Financial Reporting Problem Essay Example for Free

Financial Reporting Problem Essay Abstract In this paper we will discuss Walmart’s Balance sheet and Income Statement. We will analyze the company’s total assets at the end of the most recent annual reporting year and to why it is important. We then will talk about the company’s total assets, how much cash and cash equivalents did the company have, as well as, the amount of accounts payable at the most recent year, and from the previous year. What the company’s net revenues are from the last three annual reporting periods, the change in dollars in the company’s net income from the most recent annual reporting period to the previous annual reporting period. We will talk about the company’s total assets at the end of the most recent year and the previous year from the annual reporting period. Lastly, we will discuss as to what information that has been obtained within this paper that would be important to a potential investor, employee and so forth. Financial Reporting Problem, Part 1 Total Assets The total assets for Wal-Mart as of January 31, 2013 were $203,105,000. The reason this is important for a company or business to know, is so the business can have a better understanding of how much the company is worth. Knowing how much a company is worth is beneficial because the assets can be used as collateral for a loan. Also knowing the assets and comparing total assets to previous years can show if a company is growing and expanding or shrinking. For Wal-Mart, the comparison from the previous year shows that the total assets increased. As of January 31, 2012 the company showed total assets of $193,406,000. With the comparison from January 31, 2012 to the current figure from January 31, 2013 Wal-Mart grew and/or expanded in total assets by 9,699,000. Cash and Cash Equivalent The total cash and cash equivalent for the end of the year for Wal-Mart as of January 31, 2013 is 7,781,000. Knowing the total cash and cash equivalent will help the company to know how much the company has to spend. No organization has the intention of spending more money then what the company has available. If a company has very low cash or cash equivalent then the company will need to consider if a loan is needed. In consideration for a loan total expenses needs to be considered. If a company like Wal-Mart has enough cash to pay all expenses then a loan isnt needed, but if the expense exceeds the cash then a loan is needed. Also another factor to consider on getting a loan is if the money coming into the company will be enough to pay the loan back. Accounts Payable The accounts payable for the end of the most recent annual reporting period that ended January 31, 2013 is 1,061,000. Knowing the accounts payable helps a company to know one of the companies expenses. This is important because if the companies accounts payable are higher than the money coming in, that could be a problem for the business. Comparing to previous years accounts payable can show many different problems or benefits for the business. Net Revenues Walmart Inc. net revenues from the last three annual reporting periods are as follows; On January 31st, 2011 in the amount of $421,849,000. On January 31st, 2012 the net revenues were; $446,950,000 and on January 31st, 2013 it totaled to the amount of $469,162,000. From looking at the reports Walmart Inc. has had an increased from 2011 to 2012 in the amount of $25,101,000 and from 2012 to 2013 has increased to $22,212,000. Net Revenue helps account for certain price reductions, adjustments and refunds. This is necessary to get the general measure of the real top line rather than the bottom line. Net Income Looking at Walmart’s income statement from the net income of 2013 on January 31st it totaled in $16,999,000. The change from 2012 and 2013 is a increase in $1,300,000. The net income from 2012 is $15,699,000. From looking at the statement and seeing that there is a loss due to nonredeemable and redeemable non-controlling interest the company has lost net income by 16,998,000 within 2013 but in 2012 only had a 609,000 difference, and in 2011 had a 1,289,000 difference from 2013. When it comes to Net Income it is closely followed and play a huge role in ratio analysis. Shareholders take a close look at the net income due to their compensation of the company. If a business is not generating enough profit, the values of shares fall. It is important to know that net income does not measure to how much cash a company has earned during a given period. Change in Dollars of Net Income The change in dollars of Walmart’s net income from 2013 is 16,999,000 and from 2012 it is only a million dollar difference of 15,999,000. Total Assets in Recent Year from Annual Reporting Wal-Mart has reported its accounting period for fiscal year 2013; accounting period ends on January 31st of each year. Wal-Mart’s current total of assets as of fiscal year 2013 is $203,105,000.00. Wal-Mart continues to grow in consecutive years with an average increase in assets of $10,000,000 dollars a year for the past five years. The earnings per share have increased 10.6 percent increasing their shares to $5.02. The company has made earnings in addition of $22 billion make it a $ 466 billion dollar corporation. It is with no doubt that the success of the corporation continues on the rise. The corporation owns 4,000 locations in the United States alone adding $10 billion alone in net sales. Further from generating income and investing in growth and assets Wal-Mart has always researched and invested in ways to reduce expenses and operating costs. Strategies such as training front line and middle managers in operating cost reductions and implementing sales and inventory syste ms have greatly reduced operating costs in the current successful years. Total Assets from Previous Annual Report In fiscal year 2012, Wal-Mart had a total of earning of $15.8 billion  with a closing total of net sales of $443.9 billion. Since 1992 Wal-Mart has made and increased a total net worth of sales of $400 billion dollars. The corporation strategy for 2012 was to continue to invest in growth and re-enforce in what separates them from their competitors, their low incomparable low merchandise prices. A very unique idea that required greater investments and growth was that of creating a merchandise corporation to the public that provided a one stop be all shopping store. The corporation