Schooled - A novel about school, motivation, and a controversial study

Jul 31, 2026

Kelvin receives a D+ on a hand-written paper and spirals into fear of academic failure, family consequences, and a bleak future. During office-hours, Dr. Abidi offers a possible solution: extra credit through participation in a study. The study screens participants for corporal punishment as an avoidance incentive in extreme executive dysfunction, shocking Kelvin and pushing him into a moral and emotional bind. The narrative follows Kelvin’s negotiation of motivation, desire, and boundaries as the study unfolds.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages71

Reading Time1 h 49 min

AccessFree to download

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Epilogue

Schooled Copyright © 2021 by Tanya Chris ([www.tanyachris.com](www.tanyachris.com)) All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author. [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Table of Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Epilogue [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) It was worse than he’d expected. Kelvin turned the paper face down on his desk so he wouldn’t see the D+ written in red sharpie in its upper, righthand corner. He should probably be grateful it wasn’t a flat-out F, considering he’d written the paper by hand in the cafeteria right before class. He’d had some good ideas for it, all bouncing around in his brain. He just hadn’t been able to make himself sit down and organize them into coherency until he was out of time with no choice but to word-vomit in amad scramble to at least turn in something, even if it was trash, which it apparently was. D+ trash. Kelvin put his head down on his desk and spent the rest of class zoned out in misery, completely failing to take in Dr. Abidi’s lecture. Dr. Abidi was an engaging teacher, and Theories of Behavioral Intelligence was oneof Kelvin’s favorite classes, but all he could think about was what would happen if he failed this class, in addition to all the others he was on the verge of failing. His parents would be pissed. They would refuse to pay for another semester after already having paid for one that hadn’t resulted in very many credits. If he couldn’t go to college, he would have to move back home, where he shared a bedroom with his little brother, and he’d probably end up working for his parents’lawn care company where there wouldn’t be any hot college boys to screw around with even if he had a private space to bring them to. All of which meant he should be supremely motivated to complete his assignments diligently and turn them in on time. And he was motivated. He just couldn’t for some reason. It always seemed like it would be better to do it later—after he’d eaten or exercised or showered or napped. Or he would manage to get started but then something would distract him. A friend would send him a TikTok or his dormmate would come home or a cute guy would walk by. Kelvin was the very definition of that dog/squirrel meme, except that when it was your life and you were failing at it, it wasn’t so funny. When class ended, Kelvin picked up his D+ paper and carried it to the front of the room where Dr. Abidi was being swarmed by students wanting to talk about the role of machine learning in robust autonomous systems. Kelvin hadn’t listened to the lecture, so he didn’t have anything to say on that subject. He waited to the side, running his fingers through his bangs, trying to get his hair out of his eyes so he could do a good puppy dog when it was finally his turn to talk. Maybe Dr. Abidi was gay and would be impressed enough by his fae good looks that Kelvin could sweet talk him into a higher grade. He had a delicate face surrounded by blond hair, which he kept long in order to show it off. He didn’t look like a girl, but he was almost as pretty as one, and he was willing to use any advantage he had. “Dr. Abidi?” “Kelvin.” The look Dr. Abidi gave him wasn’t encouraging. “I was wondering about this grade.” “Why? Do you think your paper deserved a better one?” Well, no. It probably didn’t. “I was hoping you’d give me a chance to bring it up.” Dr. Abidi scrubbed a hand over his face. He looked exasperated, as if he had this conversation ten times a day, which he probably did. “You have some good ideas, Kelvin, but you don’t apply yourself.” “Yes, sir. I want to, sir.” Kelvin was being super, extra ingratiating here, standing in front of Dr. Abidi’s desk at attention. “If I could just get my average up to a C minus somehow? There must be

FAQs

What is the premise of Dr. Abidi’s study that Kelvin is screened for?

The study proposes using corporal punishment as an avoidance incentive for some individuals with extreme executive dysfunction, though eligibility is determined through a screening procedure.

Jul 31, 2026

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