"Just a bit. I know what YouTube is, but not anything about how it works. I grew up without television, you know."

"I know you're old but it can be hard to remember what that means."

"Enjoy your lack of perspective while it lasts, whipper-snapper."

"I'm a teenager, shouldn't you just be glad my lack of perspective doesn't involve getting drunk or having sex?"

"Oh, you know I was joking. I do appreciate that you're not the sort to do those things. Spirit Bearers are hard to get properly drunk, just to inform you. And we don't get STIs, and we're significantly less fertile but not completely cut out of the chance to have children."

"I was...also joking. Or trying to."

"Yeah, I got that, but I didn't want to forget to tell you later. I think teens should have all the facts, I don't hold with the stupid abstinence-only health classes. Sorry."

"That's fair. I dunno, I've never even wanted to kiss anyone before, maybe that'll change now I'm not so scared all the time."

"Well, whether or not you end up wanting to kiss people, whoever those people end up being, I hope you can feel safe talking about it."

"Thank you." ...Hug.

Hug.

"Pasta sound good for dinner?"

"Mhm."

Then he goes to make pasta when the hug ends, humming contentedly.

She goes to her room to read.

There will be pasta in half an hour, and an uneventful end to the day. Kent gently reminds her to do any homework she may have gotten.

She does her homework and reads some more and then goes to bed.

The next morning he'll have another big breakfast, and ask Anna-Seraphina if she needs anything, and then drive her to school in pleasant quiet - or quiet conversation as she prefers - as if they've been doing this for weeks.

She doesn't need anything, and prefers quiet for now.

This is nice.

She goes to school, still nervous of excess attention from her classmates.

However much she was news yesterday, it's receding a bit today. Her science class lab partner, Clare, uses her phone during the lecture again. No lab today, so they don't really talk.

She gets invited to a couple clubs. The Animation Club openly admits that "we kinda need a fifth person or they won't let us use the computer lab for rendering" while the Reading Club and the Science Club's invitations seem more genuine.

Does the Animation Club require that she actually show up on a regular basis or otherwise pay more than lip service to membership, because she is willing to let them put her name on computer lab request forms but doesn't know much about animation and learning isn't high on her priority list. She investigates Reading Club and Science Club.

Uh, she'd probably have to show up at least once every couple weeks and pretend for Animation Club. Sorry. If she's really not interested, never mind, we'll look for someone else.

The Reading Club holds freeform book discussions, preferably you can talk about the books from the list they make once a month, and that's about it.

The Science Club is run by a different science teacher than hers, a much more enthusiastic one. They do a bunch of different stuff, mostly after-hours demonstrations and experiments of neat science stuff. Learning how to do Proper Real Science, or so it's claimed.

Does showing up require, like, not sitting in a corner reading a book?

"Sorry but nooo honestly I was hoping you were really actually maybe interested, 'cause animating is fun, and this was a sneakier way to ask. Never mind. It's weird now."

Slightly uncomfortable shrug. "Okay."

She will join both the Reading and Science clubs if there is no scheduling conflict.

She'll have to skip one or two specific science club things, but not everyone in the club goes to all the things, it's no big deal as long as the teacher has a headcount far enough in advance so she can prepare materials for experiments.