"Maybe." She didn't outright agree to it or reject the idea, but it was likely she probably wouldn't attend one. One never knew who they would run into there and she was wary enough to avoid crowds.
Luckily, the counter was made to be stood at. Or rather, sat at. There were stools that lined the counter area, making it look a bit like a bar, except the stools were silver, and padded liberally with blue pleather cushions. The cash register was all the way at one end of the counter, so the only customers Jia Li was blocking were those who might want the seat she was standing next to.
When Marie returned from helping the other customers, she took Jia's empty dish and turned around to put it in a tub of other dirty dishes ready to be taken back to be rinsed and put in the industrial sized dishwasher. She turned back to the girl and the counter, swiping at it with her towel. Jia had been neat, but a drop of caramel lingered from the messy dish.
"It's a great class, I think you'll find it really interesting." Marie said that because she found it interesting, but she was aware that not everyone felt that way about the ocean. "You'll probably take a few field trips to the beach, depending on who you've got for it. And probably tackle the aquarium." It was important to observe fish in their natural environment, as well as the temporary and artificial homes created to preserve and protect them.
"Me, too. My family lives along the coast. Most of the time." She gave a thin smile, fairly sure she shouldn't have delved into their personal histories without getting to know her better. But it was difficult to get to know someone without asking some personal questions in the meantime. "My siblings have gone to Alden, too. Not all of them, but some of them." Again with the personal information.
"I'm on the swim team. We won regionals last year. Hopefully we'll do just as well this year, if not better. What about you?" She was grateful that Jia had steered the conversation away from their family. She seemed to have a loose tongue in her head today and heaven knew she would probably spill about having more than one mother and then where would that get her?