Chapter II: Fruit Basket
After that frightening night, Mikasa suffered a great deal of shock and received huge migraines. However, with the help of Eren and his parents, she was able to move on, though she never truly forgot her roots. She still suffered from migraines from time-to-time, but Grisha prescribed her with medication to help her cope with them.
Sometimes, when Mikasa was still a child, she'd sneak into Eren's room and ask to sleep in bed next to him. "Umm...s-sure, Mika..." he'd assure the scared girl. She'd then hop into bed with him and snuggle warmly, instantly drifting off to sleep soundly. Even though she had a bed and is a full grown teen, she still asks Eren to sleep together almost every week. From then on, Eren would always take care of her and watch over her because he felt like it was his responsibility. He felt like she needed someone on her side. After all, she was his first real friend that wasn't on a video game screen.
The bright 7:00 am sunrise radiated its way through Mikasa Ackerman's baby purple curtains. She sits up and stretches her arms sleepily, trying to wake up for the day ahead. She was currently fifteen years of age and she already appeared to look like a mature young lady. She skipped out of her bed and gathered her clothes together for a steaming hot shower.
After said shower, she put on a purple dress with mary-jane shoes and as the pie de resistance, her scarf. Ever since Eren gave her that red scarf, Mikasa never once took it off because it meant to much to her. It was a kind gesture that she'll never forget. Eren was the first person to ever show her any kindness, other than her parents.
Satisfied with her dress work, Mika raced down the hall and into the kitchen to be greeted with the smell of eggs, ham, and sausage. "G-Good Morning, e-everyone!" she smiled sweetly.
"Good Morning, Mikasa." Carla smiled back. "Would you like some eggs? I even made you some ham. Your favorite!"
"I-I LOOOOVVVVEEE HAM!" Mikasa eagerly sat at the table next to Eren and smiled her dorkiest yet cutest smile. "Good Morning, Eren!"
"Morning, Mika." Eren said. He then started giggling a little. "Your dress is on backwards! Do you need any help?"
Mikasa looked down and finally realized her dress predicament. "N-No! S'okay! I-I got it!" she nearly shouted. She then dashed her way back to the bathroom, fixed up her dress, and came back to eat her favorite breakfast. "E-Eren, d-do you wanna go watch a movie? We could watch-"
"Sorry, Mikasa." Eren began. "I gotta go to school today. Maybe when I get home? Or some other time?"
Mikasa then put on her pouty puppy face, feeling a bit disappointed."B-But...But...I wanna be with you...we always...do things cause...cause we're friends." She knew Eren had to go to school, but wished school didn't take up ninety percent of Eren's life.
"I'll tell you what." Eren smiled. "How about this weekend, we'll go out to lunch, go see a movie, and I'll even let you pick the movie. Okay?"
Mika jumped out of her seat and hugged around Eren's neck with anticipation. "WOW! I-I'd love to! T-Thank you! Thank you!"
Eren hugged her back and gave her a solid 'you're welcome' before grabbing his bag and heading out the door for school. When Mikasa was little, she was always too shy and socially awkward to go to school. So, her parents signed her up for homeschooling. Carla kept her home-schooled so as to not break her parent's wishes. But, now that Eren was in school, she wanted to be with him, having friends, learning new things, and learn how to communicate properly with others her own age.
After eating breakfast and working up some courage, Mikasa decided to ask Carla if she could go to school with Eren. "M-Misses...Jaeger…" she began.
Carla turned around to look at her after loading up the dishwasher. "Yes, Mikasa? What is it? Is there something wrong?" she asked.
"N-No…I-I was wondering...i-if I could go to school...like Eren. P-Please?" Carla looked confused at first, then transformed into worry and doubt. "Mikasa, sweetie...I'm not sure if you're ready just yet. I've been homeschooling you for a long while because I wanted to not only respect your parents wishes, but I want to protect you."
"B-But I know I'm ready!" Mikasa tried assuring her. "I wanna….I wanna be with other kids….I wanna go outside….I wanna learn by myself."
"Mikasa, I just think it's best you stay homeschooled. I don't want you to get hurt. We're just trying to do for what's best for you."
The young girl's tone of voice changed "But...I REALLLYY WANNA! I WANNA BE NORMAL! Y-You don't want me to fit in, do you?!"
"Mikasa, that's enough. You need to calm down before you hurt yourself."
