This is just a more light, happy little chapter that just happened.
Chapter 7: Feels like home
Three months later…
I sighed as the teacher droned on and on about some ridiculous thing called Mathematics. How is learning how to do a bunch of random things with numbers important at all? I was born and raised to fight with swords, to lead people, to shoot a bow and arrow, to make grand speeches to thousands upon thousands of warriors.
It's what normal people do, Jake had told me. But it's not normal, not to me.
Normal is running through the woods, being free, building fires beside tents, sparring with swords, walking through villages and greeting by people, watching children grow to be warriors, Trigedasleng. No one here, besides those from the other world, speaks Trigedasleng. They teach languages called Spanish and French and Latin at regular schools. At the crappy transformation school the others from the other world, minus Skaikru, attend, they teach English and only that. They teach Mathematics-teaching us to use numbers because in this world people use money and not trade, which I see as pointless; English, where they teach us to read and write which I thankfully know how to do to an extent; History, where they teach us about this world, which I have no care for; and Science, which I don't understand nor care about. These people are too much like Skaikru.
I sat and listened to the stupid Mathematics teacher, not really paying much attention, until the bell rang. It was a terrifying sound at first, but it grew to be my favorite. It meant that class was over. This particular bell meant that it was time to leave.
I grabbed my bag and raced the other students out of the building, scurrying past the buses. The walk to Jake's house-home-was a long one. But I refused to take the damn buses and Jake worked, so walking was my only option. So I walked the forty minute walk to school, and then the walk back, five days a week. School was torturous, five hours of my time wasted. The walk to and from home was the best part of my day. That and TV, which truly amused Jake.
After what felt like forever, the big house came into sight and I sighed happily, fishing out my key and jogging up the steps. Once indoors and ran and collapsed onto the big black couch.
"Lexa?" I jumped at Jake's voice.
"Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"I took the day off. I needed to set something up!" he came into the living room, a sparkle in his blue eyes. Just like Clarke's.
"Set up what?"
"Come!"
Like an excited child, he ran from the room. I followed him warily. Out onto the screened in porch, and into the big backyard. I froze. A swing set. He built a swing set. But it wasn't like a kid's swing set. It was huge and wooden. The swings were a good eight feet tall, well off the ground for an adult. Or a teenager like me. There was a huge slide that curled around, monkey bars that were spread far apart and really high up, and a tire swing that hung from a big tree.
"So, I know swing sets are for little kids, but a buddy of mine helped me make one for you. The swings go high, in case you like the feeling of flying. The slide-every swing set needs a slide. But the monkey bars aren't the usual. They aren't normal," he gave me a smile which I returned. "You can do so many things with the. Train on them. And the tire swing-it's from a tree, more in your element I think."
I was speechless.
"Oh!" he pulled two wooden…swords. They were crafted to look just like my swords back home. "You can't have real swords-well, you can but you can't use them-so I had my friend make these for you. If you have a friend you want to fight-or what is the word you use?"
"Spar."
"Right, if you have a friend you want to spar with these should work, or even if you want to spar with me after work we can do that. I don't know how to, but if your patient with me, I can learn. I want to learn. Even though you're in this world, I don't want you to forget where you come from of who you are."
I grabbed him into a fierce hug, startling him and myself. I tried as hard as I could to stop the tears from running down my face. This man took me in, made sure I had a bed to sleep in and three meals a day, built me a swing set, and was now offering to let me teach him to use a sword. His unconditional love was something that I would always appreciate. He was trying his best to make us a family, and to make this house my home. And right now, it feels like home.
