Full Summary:
"The world is wide with wonder
For everything is new
A child's mind is like a sponge
Or like a flower sipping morning dew..."
A Child's Mind, by Marilyn Lott
Frisk knew, or knew of, all the students in their class. After searching for a new friend, they finally come meet the infamous Kiona Pala, known for being the only autistic, Pacific Islander student in the school.
With Kiona, being shy, yet sweet girl with a infatuation giraffes, and Frisk being a friendly, kind, and uniquely level-headed for someone of their age, it isn't a surprise that they became friends so quickly.
Their friendship becomes rather one-sided when Kiona's home issues effects her behavior with Frisk carrying the heavy end of it.
Frisk does not falter however. They are far too determined to keep their friendship alive and keep Kiona safe from danger, no matter the risks.
Chapter One:
Frisk knew, or knew of, all the students in their class. They hadn't exactly had been friends, but there was a mutual respect and distance between the students and them. Frisk would mind their own and they did the same with themselves. However, there had been a few occurrences with some of the students outside their class and grade insulting them, or in some cases beating up on Frisk as they went about their day, but Frisk learned to live with it, or just shrug them off.
The school Frisk attended was the local public school, Fredrick Johnson Middle School, in a primarily white neighborhood, meaning that Frisk — being a mix of black and Hispanic, agender, and having monster adoptive parents — was constantly being insulted for this by the bullies.
Frisk was indifferent on it, however. It was their idea to attend a public school that openly segregated humans from monsters opposed to going to their adopted mother's, Toriel, private school for both monsters and humans alike. They believed that if they made a difference in the staff and in the school board here, then it could make a difference in their views on monster kind. Hopefully, in due time, they would integrate the school. Then, other schools would take the example of FJMS, and integrate their own schools, almost like a domino-effect. Soon, everyone would be happy, integrated, and racism-free.
But... Until then, Frisk was stuck being lonely and dealing with with the inevitable bullying of Fredrick Johnson Middle School until further notice. That is, until they saw Kiona.
Frisk initially met Kiona during their grades' lunch time, at which they were all supposed to spend in the cafeteria. Frisk, however, had misplaced a book they needed for their next period, and had been retracing their steps.
They found the book in their second period classroom on their assigned desk. Frisk was relieved to find the door open, and slipped through. Light in their steps, Frisk quickly snatched their book off the desk and began to leave again. However, they stopped when they noticed something rather peculiar.
A student was sitting in the back of the room, their nose buried in a composition notebook, furiously scribbling away at a paper, and muttering to themselves.
Frisk blinked, it took them a few seconds to recognize the student as one of the females from her class, this being easily deduced by her long, sister-locked hair. After a minute of thinking, they finally remembered her name: Kiona Pala. The infamous student known for her autism. Because of the school's lack of 'special disabilities' classes, she was stuck in the normal classes and expected to keep up with the curricula. Frisk themselves didn't know her — she kind of fell into the 'know of them' category of all the students in their class.
Kiona was one of the few non-white students in the school, being a rare Pacific Islander and supposedly from New Zealand, or Hawaii. Because of this, her skin was a burnt sienna shade and her hazel-colored hair was meticulously sister-locked into thousands of braids that were corn-rolled on her head, and left in long braids that spilled over her shoulders and down her back, but it was unkempt and messy. She wore a yellow long-sleeved shirt with a faded, smiling sun on it that looked almost too big on her thin body, and blue jeans.
Frisk noticed that there were no remnants of lunch from her, neither brought from home nor bought from the school's cafeteria. Assuming she had forgotten it at home, Frisk did something any kind human being would've done — which are surprisingly hard to come by these days — they offered their own.
Frisk approached the girl, who didn't seem to see them coming. Or maybe, she had and simply didn't care, "Hi there!" Frisk greeted. The girl didn't look up, she continued to draw in that composition book of hers, seemingly aimlessly. Frisk faltered at the ignorance, but decided to continue anyway, "I'm Frisk. You're Kiona, right?" Frisk peered at the drawing she had been so focused on.
"... Giraffe," the girl said suddenly. It was so random that Frisk gave her a odd look.
"What?"
"Giraffes. They have really long necks with spots," the girl clarified. She was really quiet and it made it almost hard to talk to her because of it. "Frisk thinks I'm weird."
