After the class spent time learning their letters with Miss EDI's computer person watching and helping, Miss EDI's body stepped into the room. More kids were starting to come to school and into Cassia's class, and, each time, Miss EDI would come in and show them to the class. Today, she came in with a little batarian girl at her side.
"Everyone," Miss EDI says and everyone stops, "I would like to introduce Gelta, your newest classmate." She looks down to the girl and smiles. "Don't be shy, Gelta. Please sit."
Miss EDI brings Gelta to the desk beside Cassia and holds out a hand. Gelta takes her backpack over to her desk and sits. Ducking her head shyly, she starts to play with her sleeve. Cassia smiles, purring at the smaller girl and new classmate to not be angshush, but Gelta must not hear her. When Cassia shifts to lean closer to whisper not to be scared, EDI stands before the class with her hands behind her back.
"Class, you have done well with your studies. It is now lunch period. Please put away your materials and retrieve your lunches in an orderly fashion."
One by one, Cassia watches as the others stand and walk to their cubbies, pulling out all sorts of cool lunch boxes. She waits, though, because she doesn't want too many kids to be around the small area where their cubby holes are. It would be very crowded and she knew Damocles didn't like to be around so many kids, and he always went with her. He liked to go with her and get their lunches together and she didn't mind waiting, so she always stayed at her desk until there were only one or two kids left at the cubby corner.
They learned in the beginning how to be polite and patient because Miss EDI said they could get hurt pushing to get to their stuff first. 'Your lunches are not capable of escaping,' she had said and they laughed, but still learned how to be 'courteous' like EDI showed them. And it didn't just mean that they had to be nice getting their lunches, either, but being nice the whole day. Like when they would leave their desks and eat on the large play mats together.
"Come on, Gelta," Cassia says with a smile and pushes her seat back from her desk and stands. When the girl looks to her in confusion, Cassia points to the cubbies where not a lot of other kids are now that they have all gotten their lunches and gone to sit down and eat. "We can show you where to put your bag."
Gelta looks from Cassia to the cubbies and back before she finally nods and stands. She is quiet as Cassia leads the way towards the cubbies, skipping and sometimes looking back to make sure both Gelta and her brother are following. When they come up to the cubby holes on the wall, Cassia looks for an empty one, grinning and chirping when she sees one not far from Damocles' and her own.
"Here!" She points and bounces on her toes. "You can be right next to us." She flickers her mandibles as Gelta looks at the hole, holding her backpack tight. "And Miss EDI can give you a name tag too." She tilts her head with Gelta still doesn't want to put her stuff away. "Don't be angshush, Gelta. It's okay."
"What's angshush?" The girl's eyes blink a few times. "I'm not angshush."
"Mommy and daddy says it's okay to be." Cassia grins. "Angshush means to be uncomfortable, but not scared," she adds with a stern frown and shake of her head, remembering the conversation they had about the difference.
"Okay," Gelta says softly and nods, giving her cubby hole another stare before opening it and pulling out a small bag. Zipping it up, she pushes her backpack into the hole and pats it into place.
Cassia gives a nod in approval before turning to her cubby and pulling out her Blasto lunch box. She doesn't have to open her backpack for it because mommy doesn't pack them together, so she doesn't take as long as Gelta did and is ready even before Damocles even though his lunch box is outside too. She supposes it has to do with her excitement to show Gelta around, but, then again, her brother has always been a slow poke.
When he finally gets his out, Cassia grabs Gelta's hand and pulls her along. "Now we all sit down to eat and then we can play," she explains, pointing out the room. "I like to color, but you can play with the toys or on the number computers. Those are always busy, but that's okay. Mommy and daddy let me play those when we get home." She looks back to her brother who's quiet like always. "Right?"
He nods, eyes on his lunchbox, and Gelta looks around, her mouth open. Cassia sure hopes she's just as excited about her first day as Cassia was. She always thought school would be fun and she was right, still not finding one thing bad about it. Damocles doesn't like it too much, but he's always pretends to be grumpy, so Cassia doesn't believe him when he says he hates coming to school.
The only thing Cassia doesn't like is when the other kids look at them like they do now, their eyes saying to 'stay away'. Everyone sits in little groups of friends, but they scoot over to take up the little spaces between them wherever Cassia, her brother, and Gelta could really sit. It hurt to see so many other kids not want to really make friends or let Cassia and her brother join their circles because they were 'different', but mommy and daddy are right when they say that Cassia and Damocles don't need them.
'Fuck them,' mommy always says. 'Being an ignorant asshole is obviously genetic.'
Cassia doesn't know what that all means, but she thinks the same. Even if mommy uses bad words to say it. She still understands and many times, just to make the other kids mad, just makes a place to sit with them. She likes the faces they make and when they stand up and leave, but she knows Damocles doesn't, so she doesn't always do it. She also doesn't want to hurt Gelta's feelings by making the kids give her mean faces either.
