Super Friendly Neighbour Go! [Astrit]

[Deleted]

She was definitely going to catch him today.

Alright, so it was kind of weird she was hanging outside the building in the early morning, maybe a little suspicious even. Not that anyone really cared in this neighbourhood. Vesna just didn't want to miss him this time. She either woke up too late or had early morning practice. Today was perfect though, practice was around 10 and she knew she got up in time. This wasn't over stepping her boundaries right? Sometimes she didn't know what was considered appropriate or not in this country. Back in Macedonia no one would bat an eye if she helped her neighbour out like this.

Once again she looked in the brown paper sack she had in her hand and inspected the contents. It wasn't much since she didn't have much food herself, just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple, a juice box and some crackers and cheese. That was a healthy lunch though, right? Her own lunch was the exact same, although the portions were a little smaller since she wanted to give him more. He was so little, he needed to eat more! Rarely did she ever see him carrying a lunch too, and she didn't really believe he bought lunch that many times a week.

Was she being too pushy? Oh no, she wasn't being that creepy neighbour was she? Vesna really cared about the boy and worried about him. How old was he when she met him, 8 or 9? Astrit was the same age as her nephew and she treated him like one. He went through a lot, if she could make it better, even just a little bit, she would do all she could. If he thought she was nosey then it was okay, as long as he accepted the lunch she made him. Maybe she could even walk him to the bus today!

She caught a glimpse of the small red head boy slipping out the doors and got up off the bench. “Astrit, hey! Wait up!”

When times are hard we’ll smile and say we’re not afraid of anything

LAIKA OF BTN!

[Astrit Zupan]

So far, nothing about Astrit's morning had been out of the ordinary. He woke at the usual time to the shrill sound of his old but miraculously still-functional alarm clock, but didn't really come back to himself until he was in the bathroom and splashing cold water on his face--hmm, the water heater might be out again; he hadn't intended for the water to be quite that cold.

The boy yanked on his usual outfit of old blue jeans and a brown hoodie before corralling his meager school supplies into his satchel. He didn't have nearly as much to carry with him as most of his classmates, because--for reasons that still boggled his mind and hurt his heart--he was currently a student at the same school attended by many sons and daughters of privilege. It was his chance at a better life, even though he was the odd one out now. Pulling on his shoes as he went, resulting in a rather undignified way of hopping, Astrit made it out of the apartment. He was still certain to lock the door behind him; his belongings were few enough as it stood, and though almost everyone here had the decency not to steal from each other what they couldn't afford to miss, he didn't want to risk it.

It wasn't necessarily wise to clatter too loudly down the stairs, given that between the ordinary civilians with ordinary schedules and the more strangely scheduled ones who called themselves outside the law there was almost certainly someone asleep at any time, but there was a limit to how quiet it was physically possible to get. This went double for someone like Astrit, whose shoes were hard-soled and whose inclination was to get to the bottom of the stairs as fast as he could. Gravity helped him there, getting him speedily to the ground floor from whence he would get outside.

The weather outside was fairly ordinary, too. Seeing absolutely nothing unusual, the boy set off at a leisurely jog--

"Astrit, hey! Wait up!"

He turned to locate the source of the voice, having already tentatively identified the speaker. It was Vesna, his neighbor, and she was holding a brown paper bag. She was generally a nice woman, he thought; her place in his estimation was certainly lifted by the fact that she had occasionally offered him something good to eat.

"Morning!" he called, walking back over towards her. Such a person rated rather more politeness than he was accustomed to give most people. "What do you want me for?"

[Deleted]

After weeks of trying she finally got the time right, success! Her perseverance finally paid off. Quickly she closed the gap between, remembering not to hug him. It wouldn't be cool for a kid his age to be hugging his neighbour, right? The last thing she wanted to do was embarrass him, and make him run off before she was able to convince him to take this lunch she made him. Then everything would be for naught. No, she would remind herself that she was just his neighbour, they weren't family so there were boundaries to be respected.

“Morning Astrit! I'm glad I caught up to you!” There was an overwhelming urge to fix his shoelaces, which were tied half haphazardly but she fought it off, smiling brightly at him instead. “You're on your way to school, da? I can walk with you to the bus if you want, I'm heading that way myself.” If he didn't want to that was fine with her, she understood that kids liked to feel independent. Vesna didn't want to baby him, but she couldn't help but worry about him. What if some bullies jumped him on the way to the bus!? Or what if there was a freak accident?! Sometimes she really did worry about him too much.

