September 8th first day of school
It was the first day of school. The grade 7 and 8 classroom was the food, clothing and textiles lab which consisted of round tables in little kitchenettes with 4 chairs around each table. There were 4 kitchenettes so the 16 students could group easily in them all. But for years with larger classes, they also had an L shaped section of sewing machine around one corner of the room as well. Mrs Baldwin already knew quite a few of her homeroom students and said her hellos as people came in. She was wearing a pair of brown textured dress pants and a pretty blouse with a fall leaf pattern on it and a long mottled brown knit cardigan jacket.. She had on low heeled brown boots and he dyed dark red hair was nicely styled at chin length. She wore a long beaded necklace in colours that complimented her blouse. As the students began filing in she said “Take any seat you like for the first day. We’ll see if we need a seating plan…...that depends on all of you.” She had her name written on the whiteboard and a clipboard handy on the desk ready to take attendance.
Daphne McLeod made sure her sisters knew where their new classrooms were before she found her own. She was in the food and clothing lab this year which was kind of interesting. She hoisted her big black backpack as she walked into the room. She was wearing a light blue farting unicorn t-shirt and a little jean skirt with her rainbow tights above her little black slip on shoes. She had on a black zip up hoodie and her golden hair was loose. She was early, really early “Hi Mrs. Baldwin.” She said and sat at a so far empty table. She wondered if saving seats was ok and hoping it was she took off her hoodie and put it on the back of the chair beside her and then stuck her backpack on another. On the third, she grabbed her lunch kit from the backpack and set it at that spot. She'd move things if it wasn’t ok but as they were allowed to pick who they sat with she was hoping to.
Cath came in and saw Daphne and lots of open seats. Rene was with her and she looked back at him “See? It’s good to be early...we get choices.” She walks over to Daphne “Are you saving one of those for me?” She’s wearing a purple overall dress with a butter yellow t shirt under it and little white bobby socks with her white runners. Her blonde hair is pulled back by a white plastic headband. She has a blue backpack with pink flowers.
Daphne beams “Hi Cath. Hi Rene. Yes! Get in here and then I can put my lunch back. Have you sees Aislin or Mabel yet?” Cath shook her head as she set down her bag and plopped down.
Stefan Girard had his class schedule in his hand and looked at the numbers over the doors as he walked. He saw the number his homeroom was and poked his head in shyly. It was the cooking and sewing room? Was that right? The kids looked his age and he recognized them from around town. But he felt too shy to walk in early so he skulked around the hallway reading the posters on the walls. He’s wearing a black Calgary Flames t-shirt and black jeans and runners. He has an old almost military style backpack and a red lunchbag in his right hand.
Rene walked in with Cath dressed in blue jeans, blue runners and a white polo. This was a much smaller school than their last and so he and Cath were in the same class. He had wanted to wait for Mason, Tony and Tristan, but he also knew that Cath would be more comfortable walking, even though the school was only one house down from their house. As Daphne takes Cath, he finds a table for he, Tristan, Tony and Mason. He sits and tries to look like he’s saving a seat for three people.
Mia Wong walks in the class along with her sister. They are twins. Identical twins. And they loved it. This was a new school, new start and she expected to have a lot of fun. She looks around and sees a blond boy that they had seen earlier in the summer and had watched from a distance whenever they could. “He’s in our CLASS.” she whisper screamed. This was too good to believe. Maybe she was dreaming.
Sophia Wong was happiest when anywhere with her twin, Mia. Once or twice in their lives they had to be apart and it felt like having an arm ripped off. They both had the same shoulder length raven black hair with bangs and were of course alike in every way. They had worn different colours of the same shirt dress over black leggings. Sophia loved burgundy and Mia loved turquoise. Both dresses had black stripes on them as well. They had the same black ballet flats and the same off white canvas backpacks with black buckles. Now the summer blonde dream boat was before them sitting all alone. “The poor thing…” Sophia cooed at her sister before grinning “Let’s go adopt him as our very own.” And with that she walked right up to the boy and sat down in the chair beside him, gesturing to the other chair so they could surround him with their double fantastic essence of being. She looked the boy over like he was some sort of specimen “Yes…...you’ll do nicely. What do they call you?”
Mia did her part to book-end the dream boat and her look was identical. It was like she was starving and he was a gourmet meal. “You will do VERY nicely.” she gave him a smile and a deep satisfied sigh.
Rene’s eyes grew wide when not only did his male friends not show up, but two very strange Asian girls did instead. They now sat on either side of him and he suddenly felt trapped. “Uh … Bonjour.” he says to them. “My name is Rene … but I … well I was saving these seats?” what he’d meant as a statement came out as a question.