So she leads the others to her and Damocles' corner of the mats by the desks and sits. It's the last place anyone in the class wants to sit, but it lets Cassia have no one behind them to stare at their backs, so she thinks 'their loss' - as mommy and daddy would say. She, but mostly her brother, doesn't like it when the others can make faces behind his back or have others where he can't see them, so that makes this spot even more perfect. Hopefully Gelta likes it too, because she would hate to see her first friend be like the others.
"Um…" Purring when Gelta starts to talk to her, Cassia looks to her new friend. "What did… What's in your lunch?"
Grinning, Cassia unsnaps the locks on her lunchbox and peeks in. She squeals when she sees her favorites inside. "I got Blasto Crunchies!" She shows her friend when Gelta seems confused, and sets it aside to dig for more treasure. "And a louza sandwich. And fruit punch juice." She lifts out her final snack, a small pear. "And a pear."
"Yuck," Damocles says, never liking when mommy gives them fruit or vegetables in their lunches, but always hungry enough to eat it. Cassia thinks that he's just pretending to hate them all the time because he always seems so happy when he eats them.
"What's a pear?" Gelta looks at the green, weird shaped fruit in Cassia's hand.
Cassia's eyes widen. Who never ate a pear? That's crazy! "It's… Here." She smiles and offers the fruit. "Try it."
Gelta stares at it for a moment before reaching for it. She looks at it in her hand before taking a big bite with her pointy teeth. She squeaks at the juice that drips over her chin and Cassia giggles, smiling and flickering her mandibles. When Gelta hands it back, Cassia takes her own bite. It's not the order she usually eats lunch, but there's no point when they already started eating on the fruit.
"Do you life if?" she asks with her mouth full, mommy and daddy not around to tell her to swallow before talking like at home. Rubbing her mouth with her arm, she offers the pear back for Gelta to eat some. "I really like how it's all scratchy on my tongue."
Gelta nods and smiles with her bite of food in her mouth. "Thanf youf." She hands back the pear and Cassia smiles back.
"You're welcome!" Taking a big bite, she points to her friend's bag. "Whaf dif you gef?"
Gelta bites her lip and shrugs, ducking her head. Cassia doesn't understand why she's shy about it, but doesn't be nosy like she's been told. Instead, she lays out her lunch in a line of how she'll eat them and keeps an eye on her friend. She's just too curious why Gelta is shy, so she breaks the no nosiness rule, but at least she doesn't talk. That shouldn't get her in trouble if no one catches her.
She's confused by how small Gelta lunch is. All her friend's mommy packed was one sandwich and a juice box. No treats or chips or anything. Did her mommy forget to pack everything?
"Is that your lunch?" Too late, Cassia remembers that something like that sounds nosy and she rumbles in apology. Especially when she sees Gelta's sad frown. "I'm sorry. Maybe your mommy didn't want you to get stuffed?" She gasps in excitement and bounces on her butt. "Maybe your mommy wants you to have a big, fancy dinner!"
But Gelta doesn't seem to be as happy at the idea as Cassia and picks at the baggie of her sandwich. She shakes her head. "This is just what daddy always makes." She chews on her lip, sniffling softly. "We don't have money for fancy stuff, he says."
Realizing she just upset her only friend, Cassia trills as her eyes widen in shock. "I'm sorry!" Her shout makes Gelta jump and stare back with wide eyes, and Cassia grabs her pear. "Here. We'll share," she says with a big grin, purring.
"I…" Gelta looks to the pear and Cassia shakes it in her hand to get the other girl to grab it. Finally, Gelta takes it, her eyes getting shiny and sniffling.
Cassia frowns at making her sadder, chirping softly. "I'm sorry. Don't be sad."
Making a strange gurgle sound, Gelta wipes at her eyes before shaking her head. "I'm not sad." She smiles softly. "Thank you."
That makes Cassia grin as she purrs. Remembering to be polite, she nods and says, "You're welcome." Grabbing a napkin from her bag, she lays it out and opens her bag of Blasto Crunchies. Without a word, she pours out the pink colored chips onto the napkin and pushes them into a neat pile. "There." She smiles at Gelta, mandibles spreading.
Just when Gelta is going to say something, Damocles scoots closer and pours his bag on the napkin too, the pile too big for it now. Cassia clicks in surprise and looks at her brother, but he doesn't say or do anything but sit back and open his juice cup. As he sips from the cup's special spout made for their mouths, he looks to her, and she nods in thanks to him sharing too.
Their friend chews on her finger nail a moment before reaching out and taking a chip. She looks at it like she's never seen one before - which is crazy to never have a Blasto Crunchie - before biting off the corner. Chewing, the two eyes on one side close some before she smiles and nods, humming happily. She pops the chip in between her lips and tilts her head back and forth as she chews the rest of it.
That makes Cassia, and she does the same, grinning at her friend. When Gelta grabs her juice box, poking the top with her straw, Cassia grabs her sandwich and pulls open the butterfly covered box it's in. It opens with a pop and she hums at the tasty smell that always comes out whenever mommy or daddy packs their lunch. Flicking her mandibles, she pulls out the louza sandwich and takes a big bite, giggling when she feels the coldness of the sauce on her chin.
Gelta laughs and points to her chin. "You got some here," she says before pointing to her own chin, her own sandwich in her other hand.
