Now, I know what you're thinking, nearly 1 year later and all of a sudden, a chapter?! I don't know what is happening but my nostalgia for this fic came over me, so here you go!
I've had so many ideas for new fanfics I can barely handle it! And now I'm thinking about gently winding this one down, or with snap shots of Hasmia's not too distant future. If you have any ideas that you feel you need to see in this then PLEASE leave it in a review or PM me!
"Shalom Ducky," Hasmia greeted as she opened the door to the older man, welcoming him inside where the others were all milling around, Gibbs was late as usual.
He smiled warmly at her, "Why hello my dear," Taking off his hat he placed his jacket on the coat rack with the other ones.
"They're all outside," She replied, pushing a stray wisp of hair from her face, Ziva had put her curls in a braid. It had taken her several tries as they seemed intent on flowing every direction she didn't want them to but eventually had managed. She followed him through the living room and out to where Tony was cooking some sausages, bacon and steaks on a barbecue, laughing at a joke Mia was sure she wouldn't understand, her English was getting a lot better but she still couldn't see what was funny in most of them. She grinned as Nettie, her three month old mix bred puppy bounded over to her, tongue hanging out at a odd angle. Mia had met Ziva's aunt over a series of Skype calls and the older woman had spent a great deal of time talking to the teen, often in Hebrew as Mia still found it easier than English. From what the internet could provide them Hasmia and Abby had figured out that Nettie was part Samoyed and part German Shepherd, and had long limbs, a curled over tail, a light golden coloured coat that was getting fluffier and fluffier with every day. Hasmia was strong but was starting to find her too heavy to hold, but still relished in it whilst she could. She carried the puppy over to where Ziva and Abby were talking.
"That is the cutest puppy I have ever seen!" Abby cried out, giving Nettie a quick kiss on her floppy ear.
Ziva nodded, finishing her drink, "And fast, she will be a great running companion when she is older."
Hasmia grinned and set her down, where she proceeded to be lifted again by Abby, who swayed her back and forth like a baby, "You are just so adorable!" Mia laughed as Nettie licked the goth's face happily. "Oh and I have a gift for you!" Abby continued, pulling out a black leather, studded dog collar for the puppy. She fixed it around Nettie's slender neck, where it snuggled under the fur that seemed to want to cover it entirely.
"It is perfect Abby," Mia laughed as Nettie ran off.
"I know right! I was at the mall two Wednesdays ago and I was thinking of the perfect gift for a dog, then I thought, a friend! But then I realised you guys wouldn't want two dogs right now so I settled on a dog collar. When are you starting school?" Abby jumped easily between the two subjects.
Hasmia glanced at Ziva, "I have an interview tomorrow with the principle."
Abby's eyebrows rose with excitement, "That's so cool! You'll do great! What's his name?"
"Hans Berands, he is Dutch," Ziva replied.
"Where is Dutch?" Hasmia asked as she reached over to the outdoor table and took a small handful of chips.
"Holland, it's in Europe, above France and Belgium," Ziva answered quickly.
Mia paused, "But an American is from America, why is someone who is Dutch from Holland?"
Abby laughed, "That's life I guess."
Tony's loud voice interrupted, "Grub's up!" Matching Gibbs' perfect timing to enter, a ever present smirk on his face when he saw Hasmia smile.
NCISNCISNCISNCIS
Mia sat awkwardly in Hans Berands' office at Lincoln Memorial International School, or LMIS, as she had seen printed on a few student's P.E shirts. She fiddled with her charm bracelet, fingering each charm, glancing at Ziva who was sitting crossed legged on the chair next to her, wearing a nice pair of pants and green jersey. Mia ended as she always did on one of a small house, a gift from Ziva and Tony. Thinking about it now she wondered how they would afford this school, it seemed a lot nicer than any of the others back in Israel she had seen. Brushing the thought away Hasmia inadvertently stiffened when the door behind her opened, whilst she was at ease at home, new situations also made her revert to being on edged and tensed. Standing alongside Ziva she smiled as a short, stout man walked in. He had a white shirt, black tan dress pants, glasses, a receding hair line and tanned skin.
He smiled and shook Ziva's hand, "Good afternoon, I'm Mr Berands, you must be Ziva," He shook Hasmia's, "And Hasmia."
She smiled, he had pronounced her name correctly, which was a first for most new people, "Yeah," Mia saw the look Ziva gave her but she honestly didn't know how to respond to the statement of what her name was, Ziva probably just assumed she was not talking on purpose. In an attempt to dispel the thought she added, "You have a really nice school."
"I'm glad you think so, I certainly like it," He laughed as they sat down. Mia glanced at Ziva, who seemed to have eased up more knowing that her niece was actually going to make an effort to be friendly. Mr Berands opened a small file, scanning the information printed on a sheet of paper. "So, it says here you are from Israel and came here half a year ago?"
"Yeah about that long," She replied.
He smiled, "You speak very good English then, are you bilingual?"
Hasmia's eyes flittered to Ziva's briefly, "Uhh, I, I don't know-"
"It means you can speak two languages, can you?" Mr Berands smile broadened, causing lines from happiness to frame his mouth.
