Chapter 2 – Us against the world
"Guess what?", Arizona burst through the door. She was slightly out of breath because she ran all the way down the street with her little legs to tell her best friend the news she and her family just received. Normally, she was not allowed to just take off and run anywhere, but seeing that it was their last day of the summer break and Arizona really wanted to surprise Callie, her parents allowed her to go, well, run. It was okay since they were living in a really small suburb where it was only on rare occasion, that a car was driving way off limit.
"What?", the Latina looked up from her school stuff. She was already packing her bag for tomorrow. 'Always be prepared in case you're running late' her father had taught her and that's what she did every evening when it was a school day the next morning.
"We're going to school together tomorrow", the now 7 year old blonde grinned in excitement, showing Callie that two of her teeth were still missing, because she lost one of them at the beginning of summer break and the other one two weeks ago.
"We always do", Callie smiled. There was no way she would have changed that. Of course she had made some friends in her class, but in the end, she spent all her time after school with Arizona, except for four to five days a month, when she would go to her Spanish class after school. Born into a Spanish family, she was raised bilingual until her parents and sister had died almost two years ago and to not take that away from her, Susan and Liam had asked her if she wanted to learn Spanish. They knew their girl was smart enough to handle both, school and Spanish and she could still be a child. They even lost count on how many times she and Arizona came back from school, telling them they were already done with their homework.
"Different", she grinned even wider.
"Different?", Callie asked, tilting her head, a little confused by what the blonde was trying to tell her.
"I can skip."
"What?", Callie asked, still not getting it.
"I'm skipping second grade! Daddy got the call and I can be in your class!"
"For reals?"
"Uh-huh", Arizona nodded.
"No way! Third grade? My class?"
"Our class", the cocky blonde corrected.
"Our class", Callie repeated with a huge smile on her face as Liam came into the room as well.
"I assume you know already?"
Both nodded eagerly, the blonde a tiny bit more than Callie. "Why didn't you tell us?", the little Latina asked. She was smart enough and understood, that Liam was not only a teacher, but actually had responsibility and something to say.
"I got the call this afternoon, Calliope. Because in the end, it was the headmaster's decision. And apparently, you're smart enough, kid", he said, tousling.
"I am! I got aaaaall A's last year", Arizona grinned proudly, although Liam – being her class teacher – knew that already.
"You're both smart", Susan said when she entered the room as well. "You think you can manage third grade?"
"Of course!", the little blonde said very convincingly.
"You sure can", Liam smiled. "Do your parents know you're here?", he asked, knowing very well that sometimes, Arizona just sneaked out without asking.
"They do. Daddy said he'd come and pick me up when it's getting too late. Can I stay a little bit?"
"Do you wanna have dinner with us? I'm just about to fix us something", Susan suggested.
"No. Daddy said, I have to be at our house for dinner, that's why he's going to come and get me. Can I still stay though?"
"Half an hour should be okay. I'll call Daniel and Barbara", Liam answered. Over the time the adults had become friends too, which actually didn't surprise them. It started out as having a coffee or tea together every second Sunday. Then it was every Sunday and now, on some days, one of them just called, asking to come over. It was just perfect for the kids as they were spending so much time together anyway. "How is your brother doing? Is he feeling better?"
"Yeah. Mommy said it was just a light stomach bug. He's okay now."
"That's good", Liam smiled. "I think we're leaving you alone now. I'll call you when your father gets here."
"Thank you", Arizona answered, already flopping down on the floor next to her friend, who just finished her task, zipping up her bag and putting it down at one leg of her desk.
xxx
"You're too small to be in third grade," one of the boys with slightly red hair said.
"No!", Arizona protested loudly. It was the second week and so far, she loved being in third grade. First grade had been no challenge for her and she was not even afraid of skipping the second one because now, she had Calliope sitting next to her. And when she struggled, which happened once the first week in math, she got help.
"You look like you belong into kindergarten", another one said.
"I bet she's too stupid for third grade anyway", the tallest boy said. He was also the one who started picking on her as soon as Callie left her side because she had to go to the toilet before they left for home.
