Chapter 51: The First Day
Riza was so nervous that she could scarcely eat her breakfast. Roy had cooked porridge, and it was hardly lumpy at all, and there was treacle and plenty of milk, but she wasn't enjoying any of it. She just kept glancing at the Third Reader and the new arithmetic book heaped on top of her slate, and every time she did, her stomach would do an ugly somersault.
"It's... not that bad," Roy said, not very convincingly. "Mostly you need to read things, and memorize 'em. You've got a good memory, and you read just fine."
"But the teacher hurt you," Riza breathed. If the teacher had hurt Roy, who was so brilliant and gifted that even Papa hardly ever had to chastise him, what would she do to Riza?
"Sure," Roy said. "Because I was dumb. But you're not. You'll be fine."
He still didn't sound like he believed it. Riza's lower lip quivered a little.
Papa came into the room, hardly cognizant of the two children. His hair was in disarray, and he hadn't shaved yet today. He strode to the stove, sniffed the contents of Roy's porridge pot critically, then helped himself to a slice of bread and honey. He turned around, his eyes fell on Riza, and he frowned.
"Are you still here?" he demanded. "Hurry it up: you're going to be late. If you want to go to school, you're going to have to be more responsible than this!"
Riza didn't want to go to school! Why didn't Papa understand that? She wanted to stay home where she was mostly safe. At least here she knew what to expect.
"Come on, off you go," Papa scolded, herding her out of her chair and thrusting the schoolbooks into her arms.
"I'll walk her, sensei," Roy said as he put the lid on the dinner pail.
Riza's spirits rose marginally. If Roy would come with her, it might not be so bad. At least he'd be able to help her find the schoolhouse. She had a vague idea of where it was, but she was so frightened of getting lost and coming late.
"No, you will not!" Papa contradicted. "You have work to do. I expect that book finished by nightfall."
Roy had been assigned to read one of Papa's alchemy books, and he had been having a lot of trouble with it. Not as much as he did with Plato, for though the words were hard the concepts made sense to him, but it was still not easy. Riza, who loved reading, couldn't fathom why Roy found it so difficult.
"But sensei..."
"I said no! If she's big enough to go to school, she's big enough to walk there herself," Papa said.
Riza's heart sank. So Roy wasn't to come with her. The terrible somersaults started again.
Roy lifted his chin and squared his shoulders. "I'm going with her, sensei," he said defiantly. "I'm going to walk her to the schoolhouse and see she meets the teacher."
Papa's jaw tightened. His arm twitched, and Riza was certain that he was going to hit Roy... but then he glowered and said, "Very well, but you're not going to bed tonight until you're finished that book, do you hear?"
"Yes, sensei," Roy said, but not with his usual meek demeanour. He looked at the little girl. "C'mon, Riza. Let's get you to school."
Once they were safely out of the house, Riza trotted forward a little so that she could fall into step with her companion.
"Thank you," she said softly. "For coming with me."
"It's nothin'," Roy grunted. "You don't wanta go alone your first day." He didn't say why this was so.
"Doctor Bella said it's everybody's first day," Riza told him.
"First day back, maybe," Roy said; "but unless they're little kids, or just starting out like you, they've all been there before. At least the teacher's new. Hopefully she's nice."
"I hope so," Riza said fervently.
They walked through the town, and came to the schoolhouse, where a crowd of children were waiting for the summons to go inside. Roy looked around apprehensively, but didn't seem to see any familiar faces. He relaxed marginally.
A girl came skipping up, looking curiously at Riza.
"You're new!" she said.
Riza nodded.
"Is that your brother?"
Riza shook her head.
"I'm her father's pupil," Roy said, quiet pride in his voice. "Who are you?"
"I'm Alayne," the little girl said. She was about Riza's age, with curly brown pigtails and a red checked dress. "You?"
She wasn't talking to Roy. Riza bit her lip nervously. "Riza," she whispered.