"What?" Frisk shook their head and smiled, "No, I don't! Giraffes are cool! I've never seen one. The closest I've been to something similar to such a thing was when I met a friend of mine's and his neck was really, really long. Have you seen them? Like at the zoo or something?" Kiona didn't reply. She simply continued to color silently.
This didn't waver Frisk's determination, however, and they continued to speak. "So, what do you like to do? Other than draw Giraffes."
"What do you like?" Kiona asked, turning the question on them.
"I... Like a lot of things. My mom's cooking, dogs, monsters..."
"They like monsters..." The girl whispered, almost to herself.
Frisk smiled, "Yeah, I do! My mom's a monster, actually, and so is my dad. They're the former king and queen of the Underground." Kiona gave a small nod, then seemed to be distracted by something behind her, having to look over her shoulder, even though nothing was there. "What's wrong?"
"Everything." Well, that's depressing, Frisk thought with a small scoff. "Frisk is here, why are you here, Frisk?"
"I wanted to talk to you."
"Why me?"
"Why not you?"
"Why not you?"
"What?"
"What not talk to yourself? Yourself can be very lonely." Frisk giggled at this.
"You're funny, Kiona," they laughed.
Their laughter was rather contagious because Kiona started giggling uncontrollably as well. "You... Very funny as well!" She said between breaths.
"What did you have for lunch?" Frisk asked.
"Giraffes!" She smiled broadly, but Frisk didn't seem to understand.
"What did you eat?"
"Mommy forgot lunch, so I didn't eat anything," Kiona shrugged. So she didn't bring her lunch.
"Well, I have..." Frisk unzipped the seal on their lunchbox, "A sandwich, a bottle of water, chips, and some of my mom's butterscotch-cinnamon pie!" At the last one, Frisk became excited, their voice elevating. "It's so good! Do you want some?"
"Food?" Kiona frowned, but nodded, rather eagerly. Frisk split the pie, horizontally, giving Kiona the top half, and placing it on a napkin provided by their mother.
Kiona scarfed the food down that she was given near instantly. Her quick movements surprising Frisk, but they didn't say anything. After a minute, they offered up half of their sandwich, with it already being cut in a triangle-like formation. Again, she ate the food as if she had been starving for days. Frisk smiled, glad that they offered their food to her.
The monotonous low buzz that signaled the end of the period sounded in the bells. Frisk thought nothing of it and stood, but Kiona jumped, covering their ears. The buzz was barely on for maybe two or three seconds before shutting itself off.
There was a beat of silence before Kiona grabbed her bag, which looked long past 'worn-out'. There was a hole at the bottom, but it had been duck taped in order to be fixed. There was a old, brownish pattern in it but it was impossible to make out now. The strap was also broken, but had been taped haphazardly as well.
Kiona looked at Frisk as she left, smiled silently, before passing to her next class.
~•~•~•~
The next few lunches with Kiona had been rather fun. Kiona had opened up to Frisk more, sharing her journal where she drew giraffes in — and they weren't bad at all, they actually looked realistic and was well detailed. Frisk decided to make a duplicate of whatever they had for lunch, just in case Kiona had brought nothing. This wasn't a bad idea, since for the four days that they hung out during this period, Kiona didn't bring any lunch, always saying, 'Mommy forgot' or 'Mommy was late', and that was it.
Kiona was a really nice person, when Frisk got to know her. She expressed her knowledge in harder subject for them, like math and science, as if it were the easiest thing ever. Sometimes, Frisk would randomly ask what a number times a number was, and Kiona, without looking up or having to pause, would give them the answer, as if they had punched in a few numbers on a calculator and Kiona knew it immediately. She was so good with numbers, that it was almost scary.
However, Kiona lagged in other main subjects, particularly English and History. One day, Frisk suggested that they should go over their work together, since they too were having issues with it the night before, and Kiona was furious. She got angry, saying that she didn't do it, which was completely fine. However, Kiona was so upset that began to cry, biting her lip until it was literally dripping with blood.
Frisk attempted to comfort the girl, but it was no use, since she refused to let them touch her — they never touched her, in fact — and if they did, either accidentally or not, she would just get even more upset. Eventually, she stopped, but she had been moody and depressed for the rest of the day, and Frisk felt bad for bringing up the homework. The next day, however, Kiona was perfectly fine.
