Come As You Are (An Anne With An E/Sebastian 'Bash' Lacroix Fanfic)

02. First Day

I woke up with the sun on my face. I groaned and stretched, a whine escaping my mouth. Sitting up, I brought my feet to the floor. I stood up and grabbed some clothes. I changed and brushed my hair into a bun. As I did, there was a knock on the door.

"Yes?" I called out as I grabbed a hairpin.

The door creaked open. "Good morning, Aria."

"Goodmorning, Anne," I replied. "What brings you in here?"

"School starts soon and I was wondering if you wanted to come," Anne asked. "Everyone is so nice there and I think you would love it."

I felt my hair and slid a pin in my bun. "I think you forget that I can't read or write. I can't go to school."

"I can help you," Anne said. "I can make up a story."

I added another pin in. "I'm glad for the offer but I can't accept. I don't believe that they have Braille books that I can read. No one can help me."

Anne shuffled closer. "Will you consider it?"

I stood and looked at her. "Maybe but I don't think it will happen. Not unless there's a special tutor that can teach me."

"Oh, Aria, you look positively stunning," Anne said, grabbing my arms. "I didn't notice it before but you are radiating."

I laughed. "Thank you, Anne, but I believe it's time for you to leave. I have to help Marilla."

Anne let go of me. "I'll see you after school. Good day."

"Good day!" I called after her as her feet ran off.

I followed more slowly, my fingers tracing the wall as I went. I found the stairs and went down. I heard someone hustling around the kitchen.

"Hello?" I called. "Is that Marilla?"

"Yes, it is," Marilla replied. "Come over here. I need your help sweeping the deck. Here's the broom."

I stepped forward and reached out. Marilla handed me the broom and I headed in the direction that I remembered the deck was in. I swept the deck, humming to myself.

When I finished, I went back inside. I found Marilla and she tasked me with making food for the day. I liked how busy the day was. Anne came home a few hours later, bursting with energy.

"Oh, Aria, I have so much to tell you!" Anne exclaimed. "It's been an exciting day. I want to tell you all about it. We learned so much."

"I'm glad," I said. "You can tell me as you help me with this."

I heard the bench scrape across the floor as Anne sat down. "Mr. Phillips is teaching us math that's complicated and I don't quite understand it but I have my friend, Diana, to help me. She's really smart and she can speak French."

"I can speak three languages," I replied.

"What?" Anne gasped. "Which ones?"

"French, Finnish, and Xhosa," I replied.

"How did you learn those?" Anne asked. "I don't know any of those and you aren't Finnish and I haven't a clue where the other one is from."

"Xhosa?" I asked. "It's a language spoken in Africa. One of the help at the school was from South Africa. She taught me Xhosa. It's a language of clicks."

"Oh how I would love to hear you speak it," Anne said.

I started speaking to her, talking about anything that came to mind. I imagined her listening intently, watch me with wide curious eyes.

"Oh, that was beautiful!" Anne asked. "Please, speak to me more in . . . how do you pronounce it?"

"Xhosa," I replied.

"Xhosa?" Anne repeated slowly, saying it wrong.

I repeated and when she tried to mimic me, she messed up completely. We started laughing after a few tries and I grabbed her arms, giggling to myself.

"What's so funny?" Marilla asked.

"Aria was telling me she speaks Xhosa, a language spoken in Africa," Anne replied. "She was trying to teach me how to say the name of the language."

"You speak an African language?" Marilla asked slowly.

I nodded. "A friend taught me as I grew up in the blind school. I can speak it fluently though I have no one to talk to in it."

Anne grabbed my arm. "You can teach me. I will be a great student."

I patted her wrist. "Maybe. What else is there to do, Marilla?"

"Anne, I need you to retrieve the laundry from outside," Marilla said. "Dinner is soon so don't take too long."

Anne's bench scraped against the floor and her footsteps could be heard walking away. I got up and felt around for a water bucket of some sort. I found one and dipped a nearby towel in it. I washed my hands off and sat back down.

Marilla and Anne came back in and we started setting the table for dinner. I helped as best I could and sat in an open spot. I waited patiently for food to be ready and everyone to sit down.

An extra pair of feet came in and sat at the head of the table. Marilla set a plate in front of me and sat on the other and of the table.

I tapped the table near where I thought her arm was. "Who else is at the table?"

"Oh, this is my brother, Mathew," Marilla said. "Mathew, this is Aria Blythe, Gibert Blythe's sister. She's going to be staying with us for a few days."

"Ah, yes, I remember," Mathew said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Aria."

I smiled. "It's a pleasure as well. I'm afraid I won't be much of a help in the yard."

"Why is that?" Mathew asked.

"I'm blind," I replied. "I can't do outside work besides laundry or something like that."

I didn't hear anything else from Matthew. We ate in silence and I went upstairs to read. Everything was quiet as I laid in bed. It was peaceful. A small knock on the door came through the silence and I called out in response.

The door creaked open and Marilla whispered, "Goodnight, Aria."

"Goodnight, Marilla," I said normally.

"Oh, you're awake," Marilla said with a jump. "The lights were out and I thought you were asleep."

"No, I was just reading," I replied. "I'll be up for a little bit more. I'll see you in the morning."

"Yes," Marilla said. "I hope your first night here goes alright."

"Thank you," I replied. "See you in the morning."

The door closed and I started reading again. I spent a few more minutes reading before I set the book aside. I pulled the covers up and closed my eyes, falling asleep soon enough.