Cassia rubs her chin with her sleeve and grins in 'there, all better'. Looking to Gelta's sandwich, she sees a greenish colored piece of something on top of a lighter brown. She hums, curious, and tilts her head, pointing. "Can I try?" She offers her own food. "You can have some of mine."
"Okay," Gelta says happily and leans over so they can swap sandwiches. When she takes a bite, her face squishes up and she rushes to hand it back. "Ew!"
Damocles laughs from behind Cassia as the little turian takes her time chewing the food from Gelta's own sandwich. It has a funny taste, like when daddy cooks food too much and it turns out black and crunchy. And sweet. She hands back the sandwich and takes her own, happy to have it back. Even if it isn't gross, she still likes hers more.
"I like mine," Gelta says as she takes a bite, smiling. "If's beffer."
"Nuh uh." Cassia grins and lifts her chin. 'Stubborn', she's heard daddy and mommy call it. "Ours is."
Gelta giggles and shakes her head before grabbing her drink and sipping. "How come you have more fingers than the others?"
Cassia hears her brother's grunt, always upset when the other kids ask stuff like that, but she doesn't get mad at Gelta. She's just curious, Cassia knows, and it's not like she's calling them names or making fun. At least, not yet. It hurts when the other kids start to do that.
"Because our mommy is a human," Cassia says, purring as she holds up her hand before pointing to her feet, even though her shoes only have the one big toe for their feet. "And three toes!"
"Cool!" Gelta holds up her own hand, grinning with all her pointy teeth. "Your hands are like mine!"
Cassia nods happily as she takes the last bite of her sandwich, wiping her hands off on her skirt. "Wanna count our Crunchies?"
Wanting to practice her numbers, Cassia starts to whisper the ones she knows to herself as she picks up chips of the same size and puts them into three piles. This way, they can all have the same amount and, when they get to the smaller pieces, they can count those too. Gelta doesn't count, but she watches, so Cassia talks louder because maybe her friend doesn't know numbers yet.
"...eight… nine… ten!" Cassia grins and looks to her friend before dropping her head and grabbing another chip for the first pile. "One… two…"
"Three… f… four!" When Gelta looks to her, eyes wide and chewing on her lip, Cassia purrs and nods. That makes her friend smile, and the two count the Blasto Crunchies until there are no left in the big pile. "That was hard," Gelta says, taking one of her chips and chewing it with loud crunches. "How dof yof knowf thaf?"
"Miss EDI taught us. Right, Damo?" Cassia nudges her brother as he scoots to her side to reach his own pile. He hums and nods, eating more than one chip at a time. "Miss EDI will teach you too," She says back to their friend. "And you can learn lots of other stuff too." Turning, she points out towards the main room on the other side of their classroom. "There are even big kids' classes we will get to go to soon."
"Cool! My brother is in one." But Gelta then frowns. "I don't think he likes school."
"Why?"
"People don't like us."
"Why?"
"Because," Gelta says, stopping to put her chip back on the pile, chewing her lip, "people don't like batarians."
"Why?" When her friend shrugs at her question, ducking her head, Cassia looks around the room for the one person who would know. "Miss EDI!" She raises her hand, bouncing on her butt to get Miss EDI's attention. When their teacher approaches, Cassia asks, "How come people don't like batarians?"
"Very good question." Miss EDI smiles down to them and gets down to sit on her knees next to them, between Cassia and Gelta. "The batarian people have many facets-"
Damocles raises his hand. "What's a fashit?"
"Fa-cet," Miss EDI says slowly, like when teaching a new word. "It means there are many different kinds of batarians. Not physically, but with differing views." She motions Cassia. "You like the color blue, but you," she adds, pointing to Damocles, "like the color red. You are still the same, but different individuals on the inside. The batarian people are no different. Although, the main culture of the batarian people is not one that Council law approves of."
Cassia frowns, still confused. "Why?"
"Because it is bad. But," she says sternly, holding up a finger, "that does not make all batarians bad."
"Just some?" Damocles chews one of his chips slowly and Miss EDI nods.
"Just as there are bad and good people in any species, there are good and bad batarians. However, the majority often creates a negative view in the eyes of the galaxy." She frowns. "Such is the outcome for those of the batarian people who do not agree with the negativity of the majority."
Gelta grabs Miss EDI's sleeve and tugs to get her attention. "I'm not a bad batarian, right?"
Miss EDI smiles and lays her hand on Gelta's. "No, Gelta. You and your family are not." She pats Gelta's hand before standing. "Now, no more delving into galactic politics. That is a matter for the more advanced classes."
"Miss EDI?" Gelta looks up to their teacher. "Daddy talks of a war when I was still little…"
Miss EDI is quiet a moment before nodding once. "Yes. The Alliance wanted retribution for an illegal act perpetrated by the Hegemony. However, the Council stepped in before any actual retaliation on the Alliance's part. The matter was then handled in a nonviolent matter. It saved many lives on either side of the potential war." She smiles to them. "You should finish your meals. It is almost time for the recreational period."
Cassia knows what that means and grins, trilling and looking to her friend. "And then we can color!"