious figure. He almost turned his ankle on the landing. Surprised laughter tickled the air, and he felt his face heating up.

A girl he’d seen in his math class studied him with raised eyebrows and a small smile. With her straight black bangs pulled back it took him a few extra seconds to recognize her. She normally hid behind her hair in math class as if it were a protective curtain from the numbers and formulas.

“Um. H-Hi,” Gus said sheepishly. The girl snorted.

“Hi. Don’t be nervous. I won’t bite.”

She laughed again quietly at her joke. Gus looked at the ground. Biting was a bit of a sensitive subject for him at the moment. He looked back up to see her smile falter a bit, her eyes looking away awkwardly, her hands coming up to worry a lock of her hair. Oh no.

“Uhhh, I’m G-Gus!” he said a bit too loudly. They both cringed. He tried again, more softly. “S-Sorry. But y-yeah, um. Gus. Th-that’s m-me.” He gave her a half wince, half smile, his brain running through a list of insults aimed at himself. The awkward burst of introduction had brought her little smile back, though.

“Vi,” she said simply, then frowned in thought. “...Math class?” she said finally, tilting her head a bit to the side.

Gus felt like he was falling down an elevator shaft while his heart exploded simultaneously.

“I! Um! Yes!”

He didn’t mean to sound so excited, but he couldn’t help the goofy grin that spread across his face and the happy little bounce he gave at being remembered. He watched as the expression was echoed in Vi’s face, her eyes glinting mischievously as though his excitement was catching.

“Man, you know math can actually be really interesting, but a goldfish could teach it better than Mr. Harbour. It’d be less dry, at least.”

She grinned wider at the pun. Gus felt an honest reply almost spill out of his mouth

”Maybe the material, but I’d rather find a teacher that could...express his thoughts a little less wetly. My desk is kind of in the splash zone.”

Vi’s laughter was sharp and loud. Though it hurt Gus’s ears a little, it was well worth it. His nervousness was being converted into a euphoric frenzied excitement that was somehow helping him speak candidly, as he would with his brothers. It was as if the connection of math class had erased the usual awkward social barrier. Or maybe there had never been one there in the first place. He’d forgotten how good making friends felt.

The bus pulled in as they traded banter back and forth. Mr. Gilani strode out to greet it with his own duffle bag and a clipboard, sporting a more casual, campy outfit of a simple blue t-shirt and brown cargo shorts. The biology teacher waved them onto the bus as he checked their names off on his clipboard. As Gus passed on his way up the bus steps, Mr. Gilani caught his eye. Raising his own eyebrows Mr.Gilani smiled, as if to say a gentle, “I told you so”. Gus was so engrossed in the first long conversation with a stranger he’d had in awhile that he almost didn’t notice the long gnarled scars wrapping around Mr. Gilani’s knee.

Four more students piled onto the bus after them, and each was just as easy to talk to as the last. Gus was starry-eyed, feeling drunk with happiness. His conversations with them seemed almost second-nature, as if Gus had been friends with them for years and was just catching up. They shared snacks and played card and road trip games as the bus lumbered along the highway towards the camp.

Nightfall brought a more tense atmosphere. Gus first assumed it was sleepiness settling into the bus, but agitated looks and rubbing of exposed skin made him realize everyone was experiencing the same strange itchy feeling as himself. He saw Mr. Gilani look around at the students. Concern painted his face, but not worry. Gus decided it was best to try to ignore it.

Arrival at camp saw the kids splitting quickly into their cabins. It was near midnight by the time they’d reached the camp, and the gentle rocking of the bus had left the club members sleepy. Though they tried valiantly to have the late-night discussions camp is famous for, most fell asleep within fifteen minutes of lying down. It took four times that for Gus to finally drift off. Left in the awe of being someplace so remote but so comforting all at once, he scratched at the the strange itch growing in strength as the night stretched on.

Gus had never been to camp before. His family couldn’t afford it, and his mother had always been at home when he was a child. Though the dark woods gave him a constant dull buzz of fear, the activities were enough to keep him relatively distracted. The camp staff sent them off on everything from plant identification hikes to kayaking on the lake to capture the flag. Gus was a fairly small, slight boy. He’d never been particularly physically active, but he had some happy memories hiking through the forest with his dad and brothers. Going into the first few activities he was afraid he’d make a fool of himself, but he was pleasantly surprised. For what a team member lacked in one skill, the others found skills to more than make up for them. No one was left out. Gus supposed there was a benefit for such a small group of people to be friends. It was much easier to keep track of everyone’s well being, and that made it even easier for them to find success individually and as a whole.

