She looked up from the table and smiled. T'Jok's parents were escorting him and his dish in. A small female child ran up to him, stopping short of running him over in the enthusiasm of her greeting. She remembered her manners for the second it took her to greet the Klingon's parents and turned to their son. "T'Jok! You brought food." She grinned at him, and stopped, taking a look at his dish for the first time. Her eyes lit in curiosity. "Ooooh...What is it? It's moving. Is it s'posed to do that?"
"It's called gagh. It tastes real good, and it does move. Want some?"
"If it is okay with Ms. B. She says all food goes over there. Wait until you see what I got. It's so yummy!"
T'Jok's parents hesitated as the outspoken young girl pulled their son away. The teacher approached, warily. Each warrior outweighed her by at least fifty pounds, and both were probably carrying numerous hidden weapons. The knowledge that they wouldn't use them unless she directly threatened them din't calm her fears. She began. "Well, you wanted to him become less shy. I paired them together for one of our projects. They actually kind of compliment each other quite well. She has been good to him."
"Who is she?" His mom asked, worried about her son being around this Terran. She seemed so flighty.
"Her name is Taryn. She is one of the biggest handfuls I have ever taught. Your son has calmed her down some, though. Why don't you stay and watch them."
The pair settled in near the back.
Now that T'Jok's parents were further away, they could see how the two interacted. "Here let's paint a sign for your gagh. I have an idea for one that will be so prettiful. We can put gagh on it, you can write that since you write neater anyways, and I'll draw something for it, okay?"
"Yes." They worked together to drag out a piece of paper, and Taryn got the paint while T'Jok got scissors. "We should make it square."
"With round corners so we don't hurt anyone. I once got a paper cut and my mom said it wouldn't have happened if the corners hadn't been sharp and it got infected and we had to stick it with a needle and it really hurt."
T'Jok nodded and told her of a cut he once got. "See, mine left a scar." T'Jok's mom knew of the cut he told the terran about. The boy had been three and had picked up one of her knives as she had been sharpening it. The blade had sliced into his palm and the gash had required stitches.
"Owie. Does it still hurt? I got one on my hand and it really hurts sometimes because it didn't heal right because our doctor messed it up and we couldn't have it fixed. Mom says we need to wait till my hands are done growing." He nodded and began cutting out the sign. Taryn waited as he carefully made her round quarters and wrote the words "Klingon" and "Gagh" on it. Taryn smiled her approval.
He stepped away as Taryn got to work on her part of the job. Carefully she drew the worms, making them in a cup, as T'Jok had suggested. They posted the sign and Taryn grinned at him. "What did you bring?"
"I brought burgers and chips. My grandma helped make them cause Mom was too tired. She says I am good at making burgers." Taryn smiled at T'Jok and turned to the back of the room.
"Who are you looking for?"
"My grandma. She said she'd be here."
"That is good. She will watch as you hand out your burgers?"
"Yes. We made yours rare. She said you guys like your burgers like that. I didn't know Klingons liked burgers but she said some do if you give it to them right. Only I don't know how to that so if I do it wrong will you take it still?"
"Of course." T'Jok's parents began to relax. While Taryn was as different from their son as could be, it was obvious she cared about him. The teacher called them over to her. Several Terrans seemed to make a point of sitting as far from the Klingons as they could, but Taryn sat right next to T'Jok and his parents. She waited as the teacher gave word for food to be handed out. She sprang up as her name was called and gave everyone a burger and some chips. As she handed T'Jok his, she smiled at him. "Will you please try this?"
"Yes." To prove it T'Jok took a large bite. He smiled. "This is good. Try a bite Mom, Dad."
They did as she finished handing out her burgers. The food had taste. The fact made the pair smile softly in relief. T'Jok got up after a few other children and began handing out his gagh. Taryn was the only one who did not even hesitate to dig in. They, and T'Jok, noticed not too many others even tried the Klingon delicacy. T'Jok sat down. "T'Jok this is great. Even better than my grandma's burgers. They tickle! What's wrong?"
"They don't like it." The disappointment in their son's voice was obvious to his parents and his mom glared angrily at the people that surrounded them.
"Well, those doofies don't know what they're missin'. I think they are great. You want some? Maybe we can put them on a chip."
T'Jok looked at her, a smile showing on his face. He relaxed, seeming to forget about the rest of the Terrans as he handed Taryn a chip. She piled gagh on it and ate it. T'Jok did the same. "Mmmmm." Taryn looked around and saw her grandma.
"Grandma. Look at what me and T'Jok did. We made something that's both Human and Klingon. Isn't it cool?" Without missing a beat, she turned to gesture at T'Jok's parents who towered over her. "These are T'Jok's parents. The girl is his mommy and the boy is his daddy." She turned to address them directly for the first time. "This is my grandma. She watches me when Mom is busy."
"Hello. So you are T'Jok's parents. Your son is welcome to come over whenever he wants. Taryn has been talking about him almost nonstop." The grandmother smiled at her granddaughter.
"We will send him over one time." His mother replied noncommittally.
"I hope you send him over more than one time. I mean one time is so few. It's not even two. Please?" Taryn gazed up at them imploringly.
"You can all come over for dinner tonight. If you want to bring some of that fishing bait."
"It's not bait, Grandma, it's gagh. You'll like it. Can you come? Please?" The Klingons looked at each other and the female knelt, to address Taryn.
"We wish to discuss it. We will give you an answer in a bit." They separated themselves form the group. The female addressed her mate. "What do you think?"
"I don't think it would be a good idea. The woman thinks our food is fishing bait?"
The female hesitated and looked for her son. He and Taryn were playing. They seemed to be taking turns chasing each other around the room. They were both laughing so hard they could barely run. The girl slowed, looking up at him, her eyes laughing up into his. He grinned down at her. Suddenly, he tapped her on the shoulder and ran away. She took off after him, and caught him. "Your it, T'Jok. Catch me if you can." He took off after her, and she ran around the room until he caught her.
"They play well together. I believe that is a Terran game." The two had worn each other out and now sat by side. Taryn got out some blocks and they sat on the floor, building together. The male saw and looked at his mate.
"And I have not ever seen him loosen up enough to smile like that anywhere but at home with us."
The female nodded. "The girl is good for our son." They looked at each other. The male nodded.
The woman walked over to the two and knelt by Taryn. She told her softly, "Yes. We'll come at seven."
The terran grinned at her. "Thanks. Do not worry. It will be fun."