Welcome to Gaia! ::

Mira skipped down the path to the classroom, swinging her arms with care-free abandon. Today in science class they were going to learn about things that grow! That was so exciting! Hopefully they would talk about some things that might be useful to know for baking. At the very least, she might find out how green her thumb actually was, if they took the class one step further and started growing things. Would they start a garden? Would they grow vegetables? Would they get to take home any of the things they grew to try? The little pink goblin was practically bursting with excitement and wide-eyed curiosity.

Glossing through her little pastel planner, Marie pursed her lips when her baby blue eyes passed over the subject for that day’s science class. Growing things was difficult back in the swirling sands, and there were many things that grew in Asphodel that she had never seen or heard of before let alone tried. She tried to keep her nose from crinkling too much at the prospect of kneeling in the dirt and soiling her spotless snowy coat. At least this unit would give her a chance to buy some cute gardening gloves and boots, with a matching smock perhaps. Yes, she could already envision different patterns and fabrics suitable, perching daintily in her seat.

June was only half listening to the teacher as she prepared the class for the day’s activity, resting her head on a hand and spacing out for a moment. Her crimson gaze had drifted out the window, watching a butterfly flit across the courtyard outside dipping from flower to flower. She didn’t stir when the freshlings around her started to shuffle about the room, forming small groups. She glanced after them, considering moving to a group of two that already formed when a pink goblin with rosy hair plopped down next to her with a blinding smile and a chipper voice. “I’d like that.” She smiled a little, her energy infectious.

Mira brightened even more when the pretty white bakeneko joined their little group. “I’m Mira!” the pink girl chirped, angling her chair so she was more inclusive of both of her group members. “Well, there are lots of flowers to choose from.” She started, opening the textbook that had been set out to aid the freshling’s research. “I don’t know about you two,” the goblin added, running her clawed finger along the index. “...but my favorite are tulips!” The pages of the book were flipped to the right page, yellow and pink belled flowers brightening the page. “What do you think?”

Marie watched the two girls leaf through the weathered textbook as she noted their names, each displaying a different flower. Mira’s pick was quite plain, despite having a wide array of color options. The fact that tulips came from a bulb confused her, but she kept her mouth shut. June’s choice was even more boring, picking a common flower that only had rare variations of a red or pink color. To say the least, the white neko was unimpressed with their suggestions. Flipping through the book, Marie ended up settling on the page with carnations adorning it. “I think we should choose carnations.” she voiced primly, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

June sat in her chair with her head bowed, fiddling with her hands nervously. None of them had agreed on a flower they all seemed to like. Almost the entire class had started drawing their flowers and scribbling down facts from the book, which was starting to stir a panic in her belly. What if they didn’t finish? Would they get in trouble? Would they have to sit in detention? The longer she spent away from her family the more anxious she got, and just the prospect of being held in a room with other bad freshlings was setting her off. When Mira suddenly suggested they make a bouquet, relief flooded through the little grey girl. “I like that idea.” she said, smiling at the end and grabbing a piece of paper to add her flower to.

Mira was so excited that everyone was on board with her idea that she almost flung her crayons across the room when removing them from her bag. She added her tulips to the already growing bundle of daisies that June had drawn, taking care to add several different colored bulbs. Who didn’t like more colors? In her corner of the paper she added some facts about her flower, writing neat, if not a little swirly. ‘Tulips are flowers the bloom in the spring, and can be lots of different colors! They have six petals and there are over 100 species of tulips. You can use tulip bulbs instead of onions in cooking, they taste really similar!’ Mira looked over her work, pleased with how it came out.

The fluffy white neko spent the most time researching her flower, making note of her different color options. She marked the facts that she knew she wanted to include, already filling her corner of the page with her perfect cursive. ‘Carnations come in a wide variety of colors, each with their own meaning. Pink carnations, for example, represent motherly love, whereas white carnations symbolize pure love and good luck. They need lots of sun and shouldn’t be overwatered, but when cut, they last a long time before wilting.’ She added a few pink carnations to the bouquet to finish it off before bringing their page up to the front of the class to turn in. It made her happy when she realized that their assignment was by far the prettiest and most put-together. She flipped her hair over her shoulder before walking back to her seat, helping her groupmates clean up before they went their separate ways.