"N-N-NO! Y-YOU JUST WANT TO KEEP ME TRAPPED HERE! I-I'm tired...of being lonely…" Mikasa ran back into her room in tears, slamming the door behind her. Carla watched in concern and guilt. Did she really make the right decision? Should she let Mikasa spread her wings? Or should Carla shield her with her own?
When Grisha and Eren got home, she consulted with them to see what she should do. "She hasn't come out of her room all day." she started. "I just don't know what to do." "Well, I think you should let her go!" Eren said bluntly. "She needs to be with people her own age. She's not a baby anymore."
"Eren's right" Grisha added. "You can't teach her everything by yourself. I know you want to respect Akane and Herrick's wishes, but she needs to learn things on her own. Besides, she's probably bored at home. Maybe she can work her way up to a scholarship. You shouldn't underestimate her. She may have autism, but she doesn't need her hand to be held every time."
Carla sighed, knowing they were both right. "Okay….but I want her to go to the same school as Eren so he can take care of her and get her through her first day."
"Don't worry, Mom." Eren nodded. "I'll make sure she has a great first day."
Carla walked to Mikasa's bedroom door and knocked gently. "Mikasa…it's me." No response. "Mikasa, I just want to tal-." "G-Go away...I-I want alone t-time.." Mika said sadly. The mother opened her door and saw the raven-haired girl huddled in bed, almost smothering herself with her red scarf.
"Well, you don't have to be alone….because I'm letting you go to school." Mika sat up and turned to look at Carla. "R-Really…? I-I can go?"
"Yes. And you're going to the same school as Eren. He'll help you on your first day and look after you for me."
The raven let out a surprise gasp and hugged Carla tightly. "T-Thank you! I-I promise I'll do good! I-I'll be good!"
"I'm sure you will, baby. I'm sure you will. Just remember: There's nothing wrong with being different. You're no smarter and definitely no dumber than anyone. You have the ability to make a change."
The Next Morning...
"Mikasa's….different...Mrs. Jaeger." a man with blonde hair, broad shoulders, blue eyes and dressed in a suit informed the golden-eyed woman. Carla sat in the principal's office of Eren's school. He was Principal Erwin Smith of Attack Senior High School. "She may have a decent IQ, but...she's too slow compared to other students."
"Well...we're all different, Mr. Smith." Eren's mother argued. "It's not like she's some kind of alien form a foreign planet. You have a diversity of students here that come in different shapes, sizes, race, ethnicity, and mentality."
"Different is quite a stretch, m'am. She's not mentally skilled to study here."
Carla was normally a patient person, but something about this headmaster, who claims to have a doctor's degree, rubbed her the wrong way. "I thought the purpose of high school was to educate, not belittle the skills of our youth." she stated with a pinch of salt in her voice.
"Let me show you something, Mrs. Jaeger." He pulls out a map on his computer that leads to a special school for children with special needs and disabilities. The pictures looked like they were taken in the 1980's and what kind of special needs school sits on a hilltop? It seemed pretty barbarick and out of place like a sock missing it's partner. "There is a special needs school down the street that I'm sure Mikasa will fit in just fine. They take care of every individual student who has any disability you can imagine. Even the mentally retarded and autistic like her. It has positive reviews, clean atmosphere, and is very high academically based for her-"
Carla fumed at Erwin's terminology toward Mikasa. Like THAT wasn't the straw that broke the camel's back at all. "She may have autism, and may be a little slow, but Mikasa is not stupid! She has the right to learn just like anyone else!" Carla interrupted.
"I never said Mikasa was stupid, m'am. I just merely-"
"No. You just said she was retarded, right? And she'll have the same opportunities as everyone else. What's wrong with being different, anyway? No one is exactly the same. If we were all the same, how would we tell each other apart? How would we be unique? How would we be known for our accomplishments? And I'll be damned if I'm gonna let her fall behind because of some bigot of a headmaster who does not allow quote-on-quote "mentally retarded" students to walk the halls of his school."
After Carla was finished with her speech, Erwin stood there with eyes boggled and a look of sheer embarrassment. He scratches his head and sighs. "Alright...just...at least have your son look after her." He finally admitted.
"I intend to." Carla stood up and paced toward the door with one final sarcastic goodbye. "Have a nice day, Principal Smith." SLAM!
It wasn't long after Mikasa was finally registered and ready to step onto school property. She sat in the front seat of Carla's car and felt a mixture of excitement and anxiety at the pit of her stomach. She could end up making a lot of friends, but at the same time, what if nobody likes her? What if the teachers don't understand her? Carla noticed the girl's mixed expressions and rubbed her shoulder. "You sure you're okay, honey? I can go inside with you if you want." she offered sweetly.
