The education the children got while in the centre was the same as every other child on Mecha. But it was poor compared to children living in the higher class decks.
Nora tried to keep their classes going when they came home from class. Together with Belle, Gwen and Martha, they made sure every child got the best start in life. Making sure everyone was dressed and ready for the lessons of the day, Nora did a quick head count before departing. As they walked, someone pulled on her hand.
Looking down she found Jimmy's bright blue eyes. "Can we see the moon rise today please, Nor?"
The eight year old pleaded up
"It's not our turn, Jim-Bob." She frowned, stroking a hand over his hair, attempting to tame it. "But it won't be long til the next one. I promise."
Jimmy nodded before bouncing away, slipping into line next to Kyra. He had had a bad night of sleep, crying for his parents. Kyra and Nora had comforted him as much as they could. One day they were there with him, the next they were gone forever. Nora had told him that his parents loved him very much, but were sick and were living on the moon now. He had understood they weren't coming home.
It was better than telling him his loving parents had been floated because his mother was pregnant with a child. His father had tried to save her, putting up a fight, which resulted in himself getting floated. Nora had been there when it happened. Jimmy's father pleading with her only last year that she take good care of him. She had made good on her promise and never looked back.
She knew why he loved moon rises so much, because that's where he thought his parents were.
Watching them walk into class, she felt proud of them all. They were good kids with unfortunate circumstances but she never wanted anyone to pity them. They were stronger than most adults. More resilient too.
Finding her way back to the centre, she walked around the beds, making them more presentable and neat. Tidiness wasn't some of their strong points. Nora saw the older woman approach her out of the corner of her eye, "what do you want now, Gwen?" Raising a quizzical brow at her, she smirked knowingly.
She just smiled meekly, "can you go to Mecha goodwill and see if they have had any more blankets come in?"
"Sure thing." Nodding, she pulled a zip top over her head for added warmth. Nora knew her way round mecha like the back of her hand. The familiar turns in the hallways, shortcuts to different sections of the Ark, where was the best spot to watch the moonrise from. She knew other sections of the ship, but their hallways were a maze in comparison.
She had grown up in these hallways, spending her evenings wandering around aimlessly.
Spotting the back of a tall man with a dark head of hair, her footsteps slowed. "No, it's fine, I can wait." He spoke to the woman in goodwill before she disappeared.
"Didn't expect to see you here." He turned upon hearing her voice.
Bellamy quirked a smile in her direction, the corner of his mouth lifting up ever so slightly. "Off duty." She nodded and stood beside him at the counter. Her hands tapped nervously on the counter, her eyes suddenly finding the wall interesting. "Why are you always so nervous around me?"
Hazel eyes snapped up, "I-I'm not."
"Yes, you are... Nora." His smile only widened, having seemingly cracked her. "How's Kyra? Still causing trouble?"
"Always. Girl has mischief written all over her." Nora matched his smile, her shoulders relaxing. She always felt more relaxed talking about Kyra or Jimmy. Maybe it was because she was so proud of them both. She had known them since they came to the centre.
"Here you go, Bellamy." Rose approached the counter again, sliding a book across the counter to him. "Hi Nora, how are you?" She was an older lady, always saving the best bits that came in for the centre.
"Good. Fredrick doing well?" Nora asked, inquiring about her husband.
"Recovering slowly, Dr. Griffin is brilliant. I swear I thought we would lose him for a while. But he's home now, he's better." Rose's smile was contagious, the redhead beaming with hope. "Anyway, what can I do for you?"
"Gwen was asking if you had any more blankets and pillows to spare for the centre?" Nodding, Rose disappeared around the corner again.
Nora's eyes floated down to the counter again and took in the book that was resting on it. Looking up to speak, her words caught in her throat as she saw Bellamy staring at her. "Is that for you?" The book was slightly ripped with a yellowed spine and discoloured pages. It read Mythical Creatures and Stories from Ancient Folklore.
Beside her, Bellamy tore his eyes off Nora and stumbled on his words. "It's for... uh, me... yeah."