Once again she was forgetting the whole point of trying to catch him. “Oh, I made you a lunch, and don't give me any of that crap about buying lunch today. I'm not falling for that one today.” She wouldn't allow herself to be tricked again by that excuse, there was no way a growing boy would stay that small if he was eating properly. Her nephews around his age looked a lot stronger compared to him. Another thing that made her worry. “It's just a sandwich and some snacks but it's better than going hungry.”

The last of her control disappeared and with a sigh, she gave in and knelt down to fix his shoelaces. The paper bag was placed to the side as she started undoing the sloppy knots. “Ahh, you have to look presentable at your fancy school. Plus, you'll trip and hurt yourself like this.” Vesna finished tying them quickly, so she wouldn't embarrass him for too long. Not that there was anyone out here really, just the guy on the 2nd floor who fed the pigeons in the morning and she doubted he cared much.

She stood back up, dusting off her knees to get anything stuck on them off. “You know, if you don't have anything to eat at home you can come to my place, I'll find something for you. You're always welcomed to come over whenever you need.”

When times are hard we’ll smile and say we’re not afraid of anything

LAIKA OF BTN!

[Astrit Zupan]

Admittedly, Astrit wasn't completely sure what to make of Vesna's offer to walk with him to the bus. It seemed a bit odd that she would do that--but then, it did seem to be her way. And she was the sort of person who would sometimes feed him.

And then she told him that the paper bag she had was food for him. Much as he wanted to look and be self-sufficient, he really couldn't turn it down. It was just so nice of her to make it... and he couldn't exactly let it go to waste... and even before he had worked this all out in his mind, the words "Thank you, Miss Vesna" were already coming out of his mouth. There was really nothing else to be said.

Until she bent down and started retying his shoelaces. That stung; he hated being treated like a little boy who couldn't take care of his own shoes. He was opening his mouth to get mad, lunch or no lunch, when the memories he didn't want to think about came back. They were always closer to the surface when he was going to school, and his pique had pulled them all the way out. The last time I yelled at someone for trying to take care of me...

The boy closed his mouth, shaking his head as if he could fling the thoughts away by centrifugal force, and let her fix his shoelaces. There's nobody else around who might see. She's nice--and she's going to be okay.

It only took a few seconds, thankfully, before that was over and his neighbor was inviting him to come over whenever he needed anything. He forced himself to smile, in hopes of covering up the way that he was getting shaky from remembering what happened to his sister, and took it as a neighborly offer of hospitality. "Thanks, I might take you up on that sometimes." No, there was definitely no quiver in his voice--right?

He picked up the brown paper bag, turned to stride purposefully in the direction of the bus he would take to school, and finally answered the first thing his neighbor had said. "Sure, you can come along with me a ways if you want."

((Three OOC Notes:
1. Sorry my writing is so horrible.
2. I figured the comic linked in the middle was particularly funny to link on this site.
3. A certain amount of Astrit's characterization is borrowed from the character development I did with him on Manor of Fate, and it's kind of showing here.))

[Deleted]

It was quite the relief to her when he said that she could join him. Vesna had fully prepared for him to say no, since tying his shoes for him might have crossed a line. She was acting on impulse and realized a preteen like him might not appreciate that sort of thing. Her own nephew had gotten cranky with her when she did it too, but then again, she still did it anyways. They were all at varying ages and sometimes she forget to treat the older ones less like children. Next time she would just tell him about. “Sorry about that, it was just driving me crazy.” He wasn't mad though, hopefully, and she was happy to walk with him to the bus, and spend a little time with him. They never seemed to chat very much, something she wanted to change.

This was nice, getting to walk with him, even for a short while. She nearly slung her arm around his shoulders but caught herself in time before she could. He didn't seem too happy about the shoes, Vesna doubted he'd be less happy with displays of affection. Instead she put her hands behind her back, hooking her hands together so she wouldn't be tempted to ruffle those red locks of his.

“How are you doing in school?” That was a good ice breaker, she thought as she walked beside him. She had to remember to shorten her strides to match his, since her legs were so much longer compared to his. “No one is giving you any trouble, right?” If they did, Vesna was ready to give them a stern talking to. The last thing she would do is hit a child, but she could get mighty fierce with her words if she wanted to.

Without even thinking, she blurted out her next question. “Is everything okay at home too? Ahh, izvini, I'm sorry if I'm being a bit nosey. You don't have to answer if you don't want to.” What was she doing? He was going to think she was a big nuisance at this rate. All she wanted to do was help him out, not interrogate the young guy. “I hope you like peanut butter and jelly, I didn't have anything else at home. Oh no, you're not allergic right? The last thing I'd want to do is kill you Astrit!” It didn't even occur to her that he could have a peanut allergy. With a groan, she smacked her palm to her forehead. “I didn't think to ask, I wanted to surprise you so you couldn't refuse.” Did she even have any money to give him for lunch if he did turn out to be allergic?

