Evaluations of the Tribe - Prossia Book 0 : A Coming of Age Space Opera Page 36
Chapter 16
“I beg, just give it back,” seven-year-old Kalai begged as she reached for the dankerball.
One of the lads in her class threw the ball to one of his other four friends. “You best be quick then, Mastra.”
Kalai hopped up so she could grab the ball, but another Little One shoved her from behind, knocking her to the ground. Her eyes watered as the crowd laughed.
“Here, Master,” the lad that caught the ball said, tossing it to another friend.
The five Little Ones sung and danced around Kalai as she sat and watched. Day after day, it was the same thing, just because she was the tiniest and the last one in class who learned how to control her being. She hated school because of it. There was never an end, much to her surprise. She thought that once she got control of her being, things would change, but from the looks of it, children’s garden was going to be the worst place in the world for her, regardless.
“What nonsense do you brats think you are doing?” a voice behind them said.
The five Little Ones froze and turned around. Behind them stood a tall and lanky Young One, seventeen years old. Her form was solid, athletic, with powerful thighs that told of their ability to jump two stories high, and defined arms that epitomized all the work she did at the sparring grounds and in the fields. Her tentacles were a deep cobalt blue from the base down. She crossed her arms, their color as vibrant as fresh grass, having gotten a perfect tan in the suns. Her full lips were jungle green, known for producing a sound that even made the silas stop and succumb to it in awe. And her eyes, piercing as ever, were still brighter than a full moon.
While Aly’s beauty put other mastras to shame, however, she didn’t even know it did. Years of being harassed and belittled blinded her to whatever physical qualities others saw as clear as day. She thought the young lads her age were still being nice to her out of pity’s sake, and the mastras didn’t bother looking her in the face because she was definitely too tall for their liking. Regardless, it didn’t matter anymore. At least she was of some use to others. At least she could tell little ingrates to “piss off.”
“Can you lot not speak up?” Aly asked as she glared at every Little One. “Perhaps it is because someone has found you in the wrong, yes? Have you no shame?”
The five Little Ones backed up, one by one.
“W-we have no reason to be scared of you, Aly the Weird,” one of the lads said, still backing away.
“Truly? Then perhaps I should tell your mammais and pappais of the insult you bear on their names when I am to see them in the fields this evening, yes? I wonder, how long would they keep you from my pappai’s bakery, then? Truly, that be a travesty indeed.”
Aly took one step forward and grinned when the five took two steps back.
“Boo.”
The Little Ones scattered, leaving Kalai and the dankerball. Aly picked the light blue sphere up, and knelt beside the mastra. When she offered the ball to Kalai, the Little One grabbed it, and kept her head down.
“My thanks, Aly,” the Little One whispered.
“Hey.” Aly lifted the Little One’s chin up. “There be nothing of interest on the gravel. Truly, you cannot see the stars if you are to always look down, yes? Do not let them see you despair.”
As Aly helped the Little One up, she saw Teacher about to come over. He paused, smiled at her, and spun around to check on the rest of the class.
The Young One rubbed Kalai on the head. “Fret not. Truly, it shall get better.”
“Do you mean they shall stop picking on me?”
Aly twirled a finger around one of her tents and cleared her throat. “I fear I cannot grant such promises. Be that as it may, the confidence in yourself shall improve one day to the point that such people as that no longer trouble you, if you be strong enough in your own mind.”
“Oh.” Kalai tossed the ball up a little and caught it. “Truly, I would rather them stop altogether. Perhaps if I sang or were as pretty as you, they would leave me be.”
“Well, I am not sure if I am as fair as you say I be,” Aly said, giggling. “Be that as it may, take each day as a blessing, yes? And even when ones are not as favorable as others, perhaps you cannot appreciate the great days without having the bad ones.”
“Hmm. I never thought of it in that way. Perhaps this one be right, Mastra.”
“Perhaps. Now, off you go, Kalai. It seems Teacher is about to begin your sessions.”
Kalai hugged Aly by the leg, handed her the dankerball, and ran off to get in line. As Aly placed the ball in a bag, the Little One turned around, and watched Aly put her blue robe over her workout attire.
“Can you not stay here for the day?” she asked.
Aly laughed. “Indeed, I cannot! I have finished my workout, thus I must hurry off to my own learning sessions. Fret not. Perhaps I shall see you at my pappai’s store this evening, yes?”
Kalai nodded and turned back around. As Teacher counted the roll, he waved at Aly as she headed off to her class. Catty, Requai, and Glani were also waving, quite energetically as a matter of fact, at the Young One when she made it to the old red dirt road moments later.
“Be quick, you foolish thing!” Catty stomped the ground when the school bell rang, and took off. “You are to make us late!”
Aly rolled her eyes as she ran with her and the others. “For years, this one has made the same fuss, yet I cannot recall a single time in which I ever made you late, ‘Little Mistress.’ And who is to say you must wait on me anyways?”
Glani rubbed her eyelids and grumbled. “Truth’s Grace, it be too early in the morning for both of your childish rants.”
“You only whine because you stayed up too late talking with Joquin the prior night,” Requai said. “It be not their fault that you saw the need to flap your lashes about as a fly.”
“I most certainly was not!”
Catty covered her ears. “Enough. You all are to give me a headache.”
As her three friends kept arguing, Aly slid to the rear a little so she wouldn’t catch any more of the assault than she already had. As she and the others hurried off to class, the Young One breathed in the fresh morning air, chilled and smooth with the dew gliding down the grass. The first sun’s heat was soft and pleasant against her skin as the mountains seemed to hold the yellow ball in the pink and navy-blue sky.
Aly smiled as she wondered what other people across the galaxy did while prepping for their boring and uneventful days. Maybe there was another Young One looking at her local star and thinking the same thing. The world was such a fascinating place, if one took the time to think about it. She hoped Little Ones like Kalai would come to a point of realizing the good could triumph over the bad at times, if they were willing to look hard enough. It took Aly her entire life to come to that conclusion, and she knew the early years of her childhood suffered dearly because of it.
But now she had hope for better days, even when she still couldn’t control her inner being. There was more to her than that, after all, and definitely more to life. Her best friend made her realize that three years ago.
On Gooliun, one fought, learned, and worked. Aly did all three of these, especially fight. However, it wasn’t the fighting that required throwing kicks, punches, or blocks. No, she fought for a peace of mind, a peace she hoped she could reflect to others. And that was the most honorable thing a Goolian could do: to put others beyond self. After all, “there be nothing beyond the tribe.”
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