"Nice to meet you, Riza," said Alayne. "Norma! Susan! Come and meet Riza!"
Two other girls came running up. One was a little younger than Alayne, but had the same brown pigtails and a dress made of the same cheap red gingham. The other girl was the same age as Alayne and Riza, and she had strawberry blonde hair in a long braid that reached down below her waist. Her dress was made of handsome white muslin with ruffled tiers of sheer cambric, and was as much fancier than Riza's blue cotton as Riza's was fancier than Alayne's.
"Riza, this is my sister Norma," Alayne said, indicating the littler girl. "And this is Susan."
Susan smiled. "Hi, Riza!" she said. "You're new, aren't you? Do you live in town?"
"Just outside," Riza said. "I like your dress."
Susan twirled so that the ruffles billowed around her. "Thank you!" she said. "Mama said I might wear it just for today, since it's the first day of term and we have a new teacher. It's my favourite." She looked Riza over. "Yours is very nice, too."
"Thank you," Riza murmured shyly. Then she turned to Alayne and Norma. "Your hair is very pretty," she said, so that they would not feel left out.
"The Packard girls have the prettiest hair in town," Susan agreed. "Doncha, Alayne?" She tweaked one of her friend's curls lovingly.
"Oh, don't, Sue," Alayne said, blushing.
"How come your hair's short?" Norma asked, cocking her head at Riza.
Susan spoke with a hushed, condoling voice. "Did you have the scarlet fever?" she asked sympathetically.
Riza shook her head. Doctor Bella had cut off all of her hair because short hair didn't get tangles, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to admit to that in front of these girls. She was sure they probably had mommas who took good care of them and loved them and cuddled them and dressed their hair so prettily.
"Short hair's cooler," Roy said, rescuing her. Riza smiled gratefully up at him. "And it's very pretty."
"It is kind of cute," Susan agreed. "And it's different! My daddy says that differences make us special."
"Susan's daddy is Mayor Trenworth," Alayne said, obviously a little in awe.
Riza didn't know who Mayor Trenworth was, but she knew that a mayor was the leader of a town. She nodded politely. "He must work very hard," she said. Her own father wasn't a mayor, he was only an alchemist, but he worked almost all day.
"Sometimes," Susan agreed. "Say, did you hear anything 'bout the new teacher? Daddy won't say, but Mama told me it's a special teacher with extra quail... somethings."
"Qualifictions?" Riza asked.
"What's that?" said Alayne.
Riza considered the question. "Qualifications means that a person went to school or did a test that lets them do things," she said, as if reciting for her father. "Like Doctor Bella. She went to school, and she wrote lots of tests, and then she practiced being a doctor. All that stuff is her qualifications, so that she can do her job."
Susan whistled softly, then clapped a hand over her mouth. "Sorry!" she squeaked. "I know ladies shouldn't whistle, but wow! You're smart."
"My papa taught me," Riza said.
"Who's your—"
The door to the school opened, and a man came out onto the step. In his left hand, he held a bell. He rang it, and the students started to file towards the door.
"That means it's time to go in," Roy told Riza quietly. She glanced nervously at him, but he tried to smile. "Come on, I'll stay with you 'til you're settled," he said.
They entered the schoolhouse. The man stood at the front of the room, watching the students shuffle in.
"Everyone who is a returning student, please find the seat you had last term!" the man said. "We need to get organized today. I'm new to you, you're new to me, and it's a new term! Lots of new beginnings all around." He surveyed the classroom thoughtfully. "Any pupils who are new to the school, please put your lunch pails on the back shelf, and line up along the east wall, there. Returning students, please find your old seats!"
There was a great deal of shuffling, and Riza was glad that Roy was there to hold her arm and stay protectively at her side. The man strode up the centre aisle, looking at the students. He was a little under average height, and he had a wiry, athletic look that told Riza that he wasn't a labourer. His clothes were very fine, but rather worn-looking, and his dark auburn hair tumbled in an unruly fashion around his face. Then he turned around, and Riza saw something strange. The right sleeve of his jacket hung limp and empty at his side: where his right arm should have been, there was only cloth.