Mia’s smile widens. “That’s very sweet of you. We accept.” she tells him, as he was clearly saving those seats … for them. “I am Mia Wong. We’ve seen you around town. Many times.” she tells him. “Your parents are the dentist and dental assistant. Do you like Chinese?”
Daphne watches Rene get boxed in by the two new girls and taps Cath’s arm as she’s been looking down at her timetable. “Are you seeing this?”
Cath looks over and then cranes ehr head a bit to hear the conversation and he eyes go wide as she exchanges a look with Daphne “Have they been stalking him?” She whispers at Daphne.
Hayley Brown was waiting in the hall texting her friend LaTonya. Are you walking up the steps yet? I’m at the food lab...did you see who’s on our class list? We should try to sit with him. I don’t see him yet do you? She hovered in the hallway a bit waiting and noticed a shorter dark haired boy in a Calgary Flames shirt reading the posters. To her horror he smiled at her.
“Hi...are you in 7-8? I’m Stefan….” She was a pretty girl but more than that he knew no one aside from his sister who was in a different class.
Hayley smiled awkwardly “Hayley and yeah...I’m waiting for my friend.” It was a polite dismissal. The boy took the hint and walked off quietly.
Tristan Reinhardt came fast walking down the hallway. He was wearing a grey hoodie and blue jeans with black and white trainers. He had on his usual orange backpack.He had left home a bit later than he meant to. Now he made it into the classroom to happen upon Rene sitting surrounded by twin girls who seemed as enamoured with him as Mabel. Tristan blew out a breath and weakly waved at Rene “Hey man….” He considered sitting down in the empty chair across from him but Mrs, Baldwin started talking to him and he turned around.
“Tristan...so good to have you this year. I actually wanted to pick your brain...or maybe more your grandmother's brain about one of the international food units….” She began. They got into a discussion and Tristan’s ability to assess Rene’s danger with overbearing girls was compromised.
Sophia chimes in with her sister “Yes do you? Oh his accent is so adorable..” She coos at Mia like Rene is not listening even though he is. “And you have a puppy…..I’ve seen it in front of your house. Mostly with her.” She looks over at Cath “The younger sister. You have an older one too. When’s your birthday?” She smiles at Rene like she wants to pet him like a cat.
Rene is a little hesitant to reply, but .. it’s harmless. “Oui, I love Chinese.” his eyes go a bit wider as the twins tell him about his own family. “I … my birthday? November 17th?” he sees Tristan and almost cheers … before the teacher distracts him, leaving the seat open. He looks between the girls, not knowing what to say to them.
Mia smiles at him. “And an older brother, but he is not as handsome as you are.” She looks at her sister. “He likes Chinese!” she leans in a little closer. “We are yummy!” and she giggles.
Mina James slips quietly into the 7-8 classroom. She was 12 but looked about 15 because she had developed early and grown tall. She had dyed light pink hair with a tinge of brownish roots in an undercut and side swept style. Mina had heavy black eyeliner and pale thick foundation and powder trying to erase any hint of imperfection. Her lipstick was dark red. She wore a little black skirt over black calf length leggings and one of her foster brother Dante’s old t shirts he had given her that said Punk’s not Dead in red lettering on the black shirt. She also wore headphones pretty much all the time. Fuschia pink beats headphones with her phone tucked into a tiny purse that was slung across her hips and fastened at the waist. Mina was quite beautiful but wore her too young cynicism and distrust of the world like a badge. She surveyed the room and the table groupings formed. She had met Cath and Rene but had spoken to them minimally that night Dante made papusas before he went to juvie. Cath caught her eye and smiled and it was too much for her. Plus she was sitting with Daphne McLeod in her Rainbow Bright tights. Daphne was way too upbeat. Hard pass. She needed to sit where she wouldn’t be forced to make conversation, where she could disappear. The other neighbour kid, the French brother was being bombarded by two Asian chics. He was busy and they were all about him. It was perfect and it might even be amusing to watch. She beelined for the empty chair and sat down greeting none of them and securing her headphones over her ears so it was obvious she was listening to music. Then she took out her phone and looked down at it, scrolling.
Sophia beamed “We’re so yummy.” she glances briefly at the pink haired girl who sat down as if to see if she’s competition for Rene but to her delight the girl ignores them. “November 17th….” She ponders “Well that’s lots of time….”
Cath was trying to greet Mina and then sort of got the brush off and looked at Daphne like she was a little hurt by it.