It became a usual routine for Frisk. They would go to their locker, receive their lunch and then going to their second period class. "Hey Kiona!" Frisk greeted cheerily, and Kiona looked up from her journal. "My mom made cookies last night out of the same batter she used for pie, do you want some?" Kiona nodded vigorously as Frisk sat down, opening their lunch box.
Frisk handed Kiona her share, which she ate, much slower this time. Frisk shared a story of their great adventure washing Lesser Dog yesterday, and Kiona listened silently, sometimes echoing Frisk's words.
Halfway through their lunch, someone entered the classroom. It wasn't uncommon for a teacher to come in and out really quick, most likely fetching something, or glance in occasionally, but otherwise left them undisturbed and was quiet.
Now, there was a student, a male maybe in seventh or eighth grade. He had mousy brown hair and brown eyes, wore new, most likely expensive clothes. He had a friend with him who was blonde, had blue eyes, and was freckled all over his face and neck. Neither of them belonged in the sixth grade classroom — they shouldn't even be in the sixth grade hall for that matter. By the sneers both of them shared on their faces, it was very likely that they most likely had negative intentions.
"Well look at that," the boy laughed. "The monster freak and the retard sitting together."
"She's not retarded," Frisk spat, defending Kiona, who didn't seem to mind the angry bullies anyway. "What do you want?"
"I was gonna go to lunch, but then I heard that you two had been having tea parties here, so I thought it would be fun to see your little gay tea party." Frisk narrowed their eyes, but decided to turn around and regard Kiona who had been drawing furiously. Frisk usually took this as a sign of nervousness.
"Don't listen to them," Frisk whispered, "They're just bullies; too incompetent and ignorant to truly understand anything."
"They are silly," Kiona said quietly. "My giraffes is not named Retard. Her name is Debbie." Frisk laughed at that, but the bullies overheard her and stomped over.
"You're so stupid!" He hissed, kicking Kiona's chair, making her jump. She looked down, her hands beginning to shake. "What's wrong with you?! Are you deaf now too!?" The boy turned to his friend, who smirked. His friend grabbed Frisk's shoulder, yanking them to their feet. Frisk shouted in pain at his grip, clawing and hitting his had to let go, but it didn't loosen.
"Speak up, stupid bitch!" The boy hissed, yanking Kiona by her hair. Kiona shouted in pain, holding her head as it snapped back. She dropped her pencil, and looked at the boy, her hands trembling. "What's wrong? You gonna pee yourself now?"
"Stop it!" Frisk shouted, kicking the boy that held their shoulder in the crotch. Finally, his grip slipped and he fell to his knees. Frisk pushed the boy away from Kiona, who had been breathing very heavily. The boy stumbled, but glared at them.
"What're you gonna do about it?" Frisk stood strong, determination etched in on their face.
"I'm not going to let you hurt her," Frisk snapped. They weren't going to fight the boy, but talking to him at least could do something. The boy lunged at them, but they side stepped, "Don't you know that's wrong?! She didn't do anything to you."
"She's there! That's enough," He hissed. "We don't need more freaks like you in this world!" He tried to hit them, but they caught his hand.
"She's not a freak, she's really, really nice. If you weren't so ignorant and actually paid attention to her, then you'd understand!" Frisk swung his arm around, twisting it behind his back — a move they learned from Undyne — then, shoved him away.
He stumbled and fell to the ground just as a teacher walked by. He looked into the classroom, seeing Frisk standing over two boys who were on the floor and a girl trembling in the chair. "Frisk!" He snapped, making them look up. Before they could defend themself for the crime commit, he said, "Principal's office. Now!"
~•~•~•~
Frisk hadn't gotten in trouble much, but when they did, it was either a misconception, a lie, or frankly, had nothing to do with them. So, when their mother, Toriel Dreemur, came to the school in all her seven-foot five inches, former queen glory, she assume that it had been one of those three. However, after hearing the story, Frisk was very much at fault here. Although it had been rather embellished by the two 'victims', she was surprised, and rather disappointed, to hear that Frisk had actually somewhat attacked these students, even if it were at the cost of the safety of another.
After the entire endeavor, and Frisk being sent home early, Toriel found her own rightful punishment for Frisk. "Studying. That's all you'll be doing for the next three days," Frisk nodded, but couldn't hide their disappoint. "And, no sweets during this time either." There was an audible groan from Frisk that time. "I'm very disappointed in you, my child. There was no reason for you to result to violence for dealing with those boys."
"I didn't do anything bad!" Frisk exclaimed, "I just twisted his arm! Like Undyne showed me!"