concentrated in providing its customers a broad assortment of merchandise which provided customers in a sense a time saving tool in a high tempo life style generation. Wal-Mart’s obvious and epic success of how effective and efficient their corporation strategies are. In addition Wal-Mart continues to re-invest in its online market and expanding its online strategy. Important Information Wal-Mart received a total of $332 million in common stock in the year of 2013 alone. In 2012 Wal-Mart returned dividends to its investors worth $60 billion in shares. A high number of their investors are Wal-Mart associates averaging an increased percentage of stocks by the yearly. A yearly accounting period of accounting provides the corporation’s accounting state which in return provides transparency to its current investors and a corporate overview of potential new investors. Internally Wal-Mart benefits from these reports in projecting new investments. Strategic Management can influence how much can be reinvested while at the same time have oversight of how expenses, employee and associate management, and operating costs have to be considered before any over spending incurs. Overall an accounting report is essentially the backbone of a corporation. The accounting structure requires having a solid foundation in a corporation in order to have a successful business. Accountin g is the measurement of how much a business fails or it is successful. References http://c46b2bcc0db5865f5a76-91c2ff8eba65983a1c33d367b8503d02.r78.cf2.rackcdn.com/88/2d/4fdf67184a359fdef07b1c3f4732/2013-annual-report-for-walmart-stores-inc_130221024708579502.pdf

Symptoms of Dementia

Symptoms of Dementia 1.1 1.2 a) Dementia and Delirium †¢Ã‚  Alertness: In dementia customers their sharpness is general, they are generally ordinary. In insanity customers the readiness vacillates, depleted and hyper vigilant. †¢Ã‚  Emotion: In dementia customers they are shallow, thoughtless and shallow. In insanity customers they are Irritable, forceful and dreadful. Sleep: In dementia customers they frequently have exasperates rest in throughout the night. They are wanderings all over and befuddled around evening time once in a while. In insanity customers the perplexity exasperates slumber or may have store rest. b) Dementia and Depression †¢Ã‚  Memory and Comprehension: In dementia, customers memory and comprehension are hindered. As infection advancement, long haul memory additionally influenced or lost. In gloom the customers’ memory in some cases weakened. Long haul memory by and large in place and poor consideration. †¢Ã‚  Perception In dementia customers observation is typical; their pipedreams are roughly 30-40%. In gloom the customers recognition is sound-related; their pipedreams are roughly 20%. †¢Ã‚  Emotions: In dementia customers they are shallow, fractious and lax. In gloom: the patients are level, miserable, dreadful and touchy. 1.3 a) Alzheimers Disease Loss of memory is aftereffect of plaques and tangles in the mind that cause the passing of nerve cells. Loss of memory influence the everyday life exercises, for example, correspondence, exercises and security danger. Loss of weight may happen with Alzheimers malady. Case in point: a few patients overlook how to bite and how to swallow sustenance. There is less cerebral cortex which recollect this controls the cerebrum including memory, cognizance, and discourse in Alzheimers patient. The surfaces of the cerebrum adjust and mind cells shrink. There are more plaques looked at inside the typical more seasoned individuals. The liquid filled spaces of the mind increment in size. People with Alzheimers illness have change in their character. For instance: an individual who was obliging and cordial when he has infection will get to be forceful, irate and upset. b) Vascular dementia Vascular dementia is brought about when a vascular occurrence happens denying cerebrum of a sufficient supply of blood and oxygen, bringing about the passing of cerebral tissue. The patients with vascular dementia have passionate switch all over. The patients change in discourse. They talk slower and experience issues in talking. The Patients have disturbance to transient memory, association of contemplations and state of mind. Vascular dementia patients experience issues in strolling. c) Lewy Body Disease 1. This is brought about by a strange vicinity of cerebral cells called Lewy bodies which found all through the mind what creates inside nerve cells. It is believed that these may help the demise of the cerebrum cells. 2. They have tremors and solidness like Parkinsons illness. 3. Memory misfortune: likes other dementia infections. The patients with lewy body illness have influence to short- term and long haul memory. 4. The patients experience issues with fixation and consideration. 5. The patients experience issues judging separations, regularly bringing about falls. The most noteworthy danger element is age. The number individuals found with dementia the age of sixty-five. As the nerve cells got harmed in the mind. Other component can from way of life, for example, hypertension and coronary conduit ailment. The patients have a conceivable hereditary connection that inherited from past era. Case in point if a guardian or kin has a dementia then the persons 1.5 Cognitive effects cognitive impacts lead to dementia patients experience issues with transient memory which can impacts both to individual living with dementia and the individuals around them, for example, a few patients are troublesome after discussion and helping. They are likewise experience issues thinking and are effectively diverted. the patients will have poor ability to know east from west or off and on again loses their ability to know east from west: they experience issues to discover the courses (go to lavatory, can). Functional effects The practical capacity of the customer changes like they experience issues in dressing and different capacities. They need to remind to consume, wash, dress and utilize the latrine and in addition needs help overseeing every day tasks. Behavioral effects They experience difficulty with level of individual cleanliness and dress sense lead to other individuals may be humiliated with somebodys close to home cleanliness or dress sense and would prefer not to be seen with the individual. Their verbal relational abilities are likewise influenced that makes the individuals living with dementia hard to express the things so they begin communicating their needs in some different ways. Psychological effects psychological impacts prompts the patients have changes in their conduct, for example, they get outrage and dissatisfaction and melancholy and in addition they detach themselves and abstain from going out as they discover it excessively hard to deal with the clamor and the other individuals. They lose the inspiration for all exercises of every day living, additionally they feel bore and may have visual mental trips. 