Daphne saw it too “Don’t take it personally. And I’d be more worried about your brother. It’s like Fatal Attraction over there.”
Aislin walked in dressed in jeans, sneakers and a tshirt from an air show in 2019. She spots Cath and Daphne and hurried to sit with them, grinning excitedly as she takes in the room and what everyone is doing and saying.
Mabel half ran into the classroom and looked at the clock “Oh thank god..I thought we were late!” She’s wearing a pair of dark denim overalls and a little shite t-shirt with strawberries on it. Her hair is in two messy braids and she has a sort of over the shoulder style purple bag and blue sneakers. She sees Cath, Aislin and Daphne and comes to take another seat “For me...and then?” she starts to set her bag down and looks around “Who are those girls with Rene?” She smiled at Mrs. Baldwin who was Judith to her everywhere else but here. They had agreed to embracing a different role with her as their teacher this year because that was how it worked out. She lived with their Grandpa Hank and was effectively a step grandma now and Mabel quite liked her. She made their Grandpa happy and she was a fun lady.
Stephan now awkwardly shuffled into the room but isn’t sure where to sit so he kind of hovers to the side of the door.
Mason Stanley is effectively dragged into the classroom by his sister. “When have we ever been late. How could we ever be late?” he rolled his eyes, found an empty table and started moving things on the chairs. He saw Tristan and placed his backpack in one chair to save for him. And he knew that Tony would be coming, so he put his computer case on another chair. He saw Rene surrounded by girls. Before Tony even showed up.
Tony Penhall walked up to the school and casually jogged up the stairs. He basically ignored everyone and headed for the classroom. He entered, smiling and made a beeline for the table that Mason had so generously claimed for them. He sat in the empty chair because it was empty and noticed that Tristan was talking to Mrs Baldwin and that Rene seemed to be around a wall of femininity. He put his feet up on the empty chair with Masons backpack on it. “Tris!” he called. “Rene.” he waved Rene over to them.
LaTonya replied to the text with I haven’t seen him yet. We don’t have much time. She is in black leggings under a denim skirt and a pretty purple top. She could not believe she was going to be in his class. He was almost famous. But she knew she couldn’t wait for him forever. And then she saw him and she fell in behind him. She was a savvy girl and knew seat saving when she saw it, plus he’d called a couple of names. It was almost tie for class to start, but she had enough pride not to make a scene. Instead she picked a seat where she had a fantastic view of Tony Penhall.
Tomas Negron walked in and headed for a seat. He was later than he wanted to be because he had a hundred siblings. Now the seats were in short supply, not that he really had a lot of friends after working at the shop all summer. He sees a blakc kid and a white kid and he decided they needed a Latino in their mix. The black kid had his feet up on a chair, but the other chair had a computer cae on it. Boldly, he walks up to the computer case, piks the computer case up and sets it on the table. Sliding into the chair, he leans back, casually and looks directly at the teacher, who according to his watch, should be starting any second now.
Mrs. Baldwin was making her last comment to Tristan and waved him off “Ok people, we’re almost at that time….grab your seats if you haven’t.”
Tristan saw Mason and had heard Tony call his name and moved to the table just after another guy sat down. He recognized him from that big Puerto Riccan family he’d seen all around. But that meant Rene was now sitting with those twins. He sighed a little but Tristan was a friendly and welcoming person by nature so he greeted the guy “Hey there. I’m Tristan.” He glanced back at Rene briefly and resigned himself to the way the morning was going.
Hayley Brown came in and slid into the seat next to LaTonya. She also had a great view of Tony and she smiled at her clever friend and wiggled her eyebrows. She was wearing a bulky light pink hoodie and a pair of old jeans. All her clothes were a little threadbare but she did the best she could. She had found a cool flowered scarf at the thrift store and wore it as a hairband. She had old sneakers but she had decorated them with markers and given them a star pattern like she bought them old on purpose just to do that. Her backpack was a hand me down from her brother and the straps didn’t match because they’d been replaced. But school was her happy place and she was going to have a good day.
Stefan heard the teacher and saw the last two seats were the ones by the girl who seemed annoyed he talked to her so he hesitated. Now she was sitting with a friend. Maybe he could fit in another table or sit at one of the sewing machines? But then the teacher defied him towards the table.
“Oh go one take this one...we’re all friendly….” Mrs Baldwin counted at a glance since they were mostly seated “Hmmm we’re missing one…”
Daniel Samuels walked in the room looking perfectly confident and at home. He noticed that there was one seat left and he took it, looking around the class, fascinated. This class looked like two others had been shoehorned in. He looks at the teacher as he places what is clearly a second hand bag on the floor. “I’m sorry ma’am. I had to drop my sister off and I got a little turned around.” He is in clothes that are clearly second hand, but his haircut, if anyone knew about such things, was expensive. Very expensive. His posture was also perfect. And he oozed confidence.
