The Diego Diaries: Stuff (dd6 245)
-0-After the morning mayhem getting infants to daycare and other places after morning classes
"When are your conferences?" Ratchet asked as he sat down at the command table in Ops Center.
"Tomorrow," Prowl said as he sat back. "You?"
"We have them one after another," Ratchet replied. "Orion and Praxus, then Sunspot, Prowler and Hero. The big kids come one an orn for several."
"Sounds busy," Prowl said.
Ratchet nodded. "Take notes about the twinnies, will you? I'm no longer consulting on that one so I don't know what's happening."
"I will," Prowl said as Ratchet arose.
Ratchet grinned. "I'm taking Lucien to Earth in a few. I'll send video."
"Do," Prowl said with a grin. He watched Ratchet leave, then picked up his work again. It never ended. Ever.
-0-At Sparkling Day School
They gathered, the adults of Ratchet and Ironhide's family, heading toward the elevator to go upward to get the word on two of the eleven children that were theirs. It was a jolly ride, then a tense walk to the conference room area where a number of genitors were waiting to go in and hear the news. Reaching it, Terradive grinned. "Come on in."
They did, filling up the room to stand or sit around the table. Roto who was there grinned at the mob. "I'm here for a moment so if you want to hear about Sunspot, that'll free up your afternoon. Then Roto can give you the word on Orion and Praxus," Terradive said.
"Sounds good," Ironhide said. "We can have a beer during Sunspot's conference time. We may need it."
Terradive grinned. He pulled up the files, slid them to Ironhide and Ratchet, then turned on the monitor overhead. "We've made a lot of headway. He's testing better, less worry and stress and more accurate information. He's strong in math, that's holding at above average. His language arts portion … reading, writing, thinking, drawing conclusions, spelling, and grammar have improved across the board. He's still weak in the language arts area but not like before. Here's the testing results," Terradive said as he pulled up several tests and explained the results. Sunspot was still only slightly below grade level in the tests of reading and writing but at and above grade level in math and science.
"That's a big improvement," Ratchet said as the others nodded.
"I know," Terradive said. "Much improved. He's got more confidence and he's great in groups. I am going to assign more projects for independent work because I want him to be able to function outside a group, but so far, so good. He's a champion team player."
"Little mech is a champion," Raptor said as the others nodded. "What about his elective classes?"
"He attends cultural school and that elevates him in all manner of things. Art, music and dance are strong points for him and he's very strong in learning his language, the one of the Mountain Clan. He's a good dancer and likes to dance. Having artists in the family like he does is very good," Terradive said.
"He's doomed to be artistic," Ratchet said with a smile.
"We're teaching him how to paint," Scout said as Trooper nodded. "He likes to watch the set designers work."
"That's good stuff, Scout," Terradive said. "As for his temperament and confidence around others … he's a brilliantly nice little mech but he still feels uncomfortable around adult humans. He's friendly with the human's children, though I will say he's not around Rain and Lilly."
Ratchet nodded. "He doesn't like how they ask personal questions. As for the adults, its a work in progress."
Terradive nodded. "The humans are curious and you're very famous among them. I don't think its more than that."
"How is Rain doing since her suspension?" Ratchet asked.
"She's smart and determined to do a good job. She gets along with everyone but the others are more outgoing and have more friends among the kids. If she doesn't get in trouble again, she might fit in." Terradive grinned. "We'll see. They're all surprised that they have to catch up. They had good educations on Earth but not like this."
They chatted a bit about Sunspot, referring to testing, examples of his work and other markers of his current condition and state of being. When it was concluded, they were happy. He was on his merry way. All the small stuff would come with time and training. He was the most diligent little kid about his education.