2.1 1. Relationship: Dementia patients ought to dependably have associations with relative, companions and help suppliers that is in charge of the social, profound and passionate prosperity. Relationship has an essential part for supporting the dementia patients and it can be produced amid consistently minds and in addition amid sorted out exercises. Help supplier ought to admiration and comprehend dementia conduct. Help supplier and relatives of patients need to keep up their association with dementia customer so that the customer will adapt better and feel valued. 2. Correspondence: Correspondence helps the customer to express about their needs, in the same way as or abhorrence. At the point when speaking with the individual with dementia, compelling relational abilities and non-verbal communication need to be utilized. Help supplier ought to talk obviously, utilizing eyes contact, dont hurry. As an issue with dementia encounters a progressive abatement in capacity to convey. 3. Individuality: Help supplier ought to treat customers exclusively that implies help supplier help every customer similarly and regard them. Case in point, help supplier ought to give customer decision about what they like, for example, garments they need to wear, which exercises they like to do or take an interest. In addition empower the customers freedom however much as could be expected. 4. Feeling: Help supplier need to concentrate on the uniqueness and the rich scope of sentiments and feelings of the individuals living with dementia. Guardians ought to invest time with customers and sway them to discuss their emotions and comprehend them. Anyway dependably utilize a cool methodology to recognize customer’s emotions. 5. Abilities Retained From consideration arrangement, help supplier ought to recognize what exercises they used to like previously. Despite the fact that they are not ready to do the exercises yet the guardians ought to urge the customers to be as autonomous as would be prudent and inspire them to join the exercises of the rest home. Likewise they ought to fare thee well that the customers are getting a charge out of the exercises. 6. Needs of the person with dementia: Physical needs: Person with dementia need guarantee physical needs, for example, consuming, shower, dressing or wear glasses on the grounds that they are not ready to help themselves. Psychological needs: Person with dementia need somebody can convey and comprehend their inclination. Somebody can converse with them and offer with dementia patients. 2.2 Individuality influences PCC of dementia patients. Help supplier ought to take a gander at forethought arrange and realize what they can do, what they like to do and provide for them. Help supplier ought to provide for them what exercises they like to do. Relationship has a part essential for dementia patients. The dementia patients ought to stay in great association with relatives, help suppliers and companions. Relationship for an individual with dementia needs to be minding and trusting on the grounds that just with connections they can adapt better to their malady and feel esteemed and adored. Following the consideration arrangement, help suppliers need to verify that they comprehend and have learning about quiets inclination. Help supplier ought to know how to adapt to customers when they get irate or steamed, cool off patients and fulfill them feel. 2.3 Genuine movement makes opportunities for individuals living with dementia to react fittingly notice use their capacities. Importance exercises will develop with feeling, relationship and feelings. Compelling exercises can trigger memory and capacities. Genuine exercises may be not quite the same as one patient to other patient. 1. Verbal: The customers with dementia have diminishes the correspondence capacities that gets to be most noticeably bad with the progression of time as they are not by any means ready to talk or talk legitimately. They have hard to discover the right word or stuck on the words. They may rehash the same word or expression again and again. They may experience issues in communicating feelings. 2. Vocalization: The customers with dementia cant talk so they convey what needs be by the method for tedious discourse, groaning, creaming and singing. For instance if the customer feels torment then they were shouting or vocalizing. Vocalizations may be troublesome and offensive for others. 3. Gestures: Dementia customers they utilize signals for consideration or say something to help laborer by the motions, for example, tapping, indicating, waving or nodding. The motions of every customer have an alternate significance. For instance when the customer needs to strive for latrine they are tapping on the seat and on the off chance that they need to consume something then they utilize the motion with hands and development of the mouth. 4.Communication aids Communication helps is things helping correspondence in the middle of guardian and customer with dementia, for example, picture book, music, blaze cards. Case in point: a few customers utilize the cards with where they need to strive for visit. Picture book can indicate what they need. In addition, if an individual is not ready to talk that individual may utilize a board to compose words on. 3.2 1. Sensory losses The lost of sight and listening to prompt trouble in correspondence with dementia patients. They will misfortune association with other individuals. Case in point: without glasses, they are cant see non-verbal communication and not able to get significance of correspondence. 2. Communication accomplice: The correspondence accomplices are the individuals who help the dementia customers in correspondence and may be they are not accessible at constantly. The correspondence accomplices may be life partner, relative or companions. 