Normally, Liam would just take them home, like he used to any Wednesday, but he had to attend a class conference because two boys got in a pretty bad fight the first week and one had a broken nose. He said, they were deciding what to do with the boy who broke his nose because it wasn't the first time something like that happened to him as a participant. It was on such a short notice, her daddy and Susan were at work and her mom was busy as well and because their school wasn't that far away from their street anyway, they decided to try and let them walk home.
"You are stupid!", the little blonde countered.
"She has butterflies on her pencil case."
"Hey! That's my bag!"
"And there are butterflies on her lunch box as well."
"She's such a baby."
"I'm not a baby", Arizona mumbled, trying to hold back her tears. She didn't think that being the new kid in her class, on top of being the youngest, would cause her any trouble. She didn't know that third grade boys could be such bullies.
The five boys closed the gaps between each other and cornered her even more, throwing a big shadow on Arizona who had the wall of the building in her back. "She's about to cry", the redhead said.
"No!", she shot back though a tear betrayed her, spilling from her right eye and softly rolling down her cheek.
"She is. Baby", one boy with very intense gray eyes spat. If nothing could scare the girl, that boy could.
"I am not!", the blonde replied, wiping away the single tear.
"You are!" the tallest boy laughed. "Such a baby."
"Hey! Go away!" Callie yelled. As she excited the building she was wondering where her best friend had gone because she said she was waiting under their favorite tree. But then she spotted Arizona's bag and the case with the butterflies on it laying on the ground next to a group of boys.
"Calliope", Arizona whispered.
"I said go away!", Callie came running towards them.
The boys didn't move an inch.
"Hey! She's my best friend and I said. Go. Away!", she emphasized every word.
"What if we don't?", one of the boys said and Arizona knew, he was not in her class, but he was the bigger brother of one of her classmates.
"You gonna run and get your daddy?"
Callie froze. Liam was not her daddy and both, Susan and he made it very clear that they would not try to replace her parents. Though the adoption papers were signed and they got custody, they didn't make her change her last name or forced her into anything. To her, they were Susan and Liam and her mom and dad were six feet under.
"No, Calliope", Arizona tensed too, still remembering very well the nightmares Callie had on rare occasions and how they came back as the first anniversary came around last year.
"Don't say anything about my daddy", Callie whispered, looking down at her feet for a second. When she first came into the class, the same boys picked on her because of her name but they stopped as they noticed that it didn't matter to her. But as that memory came back to her, her head suddenly jerked up and there was a look in her eyes, Arizona had never seen before. "Don't say anything about my daddy!"
"Or what?"
Before Arizona could say anything, Callie was pushing one of the boys out of the way. And then the next and the next, one even fell down, landing on his ass and hands.
"Calliope!", their class teacher yelled. She was not attending the conference and had just finished the preparations for tomorrow when she heard Arizona through the open window, and just after a minute, she knew she would have to step between them and that was even before Callie came into the mix. "Calliope, that's enough now, sweetie." Holding the little Latina back, she looked at Arizona, making sure she was okay.
"Mrs. Kingston, Calliope shoved us", the smallest boy said, obviously playing the innocent card.
"Michael, you know that lying is a bad thing", she said in a calm voice.
"But Mrs. Kingston, we were-"
"No, I saw everything, Michael. And I think, you owe Arizona an apology, all of you."
"I am sorry", Michael mumbled, understanding that there was no other way out.
"Okay", the blonde shrugged her shoulders. Michael hadn't done anything to her, the other boys did.
"And what about you? Kevin, Tommy, Jason, Robert? Can you tell me why you did what you just did?"
"She's a baby", Tommy answered.
"A baby? I thought you know what a baby looks like, you all have little siblings."
"But she's younger than we are."
"And that is a problem?"
"No, Mrs. Kingston", they said, shaking their heads.
"So?"
"I am sorry", the boys said in unison. Except for Jason.
"Jason, I know I am not your class teacher, but I bet you don't want any trouble, do you?", she asked as the other boys slowly walked away.
"No, Mrs. Kingston. I am sorry, too."
