Clara groaned and glanced up from her book as her teacher, Ms. Spalding, smacked her ruler on her desk to get everyone's attention, bemoaning the boredom that would surely accompany the morning's lesson. The chatter died down as the other students dropped their conversations to focus on what was going on at the front of the classroom. A familiar figure stood awkwardly next to her, wearing the same old clothes and the same wide smile.

"Class, this is Andrew Morris. He's new and will be joining our class today. I'm going to be working with him to place him into groups, so I want you to start today by doing your grammar workbooks."

Clara smiled at the sight of her friend and tucked her book away inside her desk to pull out her assignment. She didn't have much more to finish and quickly worked through the last few pages in the unit, then raised her hand to wait for more instruction. When Ms. Spalding didn't see her, she scrambled down from her seat to go find an answer instead. She planted herself quietly in front of their desk, with her hand still raised.

"ahem."

"Yes Clara?"

"I'm done." She handed the workbook over. "May I read?"

Ms. Spalding took the workbook and glanced over her answers. "That you are. Hm. Why don't you work with Andrew? He's going to start with our book and didn't miss much since the beginning of the school year, so you can help him catch up to speed, and I'll prepare the next lesson for the class."

"Yes Ms. Spalding," Clara answered, just a bit disappointed that she wouldn't be able to go back to her story, though she didn't mind the chance to see Andrew. It wasn't long before the two were bent heads together over the book, whispering quietly together.

"Frances bought ten zucchini-" Clara read. Andrew already filled out the first part of the sheet with relative ease, so she hoped this would go quickly. It must be hard coming to a new school in the middle of the year.

"Who would buy ten zucchinis?!"

"I don't know, that's what the question says," she answered, smiling in spite of herself. The question really was silly.

"I would buy ten candies."

Clara shook her head. "You would rot your teeth out."

Andrew flashed Clara a winning smile. "Have you ever rotted your teeth out?"

"Well… no."

"Then how would you know?"

"My mother says so. And I don't eat so much candy. So there. We also shouldn't get distracted. Ms. Spalding wanted us to finish this page before it's time for spelling. I'll help."

"Do you follow a schedule every day?"

"Yes, didn't your old school do that?"

"I didn't go to school before now."

"Why not? My mother says that every child should be in school. Besides, you know how to read, and do math already, so you must have gone to school at some point," Clara argued.

"Well my Ma says that she's my first teacher," Andrew countered. "We was moving around so much it was just easier that way."

"Is you mother a teacher?"

"No. She's a seamstress. And a mom."

"Then how did she teach you?"

"Well she knows how to read, doesn't she? And do math. And all sorts of other things. She showed me how. It's not that different."

"Then why are you here now?"

"She's working."

"How did you make friends if you weren't in school?"

"The same way anybody makes friends – I talk to people," Andrew fired back. "I'm friends with you, aren't I?

Clara hesitated as she tried to process this new information. Not going to school sounded like a lot of fun. Imagine how much reading she could do if she didn't have to wait for her classes to be over. Or embroidery! Or-

"Are you done with that page, Andrew?" Ms. Spalding's voice cut through her thoughts and they both jumped.

"Almost!" he called, before giving Clara a conspiratorial grin and turning back to the paper. "Frances… Who was very silly for missing that turn to go to the candy shop… instead bought Ten! Whole! Zucchinis!"

Clara giggled and read the rest of the question. Maybe school would be fun this year after all, if she was learning with a friend.

About a decade later, the bell rang, and Andrew scrambled out of his seat to retrieve his lunch from the cubby in the corner and follow the other kids out to the schoolyard where they took up their usual spot along a low rock wall to chatter and eat and introduce themselves to the friendly and eager new kid. He noticed Clara trickle out of the school a moment later, sit down under a tree apart from the group of kids in her own grade, and looked around as if she were waiting for somebody. An older girl walked over to her a minute later. Andrew smiled to see that Clara wasn't always sitting alone and that she had another friend, even though he couldn't understand what she could possibly have in common with a teenager. Maybe Clara would introduce them?

