Meet Me at the Playground

by kiwii_gum

Summary:

A collection of pre-canon stories exploring Wim, Neel, Fern, and KB's lives and friendships before episode 1.

Notes:

These stories are gonna be released in chronological order (according to my headcanon ^-^). Before each chapter I’ll include how old the kids are. According to Wookiepedia all the kids were born around 1 BBY (making them like 10 during the events of Skeleton Crew), but I’m gonna take some creative liberties and change it up a bit. For the purposes of this fic, these are the kids’ birth years: Wim - 1 BBY, Neel - 1 BBY, KB - 2 BBY, Fern - 3 BBY.

Chapter 1: Big Day Ahead of You

Summary:

Wim and Neel's first day of school.

Notes:

Year: 4 ABY; Wim: age 5, grade 1; Neel: age 5, grade 1.

“Wake up, sunray!”

A sweet voice awoke Wim, greeting him to a new day. The voice came from his mother, who was sitting on the edge of his bed. She stroked her hand through his hair and planted a kiss on his forehead.

“Good morning, mama,” the young boy whispered. He blinked his eyes open, adjusting them to the brightness of the sun shining through his bedroom window.

“Good morning, my sweet child,” she replied. “It’s time to get up now. You have a big day ahead of you!”

His mother left the room and walked downstairs, leaving Wim to change out of his pajamas and into his new school uniform. The previous night his mother had ironed his clothes for the special occasion, and his father had warned him not to get it dirty. But Wim was so excited for a new adventure that he put his clothes on as fast as he could, hoping to expedite the process so that there would be more time for play. His school jacket was hanging neatly on a hanger from his bedroom door, but when he tried grabbing it, it wouldn’t come off. So, in typical school child fashion, he yanked it as hard as he could. His hands moved faster than his mind could keep up and suddenly he heard a loud rip.

“Oh no!” he gasped. Examining his jacket, he noticed a tear where the hanger had been. Nervous, he stuffed his jacket into his backpack, hoping his parents wouldn’t ask him about it.

“Wim? Breakfast!”

His father’s voice beckoning him, the young boy ran downstairs. Taking a seat at the table, he grabbed the Choco Crunchies cereal and poured a generous amount into his bowl. Next, he added a dash of cold blue milk, not too much or else the Crunchies would get soft too fast.

“Where’s your jacket?” his father asked.

Before he could answer, Wim stuffed his face with a spoonful of cereal.

“Mmm mm mm!”

“Wim, it’s rude to speak with food in your mouth.”

He swallowed, then proceeded to answer, “I don’t know.”

“How can you not know! We just got it ready for you yesterday,” his father huffed.

“Wim, are you telling the truth?” his mother asked him, gently yet firm.

The boy looked away, sheepish and guilty.

“What happened?”

“Promise you won’t get mad?” the boy pleaded.

“Wim…” his father started, but his mother cut him off. “Promise,” she said.

He pointed at his backpack, which was lying on the floor. His mother walked over to it and grabbed the jacket from the bag, holding it up to examine it. She hummed as she inspected the jacket. Wim hid his face in his hands.

“Oh dear,” she sighed. “Wendle, fetch my sewing kit.”

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Wim’s father had already left for work, leaving Wim with his mother at the hover-bus stop. A few meters to the left stood another young boy accompanied by his mother. The child was holding onto his mother’s hand.

All the initial excitement he’d felt about his new adventure subsided, leaving way for anxiety to fill his body. Wim fidgeted, standing on his tippy toes, then lowering his heels, repeating the motion. His hands squeezed a small plush Loth-cat, helping relieve some nerves. Still, he couldn’t help but feel anxious for his first day of school.

“Mama, I’m scared,” he whispered. His mother kneeled down to look her son in the eyes.

“I know you are, sunray. It’s normal to feel anxious about school,” she said. “But I bet that that kid over there is feeling just as nervous as you are.” She pointed to the young, blue child. “Maybe you could help him be brave?”

Wim glanced over at the two figures. “How?” he asked.

“What if you showed him your toy? That might make him happy,” Wim’s mother suggested.

Wim looked down at his plush, then over to the other child, then to his mother, who gave him a nod. He walked over to the family and waved a small hello.

“Hi,” he began. “I’m Wim, and this is Bean.” He held his Loth-cat up. “What’s your name?”

The little boy stood behind his mother and looked down at his shoes. The woman rubbed his back and whispered something in his ear. The kid took a deep breath and replied, “I’m Neel.”

The two boys stood awkwardly, Neel still hiding behind his mother. Wim turned around to look at his mom, who gave him a big smile and a thumbs up. A boost of confidence rushed through Wim, and his earlier excitement returned.

“Bean is a Loth-cat. She is very moody, but she actually likes it when I squeeze her.” He demonstrated, squeezing the plush in his hand. “My parents gave me Bean for my birthday. She helps me feel better when I feel scared,” Wim confessed. Neel hung on his every word, having found the courage to look Wim in the eyes. “Do you wanna hold her?” Wim offered.

Neel peeked at his mom, who gave him a nod. Stepping forward, Neel accepted the plush and held her gently.

“She’s soft,” he said. He stroked the Loth-cat with his thumb, a small smile appearing on his face.

“I think she likes you,” Wim said.

Just as Wim’s mom began to approach them, the hover-bus came. Neel gasped, surprised and not ready to go. He turned to his mom and held onto her, his trunk sniffling. Wim faced his own mom, who hugged him and whispered in his ear, “I’m so proud of you, sunray.” He hugged her back, squeezing her tightly like he did Bean.

“I love you, mama,” he said.

“I love you too, sweet child,” she replied instinctively, before retracting. “I’ll be right here waiting for you when school is over,” she promised.

Stepping onto the hover-bus, Wim waved his mom goodbye before entering fully. He walked down the aisle, observing all the children. The younger kids sat in the front and the older kids sat in the back. Understanding the unspoken rule, Wim found an empty seat in the front half of the hover-bus.