When times are hard we’ll smile and say we’re not afraid of anything

LAIKA OF BTN!

[Astrit Zupan]

Astrit was pleasantly surprised that Vesna seemed to notice his discomfort with her tying his shoes but not that it went any further. She even apologized for it. Just as he didn't think many people were worthy of much respect, he didn't get much respect from many people, so this was different. A nice kind of different.

"So, how are you doing in school?" his neighbor asked.

The boy considered the question for a moment. "Pretty well," he concluded eventually. He didn't mention how much he was feeling the absence of certain advantages most of his classmates enjoyed, such as steady meals and living parents. That was just something that he would have to live with--something to be expected.

But it seemed that Vesna noticed something. "No one is giving you any trouble, right?"

"Of course not," Astrit answered automatically. The only trouble he was getting was from himself. It was harder than he had expected, to get by in such a fancy place.

Then she started talking much faster, making it obvious that she was panicking over things that had never even occurred to him. He didn't want to laugh at his nice neighbor who was helping him out so much, but she seemed to be thinking so strangely!

"Calm down, calm down!" the boy managed to say, suppressing his laughter. "It's okay. I don't mind your questions, and I don't have an allergy. Nothing's wrong at home." Well, technically his home was missing some people--but he wasn't about to let his mind go that way again so soon.

[Deleted]

After a few deep breathes, Vesna was calm for the most part. He wasn't going to die from eating the sandwich, so she didn't need to panic anymore. All of his answers satisfied her questions but she still felt a little uneasy. He would tell her if something was wrong, right? There was no reason to doubt him. And if he was lying he could tell her when he felt more comfortable. It didn't seem like anything was wrong, but it was probably tough going to a fancy school when he lived where he did. He'd probably be happier in a school with kids more like him, she thought. Then again, a school like that could get him places.

“Oh, I think I almost saw a smile!” She grinned at him, poking his cheek. “You were going to laugh, weren't you? I know I was being a little bit silly. You can if you want to, I won't be insulted and get mad at you.” How could she get mad at him? She laughed at most of the stuff she did too. Astrit was a good kid too, she wished she could help him out more. “If you need homework help I can try, and if not I can always call one of my siblings. Ilija and Alek know everything.”

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. It was worth giving this a shot. “You know, if you want me to make you lunch more often, just tell me, okay? I can always grab snacks from the break room at work, people are always taking them for the kids' lunches since they just get thrown out. Then you can save your pocket money for something else!”

It seemed like a reasonable idea to her. Vesna knew she would feel a lot better if she knew he was actually getting something to eat. “And don't act all tough and prideful. It doesn't hurt to ask things from people you know. I'm using my neighbour's shower right now. I got over feeling weird about it real quick.”

When times are hard we’ll smile and say we’re not afraid of anything

LAIKA OF BTN!

[Astrit Zupan]

Now that he was sure it was okay, Astrit laughed openly. He always felt so comfortable around his strangely cheerful neighbor, though he couldn't have said exactly why. It might have something to do with her energetic good humor: Astrit usually enjoyed the company of optimists, whether that was because they called to something buried in his nature or just lifted his mood by association. Perhaps it was also because, unlike most of the people he met in school, Vesna never seemed to think she was better than him in any particular way.

Her offer of help with homework came as a surprise, and one that was neither welcome nor unwelcome. Astrit was genuinely unsure what to say about that, so he just commented, "The homework isn't too bad." He was curious about these siblings, but decided against asking too many questions for the time being.

Then Vesna offered something bigger. Food--he loved to eat. The boy's immediate instinct was to accept; he surely wasn't getting as much to eat as he would have liked.

Astrit was a young teenager. He acted on his immediate impulse. "Sure." Even if it was just the odd snack, he could use a little more food to get him through the day. Like many kids in the age group he was now entering, and particularly those who didn't have bottomless food budgets, he was usually hungry.

He wasn't sure what to make of Vesna's advice to not be too prideful. On one hand, he really couldn't get together enough food to feed himself alone, but on the other, he knew it was risky to let too much weakness show. Many people were genuinely nice--like Vesna, for instance--but those who weren't... they warranted caution.

No matter how much he thought about it, though, he couldn't imagine any way to not feel weird about using somebody else's shower.

[Deleted]

Without even thinking twice she reached over and ruffled the top of his sweater clad head. “That's a good kid. It's better to be honest about things.” If she was going to make this commitment though, she better do it right. A budget was in order and she would have to start picking out good snacks for him. He really needed to bulk up before he hit high school. How would he play on any teams and make friends if he was skinnier than a twig? No, she'd have to make sure he was well fed. Someone needed to. It didn't look like anyone was taking proper care of him in awhile.