Gus’s self esteem had never been great, and had only fallen as he failed to make friends. He had a hard time finding anything about himself that he liked, let alone any discernable skills. So when his capture the flag team pointed out that his smaller body could move quieter and hide easier than his larger counterparts’, Gus felt something shift in his chest. It felt lighter, somehow. As a particularly hulking, athletic boy named Adam bolted around and drew the attention of the opposing team, Gus snuck into the enemy territory and stole away with their flag to win the game. The grin he had plastered on his face when his team greeted him with hoops and hollers and hugs was so intense he felt like it might break his face in two. Even the intense and moody Adam offered him a little smile and a clap on the back that almost sent him flying face first into the dirt. So when the mood changed to one of anxious apprehension as shadows stretched across the camp Gus’s anxiety remained two-fold, and along with it the strange itch.

Gus stuck close to Vi and Adam as they made their way to the mess hall in the gathering dark. He felt a small sense of relief that the huge older boy had been paired as his cabin safety buddy. Even though Adam’s occasional angry outbursts reminded him of his terrifying stepfather, something about the quiet demeanor and the surprisingly gentle and instinctual way he would place himself between the forest and Gus made him a surprisingly comforting force. It was almost as if he was reading Gus’s fears straight from his mind.

Gus wanted to ask about what was happening, why everyone seemed so apprehensive as if they were sensing some sort of natural disaster, but he’d just become friends with them. He was waiting for the moment when he screwed something up as per usual. He wasn’t about to fast forward the situation by dragging uncomfortable thoughts out of everyone. Instead, he focused on keeping his small legs at enough of a trot to keep up with Adam.

As they reached the mess hall the tense silence increased tenfold. It felt almost solidified in the air.

Gus took a seat in between Adam and Vi, the person sandwich making him feel a little more comforted. He scratched his arm idly. Conversation at the table was already weak at best. When the food came it was enjoyed in silence. Gus frowned a little as the flavour of his food burst strangely in his mouth. There was a spice - or maybe a mixture of spices? - in here he didn’t recognize. The sour flavour was a weird choice for spaghetti. Thinking it was a safe enough topic, he nudged Adam softly and mentioned the strange taste with a nervous smile. Adam just blinked at him slowly, cool face not betraying any expression. He finally replied with a grunt and a gruff, “just remember to finish eating all of it,” before rising to take his own empty plate to the kitchens. Though Vi offered a few awkward but nice attempts at conversation, Gus stayed relatively quiet the rest of the meal.

A half hour before sunset, Mr. Gilani gathered everyone in the mess hall. On the table were glasses and a couple pitchers of water, as well as some small pill bottles. Gus eyed them warily, but everyone around him seemed to look a little more relieved at the sight. As they milled about, Mr.Gilani signaled them all to line up in front of the water table. His panic level steadily rising, Gus considered what this all could mean. Scenarios blurred through his head at top speed.

Was there something in the woods?

Was it coming to hurt them, and those pills were in case of injury?

Or had he jumped into some weird cult situation?

He felt his breath coming faster and faster, the itch under his skin getting worse by the second. He felt his chest constrict and his knees buckle. Adam was close enough to catch him before he hit the floor, but the closeness made the attack worse, confining, constricting. He curled in on himself, shaking uncontrollably as his vision tunnelled. Mr Gilani was suddenly beside him. The biology teacher’s voice was telling him to breathe, giving him cues to do so in a measured way. He sounded so far away. Slowly the feeling subsided, and Gus felt the usual extreme fatigue set in. Mr. Gilani helped him up and over to a pop-up cot in the corner of the mess hall, and Gus fell onto it. The biology professor disappeared from Gus’s vision for a second before returning with a glass of water and a couple of the pills. “Painkillers,” he explained, but Gus was already pushing them away, his panic returning. “No, Gus, You’re going to want them, just - ” Gus was so frantic to escape them that he knocked the pills out of Mr. Gilani’s hand, the hard capsules skittering off across the tile floor. Mr. Gilani sighed.

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry. I didn’t want to scare you. You don’t have to if you really don’t want to.”

Gus felt relief wash over him, his eyes drooping closed.

“I just want you to be as comfortable as possible,” Mr. Gilani continued, “We should have probably been more forthcoming about why we’re all here - ”

Gus heard him get cut off by an incredulous Vi questioning the reasons to keep quiet. As much as he wanted to stay awake, sleep took Gus under.

He woke up to his whole body itching furiously. He groaned, scratching his leg as he came to. As his sleep-blurred mind took a grip on reality, he heard strange sounds from all around him. Something wasn’t quite right. He blinked his eyes open.

The mess hall was dark, but his night vision slowly came into focus. People-like forms littered the hall. Some stood, but hunched a little as if they’d been sucker punched. Some were on the floor, writhing and jerking. All of them were making a strange groaning sound, punctuated with cracks and yelps of pain. Was something in here with them?  Was something hunting them?