Setting his backpack down, he looked out the window to find Neel still clinging onto his mother. The little child, who was sobbing, was still holding onto Wim’s plush.

“Citizen, the craft will be departing in 30 seconds,” said the droid at the front of the hover-bus. Giving her child one last squeeze, the woman beckoned for Neel to enter the bus. He stood at the front of the bus with his head down, rubbing his hand against his trunk, petrified with fear and sadness. Wim could tell that Neel was still nervous, and he thought about what his mom had said earlier. Maybe Neel needed a friend who could help him be brave.

“Hey, Neel!” Wim called out. Neel looked up to see Wim waving his hand. “Come sit with me!”

Neel walked over to Wim and took a seat next to him. He had the hiccups from having cried so much.

“I know you’re feeling scared or maybe sad,” Wim began. “But it’s gonna be okay.”

“How do you know that?” Neel whimpered, though he wasn’t crying anymore.

“Because we’re friends!” Wim exclaimed triumphantly.

“We are?”

“Yeah!”

“We are!” Neel squealed.

Side by side, the two new friends began their journey to At Attin Primary School together.

Notes:

thanks for reading! kb and fern's story will come, just later since in my headcanon they meet when they're a bit older. so please look forward to that when it comes!

comments and kudos are always appreciated! and feel free to leave any requests or suggestions for future stories. thanks again and i'll see you next time!

Chapter 2: Games on the Holopads

Summary:

The school issues each student their own holopad.

Notes:

Year 4 ABY; Wim: age 5; Neel: age 5.

The first week of school flew by, and in just 7 days Wim had already learned so much. He was learning how to read, how to count, all about different creatures and animals. It was all a bit overwhelming, being fed so much new information in such little time. But Wim reveled in the novelty of school.

The second week of school had started, and Wim thought that he’d already been exposed to every subject they were going to be taught. But his instructors surprised him when they shared that this was only scratching the surface of education. His teachers teased the class by revealing an elective called “History of the Old Republic,” and how there was a war between good guys and bad guys, but didn’t say any further than that.

He raised his hand and asked them to continue, to keep telling the story of the good guys but the teacher shut him down, saying that he would learn more in due time. He’d asked when, and they’d said in a few years, when he’s old enough and “more mature.” Wim slumped in his seat, defeated and curious beyond his mind. School was meant to be a place where he could learn cool stuff, not be told that he’s not “mature” enough, whatever that meant. But if “mature” meant learning about good guys fighting bad guys, then give Wim an extra portion because he so desperately wanted to hear about adventures.

 

Later, as the droid was wrapping up the lesson on sight words, someone knocked on the classroom door. The kids all shifted in their seats to see who their unexpected guest could be. The droid opened the door, revealing a grown-up woman pushing in a cart with a crate. As soon as the kids saw it, they began bombarding the woman with questions like, “Who are you?” and more importantly, “What’s in the crate?”

“Settle down, students,” the droid demanded, but the kids only quieted down after the third or fourth time it spoke.

“This is Assistant Instructor Lana,” the droid introduced the woman. “She has something very special to give to you all.”

“Indeed,” said Lana. “Inside this crate is a gift for each of you students from the Supervisor themself.”

The students sighed in awe; the Supervisor was still unfamiliar to them, but from everything they’d been told so far, they must be really important.

“Because of their generous donation, the school has been equipped with technological devices that you will all be expected to use to assist in your lesson enrichments.”

The class looked at her with glassed-over eyes. She sighed.

“You will be given a holopad–”

Suddenly, the class erupted in cheers. They’d only seen older kids using holopads, and most of their parents didn’t allow them to use their work-issued datapads to play on. A personal holopad was a dream come true!

“Students, settle down,” the droid commanded.

“Yes, as I was saying,” Lana huffed. “You are expected to use your holopad to help with your homework. There are already a few applications downloaded on them. You may take them home today, but remember to bring them to school tomorrow as there will be a class wide assembly on how to operate them.”

Lana started walking down the aisles of desks, handing each student a holopad. The kids were practically jumping for joy in their seats. Who could blame them? The school just gave each of them a new toy, and it wasn’t even Life Day!

When Lana handed Wim his holopad, he held it in his hands triumphantly, gazing upon it like he’d found buried treasure. He turned around to watch Neel receive his, and immediately struck up a conversation.

“Neel, isn’t this the best?” the young boy squealed.

“I know! This is gonna make math homework so much easier!”

Wim laughed. “How can you only think of boring things?”

“Math isn’t boring,” Neel protested.

“It is, too,” Wim defended his claim. “Think about all the games we could play on the holopad!”

“Oh, yeah,” said Neel. “I didn’t think of that.”

“Do you think it has Flight Simulator on it? Yesterday I heard a big kid saying that they played it.”

“I don’t know. Ask the teacher.”

Wim raised his hand again. “Are there any games on the holopads?”

Lana chuckled dryly, mostly at the boy's question.

“Child, did you not hear what I said earlier?” she asked tauntingly.

Wim was confused, and it showed on his face.

“These holopads are for educational purposes only.”

“But Flight Simulator is edu-educativenal!” Wim argued.

“Flight Simulator is not educativenal, mostly because that is not a real word,” she scoffed. “The Supervisor has instructed the School Board to prohibit recreational use of the holopads.” She looked Wim in the eyes. “That means no games.”

The whole class booed, with Wim feeling embarrassed for having asked in the first place. Before he could sulk for long, the end of day bell rang, ushering students to pack up their bags hastily.

“Do not forget to complete homework tasks 2.5 and 2.6!” the droid cried.

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“I’m home!” Wim shouted as he entered his house.

“Hello, sunray!” His mother greeted him with a hug and a kiss. “How was your day at school?”