3. Health status: Infections and sicknesses will have a terrible impact on correspondence capacity of dementia patients, for example, Parkinsons ailment and stroke, the patients will have hard to talk obviously. 4. Environment: Environment can be a correspondence obstruction as it influences the correspondence of the individuals with dementia, for example, extensive loud environment, individuals in a room or close-by talking excessively boisterous or excessively quick, and absence of powerful correspondence expertise among human services help laborers. 5. Culture: Society is a variable that additionally influences to correspondence, for example, stress, utilization of motions. Frequently, dementia patients talk their dialect or help laborers dont comprehend the dialect of customers. For instance: Arabic individual conversing with help laborer in it dialect. 6. Age: Now and again its truly hard to comprehend the needs of dementia customers for the more youthful parental figures when the dementia customer chatting with more youthful individual. As some of more youthful they talk quick or talk in more youthful statement consequently the dementia customer misjudged. Elderly age can relate with tangible misfortune and influence to correspondence. 7. Gender: Sexual orientation additionally has impact on correspondence as some male patient use distinctive words with female. This could be a sex boundary like Female patients can without much of a stretch impart their story and issues than male patients. 8. Reverting to original language: At times an individual with dementia talk will return to unique dialect and may review words that others dont comprehend which can be a boundary there would be an issue if no translator is accessible. 9. Expressive and reciptive correspondence issue: The patients with dementia cant discover words to convey. They are not able to express what they need. Open is the point at which they dont comprehend what impart to them, verbal and non-verbal correspondence. 3.3 1. Communication partner Help laborer ought to peruse consideration arrange and verify accomplices are presented with patient. In addition, help specialist verify that patient with dementia are agreeable with correspondence accomplices. 2. Environment: Verify customer with dementia they are agreeable and commonplace questions in their room. In the event that he/she feels good then put sign and images which can be helpful like on the off chance that he needs to go can then he put the finger on the sign. Verify give the sufficient lighting and proper space for moving the customer. 3. Verbal and non-verbal: Help specialist verify that they talk gradually, obviously to patients with dementia to comprehend the non-verbal correspondence, help laborer ought to utilize eyes contacts. 4. Singing: Singing is a system to empower patients with dementia correspondence. Help specialist ought to search for a few melodies in the past which help dementia patient to bring the gorgeous memory. Singing help to quiet down patient with tension and bring back cheerful memory. 5. Music: Music sways dementia patient to impart. Music can lessen tension, unsettling and cool off dementia understanding. Some music can be utilized with fundamental activity of arms or legs that likewise amuse them and urge them to do exercise. 6. Activities: Exercises in day by day living can sway dementia patient to correspond with others. Exercises help communicating their inclination, diminishing uneasiness, provide for them upbeat time. It can provide for them compelling things to discuss and can help to determination unfinished business. 7. Communication helps: Photos, new paper cuttings, memory books all energize correspondence on the grounds that dementia patient can utilize straightforward signs structure them to impart. Checking vision and portable hearing assistants are likewise paramount. PUSHPINDER KAUR

The Three Canons of Invention and the Near-death Experience Essay

Invention is the division of rhetoric that rhetors use to find arguments. The three approaches to invention are kairos, stasis theory, and the topic method. I am going to apply them here to support my belief in the near-death experience. When speaking to an audience, I must use kairos. I have to take into consideration what information is relevant to my audience. From there I can develop a persuasive argument on the near-death experience. Here I will give some examples of the points I need to make when arguing from a kairotic stance. First, I have to realize there will be some skeptics in the audience. I will address them by assuring that there is no pattern in who has near-death experiences. People from different backgrounds have had them, no matter their culture or belief system, religion, race or education. These people have not necessarily lived a "good" or "bad" life according to their society's standards. This information should convince the audience that anyone is vulnerable to a near-death experience. Another way I can persuade the audience is by sharing true accounts from people who have experienced near-death experiences. An even better approach would be to bring in some of these people. The information may be more believable coming straight from the ones who had these experiences. Stasis theory consists of a set of questions that will help me, as the rhetor, understand where differences lie between my audience and myself. Conjecture is the first stasis. The near-death experience does exist. It was introduced in The Bible. Saint Paul claimed that he was taken from his broken body up to Heaven. He later returned to his repaired body. These two aspects are practical, while th... ...es the greater and lesser impacts of near-death experiences. Leaving the body for an impossible period of time (more than a day) is greater than the norm. Seeing a flash of light, or something else occurring while in the body is lesser than the norm. The final step of this method includes the possible and the impossible. Near-death experiences may prove the possibility of life after death. It is impossible to choose to have a near-death experience. In the future it will be possible to know what causes near-death experiences. The three canons of invention and the way in which I applied the near-death experience to them should have persuaded my audience to believe me. One commonplace that relates to this issue is, "I almost died and went to Heaven." This slogan goes to say that people have believed in the near-death experience for quite some time.