"Oh, yeah I can speak Hebrew, Arabic and English, I'm not very good at writing it though," Hasmia was desperate to leave out her lack of schooling as much as she could, Tim had been tutoring her for the past few weeks and she was getting better at her maths and science.
His eyebrows rose with surprise, "That's great that you speak so many languages! We do exchange trips all over the world, you'd have to ask your mum but I am sure that in your final year here you could visit your home country." Mr Berands continued to smile, unaware of the tender chord he had accidentally hit.
Hasmia didn't reply, promoting Ziva to answer, "She's actually my niece, Hasmia lives with me and my boyfriend." Ziva knew she was being blunt but knew that there was no subtle way to say it. She saw Hasmia shift uncomfortably in her chair, Mr Berands glanced between the two.
"Oh, I'm sorry I wasn't informed." There was a uneasy silence, and he fought to keep the conversation going, "So what are you interested in Hasmia?"
The storm cloud covering her eyes cleared, she looked up at him from her lap, "Sport I guess, I like running. And Abby was teaching me biology," She said the word with a slight accent, having to lengthen it in oder to have it pronounced properly, "It is interesting."
He glanced at Ziva, "Who is Abby?"
The Israeli smiled, "I work with her at NCIS, she is a forensic scientist. Mia has been spending a lot of time with her when I have been too busy with work."
Mr Berands paused, "Abby as in Abigail Scuito?" They both nodded a reply. "I think I have seen her around, we often hold lectures in our grounds, we had one a few months ago about forensic science. She is a little," He faltered, unsure of how to describe her.
"Goth?"
Laughing he replied, "Yeah, that was her!"
Hasmia smiled, 'Maybe this place isn't too bad after all."
NCISNCISNCISNCIS
"Mia are you ready?!" Ziva yelled down the hallway. It was eight in the morning, she had gone for her run and was now waiting to take her niece to school for the first time. Hasmia had eaten breakfast and had been in her room for the past twenty minutes. She knew Mia was nervous, she was nervous and it wasn't even her going to school. There was a pause then her bedroom door opened and Hasmia shuffled out, hair pulled into a ponytail, wearing a pair of faded blue jeans, black and white striped singlet, loose cargo jacket and a new pair of Converse shoes, her bag was slung over one shoulder.
"Ready?"
She shrugged, "I think I could wait a year and still not know."
Ziva smiled, "You'll do fine, have you said bye to Tony?" As she said that a very tired, half dressed man with an unshaven face and messy hair stumbled into the living room.
"Hey Mia," He greeted mid yawn, he closed his mouth and gave her a quick hug, "Ya nervous?"
She sighed, "Obviously."
"Don't be, you'll kick ass, you always do," He reassured.
"Tony we have to go," Ziva interrupted.
He hugged her again, "I'll see you at four."
"Only eight hours," She mumbled, smirking when she realised she had worked it out all by herself.
The drive was short, yet it felt both incredibly long and tiny at the same time. Hasmia had gotten more and more nervous as she saw what were clearly LMIS students walking to school. They often were in groups, 2's, 3's, and then larger crowds. In her bag was a change of clothes, the school had a PE uniform, some text books, pencil case, some snacks and a drink bottle, along with her cell phone. It only contained the contact numbers of those who worked at NCIS. Even though she hadn't really meant to, she hadn't talked to anyone her own age in number of years.
They parked and sat in silence for a brief moment. Ziva watched Mia from the rear view mirror, who was looking out at the entrance with a serious expression on her face.
"Do you want me to," Ziva offered slowly, voice trailing off as Hasmia gave her a strong look.
She undid her seat belt and opened the door, going around to the driver's window, which was wound down. They just looked at each other for a few moments, unsaid words being passed between them.
"I have something for you," Ziva eventually said, breaking the silence, reaching down into her bag. She pulled out a small jewellery box, the size of her palm. Handing it to Hasmia to open, who did, it revealed a silver charm. It was a small, rectangular plaque, with a Hebrew word, בינה, carved into it.
"Binah," Hasmia quietly said.
Ziva finally opened the door, and got out of the car, "It means understanding, Hasmia, you need to remember that you are a very smart, wise, and intelligent young lady, feel no embarrassment if you do not understand, you won't be the only one, you'll do great I'm sure," They quickly hugged, and she got back into the vehicle, "I'll pick you up at 3.30 and we can get coffee," Hasmia smiled as she fiddled with the charm, standing back as the engine started up, "Have a good day tateleh!"
Hasmia took a deep breath and turned to face her new school.
NCISNCISNCISNCIS
Kristjan Bostaca had taught at LMIS for six years, favouring mostly the sciences, but also had occassionally dabbled in computer technology. He was a man of habit, born and raised in Estonia until he moved to Belgium to study. He home room class mostly consisted of American kids, or at least half American, who were raised overseas, and grew up moving around a lot, so generally speaking knew about 4 or 5 languages a little, and most spoke English fluently, or nearly. He was about to unlock his classroom's door for the day, when there was a timid knock.
