Chapter Text
Jen POV :
It was Tuesday the 22nd of October and Jennifer Kale was in a complicated mindset. Her dance classes had started again and she was thrilled about that. Dancing was an absolute joy for her, she could not think of her life without dance,really, she could not. But sometimes she was forced to admit that it was also a source of intense stress. A good exemple was right now. It was 11:30, she was waiting for Alice, they would have lunch together, and her mind was turning around the same daunting subject. She had a danse competition in a month.
That was not exceptional, Jen had dance competitions at least once a month. But this one was the first of the year and her body had changed during the summer. The thing was, for one of the step of the competition, she had to dance in costume. Costume had recently became Jen nightmare. Her dance teacher was adamant on recycling old costumes, and Jen could understand, truly, especially since she had not grown for a few years.
Honestly, she had not even been worried about that until the first fitting. She was even pretty happy about it. The costumes was beautiful and she remembered how it made her feel when she had it on last year. But when had came the moment to close the clasp… Jen almost cried again in the middle of the hall. The clasp had not closed, which rationally was not surprising, but Jen had felt mortified. Especially when she had seen the face of her dance teacher. She was not angry, just a little disappointed. She had said
"You gained some weight… I planed to buy new costumes this years but I suppose we will have to refit the ancient one instead"
And Jen had wanted to cry and run away because she really felt bad. So she had said the only thing she could think of.
"No need ma'am, I'll put myself on a diet. I'll fit in it, I swear"
And Jen had been on that diet since. The next fitting was tonight and she needed, for her feeling of self worth, to see an improvement. Which made her all the more anxious for the lunch that she was going to share with Alice and, maybe, Agatha. Good lord, Agatha would be a pain, she always was a pain and ever more when she heard the word diet. Which, really, was an overreaction, it was not like Jen was starving herself, she was just being a little careful about sugar and grease. It was okay, she was okay.
"Jen !!"
Jen turned toward Alice. The younger girl was running toward her, her orange hair strands contrasting against her black hair.
"Alice ! You redid your hair ? It is looking good "
"Yeah ! I was feeling in the mood and mom was in good enough shape to come with me !"
Both girl walked toward the lunch area of the park where they always did those sort of lunch.
"I hope Agatha will arrive quickly ! I am famished"
"Don't get your hopes up too much Alice. She said she would try to come, not that she would be here"
"Don't bad mouth her !"
"Come on, Agatha is like an overworked mother, she makes empty promises and things"
Alice frowned and playfully hit her on the shoulder. Jen huffed, that was treasons, Alice was her school daughter, she should be on her side and not on the side of her harpy of a grandmother.
"Agatha never make empty promises Jen !"
"Okay, she never makes empty promises because she never make promises, that is not better"
Both girls kept discussing and playfully fighting while begining their meal. Jen had managed to convince Alice that Agatha would not care if they began without her. Jen was looking at Alice happily eating her grated carrots. She was a really cute girl, with her hair and her laugh and how she ate so eagerly without all the second thoughts that swarmed in Jen mind. She was playing with her bland salad, looking at her friend with some kind of fascination she could not quite understand
"You are staring Jen, is everything okay ?"
"Yeah, you just look happy. It is nice…"
"And you are being cheesy"
Alice swatted at her arm playfully, and Jen, in her infinite wisdom, swatted back, until it turned into a fun brawling.
"Tsk, not at the table children"
The new voice , Jen recognized it immediately, she would recognize that unerving drawling tone anywhere. Alice straightened herself and scooted closer to Jen to let some place on the bench for the one and only Agatha Harkness.
"Harkness, nice of you to show up…"
"I aim to please Kale"
Then the proud girl turned to Alice and smiled.
"Hey punk, since when do you not hug your grandma"
As if she had waited only that, Alice jumped on the brunette and gave her a bear hug. Jen was not a jealous girl, never, but Alice was her high school daughter and Agatha Harkness would have to learn it quick. Who was Jen kidding ? It had been three years and she still tolerated it. Only because it made Alice happy thought.
"Stop that, it is nauseating" she grumbled
Alice let go of Agatha, and the eldest took her food out of her bag.
