Welcome to Gaia! ::

Delilah scooted over a bit closer to the wall to allow Antony more room to sit. Then she folded her hands together and rested them neatly on the table in front of her. "Thank you," she directed softly at the boy.

Shade grinned. "Yeah, I'm the coach. It looks like our kids are sitting together, though, so should we eat as a group?"

Antony smiled at Delilah, not bothering to ask what she was thanking him for. Perhaps she had the same problem with messes that he did! Then he looked at Manny, not too bothered by the criticism. "But it's gentlemanly to do something that you can rather than make others do it for you," he explained very sweetly. "And now you won't get your outfit dirty if you scoot over."

"Thank you," Manny responded, blushing lightly. It was nice when people noticed her effort. And this denim outfit was one of her new favorites. She set her elbows down on the table, glancing over to their parents. Shade and Estelle looked like they were talking, and Kova was kind of off by herself. At least it didn't look like anyone was about to leave.

Coach? Interesting, so there was one more teacher to cross off the "who are you" list. "That sounds like a good idea," she agreed, looking around the room for the purple woman she remembered from their coffee shop encounter. Ah, there she was, all alone.

Delilah's nose wrinkled in thought as she turned bright blue eyes on Antony at his question. There was the briefest of pauses and then she nodded, relaxing and smiling. "Yes," she answered carefully. "At least I think so. Mama," she paused and pointed across the way to the tall, lavendar-skinned woman at a table, "that's Mama, she said I'm old enough to learn things now. So I'm not going to be with the babies, anymore. And you?"

Which was probably the most words she had said together in her entire short life. This proved how much she enjoyed her company - whether they knew it or not.

Antony waited for Delilah to answer, a little smile on his face. It would be good to have someone other than Riley to hang out with him and Manny in his mind. Riley still got on his nerves.

Shade started for the table where the kids were as soon as he got his food, sitting in the booth next to theirs and handing Antony a burger. "You kids mind if the parents join you?" he asked them with a grin.

"I don't mind Mr. Shade," Manuela told him cheerfully as her mother passed her a meal of chicken nuggets and apple slices. Then she turned back to Delilah with an excited grin, "Then maybe we have gym together too."

Estelle carefully arranged Manuela's food so she wouldn't easily knock her drink over. Nuggets and apples in front of her, bottle of milk to the left. There. Once she was satisfied that it wasn't going to cause a disaster she settled down in the booth beside Shade, sipping on her own chocolate milkshake. "Should we call Kova over?" she asked, both to Shade and to Delilah.

"Yes, please. Mama likes to meet new people." Delilah paused and offered a shy smile over her shoulder to Estelle. "And she likes Ms. Estelle." Her opinion given, she folded her hands neatly on the table in front of her and watched her friends eat. Approving, she noted Antony's neat manners and Manuela's choice of food.

Coincidentally, it appeared that the girl's mother had ears that were more than just for show and, at the distant mention of her name, she looked up and over.