He opened it, and before him stood a young girl. The first thing that struck him was her hair. Even though it was in a pony tail, he could tell it sprouted from her head at every angle possible. She had a slender, short frame, with tanned olive skin, and serious eyes. She appeared nervous. It took him a few moments before he realised that this was the new student to his class.
"Morning, I am Mr Bostaca, you must be uh Hasma?" He welcomed her inside from the hallway.
She nodded, "Good morning, it's Hasmia," She handed him her timetable, "I am in the right place?"
The teacher studied it briefly, "Sure are, welcome to the science classroom, and your new home room coincidently."
Hasmia glanced around the room. There were high tables in the centre with a sink on the outside near the walls. Each sat 3 students. Circling the edge of the room were multiple other desks, with various machines and things that she could imagine would fit in well in the Lab at NCIS. The back wall had books, and lots of filing cabinets, all labelled, and a shelf, littered with bones, and what looked like dead animals floating in jars. The front had a white board, Mr Bostaca's desk was opposite the door, with his side of the room with windows. The walls had diagrams, pictures, photos and posters on it. It was a little overwhelming, but did look pretty cool.
Her teacher's voice rung in the background, "From memory, the free desks are the two in the back there," He said gesturing by the window, "Or the one in the middle, by the cell diagram. Always awkward when you sit in someone else's seat on your first day," He added, chuckling a little.
A bell sung before Hasmia has a chance to reply and she glanced at her watch, 0845, a tall South Asian boy walked in, followed by a stout, blond haired friend. They mumbled a good morning to Mr Bostaca, before sitting up the front, getting out their books. Hasmia slowly walked to the back of the class, to the table that was indicated to be not in use, choosing the seat by the window. A group of girls walked in, then a lone boy, soon a steady stream of students file in, taking up their respective desks. Some glance at Hasmia, but most don't even notice her. She studies them, they are mostly of Caucasian decent, but there were also a lot of Asian ethnicities, not quite the huge multicultural mix she had expected.
There was a quiet hub of chatter, which was cut short by their teacher, "Good morning everyone, hope you all had a refreshing weekend, now quick introductions are in order, today is Hasmia's first day," Everyone turned to look in the direction of Mr Bostaca's opened handed gesture, "So be extra nice, Hasmia, stand up and introduce yourself."
There was a slightly awkward silence, whilst Hasmia stood up, her chair squeaking on the tiles. She tried to not think of the 20 pairs of eyes watching her, "I, my, I am Hasmia Haswari, I am from Israel," Giving a forced, tight lipped smile, Hasmia returned to her seat.
"Tell us something about yourself Hasmia," Her teacher coaxed.
She is stunned silent, unable to think of an interesting fact about herself, settling with the name of her dog.
Thankful for when attention turned away from her, Hasmia didn't notice a dark skinned girl staring at her. As she walked out of the lab with the rest of her class, to try and find her way to her first lesson, she was tapped on the shoulder. It was the same girl. She had a round face, long, slender limbs, features that appeared to be of Central African descent, her hair in two thick braids, pulled away from her face. She smiled at Hasmia, showing beaming white teeth, "Check you out," She lightly twirled a kinky strand of the new girl's hair, "This is as curly as my sister's hair, she's in the lower classes. What do you have first?"
Mia shyly handed her the paper in her hand, "Uh it says ESL?" She didn't want to outrightly ask, but it would have been obvious she had no idea what the three letters mean.
"Oh, that's English, just for people who it is their second language, who's your teacher?" She looked back down to the timetable still in her hand, "Mrs Fazio! She's awesome, come with me, I'm the class across from yours." They turned and began to walk down the hallway, weaving through the groups of students.
"I'm Rukhayma Ojukwu by the way, been here all but four years, came here from Germany, but I was born in Sudan," She said as she smiled a greeting to another girl. "Most folks here just call me Rukha though, means soft-hearted, which is a joke. You're Hasmia right? Go by a nick-name Hassie?"
Hasmia marvelled at the speed of which this girl spoke, she could bounce from subject to subject with grace and speed, it was hard at times to keep up. She didn't have a strong accent, more of a twang, that hid in the corners, springing up at odd vowels, or in phrases that Hasmia had never heard before.
"Tony calls me Mia, but Hassie is ok," She answered as they walked up some stairs.
"Who's Tony? Ya boyfriend?" Rukha asked with a smirk.
Hasmia's cheeked turned pink, "No! Tony is my Aunt's boyfriend!" She was glad they had arrived at their respective classrooms, so the line of questioning could stop. She turned left, Rukhayma turned right, telling her to wait for her and they could go to their second class, which they shared.
Musing to herself that perhaps, this whole school thing, wasn't a doomed idea after all.
I can in no way express how it feels to put out a chapter, after nearly a year! I will not promise the return of speedy updates, but I will earnestly try to post a few more! So, if you are new, or a returning reader, chuck me a review to let me know how you found this, a simple ':)' or ':(' speaks a lot, preferably if it;s a ':(' say why, so I can possibly work on changing it!
Much love and happy Christmas/New Year!
`Fat Freddy xx