Flashback Chapter 9 First Days
Dick had never really been to school before. The circus travelled, so his parents had taught him reading and writing (English as well as their native Romani), math, history, geography, a little science. Obviously, he'd learnt about motion and forces slightly differently from how he would have in the classroom. It was a little erratic, but decent enough tuition.
As the ward of Bruce Wayne, however, he needed a bit more of an education than what he could pick up between venues. Bruce, having spent most of his childhood in a boarding school (and hating every minute of it), had taken the advice of the newly-promoted Major Gordon, and chosen Roosevelt Elementary School, where Gordon's niece and recently-adopted daughter Barbara went.
It even turned out his intermittent education had enabled Dick to skip a year, going straight into 6th Grade. Apparently the long days of travelling spent with text books, and evenings at pitches with no electricity, had paid off. At least his Mom had found ways to make it fun. Except math; that always sucked.
And so, first day after Labor Day, Alfred drove him to school for the first time.
It was noisy. Dick was used to large crowds, but that was usually his audience, which he wasn't exactly part of. This was more a teeming mass of children, running, yelling, playing. Many were greeting friends they hadn't seen since before the summer vacation. Others, girls, were ogling through the bars at the kindergartners in the next door school, cooing slightly. Several soccer balls had appeared, being kicked around with great gusto.
Dick stood on the edge of the crowd, worrying his lip nervously. Since becoming a permanent resident of Wayne Manor, he'd attracted quite a bit of media attention, and it didn't sit well with him. He was used to eyes on him, first as a Flying Grayson, and now as Robin. But paparazzi after him because of his family connections? He dearly hoped none of his classmates read the tabloids. Or had talkative parents who did.
He was spared further musings by the school bell, and got caught up with the children streaming inside. After getting lost twice and asking at teacher for help, he eventually found his classroom. He walked in to a scene of only slightly less chaos than outside, if only because no-one was kicking a ball around yet.
He slipped unobtrusively into a seat near the window and waited for class to begin. Five minutes passed. Ten. Fifteen. Dick kept checking his watch, and looked around, wondering if the delay was normal. Most of the children seemed oblivious, but a group of girls appeared concerned. Dick found himself making eye contact with a girl with pretty green eyes and a wealth of orangey-red hair. He blushed and looked away, pulling out a French picture book (appropriate to his very poor fluency) to keep himself busy.
Babs Gordon watched the boy for a few moments more, before turning away. He seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite place him. He certainly hadn't been in her class last year.
Whoever he was, there was something about the dichotomy between the pitch-black hair and ice-blue eyes. 'If I was a painter, I'd want him as my model,' she thought dreamily, before shaking herself. He was clearly too shy to talk to anyone, and really quite small. And besides, he was a boy. Boys were loud, and usually covered in mud, and thought girls were 'yucky'. They thought hitting each other was fun, and looking nice a waste of time. Anyway, even the girls had difficulty keeping up with her grades, and at least they were nice about her beating them. The boys tended to sulk. A lot.
Eventually a teacher turned up. The wrong teacher; Mrs Black from the next door classroom, who'd taught them last grade. "Good morning, class," she said. "Mr Morris was taken unexpectedly ill, so he won't be in for some time." She proceeded to call the roll, and Babs was slightly surprised when, immediately following "Gordon, Barbara" came "Grayson, Richard". The new boy. She wracked her brain for a moment before remembering. He was the circus acrobat taken in by Bruce Wayne after his parents were killed. Her uncle- Dad, she corrected herself- had also mentioned him in connection with the Zucco protection racket and Joker's crime spree.
"Now, then," the teacher said when she'd finished. "As you may have noticed, this year there's a new boy in the class. Richard, would you mind coming up to the front and telling us a bit about yourself?"
The boy got up and went to the front. "My name's Richard," he started. "I'm ten years old, but I skipped a grade. Previously I was home-schooled." He sat back down again before anyone could ask any questions.
"Thank you, Richard," Mrs Black said. "Barbara, could you help Richard settle in?" Babs nodded, familiar with the small responsibilities her teacher had given her last year, and waved at Richard. He turned slightly pink, and smiled back nervously. At least now she knew why he'd been so shy; this was his first real school.
Mrs Black was still speaking. "Now, if you'll come next door, we're going to watch The Lion King. Up you get."
With a babble of voices, the class got up and streamed out. Babs hung back so she ended up next to Richard. He was slipping a picture book in his bag. Strange choice of reading material, considering he'd skipped a grade.
"Richard? I'm Barbara. My friends call me Babs," she said by way of introduction.
"Um, hi," he stuttered, following the rest of the class beside her. "Nice to meet you."
"Have you seen The Lion King many times before?"
"No, never," Richard muttered, unwilling to strike up conversation.
Babs stayed near him as they all sat down and the movie started. Soon, she was lost in the story.
She was swiftly drawn back to the room at a flurry of movement, just as Mufasa fell to his death. Richard had leapt up and run out of the classroom.
AN: This is the first of three parts in this mini-arc. So we will follow directly on next week.
Two things. First, I'm not sure I got the school and grade right. I think it's at least possible, but if it's a bit off, please consider it artistic licence. Second, I'd like to point out that at this stage, Dick and Babs are not in love. They've spoken all of four sentences to each other. And be serious, they are ten and eleven respectively. At that age, you might be friends with teh opposite gender, but you generally keep to your own circles. See paragraph two in Babs' POV. They're too young for a romantic relationship, so while they're together in Family Ties, please remember that they're a decade older. Sorry if this seems a little firm, but I don't want you to be disappointed when they completely fail to snog next chapter.
As always, reviews much appreciated. PLEASE REVIEW. And I will try to answer any questions you may have.
Until next week.
Katara
