Food for Thought

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Teresa hummed quietly as she laid out her materials onto her kitchen table in anticipation of her guest. Rather than anything one might expect to be prepared when expecting a guest, such as food or drinks, Teresa instead had begun to lay out several study materials. Books on a few simple subjects such as history and magic, along with some study guides. Turning her normally empty kitchen into a classroom so the speak. Though her free time was limited and she had no obligation to teach outside of a classroom, when faced with the choice of turning away a willing mind or giving up her free time to expand both her own knowledge and that of a rather unique student. It was to no one's surprise when she made the obvious choice of teaching. Making sure that everything was set, she was about to look up at the clock when she heard a soft knock at the door to her home. With a bit of enthusiasm, perhaps more than she had felt in quite some time given the daily stresses of life, she answered the door to see her young looking, purple-haired guest. "Good evening, Tali, I'm glad you chose to show up. I admit I was worried that you might not. Given your situation and all. Please, come in, I have everything set up in the kitchen."
Tali stood by the door knocking softly upon it, practically bouncing in place with anticipation. She was a bit worried over what Teresa's reaction would be to her being a bit late, knowing she could be rather strict when it came to the subject of studying. Once she heard the rustle of locks and shuffling by the door she forced herself still in order to appear more proper. Teresa now stood before her, and to her pleasant surprise, she did not immediately open a rant on her being late, but rather show concern for her. She felt both happy and touched by this kindness. "Good evening, Sensei. Yes, my predicaments are not that fun, but luckily I have people like you who help to look out for me." She said as she stepped in through the door, taking off her shoes and following Teresa through the hallway and into the kitchen. "I know I keep saying this, but thank you for taking the time, Ms. Stein. It means so very much to me. Now... Where do we start?"
Teresa's eyes widened ever so little, somewhat surprised the by child-like eagerness that the woman showed. Quite a bit more so than her average student but the shine in the girl's eyes was certainly a familiar one normally reserved for the higher level students who saw their scores as a gateway to greater things. She pulled up a chair and took a seat, "I couldn't very well turn away an eager mind willing to learn. Though the school may not see it my way, I feel that whether one is an adult or not, someone seeking knowledge should never be left to fend for themselves. I hope that I can be a satisfactory teacher for you, Tali" She said, a small but noticeable smile on her lips. "As for where we should start, I suppose it might be good to grasp an understanding of what it is you already know. I imagine you can read and write to a functional degree, but what do you know about things such as magic and history? Do you know basic math such as multiplication and division? Anything you're particularly interested in learning?" She asked, not experienced in teaching someone she didn't already know had gone through the schooling necessary to become a student in her school.
Biting her thumb, Tali began to ponder what she would like to learn first. "I mean, I would really be up for anything you think I could have use of most. I have studied some history of this country, I would like to think I am proficient with magic since my Isle days. So I think I would like to learn some of this math you just mentioned." Tali said as she took a seat opposite of her teacher. "Just... One quick question... What is math?"
Teresa listened to Tali carefully, wanting to gain a good understanding of where it is she should start with the girl before her. She nodded along, putting the pieces together inside of her head until it all came crashing down at once with the revelation that Tali didn't seem to know not only basic math, but what math was in general. She tried to rationalize it in her head, chalking it up to a language barrier of some sort. "Well, there are some very complicated ways to answer that question but to keep things simple I'll try to cut it down to a basic description. You see, math is numbers, I know you know what numbers are. You take numbers and you do things to those numbers. Like, if I had two Drasil and spent one then I would have one less but if I received one Drasil, I would have three..." She explained, realizing that her work might very well be more than she had anticipated. "Does that ring any bells?"
Tali sat and nodded along with what Teresa was saying, following along just nicely with her words and explanation of this math. "Ooooh, so that is math! Oh yeah, I know what that is, I know numbers... I just never learned it. More accurately, I was never allowed to." She said slightly solemnly, as she did some simple additions and subtractions by holding up her fingers and putting them down or up as she took away or added a number. "I... Can't really do anything beyond twenty though. I don't know those numbers. I was trained to be a soldier. I was meant to attack things and break things, not think about things. To think was a waste of precious battle time in their words."