Mrs Baldwin smiles at the last student “No matter...welcome everyone.” And then before she can say anything else the PA comes on and to students who’ve been at the school for many years the voice on it will be unfamiliar. It’s a woman’s voice but no Dolores Spanner. This voice sounds full of kindness.
“Good morning everyone and welcome to or welcome back to Alexandra Academy. For those who haven’t met me I’m Ms. Fisher your new vice principal. My door is always open so feel free to come say hello. To start the school year let’s acknowledge who’s land we do our learning on. We are on the shared unceded traditional territory of the Katzie, Semiahmoo, Kwantlen and other Coast Salish Peoples.” She pauses for a minute and then says “Now please stand for O Canada.” And there’s a click and a piped recording of the national anthem begins.
After everyone sits down after the national anthem Mrs Baldwin picks up her clipboard “OK...quite a few of you I know but there are some new faces too. I’m Mrs. Baldwin and welcome to 7-8 homeroom. Let’s check and see you all match the names on the list I have. When I call your name, please raise your hand. If I mispronounce your name, please correct me.” She smiles and then calls the roll looking around for hands up. After the roll call she’ll look at her notes briefly at her desk and give people a minute or two.
“Catherine Beaulieu
Rene Beaulieu
Hayley Brown
Stefan Girard
Latonya Hawkins-Domino
Mina James
Daphne McLeod
Tomas Negron
Aislin Page
Tony Penhall
Tristan Reinhardt
Daniel Samuels
Mabel Stanley
Mason Stanley
Mia Wong
Sophia Wong.”
Cath had raised her hand when she was called and smiled at Mrs. Baldwin. She seemed nice and so did the vice principal, well she sounded nice. She looked over at Rene and then back to Aislin, Daphne and Mabel “They’re creepy. I hope he’s ok…”
Mabel raised her hand when it was her turn and then had noticed it too and made a face “Is that what I look like when I get all goo goo over him?”
Daphne had give a wave when her name was called and then giggled “Yep…..” Then she glanced over at the boys table and gave Tony a half smile, unsure if he saw it.
Mabel slaps her hand on the table “Ladies...I take solemn oath to not be a creepy girl...at least not with boys….”
Stefan was so grateful to see another guy at his table that when roll call was doen, and he’d raised his hand like everyone else he head juts at him “Hey I’m Stefan.” The kid was in cool second hand looking clothes, a down to earth dude surely.
Tristan had raised his hand and then figured maybe his introduction to the Puerto Riccan guy got drowned out by chatter “Hey what’s your name? I’m Tristan.” He lets his eyes drift to Rene briefly and then looks back.
Hayley had raised her hand but sort of held onto her sleeve like she didn’t want it to slide up. But when Tony Penhall raised his hand she and LaTonya gave him a little applause. She heard the guy she brushed off introduce himself to the other guy who was almost late and glanced between them for a moment before looking at LeTonya “Cooking next…”
Sophia had raised her hand and then later looked at Mia and then at Rene “This is cosy...like playing house…” She pointed at the kitchen.
Mina had taken off her headphones before the morning stuff on the PA and so she half raised her hand when her name was called and hoped no one noticed her. Now the weird twin was talking again and she stared out the window.
Mia raised her hand when her name was called and then looked at Rene, nodding. "Kitchens can get so warm." she giggles.
Rene put his hand in the air when his name was called and kept it there a beat longer. He saw Tristan looking at him and he gave him a look, silently begging for his life. Now he knew what a mouse must feel when two cats were looking at him as if he were a tasty future meal. When they both mentioned cooking and heat, his eyes grew wide and he cleared his throat, anxiously.
Tony raised his hand and could hear applause, so he quickly lowered it. He looked around and saw the two girls applauding. He recognised them both and he smiled his appreciation at them. Not really thinking too much about it, he also noticed that both of them were sort of cute, which he hadn’t really noticed before. Then Tristan introduced himself to the other guy and he nodded a greeting of his own. “Tony.”
Mason raised his hand and lowered it just as quickly. Tony had gotten applause and he rolled his eyes. Looking over, he saw that Rene didn't look too happy, but at least no one had applauded for him. Tony and Tristan introduced themselves to the Latino guy and he did the same. “I’m Mason. I think you guys live near us.”
