Azelma started off in school with a rocky start. She knew no English, so there was a rather large language barrier between them. Mrs. Edwards had to give Azelma extra classes in English. Azelma was surprisingly good at arithmetic, and Mrs. Edwards said it was a natural talent. Of course, Azelma was awful at sewing and embroidery. Éponine was rather good at it, and had told Azelma to just be patient. So, Azelma practiced and practiced. Her work was passable, which was all she wanted. Azelma loved music and dancing. When she was little, the inn was filled with cheerful and jolly people. All the students paired up for the dancing: Benjamin and Amelia, Daniel danced with Susan and Bridget, William and Azelma danced, and John danced with Mary and Hannah. As autumn came and the weather got colder, the group of students got closer.
At the beginning, because of miscommunication and misinterpretation, Azelma thought everyone at the school didn't like her. She also reacted negatively to the name Gulnare, since she thought it was horrendous.
Mary used the name Gulnare once and Azelma flinched, "Je ne m'appelle Gulnare! Je m'appelle Azelma!" (My name is not Gulnare! It's Azelma!) Which Mary didn't understand at all, so she just ran away.
When winter came, Azelma knew enough English to communicate a little with her classmates. John sat next to her when they were eating lunch and was telling her a story about going fishing with his grandfather. Azelma could only catch a word or two, but she liked listening to them speak. They had funny accents, although Hannah said she was the one with the accent.
"So, Gulnare—" Azelma made a noise and John stopped talking. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"I do not like the name," Azelma said.
John nodded, "Well, we can make a nickname for you. Let's see…Gulnare…Gully...no…Gulnare Guerrette…GG…Gigi! We'll call you Gigi!"
Azelma laughed, since Gigi, her nickname, meant nickname. "Merci John," she said.
"That means thank you right?" John asked and Azelma nodded.
John told everyone to call her Gigi now, which Azelma liked.
XXX
Mrs. Edwards wanted them to write a letter to someone, to practice their English. Azelma had no idea who to send hers to. She knew no one in America, except for her Father, which it would be pointless to mail a letter to him.
What about France?" Mrs. Edwards had said, "Surely you have some friends in France."
Azelma frowned and thought. She knew the Patron-Minette would be useless, none of them wanted a letter from a little girl, and none of them had permanent addressed. However, an idea came to her. Slowly, she started drafting a letter.
Dear Monsieur le Baron Marius Pontmercy and Madame la Baronne Cosette Pontmercy,
Bonjour! I do not think you remember me, but I am Azelma Thénardier. You remember my father, no one forgets him. America is good. I am not writing for money, only for information. I want to know about the deaths of my siblings: Éponine and Gavroche. They were on the barricade, right? I remember Gavroche fighting during 1830, so he must have fought on the barricade. There were no survivors, only you, so he died. Éponine left too and never came back. She would have come back to see me, I am positive of it. I was very close to Éponine during our childhood. When we grew up, she had secrets. I am curious about her friendship with you.
Did you know that America had a revolution right before France? My teacher, Madame Edwards, talked about how it ended 1783. Our revolution started 1789. I was never educated about that, so I am keen on this knowledge. And who Thomas Jefferson is, since we talked about him. America is very large and growing. My schoolmate, Daniel, says his father talks about "Manifest Destiny." "Manifest Destiny" is touching sea to sea. Do you think America can achieve that?
I do miss France. I lived there and I understood it. America is confusing. But, America has opportunities for us. That is good, right? I will not bother you again after this letter, sorry.
If you reply, write Gulnare Guerrette instead of Azelma Thénardier please. I go by Gigi though, a good nickname.
Cordialement,
Azelma Thénardier
Azelma wrote the address on the outside and handed it in. "It might take a while for the response," Mrs. Edwards told her. Azelma nodded and sat next to Hannah.
"I'm awful at French!" Hannah said, twisting her pigtail.
Azelma shrugged, "I am bad at English."
"You're getting better at it though," Hannah said.
Azelma laughed and shook her head. She really only understood a word or two coming out of Hannah's mouth. But she was learning, and felt like a part of the group more and more each day.