Refugue in regression

[Phenomenal Princess]

Jael appreciated Jay's tentive ministrations, she wanted to look the part, she was supprised though and even a little scandalized that he wanted to roll up her skirt. Or maybe she was just being prudish?

In any case Jael nodded in agreement with Jay's verdict about limits. She didn't think she wanted to go any higher.

Jael tried to recall what 'sects' Jay might mean. It was true it was considered modest for women to cover themselves. Also it was usually the preference of girls to wear trousers in Syriabut not nessicarily to be strict about it as an adult woman might be. Jael recalled meeting an Afghan woman who wore a blue veil which covered everything but her eyes from head to toe. Jael had thought she looked like someone wearing a bedsheet and pretending to be a ghost, which was a very naughty thought but she couldn't help herself. Of course, latter the woman had taken off the veil when all the women and the girls retired to a family room away from the men. At that point Jael had changed her mind as she realised the woman was very beautiful.

[Ishigreensa]

Soon enough, the junior high school kids were all lined up in the gym, and Jael was brought in later with her teacher, for she had been brought to the teacher's room to wait since no one knew her yet.

[Phenomenal Princess]

In Jael's imagination she thought she might just get shown around the school and that Jay would be with her the whole time. That was what it had been like when she had been able to join school again at the refugee camp, she had been reintroduced slowly. The camp education charities where especially concerned that children recieved a formal

[Ishigreensa]

Actually, the students were just taking a break.

[Phenomenal Princess]

"I do!"

[Ishigreensa]

"I name is ...." she blushed.

[Ishigreensa]

bump?

[Phenomenal Princess]

"Thank you Kana, it is nice to meet you." Jael smiled politely, very pleased and relieved to have found someone who could make things easier for her.

"Oh, if we

[Ishigreensa]

Kana smiled.

"Of course, But easy find toilet in Japan school.

[Phenomenal Princess]

"oh, that was quick!" Jael commented enthusiastically, as they arrived before the door of the girls restrooms.

"red is for girls and blue is for boys" she repeated, like a child first learning how to speak. "okay,

[Ishigreensa]

"We have art class next," she said.

[Phenomenal Princess]

"cutting wood? To make a fire?" Jael asked the Japanese school girl leading her to the wood working room. Jael was clearly confused. She was thinking of fire wood, of which the larger peices had

[Ishigreensa]

"It

[Phenomenal Princess]

Although she had never held wood working tools and she was clearly hesitantly unsure of how to use them, she was never the less very patient and careful.

"can I make a circle?" Jael asked. She didn't want ro make an animal like lots of the other students were doing. She had been taught that people were not supposed to depict living things because it was a mockery of God's glorious Creation. Jael didn't really see why it should be wrong, she thought Kana's duck looked very good but it reminded her of the fact she had not seen a real duck in a very long time and made her think of her family home. Jael focused her attention on her woodwork. Because she was slow, Kana had carved the main shape for her. Jael waa now expeimenting with different marks and etchings, asking Kana frequently for advice on how she might make certain shapes or lines. After a while it became clear Jael had purpose to what she was doing as a geometeric pattern emerged.

[Ishigreensa]

Kana felt there was nothing wrong with her making a circle, though she was worried about what kind of grade the girl would get for such a simple design, so she went over and spoke with the teacher.

[Ishigreensa]

When woodshop was finished they went on through the day.

Then lunch carts were brought into

[Phenomenal Princess]

Jael was upset that Kana had seemed concerned about her woodwork, concerned another to question the teacher. What was wrong with her pattern of interlinking circles and folding lines which criss-crossed each other to form stars? She had seen carvings like it on the doors of madrasa or expensive homes. Also, she liked to think that although it might not be as accomplished in sculpting 3d forms or animal likeness, her little patterned disk was practical. It could serve as a coaster for a hot drink for example. Still, despite her annoyance and sense that doing different wasn't necessarily wrong, Jael didn't want to loose her temper and argue with her only Japanese friend, so she stayed quiet and just got on with her work.

Jael thought it was odd when warmed food carts were wheeled onto the classroom but she easily surmised it was lunch and gratefully sat with Kana and her friends. She asked Kana how she might introduce herself to the other classmates.

They food they were served looked great. Jael was expecting to just recieve some bread and fruit but it looked like Japanese schools took nutrition very seriously.

[Ishigreensa]

[Phenomenal Princess]

"Wa. Ta. Shee. Wah. Ya. El. Dess." Jael smiled, completing the simple sentence. She was aware her pronoucation might not sound Japanese but she didn't she had mis-spoken any of the words to the point they could have been mistaken for others. Of course as Jael would later learn, the meaning of

[Ishigreensa]

"Say ee ree ah?" she asked trying to sound it out.

[Phenomenal Princess]

'Shi dree ah?' Jael frowed her brow, that didn't sound right to her but it was evidently making everyone else happy as there were dawnings of understanding and smiles, so Jael just shook her head and smiled along too. "Shi dree ah" she repeated with a nod. "It's full name is al-Jumhuriyah al-Arabiyah as-Suriyah." she told them. She knew it meant nothing to them and she didn't expect Kana to interpret any of it but it felt nice to her to speak a little of her mother tongue.

"It's Ruled by President Bashar al-Assad. He's a very bad man, he's not supposed to be president anymore, so the people rose up against him. Al-Jaysh as-Suri!" Jael exclaimed triumphantly, as she raised a fist into the air in salute and invoked the Free Syrian Army rebels. Then she realized she getting stared at and suddenly felt very shy and very silly.

"sorry." she said bashfully with good grace, incase she had inadvertently offended someone.

"um, who is President of Japan?" Jael wondered if all presidents were dictators?

[Ishigreensa]

"President?" Kana asked.

[Phenomenal Princess]

Jael wondered if after the war Syria would also have a Prime Minister to protect it, naively unaware it actually already did have one.

Jael listened as Kana told her they would be cleaning the bathroom. She didn't grumble about it, she was actually happy to be given the responsibility. She felt it was a sensible thing for people here age to be doing and frankly she knew she was going to find it easier than sitting through Japanese classes.

[Ishigreensa]

"You can wash them out at the sinks outside the classroom, but we always clean them up at home."

She smiled at her.

[Phenomenal Princess]

"er, not really" Jael answered with some embrassment. She hadn't been able to go properly on the Japanese squat toilet. Jael had some previous exprience with one, traditional Turkish toilets were similar but out of fashion. She was accustomed to using a sit down toilet, even if that consisted of little more than hole in a bench above a stinking latrine pit. With the squating toilet she had found it hard to keep her balance long enough to concentrate on actually using the toilet. What she needed was someone to hold her steady like a toilet training toddler, at least until she gained more strength her quad muscles but she wasn't going to ask Kana for embrassing help such as that. Even if she was now feeling uncomfortable from holding it.

Next problem, clothing.

Jael stepped back and her eyes became wide as Kana started undressing herself but it quickly became evident that she had been wearing her PE clothes all this time. Jael rushed over to her cubby hole to check if Jay had packed a PE kit for her. With a sigh of relief she found it and took the clothes away to the toilets with her so that she could change privately, she made a mental note to keep her PE uniform on as underclothes afterwards.

She returned to the classroom to put her main uniform away as Kana had suggested. Feeling self conscious about the short bloomers of the PE uniform Jael was keen to distract herself with work. She retuned to Kana's side, awaiting instruction.

"I'm ready. How would you like me to help?"