Gus struggled to sit up quickly, giving a quick yell in pain himself. He became aware of a dull, a body-wide cramping ache throughout his entire person. It built steadily, along with that damned incredible itch. He scratched at his leg more furiously.  He realized it felt a lot hairier than he remembered before the pain reached a boiling point, leaving him in  the screaming wake of his own crackling bones.

As suddenly as it started, the pain subsided. Gus raised his head blearily and looked around the mess hall, breathing hard and achy joints creaking. It took a few minutes for the shapes to focus; his eyes had teared up during his episode. It took a couple of seconds for his brain to make sense of what slowly came into view.

The hall was filled with glinting eyes, fur, and sharp fangs.

Gus screamed, memories rushing back as he tried to scramble backwards. A chorus of voices exploded around him.

Someone who sounded like Vi shouted, “Hey wait!”

A gruff voice that seemed like Adam said “Whoa man.”

A Mr. Gilani voice was calling gently, “Gus, stay calm”.

His body felt strange, like someone had popped his legs off and put them on backwards. In his confusion he slipped and slammed into the floor, bringing his hands up to shield his head as he hit the ground. He rushed to get up and caught sight of his hands. He froze.

They were covered in brown hair, and his fingers were more claw than anything.

He felt panic rising, but a strange sense of calm settled over him as a large wolf with scars across its back knee trotted over and nudged him with his nose. “It’s okay,” the wolf spoke in Mr.Gilani’s voice. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. I wanted you to enjoy your time here without worrying about the change. It’s the last time you were going to be able to.”

A huge tawny wolf snuffled and added gruffly in Adam’s voice, “You’re like, super nervous man. You would have gone bonkers if we told you.”

A chorus of sorries followed the admission. Gus blinked at all of them. A smaller black wolf trotted over and nudged him. If the voice didn’t give away that it was Vi, the mischief in the eyes definitely did. “But, hard part’s over. Now the real fun starts.” With a few whoops and hollers, the small group of wolves raced towards the mess hall doors and slammed into them, knocking them open easily and taking off into the night.

Gus sprang to his four feet, his nervousness forgotten in his scramble not to be left behind. He ran after the frenzied pack on clumsy legs, his newfound paws tripping him up as he tried to figure out the right rhythm in which to move them properly. Gus felt his common sense click back into place as the group barrelled into the woods. His panic rose as he slid to a sprawling halt at the treeline. Now alone at the edge of the forest he stood, shaking, trying to piece together all these broken pieces of what he knew about himself and the world. Whimpers escaped his mouth, further alienating his mind from his body. Something stirred in the forest ahead of him and his heart leapt into his throat. However the sight of the three loping wolves that would have sent him to a panic state earlier that day calmed him slightly instead. The small black wolf moved to stand at Gus’s right side while the towering tawny took the left. Both stood protectively close, their calm reassurance unchanged with their altered forms. The scarred-kneed wolf dipped his head at Gus gently.

“Don’t be scared. The bit of wolfsbane in your dinner tonight will let you keep your wits about you, and the whole pack is here to take care of you. We can’t stop what happened to you,” he pointed his snout at Gus’s face, “But we can be your support system.”

He let his tongue loll out in a goofy manner.

“And friends of course, if you’ll have us! We’re protective of our own. Besides, I know a few who have already grown quite attached.”

Gus felt the two bodies on either side of him press close. His chest warmed with the contact, the fear loosening its constrictive grip on his insides. This was all still so new to him, so frightening and confusing and daunting for what it meant for his life from here on out. But for once, he didn’t have to figure it out alone.

He stared into the dark trees, the snatch of wilderness echoing all the dark places that had given him so much anxiety in the past month. He stood on calm legs and nodded. “It’s weird, but...it a sort of strange, backwards way this is everything I ever wanted.” He let his tongue hang from his mouth in a silly smile, mimicking the expressions around him at his admission. Mr. Gilani dropped down into a play stance before jumping up, letting out a bellowing, joyful howl, and darting back into the forest. Vi and Adam moved after him, taking up the call. Gus felt himself move with them, hurtling with unbridled excitement into the very thing that would have before sparked a panic attack. As the swell of wolf song rose around him he threw back his head and added to it eagerly, his notes finding a place in the woodsy symphony.

[hotelsmanagementdoon]

What is Hotel Management?

Hotel Management is the assessment of the novel ace association systems and approaches identified with lodge affiliation, activity, and giving sustenance.

Comfort is interfacing with, pleasing workplace, with calling openings any place you go! Hotels, resorts, burger joints, move club and bars are a few foundations that make up the fortifying business.