"No….I-I'm okay! Eren will help me!" Mikasa assured her. "I'm also...excited!"
"That's the spirit, Mika!" Eren encouraged his crush. Seems like the older Eren got, the more obvious his feelings for her were, seeing as how she wasn't legally adopted by the Jaegers.
Carla smiled. "Remember, love. It's okay to be different. You're perfect just the way you are and will be in the future. Now get out there and make something of yourself."
Mikasa then tackled Eren's mother in a tight hug and hopped out of the car with anticipation, ready to face the day ahead.
"Have a great day at school, my sweet baby Eren! Mommy loves you!"
"MOOOOOM! You're embarrassing me! But...I love you too." Eren blushed, hiding his face as he exited the car to try and catch up with Mikasa.
When she first entered the halls of Attack Senior High, it took her by surprise. The floors smelled of ammonia and cheap perfume. The sound of lockers opening and closing made up the music for the environment she was in. People chattering served as lyrics for said music and the squeaking sound from the heels of cleats and sneakers added on to the busy city-like atmosphere of the building. At first, her anxiety seemed like it would surface like a fish out of water, but by the time Eren caught up, she immediately snapped out of it.
"Mikasa, are you alright?" he asked, concerned for her safety.
"Eren….t-this place...is AWESOME!" she cheered. "T-Thank you for bringing me here! I know I'm gonna do good!" she grabbed Eren to squeeze into a hug and continued to cheer, despite that people could hear her and began to stare. Not with scorn, but with confused awe.
"N-No problem, Mikasa! But...you're crushing my stomach and I might leak spinal fluid if you don't let go!" Eren breathed. She immediately let go and held his hand so he could take her to get her schedule for her first class.
As soon as they got her schedule, they found that Eren shared almost the exact same classes as each other. Only difference is that Eren had football practice and Mikasa had Bela Voce Choir as a 5th and final period. Their first class was Biology with Ms. Hange Zoe, so before the bell could even ring, they made their way to the classroom with no problems.
"GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE!" the instructor practically screamed. "Today, we'll be discussing Genetic Mutations and how they occur. But, before we do that, it seems like we have a new student with us!" she had her eyes on Mikasa. "Come on up and tell us about yourself. My name is Hange Zoe, but you can call me Ms. Hange, because I think that sounds like my last name rather than my first name."
Mikasa stood at the doorway before slowly walking to the front of the classroom counter and sink and kept her head down. She raised her head up slightly and fidgeted with her hands as everyone stared at her.
"M-My name is...Mikasa...Ackerman." she began. "I-I...I'm fifteen years-old and...I like eating fruits and...singing." Suddenly, a boy her age with light brown hair, and a horse-like face raised his hand. "How come you talk so slow and play with your hands like that?"
Mika answered as truthfully as she could. "I...have this thing called….autism. I will always have it, but...I can...get by just fine."
A girl with brown hair in a ponytail and a Pocky stick in her mouth raised her arm. "Were you homeschooled?"
"Yes. E-Ever since I was little…"
"Lucky! You could eat snacks while learning too!"
A girl, who was no older than sixteen with blonde hair in a clip raised her hand, looking bored and somewhat angry. "Are you asian or something?"
"Y-Yes…" Mika answered uncomfortably.
"Think you can teach us karate or something?" her friends behind her started giggling at her joke that wasn't all that funny.
"Alright, enough questions!" Ms. Hange interrupted. "We don't want to make Mikasa uncomfortable here. You can have a seat now, sweetie."
Mikasa then took a seat in the middle between Eren and a boy with short blonde hair and a futon wrapped around his head. "My name is Armin! I'm Eren's best friend. Nice to meet you!" he introduced himself as nicely as he could.
"M-Mikasa…"
"I know! You said it, silly! Eren talks about you non-stop. He says you're a really brave girl for wanting to come to school. You wanna sit with me and my other friends at lunch?"
Mikasa looked at him hesitantly. "W-Will Eren...be there?"
"Of course I will!" Eren patted her head, smiling. "We always eat on the outside patios where the sakura trees are!"
"T-Then…..okay…" she agreed. For the first time in a long while, Mikasa felt like she had a place to belong. She was anxious at first, but she found that it was totally worth it. Not only did she actually meet a nice teacher that understands her, but she managed to make a decent friend. Her parents would be so proud of her; their little girl was growing up.