First day at Hans Christian Andersen Private Elementary School.

As Dick rode in the limousine he asked, "So how come it's called the Andersen school?"

Alfred gave a little shrug from the driver's seat and replied, "I suppose because whoever chose the name liked Andersen's stories."

"It's a weird name for a school here, don't you think?" Dick said.

"Oh, I don't think so. It's as good a name as any," Alfred said. "Illustrious school. Illustrious literary figure."

"But he was Danish," Dick said.

Alfred raised an eyebrow. "...So?"

"So why is an American school named after a Danish writer? Are there Danish schools named after American writers?"

Alfred thought for several seconds. "That's a good question actually. I might have to look that up."

The limousine pulled up outside the school gates. Alfred was going to open the car door for Dick, but the boy opened it himself. Dick felt silly when the butler kept doing things he was perfectly capable of doing himself, even if it was part of his job. He grabbed his bag and stepped out of the black car, standing straight in his fancy uniform that was almost a suit. He pulled at his necktie again - couldn't quite get it comfortable enough.

Many children in identical uniforms left fancy cars and walked down the concrete path towards the giant brick building. Dick studied the area, trying to take in as much detail as he could.

Alfred stood next to him. "I realize how children dread going back to school, but I'll say it anyway: Try to enjoy yourself, Richard."

"I'm actually looking forward to this, Alfred," he replied. "I always like seeing new places."

"Richard Grayson?"

A blond boy standing by the school gates maneuvered through the students towards Dick and Alfred. "Are you Richard Grayson?" He held his hand out.

He shook it. "Yes, that's me."

"I'm Travis Nie," the blond boy said with a smile. "They asked me to be your student liason."

"I believe the word is 'liaison'," Alfred mentioned.

The boy had a polite expression up to now, but he dropped it and shot Alfred a look that said he was irritated to be corrected. Alfred recognized it as the "I'm training to be a teenager" look.

He took it as his cue to leave. "All right then." He looked down at Dick. "Remember, be friendly and listen to the teachers."

He nodded. "I know."

"I'll be waiting here once you're finished." He nodded at Travis. "Good day."

Alfred re-entered the limousine. Before he even pulled away, Travis tugged at Dick's sleeve. "C'mon, let's go," he tilted his head to the building and walked off.

Dick caught up in two strides and matched pace at his side. "What are you - that liaison thing - what's that mean?"

"The faculty told me you'd be here today," Travis explained as they walked, "and we have all the same classes, so they asked me to show you around. Basically I'm just gonna pal around with you and help you understand everything."

"What, like... an interpreter?" Dick was a little offended by that. "I speak plenty of English."

"I just meant I'm gonna help you get used to the school. They said you were home schooled before, right?"

"Yes." He pulled at his necktie again.

"Well, private school can be a little different."

They reached the front doors of the main building. Dick thought it was a large and impressive structure. But his opinion changed a little when he followed Travis inside.

They came to a narrow hallway. Green metal doors filled both sides of the corridor. Rectangular lights hung from the low ceiling. A crowd of students rushed in different directions, chatting and gossiping about things Dick couldn't quite make out. He looked around uncomfortably.

As he walked Travis said, "You have your locker number and combination, right? It should be written on one of your papers. Did you bring every-" He looked but Dick wasn't at his side. He spun around and tried to spot Dick's face among all the people. The black-haired boy was still at the start of the hallway, trying to avoid the kids rushing past him.

Travis walked back to him and asked, "What wrong?"

"Are all private schools like this?" Dick asked with a confused expression.

Travis looked around and shrugged. "Like... what?"

A girl bumped against Dick's shoulder as she passed him. "...Smaller on the inside." He felt like he walked into a circus tent and appeared inside a train cabin.

"What's that mean? You know what, never mind. Just follow me." He grabbed Dick's wrist and pulled him along.

"The building was so big outside, I expected the rooms to be bigger," Dick said. "Like at Wayne Manor."

"This isn't small. This is normal."

Dick would be hearing "this is normal" a lot the next few days.

They found his locker, and the paper in his bag with the combination. As Dick opened the lock he asked, "What's this for, exactly?"

"For your books," Travis answered. "You put them here and come back between each class, so you're not carrying a big heavy bag all day."

It made more sense than a few of the things Dick heard that day. He put all his things into the locker except what he needed for the very next class. He closed the door and told Travis, "Okay, let's go to class."

"You forgot to lock it," he pointed out.

"Why do I need to I lock it?"

"Obviously, to make sure no one steals your stuff."

"Why would anyone steal my stuff?"

Travis stared at him for several seconds. Then, "Are you from another planet?!"

"No, just Europe."

He rolled his eyes. "May as well be another planet," he mumbled.

Dick wasn't sure how to react to that. He turned back to his locker and clicked the lock closed.