She asked him the same question every weekday, and his answer was always: “Good.”

She walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a plate, placing it on the dining table and beckoning Wim to take a seat. He walked over and sat down, eating his afterschool snack of pretzels and fruit snacks.

“Your father is going to be late today,” his mother said. “So we might have to order take out. Is that okay–”

The woman barely had any time to ask Wim his thoughts before he replied excitedly: “Yes!”

She laughed, never at Wim but rather at his whimsy and enthusiasm.

“If you complete your homework before 1700 hours, I’ll let you choose what we have for dinner. How does that sound?”

“You got yourself a deal,” Wim replied, sticking out his hand to shake hers.

“Very well, my good sir,” she said jokingly in response. She took his hand and shook it vigorously, resulting in giggles from the young boy.

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Papers were scattered all over Wim’s desk. His bedroom floor was a minefield of toys, his feet always a few steps away from a brick block or action figure. Mess was Wim’s sanctuary; it was his mind’s way of making sense of the world. He needed to see everything laid out in front of him to be able to understand it. In theory, his new holopad should help him visualize school concepts better. That is, if he could remember how to get it to work.

“Mom!!” Wim yelled. A few seconds later, his mom showed up at his door.

“What is it, Wim?’

“I need help with my holopad.”

“Wow, where did you get that?” his mom asked curiously, kneeling beside Wim by his desk.

“They gave each of us one at school,” Wim explained. “They want us to use it for homework.”

“I see. So what’s the issue?”

“I…” Wim blushed. “I can’t get it to work.”

“Hmm, well I think I can help, but I need you to be a little more specific,” she prompted.

“I don’t remember how to find stuff on it.”

“May I see it for a second?”

Wim handed his mom the holopad. She studied it, pressing a button to turn it on. The screen glowed blue, requesting a password.

“It needs a password to unlock it,” she explained. “Did you try your school ID number?”

“Oh,” Wim gasped. He typed in his ID and lo and behold, the holopad was unlocked revealing several applications: everything from the graphing calculator to the note taking app, but no games.

“There we go,” his mother said. “Is that all you need?”

“Yeah,” he said sadly. His mind was still thinking about how the assistant instructor had laughed at him.

“Is something wrong, dear?” his mom asked gently.

“The teacher laughed at me at school,” Wim confessed.

“Oh dear,” his mother sighed. She scooped him into a big hug, soft and protective. “I’m sorry about that. How did it make you feel?”

“Bad,” Wim said.

“Bad as in angry or embarrassed?” she offered. Wim took a moment to think.

“What’s ‘embarrassed?’”

“‘Embarrassed’ is when someone makes you feel bad, like you did something wrong even when you didn’t,” his mom explained. “Did you feel embarrassed when the teacher laughed at you?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, that wasn’t very nice of her. I’m sorry, Wim,” his mom said. “Do you want me to talk to her about it?”

Wim took another pause to think. If his mom said something, it might make the teacher embarrassed, and he didn’t want that.

“No,” he decided.

“Alright.”

He snuggled into his mother, feeling his embarrassment wash away.

“Can I ask what it was that you said or did?” his mom inquired.

“Well, I just asked if there were any games on the holopad,” Wim recounted. “And she said no and laughed. I didn’t even tell a joke!”

“I know, sunray,” his mom said. “And honestly, what kind of holopad doesn’t have any games?”

“Exactly!” Wim cried, feeling indignant that the stuffy assistant instructor couldn’t understand that, but justified that his mother did. “I really wanted to play Flight Simulator.”

“Oh yes, I remember you telling me the other day at the playground.”

His mother pulled away gently, with a thoughtful look on her face. She grabbed the holopad again and began scrolling on it, away from Wim’s sight.

“What if…” she whispered. She continued to scroll and tap, more intensely this time. “Aha!”

“What is it, mama?”

“I downloaded a game for you,” she said triumphantly. She handed him the holopad. “It’s no Flight Simulator, it’s really just a math game, but it’s a hologame nonetheless.”

“How’d you do that?” Wim asked, already playing.

“Oh, you know, just some administrative bypassing and system hacking,” she said casually. Wim’s eyes widened at the last word, at his mother’s air of mystery and coolness.

“You're the best mom ever!!” he shouted.

“I’ll take that as a ‘thank you,’” she said with a laugh. “Now get back to work, young man!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Wim called out, saluting at his mom.

 

Later that night, after his homework was finished, Wim and his parents had a delicious noodle bowl take out for dinner.

Notes:

thanks for reading, i hope you enjoyed! comments and kudos are always appreciated!

up next: [edit] the kb and fern chapter. i will try to post it before the month is over >.< !!

Chapter 3: Skid Marks on the Driveway

Summary:

Fern goes to tutoring.

Notes:

Year 6 ABY; Fern: age 9; KB: age 8.75 | CW: Implied abuse (very light, mostly strict mother Fara but one mention of injury).

Ding dong ding dong

The bell rang signaling the end of another school day. While most kids waited until their teachers dismissed them, one girl always rushed out of the doors early, eager to beat the crowd of students. Despite the instructor droids’ measly attempts at stopping her, nothing could keep Fern from charging forward.

Fern, the undersecretary’s daughter, was expected to be home at 1500 hours sharp.
Fern, the rebellious student, got to choose the means by which she returned home.

She hopped on her hoverbike and took off at the speed of light, nearly knocking over a schoolchild. After an excruciating day of school, and a particularly difficult math class, Fern was glad to be done. Feeling the wind flow through her two braids, she weaved in between traffic recklessly, squeezing between bus-crafts and hover-cars. A ticked off driver honked loudly, but instead of feeling remorse, Fern felt a surge of zeal, like electricity was coursing through her veins with each dangerous maneuver of her bike. She glided over a puddle, splashing her uniform with mud, resulting in a gleeful laugh from the young girl. Her record time home was 13 minutes and 49 seconds, and that was when she took shortcuts to avoid traffic jams and stop signs. Sure, her methods might be a bit kamikaze, but the dangers of racing paled in comparison to the fear she felt of her disappointed mother.