Tomas tried to remember all of the names but there were so many. He raised his hand when his time came and then when it was over he nodded to the boys at his table. “Tomas. It’s good to meet you all.”
Aislin raised her hand with a smile and then looked over at Rene and back at Mabel. “I think Rene would appreciate that like … a lot.”
LaTonya applauded a little bit when Tony’s name was called and raised her hand for her own. When he smiled at her, she smiled back.
Daniel raised his hand when his name was called and then looked at the people at his table. “Daniel.” He gave the boy his name again. “Are you new in town, too?” he wonders. The girls are ignoring them both and staring as the black boy at the nearby table. They were a regular U.N.
Stefan was glad to hear the name again so he could try and remember “My family came here in June. We’re from Banff. Where did you come from and was it really recent?”
Mabel smiled at Aislin and then looked around the room “K so Rene’s little club….Tony’s little club...sorry Daph...I recognize that short boy but not the other one with the dark hair. Mina dyed her hair. That guy sitting at my brother’s table is one of the Negrons is it?”
Cath nods “Yeah they live by us….kinda hang out with family alot but the mom is friends with Lydia Alvin. I forget his name...someone told me the names but there’s a lot of Negrons. Even one of our teachers is one. Math…” She says it like a swear “I hate math.”
Daphne sees Tony being adored and gives Mabel a sour look “Whatever….if that’s what he wants then why should I even try?” She had seen Tony smiling at one of them. She wasn’t going to fawn over him. If he wanted her he had to like her for the her she’d been since they were kids. They were pretty girls too, she could give them that.
Tristan laughed and shook his head when the girls had clapped for Tony “Jesus Tony you don’t even have to sing anymore….”
Hayley is watching Tony a lot. She was a fan of his music and he was cute and charming. But she also listens in on the conversation between Daniel and Stefan at her table.
Sophia saw Rene’s wide eyed look and patted his arm “Are we making you nervous? Don’t worry Rene. We’re nice….very nice.”
Mia grins and agrees. "Yes. Very nice" she reaches under the desk and squeezes Rene's knee.
Rene blinks and then suddenly jumps as one of them, he can't tell them apart and it doesn't matter because they are both equally creepy to him, squeezes his knee. He found himself missing Mabel's attention. He missed his friends. It was like he was trapped behind glass watching them while these two Chinese girls circled him like a shark. But his manners prevented him from being too rude so he only attempted to smile nicely and not jump up and run away.
Tony turns from smiling at LaTonya and then smiles at Daphne, who doesn't seem as warm. She was always hot or cold it seemed. Had been since they were kids It was confusing. He looks at Tristan and shrugs. "I think its just tha t... you know ... we're all older now .. you know ..." he shrugs.
Mason rolls his eyes. "Isn't older supposed to mean smarter? Everyone is losing their damn minds .. crushes and love ... it makes no sense." he grumbles.
Tomas looks at the trio. "It's girls. WHo can understand them?" he asks. "My sister was normal one day and in love the next. Same with my oldest brother. Now he is getting married." he rolls his eyes.
Aislin follows Mabel's gaze around the room. "It's like some weird fan convention." she marvels. She reaches to pat Cath's arm. "You'll do great." she encourages, knowing how Cath believed she would fail everything.
LaTonya watches Tony until he turns back to talk to his friends. "I'm going to try and get a date with him, Hayley." she proclaims. "Just you watch."
Daniel shrugs. "We sort of missed the last ferry out of town. And my sister wanted to go to a different school, so ... Dad rented that big yellow house on 3rd .. and now we live here." he shrugs. "WHich is cool because this is way cooler than my old school. I miss my brothers but I can FaceTime with them and one of them already lives here. Probably my favorite brother, to be honest."
Mrs Baldwin had purposefully let her class have a few social minutes. It was the first day of school after all and she wanted her classroom to feel like a community where the kids felt comfortable with one another and her. She looked around at the table groupings already assessing what seemed to be problem areas. Rene looked uncomfortable at his table with the very chatty Wong twins. Mina James was not engaging with any of them and that concerned her a bit.That table was one to watch. LaTonya and Hayley were distracted by another table and she followed their line of sight. Tony Penhall of course. She got the class with the little star this year. He was a nice boy though and she could see he was happy at his table with some friends. Tristan and Mason she knew. Mason and Mabel of course she knew very well but she’d had a chat with them about being their teacher at a family dinner before school and they all agreed that at school she was their teacher but at family times she was their step grandma (common law of course with her and Hank). She saw them observing the plan and was pleased. She didn't want to be seen as playing favourites. And the table with Daphne, Aislin, Cath and Mabel all looked happy. The new to the school students were all talking to people, Daniel and Stefan to each other at least. She would observe the day and then possibly remix. But for now, it was time to start the lesson.