The play A Memory of Lizzie is a fictional look at the childhood years

The play â€Å"A Memory of Lizzie† is a fictional look at the childhood years of the infamous murderess Lizzie Bordon The Memory of Lizzie Bordon The play â€Å"A Memory of Lizzie† is a fictional look at the childhood years of the infamous murderess Lizzie Bordon. Set in America the late eighteen hundreds, the play takes place in an average middle class neighbourhood in Massachusetts at that time. The play takes place in an average suburban school, and the characters are (or at least the children of) moderately wealthy people. The Characters in the play are the childhood acquaintances of Lizzie Bordon, each aged around twelve years old, though due the era they would probably be less mature than modern day twelve year olds. Each character has a different attitude towards Lizzie which becomes apparent as the play continues. The children Ann Dorothy Barbara Irma Jo and Kathy all bully Lizzie, while Christy and Georgina pity her. The character Rachel Brayton is a very quiet character, possibly younger than the other children present in the scene and therefore more fearful towards Lizzie. The set in the scene that we performed consisted of some steps to represent the schools steps and a pair of curtains to represent doors. The scene starts with the children frozen, some playing with a ball, others with cards and three with a skipping rope. The only other prop that we needed was the doll that Rachel Brayton played with. Costumes would include schools uniforms, gr...

Narrative vs. Montage Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Each film has a distinct purpose associated with it. Whether this purpose is as simple as teaching children a valuable lesson or as complex as criticizing a society’s barriers, there are explicit goals which must be discerningly conveyed. There are specific elements to filmmaking which are designed to contribute to the goals set forth when making a film. Such elements include what would be considered â€Å"aesthetics of astonishment,† or striking images, editing conflict and other techniques associated with montage filmmaking. Each of these techniques imprint a thought or logic on a film – a kind of â€Å"watermark† – that pushes the film itself towards the accomplishment of the original goals. Regardless of the need for the completion of these â€Å"higher goals†, a director’s ability to keep a viewer’s undivided attention is crucial to the success of a film. Each viewer must remain fascinated from start to finish by the plot a nd characters, or he will lose interest in the film. So, when a film relies on a strong narrative base to keep its audience captivated, there is little room for variation from the elements which depict the story best. Striking montage images or techniques, if not carefully placed, can have a tendency to take the viewer’s eye from the progression of the narrative and turn their thought to something else.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quite often, montage aspects of a film are deliberately placed to invoke specific thoughts or feelings. Such techniques can be employed to even go so far as to provide an alternate connotation to an event than what the average viewer would normally formulate. Parallelism is a method designed to do just that. This technique allows directors to have his audience associate a single action or event with a secondary action or event. The Strike parallels the slaughter of a cow and the execution of factory workers to generate a deeper emotion than one would normally associate with murder. The audience does not view the execution as merely mass murder, but instead they compare the soldiers to a butcher and connect the murder itself to something heartless and revolting – a slaughter. The Strike seems to tastefully use this method to strengthen the purpose of the film itself: a criticism of murder and execution. There is, however a fine line between what is tasteful and what is not. If this techniqu... ...en were sickened by the excessive visual conflict. Needless to say, these flashes took a significant amount of attention away from the narrative itself, and one can safely assume that such an event would tend to make a film rather unpopular.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If the aesthetics of astonishment are not employed whatsoever, the film loses its purpose and becomes an empty recital of the actions of its characters. This deems the striking montage elements necessary. If these elements are overdone, then the audience can and will lose sight of the narrative element. Should this cause the audience to lose interest in the film altogether, then the film is a failure and the director loses credibility. The most important aspect of creating a film is finding a healthy medium between completing the objective of the film and presenting the narrative. Directors are responsible for depicting the necessary montage elements in a film while avoiding creating what Gunning describes as â€Å"an excess of mimesis† (FTC). One could argue that this very conflict is what distinguishes films that find this medium as â€Å"great films.† Books used to support this paper: Film Theory and Criticism Film Art

Solving Vertical and Horizontal Well Hydraulics Problems