Undersecretary Fara did not accept failure. That was abundantly clear to Fern, who was subject to frequent talking to’s and hand slaps. Despite being against school dress code, she wore fingerless gloves whenever she got a chance so she could hide the red slashes of shame her mother’s beam left on her hands. That is, until the hall monitor droid would catch her and make her take them off. She’d claim that she had a skin infection whenever kids would point out her bruises, telling wicked stories about how she’s secretly a zombie and that if they kept asking her about it then she'd bite them and spread her disease. Terrified, they’d run away, warning every kid around them to stay as far away from Fern. Pff, typical 6 year olds. Tricking gullible scaredy Loth-cats made Fern chuckle, but it always left her feeling a weird mix of guilt and pity. When those feelings came crawling into her mind, she’d run –- as far and as fast as her environment would let her. Usually, that happened at school, and along with the Bantha crap “no accessories” rule, the hall monitors were quick to call her out for running in the hallways. One way or another, Fern would always find herself in trouble.

That was just how things were. At school, at home: there was no escape. But on her hoverbike, Fern felt free. She was in control, like she was the Supervisor of her own life. She would never understand how her mother felt so secure, and more than that, so satisfied that her life was completely surrendered to the “Great Work.” Fern was so happy to be a kid: no strings attaching her to a pre-written destiny.

She was coming up on her neighborhood, just one more right turn at the intersection. Thank the stars, her mother’s hover-car wasn’t in the driveway. She was riding so fast that she had to make a sharp turn as she arrived home, barely missing the side of her house. She had crashed into the garage once before, which had gone down just like every other time she’d made a mistake in front of her mother. For her transgression, she was grounded for a week and forced to mow lawns to earn back the money it would cost to repair the garage door. It's not like she needed to do that; her mother was already undersecretary even back then. She just liked to see her suffer.

Fern walked up to the front door and entered the house code. As the door opened, she stepped inside and kicked off her shoes.

“Greetings, Miss Fern,” the nanny droid addressed her.

“Hey,” she said without looking at it. “How much time do I have?”

“I estimate your mother will arrive in 8 minutes, if she does not stay at work late.”

“Yes!” 8 minutes till her mom arrived meant that it only took Fern 12 minutes to get home. She did a little happy dance before throwing her backpack on the floor and making a beeline to the fridge.

“Do not forget that you have tutoring this afternoon at 1700 hours,” the nanny droid reminded Fern.

Ugh. She’d managed to go the entire day without remembering that her mother had signed her up for pre-quantum algebra tutoring. Opening the fridge door, Fern grabbed a meiloorun yogurt, then opened a drawer to find a spoon. She didn’t bother closing the door or the drawer; the nanny droid was two steps behind her ready to tidy the house.

“May I suggest, Miss Fern, that you freshen up before the arrival of Undersecretary Fara?”

Good call. A clean appearance would put Undersecretary Fara in a good mood. Fern chowed down her yogurt quickly before rushing to the fresher to fix herself up.

She studied her face in the mirror, where mud had dried on her cheeks and uniform. She turned on the faucet and wet a towel before rubbing the mud off of her face. Next, she removed her uniform, when she suddenly heard:

“Fern, I'm home!”

Her mother’s voice rang through the house. Fern quickly tossed her jacket into the laundry basket and finished up before stepping out into the living room.

“Hey, mom.”

“I do not appreciate you leaving skid marks on the driveway, young lady.”

Young lady. For some reason, Fern hated being called “young lady.” Her mother had high expectations of what a “lady” should be like: proper, poised, placid.

“In any case, do not forget that you have tutoring this afternoon,” her mother continued. “I expect you to take yourself to the library and stay the entire time. No need for any creative outbursts today, hmm?”

Creative outburst certainly violated “Young Lady Law Code” numbers 1 and 2, and sometimes even 3.

“Yes, mother,” Fern said before picking up her backpack and heading upstairs.

“One more thing, Fern,” Fara called out. “Where is your school jacket?”

Crud. “It’s… in my bag,” Fern fibbed.

“Very well. Just make sure to take it out soon so as to not get it wrinkled.”

 

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Time flew by fast, and before long, it was time to go to tutoring. Fern snuck back downstairs to grab her jacket out of the fresher, hoping that her mother hadn’t looked through the laundry basket. Fortunately, the jacket was still there, though it smelled a bit musty. She turned it inside out, so that the blue fabric was exposed. Shaking the article of clothing, she felt a pit in her stomach, a worry that came with this new session of tutoring. Math was not Fern’s strongest subject, not that she had a “strong” subject anyway, but math made her head spin so fast it would practically fly off her body. Math made her feel weak, and weakness was a pathway for vulnerability. Hoping to fight the fear, she looked in the mirror and said, “You can do this, Fern. You can do anything.”

With her backpack in hand, Fern called out: “Bye, I’m going to tutoring!” She stepped out the door and climbed onto her hoverbike, riding away.

The library was only a few blocks away, being a little closer than school was. A few families were outside, some on walks, others playing slapball. Two boys were drawing with chalk on the sidewalk, the characters holding what appeared to be lightsabers.

Fern turned to the library parking lot and left her bike behind as she entered the building. The library was large, with rows upon rows of shelves stacked with scrolls of ancient texts. Fern had never bothered to pick one up and read; she spent most of her free time exploring the outdoors. She walked over to a group of teens sitting at a table, where a droid stood in front of them.

“Greetings, this is advanced lightspeed calculations tutoring,” the droid announced. “You are 27 minutes late.”

“Oh, uh, wrong table.” Fern blushed as some of the teens giggled.

She quickly walked away with her head down, not noticing that amongst the teens was a young girl who watched her with curiosity.

Fern went over to the receptionist counter and asked the droid behind the desk where pre-quantum algebra tutoring was. The receptionist pointed her in the right direction, advising that she had 120 seconds until the start of the lesson. With a hustle in her step, Fern made her way over to the correct table.

She took a seat at the back of the table, taking out her school issued holopad and notebooks. The other students, who were much closer to her in age, followed suit. The instructor droid began their lesson, jumping right into the content they covered in class earlier that week. As the other kids began furiously writing in the journals, Fern’s attention went back to the advanced calc table. She noticed a kid who was a lot younger and smaller than the other students. She was sitting at the front of the table, hanging on the droid’s every word, nodding her head in understanding. She must be my age. And already taking advanced calc? I didn’t even know that was possible!

“Can any of you tell me the value of x squared? You in the back,” the droid called to Fern. “Please share your answer.”

“Huh?” How much did Fern miss? She was only out for a couple of seconds, tops!

“Uh… 10?”

“Negative. The correct answer is 54.48392…” the droid went on with the numbers as the other kids at Fern’s table giggled at her mistake. Great. Not even 5 minutes in and she’d already been laughed at twice. She felt embarrassment flush in her cheeks again, making it harder to focus. She shoved her things into her bag and shot up out of her seat.

“Sit down,” the droid demanded.

Fern did not comply.

“Where are you going?” one of the kids asked.

None of your business.

“To the fresher,” she lied.

“Breaks are not permitted. Sit down or you will be removed from the group.”

She walked out of the library and got on her bike, riding away from the library but not back home. She could still hear laughter in her ears, despite being completely alone. She felt tears in her eyes, tears that signaled her weakness, failure. She tried to will them back, resisting the temptation to cry. But she failed, succumbing to her emotions. Distracted, Fern didn’t notice the light pole coming up straight ahead of her as she wiped her eyes when suddenly she crashed. She was thrown off her bike, rolling onto the sidewalk, her bike taking a little damage.

“Are you okay?”

Fern looked up to see a figure glowing in the night, illuminated by the light pole above them. It was the smart girl from the library looking down at her.

“Uh, yeah,” Fern said, without thinking much about the pounding headache or the bruised legs. “I'm fine. I’ve been through worse.”

The girl looked shocked at that statement, disbelieving that someone could go through worse things than crashing into a light pole. Fern attempted to stand up but quickly fell back down, wincing at the pain in her leg and head.

“Here, let me help you,” the girl offered. She kneeled beside Fern, taking her backpack off and opening up the biggest compartment. She took out a smaller bag inside, and emptied the items. She grabbed a slab made of blue material, something unfamiliar to Fern.

“It’s not much, but hopefully it’ll help with the swelling.” The girl handed the slab to Fern, who looked at it quizzically.

“Umm…”

“It’s an ice pack,” the girl explained, no judgement in her voice. “My parents pack it for me to keep my food cold. Here.”

She placed it gently on Fern’s head. She winced at the contact, not yet knowing if this stranger was trustworthy. Physical touch only meant one thing to Fern: punishment.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to make it hurt,” the girl apologized. She retracted her hand, allowing Fern to hold the ice pack. She went back to rummaging her bag, looking for anything else to help alleviate Fern’s pain. Fern studied her, how her brows furrowed with earnestness, how she was sifting through the smaller compartment of her bag, how her hair was silver, but when the light hit it at a certain angle it appeared to shine blue…

“Found it!” The girl held up a bandage roll. “May I put this on you?”

“W-what?” Not only was Fern distracted by her shiny, silvery-blue hair, but that was the first time anyone had asked for her permission to approach her.

“If you’re okay with it, I want to put a bandage on your leg. It looks like it’s bleeding.”

A small crimson stain formed on Fern’s pants near her right knee. She must've scraped her knee when she rolled onto the sidewalk. How fast was I riding?

“Crap,” she whispered. Her mother was not going to be pleased. Her mind started racing, attempting to come up with an excuse that her mother might buy. She didn’t notice how shallow her breathing became until the silver haired girl touched her hand and asked “Are you alright?”

Fern’s eyes shot down at the place of contact, then at the girl’s face. She looked worried, sad even. Then she looked at their hands and quickly retracted hers, suddenly looking sheepish.

“Sorry, sorry. I should’ve asked.”

“No, it’s–” Fern interjected. “It’s fine. I didn’t mind. And you can help with the bandage, if you want. Actually you know what, you don’t have to, I should probably go home–” She tried to get up, staying up for a couple of seconds before crouching in pain and sitting back down. Blast.

The girl rolled up Fern’s pant leg, then gingerly ran her fingers on where her leg was scraped. Her hands were warm and soft, tickling Fern slightly.

“Hold on, I think I might have some ointment.” She started rummaging through her bag again. “Can I ask you a question?” she asked Fern, who nodded in response. “Why are you skipping your tutoring session?”

“How do you know I’m skipping?”

“Because I saw you in the library. You were in the pre-quantum algebra group. Your session doesn’t end for another…” she counted in her head. “25 minutes. Why did you leave early?”

Fern sighed. “‘Cause…” I got embarrassed and scared and I hate math ‘cause it’s stupid but I know I need to go back or else my mom will kill me and–-

“Hey, you don’t have to answer. I shouldn’t have asked. It’s none of my business.”

She grabbed a bottle out of her bag and placed some ointment on Fern’s leg, then bandaged it in place. “There.”

“I suck at math,” Fern confessed, only revealing part of the truth. “I got scared and ran away because things got too hard.”

She couldn’t look the girl in the eyes. Sharing her true emotions wasn’t familiar to Fern, but so far the girl had done nothing but be nice to her. Maybe that was why it was so easy for her to spill her heart out like that to her. Either that, or the crash had really messed with Fern’s head.

“I suck at math, too,” the stranger-kid replied.

“What?” Fern blurted out. “That is such a lie. You’re taking advanced calc!”

“Yeah, but I’m not very good at it. That's why I’m in tutoring,” she said, not defensively but rather matter-of-factly.

“Oh.”

"Plus I’m not actually taking advanced calc, I’m only in tutoring because my moms want me to. They think it’s good if I get a head start or something. But honestly it was kinda my decision, too.”

“You have two moms?”

“Yeah.”

“That must be nice,” Fern whispered, imagining what it would be like to have not one but two parents who actually cared about their kid and what she had to say about her life.

“You know…” the girl started. “I could help you with math, if you wanted.”

Fern contemplated her offer. On the one hand, receiving help was one of the most embarrassing things Fern could ask for. Accepting help was a sign of defeat, of not being strong enough. Then again, the droid did say that she’d be kicked out of the group if she left, which she did. And her mother would be furious if she found out she was removed from the group, especially since Fern did skip. But how could she know the girl was being serious and not just saying something to make Fern feel better?

The girl took Fern’s silence as a negative, and started packing her bag again but didn’t ask for her ice pack back. She stood up, but before leaving asked one more question.

“Do you need help getting home?”

Fern shook her head. She wasn’t lying when she said she’d been through worse, and that time she had to walk home all the way from school.

“Okay then. Bye,” the girl said, turning on her heels.

“Hey, thank you…” Fern began.

“KB. My name’s KB,” the girl smiled.

“Thanks, KB.”

“No problem…”

“Fern.”

“That’s a pretty name.”

Fern blushed, not used to receiving compliments.

The girl started walking away, and as soon as Fern managed to get herself on her feet she ran over to her, limping but pushing through it. She caught up to her in a matter of seconds, tapping her shoulder. KB turned around.

“Hey, uh, we should hang out sometime,” Fern suggested, swinging her arms. “We don’t have to do math. We can just hang out for… fun?”

KB’s face lit up.

“Really?”

“Yeah, really! Do you wanna meet me at the playground tomorrow after school?”

“Wow, sure!”

“Perfect. See you then.” Fern smirked, feeling genuinely happy for the first time that day.

They waved goodbye and went their separate ways. For just a little while, Fern didn’t think about what her mother’s reaction would be about this creative outburst. She could only feel excited for tomorrow when she’d see her new friend with the silvery-blue hair and the pretty smile again.

Notes:

thank you so much for reading! as promised, i posted before the end of the month! i hope you liked it, especially since i did kinda switch it up and posted the kb and fern chapter, so i hope that's alright. i'm actually quite proud of this chapter, plus writing for fern is so much fun. there's so much ANGST i LOVE IT!

up next: the first playdate

Chapter 4: So You Think You Got What It Takes

Summary:

Fern and KB’s playdate.

Notes:

Year 6 ABY; Fern: age 9; KB: age 8.75.

KB checked the clock for the 4th, no 5th time of the day. The end of the school day couldn’t get there sooner. The previous day, KB had met a girl who not only listened to her, but talked back. She couldn’t remember the last time someone her age had given her the time of day. For so long she’d spent her after-schools at home, when she wasn’t at tutoring like her parents wanted. The feeling of loneliness in a room full of people had consumed her for so long and now that she’d met Fern, she had a chance to make a real friend.

The end of the school day finally arrived, and KB rushed to catch the bus home. She spent the bus ride humming, excitement and anticipation rising inside her. She thanked the droid as she hopped off at her stop and greeted her moms who were waiting for her.

“Hello, bunny!” Garree said. “How was your day?”

“It was good!” said KB, already running to the house. Garree and Maree looked at each other and smiled, walking at a slower pace where they could still keep KB in their sights. They couldn’t remember the last time KB arrived home so happy and with so much energy – it warmed their hearts to see their girl so bright.

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Maree and Garree accompanied KB to the park, each woman holding one of KB’s hands. When they reached the entrance of the park, KB let go of her moms’ hands and turned to face them.

“Be careful, KB,” Garree warned her. “I packed you an extra med pack in case you need it.” She handed KB her bag.

“Remember to comm if you need anything,” Maree added, before KB nodded in understanding and started to make her way to the playground.

“And have fun!” Maree called out before KB was out of their sights.

The youngling walked a few meters away before she heard her name.

“KB!”

She turned around to find Fern running toward her, then skidding to a stop moments before a potential crash. Fern liked to move, and she liked to move fast. Sometimes too fast for her own good, it seemed.

“Hello, Fern,” KB said happily. “What should we play?”

“Let’s go play on the monkey bars!” Fern decided. “Race you there!”

The two girls ran side by side, KB suddenly picking up speed and running ahead of Fern for a few instances. Fern gasped in surprise, suddenly feeling motivated to run faster. She reached the monkey bars before KB by only a fraction of a second.

“Wow, you’re fast,” Fern panted.

“Thanks!” KB said between breaths.

“But are you strong, too?” Fern challenged, already climbing the ladder to reach the bars. She swung with ease, reaching the other side in just a few seconds.

KB put down her bag, before climbing onto the monkey bars. She followed suit, taking about the same amount of time.

“Not bad,” Fern said. “But can you do this?”

She climbed once again, but that time she swung her body more intensely, alternating hands without taking a break. Then, once she reached the other side, she started to move backwards. She tapped her foot on the ladder rung, finishing her set.

“Impressive,” KB adjudicated, watching Fern step down. It was KB’s turn, and she was able to complete the forward set just as easily, but the second half of the exercise gave her some pause. She stayed hanging on the last bar, not moving backwards, just dangling her legs. From where Fern stood, it appeared that she was stuck.

“You can do this, KB!” Fern yelled. “It’s not that hard!”

