Alright then. 

"Hey Scott, I was wondering..." he starts, once they're sat down.

"Could we come by the vet clinic and see you sometime? Maybe get a tour?"

He tries to make it sound like an idle thought, not a big deal either way. 

"I should ask my boss...but that would be nice."

"Great! Let us know when's a good time, I don't want to get in the way or anything."

Scott is parsing this as Liam taking an interest in his work, which is fine; Dad will interpret it as Liam and Rowan going out with their friends, which is also fine;  Rowan gets to spend time with Scott, which will be good for her; and Liam gets to look at animals and maybe draw some of them, which is excellent.

"I'll get back to you."

Does Rowan feel like practicing her Spanish? They can talk about food.

Yes, they can, and Rowan will only have to look up or ask for a few vocabulary words. 

Liam, having done Spanish for the last couple of years, will join in the conversation. 

"Liam helps me with my homework," Rowan explains. 

"Is it nice to have a brother?"

"Yes, it is very nice to have a brother," Rowan says, smiling at Liam.

"I like Liam. He is the best brother." 

She would never say such things in public in English, but Spanish feels private enough with only Scott and Liam able to easily understand her. 

"Rowan is the best sister," Liam tells Scott. 

He smiles back at her, wanting to hug her but knowing she wouldn't allow it in the middle of the lunchroom. 

Erica eats her lunch quietly. 

Scott makes the call as soon as he finishes up. 

"Dr. Deaton says it's fine, so you guys can come over whenever you have time."

"Awesome, I'll let you know." 

Liam finishes his lunch and starts getting ready to head in the direction of his next class.

"We'll need to clear it with Dad, so it can't be tonight. Maybe Tuesday after Human Rights?"

"I'll just entertain myself."

"Tuesday is fine."

"Tuesday it is," he agrees.

"See you later, Scott, Erica. Rowan, I'll meet you in the library after Art club."

And off to gym class. Rowan goes to English. 

Today they'll be starting (flag) football. 

This class will just be overview and practice, convenient for anyone who hasn't played the game before.

Liam listens carefully to the explanation of the rules. 

He's glad he gets to experience American football for the first time in non-contact form rather than the standard version. Hopefully he won't be completely terrible at it, but he's not expecting to be anywhere near as good at this as he was at dodgeball or baseball. 

Lacking in contact, the game favors faster players over stronger across the board. 

Jackson doesn't seem pleased with the lack of contact, but he's reasonably quick. 

They both perform mediocrely. 

Liam feels like he should say something very British about how back home they played proper football. 

He resists the impulse; his dad probably wouldn't have. 

"That was fun," he says to David instead. He thinks he did well, considering he's never played before, but doesn't say that because David didn't do much better than him and it would sound like bragging.

"Was it? I guess it might have the novelty factor for you. Football is a waste of energy."

The best response to that is probably to nod, but not in a way that seems like he's definitely agreeing, more that he considers it a valid point.

"Yeah, I thought I noticed you weren't trying as hard as you sometimes do. Saving your energy for more worthwhile pursuits?"

"Something like that. I've noticed you hanging out with Haldane."

...Well, that's a non sequitur if ever there was one.

"Scott? Yeah, we hang out sometimes, he's friends with Rowan. Why?"

He likes Scott, but doesn't want to ruin his chances with the popular crowd by making it too obvious that he's friends with the outcast. 

"-oh, he's her friend. That makes more sense. My condolences."

...Wow. 

And here Liam was starting to think that he might like being friends with David. He shouldn't confront him too directly; no need to make an enemy. Probably best to just feign ignorance and get him to expose his own pettiness, although Rowan's better at that tactic.

"Sorry, what?" 

"She's a lonely sort of person, right? It makes sense. Scott's not a bad guy, exactly, but he and Erica are a bit...off."