Hello, dear readers, and welcome back to a new chapter of 'Bayley's Universe'! My apologies for the slight delay...I attribute that to my thinking ahead to what I plan on my next arc of this being.
NOW FOR A RECAP! Last time, we saw Sasha deliver quite the performance in her Drama class, something that really impressed her teacher and classmates (and seems to be something that she's taken a liking to, next to Physical Fitness). Which, during the class lecture had her thinking back to her earlier encounter with Mia. Maybe now with class being over, Sasha can attend to another matter at hand, said matter being...finding the library. Will she succeed in her search? Read on to find out, my loves. =)
Wandering the halls after other students had made it to their final classes for the day, Sasha was feeling ...admittedly lost. She wasn't sure if it was because this was a class period where she didn't have an actual class or if it was because ...she was actually lost in the school building.
'I was just taking a straight path from Mr. Hardy's room. How did I end up in an area that has nothing but what seems like rooms for artists?' the magenta-haired Gem thought in a mild panic. 'Perhaps…. Maybe…. If I retrace my steps, I can find my way back to where I came from.'
So, deciding to go with this train of thought, she turned and began walking back the way she came in the hopes of finding her way back to her previous class. She had just made it to the area of the school building where she remembered her fifth period class was when she walked past a windowed hallway that led to a room with windows that offered a look inside, said sight being one that drew her attention.
'Books! So many books. This must be the school's library,' the magenta-haired Gem thought as she began to make her way to the library. Grabbing hold of and turning the cool metal of the doorknob, she was then greeted with a sight that would serve as yet another thing she would come to like about going to school: There were shelves, so many shelves, all of them filled with a variety of books. Along with the many bookshelves, she saw that were also some square tables that had four seats on each side, an area that had longer tables with what she remembered were called computers, some currently being used by other students-'I should probably see if Bayley can teach me how to use one of those machines. It could prove to be helpful to know how to use one,' the magenta-haired Gem thought.
"Excuse me? Can I help you with something?" a voice to the Gem's left could be heard asking.
Snapping out of her admiration of what she could say is now one of her favorite areas of the school, Sasha looked to her left to see who she guessed was the keeper of the books, an older woman with pixie cut black hair, sitting behind a computer. Remembering the rules of library etiquette, Sasha said, in a soft voice, "Yes, my name is Sasha Ambrose and this is my first ever day of school. I'm having my Free Period class, and I was wondering if I could spend some of that time here in the library."
"It's nice to meet you, Sasha. My name is Vickie Guerrero, and I'm one of the librarians here at the school. Of course you can spend your Free Period here. Would you like some help with finding something to read?"
"No, thank you. I think I can manage finding something to read. But, if I do need help, I'll be sure to come ask," Sasha smiled.
"OK, great. If you have any other questions, feel free to come back and ask," Mrs. Guerrero said with a smile before returning her attention back to what she had been doing on the computer.
Nodding with a bow, the Gem then turned and walked away as she began to look around the first set of bookshelves she saw. 'These must be the nonfiction books. I should maybe consider trying to borrow some of these so that I can learn about some of the things I've missed over my years in stasis,' she thought as she saw spines of books talking about a variety of subjects from the planets to the histories of those that were in power in the past to different countries on the planet even to books that would help with teaching different languages. While she was already beginning to think of a plan of borrowing some of those in the future, she decided to go take a look at what kinds of books were on the other shelves.
'The books over on this side remind me of a lot of the books Bayley has. ...Yes, definitely reminding me of Bayley's own library of books,' the Gem thought with a soft laugh as she walked past a book's spine that read 'Coraline' and looked over many of the other books in what she guessed to be the fiction section, many of which she made mental notes to check out some of these books in the future.
She had just walked past the end of the fiction books into another section of what looked to be fiction books, as well, only ...something seemed a bit different about these books. Some of these books, she at least recognized the publishing style of them, as Bayley had a number of books like those at home, while the others….