"Spin it three times. That resets it," Travis said.

Dick silently moved the dial all the way around three times. As Travis watched him, he gently said, "You're Bruce Wayne's kid, right?"

"I'm not his kid. I'm his ward," Dick answered without looking at him.

"Yeah, but he's paying for all your stuff, right? So I guess it'd be no big deal if you needed to get new books."

"I guess." He finished with the lock.

"You're lucky to have all that money," Travis said quietly. "I'm here on scholarship."

Dick looked back at him. "What's that?"

"You don't know what a scholarship is?"

"No."

He seemed a little embarrassed when he said, "It means I'm only able to be here because the school's paying for it. My parents can't afford tuition for a high class place like this."

Dick thought about this. "So my guardian pays for me to be here, but your family gets it for free. So why am I the one that's lucky?"

Travis stared at him silently - which was beginning to be a habit. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a little weird?"

"Why do you think I'm weird?"

He looked away and tilted his head in a half-shrug motion. "Oh, no reason..."

.

In an empty alleyway, where Dick couldn't see him, Wally took a prescription bottle out of his pocket and popped one pill into his mouth. He hid the bottle deep in his pocket, where no one would notice it.

Wally picked up his large paper bag and climbed up the fire escape. It was getting dark, but he still wanted to avoid using his super speed out of costume. Dick was patiently waiting for him on the top of the building.

"Okay, I'm back," Wally called out cheerfully. He sat crossed-legged, and pulled two sodas and four burgers out of the paper bag. He held one burger out towards Dick and said, "You sure you don't want anything?"

"I'm still full, thanks," Dick said.

"Heh. Full. What's that like?" Wally smirked to himself as he unwrapped his food.

"So where was I?"

"It's your first day of school and student liaison was a jerk."

"He wasn't a jerk."

"He was sort of a jerk."

"He got better." Dick said, "It's just, like, we were set to totally different wavelengths and we didn't even know it... That was an ongoing problem for me."

.

Nine-year-old Dick stood next to the teacher's desk and faced the class.

"Everyone, this is Richard Grayson," the teacher said. "He's transferring to our school starting today."

Dick put on a big smile and said, "Hello, ladies and gentlemen."

A few kids snickered. He didn't get the joke, but he smiled with them.

"Now, what would you like us to call you?" the teacher asked him. "Do you prefer Richard, or Richie, or...?"

"I like Dick," he answered.

A few kids snickered again. Dick realized this is what the clowns used to call an easy crowd: they'd laugh at anything.

The teacher silenced them with a look, and then told Dick, "Take your seat next to Travis."

Dick sat down and listened to the teacher begin the lesson. Once his back was turned to the blackboard, Travis leaned over and whispered, "'Ladies and gentlemen'? Were you trying to be formal or funny?"

Confused, Dick whispered back, "That's what you always say to a new crowd."

"Not to your classmates. Not around here anyway," Travis whispered.

"I couldn't say 'boys and girls of all ages.' They're all the same age," Dick whispered.

"Dick, Travis, no chatting in class," the teacher told them.

The boys straightened up in their seats. "Sorry," Travis said.

The teacher continued the lecture. Dick listened diligently for a few minutes, but then he was distracted by something near the window. On top of a shelf was a plastic tank with a little animal moving around inside. He casually stood up and walked over to the window.

"Dick," the teacher called. "What are you doing?"

"Don't worry, I'm still listening. I just wanted to see this," he replied.

"Please return to your seat."

He blinked. "Why?"

The class laughed.

The teacher's patience was limited, but he calmly replied, "Mr. Grayson, you're supposed to remain at your desk for the duration of class. It's the rules."

"Okay..." No one warned Dick about that. He walked back to his desk. "Sorry, I just wanted to know what that was." He pointed to the plastic tank.

"That's Trixie," the teacher answered. "She's the class pet."

"But what is she?" Dick asked.

The teacher made a little shrug. "She's just the class pet. The students take care of her and they take turns bringing her home over the weekend."

"No, I mean what is she? What kind of animal is that?"

This prompted even more laughter from the students. "I'm not being funny, I want to know," Dick told them uncomfortably.

"Haven't you ever seen a hamster before?" a girl asked him.

He shook his head. "No... But I never looked for one either."

More snickering. Dick was starting to feel really uneasy about all this random laughter.

"Everybody, settle down," the teacher ordered.

Travis leaned over again and whispered, "You're a regular class clown, aren't you?"

Still confused, Dick whispered back, "I was never a clown. I was an acrobat."

Travis stared for a moment, then he turned his head away, dreading what would happen if people started associating him with this kid.

.

Author's Notes: (Posted 2/20/2017) It would seem silly for every school in the city to be named Gotham-something, so I gave it an actual name. Having second thoughts on how right Dick's fish-out-of-water-ness seems. Still eager for feedback.