"I made carrot cake for all of us, low sugar, very healthy"
Jen loved that carrot cake, really, but she had to be careful… But it was low sugar, and it was carrot… She decided that it was okay. They ate in relative silence until Agatha opened conversation. Jen found it strange, Agatha's usually was all for having the least small talk possible, maybe that Maria was having a good influence on her. Well an influence at least, wether it was good or not was yet to be determined
"So, Alice, dear, tell us about your kid" Agatha said
"Oh ! Wanda is such a darling really, she has the farm girl look done to a tee and she is the shyest little thing I ever met ! She doesn't talk a lot about her past before coming here, I just know she is from Sokovia and that she was adopted by her aunt and uncle. Oh and she is a twin,her brother apparently is a 'dofus', but really he is a boy so I am not that surprised. Oh ! And she struggles with English, being from Sokovia and everything. I told her you could probably helps her with it, Aggie"
"Do not call me Aggie, punk"
Jen quickly added, a little jealous she had to admit
"Yeah, don't call her Aggie, she is above that common thing that is a nickname"
"Chock on your cake Kale"
"And pin my death on you ? With pleasure Harkness"
Agatha turned back to Alice as if Jen did not just got cheeky. Jen felt jealous again, of Alice this time, even if she would never acknowledge it. Yes, she did not like Agatha much, but Jen was still Agatha's kid and she was supposed to come first. Jen did not have confidence issues, she did not, but still Agatha was not supposed to let her be cheeky without retaliation. Jen tried to make herself see sens, Agatha was just very interested about the new addition to the family. And it made sense, Agatha was basically the matriarch, she had to evaluate if Alice's kid was worthy of an introduction in their close little group.
"Anyway, Alice, kitten, you know I don't have the patience to do tutoring…"
"Oh come on, you say that but you took all your Thirday afternoons explaining me how to do basic arithmetic for me to pass"
" That is because you were hopeless, and you being that bad would have looked bad on us"
"It does not have to be formal tutoring, just like you correcting her when she says something wrong… Plus I am sure you know basic Sokovian…"
"I do know basic sokovian, I learned some when I got bored in English classes, but…"
Alice gave puppy's eyes to Agatha and the older girl sighed
"Okay, I'll do that, if, and only if, we accept her in."
Jen rolled her eyes
"The fact you even are thinking about it basically means you adopted her already Harkness. You are a big softy when it comes to troubled girls"
"Well, I did keep you around Kale, I must really like it"
Jen smiled, a little crooked to not look too proud, but she knew it was the most open about her affection Agatha ever was and it always felt nice when she was on the reicieving end of it.
"You are on another diet are you not ?"
Well that came out of nowhere… Scratch what she thought earlier, Agatha was far too observant when she decided to care. And it had to be today of all day.
"I am just not that hungry"
Agatha made a noncommittal sound.
"Really, Agatha, I am not that hungry, let it be"
"Jenifer…" Jen could see that the girl wanted to press the subject."… Just be careful about yourself… No part in a ballet is worth your health"
"I am really just not hungry but…" Jen sighed, she knew Agatha was right, and that she was being serious about it, she used her first name after all. "… I'll keep it in mind"
Agatha tended a hand under the table and squeezed Jen hands, her first instinct was to take it away, but she just blinked feeling tears pricking in her eyes. She knew that Agatha understood pressure and she could not deny it felt good to have someone that actually supported her and dropped the subject when she asked. Even if that someone was as unsufferable as Harkness.
They finished their lunch talking about less loaded subject and laughing quietly. And then Agatha left. And her and Alice both walked back to the school. It was good to be with family
Agatha POV :
After her lunch with the girls, which was very nice even if she had some concern about Jen. It looked like she had decided to go on some kind of diet again, not that she ever stoped being on a diet in the first place in Agatha opinion but well, she would have to watch and convince her to feed on "non sugary" stuff. Then she had an hour of political psychology which was strangely interesting. Nothing that special about it, but it was calm and there was no new assignment and that was good in itself.
Now, she was waiting in the back of the classroom where she would have her first Spanish class, she had read a little about it, tried to have at least the basics. It was something that she always did before a class, habits died hard and she still felt better, safer, if she was the best, or at least when she was prepared. Previsibility and control were calming to her.