They finished their food before the bell rang, and someone suggested a game of four-square. Will – a brunette with freckles and one of the first who'd introduced himself – ran to the schoolyard teacher to retrieve a ball and chalk to draw out the grid, and Andrew suggested inviting Clara to play, only for another girl – Millie? - to shake her head at him.

"Why not?"

Millie and one of her friends exchanged an awkward glance. "She doesn't like us."

Andrew frowned. "Really? She seemed to enjoy playing tag the other day… Why wouldn't she like you? Don't you like her?"

The other girl shrugged, "It's not really that we don't like each other, she's friendly enough, we just don't get along so well."

"Yeah, she just tends to keep to herself, and when she does interact, she sometimes might start yelling about what she's excited about."

"It's a little weird. Especially if you don't know what she's talking about."

"She can be bossy sometimes."

"She means well, like telling someone not to hurt themselves by doing something foolish. But she's very blunt."

"Just a bit."

Andrew watched the conversation with building bewilderment, glancing between his new friends and Clara having a very animated conversation with the older girl. "I have an idea," he proposed, "Why don't I ask her to play? If she agrees, then that shows that she does like you guys, and maybe you'll make a new friend. If not, then no harm done after all."

The others agreed, so he gave them a thankful smile and rushed over to where Clara was sitting. The older girl noticed him first and interrupted their conversation to gesture at him. "Who's this?"

"Oh, hi Andrew. He's an ok one." Clara said, looking up at her friend. Andrew wondered what that was supposed to mean, but then she turned back to him. "What's going on?"

"Do you wanna play four square? The others are starting a game soon!"

Clara looked to her friend, then back to Andrew. "Um, maybe later. Hannah was telling me about an interesting article she saw."

"Hello, Andrew," Hannah said. "Clara if you want to go ahead, that's fine."

"No, I want to finish seeing this," She insisted. "I'll be right there."

"What are you working on? Not more homework?"

Hannah laughed, it was high pitched and oddly pleasant sounding. "Yes, actually! I brought in an excerpt of some yellow journalism for my own assignment on historical and modern reform movements, and she wanted to help me figure out which pictures would be best to use."

"It's Riis, they're all going to be brilliantly persuasive," Clara asserted, with an intensity that Andrew heard before. Homework though it was, it caught his interest and he leaned over to see what they were looking at. Grainy newspaper photos of people in crowded apartments looked up at him from the page.

"What's this supposed to be?"

"Examples of How the Other Half Lives. He just published it, and these were some of the most famous pictures," Hannah explained, "It's making quite a wave in the world."

"What's that supposed to mean? Those aren't bad," Andrew asked, squinting closer at the page. Clara looked at him with a look of slightly troubled bafflement. Andrew decided elaborating might help. He tapped the picture, "It looks like they have a few beds, and a trunk and a spare pair of shoes there. My mom and dad say they didn't bring a trunk to America because that took too much space on the ship."

"I see…" Hannah said slowly. "Thank you for sharing, I'm sure that'll make a good addition to my report."

"You're welcome!" Andrew answered cheerily. He turned to Clara again, "Are you coming to play four-square, slowpoke?"

Hannah nodded for her younger friend. "Go on," she mouthed, already turning to pull out a pen and pad of paper to jot down some notes.

"Can you bring me a copy of these tomorrow? Mother might like to see them."

"Here." Hannah tore of the top sheet and handed it to Clara who folded it and carefully tucked it in her skirt pocket. "That's the book. Maybe your mum already ordered it."

"Thanks, Hannah!" Clara climbed to her feet and glanced at Andrew before sprinting in the direction of the court. "Keep up, slowpoke."

A/N: and now the story begins to pick up! I hope those of you who stuck around for the second chapter enjoyed it! If you like the story, feel free to leave a review, I do my best to reply to all of them! :)