A new generalized three-dimensional analytical solution is developed for a partially-penetrating vertical rectangular parallelepiped well screen in a confined aquifer by solving the three-dimensional transient ground water flow differential equation in x-y-z Cartesian coordinates system for drawdown by taking into account the three principal hydraulic conductivities (K _x, K _y, and K _z) along the x-y-z coordinate directions. The fully penetrating screen case becomes equivalent to the single vertical fracture case of Gringarten and Ramey (1973).It is shown that the new solution and Gringarten and Ramey solution (1973) match very well. Similarly, it is shown that this new solution for a horizontally tiny fully penetrating parallelepiped rectangular parallelepiped screen case match very well with Theis (1935) solution. Moreover, it is also shown that the horizontally tiny partially-penetrating parallelepiped rectangular well screen case of this new solution match very well with Hantus h (1964) solution.This new analytical solution can also cover a partially-penetrating horizontal well by representing its screen interval with vertically tiny rectangular parallelepiped. Also the solution takes into account both the vertical anisotropy (a _(zx)=K _z/K _x) as well as the horizontal anisotropy (a _(yx)=K _y/K _x) and has potential application areas to analyze pumping test drawdown data from partially-penetrating vertical and horizontal wells by representing them as tiny rectangular parallelepiped as well as line sources.The solution has also potential application areas for a partially-penetrating parallelepiped rectangular vertical fracture. With this new solution, the horizontal anisotropy (a _(yx)=K _y/K _x) in addition to the vertical anisotropy (a _(zx)=K _z/K _x) can also be determined using observed drawdown data. Most importantly, with this solution, to the knowledge of the author, it has been shown the first time in the literature that some well-known well hyd ra

Night World : Witchlight Chapter 6

It was a full-force invasion. Even before the echoes of breaking glass had died, figures in black uniforms were swarming through the window. Dark ninjas, Keller thought. An elite group made up of vampires and shapeshifters, the Night World experts at sneaking and killing. Keller's mind, which had been roiling in clouds of stifled anger, was suddenly crystal clear. â€Å"Nissa, take her!† she shouted. It was all she needed to say. Nissa grabbed Diana. It didn't matter that Iliana was screaming breathlessly and too shocked to want to go anywhere. Nissa was a vampire and stronger than a human Olympic weight lifter. She simply picked Iliana up and ran with her toward the back door. Without being told, Winfrith followed close behind, orange energy already sizzling between her palms. Keller knew she would provide good cover- Winnie was a fighting witch. She made full use of the new powers that all the Night People were developing as the millennium got closer. As one of the ninjas lunged after them, she let loose with a blast of poppy-colored energy that knocked him sideways. â€Å"Now you!† Keller shouted to Galen, trying to hustle him into the hallway without turning from the ninjas. She hadn't changed and didn't want to if she could avoid it. Changing took time, left you vulnerable for the few seconds that you were between forms. Right now seconds counted. Galen got a few steps down the hall, then stopped. â€Å"Grandma Harman!† I knew it, Keller thought. He's a liability. The old woman was still in the living room, standing with her feet braced apart, cane ready. Her apprentice, Toby, was in front of her, working up some witch incantation and tossing energy. They were right in the flow of the ninjas. Which was as it ought to be. Keller's mind had clicked through the possibilities right at the beginning and had come to the only reasonable conclusion. â€Å"We have to leave her!† Galen turned to her, his face lit by the multicolored energy that was flying around them. â€Å"What?† â€Å"She's too slow! We have to protect you and Hiana. Get moving!† His features were etched in shock. â€Å"You're joking. Just wait here-I'll bring her.† â€Å"No! Galen-â€Å" He was already running back. Keller cursed. â€Å"Go on!† she yelled to Nissa and Winnie, who were at the entrance to the kitchen, where the back door was. â€Å"Take the limo if you can get to it. Don't wait for us!† Then she turned and plunged into the living room. Galen was trying to shield Grandma Harman from the worst of the energy being exchanged. Keller gritted her teeth. This group of ninjas was only the first wave. They were here to breach the wards and make an opening for whatever was going to follow. Which could be a dragon. The ninjas hadn't finished their job, though. Most of the wards were holding, and the one that had fallen was on a small window. The dark figures could only squirm in one at a time. The house shook as whoever was outside slammed power at it, trying to break a bigger entrance. Faintly, Keller heard an engine rev up outside. She hoped it was the limo. Galen was pulling at Grandma Harman. Toby was grappling hand-to-hand with a ninja. Keller batted a couple of the sneaks out of her way. She wasn't trying to kill them, just put them out of commission. She had almost reached Galen. And then she heard the rumbling. Only her panther ears could have picked it up. Just as the first time when she'd heard it, it was so deep that it seemed both soft and frighteningly loud. It shook her to her bones. In a flash, she knew what was coming. And there was no time to think about what to do. Galen seemed to have sensed it, too. Keller saw him looking at the roof just above the door. Then he turned toward Grandma Harman, shouting. After that, everything happened at once. Galen knocked the old woman down and fell on top of her. At the same time, Keller sprang and landed on top of both of them. She was changing even as she did it. Changing and spreading herself out, trying to make herself as wide and flat as possible. A panther rug to cover them. The brick wall exploded just as the window had, only louder. Shattered with Power, Keller thought. The dragon had recovered†¦ fast. And then it was raining bricks. One hit Keller in the leg, and she lashed her tail in fury. Another struck her back, and she felt a deep pain. Then one got her in the head, and she saw white light. She could hear Galen shouting under her. It seemed to be her name. Then nothing. Something wet touched her face. Keller hissed automatically, pawing at it in annoyance. â€Å"Lemme lone.