'This is weird. Some of these books have numbers on their spines. Could these be parts of different series?' the Gem thought. Feeling curious about just what these books were, Sasha grabbed a book that had a number one on its spine. Turning the book around, she saw that the cover image consisted of a girl with blonde hair in a space bun hairstyle wearing what she could only say was a sailor suit with the background being pastel pink in hue. 'Hmm. Sailor Moon. This looks interesting. I'll have to get the hang of reading books like this, but this looks like a promising read.' Deciding to borrow this book, the Gem went back to the other sections she had visited and grabbed one book from each section-'It may be early in the year to read Frankenstein, but you can't go wrong with a classic. And this book about the period of the 1950s should help give me some form of education on at least one span of time I've missed,' she thought as she made her way back to the area where she saw Mrs. Guerrero sitting at one of the computers. Walking ahead with the books she had, Sasha said "Excuse me. I'd like to borrow these books here, please."
"OK, great," Mrs. Guerrero said as she took the books the new student had and checked each one out. Finishing this, the older woman gave the books back to the magenta-haired teen. "OK, Sasha. You can borrow these for two weeks. If you'd like to borrow them for a bit longer, all you have to do is come back here and ask to renew the books. Now, I hope you enjoy the books, and welcome to our school."
"Gracias, señora Guerrero (thank you, Mrs. Guerrero)," Sasha smiled with a bow.
"De nada (you're welcome)," Mrs. Guerrero smiled before returning her attention back to the computer.
Taking this as a sign that she could go back to finding some way to spend the rest of her Free Period, the Gem decided to leave out of the library and head outside to get some fresh air. Making her way out of the doors, Sasha let the warm air wash over her as she took a breath in and sat down on one of the nearby benches. Letting that breath out, the Gem thought 'Well, today was a fairly successful day. I thought me not being human would mess with me being in school, but ...it hasn't. Things have actually been going pretty well for me. ...I just wish I could've found Mia. Just to make sure that she's okay.'
The Gem had been so wrapped up in her mental bubble that it caught her offguard when she heard something that sounded like someone talking. Feeling curious about just who it was, Sasha got up and walked over to where she could hear the talking coming from. Not wanting to be spotted, she stayed hiding around the corner as she listened to the conversation going on. ...Which is pretty much all she could do, as she couldn't quite understand the language being spoken; all she could make out was the sounds of someone that sounded upset, said voice she felt she could recognize but couldn't quite place who it could be. It took her a bit of listening to piece it together that she was eavesdropping on what seemed to be a one-sided conversation. Feeling like she should leave as it wasn't wise or polite to listen to someone's private conversations, Sasha instead stayed and listened on.
"I just wish I was still back at Cerulean Shores with you, Ms. Kim. At least if I was still there, I'd be able to come talk to you when I have bully problems," Mia said in her native Korean language.
"I know, Mia, I know. Have you tried talking to any teachers about your problems?" the woman Mia was talking named Ms. Kim asked.
"I've tried, but I ...I just can't," Mia admitted. "I just don't get why it seems like Shayna and so many others are always coming after me. I haven't done anything to any of them, so ...I just don't get it."
"I'm not sure why that is either, Mia," Ms. Kim admittedly said. "All I can suggest for now is trying to talk to someone about what's been happening to you. I'm sure there'll be someone willing to listen to and help you."
"I can only hope, Ms. K. I can only hope," the blue-haired teen sighed as she could begin to feel that the school day was almost over. "It'll be time for the last bell soon. I'll talk to you later. Tell Marti and everyone else I said Hi."
"Will do, Mia. I'll talk to you later, and remember that my phone is always open if you may need to talk. Trust me. Everything will be okay," Ms. Kim said before ending the call.