The begining of the class was growing nearer, the class was getting fuller and Agatha was still happily alone at her table when a familiar looking girl barged in, muttered something sounding slightly like thank god. Agatha cringed a little at that, it was not the sentence in itself but she could just here her mother's rant inside her head. The name of the Lord should not be brought up in vain and all that jazz.
The girl walked straight toward the empty chair next to her and Agatha could not stop herself from admiring the personality she exuded. Everything from her hair to her shoes screamed of a very personal style. Agatha felt almost a little bland next to that, in her simple button up and purple waistcoat approved by her mother.
"Hey, may I…"
Agatha did not even wait for her to finish her sentence before taking her bag of the chair and answering.
"Yes of course !"
She mentally slapped herself, way to go Agatha, just pass for a total psycho in front of that girl while you are at it.
"…If that was what you were going to ask that is… you don't have to…"
The other just smiled and sat next to her, a little slumped. God, Agatha could never look so relaxed, Harkness had to sit with their back straight… and she was far too nervous to relax anyway. She kept her eyes fixed on her hands, playing with her fingernails, wondering if she should try and small talk. It would be polite, but she was really not good at it and the other girl must already think of her as weird.
Agatha had never feeled so relieved for the begining of a class than at this exact moment. The teacher, a tall and charismatic woman, walked in as if used to the whole world becoming quiet at her appearance. That was kind of the case, Agatha supposed, because as soon as the sound of her heels were heard in the room, the entirety of the student body grew quiet.
Even the girl next to her, that had looked like she did not care much about the class, perked up after seeing the woman. Agatha could understand, that woman was beautiful, not that it mattered in any way, but it was a fact.
"Dear student, I am Ajak, your Spanish teacher. I know most of you are here to learn the language and discover the culture of Hispanic countries. To those, welcome in my class, you'll find I am a fair teacher. However, I am not nice, and I do not like being taken for a fool. To those that chose that elective because they are already fluent and thought it would be an easy grade. You'll soon see that you dug your own tomb"
Agatha smiled, she liked that teacher very much. If she really was going to make it harder for the few already fluent speakers, she might have a shot at being the best student in this class too, and even if it was far from done, it at least was reassuring.
"Here is how things are going to go" The teacher kept speaking "I will create pairs. Those pairs will be based on my very cliché, but often proved correct, assessment of who is and who is not a fluent speaker, based on the very subjective thing that is your parents last names, and you previous grades in Spanish for those that did took the class in hisghscool. Yes, I do have access to those, and no it is not illegal, you were the one filling the information in your respective inscription forms."
Well Agatha thought, this was… unorthodox, but her mother last name, which she shared, was not exactly confidential.
"Those pairs are gonna be, as much as possible, composed of a person that I consider as solid and a debutant. The grade will of course be separated BUT if the debutant is not progressing well, the one that are solid will see their grade lowered in consequences. You are a team and you should work like one. You understand, it is a grade that take into consideration your level, your progression, and how much you took your pair seriously"
Agatha did not like that much, that her grade was impacted by someone else implication, or worse here, that someone else's grade was impacted by hers was nightmarish. She would just have to hope her pair would have patience.
The teacher began to call names, two by two, making the pairs. She asked the student she called to raise their hands, identify themselves and move next to each other.
"Vidal with Harkness"
Agatha raised her hand and was surprised to see the girl next to her raise hers. Well at least she would not have to move. That was one hell of a coincidence but one Agatha was grateful for, she liked her sit in the back of the room.
"Good, now that all our pairs are done, today is about presentation, I want you to learn as much as you can about your other half. Next week, I'll ask one people by pairs what is one of their friends passion. It will be useful for the next few weeks. Now try and talk, I'll do a summary of the idioms and vocabulary that you need at the end of the class"
Well, that was unexpected. Agatha kept her eyes on her hands, it was not her fault if her classmate was a little intimidating.
"So… you wanna begin ? Like that I can like… correct you by… answering you with the right way to say it ? If that is okay…"
Agatha quickly answered
"Yes ! I mean, I think it is gonna be a good way for me to hum… to learn…"
She took a deep breath.
"Me llamo Agatha Harkness…¿ y tu ?"