Teresa's brow shifted with concern, seeing that the person before her was raised terribly, if raised is a word that could even be used to describe her childhood. "Filthy, foolish words," Teresa said with bite in her words. "Forgive me, that wasn't directed at you. It just infuriates me to think someone would say that to a child, would treat someone like that." She continued with a kinder voice as she placed a hand on Tali's shoulder, "Please forget their words, don't let the ignorance of others weigh you down. So long as you're willing, I promise I'll teach you everything you could hope to learn..." She said with passion in her voice before letting out a sigh, realizing she'd gotten worked up, "but before that we'll have to start with the basics." She placed a math book down in front of Tali, opening it up to the back of the book. "You see, numbers are actually infinite. They keep going and going beyond what we even have names for. But they're all comprised of the numbers zero through nine. Take ten for example, which is one and zero together. They're lower numbers but when put together they're higher. So after twenty, which has a two and a zero, twenty one would come next. Which is made up of a two and a one. What would come after that?"
Infinite numbers? Does that mean that there are infinite possibilites with this?... This is so exciting! Tali thought to herself as she continued to listen to what Teresa was teaching, taking in every syllable as if it were gospel. "Well... Unless I am missing anything, it would be two and a two? Then two and a three and so forth until... A three and a zero?" Tali guessed, though she felt pretty confident with her answer. Then she realized that she might have spoken a bit more than she was meant to, thus cringing her face while ducking her head down as if she was anticipating a blow from her teacher.
Teresa's eyebrows raised when Tali ducked her head after answering her question. Teresa reached out, placing her hand gently on the girl's head. "You're right, it will continue in that pattern until you reach ninety-nine then you will add a digit to the front. So it will be one followed by two zeroes and then the pattern repeats itself again and again." Teresa explained before removing her hand from the girl's head. It felt odd to her, to speak to an adult like this, even if Tali did look younger than her actual age. Still, it was obvious that the girl hadn't had much of a childhood to begin with. So perhaps, if just a little, she could coddle her at least a bit. "You're a fast learner, Tali. I can't wait to see what untapped potential lies within you."
Tali rose her head back up when she realized that a hit was not incoming. At Teresa's praise, she suddenly felt really happy. It had been so long since she had received any real praise for the work she's doing, even if it was still a bit simplistic and probably childish level of studies. "Thank you, Ms Stein!" Tali almost exclaimed. She held her head where Teresa had placed her hand, wondering what that gesture was. Should she ask, or would that be inappropriate? She elected to ask all the same. "Ms Teresa? What was that head-pat thing? Is that a common gesture to be shown to students or inferiors?"
Teresa wasn't sure how to answer, having never been asked such a question before. She felt she would probably be put into a situation like this very often from now on. She brought her index finger to her bottom lip and thought for a moment, "I suppose that you could call it an act of endearment. It's a gesture that someone would do to show they care, I wouldn't say that teachers often do it to students. After all, not everyone likes to be touched, and prideful people might think it means you're looking down on them..." She said before thinking for a moment longer, "I would say that it is normally done between people who are close friends or siblings, a parent might do it to their child as well. I would say I did it because, well, I know you've been through a lot...and I don't want you to think the world is as cruel as it may seem. I suppose I wanted you to know that I cared, in my own my." She spoke awkwardly, not used to breaking away from her stoic and cold exterior in front of others, especially not to show affection.
Tali's eyes grew wide with appreciation and fondness. "T-thank you." She spoke softly before trailing off. "I didn't know there was such kindness to be found. I know that I've seen parents around here smile and pet their children, but I didn't think it could happen between strangers. I was always taught to be resilient and strong, telling me that kindness was a weakness I did not need. I am getting more and more happy to be here and be taught the opposite. To know that consideration and sweet gestures can be shown without making you lesser." Tali spoke with a bright smile on her face. "Alright, I am ready to continue! Or are you maybe hungry? Should I cook something for us first?"
Teresa allowed herself a small smile, enjoying the act of being able to make someone else feel happy. At Tali's question, Teresa was ready to continue with the lesson but stopped as she felt her stomach growl in protest to her own thoughts. She was a bit embarrassed, forgetting that she'd skipped lunch entirely and not even made dinner before Tali arrived. She knew it was an unhealthy habit but with so few hours in the day how could one possibly spend more than a few minutes cooking or eating? "I don't know, I don't want to impose or anything of the sort. If you're hungry I would offer to make something but I admit I don't have much on hand or the skill to make anything satisfying." Teresa hesitantly admitted her lack of knowledge in the culinary arts.