"It's okay", Arizona shrugged. "Can we go home now?"
"Isn't anyone picking you up?"
"Not today, Mrs. Kingston", Arizona answered. She like her new class teacher. Though she liked Liam more, at least, now she didn't have to remember not to call him Liam in class.
"Ah, Mr. Menken is still busy with that conference, isn't he?", she asked. Knowing that the four adults were taking turns to pick up the girls from school.
"Uh-huh", Callie nodded, looking up to her teacher.
"We're walking home", the blonde answered, her curls falling into her face as she put her things back in her bag.
"I can give you a ride", Mrs. Kingston offered.
"That's not necessary, Mrs. Kingston. We can walk", Callie assured her. She really wanted to try this, because if they made it home save, maybe they were allowed to walk more often.
"Are you sure?"
"Very sure", Arizona grinned.
"Okay. I see you tomorrow. And don't forget to ask your parents for and empty box for art class."
"Yes Mrs. Kingston", both girls said as they were heading towards the gate.
"Thank you", Arizona smiled as they were out of earshot.
"For what?"
"For helping me."
"Always", the little Latina replied. "You're my best friend."
"Best friend", Arizona smiled, taking Callie's hand in hers like they always did.
xxx
"Calliope, can I talk to you?", Liam asked, stepping into his girl's room and sitting down on her bed, patting the place beside him to tell her to sit down too. "Mrs. Kingston told me what happened after school."
"Oh", the little girl sighed, already clad in her pajamas, ready for bed.
"You know why I had to be at that conference, right? Because that boy punched another boy and broke his nose", Liam explained.
"I didn't punch anyone."
"I know. But shoving is just a start. And I don't want you to push anyone."
"But they were picking on Arizona. They were five and she was alone."
"I know that too. But it's still no reason to push other kids."
"One said something about me getting my daddy for help."
Even Liam tensed a little when the girl said that. He didn't know that. "And that made you sad?"
"And angry", Callie admitted quietly, nodding her little head.
He understood it, he really did. Still... "But you know how we think about violence at home and at school."
"Yes, Sir."
"Calliope, you don't have to call me Sir, because I am telling you, you did something wrong." To be honest, he expected it to happen sooner, but up until now, Callie had been an angel. Always coming home right after school or calling that she would be at Arizona's when she forgot to ask before leaving school.
"Okay?", the little girl asked confused.
"I just don't want it to happen again, okay? I know you were just trying to help Arizona and Mrs. Kingston told me that it wasn't too bad what you did. But-"
"You don't want me to do it again", Callie said.
"You're too smart, kid", he smiled. "How was walking home from school?"
"Good. Can we do it again?"
"Maybe. We'll see what Barbara and Daniel will say about it, okay?"
"Okay."
He got up from the bed and looked around in her room. Sometimes he wondered how she was raised before her parents had died. Her room was never messy, because she made sure to put everything back into place before she went to bed. She did her homework either at school or right after lunch and even on Friday's.
"Liam?"
"Yes?"
"Do you still love me?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Because of what I did?"
"Calliope", he started, getting down on his knees to be at eye level with the Latina. "Nothing could make us love you any less, okay?"
"Really?"
"Really", he reassured her. "We're a family and a family's love is relentlessly. And there's nothing that can change that."
"I love you, too", she said.
"We know that, sweetie", he smiled, kissing her forehead. "Now, I think it is time for you to go to sleep. Do you want me to read you a story?"
"Little Women?", Callie asked hopefully. She couldn't help it, she loved the stories of Jo and the little lively Betty who reminded her so much of Arizona.
"One chapter, okay?"
"Okay!", she exclaimed, climbing under the blanket, tugging Mr. Turtles towards her as she rested her little head on the pillow. But all of a sudden she shot up.
"Is something wrong?"
"I forgot to say goodnight to Susan."
"Go, I'll wait for you."
Callie rushed out of her room, leaving Liam who could only chuckle. Sometimes she acted way to mature for her age. But at times like this, she was acting exactly like kids her age d and that were the moments he memorized in his head and heart.
