118 - Child Prison… I mean, School

  After a few more questions, the plans finally began to come to life. The school was no longer just a concept in Nexha’s mind — it was taking shape before his very eyes. The classroom foundations had already been built by Ayla and her team, beneath the platforms, protecting the exposed beams while also providing a suitable environment for learning.

  With the help of Lilay and his charm, the other villagers accepted the idea more easily. The first partitions were raised, creating distinct spaces for the classes.

  The first big challenge was resistance. Many still saw it as a waste of time. Why spend hours learning something when they could be doing something more fun? Nexha knew this issue existed even in his own world. Slowly, some would enjoy certain tasks and try to learn more, but you couldn’t force everyone.

  The group he most wanted to teach was the children. That’s why he had Lilay, with his charm, suggest that it would be better for children to be in the care of learning adults than left unprotected in the sea. His charm worked like a charm — the adults appreciated the free time, while the kids were condemned to school prison.

  The first class was something simple: bamboo weaving, with Helen leading the demonstration. Many showed up out of curiosity, while others came simply because they had nothing better to do at the moment. At first, attention was scattered, but as Helen demonstrated techniques and showed how even beginners could make something useful like the baskets used to store rice, interest grew.

  Nexha watched from a distance, satisfied. But he knew that wasn’t enough. So, he decided to take things further.

  Later that day, he went to check on the barrels — the rice wine he had left to ferment had finally yielded results. Not all were successful, but two barrels had turned out well. Nervously, he tasted both. He decided to turn the ones that hadn’t fermented properly into vinegar and kept the two successful ones, wanting to let them age a bit longer before presenting the drink to the village.

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  Unfortunately, some barrels resulted in nothing but rotten rice. The contents were dumped a bit away from the village, and the stench made Nexha gag — though, strangely, the lucky crabs loved it and swarmed the pile of spoiled rice.

  The next day, he announced a cooking class focused on food preservation techniques. However, when the smell of the vinegar began to spread, it disgusted many — some even vomited. Even so, they pushed through the lesson with determination, and the first jars of preserved food were completed. Reactions might improve in a few days once they tasted the preserves.

  Over time, the lessons began to diversify.

  Nalu took responsibility for teaching about the care of hatchlings and basic healing techniques. She held these classes in the old nest to keep an eye on her eggs. Gradually, other mermaids began bringing their eggs to the old nest as well. At first, only Nalu kept her eggs there — allowed by Krahs — but once she and Helen became friends, they started taking turns caring for all the eggs. Nalu’s shifts were longer, though; she had such a deep attachment to her first clutch that it was hard to explain.

  Helen continued to teach construction and weaving in shifts, though she didn’t stay in the nest as long as Nalu.

  Lilay became an unexpected instructor, organizing small groups and teaching them about the tastiest fish he’d ever caught.

  Jasper, still very young, watched everything with wide, fascinated eyes — especially the math class Ayla gave to the construction group. With so many classrooms being built, Nexha had left one for the builders to meet and discuss ideas. Over time, Ayla taught them the math she’d learned from Nexha and explained its importance in building.

  These developments brought Nexha great joy. The construction team even planned a few new warehouses. The calculations — done on bamboo strips — made Nexha proud. They had even figured out how many nails he would need to make to help with construction.

  The happiness of seeing the village slowly becoming more self-sufficient warmed his heart.