(no subject)

[fry_sandhu]

[oom: Fry's new teacher prepares for the new school year and is adamant that he'll be just adorable. How hard can it be?]

As far as Fry is concerned, today's argument at school was entirely the other kid's fault. As he explained quite clearly to the playground monitor, his new teacher, the headmistress, and the boy's parents; Bradley told him quite clearly to push off, and that was why he pushed his wheelchair down the slope, and that it was really very unfair that the other kids shoved him back to see how he'd like it.

On the plus side, his new teacher started them on something called 'Modern mental Maths' today, and she forgot to take the book off him, so he's now sitting at a table quite contentedly going through it.

Comments

[change_my_story]

Matilda hadn't seen Fry in a long while. Their usual times in the bar somehow hardly matching up. She's not sure what to make of the boy, as he's nice but sometimes it's hard to follow what he's saying and his habit of taking things literally is hard for her to follow. Still, he's nice enough and roughly her age.

"Hello, Fry." She goes up to his table, holding a school book of her own. It's actually a book of greek mythology that their teacher's having them read. "What are you working on?"

She's not tall enough to see the book itself, and she doesn't want to be rude and peer over his shoulder.

[fry_sandhu]

"Modern mental maths." Fry says. "We started it today. I've done thirty eight pages so far."

He looks pleased about this. He was sure Mr Walker, his old teacher, would have tipped Mrs Pink off that if he was given the book, the temptation to do the whole thing, to make it feel right and complete, would be very strong. After various occasions when he had either been caught out of bed, or thrown a huge tantrum at home for not being allowed to finish, the school had agreed with Mummy and Dad to photocopy his homework pages.

With twenty rapid fire questions on each page of the new book, and a requirement to answer them without showing his working, Fry reckoned he'd be through this book before bedtime.

[change_my_story]

"What's mental maths?" The mental part gave her an idea, but she wanted to be sure what it was exactly. "We've been learning geometry in class."

"Could I sit with you?" She didn't see the point in standing and talking when she could easily sit down.

[fry_sandhu]

"Yes if you don't touch me." Fry says.

"It's maths you do in your head and you don't have to write down your working. What's geometry?"

[change_my_story]

"Okay." She pulled a chair up to sit across from him, setting her book on the table.

"Geometry is any sort of maths to do with shapes and angles. Right now we're learning about equations with triangles." She then reailized she'd have to give more of an explanation. It had been awhile since they've spoken. "My new mum thought I'd do better in the top form of the school, but I sit with the other children during lunch period."

[fry_sandhu]

"You got to go in the top form? Lucky!" Fry says. "They won't let me go up any more years."

He turns the page of his book. "I think I would like to do that."

He's not sure whether he's allowed to ask about the new mum or not.

[change_my_story]

"They thought it wouldn't be fair. The other children are still learning basic maths and letters, but it wouldn't be challenging for me. It was strange at first, because I'd get a lot of weird looks, but now the others are used to me."

The book on the table was actually a bunch of segments on greek mythology, but they were talking about maths' not myths. "We're taking that and algebra."

[fry_sandhu]

"Dad said I have to learn all of the subjects not just the ones I'm really good at." Fry says. "And Max said it would be hard for me to make friends with even older kids. I'm already a year ahead and it's quite hard to make friends."

[change_my_story]

She set her chin in her hands "What subjects are you having a hard time in?"

She didn't really feel right about talking about not making friends easily. Her time with him already hinted at that: he had apologizes written in advanced, and he took a lot of things literally. "I have lunch and gym class with the rest of first formers, so it's not so bad."

[fry_sandhu]

"I can read well but sometimes it's hard to answer comprehension questions." Fry says. "About feelings and things."

[change_my_story]

"We're learning about reading comprehension too. It's one of my favorite subjects." She liked the reading part then looking into the characters heads. "You mean like reading into a character's actions, or something? Maybe we can learn together and help eachother?"

[fry_sandhu]

"Like 'Tom is going to a party, but he can't afford to buy Jane a present. Why is Tom sad?' Clearly he is sad because he has to go to a party, and parties are horrible."

[change_my_story]

The frown deepened and she looked away a moment. "Actually, he's sad because he can't afford to give Jane a present and he doesn't want to hurt her feelings. It's rude to go to a party without a present."

She wondered why it was hard for him to figure it out. Everyone always gave presents at parties. "Unless it was a party with hobbits, then it's the host that gives the guests presents."

[electro_kinetic]

"What's so different about modern math, instead of regular math?" asks a young Japanese girl with her hair done in ponytails over her shoulders.

It's a quite different look for Noriko than the usual shock of blue and silver and yellows--her favorite color--and she's lacking the mercurial, fiery attitude that will mark her adulthood.

[fry_sandhu]

"You do it in your head without showing working." Fry says.

He glances up at the girl. She looks vaguely familiar - her older counterpart is hard to miss.

[electro_kinetic]

"Oh," she says. It is, indeed, hard to miss her older self, but she doesn't look remarkably like what she'll grow up to be at the moment. She's still feminine in a way Nori will shed quickly once she leaves home, and won't recall for a long few years.

"But what if we do it in our head already?"

[fry_sandhu]

"Then we get to do it without having to write down the working." Fry says. "So it's a lot quicker."

He does it in his head too.

[electro_kinetic]

"That sounds like more fun," Noriko says. "Not having to write all the stuff down."

[fry_sandhu]

"It is." Fry says. "I have done thirty eight pages."

[electro_kinetic]

"Are you supposed to do all of them?" she asks.

[fry_sandhu]

Fry shrugs.

"She let me take the book home."

[electro_kinetic]

"That's not what I asked," she says, smile fading. "If you don't want to talk just say so."

[fry_sandhu]

The presence or absence of the smile is not fully registered by Fry.

"If they don't want me to do all of them they don't let me take the book." he says. "They have given me the book. I have to finish it, or it won't feel right.

"I don't understand the other bit."

[electro_kinetic]

"You won't look at me when you're talking to me. It means you don't want to talk but you won't say it out loud. It's not polite," she says.

It's also annoying. "Is everybody supposed to do them all?"

[fry_sandhu]

Fry scowls.

"I have Asperger syndrome. Looking at people all the time is hard."

He flaps his hands slightly, and still doesn't make eye contact; it's even harder now she said that.

"I don't know." he says. "We don't go through the books at the same time. I'm smarter than most of my class."