These are association areas ordinarily going about as the relationship between the kitchen and the sustenance association zones. They are constantly far out or "back-of-the-house" the association themselves is apparently the busiest unit of giving sustenance foundations, particularly over an association period.

As a result of this, it is vital that office heads guarantee that all staff knows unequivocally what their duties are and how to complete them gainfully and rapidly.

Exactly when all is said in done, particularly in Hotel Management from fundamental association locale can be seen and we at hotel management institute in Dehradun show all of you these.

1) Still room

2) Pantry

3) Food Pick up Area/Hot Plate

4) Linen Room

5) Store

6) Wash up/Kitchen Stewarding

7) Silver room/plate room

1. STILL ROOM

This is an association a region whose essential limit is to give things of sustenance and refreshments required for the association of supper and not offered sustenance to by other veritable work environments in a lodging, for example, the kitchen, larder and prepared a great shop.

Subordinate upon its size and the duties to be played out the staffing will be made. Regularly the still room is managed by a still room administrator. He/she is in charge of staffing, referencing of game plans and stunning control of these things when issued to different divisions.

Following are a section of the things that are managed from the still room.

a. All refreshments, for example, espresso, tea, Hot chocolate, and so on

b. Gathered characteristic thing presses both new and canned

c. Milk and cream

d. Sugars {different types like granulated, shape, dull concealed sugar (demerara)}

e. Jam: Jam, jam, nectar, and so forth (They are ordinarily pre-doled out for better control.)

f. Margarine – it can twisted or pre-wrapped segments

g. Toasted bread Slices, Melba Toast

h. Breakfast moves, for example, Brioche, croissants, and so forth

I. Accumulated breakfast grains Cornflakes, Rice crispies, Muesli (blended of all cereals), etc

j. Arranged items, Gateaux and sandwiches

k. Porridge and murmured eggs.

From the above show, one can without a great deal of a stretch comprehend that everything required are immediate from Stillroom

A piece of the arrangements which are required by the still room

I. Cooler

ii. Tea and espresso gadget.

iii. Reptiles or toasters

iv. Bread cutting machines

v. Working table tops and cutting sheets

vi. Enormous twofold sink

vii. Point of confinement wash space for every single dry thing held in stock, for example, paper napkins, doilies, and so forth.

viii. Extra room or leaves for dealing with porcelain, dish sets, and cutlery.

2. Washroom

It is utilized to exhibit all back district everything considered. Still, rooms, Pantry, washup zone, store are generally with everything considered recommended as a storeroom in business practices in any case storeroom unequivocally implies that locale where mise-en-place (preparing for association) is done. It is the most basic space and ought to be given extraordinary centrality in coordinating stage.

Various exercises are done here, for example,

I. Cleaning of al cutlery, stoneware creation, and pearl.

ii. Refilling of decanter set, sauce holder and sugar bowl

iii. Dealing without grimy and new material.

iv. Point of confinement of stationery

v. From time to time headings are in like was done in the garments washer room

vi. Ice 3D square the machine is put around there.

vii. On the off chance that there is no plate room, cleaning of flatware likewise happens here.

3. Sustenance Pick up Area/Hot Plate: This region is by and large called Hot Plate Area. The hot plate might be viewed as the party point between the sustenance association staff (F&B) and the sustenance accessibility staff (kitchen).

This is the spot all the porcelain required for the association will be kept warm. Care ought to be taken to ensure that the extents of chinaware required are fittingly stacked in the hot case. In explicit hotels, the silver required will be set over the hotplate and utilized as required.

Consistently an 'ABOYEUR' (a barker) is in-control and controls the hotplate over the association time portions. The hotplate is typically gas or power worked and ought to be lit well ahead of schedule of the assistance of affirmation all the china and silver are attractively warmed. Exactly when a dish is set up to serve the About will report it wildly with the target that the particular server can lift it up. Exactly when the sustenance has been grabbed the KOT (kitchen sales ticket) is placed into a control box which can be worked indisputably by an individual from the control division who for control purposes makes the duplicate of the sustenance check from the kitchen.

4. Material Room

Material putting away is significant in the F&B Department. All material, for example, Serviettes, Table surfaces, Slip materials, and so forth are dealt with in the F&B division as it is uncommonly hard for the association staff to raced to the housekeeping office each opportunity to get the new texture and smooth activity is hampered.

Material is traded typically by the server in the Linen room (housekeeping division) on a 'one for one reason's which means one disorganized texture is traded for one clean material. These are entered in the Linen register and if there is any abnormality it is likewise entered in the register.

5. Store

The store goes about as an area for keeping any plans that are utilized during activities. These may join any sauces, soda pop pops, juices, pointless things, and visitor takeaways, (for example, sugar sachets). There ought to be sufficient supply of the things required during the association and appropriate solicitation of the thing should occur so that there is no insufficiency.