The other girl smiled, and quickly answered back.
"Me llamo Rio Vidal. ¿Cuantos años tienes ?"
Agatha was not sure she understood the question, but she tried anyway
"Tengo… dieciocho años… ¿y tù ?"
"Tengo dieciocho años también. ¿Tienes hermanos?"
Agatha frowned.
"Do I have what ?"
"Hermanos" the other girl repeated slower, with a smile."It means siblings"
"Oh… No tengo hermanos, soy une hija uníca ?"
"Si ! Hija uníca is an only child, it is not an easy one ! Tengo tres hermanos y dos hermanas"
They kept doing back and forth like that for a while. Agatha managed with a broken Spanish to explain tha she really liked History and more specifically the history of witches and she learned that Rio, the brunette told her to call her that, was interested by that too. Rio also did climbing. Honestly, Agatha was a little impress, in her eyes, climbing was really hard. Maybe she should begin some kind of sport again.
At the end of the class, Mrs Ajak, it was apparently just Ajak, but it felt disrespectful, gave her some vocabulary and the basic of conjugation. Agatha was pleased to see that thanks to Rio, she had understood, and used correctly, most of them.
She was putting her stuff back in her bag when Rio spoke to her unexpectedly.
"If you need to like… talk to me, I am at Lilia's coffee shop after classes"
Agatha perked up.
"You mean that you are going right now ?"
"Hum… yeah, I have a friend that is waiting for me there… why ?"
"I have to go too… maybe hum.. we could walk there together ?"
Was Agatha trying to make friend ? Maybe, after all, she would have to work with that girl for the rest of the year. Plus she seemed cool. She would just have to make sure to not be seen with her too much, with the crane on her shirt and the length of her shorts, she was not only weird (who wore shorts in September), she was also falling into the bad company category in the eyes of her mother.
"Oh… of coure, it would actually be nice to not do the road alone"
Both girls walked out of the college together. The silence was a little heavy at the begining, Agatha was trying to master some courage and begining a conversation when Rio spoke.
"You said you liked witches right ?"
"I don't like witches"
It had been an automatic answer, she was not supposed to love witches or witchcraft. Rio's face fell a little and Agatha felt compelled to explain herself
"I mean, I don't like witches per say. But the figure of the witch is fascinating. Historically speaking, it allows a lot of reflection on the systematic sexism and the fear that woman with knowledge, whether scientific or actually occult, awoke in men… Now, I am a little weary of actual witchcraft. Witches, the one with magic and stuff, they have a bad rap. Not that I take every rumors as fact… but when there is so many…"
Rio's face seemed to relax a little.
"I get it. I mean, I was raised in a very Catholic family. Witches and pagan things were obscure and scary"
"You are Catholic ?"
If she was, that changed things. Her style would still be a huge problem, but at least she would be frequentable.
"I was. Now I am, let's say atheist. I am just staying open to other vision of the world"
Agatha felt that there was something that Rio was not telling her. Atheist was an easy answer, but it sounded weird in the other girl mouth. The same way Agatha sounded the few times she promised her mother she never looked at a girl… Not that Agatha was actually interested in girls, but she had looked.
"Atheist… I… Don't take it the wrong way, but… I'll pray for you to find clarity, whatever it entails… doubting is part of faith or something like that"
Rio grimaced and yes, Agatha might have just crossed a boundary. It was just the only way she ever knew how to offer some comfort…
"Thanks… Hum, we arrived"
Agatha nodded and quickly took out a Tupperware before entering the shop. Before she went to Mrs Calderu, Rio stopped her.
"If you want, my friend and I are staying here to work, you could stay with us ?"
Agatha smiled.
"That is very nice but… My mother is waiting for me at home…"
"Oh… Another time then ?"
"Yeah, another time. It was nice meeting you"
Agatha then quickly walked to the counter.
"Good morning Mrs Calderu. This is Caesar salad. To thank you for last week"
The old woman took the Tupperware with a surprised smile and Agatha bolted before she could say anything. Her eyes found Rio, she was sat with a blond girl, all in black, definitely not frequentable. Agatha shrugged the feeling that was settling in her stomach and walked away without looking back. It had been an interesting day.