She picked up a pile of recipe pages and another pile of course syllabus pages and walked to the space in front of her teacher's desk and looked around waiting for the chatter to quiet. And without her demanding it of them, it did. This group showed some maturity. Judith smiled at them. “Since we have a single slot for today’s class we’re going to make a simple short recipe and have a discussion about the syllabus, allergies and substitutions.” She begins to pass out the recipe pages as well as the syllabus.
https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-5-minute-vegan-breakfast-smoothie-drink-recipes-from-the-kitchn-203016
“Today we’ll be making smoothies. But in this recipe we’re going to substitute the almond milk for oat milk. There are some important factors in food preparation. Safety, and cleanliness is part of that but also safe use of equipment and safe cooking temperatures for things that could be hazards otherwise. And before all that, being aware of any allergies or intolerances in the people you’re cooking for, as well as any religious or cultural concerns.. Now since your parents filled out waivers for this class we were given some of that information ahead of time. I’m not going to single anyone out but we have an egg allergy, a nut allergy and a student who is Kosher. All of that is going to factor into the syllabus this year. Our recipes will be vegan and nut free. Inclusion is key to being a good cook. Food is community. Food is family. Food is friendship and love.”
She gestures to one of the kitchenettes “In the second cupboard over from the sinks you will find a blender. And close to it a grater. We’ll be using fresh ginger so you’ll need both of those as well as a small knife and cutting board. Those are easy to spot on your counters. We have 4 people per station so the tasks will be split into 4 parts. First of all as a group decide what fruits you want to go with the banana. Everything is frozen. I didn’t do the fruit medley but gave separate choices. You can choose all, one, two, whatever, you’ll all have preferences. You have measuring utensils in the drawers. One of you will need to go to the dry goods cupboard and gather those items, one will head to the freezer, one will grate the ginger and one will go to the fridge for the oat milk and then blend everything together. After you’ve drank your smoothies, you’ll work together to clean up your stations. The room is equipped with an industrial dishwasher like you’d see in a restaurant since we need to keep to the government health department regulations. Those will be the first chapter we cover in the syllabus. But for today, begin by washing your hands and then choose your fruits and divide your tasks.” She looks around “You may begin.” The recipe printed is doubled from what Judith originally found online.
Cath looks over the recipe and then around at her friends “What the heck are chia seeds? And I don’t really like papaya. Can we leave that out? I’ll go get the frozen stuff though.”
Mabel grins at Cath “Like a chia pet...but we eat it. They’re supposed to be healthy or something. I don’t really care about papaya either way so fine with me.I want to use the blender. Can I do that job?”
Daphne giggles at Mabel “Yes, like a chia pet. That’s cool Mrs. Baldwin is being so aware of all the allergies and the Kosher thing. Can we leave out the pineapple? I think strawberry and mango together would be perfect without it. I can get the dry goods and measure stuff?” she looks at Aislin “I’m not fussy so if you want that one I can grate the ginger too.”
Tristan looks touched when Mrs. Baldwin says all the recipes this year are going to be vegan, nut free and Kosher. His friends knew about his egg allergy but Tomas was new “I’m the egg allergy and that’s cool of her...I was a little worried about that.” He gestures at the recipe “I’m fine with all these fruits. Can I grate the ginger? I love ginger.”
Stefan beams about the allergy safety and pads his jeans pocket “That rocks. I have the nut allergy, all peanuts and tree nuts. But I carry an epipen. Because they weren’t strict in my old school and I swear once a month someone would sit across from me in the lunchroom and unwrap a peanut butter sandwich..or almond butter...cashew butter...whatever trendy rich snob nut food those kids had. All organic of course.” He snorts. He looks at Daniel and then the two girls sitting with them “I like all fruits so you guys choose. I can go get them frozen. Easy peasy.”
Hayley does actually engage with her table now since they have a cooking project. “I’m lactose intolerant but I don’t think my parents filled out the form. Just lucky this year though. That would be hard having no peanut butter.” She pretty much got a peanut butter sandwich almost every day despite the school discouraging them. She would make a point not to sit near Stefan. “The fruit is fine. I can get the dry goods.”
Sophia listens to the teacher with a bit of a glassy look on her face but takes it all in. Then she immediately turns to Rene “You’re not one of the allergic people are you turtle dove?” She looks at the recipe “Mango must go. Mango is evil. I have decreed.” She looks across at Mina now “Cupcake hair girl. Fetch the dry things.”
