CYTM9

=Chapter 9=
==Can you tell me where can we start over?==
Jugendmilitärakademie Groningen
Donegal, Donegal Province
Lyran Commonwealth
3045
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Boarding school, in other words. Grades 2-12, full service, including holiday hours.  The pre-academy program to beat all pre-academy programs in the Commonwealth, students from Groningen have a higher than 70% chance of attending The Nagelring, or Sanglamore on an academic scholarship or merit-based tuition enhancement.
It's probably one of the best schools for pre-academy prep in the inner sphere, with a reputation for discipline and excellence unmatched by State schools.  
Tuition is around 118,000 Kroner per year, not including books or uniforms, which must be purchased separately, though allowances for 'less privileged' students of academic note are in place, the true strength of Groningen, is the contacts made prior to entry into the national military academy system.
Groningen hasn't had an alumni wash out of the Nagelring...ever.
The third years are outdoors, burning off excess energies through controlled active play.
They're not alone. Years 2-6 have the same lunch periods, with the same recess periods.  The older children are expected to provide an example to younger students of School Spirit and Discipline.
This is a fancy way of suggesting that the bullying is controlled and focused to serve as both a disciplinary development tool. As a means of shorting the staff supervising what the children get up to outdoors.
Fighting is 'frowned upon' by the school, except in controlled academic circumstances, which is to say, outside of boxing club for the older (grades 7-12) students.
A transfer student from the Federated Suns, a Geordi LeFavre, (Grade 5) has just called Elizabeth Ngo (grade 3) a zipperhead whore. Then pushed her down, then swatted a boy named Brewer across the face for objecting.
The provocation for this, is not particularly clear.  The girl's response?
well...
Her brother Henry (grade 7) managed to see it from the window of the science classroom where he's only making middling marks.
Imagine a girl, small for her age being pushed down and insulted by a boy large for his age. Strutting his dominance the same way he did in every boarding school in the Federated Suns that he's been kicked out of (to the absolute scandal of his Noble Father).
Now, you might assume there would be crying, and you would be correct.
There is also blood, because Lizzie hit the play yard rather hard, skinning a knee and one of her palms, but there's where normality ends.
Instead of crying, there's a mighty (well, for a small third-grader) caterwaul of uncoiling rage, and she's up, she's moving, she's not running from the bigger boy.
She leads off with all her strength delivered in a punch-not to his chest, but...lower.
She headbutts his chest at the same time, her little legs pumping force and power into both fist, and forehead.  Knocking a very surprised, larger boy, on his ass just as he feels the impact to his 'nards.
And then, she's on him.
Crawling and kicking and biting, he tries to roll over as she crawls along until she's on his back. One knock-knee jammed into his kidney, then to the collar of his school blazer in one hand, his thick light brown hair clenched in her fist. Grinding his face into the pavement, screaming, "EAT IT!! EAT THE DIRT!! EAT IT!!!"
Discipline has clearly had a break here.  Maybe it's out by the slide, having a smoke...or maybe it's just having a little trouble getting through the ring of younger students as one of them. Is getting backsies for all the harassment from the upper-classmen.
Injuries are shockingly likely, and parents, must be called.
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"You okay Little Bit?" Henry asked in the nurse's office, as the school nurse cleaned his little sister's wounds.
"Yeah." Liz said, "I'm sorry, Henry. I didn't mean to be bad, but he called me a name and he pushed me down!"
"I got that. They're reviewing the security tapes with Mom in the office." He told her, "You really hurt that guy."
"He called me a 'zipperhead' an' a 'cappie whore'." she told him, "Then he pushed me down, and he hit Brewer too, for trying to speak up."
"Liz, they're saying they have to send that kid to a dentist. You broke adult teeth."
"He hit me first, grandpa said 'never let them hit you twice'." she said defensively.
"I know, but this isn't Kowloon. Not even a little Bit.  The rules are different here."
"They're not fair." she said firmly.
"No, they're not.  They're the rules. You're supposed to report things like that to the teachers and let them handle it."
"Stupid rule." Elizabeth spat, "Besides, I didn't hurt him that bad, I did worse to Charlie Vanh when he stole my cake."
"Charlie didn't have all his teeth in and no you didn't. You made him cry, but you were both six. You were playing Towers by the end of the day...nobody had to go to the hospital, Lizzie."
"Geordi was a jerk anyway, I'm glad he has to get his teeth worked on!" she snapped, "He hit Brewer in the face! and he picks on all the younger kids! Teachers don't do anything about it!"
"Liz..." he sighed, "Mom's pissed, Lizzie."
The girl froze.  "Mom's angry?"
"Spitting angry." he told her. "If...look, maybe Dad will be home."
"You're talking like..." she began
"I think they're gonna kick you out." he told her, "That means you have to go live with mom again for a while."
"Why can't I go live with the Mosoviches? or the Vanhs?" she fretted, "I don't wanna go live in Post Housing!"  but he knew what she really meant.  He'd been exposed to it before.  Mom's...instability at home.  Her alcohol, and her temper.
"You've gotta pay more attention to the rules, Lizzie.  Not the rules at Grandpa's, but the rest of the world's rules."
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