“And if you get hungry at supper time and no one is home you can come over for dinner if I'm not a work. I make extra for my neighbour sometimes, so another person is no trouble.” In all honesty she wanted to welcome him into her home at any time if he needed it but she wasn't sure how to explain it properly in English and her Serbian wasn't that great. Vesna didn't want to explain it wrong and sound inappropriate.

For now dinner was good enough, it wasn't too overbearing. She knew he wasn't her child or her family but it didn't sit right letting a child be responsible for all these things by themselves. He wouldn't be one for very long, he should at least enjoy the rest of it.

The bus stop wasn't too far away now. He was taking the bus right? There was no way he could walk all the way to school. “You have your transit pass or money for the bus? I have some extra change if you're short.” She was fussing, wasn't she? Astrit would be fine, he went to school every day and this wasn't the first day either. Still, she wanted to send him off knowing he was prepared.

When times are hard we’ll smile and say we’re not afraid of anything

LAIKA OF BTN!

[Astrit Zupan]

In some respects, it was probably a good thing that Vesna couldn't figure out how to offer the full extent of her generosity in a language Astrit could understand. The boy was overwhelmed already by the kindness that his neighbor was showing, though not so much so that he would turn down free food. (It was unlikely that he would ever reach the point of being so overwhelmed as to turn down free food.)

He did wonder what she meant, about it being "better to be honest about things." That surely meant, given the context, things such as his needs if they were going unmet. He hated to ask for help for many reasons, but among them was the fact that he had never known it to yield results he wanted. Maybe that would be different with someone genuinely nice to rely on... but, of course, there was also the matter of his pride. He could swallow it for food*, but few other things inspired him to such behavior.

They were getting pretty close to the bus stop now. Apparently Vesna had noticed as much, because she asked if he had a bus pass with him.

"Right here," he confirmed, reaching into his pocket to pull out the well-used card that earned him passage to and from school every day. He was incredibly lucky to have been given an allowance that covered that. There was simply a limit to how much money a child his age could legally earn on his own, and if he hadn't had this his choices would have been back to not attending this school or returning to his old... habits. It wasn't a choice he was particularly eager to make, no matter how out-of-place he felt in his fancy school.

In secret, he was touched that Vesna was willing to help him out. It was overwhelming and awkward to deal with, but he couldn't stop himself liking the idea that somebody sincerely cared about him.

* Yum, tastes like pride!

[Deleted]

Did she want to ride the bus with him? Vesna didn't really need to, it was faster to take the underground since the buses were packed with kids. That meant a hundred stops and her being late for practice. Michael was a rather prickly fellow in the morning, and pissing him off was something she really wanted to avoid. Last time she did that she was shoveling horse manure for hours. She'd rather be riding the horses than doing that. Besides, it might be a bit embarrassing if she went on the bus with him, his friends might be on there.

“Here, I'll wait for the bus with you. I came this far, might as well see you off.” Plus she wanted to make sure he got a seat and no one was being mean to him on the bus. He school was on the other side of the city wasn't it? In the rich end? He had a bit of a trip ahead of him. “Do you like going to that school or would you have preferred something in the neighbourhood? Well, I guess you probably have new friends at that school. You do have friends, right?” Come to think of it, did she ever see him playing with other kids? That was a bit worrisome.

A gust of wind flew by, making her shiver a bit. After four years of being here she still wasn't used to the cold. Astrit was only in a sweater, that was no good. “Here.” Vesna took off her scarf and wrapped it once around his neck. It wasn't a girly looking scarf so he should look normal with it, and it was just something she got at one of the discount stores so she could replace it no problem. “Don't want you to catch a cold and miss school.” That would keep him a bit more warm, which was all she could do right now. She could see the bus down the road so she couldn't run and get a jacket for him. “You keep that, it suits you much better than me.” Vesna grinned at him, zipping up her track jacket to the top. She'd be fine, it was only a quick job to the station for her.

When times are hard we’ll smile and say we’re not afraid of anything

LAIKA OF BTN!

[Astrit Zupan]

Embarrassing as it was, it was sort of nice to be worried over. Astrit had missed out on a lot of the "important parts" of a normal childhood, including much of what it was to have parents. He had never really had anyone to wait for the bus with before, and he found that he even liked standing here with his motherly neighbour. Talking with her was certainly more interesting than standing here by himself and staring at almost exactly the same things he saw every day.