6. Kitchen Stewarding/clean up Area

This is the most significant Ancillary territory which impacts the working of the outlet. The division which is responsible for the supply and sponsorship of all F&B sorts of mechanical assembly (cutlery, stoneware and dish sets) and kitchen utensils is known as Kitchen supervising Department. Kitchen regulating is the foundation of the F&B division.

In Kitchen Stewarding office, the cleanup area incorporates the best locale and is fitted with various sorts of gear. The cleanup zone is also allocated into two:

a) Pot wash: This zone is for the most part called "Scullery". It is a spot for cleaning kitchen pots, skillet, and other kitchen utensils. It is generally orchestrated close to the basic kitchen.

b) Ware wash/dishwashing zone: This locale is responsible for cleaning up a wide extent of association sorts of gear. It is all around masterminded close to the eatery and room association lift to compel the division of passing on dirtied hardware by the server. In the dishwashing region, all cutlery, stoneware generation, and the jewel are kept self-rulingly (to dodge any breakage) and all sustenance garbage is placed into the wet waste compartment and all dry trash like paper doilies, paper napkin in the other junk archive known as dry reject canister.

DISHWASHING METHODS

When washing the clay and cutleries one must ensure that the temperature of the water being utilized is around 75oC. This is developed for two reasons:-

1) To clean the plate and expel oil stains

2) The china thing or stoneware will dry self-sufficient from some other individual (in light of high temperature) without utilizing a cleaning surface along these lines being dynamically sterile

1) Manual or tank framework: - This technique we are instructing in hotel management course in Dehradun where the turnover of the porcelain's and cutleries isn't uncommonly high. In the manual wash, two sink strategy or three sink technique is utilized.

In the cleaning procedure, washing of gear with high temp water and synthetic and flushing happens in the first sink (if there should arise an occurrence of three sink framework; washing and flushing in free sinks). These are then moved to another sink for filtration. This methodology will when all is said in done have higher breakages.

2) Automatic vehicle strategy or Dish pieces of clothing washer: - This is utilized and instructs in hotel management college in Dehradun where turnover is exceptionally high. To work the machine persevering supply of water is required.

In the cleaning strategy, Plates are dealt with on the racks and are washed before setting them on the vehicle line, where it enters the machine. The machine contains three chambers. In the first chamber, the arrangements interface with water at high weight from top comparatively as a base. In the second chamber, the sorts of gear interface with a shower of a blend of compound and water at 85oC from above and underneath and in the third chamber the sorts of mechanical assembly are sprinkled with high temp water at 90-95oC from top and base and cleansing happens. The cleaning cycle is done in 21/2 to 3 Minutes.

7. Plate Room/Silver Room

The silver room holds the total pile of silver and different sorts of apparatus required for association of all meals near to slight surplus stock for the crisis. The different sorts of silver are kept here on checked racks, with all the association plates of one size stacked together. Heavier things ought to go on the racks drop down and lighter things higher up.

     Amazon Institute of hotel management in Dehradun

The organization sorts of apparatus in stores should be cleaned and cleaned irregularly. There are various methodologies open for cleaning flatware:

a) Burnishing technique: It involves turning drum half stacked up with minimal metal rollers. The silver to clean is set in the drum, which is then half reported with water, chemical and is closed solidly and the machine is traded on for 10 minutes. This procedure isn't proper for forks and knives.

b) Polivit Method: In this technique, Polivit plate which is involved Aluminum is set in a holder with washing soda pop and flatware is dove in the compartment, with at least one piece reaching the plate. Steaming water is poured to cover the flatware and substance reaction cleans the utensils. This methodology is proper for colossal bits of flatware.

c) Silver Dip Method: In this technique, the silver to be cleaned is kept in a wire case and is submerged in a silver dive, which is a pink concealing liquid. It is left in the response for a particularly concise period and is flushed sometime later. This method is smart anyway may hurt the flatware sue to substance reaction.

d) Plate Powder Method: This methodology is ideal for the articles that can't be cleaned by the above systems. We as the best hotel management Institute demonstrate to you, plate powder (which is pink in concealing) is mixed with soul and is scoured over the outside of the article. At the point when the paste is dry, it is scoured with perfect material and is washed with high temp water. This procedure demands more work and time and is sensible for the container, toast rack, etc.

e) Quick Dip Method: In this system, high temp water, nearby squashed aluminum foil, lemon crush, and salt is placed in a holder and blended. Stained silver is dived in this response for 2-3 minutes. It is then emptied and cleaned properly

Thusly, Don't be troubled and don't waver to drop us an inquiry in best hotel management institute in Dehradun.