Taking her cell phone away from her ear, Mia looked at the screen as she saw the amount of time she had spent talking with her former neighbor before it changed back to her phone's home screen. She was thankful for her end of the day Free Period, as she was able to spend that time some days talking to Ms. Gail Kim, a teacher at one of the schools in her old hometown and her former neighbor. At least with her and the older raven-haired woman exchanging first email addresses and later cell phone numbers, she could keep in touch with one of her favorite neighbors and keep track of how things had been going with her old friends that luckily didn't forget about her after the move. Sighing again as she looked up at the blue sky, Mia let her talk with Ms. Kim swim around in her mind. 'Gail's right. I really should let someone know about what's been going on between me and everyone else that's always coming after me for nothing. ...But, how do I even go about doing that? Just go to Ms. McMahon's office and say "Hey, some kids are being mean to me. Can you do something about them?" ...Like that would wor-'
"Mia? So, it was your voice I heard over here," a voice Mia could hear from her right say. Snapping out of her inner mental storm, she looked over and saw Sasha standing there with three books in her hands.
"Sasha. Hey. What brings you to this part of the school?"
"I had left out of the library when I decided to step outside for some fresh air. Then I heard what sounded like someone talking and I got curious about who it could've been. I'm guessing you were speaking in some type of secret code to someone?" the magenta-haired teen said.
Laughing a bit, Mia said "No, no, I was speaking Korean, which is my native language."
"Oh, I see," Sasha nodded. "I'm guessing the person you were talking to can also speak Korean?"
"Yeah, she can. I was talking to a neighbor of mine who was a teacher at a school in my old hometown before I moved years ago. I tend to find it nice when I can talk to someone in a language we can say is like our own secret code," Mia said with a laugh.
"That sounds nice," Sasha smiled. An idea coming to her, Sasha asked "Say, if it's possible, could you maybe help teach me Korean?"
"Really?" the blue-haired teen blinked. "You'd actually want to learn how to speak Korean?"
"Well, ...yes, yes I would. I think it would be fun to learn another language. It'd also be pretty fun if we could maybe have Korean as our own secret code," Sasha nodded, keeping her earlier worries suppressed-'There's always time in the future where I can get back to what initially had me feeling worried about her,' she thought.
"Wow. Umm…. ...Sure, I'd love to help teach you Korean," Mia smiled. "How about we start tomorrow at this same time? Looks like we both have last period of the day as our Free Period, so how about we start then?"
"I'd like that," Sasha said with a smile as the last bell of the day rang. "I believe that's the school's final bell of the day."
"Yeah, it is," Mia nodded as she stood up. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow in second period."
"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow," Sasha nodded as she watched Mia walk away. When she saw that the blue-haired teen was gone, Sasha smiled as she began to make her own way back to the school's main entrance.
'After that, I guess I can now say that my first ever day of school was a success. My classes all went well, I found a library that has quite an impressive book collection, and, while I couldn't exactly help Mia deal with her bully issues, I at least seem to have made some sort of connection with her with her offering to help me learn how to speak Korean. I can't wait to tell Bayley and the others about how my day went,' the magenta-haired Gem thought, as she began to think ahead to future school days.
So, I didn't mention it up top, but this is the last chapter of the 'Sasha's School Days' arc. And, outside of one hiccup, it looks like Sasha enjoyed her first ever day of school quite a bit. From the classes that she's come to like to her finding the library and its vast literary collection (three of its offerings she's decided to borrow and read) to her talk with Mia (Possible friend for one of our cinnamon rolls?), it sure looks the day went pretty well, so...Hooray for Sasha! *throws up some confetti to celebrate* And with the end of this arc, so will begin another. And just what will come with this new arc? That shall be revealed...when I begin my next arc (which might be some time this week). Until then, don't forget to RR please. =)
(The bold text in this chapter is Mia and Gail talking in Korean with each other. My apologies that I didn't point that out sooner.)
(I couldn't resist including Gail Kim in this. I just thought she'd be a good ear for Mia to talk to when she needs someone to talk to.)
(Bit of exposing goes here. I'm actually on a bit of a break from self-teaching myself Korean (along with a few other languages I was in the process of learning). My reasons for wanting to learn that language = ...I wanted to better learn the language so that I could get a better understanding of K-Pop songs I listen to and K-dramas I've watched.)
(Stay safe, warm, and healthy out there, lovelies. *sends love and good vibes out to you all*)