"Do you like going to that school," Vesna wanted to know, "or would you have preferred something in the neighbourhood? Well, I guess you probably have new friends at that school. You do have friends, right?"

Astrit considered the question. It amused him rather that she kept going on like that; it gave her a scatterbrained air that was rather endearing. "I like what I learn," he admitted. "It's odd to be going to a rich-people school, and I don't fit in very much, but I'm starting to make friends. I get on all right, and if I'm lucky it'll mean things get better later."

The day was rather chilly. Vesna didn't seem to be quite as used to the cold as Astrit was--she had moved here rather recently, hadn't she? rather than growing up here like he had--but she took off her scarf and gave it to him anyway. He looked up at her in some surprise. Didn't she need it?

"You keep that," she told him. "It suits you much better than me."

The boy looked at the end of the scarf curiously. It certainly made him feel warmer, and it was the sort of thing that he could wear to school without being ashamed. But what was he supposed to do when someone did something like that for him?

"Thank you, Miss Vesna," he said. "For everything." That was really all the answer that his question was going to get.

Astrit would be meeting this school day so much better-equipped than usual, and he had no idea how he was going to repay this kindness, but he wanted to do so. Somehow.

[Deleted]

What a relief. Vesna wasn't quite sure what she'd do or say if he said that he had no friends. She herself could always remember being surrounded by kids her own age in the village, getting up to mischief and goofing off until their mothers yelled for them to come in. She never really saw Astrit out playing with the other boys in the complex. Maybe he just didn't know how to make friends?

“That's good. You're a nice kid. I'm sure if you talk more you'll have lots of friends.” She smiled, resisting the urge to pat his head again. Gosh, he was just so darn cute. He'd probably be a handsome kid when he got older too. She'd be swatting the girls away with a broom, like an old Baba. Well, at least if she never got married she could keep an eye on Astrit, close enough.

The bus heading down the street meant their time together was coming to a close too soon. Quickly she readjusted the scarf a little, her tongue poking out from the side of her mouth as she tried to make it perfect. Vesna knew she was fussing but she wanted to make sure it was right. “Alright, make sure you eat your lunch alright? Don't let any kids take it from you. If you have to, kick them in the shins and say they ran into a chair or desk. Don't get caught fighting.” Wait, was the right advice she should be giving? It was something her father always told them, but now hearing her say it, it didn't sound quite right. Oh well, it was advice he handed down to her, so it couldn't be wrong.

As the bus slowed down to a stop, Vesna gave in and ruffled his hair a little. “Just Vesna is fine, kiddo. Don't thank me, I'm not doing this for gratitude. It's what's right. Have a good day at school. I don't have a show tonight so I should be home around dinner time, so come by if you're hungry.” She zipped her track jacket all the way to the top and popped the collar up, preparing for a jog to the metro entrance once he was safely seated.

When times are hard we’ll smile and say we’re not afraid of anything

LAIKA OF BTN!

[Astrit Zupan]

The funny thing about Vesna's advice was that it almost didn't surprise Astrit--or maybe that was a funny thing about Astrit. It seemed like normal and reasonable advice to him, and the only odd thing was that it was coming out of Vesna's mouth. She seemed so mild-mannered, not the sort of person he would usually expect to advise defending one's food by force.

"I don't think they'd want my lunch," he admitted. "They've all got lunches of their own, and I haven't seen anyone try to steal anyone else's yet. I don't think that's done at a fancy place like my school." It felt odd to say that. He still wasn't used to associating himself with such a place.

For most of his life, he had never really thought of himself as all that lucky, except when he observed that it was amazing that he had lived this long. Astrit was a child who had never really had a chance, barring an outright miracle.

And he had gotten his miracle, a whole string of miracles. Suddenly, he could be young again. He could have a few years' break from trying to run every piece of his own life without any help, because--miraculously--somebody cared about him. Struggling to keep up at his new school... was really not all that bad, by comparison. That was the sort of challenge that actually suited his age and temperament.

And here was his neighbour, offering him food and free advice on how to defend it from anyone who wanted to take it from him. Astrit was lucky, perhaps outrageously so.

Vesna saying that she had no interest in his gratitude definitely did surprise him. Her idea of what "just doing the right thing" looked like seemed to stretch awfully far. Dinner, even? Astrit was certainly always on the lookout for dinner, but so much generosity!

It was a foregone conclusion what he would do about that, really. It would be ridiculous to think that a boy of his age, means, and nature would refuse an offer of dinner.

With an impish smile, he noted, "I expect I'll see you later, Vesna." The door of the bus opened, and Astrit set out toward it. Just before he boarded, he turned to wave goodbye. Then he climbed on board the bus that would take him to school.