Mina looks at the Wong twins with absolute disdain. She had chosen this table to be ignored. Now she was being barked at and it had been annoying how all over the French guy they were. She hit her limit. “Fine but I’m taking your boyfriend...he can get the fruit.” She looks at Rene. They had met at the Alvin house but barely talked. “Your sister dates my foster brother.” She was declaring some sort of solidarity as she felt bad for his plight. It was her subtle way of saying she might somewhat have his back.
Mia snorts and snaps her fingers at Mina. "Go on, girl."
Rene begins to grin a little at the idea of all kinds of recipes he could cook ... for people with allergies. He watches the twins and blinks. Now they're creepy and rude. He is not a liar, for the most part, but he can't think of any other way to defend himself. "I'm allergic to eggs, love mango and .." then he hears Mina ant looks at her with gratitude. "I can do that." and he stands. not sure if he should take her hand, but she seems to be saner at least. Maybe even an ally. "Yea ... Gen and Dante. He'll be my brother in a few years I bet."
Tony grins. "More recipes." he seems pleased. "Me and Addy keep trying to find the perfect recipe but in the meantime we're having fun finding recipes."
Mason shrugs. "I don't care, as long as I can get my credit for the class." he has zero interest in this class. Once he learned all the different ways to make a sandwich, he became a one dish wonder cook.
Tomas nods at Tristan. "I will have to remember that. Maybe you don't even come over to my place. There are many eggs in Puerto Rican cooking it would be bad for you." he proclaims. He smiles. "Ginger for me too please. I have it almost every day it feels like."
Aislin sighs softly. "Alright I love papaya, but of ryou Cath, we leave it out. I love ginger so .. the more the better, I don't care who grates it." she giggles.
Daniel winces slightly when Mrs Baldwin mentions that they have a student that is Kosher. This school was really cool, but this is the first time he is really reminded that he isn't in a private boys Jewish school anymore. Everyone at his school was kosher. Here, he would be the exception, not the rule. But then Stefan admits that he's the nut allergy, so he leans into him. "I'm the Jewish guy .. Kosher, I mean. Everyone was in my old school. I didn't know it would have to be advertised here." he looks at Haley about being lactose intolerant. "So no milk for you and no peanuts for you." he doesn't get into the complexities of living kosher.
Daphne grins at Aislin “I will grate you all the ginger we’re allowed to have. You get the dry goods. Mabel you have to use the blender in this room...you can’t take it to the roof ok? You can’t go off looking for goats to help you with sound effects.” She goes to wash her hands and looks back at Mabel, Aislin and Cath.
Mabel pretends like she’s dying a slow death from Daphne’s limitations “Goats on the roof would be the best thing ever! How can you deny me?” She fake faints onto the round table.
Cath plays along with Mabel “Mon dieu...she is dying…..charge the paddles!” She mimes jolting Mabel back to life with a defibrillator. And Mabel opens one eye and then the other.
“Cath, why are you not in drama? That was awesome!” Mabel sings it at her and then hops to the sink after Daphne to wash hands.
Cath makes a face “I don’t want to be on stage, ever. And I love to draw. And computers are the way of the world so I want to learn more. I’m pretty good on them already.” She takes her turn washing her hands too and then heads to the freezer and gets in the line up.
Mina glares at the twins and then head juts at the dry goods cupboard and looks at Rene “Maybe we can work together since we’re practically in laws.” She stalls by the dry goods cupboard once they get there looking at the ingredients with him “OK I hate people….normally...but those girls are the worst. If you want to feign a stomach ache and hide in the nurse’s office I’ll totally cover for you Rene.”
Tristan snorts at Tony and Mason “Tony and I are going to have to cook for you when you’re a cranky old cyborg.” He gives a single not to Tomas “No Puerto Rican food….check. Hey man if you want the ginger I can grab the dry goods.” He heads to wash his hands and then ends up at the dry good cupboard behind Rene and Mina and taps Rene on the elbow “How’s it going over there with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle….k I’m being mean.” He chuckles and nods at Mina “Hi Mina.” She didn’t talk to him much but he was still greeting her.
Stefan shrugs “Hey Daniel it’s cool. I don’t know much about Kosher but we’ve all got our thing. Hey LaTonya is it?” He tilts his head and tries to get her attention. Both she and Hayley were quite pretty, even if they seemed to have eyes for that Tony. “What’s your food thing?” He gives Hayley a little shy smile too and then gets up to wash his hands, hesitating for LaTonya’s answer before heading to the freezer.
