Chapter Text
Lloyd sighed as he hung his head upside down off the classroom deck, his eyes darting from one running kid to another. They're not coming today, are they…? After a few moments, he made a face to himself and sat up. Maybe I should ask a teacher?
Suddenly, from around the corner, he heard a familiar voice happily chatting away. He spun around and pushed himself off the deck, dusting off his pants from the odd amount of sand on the boards.
Harumi, slightly taller than Lloyd, came around the corner gossiping about something to Maisy, her best friend with long, light brown hair and freckles. Lloyd happily stood taller and smiled at them as they came closer.
“Hi, Rumi! Hi, Maisy!” He grinned and waved with both of his hands.
Harumi turned to face forward and stopped in front of Lloyd with a small smile, while Maisy beside her tried and failed to hide her discomfort.
“Hey, Lloyd. Do you know where Ms Flower is?” Harumi stood on her tiptoes for a moment to attempt to look inside their classroom.
Lloyd shook his head slightly. “No, but I wanted to find her. Kai and Nya aren't showing up and—”
“The bell hasn't even gone yet. They're probably just caught up on the road,” Maisy said matter-of-factly, crossing her arms.
Harumi nodded. “Yeah, they probably are. If they don't show up, though, you can sit with us for morning tea and lunch time!” she quickly suggested.
Maisy’s eyes went wide as she frantically looked between Harumi and Lloyd. “Uh—Ah—But—” She leaned in and covered her mouth as she attempted to whisper into Harumi’s ear: “But he can't know about Sky’s crush on—”
Harumi waved Maisy away from her ear and huffed. “No, I want Lloyd to sit with us, and what I say goes because I’m the leader.” She closed her eyes smartly and placed her hands on her hips as if proving a point.
Maisy gasped. “What?! No! That's not fair!” she whined and stamped her foot on the concrete.
Lloyd drew a quick breath and realised now was the time to slink away into the shadows as he was so used to doing. He swallowed hard as Harumi fired back and backed away around the other side of the deck. The moment he was out of sight, he booked it around the back of the class and up the hill into the orchard behind the row of classrooms.
Usually an out-of-bounds area, but of course Lloyd seemed to be an exception as all the teachers turned a blind eye, feijoa trees, apple trees, lemon, lime, and orange trees, and even a few olive trees all stood tall and healthy, taken care of by the school groundskeeper. Although they were all spread out and planted in neat rows in their own sections, they still created what counted as a forest to little kids. A chain link fence separated the overgrown area further up the hill and the orchard, and just against the opposite side of it grew lemon grass, and Lloyd aimed for exactly that.
I hope I didn't just ruin their friendship… Lloyd worried and played with his fingers anxiously as he trudged up the hill. Rumi will never like me then… He came up to the fence and reached over it to rip off a few stems of a lemon grass bush, still covered in morning dew. He began slowly chewing on it to try to distract his mind from the stress of the day that had barely begun. I wonder who Sky is… and who she has a crush on that Maisy deemed important enough for me not to know…
Lloyd sighed again and leaned against the fence despite its dampness. I suppose I have a good chance of finding out at morning tea time if Kai and Nya don't show up, he looked up over the school’s buildings and at the road leading down into the car park. I hope they did just get stuck on the road.
“So, can everyone please get out their writing books and open to a fresh new page! I want to see your best handwriting for the date!” Ms Flower called over the sudden increase in volume as kids rushed off the mat and to their tote trays. Her smile faded slightly as she looked around the classroom. She sighed and stood up from her chair to write the date on the whiteboard.
Lloyd bit his lip, the last to stand up from the mat. He quietly came up beside Ms Flower and held his hands in front of him, sliding his toes against the ground. “Ms Flower?”
Ms Flower quickly turned around at the voice of a student, and her smile came back as she saw Lloyd shyly glancing up at her. She closed the lid of the marker in her hand, squatting down to be eye-level with Lloyd. “Yes, Lloyd?”
Lloyd felt a knot in his throat, but forced the words out of his mouth anyway. “Where are Kai and Nya today?” He fiddled with his fingers, struggling to keep eye contact with his teacher.
“Well, the roll says that they’re out of class due to family reasons,” Ms Flower paused to quietly clear her throat and lean in closer to Lloyd. “But between you and me, I think they're being adopted today!” she whispered giddily to Lloyd, raising her eyebrows.
Lloyd gasped, and his eyes sparkled with joy. “Really?! That's so awesome! They're gonna have parents again! And their own room!!” He excitedly shook his fists, remembering his and Kai’s conversation about getting adopted. Ms Flower chuckled softly until Lloyd abruptly froze in thought. “Wait, if they get their own room, they won't have anything to put on the walls yet! Ms Flower, may I please draw them a picture to put up in their new room?” Lloyd clasped his hands together and put on what he liked to call his most ‘non-dad-like’ face.
“Hm…” Ms Flower glanced over the room of kids happily copying down the date and chatting amongst themselves. She smiled and side-glanced back at Lloyd. “I’ll see if I can work an art lesson into today's schedule.” She winked.
Lloyd suppressed his complete happiness but still couldn't help but jump on the balls of his feet with a grin. “Thank you, Ms Flower!” he whispered, not so quietly, and ran off towards his tote tray, away from everyone else's except for Kai’s and Nya’s. Taking out his writing book and sitting down at a table, he grabbed a pencil. He thought about his every movement. He would be on his very best behaviour for the marginally higher chance of getting art time today.
I should draw the adventure we went on last week! That would look totally epic! Lloyd smiled to himself and stuck his tongue out slightly as he focused on writing a little note for himself in the corner of the page. Just in case he forgot his idea later. They're gonna love it.