[iasshikshalove]

Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Aug-2019

Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Aug-2019 GS-2 Legislative council Why in news? The Madhya Pradesh government has indicated that it plans to initiate steps towards creation of a Legislative Council. Not all states have two Houses. Which are the ones that do, and why is a second House needed? Why a second House  Just as Parliament has two Houses, so can the states, if they choose to. Article 71 of the Constitution provides for the option of a state to have a Legislative Council in addition to its Legislative Assembly.  As in Rajya Sabha, members of a Legislative Council are not directly elected by voters.  Opinion in the Constituent Assembly was divided on the idea.  Among the arguments in its favour, a second House can help check hasty actions by the directly elected House, and also enable non-elected individuals to contribute to the legislative process.  The arguments against the idea: a Legislative Council can be used to delay legislation, and to park leaders who have not been able to win an election.  Under Article 169, a Legislative Council can be formed “if the Legislative Assembly of the State passes a resolution to that effect by a majority of the total membership of the Assembly and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the Assembly present and voting”. Parliament can then pass a law to this effect. States with LCs  Currently, six states have Legislative Councils.  Jammu and Kashmir too had one, until the state was bifurcated into the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.  Tamil Nadu’s then DMK government had passed a law to set up a Council but the subsequent AIADMK government withdrew it after coming to power in 2010. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Aug-2019  Andhra Pradesh’s Legislative Council, set up in 1958, was abolished in 1985, then reconstituted in 2007.  The Odisha Assembly recently passed a resolution for a Legislative Council.  Proposals to create Councils in Rajasthan and Assam are pending in Parliament; the PRS Legislative Research website lists the status of both Bill as pending. Members  Under Article 171 of the Constitution, the Legislative Council of a state shall not have more than one-third of the number of MLAs of the state, and not less than 40 members.  In Madhya Pradesh, which has 230 MLAs, the proposed Legislative Council can have at most 76 members.  As with Rajya Sabha MPs, the tenure of a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) is six years, with one-third of members retiring every two years.  One-third of the MLCs are elected by the state’s MLAs, another one-third by a special electorate comprising sitting members of local governments such as municipalities and district boards, 1/12th by an electorate of teachers and another 1/12th by registered graduates. The remaining members are appointed by the Governor for distinguished services in various fields. LC vis-à-vis Rajya Sabha  The legislative power of the Councils is limited.  Unlike Rajya Sabha which has substantial powers to shape non-financial legislation, Legislative Councils lack a constitutional mandate to do so; Assemblies can override suggestions/amendments made to a legislation by the Council.  Again, unlike Rajya Sabha MPs, MLCs cannot vote in elections for the President and Vice President.  The Vice President is the Rajya Sabha Chairperson; an MLC is the Council Chairperson. What next in MP  Having promised a Legislative Council for Madhya Pradesh in its election manifesto, the ruling Congress is working on a resolution that will be presented in the next Assembly session. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Aug-2019 Rajendra Singh, chairman of the Congress manifesto committee in 2018, said the party has discussed the issue and is serious about constituting a second House. GS-3 Bond yield and curve Why in news? Bond yields have featured in news reports both globally and within India in recent months. In India, government bond yields fell sharply in the wake of the Union Budget, although they have come off the lows in the past few weeks. Internationally, US treasury bond yields plummeted last week, but they too have moderated after it became clear that governments almost everywhere have shown the desire to boost economic growth. What are bonds?  A bond is an instrument to borrow money.  It is like an IOU.  A bond could be floated/issued by a country’s government or by a company to raise funds.  Since government bonds (referred to as G-secs in India, Treasury in the US, and Gilts in the UK) come with the sovereign’s guarantee, they are considered one of the safest investments.  As a result, they also give the lowest returns on investment (or yield). Investments in corporate bonds tend to be riskier because the chances of failure (and, therefore, the chances of the company not repaying the loan) are higher. What are bonds yields?  Simply put, the yield of a bond is the effective rate of return that it earns.  But the rate of return is not fixed — it changes with the price of the bond. But to understand that, one must first understand how bonds are structured.  Every bond has a face value and a coupon payment.  There is also the price of the bond, which may or may not be equal to the face value of the bond. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Aug-2019  Suppose the face value of a 10-year G-sec is Rs 100, and its coupon payment is Rs 5. Buyers of this bond will give the government Rs 100 (the face value); in return, the government will pay them Rs 5 (the coupon payment) every year for the next 10 years, and will pay back their Rs 100 at the end of the tenure. In this case, the bond’s yield, or effective rate of interest, is 5%.  The yield is the investor’s reward for parting with Rs 100 today, but for staying without it for 10 years. Why and how do yields go up and down?  