He was asking the seated students now what class they had been in last term, and making seating rearrangements according to their answers. In general, this meant moving back a row. The room was divided into girls and boys, and the oldest pupils sat nearest the back. By the time the teacher was finished, the front row was vacant, and there were several spaces elsewhere. Only Riza, Roy and two very little children were left standing against the east wall, awaiting instruction.
"Right," said the man. "That's a start. I'll rearrange you all later as I need to. Now, you two must be just starting out."
He nodded at the two littlest children. They came forward, and he settled them in the first row: boy on one side of the room, and the girl on the other.
"That just leaves you two," said the teacher.
"One, sir," Roy said. "I'm not staying."
"You're not? Why not?" the man asked.
"I... I'm her father's pupil, sir. I have to be getting back," Roy said. "I just wanted..." He flushed a little and looked at his feet. "I wanted to make sure that you put her in the right class," he whispered.
"You can be sure of that. Come here, miss," the teacher said, sitting down at his desk. He opened the register book and picked up a pen in his hand... his left hand, of course, for he didn't have a right hand. "What's your name?"
Riza murmured it. She leaned back a little against Roy's hand, which was resting on her shoulder. The man wrote it down. He asked her age, and wrote that down, too. "And your father's name?" he said.
"Mordred, sir," Roy supplied smoothly. "Mordred Hawkeye."
This, too, the man recorded in a clumsy scrawl. The side of his hand smudged the ink a little and made it run. "Very well, Miss Hawkeye," he said. "Let me see your books."
He looked at the Third Reader. "Can you read this?" he asked her.
"Yes, sir," Riza said. Truthfully, she found the Third Reader rather easy, and often read more difficult things, but it was the book that Papa had sent with her, so it must be the one that she was meant to use.
"Well, let's see." He flipped to a passage in the middle of the book, and held it out for her. "Read a little for me."
Riza cleared her throat. "Amestris is a large nation, comprised of five main regions;" she read. "The central region encompasses Central City and the outlying communities. Most of Amestris' industry and manufacturing is found in the central region. The climate is temperate, and the landscape rolling. In the central region, one may find—"
"Very nice," the teacher interrupted. "Now, can you tell me what some of those big words mean?"
"Which ones?" Riza asked cautiously.
"What about... 'outlying'?"
"That means 'outside, but still close to'," Riza answered. This was easy! He asked just the same questions that Papa did, only less impatiently.
"Good. And 'temperate'?"
"Warm summers and wet winters," Riza said. "Because of the river."
"Hmm," the man said. "Well, you're a very clever girl, aren't you? How are you in mathematics?"
"I know my eight times tables," Riza said, her nervousness dissipating as she began to warm to the compliment. Papa never called her a clever girl. "And I can do long division... but not too long," she added truthfully, lest he think she was being boastful.
"Very well," said the man. "I don't know if I like the idea of putting you with older pupils, but you're certainly ahead of the others your age. We'll try you in the Third Reader class for now, but I want you to let me know if you're having trouble, all right?"
Riza nodded. She took her books and her slate and sat down where the teacher instructed. Roy followed her, squeezed her arm, and smiled reassuringly. "You'll be okay," he whispered. Then he slipped out the door, and Riza was left alone.
The teacher stood up and took a piece of chalk. Clumsily, he printed his name on the blackboard in large, crooked letters. One or two of the boys snickered.
"Good morning," the teacher said. "My name is Mr. Regnier."
"The amazing one-armed man!" one of the girls behind Riza whispered to her friend.
"Cripple extraordinaire," her companion agreed.
"Some of you may have noticed that I am missing something," Mr. Regnier went on. He smiled, pressing a tongue against a gap in his grin. "You're very observant: I had my eyetooth knocked out with a baseball bat when I was eleven," he said.