† â€Å"Boss, wake up. Come on, it's morning already.† Keller opened heavy eyes. She was dreaming. She had to be. Either that, or the afterlife was full of teenage girls. Winnie was bending over her with a dripping washcloth, and Nissa was peering critically over her shoulder. Behind Nissa was Iliana's anxious little heart-shaped face, her hair falling like two shimmering curtains of silvery-starlight gold on either side. Keller blinked. â€Å"I was sure I was dead.† â€Å"Well, you got close,† Winnie said cheerfully. â€Å"Me and Toby and Grandma Harman have been working on you most of the night. You're going to be kind of stiff, but I guess your skull was too thick to crack.† Keller sat up and was rewarded with a stabbing pain in her temples. â€Å"What happened? Where's Galen?† â€Å"Well, golly gee, Boss, I didn't know you cared-â€Å" â€Å"Stop fooling around, Winnie! Where's the guy who's got to be alive if the shapeshifters are going to join Circle Daybreak?† Winnie sobered. Nissa said calmly, â€Å"He's fine, Keller. This is Iliana's house. Everybody's okay. We got you guys out-â€Å" Keller frowned, struck by a new worry. â€Å"You did? Why? I told you to take the girl and go.† Nissa raised an eyebrow wryly. â€Å"Yes, well, but the girl didn't want to go. She made us stop and turn back for you.† â€Å"For Galen,† Keller said. She looked at Diana, who was wearing a pink nightgown with puffy sleeves and looked about seven. She tried to make her voice patient. ‘It was good to think of him, but you should have followed the plan.† â€Å"Anyway, it worked out,† Nissa said. â€Å"Apparently, the dragon blew the house down on top of you, but then he walked right over you trying to get to us.† â€Å"Yeah. I was kind of hoping he wouldn't realize Galen was there,† Keller said. â€Å"Or wouldn't realize he was important.† â€Å"Well, when he found we'd already gotten away in the limo, he and his buddies took after us in cars,† Winnie said. â€Å"But Nissa lost them. And then Iliana†¦ insisted, and so we circled back. And there you were. Galen and Toby were digging you out. We helped them and brought you here.† â€Å"What about Grandma Harman?† â€Å"She came out of it without a scratch. She's tougher than she looks,† Winnie said. â€Å"She talked to Iliana's mom last night,† Nissa added. â€Å"She fixed everything up so we can stay here. You're supposed to be a distant cousin, and the rest of us are your friends. We're from Canada. We graduated last year, and we're touring the U.S. by bus. We ran into Iliana last night, and that's why she was late. It's all covered, nice and neat.† â€Å"It's all ludicrous,† Keller said. She looked at Iliana. â€Å"And it's time to stop. Haven't you seen enough yet? That's twice you've been attacked by a monster. Do you really want to try your luck for a third time?† It was a mistake. Iliana's face had been sweet and anxious, but now Keller could see the walls slam down. The violet eyes hazed over and sparked at the same time. â€Å"Nobody attacked me until you guys came!† Iliana flared. â€Å"In fact, nobody's attacked me so far at all. I think it's you people they're after-or maybe Galen. I keep telling you that I'm not the one you're looking for.† This was the time for diplomacy, but Keller was too exasperated to think. â€Å"You don't really believe that. Unless you practice being stupid-â€Å" â€Å"Stop calling me stupid!† The last word was a piercing shriek. At the same time, Diana threw something at Keller. She batted it out of the air automatically before it could hit. â€Å"I'm not stupid! And I'm not your Witch Child or whatever you call it! I'm just a normal kid, and I like my life. And if I can't live my life, then I don't want to-to do anything.† She whirled around and stalked out, her nightgown billowing. Keller stared at the missile she'd caught. It was a stuffed lamb with outrageously long eyelashes and a pink ribbon tied around its white neck. Nissa folded her arms. â€Å"Well, you sure handled that one, Boss.† â€Å"Give me a break.† Keller tossed the lamb onto the window seat. â€Å"And just how did she make you two turn around and come back for us, by the way?† Winnie pursed her lips. â€Å"You heard it. Volume control. She kept screaming like-well, I don't know what screams like that. You'd be surprised how effective it is.† â€Å"You're agents of Circle Daybreak; you're supposed to be immune to torture.† But Keller dropped the subject. â€Å"What are you still hanging around for?† she added, as she swung her feet out of bed and carefully tried her legs. â€Å"You're supposed to stick with her, even when she's in the house. Don't stand here staring at me.† â€Å"You're welcome for putting you back together again,† Winnie said, her eyes on the ceiling. In the doorway, she turned and added, â€Å"And, you know, it wasn't Galen she kept screaming we had to go back and get last night. It was you, Keller.† Keller stared at the door as it shut, bewildered. â€Å"You can't go to school,† Keller hissed. â€Å"Do you hear me? You cannot go to school.† They were all sitting around the kitchen table. Iliana's mother, a lovely woman with a knot of platinum hair coiled on her neck, was making breakfast. She seemed slightly anxious about her four new houseguests, but in a pleasantly excited way. She certainly wasn't suspicious. Grandma Harman had done a good job of brainwashing. â€Å"We're going to have a wonderful Christmas,† she said now, and her angelic smile grew brighter. â€Å"We can go into Winston-Salem for a Christmas and Candle Tea. Have you ever had a Moravian sugar-cake? I just wish Great-aunt Edgith had been able to stay.