Imagine a situation in which there is just one bond, and two buyers (or people willing to lend to the government).  In such a scenario, the selling price of the bond may go from Rs 100 to Rs 105 or Rs 110 because of competitive bidding by the two buyers.  Importantly, even if the bond is sold at Rs 110, the coupon payment of Rs 5 will not change.  Thus, as the price of the bond increases from Rs 100 to Rs 110, the yield falls to 4.5%.  Similarly, if the interest rate in the broader economy is different from the initial coupon payment promised by a bond, market forces quickly ensure that the yield aligns itself with the economy’s interest rate.  In that sense, G-sec yields are in close sync with the prevailing interest rate in an economy.  With reference to the above example, if the prevailing interest rate is 4% and the government announces a bond with a yield of 5% (that is, a face value of Rs 100 and a coupon of Rs 5) then a lot of people will rush to buy such a bond to earn a higher interest rate.  This increased demand will start pushing up bond prices, even as the yields fall. This will carry on until the time the bond price reaches Rs 125 — at that point, a Rs-5 coupon payment would be equivalent to a yield of 4%, the same as in the rest of the economy.  This process of bringing yields in line with the prevailing interest rate in the economy works in the reverse manner when interest rates are higher than the initially promised yields. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Aug-2019 ]What is happening to US govt bond yields at present? What does it signify?  The global economy has been slowing down for the better part of the last two years.  Some of the biggest economies are either growing at a slower rate (such as the US and China) or actually contracting (such as Germany).  As a result, last week, US Treasury bond yields fell sharply as there was confirmation of slowdown in Germany and China.  Reason: investors, both inside the US and outside, figured that if growth prospects are plummeting, it makes little sense to invest in stocks or even riskier assets.  It made more sense rather, to invest in something that was both safe and liquid (that is, something that can be converted in to cash quickly).  US Treasury bonds are the safest bet in this regard. So, many investors lined up to buy US Treasury bonds, which led to their prices going up, and their yields falling sharply. And what is a yield curve, and what does it signify?  A yield curve is a graphical representation of yields for bonds (with an equal credit rating) over different time horizons.  Typically, the term is used for government bonds — which come with the same sovereign guarantee.  So the yield curve for US treasuries shows how yields change when the tenure (or the time for which one lends to the government) changes.  If bond investors expect the US economy to grow normally, then they would expect to be rewarded more (that is, get more yield) when they lend for a longer period. This gives rise to a normal — upward sloping — yield curve (see chart).  The steepness of this yield curve is determined by how fast an economy is expected to grow.  The faster it is expected to grow the more the yield for longer tenures. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Aug-2019  When the economy is expected to grow only marginally, the yield curve is “flat”. What then is yield inversion, and what does it mean?  Yield inversion happens when the yield on a longer tenure bond becomes less than the yield for a shorter tenure bond.  This, too, happened last week when the 10-year Treasury yield fell below the 2-year Treasury yield.  A yield inversion typically portends a recession.  An inverted yield curve shows that investors expect the future growth to fall sharply; in other words, the demand for money would be much lower than what it is today and hence the yields are also lower. How good is yield inversion at predicting a recession?  Although US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was quoted as saying Monday that “eventually there’ll be a recession but this inversion is not as reliable, in my view, as people think”, yet US data show historically that barring one episode in the mid-1960s, a yield inversion has always been followed by a recession. Sulphur dioxide pollution Why in news? A new report by Greenpeace India shows the country is the largest emitter of sulphur dioxide in the world, with more than 15% of all the anthropogenic sulphur dioxide hotspots detected by the NASA OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) satellite. Almost all of these emissions in India are because of coalburning, the report says. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Aug-2019 Sources  The vast majority of coal-based power plants in India lack flue-gas desulphurisation technology to reduce air pollution.  The Singrauli, Neyveli, Talcher, Jharsuguda, Korba, Kutch, Chennai, Ramagundam, Chandrapur and Koradi thermal power plants or clusters are the major emission hotspots in India, the report says.  In a first step to combat pollution levels, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change introduced, for the first time, sulphur dioxide emission limits for coal-fired power plants in December 2015.  But the deadline for the installation of flue-gas desulphurisation (FGD) in power plants has been extended from 2017 to 2022. Other global sources  The report also includes NASA data on the largest point sources of sulphur dioxide.  The largest sulphur dioxide emission hotspots have been found in Russia, South Africa, Iran, Saudi Arabia, India, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Serbia.  Air pollutant emissions from power plants and other industries continue to increase in India, Saudi Arabia and Iran, the report says.  In Russia, South Africa, Mexico and Turkey, emissions are currently not increasing — however, there is not a lot of progress in tackling them either. Emission trends  Of the world’s major emitters, China and the United States have been able to reduce emissions rapidly.  