[Kieran mouths the names of the letters as Ben points them out, searching for them and the others in their names when he writes them on the board.]

Okay, yeah. Thanks. I'll remember that.

[Then he repeats after Ben, low, under his breath. Some of these are familiar, remnants of a past where he'd tried to learn either on his own or via osmosis from others' studies, but he never made it too far in either of those directions. Whether it be from lack of motivation or lack of opportunity, he won't really say. As far as he's concerned, it doesn't really matter. Regardless of his reasons, he's still stuck in this position now, and it's time for him to grab the proverbial bull by the horns and do what he can to fix it. At least he's surrounded by kindness now, with people willing to help. It's amazing how what could be seen as a minor change can make all of the difference in the world.]

It ain't, uh, it ain't a matter of law where I'm from. They got schoolhouses, yeah, but you don't gotta go if yer parents need ya at home to work or if you don't have any parents to send ya.

[The latter is far too common in his day and age.]

[He's silent for a moment before he opens up again.]

I-In my case it was a mix of both. Me, my ma, and my pa, we were always on the move, headin' out west, so it wasn't practical fer me to go to school.

Then, uh, well they passed, and I didn't have anyone to send me. And goin' to school doesn't put a roof over yer head or food in yer belly.