† Grandma Harman was gone. Keller didn't know whether to be relieved or frustrated. Despite what she kept saying, as long as the old woman was around, Keller would worry about her. But with her gone, there was nobody to appeal to, nobody who could order Iliana into safekeeping. So now they were sitting and having this argument. It looked like such a normal breakfast scene, Keller thought dryly. Iliana's father had already left for work. Her mother was bustling around cheerfully. Her little brother was in a high chair making a mess with Cheerios. Too bad that the four nicely dressed teenagers at the table were actually two shapeshifters, a witch, and a vampire. Galen was directly opposite Keller. There were shadows under his eyes-had anyone gotten any sleep last night?-and he seemed subdued but relaxed. Keller hadn't had a chance to speak to him since the dragon's attack. Not that she had anything to say. â€Å"Orange juice, Kelly?† â€Å"No, thank you, Mrs. Dominick.† That was what this family thought their last name was. They didn't realize that witches trace their heritage through the female line and that both Iliana and her mother were therefore Harmans. â€Å"Oh, please, call me Aunt Anna,† the woman said. She had her daughter's violet eyes and the smile of an angel. She was also pouring Keller juice. Now I see where Iliana gets her scintillating intelligence, Keller thought. â€Å"Oh-thanks, Aunt Anna. And, actually, it's Keller, not Kelly.† â€Å"How unusual. But it's nice, so modern.† â€Å"It's my last name, but that's what everybody calls me.† â€Å"Oh, really? What's your first name?† Keller broke off a piece of toast, feeling uncomfortable. â€Å"Raksha.† â€Å"But that's beautiful! Why don't you use it?† Keller shrugged. â€Å"I just don't.† She could see Galen looking at her. Shapeshifters usually were named for their animal forms, but neither Keller nor Raksha fit the pattern. â€Å"I was abandoned as a kid,† she said in a clipped voice, looking back at Galen. Diana's mother wouldn't be able to make anything of this, but she might as well satisfy the princeling's curiosity. â€Å"So I don't know my real last name. But my first name means ‘demon.'† Diana's mother paused with the juice carton over Nissa's glass. â€Å"Oh. How†¦ nice. Well, then, I see.† She blinked a couple of times and walked off without pouring Nissa any juice. â€Å"So what does Galen mean?† Keller said, holding his gaze challengingly and handing her full glass to Nissa. He smiled-a little wryly-for the first time since sitting down. † ‘Calm.'† Keller snorted. â€Å"It figures.† â€Å"I like Raksha better.† Keller didn't answer. With â€Å"Aunt Anna† safely in the kitchen, she could speak again to Diana. â€Å"You understood before, right? That you can't go to school.† â€Å"I have to go to school.† For somebody who looked as if she were made of spun glass, Diana ate a lot. She spoke around a mouthful of microwave pancake. â€Å"It's out of the question. How can we go with you? What are we supposed to be, for Goddess's sake?† â€Å"My long-lost cousin from Canada and her friends,† Diana said indistinctly. â€Å"Or you can all be exchange students who're here to study our American educational system.† Before Keller could say anything, she added, â€Å"Hey, how come you guys aren't at school? Don't you have schools?† â€Å"We've got the same ones you do,† Winnie said. â€Å"Except Nissa-she graduated last year. But Keller and I are seniors like you. We just take time off for this stuff.† â€Å"I bet your grades are as bad as mine,† Diana said unemotionally. â€Å"Anyway, I have to go to school this week. There are all sorts of class parties and things. You can come. It'll be fun.† Keller wanted to hit her with the pot of grits. She had a problem, though. Iliana's little brother Alex had escaped from his high chair and was climbing up her leg. She looked down at him uneasily. She wasn't good with family-type things, and she especially wasn't good with children. â€Å"Okay,† she said. â€Å"Go on back and sit down.† She peeled him off and tried to start him in the right direction. He turned around and put his arms up. â€Å"Kee-kee. Kee-kee.† â€Å"That's his word for ‘kitty,'† Iliana's mother said, coming in with a plate of sausages. She ruffled his white-blond hair. â€Å"You mean Kelly, Kelly,† she told him. † ‘Keller, Keller!† Winnie corrected helpfully. Alex climbed into Keller's lap, grabbed her hair, and hoisted himself into a standing position. She found herself looking into huge violet baby eyes. Witch eyes. â€Å"Kee-kee,† he said flatly, and gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek. Winnie grinned. â€Å"Having trouble?† The kid had two chubby arms around Keller's neck now and was nudging her chin with his head like a kitten looking for pets. He had a good grip, too. This time, she couldn't peel him off. â€Å"It's just-distracting,† she said, giving up and petting him awkwardly. It was ridiculous. How could she argue with baby giggles in her ears? â€Å"You look kind of sweet together,† Iliana observed. Tm getting dressed for school now. You guys can do whatever you want.† She floated off while Keller was trying to think of a reply. Nissa and Winnie hastily followed her. Galen got up to help Iliana's mother with the dishes. Keller tugged at the baby, who clung like a sloth. Maybe there was shapeshifter blood in this family. â€Å"Kee-kee†¦ pui!† That was what it sounded like. â€Å"Pwee?† Keller glanced nervously at his diaper. â€Å"He means ‘pretty† Iliana's mother said, coming back in. â€Å"It's funny. He doesn't usually take to people like that. He likes animals better.† â€Å"Oh. Well, he has good taste,† Keller said. She finally succeeded in detaching him and gave him back to his mother. Then she started down the hallway after Iliana, muttering, â€Å"Too bad about his eyesight.† â€Å"I think his eyesight's just fine,† Galen said, right behind her. Keller turned, realizing they were alone in the hall. His faint smile faded. â€Å"I really wanted to talk to you,† he said.