KB wasn't afraid; she was just being cautious. Her mothers taught her that it was okay to slow down and take her time. She made silent calculations in her mind, deciding on the best course of action.

She must’ve paused for mere seconds before beginning her backwards swings. Taking careful motions, KB reached one hand behind her, then allowed her other arm to catch up before moving onto the next rod. Having taken double the time Fern did, she completed the course in one piece.

“You did it!” Fern cheered. “See, it wasn’t that bad.”

Before KB could say anything, Fern was already moving them to the next item on her agenda.

“Let’s play in the jungle gym now!”

“Wait,” KB protested. “We just played on the monkey bars and I’m a little tired.”

“Oh,” Fern said, not having considered that. “But I’m not tired.”

KB pondered for a second if it was worth it to argue. If she continued her protest, she wouldn’t tire so quickly, but Fern would get upset and leave her. But if she stayed quiet and complied, Fern would be happy and would still want to be her friend.

“Okay, we can play in the jungle gym,” KB complied.

“Alright!” Fern whooped, already making her way to the play structure. She immediately ran over there, though KB opted to walk, conserving some of her energy.

Laughter and hollering came from the side of the park where the jungle gym was. Kids of all ages and sizes were climbing the massive structure.

As the young girls reached the jungle gym, KB observed the ongoing organized game. She grabbed Fern’s arm, keeping her from running ahead without her and told her to wait a second.

“Why?” Fern questioned, taking her arm back.

“I think they’re in the middle of a game,” KB responded. “Look, see those kids that are sitting near the swings? I think they’re in time out. And those kids climbing the jungle gym? I think they’re racing.”

“Oh yeah. But why are the kids in time out? Did they do something wrong?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then let’s find out!” Fern resolved, looking for whoever was in charge of the game. KB felt a little embarrassed at how shamelessly Fern grabbed everyone’s attention.

“Hey! Who’s in charge around here?” she yelled.

“That would be me,” answered a kid almost a head taller than her. “What do you want?”

“We would like to join your game,” Fern stated.

“So you think you got what it takes, huh? Follow me.”

The big kid led Fern, who beckoned KB to keep up. Upon closer look, it seemed that the kids who were sitting by the swings were hurt, bruises on their arms and disappointment written all over their faces. As the girls walked over to the other side of the jungle gym, the kid introduced themself:

“I’m Rami, but it's Captain Rami to you.” They looked at Fern menacingly, attempting to intimidate her. Fern didn’t back down. Impressed, Rami continued: “This game is called ‘Climb the Mountain.’ The goal is simple: to climb the mountain as fast as you can. Here’s the twist: my troops are perched all around the jungle gym, ready to defend the treasure that sits on top. If you can grab the treasure, you become the new captain.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Fern said coolly.

“Hah!” Rami snorted. “We’ll just see about that. Anyway, this is your starting point. Wait for my signal to start.”

As Rami walked away, Fern started stretching, psyching herself up. KB, on the other hand, felt worry grow inside of her.

“Fern, I don’t know if this is a good idea,” KB said hesitantly.

“What are you talking about? It’s gonna be so awesome,” replied Fern.

“I don’t know. Those kids that were playing earlier were really aggressive.”

“Don’t worry,” Fern turned to face KB. She held her hands in fists, grounding her feet. “If they push you, just push them back!”

KB wasn’t sure she’d be able to do that. Before she could back out, Rami’s voice boomed: “ARE YOU READY?”

Every kid surrounding the jungle gym shouted and whooped, overwhelming KB. She could barely hear the countdown over the sound of children screaming, causing her to miss the start.

As she began climbing, she could see Fern was ahead by a few paces, trekking on fearlessly. KB was so focused on keeping Fern, her lighthouse, in her sights that she didn’t notice a kid sitting right above her.

“Ah!”

The kid laughed at her shock, then in one fell swoop, pushed her off the jungle gym. She went flying down, plopping onto the mulch. Defeated, she layed on the ground silent.

Nearing the top of the jungle gym, Fern climbed faster than all of the other kids. When one came her way, she just shoved them off to the side. Excited, she called out: “Isn’t this fun, KB?” When she didn’t get a response, she turned around, trying to find her.

“KB?”

She finally spotted her on the ground, with her eyes closed. She gasped, afraid that she might’ve gotten hurt. She glanced up, only a few inches away from reaching the treasure and dethroning the current captain.

Swiftly, she climbed down a few feet before jumping off the jungle gym and rushing to KB’s side.

“KB, are you okay?” she asked, exasperated.

KB blinked her eyes open.

“Fern?” she asked. “Did you win?”

“We have a winner!” Rami cheered. “Three cheers for your new captain!”

“What happened? Are you hurt?” Fern interrogated, ignoring the inauguration of the new captain.

“Somebody pushed me off,” KB explained.

“Who?”

“I didn’t see.”

Just then, a boy about their age came over and patted KB on the head.

“Aw, did I hurt you?” he taunted. “Next time don’t be such a pushover!”

“HEY!” Fern yelled. “Don’t talk to my friend like that.”

"Or else what?” the boy questioned. Fern stood up tall and took slow steps toward the boy.

“Or else I’ll grab you by the hair and pull each and every strand out until you’re left bald, then every kid in the school is gonna laugh at your shiny, bald head while you cry at night thinking about the time you called my friend a pushover and you’re gonna wish you’d never said anything,” Fern spoke in a quiet but steady tone. She didn’t flinch, she only narrowed her eyes, her nose only a hair’s distance away from his.

“Do you want to be bald?” she whispered. He shook his head fearfully. “Then leave my friend alone and don’t ever make fun of her again. Got that?” He nodded vigorously and ran away. Fern smirked at her new found power.

KB sat back in awe. If her moms were there, they would’ve told her to ignore the boy, pretend like she didn’t hear him and walk away. She was so cowardly, so afraid of confrontation that even looking someone in the eyes was hard sometimes. But Fern was the opposite; she revelled in arguments and was so strong and bold and valiant and pretty and–-

“Hey, you alright?”