A couple of the older students laughed appreciatively.
"In all seriousness, though," said Regnier; "I have lost my right arm. I'm not sure quite where I mislaid it, but it doesn't seem willing to find its way home. If you see it, do let me know."
He sat down on the corner of his desk, so that one foot swung just above the ground. "This means that I do not have the tidiest writing," he said, holding up his left hand and wiggling his fingers ruefully. "I expect much better from my students. Now, I understand your last teacher was quite the gifted young lady. I can't replace her, and I know you'll all miss her, but I'm going to try to do my very best, and that's what I want from all of you. Your very best."
He got to his feet again. "After the break, I'll set lessons for each class, and we can start learning together. But since I'm new to your school and to your lovely little town, I'd like to talk a bit about this wonderful country we live in. Raise your hands, please, if you know the answer. What is the name of our country?"
None of the older pupils raised their hands: instead, they gave one another odd, exasperated looks. Riza would have made a move to answer, but she wasn't brave enough. The other younger girls had no such compunctions: Susan, Alayne, and Norma all reached up into the air, along with several of the little boys.
"Yes," the teacher said, pointing to Norma.
"Amestris," she said.
That was just the beginning. He took the whole school through an overview of the Amestrian government, from the Fuhrer and his advisors who made the decisions that affected the lives of every citizen and the parliament who was the civilian voice in the process of ratifying new laws, to the local counsels that saw to the governing of towns and cities. He talked about the military command structure and the brave men and women who served as soldiers to ensure peace and safety for the people. By then, it was recess time, and the students were allowed to go outside.
Riza looked around for the other girls. They saw her, and came trotting up. She smiled.
"Do you want to play with us?" Alayne asked, holding out a long cord with a wooden handle at each end.
"What will we play?" Riza asked.
"Skip rope, of course," said Alayne. "Haven't you ever played skip rope before?"
Riza shook her head. She didn't know anything about it. She only knew the sorts of games that Roy and Maes played, and they weren't especially fun.
"It's easy," Susan promised. "We'll show you.
Both she and Norma took one handle, spreading out the rope between them. They turned their arms so that the rope moved in a slow, lazy arc. Alayne smiled. "Watch me," she said. She stood parallel to the moving cord, and then jumped into its midst. Over and over again, as the rope reached her feet, she jumped up so that it passed under her. The rope made a swishing sound as it moved through the air, and a soft thump each time it touched the grass. Riza watched transfixed. It looked challenging, and fun.
Alayne hopped away from the cord. "You try," she said to Riza.
Timidly, she stepped forward, aligning herself as the other girl had. She watched and waited, and tried to jump... but she mistimed it, and the cord hit her leg.
"That's all right," Susan said encouragingly. "Step back and we'll start again."
This time they turned the rope slower, but again Riza failed to fall into the proper rhythm. The other girls looked a little perplexed. Clearly it wasn't normal for one of their number to struggle with this.
"Let me try again," Riza begged. She knew she could do it this time. She had figured out where she was going wrong. She stepped back again.
When the rope came around, she hopped into its path, her feet in their neat little shoes lifting right over it. It whistled over her head, and came around again. She jumped over it again, and then again.
"Faster!" she laughed. She was doing it! She could skip rope! Susan and Norma obliged her, and the speed increased. Riza jumped up again and again, and they quickened the pace of their turning. Riza could feel her heart hammering in her chest, but it wasn't hammering with fear. It was an exciting, exhilarating feeling that seemed to flow through her whole body, and the click, click of her shoes was so satisfying. She laughed a little. It was so much fun!
When recess was over, it was time to sit quietly and work on lessons. Riza set to work happily, for she had had such a lovely time outside, and she could look forward to dinnertime (which Mr. Regnier called "lunch"), when she could go out again.
Perhaps she liked school after all.