They have achieved this feat by switching to clean energy sources;  China, in particular, has achieved success by dramatically improving emission standards and enforcement for sulphur dioxide control. Solid fuel burning Context Firewood, animal dung, and agricultural waste are some of the fuels commonly used in households across India as a means of generating energy for cooking, light, and heating, among other things. According to a summary of seven research papers published in Ideas for India on August 19, the burning of such solid fuels, like firewood, impacts the health of household members and accounts for somewhere between 22% to 52% of all ambient air pollution in India. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Aug-2019 The study postulates that, based on this evidence, switching to cleaner fuels such as LPG for household use will have a dramatic impact on pollution levels and health problems due to pollution. Why should solid fuels be avoided?  Firewood, animal dung, and agricultural waste are some of the fuels commonly used in households across India as a means of generating energy for cooking, light, and heating, among other things.  One of the many pollutants produced on the burning of such solid fuels is fine particulate matter.  Fine particulate matter refers to particles or droplets with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres (0.000001 metres) or less, and is also known as PM2.5.  Such particles can travel deep into the respiratory system, and exposure to them can cause several adverse health effects, both short-term and long-term, including respiratory problems and heart disease. What is Household Air Pollution and how dangerous is it?  The emissions of PM2.5 generated by the burning of solid fuels in households is termed Household Air Pollution (HAP).  The study claims that approximately 800,000 premature deaths occur in India every year as a result of exposure to HAP indoors.  Moreover, the HAP produced indoors travels outdoors, and becomes a contributor to ambient air pollution, with around 300,000 more premature deaths per year attributable to exposure to outdoor HAP.  The median estimate for the contribution of HAP is, according to the study, around 30%, far greater than that of industries (2%-10%), power plants (8%-15%), and transportation (8%-11%).  The contribution of HAP to premature mortality is, as per the median across all studies, 58% higher than premature mortality due to coal use, 303% higher than that due to open burning, and 1,056% higher than that due to transportation. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Aug-2019 How many people use solid fuels in India?  In states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Assam, around 72.1% of the population regularly uses solid fuels, and the median annual ambient is 125.3µg/m^3, a level that is rated “unhealthy” as per the Air Quality Index, and can lead to serious health concerns with prolonged exposure. What are the study's recommendations?  The study asserts that immediate action is required to rectify the harm caused by HAP.  It points to initiatives undertaken by the government of India to promote LPG for use in households as opposed to the traditionally used solid fuels, such as the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.  However, the study claims that more effort is required, in particular, increasing the use of electricity as a substitute in these scenarios, and ensuring that the use of LPG is sustained. Tardigrades Why in news? On April 11, the Israeli spacecraft Beresheet attempted to land on the Moon, but crashed on the surface. It was carrying a number of items — including thousands of specimens of a living organism called tardigrade. What are tardigrade?  The tardigrade, also known as water bear, is among the toughest and most resilient creatures on Earth.  The question is: did the thousands of dehydrated tardigrades on Beresheet survive the crash? And if they did, are they now living on the Moon?  The tardigrade can only be seen under a microscope.  Half a millimetre long, it is essentially a water-dweller but also inhabits land and, a 2008 study found, can survive in the cold vacuum of outer space. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Aug-2019  In 2017, another study found that if all other life were to be wiped out by a cataclysmic event — a large asteroid impact, a supernova or a gamma-ray bursts — the tardigrade would be the likeliest to survive.  The tardigrade can endure extreme hot and cold temperature levels. How do they survive?  Although the tardigrades on the spacecraft were dehydrated, the organism is known to “come back to life” on rehydration.  In fact, they themselves expel water from their bodies and set off a mechanism to protect their cells, and can still revive if placed in water later.  However, there is no evidence of liquid water on the Moon, although there is ice.  Without liquid water, it is possible that the tardigrades will remain in their current state, unless future astronauts find them and revive them in water.  The tardigrade derives its name from the fact that it looks like an eight-legged bear, with a mouth that can project out like a tongue.  Its body has four segments supported by four pairs of clawed legs.  A tardigrade typically eats fluids, using its claws and mouth to tear open plant and animal cells, so that it can suck nutrients out of them. It is also known to feast on bacteria and, in some cases, to kill and eat other tardigrades.  Although they are famed for their resilience, they are destructible too. Should a human being swallow a tardigrade with her food, her stomach acid will cause the flesh of the tardigrade to disintegrate. On the Moon, should they find liquid water and revive, the tardigrades might not last very long in the absence of food and air, according to Live Science magazine, which quoted Kazuharu Arakawa, a tardigrade researcher at Keio University in Tokyo.