KB snapped out of her thoughts, looking up to see Fern extending a hand to her. She took it, pulling herself up.

“Yeah,” she answered. Suddenly, she doubled over, feeling a sharp pain in her lower back. “Oof, maybe not.” She sat back down, taking another rest. Fern’s eyes couldn’t meet KB’s; something was troubling her.

“Fern?” KB began. “Are you alright?”

“I… I’m sorry I made you do something you didn’t want to do,” Fern confessed. “If only I hadn’t dragged you over here, maybe you wouldn’t have-–”

“Fern, I chose to go with you,” KB interrupted. “And I’m not mad at you. These sorts of things happen to me all the time,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Huh?”

“I get hurt a lot. That's why my moms make me take my bag with me everywhere,” she explained. “My bag!” she suddenly remembered, “where is it?”

Fern shot up and began her search, running from place to place, before returning and admitting, “I couldn’t find it.”

KB facepalmed. “I must’ve left it by the monkey bars! But that’s so far from here,” she sighed. “I don’t think I can walk that far.”

“Don’t worry,” Fern consoled. “I got you.”

She bent down and instructed, “Climb on.”

As Fern gave KB a piggyback ride, they both made their way back to the monkey bars.

“I see it!” KB cried.

“Yes!” Fern exclaimed, accelerating her speed. KB held onto Fern more tightly, feeling slightly bubbly from the close contact.

Once they reached the monkey bars, Fern let KB dismount before going over and grabbing the bag.

“Here you are,” she said triumphantly as she returned to KB, handing her the bag as a grand gesture.

“Why, thank you,” KB giggled. She rummaged through the bag and found the med pack. “Can you help me put it on?”

“Sure,” Fern grabbed the pack. “What do I do?”

“Just place it on my skin,” KB explained, pulling her shirt up. Fern did as she was told, placing the pack very gently on KB’s back.

“There,” she patted it in place. “Sorry if my hands were cold.”

“Thank you, Fern. You were really brave.”

“Ah, it was nothing,” Fern waved the compliment away.

“I mean it,” KB smiled. “I think you’re really cool.” She looked away shyly, before asking: “Do you… wanna be friends?”

She waited a few seconds, which felt more like hours to her before she heard a response from Fern.

“Are you kidding?” she laughed. “I thought we were already friends!”

“Oh,” KB felt slightly embarrassed for not having understood Fern’s grand gestures as a sign of friendship and not just a side effect of her gallantry and knightliness.

“And for the record,” Fern spoke up. “I think you’re really cool, too.”

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“KB!” Maree called out as soon as she spotted her daughter. “Ready to go home?”

After their eventful afternoon, KB and Fern decided to sit and chat for the remainder of their playdate. The sun had begun to set, coloring the sky in a beautiful orange and purple.

“I have to go now,” KB said sadly.

“Aw,” Fern replied.

“I had lots of fun! Maybe we could hang out again…?”

“Of course! We should hang out, like, every day!” Fern exclaimed unabashedly.

“Okay!” Fern said excitedly. For the first time in a while, she had a friend. A real friend. A good friend.

“KB!” her mom called out in singsong.

“I really have to go now,” the girl said. She stood up, but before she walked away she gave Fern a quick hug. She went away before Fern could see her blush.

Fern sat on the grass as she watched KB reunite with her parents from afar. Her moms greeted her with hugs and kisses. A few seconds later came a woman dressed in lavish garments, clothes that could only belong to an official.

“Fern, dear! It’s time to go home,” Fara sang in a voice that sounded artificially sweet. Once the girl approached, her mother’s face turned sour.

“Really, Fern, can you not go a day without ruining your clothes?” she said in a hushed, rough voice. Fern looked at her shoes, not responding.

Garree and Maree made their way over to Fara, Maree extending her hand and saying, “Hi, I’m Maree, and this Garree. We’re KB’s parents. It’s good to meet you.”

Fara looked at Maree’s hand and nodded in response, plastering a smile on her face that had been rehearsed many times.

“Mm, yes, likewise,” she hummed.

Garree glared at Fara, in a manner so subtle that she didn’t notice her groveling. Maree gave her a small pat on the arm and whispered in her ear: “It’s not worth it, darling.”

“Well, I would love to stay and chat more, but I believe it’s time for us to go home. Come along now, Fern.”

Fara whistled at Fern, a command that the girl understood at once and quickly obeyed.

“Bye, KB. Bye Mrs. Maree and Mrs. Garree.”

The family waved goodbye as they watched Fern leave with her mom.

“What a piece of work,” Garree said once the two were out of sight.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” Maree rebutted. “I’m sure she’s a lovely person, we just need to get to know her.”

Garree sighed. “I hope you’re right, dear.”

The two women turned to their daughter, Maree asking: “Did you have fun, bunny?”

“Yes!” KB answered truthfully.

“Wonderful! What did you two do?” Garree asked.

“We played on the monkey bars and in the jungle gym.”

“That does sound fun.”

“Oh, and I fell on my back.”

"What!?” her mothers said in unison.

“But don’t worry, I’m better now,” KB reassured. “Fern took care of me.”

The two women exchanged looks, communicating silently above KB’s head.

“She sounds like a good friend,” Maree said, feeling more relieved than she let on. But KB could tell that her mothers were just as glad that she made a friend as she was.

Hand in hand, the family walked home happily, with the last of the sun shining on their backs and their hearts warm.

Notes:

to make up for the long break between chapters 2 and 3, here is chapter 4! hopefully you all enjoyed reading it as much as i did writing. kb and fern are just so darn precious!! and fern is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters to write for. anyway, thank you so much for reading! feel free to leave a kudos, a comment, or a request for a future chapter/fic. see you in the next one!