Chapter 37. The Curious Case of Benji

Carla hissed as her head was violently wrenched back by the little girl braiding her hair.

"Not so hard, erm..." Her wince grew even deeper as she tried to remember one out of the hundred names that had been given to her.

"Beet," the little girl introduced with a gap-toothed smile as she finished off the braid she had been working on. "All done!"

There wasn't a mirror in sight, but from what Carla could feel as she traced it with her fingers, there were enough tangles and twists to need scissors when it was time to take it out. 

Either way, she smiled, touched by the infectious joy of the child. "Thank you, Beet. Why don't you go play with..." She waved vaguely at two kids in the corner.

Thankfully, Beet took pity on the short-term memory of her human caretaker and went on her way. 

Carla's eyes were immediately drawn to Benji's lone figure.

The school day had finally ended after hours of Carla stumbling her way through teaching nu