"Sounds interesting." Before he could comment, the older lady arrived back with a pile of blankets, haphazardly folded.
Nora's eyes lit up. "Thanks, Rose!" Struggling to take them all, Bellamy tucked his book under his arm and reached for most of the pile. Left with only a handful to carry, she smiled to Bellamy. "Thanks, you don't have to-"
"Lead the way."
The redhead nodded in the direction of the children's centre and began walking, thanking him quietly. "You read a lot then?"
"Yeah, mostly to—" He stopped himself short, covering it up with a cough. "...to uh— pass the time, when I'm not in training."
"Sure. You get a lot of free time then?"
"Not a lot, but I enjoy it when I do."
"Same, I don't get a lot of free time with the kids around constantly but it's nice when I do."
Bellamy followed her, walking alongside her. "I know what you mean." He muttered under his breath, she struggled to hear it but let it slide. "Does it get cold in the centre then?"
"A bit cool sometimes. Plus, most of the blankets are a bit thin for the kids or not good enough. Rose is always great about saving any blankets for us."
"She's a sweet lady."
"She is." Nora hummed, smiling. Looking up briefly, she caught Bellamy looking down at her. "What do you do when you're not a cadet then? Apart from reading?"
Bellamy stumbled on his words, snapping out of his gaze and Nora frowned at him. "I'm not that exciting, to be honest. I spend a lot of time with my mom."
"That must be nice."
Bellamy could have smacked himself. Here he was talking about his mother when he didn't know whether or not Nora had one or parents.
Before he could saying anything else or correct himself, she spoke up. "Thanks for helping me with these." Spying the doors up ahead to the centre, he knew his shot was gone.
"No problem."
The door swung open before she could reply, Gwen, ready and waiting at the door. "Thank you, Nora." The blonde woman helped unload the blankets from the pair. Her eyes discreetly swept the tall man that accompanied the redhead.
As Bellamy followed in, Nora bowed her head slightly. She had never embarrassed about where she lived or where she came from.
Until now.
Bellamy probably had the perfect mother and father home on the Ark. She didn't want his pity when she saw she lived on a much poorer scale compared to him. She didn't want his sympathy either. Instead, she kept her head down and continued moving the blankets to the side where they would be shared out amongst the kids, based on need.
"Is that me?"
Looking up, she saw Bellamy looking at a wall of children's drawings. He was pointing to one Kyra had done after watching the moonrise. She had drawn the wolves from the story Bellamy had told her, and beside one of the wolves, was a guard with a dark head of hair.
"Um, yeah. Kyra drew it." Taking a few hesitant steps to him, she looked up as she felt the heat radiate off him. Or was it her that was warm? "She loves to draw. It's a luxury but that doesn't stop her."
He couldn't control the grin that pulled his lips up. "She liked the story."
"Loved it actually. She wouldn't stop repeating it for a week. I can name you all the damn wolves of the month back to front."
Bellamy laughed and Nora felt herself smiling with him. "I'll have to tell her some more stories."
"She'd like that. I'd like that too. It would save me from hearing the story again. Anyway, I should sort these out, but thanks again."
Nodding, he took a step back from the wall. "Anytime. I'll see you around."
The redhead watched him with a smile. Maybe he wasn't as bad as she thought he was. But he was still a cadet, still a risk factor.
"Who is he?"
Rolling her eyes, Nora folded up the blankets neatly. "That was Bellamy." Looking up, she caught the sly smile on her friends face. "What?"
"He's cute."
"He's also a cadet. And he knows I've been stealing."
"He knows and he hasn't turned you in? Says more about him, doesn't it?"
Shrugging, Nora considered that her friend had a valuable point. Maybe he wasn't a bad friend to have. Were they friends yet? More acquaintances than anything else.
"So you think he's cute then?"
Nora snapped out of her thoughts. "What?"
"I said he was cute. You said 'he's also a cadet'?"
Gwen's grin was infectious, her bright eyes gleaming with excitement. Nora simply rolled her eyes at her child like expression.
"You really need to get out more."
