Lal frowned. She was afraid. Actually, to be more honest, it was more like a feeling of dread. She had never really been nervous in her, albeit, rather short life. But, now, she was and she certainly did not enjoy the feeling in the slightest.
Data scanned the expression of his daughter and wondered about what to say to her. He may not be all that experienced or, indeed, successful when regarding romance or humour, but he could tell when someone was uncomfortable. He could simply see it in Lal's facial expression. He knew she was nervous. So, he tried to make amends for that, in any way that he could try to think of, "Lal?"
She looked over at her father, "Yes?" She sighed and her facial expression appeared to be getting even glummer.
"There is no need to be…" Data wanted to be correct in his judgement. He had made so many incorrect observations in the past. "…anxious." He seemed to be rather satisfied when he decided on saying that word.
She frowned. "I'm not nervous, father," she said simply.
"Then," Data enquired, "What is wrong?"
"It's very simply," Lal said in response to her father's question, "I don't want to go."
"Why not?" Data asked. His tone of voice, as always, was one of pure neutrality, but there was a hint of something else too. And that was firmness.
"I don't have to have a reason," Lal replied defiantly.
Data wasn't sure of what to do. Should he tell her, again, to go? Or, should he just leave her? He had reached an impasse. It was, after all, Lal's decision. "Why do you not wish to go to school, Lal?" He asked her, again. This time, his tone of voice was much more stern and authoritative.
"I don't know, father," she said. Her facial expression now gave next to nothing away as to how she was feeling.
Again, Data was stuck with what to say. "Lal, you must attend school. Learning is vital to our existence."
She cocked her head to one side, to show him that she was actually listening.
Data continued, "Without knowledge, existence is futile."
"Yes," she replied simply.
Data needed a clarification. "To what?" He asked, in need of more information.
"I will go to school," she replied and then smiled. She put her hand on her father's and looked up at him.
The teacher was called Mrs Monroe. She was British and had just recently come aboard the Enterprise. She had transferred from Starbase sixty-seven. She liked it on the Enterprise. However, nothing whatsoever could top working on her home planet. She had come from a small village, and it was only when her husband had told her of the fact that Starfleet was looking for qualified teachers that she even knew what she could be doing. So, she signed up without even a second thought.
Mrs Monroe walked around the classroom and watched the students. She then walked over to her desk and stood in front of it. "So, today, we will be doing English Literature."
A few of her students didn't quite follow what she meant. She noticed their confused facial expressions and explained further, "We will be studying historical written works from the planet Earth."
Some of the children were, obviously, not from Earth. They would much rather be learning about their own home worlds, and not Earth.
The teacher began to walk around the classroom and she handed each pupil a copy of a book. It was called The War of the Worlds. This confused some of her students. Some of them had never even actually seen a book before.
"Why can't we use our PADDs?" One of the students asked. He was a Klingon.
She smiled at him. "Because, Marg, it is always better to read a book. A real book."
A girl, a Betazoid, interrupted them, "That's what the captain says." It was true, Picard always loved to read a book. His favourite novel was Moby Dick.
"Yes, Alana," the teacher said. She then, once she was sure that no one was going to ask any more questions, she began her lesson. "Could every one turn to page one and then read the first chapter," she asked.
All the students turned to the first page and began to read. After more or less ten minutes, the teacher broke the silence and said, "Does anyone want to tell us what's happening in the book, then?"
There was silence, except for one student. It was Lal. "Chapter one starts with the mention and exploration of human views of the universe and of the science of life during the nineteenth century."
The teacher smiled, "Well done, Lal," she said.
But, Lal had not finished, "When the book was first published, it unleashed a considerable amount of fear upon the world, as it was not yet ready for Wells' view on life and science."
"Yes," Mrs Monroe added. "Now, does anyone else know anything about this book?" She asked the whole class.
It was silent for a short time, but then the Klingon called Marg said, "The writer's perceptions of the universe are very wrong."
"In what way?" The teacher asked. She, herself, knew the answer to her question, but she had to be sure that he did too.
Marg continued, "Well, he says how the planet…" he tried to remember what the name of it was. He had never been there. He flicked through the fine pages of the book and then he found what he was looking for "…Mars was covered in water. I didn't think that was true." He looked rather puzzled.
"That is true, Marg," she explained. "However, four hundred years ago, no one on Earth knew nearly as much as we do now about the cosmos. It wasn't until the mid-twentieth century when it was finally accepted that life or even water on Mars was simply not there."
He nodded, seemingly content with her response.
The teacher carried on with her lesson. "One of the purposes of studying English Literature is to think about what it would feel like to be in the shoes of one of characters. For example, the main character in this book is simply known as the 'Narrator'." She paused to look around the room and then asked her pupils, "How would you feel if you were the Narrator?"
Many of the children's faces were just blank. But, a few of them showed that they knew what she was talking about. The teacher selected one of the pupils, who was human.
The child began, "When this book was written, there was no knowledge of alien life. Being suddenly presented with the facts that they were not alone in the universe must have triggered some very strong emotions."
"Can you think of any?" She asked the boy, Brent.
"Well, I would say that they would experience fear, hatred, corruption, and wonder. But, soon, they realise that the aliens weren't friendly."
"Have you read this book before?" The teacher asked.
He nodded, "Yep. It's not really all that good."
"Oh?"
"I prefer detective fiction, like Sherlock Holmes."
The teacher smiled, "Well, that's what we'll be studying next lesson. But, after that, there will be an exam on Klingon texts." She took a quick glance at the clock and saw that their lesson was now finished. "You may leave now," she told her class and they left.
Lal was the last one to leave.
