Ava was definitely NOT scared about going into the forbidden forest.

Well, maybe just a little. But it was called the FORBIDDEN forest for a reason right? Scary monsters, dangers lurking, that kind of thing. It was perfectly reasonable to be a little nervous. But she was also excited. Because now she had permission to see the forest for herself, which was something she really wanted to do, despite herself. And if the Professor said it was safe, well, she believed him.

She was busy looking around at what she could see, which was not very much actually, when the Professor asked a question. She didn't know the answer, so she decided she was going to pay attention to learn a bit about it.