It was evident just how much Jasper cared about her daughter the way she spoke about her. Pearl was touched to see such a strong relationship between the two and started to understand why Mala acted the way she did as it seemed her mother was at the core of her strength. The instructor smiled warmly listening to Jasper speak of her daughter as they waited for the remainder of the class to finish. "It's good to hear she's taking her studies seriously. She's really one of the better students I have. I've only been at this a week, but the kids that have what it takes have clearly showed it. I might have to break the class off into two parts here eventually so that those who are practicing at a slower rate than the others aren't pressed..." She ended her commentary as more of a murmur to herself as she was lost in thought again.<br/><br/>The class ended promptly on time and the rest of the kids were shuffled out while a few actually whined over the special lessons Mala was getting over them. Pearl just chuckled and sent them on their way with a future promise to do the same for them should their parents permit it. In the hour she shared with Mala and Jasper, she taught the child a few new defensive moves and even outlined how to do them a little slower with Mala when she noticed how heavily her mother was watching them. The thought of the two of them going home and Mala persistently pressing her mother to duel with her made the instructor smile. She'd never had any kids of her own as she'd always been busy in her life doing other things, but being able to teach the children in that gym filled whatever void wanting children made.<br/><br/>Pearl was blotting the sweat from her brow as Mala ran to her mother towards the end of their private lesson.<i>"Flex... I wanna see da muscles."</i>The petite instructor's eyes went wide.<i>Oh please... do not--</i>Anything to appease her daughter, Jasper did as she was told and Pearl just about fainted on the spot. She held in her gasp by placing her hands over her mouth, her face flushing red. "Oh my stars..." was her muttered-under-the-breath response to such a primal scene. When Jasper looked her way to say goodbye, the hair on the back of Pearl's neck stood on end and she managed a meek wave. "Ah... G-Goodbye.... oh..." When they finally left her classroom, Pearl let her knees unlock and carry her to the ground with a hand gripping at her chest. Who knew someone like<i>that</i>was her type?! She was in touch enough with her own feelings to know she was already developing a crush on the amazonian, but she'd never been interested in that type before. The way that woman's muscled undulated under her skin... and those adorable stripes of skin that fizzled into a shade more akin to her own...<br/><br/>It was a few more minutes before the poor pearl was able to compose herself and finally head home. She'd almost forgot about the private lesson she was offering, so by the time she'd made it to her apartment, the silhouette of a young woman not much older than her gave her a surprise. "Aah~ M-Miss Lemone!" Pearl called, trying to cover up the embarrassment she felt for having forgotten all about her.<br/><br/>The whole rest of the month went by rather smoothly. Pearl was slowly finding a routine in her new workload and even got the added bonus of seeing Mala's mother every couple days; usually when she was coming to pick up her daughter. Mala had been so good about never missing any classes to the point where Pearl started to worry when she missed two of the classes for the week. When she missed the third one, Pearl found out that Jasper had been missing her classes as well. Being the doting individual that she was, Pearl ended up going to the gym director to see about getting Jasper's number. She was so shy about the whole ordeal that she hadn't been thinking straight enough to just outright ask the man what might be happening, or if he even knew. Instead, towards the end of her classes for the day, she waited until she got home in a comfortable environment and finally dialed the number given to her. There was a lump in her throat forming as the ringer continued to go off, so when it was actually Mala that answered the phone, Pearl was slightly relieved; she wasn't sure how she'd speak properly if Jasper had answered the phone.<br/><br/>Mala let her know her mother was sick and that they were both missing classes, but had the kindness to inform her instructor she was getting to school still, somehow. Pearl let that slide for now, though she was worried just how the child was getting to school without her mother. When she piped up and asked if there was anything they needed since her mother was likely not well enough to go to the store, Mala told her they were fine, but suggested she come over and see them. Hearing the eagerness of the child warmed Pearl's heart and despite her plans and desire to play the antisocial butterfly, she agreed and got their address.<br/><br/>It wasn't but an hour later and a few wrong turns that Pearl was nervously knocking on their door and holding a crockpot of food. Even though Mala had mentioned they were fine, she took it upon herself anyway to make them some dinner that was designed to nurse Jasper back to health. Burying her face in her scarf to hide the flush in her cheeks, she waited for Mala to answer the door; already having second thoughts on the whole thing.