Toriel shook her head, "It still put the student in pain..." Toriel was silent for a beat. "As your teacher, I am very disappointed in your actions and how you carried out that situation. But, as your mother, I am proud." Frisk's face brightened at that. "You stuck up for the student when no one would. You make me proud to call you my child." Frisk hugged their mother giggling.
"Now this doesn't mean you're getting out of punishment," Frisk's smile slid off their face, and they slumped.
"... Oh... Okay..."
~•~•~•~
When Kiona arrived home, her mother still hadn't arrived, despite it being hours after her class that she taught ended. Kiona smiled, she supposed she could just wait for her then.
Kiona sat at the table, which had been littered with ripped open, discarded letters, crumpled papers, and dirty dishes. Cleaning an area, Kiona began to draw in her journal again, waiting patiently for her mother's arrival.
Around ten o'clock, her mother barged through the door, making Kiona's sleepy head snap up from the table. Her mother, stormed into the kitchen, mumbling to herself agitatedly, and leaning her head against the countertop. "Mommy?" The woman snapped her head away from the counter to glare at the girl, who merely blinked. "Mommy! I made a giraffe, wanna see?"
For a split moment. her face had been blank. Then, she snapped, "Shut up! Just shut up, you useless piece of trash!!" Kiona flinched, but for once, did as she was told and kept her head down. "Sitting in the middle of a important meeting just for it to be interrupted because you were acting like a idiotic piece of shit at school! You must enjoy not having any food on the table or in the fridge, huh?!"
At the mention of food, Kiona's stomach growled, "I'm hungry, Mommy. Are you going to—"
"I said shut up!" She hissed. "Go to your room. And don't even think about asking or food for the rest of the week!"
"I'm hungry," Kiona whined, not abiding her mother's angry order.
The woman's eyes turned dark for a moment, before she lunged at the girl. Before Kiona had the chance to react, her mother, Hoana, had already been shaking her shoulders senselessly, screaming profanities into her ears. The sounds were overwhelming, too overwhelming, and Kiona stopped moving, breathing shallowly. Her eyes were focused on her mother, who had now taken to hitting her repeatedly, as if it would bring her back to reality.
After Hoana had gotten her anger out, she began to drag Kiona by the hand and out of the room. Kiona's side hit the edge of the table, causing a bottle to teeter over the side, then shatter at Kiona's bare feet. A large shard of glass pierced Kiona's foot, and the girl screamed, tears welling in her eyes. Blood stained the hardwood flooring, which caused a whole other round of swears from Hoana.
Hoana didn't bother to fix up Kiona's foot. She merely picked her up so she didn't have to walk, and haphazardly carried her to the bathroom. There, she pulled out the largest shards of glass — earning a round of sobbing cries from Kiona. She tossed it out and handed the girl a roll of toilet paper.
"Clean up your mess when you're done," Hoana ordered, and closed the bathroom door with Kiona still crying inside.
~•~•~•~
Frisk had been really worried when Kiona didn't show up to class the next few days. They expressed these worries to the teachers, but since none of them had a answer — or, frankly cared — Frisk was left alone, wondering what happened.
On Monday, the next week, Kiona showed back up at school, however something seemed a bit off about her. She didn't greet Frisk at all when they waved at her, as if they didn't exist in the first place. Their homeroom history teacher had changed the class's seating over the weekend, and placed Kiona in the front, which Frisk right beside her. Frisk was happy, but Kiona didn't react at all.
As the class went on, Frisk noticed Kiona was squinting at the board, despite them being the closest to the board than anyone else in the class. "Did you leave your glasses at home?" Frisk asked, they were joking a little, but was still a bit concerned.
Kiona shook her head, however — this being the first sign of her acknowledging their existence since she arrived — and turned her head down to slowly draw in her notebook.
Kiona continued this behavior throughout the rest of the day — aloof and quiet. Frisk noticed that she had also been walking with a slight limp, favoring her left foot over her right. "Is your foot okay?" Frisk asked while they were standing outside the door to their next class, the last one had been let out a few minutes too early. "Do you need to see the nurse?"
"Mommy said its fine," Kiona replied quietly, and that was all she spoke on that subject.
Frisk tried to get more information out of her, but Kiona refused to talk, and returned to draw in her journal. Frisk sighed, deciding that when they got home, they would talk to their mother and father on the situation.