Hayley smiles awkwardly at Daniel and Stefan and then looks curiously at LaTonya. Stefan was being friendly. Daniel too. She knew that Jewish people ate Kosher but didn’t want to reveal her own ignorance about how that all worked so she just nodded. Then she went to wash her hands but the ends of her sleeves got damp because she was clearly not pushing them up first. She dried her hands like this was normal and waited to hear her friend’s answer as well.
Sophia eyed Mina and Rene as they walked away and then watched them a bit as she commented to her sister “I don’t like the cupcake girl. She’s an obstacle.” She went to get out the blender and then washed her hands methodically.
Rene actually grins when Mina offers to work together. Tristan joins them at the cabinet and he looks between them. "You'r enot being mean, Tris. You're showing a flair for the UNDERstatement." he blows out a breath and sighs, nodding at his table mate. "Mina jsut suffested I fake a stomach ache to get away from them.." he scoffs. "I do not have to fake it." he glances at the girls he's noticed watching Tony. "Why can I not be like Tony and have normal people want to hang off of me .. or pick who i want to follow me around. Mon dieu."
Mia watches Mina and Rene and narrows her eyes. "An anoying obsticle." she intones, moving with her twin to wash her hands. It really is a creepy thing, as their hands move the same way with little selay in timing.
Tony snorts. "Motor oil salad. CPU pudding. It'll be fantastic." he watches Trisan leave for a second and looks at those around him. "Do you know wnything about computers, Tomas, or are you also unenlightened like me and Tristan?"
Mason snorts at the ideas. "No need. I'll make a self sustining kitchen to do the dishes and maybe even cook the meaks for my parents." he looks hopefully at Tomas.
Tomas shrugs. "I am sorry. I don't kow very much aout computers. We only have one ofr the family, so I don't get much time to relax and just play on it.
Aislin smiles at Daphnee and waves, heading over to the dry goods. "I will take all of the ginger, please." althoguh she only takes a medium sided node.
LaTonya blinks as she is addressed by the strange kid. "My food thing ... greens ... I like pork too. I don't know." she protests. "I never thought about it before." she looks curiously aaniel, but doesn't ask about Kosher food ... yet.
Daniel grins at them. "Kosher is .. well long story short its laws about what food we can and can't eat, plus how that food is prepared." he isn't sure that's enough ... but it's a start.
Tristan looked worried for Rene. “K if they’re really out of line tell Mrs. Baldwin. That’s not ok…” He feels more defensive than he’s ever felt before about a friend being bugged at school. If he’s being honest with himself he’s feeling like a protective boyfriend, only he’s not Rene’s boyfriend. Then Rene says the thing about wishing he had normal people hanging off him and following him around. A Star Wars line pops into his head that he would make as a joke but not in front of Mina. I’m nice men. But instead he says “Yeah...I hear ya.” He steps past to take out their table’s dry goods. “Seriously, tell the teacher. You don’t have to take that shit.”
Mina lets her head turn between Rene and Tristan. Tristan wasn’t normally so fierce as far as she could recall. “Huh...you got balls.” She comments casually to Tristan and then grabs all the dry goods they need. “Now or never Rene. Next stop’s the freezer. We could just shove you in to hide.”
Tristan blinks at Mina “Of course I have balls...the hell?” He exhaled. It was a weird day.
Daphne gets out the grater and is ready for when Aislin comes back as she stands beside Mabel who is testing the settings.
“Pulse…” Mabel presses the button “That was boring…..puree…...oh now we’re talking. You could do some damage with this…”
“Mabel….don’t make it weird. It’s a blender.” Daphne chided.
Cath comes back from the freezer and dumps the frozen fruit bags on the table “Cold cold!”
Stefan hears Latonya and nods “Cool. All those things are good.” He smiles at Daniel “Sounds like a lotta rules dude but hey if it’s your culture...respect.” He heads off to his task.
Hayley looked thoughtful and braved a comment “Pretty sure pork is not Kosher. I read that somewhere...or maybe saw it on TV.” She shrugs at LaTonya and then glances at Daniel and scurries off to the cupboard.
Mrs Baldwin watches the students work together in their groups. Eventually there are smoothies being poured into glasses and then the glasses are emptied. As the class emptied, she found herself looking at Rene Beaulieu who, once the Wong twins had left the room, started speaking to her, his accent thickened by upset. She listened patiently and with empathy and then reassured him she would help. As soon as he had gone to his next class she took her next free timeslot to sit down at her desk and draw up a new seating plan.
No comments:
Post a Comment