"Now, let's talk about Orion," Roto said as everyone turned to him with mixed emotions. Roto grinned. "Right now, I would say that Orion was ready to learn to read like the big kids. His readiness is almost self perpetuating. I don't really have to teach him words. He's figured out sounds and patterns. He puts them together himself. He's more 'normal' if that's the word for math and science. He's remarkably language oriented and can determine things from circumstances, predicting and concluding. He's still rather speech impaired. He's making small headway but this glitch is a very strong thing, rather like a pinch and to get words out in an organized manner is a hard thing for him. They tend to be scrambled, so he relies on what he has to get his meaning. That he does is probably more to you learning what he means than him really making himself clear."
They would talk onward about him, then turn to Praxus. Praxus wasn't deficient in any area. In fact, he was showing great progress in all the cognitive areas as well as a level of ability that needed stimulation. He was ready for more than Sparkling School was able to give at present.
"We went over this before. Baby is a younger sort than Hero. He's so small and child-like. He might be smart for book learning, but he is really young for advancement," Ironhide said.
"I'm in agreement," Roto said. "He's pretty young. He can go longer but its coming to the point where we have to consider moving him up. It's as bad stagnating. Right now, we design everyone's program separately, so he's getting the stimulation he needs here at Sparkling Day. Just consider it, that's all."
Ironhide nodded. "We will but don't expect miracles."
Roto grinned. "We'll see," he said. They talked a while, then gathered up their things to go. Everyone was doing a great job in school thus far.
It was a huge relief.
-0-On the train to Metrotitan
They hung on the straps grinning at each other as they took the train to their next stop. Hero was at The Fortress Daycare Center, the military daycare and would stay there all afternoon with the others. Only Halo was with the adults as they meandered through academe together.
"I think Orion would be sad if he was the only one left at Sparkling Day," Turbine said. "I know I'd be sad."
"I know," Ratchet said. "This is the hard part of parenting. What to do for both of them."
It was a silent ride to Titan.
-0-Earth2
They sat at a table in the dining area of the building. Down the concourse and around the corner, the local school was still in session and would be until mid afternoon. Lilly, Rain, Jaycee, and a girl named Rita sat together passing the time. "I'm glad I'm not going here. We'd be sitting in class," Jaycee said.
"We go more days and longer than they do," Rain said. "They get more time off than us, too."
"We're going to Enceladus shortly," Jaycee said. "What about you guys?"
"We aren't," Rain said. "We don't have a field trip planned for a while."
"I want to go outside and run around. Some of the locals go to clubs. They have clubs for kids here" Rain said. "I want to go there and see it."
"We don't get to go out alone," Lilly said. "I'd like to go outside, too."
The conversation would last until the International School of Earth2 got out, then the fun would begin. The pool and gym were great gathering places for the kids.
-0-At Metrotitan
"She's doing very well socially because she and Feri are such good friends. She was the only femme in the classroom until Hero arrived. They were inseparable." They sat down with their teachers, a group of them, and got the word. She was an incredibly advanced student and the three orns she had spent with Roto in Terradive's class as an 'observer' had shown that. She was ready for the academic challenges of Youngling Day but the hold up was her tender feelings. It was not time to change things up for Hero. She would be distraught.
They discussed her independence getting to and from school which was self initiated and a step up. They also discussed her perfectionism. It was finally agreed that she stay put with individualized instruction.
Win-win.
That left Prowler.
They ambled onward to Ironhide's destiny and the scrutiny of Miss Birdie.
-0-At Circle of Light Preparatory Academy
It was a tense group of big mechs who walked into the lobby of the Academy followed by their families. This would be the first conference of Scout as well. Both Blackjack and Ironhide would be on the block. The case manager spotted them, then waved them over. "Both of you go in. You're a family and we can cover both little mechs together."
"Don't do anything special on our account," Ironhide said as he meekly followed his father into a conference room. Everyone else followed with big grins.
Wusses.
They sat at a table facing Miss Birdie and a raft of teacher trainees. They were silent, then Miss Birdie spoke. "Gentlemen, you were given the charge of your babies. The home component was imperative. It reinforces all that we do here." She gazed at them levelly. "Now let's see how we did."
You could hear a pin drop in the room.
-0-TBC 1-13-18 edited 2-2-18