January 3rd 2018

Chapter 3
Their Return to Class

Lunch time rolled in, it felt to her, very suddenly but also not a moment too soon. She had started out the day with a double shot of what she had a feeling would turn into a headache in no time, AP chemistry, followed by AP algebra. At the very least, they would be over and done with for the rest of the day, wouldn't they… Once she'd made it through that, she'd needed a moment to get on track with French in third period; she'd never been more thankful for the time she had spent in France over the summer.

They came out of Mr. Matthews' World History class in mass, the nine of them heading for the cafeteria looking like they all really needed this break even more than they needed the food itself. It felt a lot like the first day of the previous year, their first in high school, all of them sort of whiplashed with new things. But then they'd be sitting with their friends, and their trays, and they would all start talking, sharing the events of the morning.

Once they'd settled in with their lockers, they'd split off, Lucas heading toward Chemistry along with Riley, Zay, Dylan, and Joey, while Maya led off toward AP Chemistry with Nadine, Asher, and Rebecca. Dylan had made a joke as they'd gone their separate ways that it really wasn't the best idea to have them messing with fire and chemicals when they were all barely awake. Riley had gotten a look of concern at once, over her potential clumsiness. Maya had done her best to reassure her that she wouldn't burn down the place to tiny bits, though she'd still thrown a look to Lucas as they'd gone, putting him in charge of the Riley Reassurance Brigade. With a smile and a tip of the head, he'd promised.

They hadn't done anything that would put her or the school in trouble that morning, though Maya was sure her good Huckleberry would be ready to jump into action if ever he was needed. About halfway through her class, she was feeling like she could do with some of that magic herself… She hadn't been concerned, going in, and to some extent she still wasn't, but… Well, no matter how much she felt some seed of confidence firmly planted within, it did leave her with a feeling not unlike piling on a week's worth of work in a day. Then they'd gotten out of there, and as Asher and Rebecca had gone off and rejoined the others for Algebra, she and Nadine had been bound for its advanced counterpart.

Walking out of there, Maya's head had felt heavy, like she'd lose her footing for the weight of it. She'd left Nadine, who was off to Spanish class, and she'd gone to find her 'partners in French endeavors,' also known as Lucas, Riley, Dylan, and Rebecca.

"You alright?" Lucas had asked her as she'd seen her coming. She hadn't replied until she'd hugged him good for a few seconds.

"Can we just pretend we're in Paris for the next little while and pretend none of… that… happened?" she asked him, frowning to herself.

"That bad?" he asked, rubbing at her back.

"No, it's fine, just a lot, you know?" she explained as they went into the classroom. "Can I get a pastry or something?"

"There should be pie at lunch," he offered.

"That'll do, yeah."

She was eating that pie now, cherry, as they went on talking, sharing in the class they had just left, the one they all had together, World History, with Mr. Matthews. This, above all else, had power to make her feel at home, even though she was anywhere but. She could never feel any other way when Cory Matthews was holding class. These other teachers, they didn't know her the way he did. He looked at her, he knew the girl she'd been, and the girl she'd become, and he would only smile; he knew she'd make it.

"You know, when we first met, Riley and me, when I found out her dad was a teacher, I didn't know how to be around him. He was 'Mr. Matthews.' Then I got to know him, and I found out his secret… He's a big old nerd," she grinned, and the others laughed.

"He probably wished you didn't know that," Asher pointed out.

"Oh, yeah, he's regretted that one for years," Maya laughed along.

Leaving the cafeteria, she was in no hurry to part ways, knowing she wouldn't see Lucas again until the day was over. As they walked on, she asked how he was doing with the day so far, knowing she could have some tendency of taking up the conversation. He told her his day was doing just fine, the only part he wasn't particularly happy with being the fact that they only had two classes together this year and they were both over by lunch time.

"We'll just have more to talk about when it's over," she'd pointed out, and he'd agreed that there could be plenty to be happy about there. "Where are we going today when gym's over?"

"Dylan's, I think," he revealed.

"Great, it's been a while since we crushed you guys," she hummed, looking back at him.

"Too bad you'll have to wait longer then," he countered, and she chuckled. How was it that they had been dating almost a year now, and standing here, doing their not unusual 'I am the champion' routine, felt all sort of… shiny and new again? She sort of liked it…

"Right, sure, you tell yourself that, it'll make you feel better, might even soothe that burn you'll get later," she insisted before stretching on to her toes to kiss him. "See you later, Huckleberry. Have fun in class, or something."

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners