A sea of eyes greeted us as we walked into the gymnasium to face those on the PTA board. Their eyes pierced through us where we stood I could feel my face flush as I stood frozen in front of the rest of our small group. There must have been at least 20 people sitting in a circle in front of us, just staring at the mish mash of people before them, young and old, standing like statues before them awaiting a response.
We watched on for a moment, each group staring at the other simultaneously, until one person- the leader of the group maybe –stood up with a clipboard in hand and approached those of us standing in the doorway.
"May I help you? There is a meeting in progress here right now," they said and a few people behind me murmured words I couldn't understand though we all remained in place.
We stood in silence still, until Gerald nudged me hard in the ribs with his elbow reminding me that I was to do the talking and I cleared my throat and took a deep breath to prepare myself for the final battle- the ultimate goal that I'd be preparing for for what felt like years.
"Uh," I started shakily, "We, uh, we are the friends and students of Mr. Robert Simmons," I said, my confidence building with each word that I spoke. "And we are here today to propose something to those of you on the PTA board, if you don't mind."
The woman standing before us glanced down at her clipboard before holding it tightly to her her chest and looking at us sympathetically. "I see," she said before chewing on her lip and then saying, "Well, as I'm sure you understand, these meetings aren't really the kind of thing you can just disrupt and then propose things to."
I glanced over to Helga and Gerald before returning my gaze to the lady in front of us. "I understand, and I apologize for our disruption to your meeting, but you see, our cause is of great importance and we'd really appreciate it if you'd let us speak before you and hear what we have to say. It would mean a lot."
She turned around to look at the people waiting behind her before returning to look back at us with an unsure expression. "I'm not sure if I can allow that..."
Helga piped in, her voice slightly angry as she spoke. "Oh c'mon lady, can't you just give us and this football-head a chance to speak, here?"
Gerald then added in, "Yeah, I mean we came ALL this way JUST to speak to all of you and YOU can't even hear us out?"
I held my hands out to calm them down before saying myself, "Please ma'am, it will only take a few minutes, I promise."
The woman bit her lip again, clearly uncertain as to whether she should allow us to speak in front of the board but sighed and dropped her clipboard to her side. "Alright. But I'll only give you five minutes. We have a lot to cover here today."
A silent victory erupted throughout our group- the first battle was won –but we had so far yet to go. We made our way to the circle of staring adults waiting to hear what it was we'd crashed their meeting for. Carefully, we entered their circle, all of us filling it up and standing before them in a round so they could see just how many people were behind our cause. The people scooted their chairs out to give us more room and I took a deep breath knowing this was my chance, my only and last chance to get what we really needed to achieve our goal of furnishing Mr. Simmons' house. This was it- the moment I'd been waiting for... the final battle.
The woman who'd addressed us took her seat and set her clipboard on her lap as she crossed her legs. "Alright," she said calmly, "What is it you'd like to say to us today?"
"This is it, man," Gerald whispered to me, "You've GOT this."
I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with nervous air and allowed the speech I'd been practicing to come out of my mouth with confidence and authority so they knew I meant business. This was my time to shine and to show that our cause was one worth listening to- one worth intruding on their meeting to present to them.
"Today, I'm here, we're here to talk to you about Mr. Robert Simmons, a teacher who works at no other than PS118," I began, "Many of us are students of his, and we would like for you to hear us out on a cause that is not only noble, but important- it's one of giving."
Anxiously, I began to walk around the round, my hands behind my back as I spoke and looked at each individual in the outer circle. "Mr. Simmons is one of the best teachers around, if not the best. He's been named Citywide Teacher of the Year twice, both this year and last, which only goes to prove my point that he is, without a doubt, a great influence of young minds- but not only that... old minds as well."
I gestured behind myself to the adults of the group; the boarders. "Behind me are also a group of adults, some friends of Mr. Simmons. He too has helped these people grow in unimaginable ways. You see, everyone that Mr. Simmons meets, he touches in a way that changes them forever. His kindness and understanding nature allows people to open up and grow passed their expectations and passed the people they once were- a trait that most people do not have."
One man in the group spoke up, raising a finger in the air to draw my attention. "It's without a doubt that Mr. Simmons is a great teacher, I work with him as faculty, but what does that have to do with why you're here today?" he asked and I smiled in his direction.
"I'm glad you asked," I said while reaching around to clasp my hands in front of me. "As I'm sure most of you know, Mr. Simmons has gone through a great tragedy as of late. His house has burnt down in a sad accident that the city is still unsure of the cause." I looked down at my hands and shook my head. "He's been absolutely crushed by this, and yet, has pushed through and continued to teach like a good teacher would. He's kept his positive attitude despite the circumstances and that is to be commended."
"And just how do you intend to do that?" Another voice asked and I looked up to finish my speech.
Here we go, I thought to myself before opening my mouth and finishing what I started.
"All of us here, adults and children alike, friends and students together, propose that we help Mr. Simmons in his time of need. You see, while the city is rebuilding his home, his insurance will not be compensating him for anything that he has lost in the fire, meaning that he will go home to an empty house with nothing to call his own-"
"And you know this how?" The leader of the group asked, concerned.
Grandpa spoke up, "Oh, he lives with me right now at the Sunset Arms Boarding House," he said and the woman nodded her head as I continued.
"So we are here today to ask for help. Those of us here have donated many things for our cause, things that he might enjoy as well as things that he'll need to refurnish his home but we are only a few people and we don't have nearly enough items to furnish his entire home. What we're here today for is to ask you, as coworkers and friends to Robert Simmons, will you, can you, help us in our quest to refurnish his home in any way possible? Can you reach down in the bottom of your heart and find a way to help us do the impossible and help a person so giving and deserving of this fresh start?"
I looked around at the circle of people, most of them with thoughtful expressions on their faces as they internalized all that I'd said to them. The anticipation was killing me as we waited for someone, anyone to speak after my speech and for a moment, I knew I'd blown it. But after a minute of silence, one person stood up from the group, the same man who claimed to be one of his coworkers.
"As I said, I'm a coworker of Robert's. I've worked with him since he first transferred here and he really is a great guy. He usually comes to all of these meetings so I speak for all of us when I say we've all become quite close to him and would consider him a friend." He said while looking around at the nodding group of parents and teachers. "I've also seen the impression he makes on his kids and he without a doubt is a great teacher. I look at all of you, and I see kids willing to put everything out there to help their teacher, something most students wouldn't even think of doing, especially at your age," he said with a slightly sad expression. "My family owns the furniture warehouse down on Elm Street and I'm sure that there is something I could do to help you all get the remaining items you need if you give me a list. They donate to charities all the time and I wouldn't be surprised if they donated to you and your cause."
A big smile beamed across my face as everyone chatted among themselves at the big win we'd just hit with this mysterious coworker of Mr. Simmons. Soon, another person stood up, a woman, and she brushed her hair away from her shoulders before she began to speak.
"I too am a friend of Mr. Simmons. He tutored my son a while back and I could see such a noticeable difference in him just from his few sessions. His grades skyrocketed and he became a nicer person just from his few encounters with him. He used to be such a shy kid but just working with Mr. Simmons made him open up more and I am grateful to him for that. I'll help you with your cause. I have plenty that I don't need."
It wasn't long before almost everyone in the PTA board stood up, offering anything they could to our cause, big and small. I was astounded by the support we were getting but at the same time not surprised. Mr. Simmons is such a great guy and has touched so many people that it was only a matter of time the world gave back to him and the services he has given to the world itself. He's changed so many people and influenced so many others that it was about time he got something out of it, especially in his time of need.
Once people were done offering what they could, the leader of the group stood up, clipboard in hand. "Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I'll admit, I was a bit unsure as to what we were getting ourselves into by letting you speak today, but I believe that your cause is one of great importance. It isn't often that we give back to those who need it and there is a great lesson to be learned from giving to those in need, something I'm sure Mr. Simmons would love to teach though that lesson is clearly learned from your cause. I too will give what I can to you." She approached me then, offering her clipboard and a fresh sheet of paper. "Why don't you write down the important things you still need and we will all see if we can't help you gather them up. When did you say the building would be completed?"
"Within the next week or so." I replied and she nodded her head.
"Alright, there is a lot of work to be done then. Go ahead and write down what you need and I'll be sure to make copies and hand them out to those of us who are willing to donate, especially you Mr. Gilly as your family owns Furniture Warehouse."
He smiled and nodded his head as I began scrawling down just what it was we still needed to complete our mission.
Inside, I was screaming. I couldn't believe we had done it. We'd conquered the PTA board and with flying colors. Never in a million years would I have imagined that we'd get the support we got today and especially the jackpot of Furniture Warehouse. We'd done it, we'd actually done it. The final battle had been won.
Everything was in place within the week. Thanks to Furniture Warehouse and the other donations from the PTA board, we had collected nearly everything we needed to furnish the house and I was absolutely thrilled. I never expected so many things would be able to work out as perfectly as they had, but they did, and we were ready to begin the process of moving everything in.
As for the building, it was set to be finished by next week. The next step was just to get everything we had into the house which would be the hardest part. Thankfully, I'd talked to the city planners ahead of time and they said that we could move in things a couple of days early. The boarders, Mr. Gilly from the PTA group and all of the gang offered their services to help move things in and we were set to begin our efforts on Wednesday, all in time for Mr. Simmons and Peter to move back in on Friday. It would be a bit of a squeeze but we'd already faced the hardest part so the rest would be a cinch.
"Alright everybody," I addressed the group of people as we stood out front the nearly finished house, "I just want to thank you all again for coming together and offering to help move all of this stuff in, and a special thank you to Mr. Gilly who has lent us the moving truck from Furniture Warehouse so we can easily access what we've collected," I started clapping as everyone joined in and he bowed his head slightly to acknowledge the applause.
"Now, I've separated us all into groups based on what you all asked to be a part of. Rhonda, and Sheena, you will be in charge of decorations in the home. Lila and Grandma, you'll take the kitchen. Sid and Stinky, you're in charge of the living room. Harold and... Eugene?" I squinted at my paper and he nodded his head from afar.
"Yep!" He called out and I looked out at him.
"Are you sure you want to be moving things with Harold, Eugene? We could squeeze you into decorating with Rhonda and Sheena if you would prefer..." I offered but he shook his head.
"No. I've been trying to work on my upper body strength so I can do one pull-up for the physical challenge in gym class," he said and I shrugged my shoulders.
"Alright then," I said before continuing, "Harold, Eugene and Gerald will be in charge of carrying furniture into the house, Curly and Phoebe, you'll take the bedrooms, Nadine, Suzie and Mr. Hyunh will be working on restoring the garden out front, Oskar will help Grandpa with the bathroom-"
"The bathroom?" Oskar whined. "Why do I have to work with the old man in the bathroom?"
"Hey!" Grandpa exclaimed while pushing his chest out. "Who are you calling old?"
"Guys, please, it's just how the list worked out, okay?" I said trying to calm them down. "We all have to work together if we are going to get this done so we have to put on our work boots and get this thing done."
"Hey, football-head," Helga called out from the crowd and I looked over to where she was standing. "What about me? You... you forgot me," she said softly and I noted her sad expression but offered her a smile.
"You'll be working side by side with me to make sure that everything runs smoothly." I said and her eyes lit up at my instruction while I offered her a slight wink which sent her falling backwards slightly before she picked herself up rather rapidly and shook her head a bit.
"Now," I said, directing the group once more, "we all have our assignments, so let's get this project going and give Mr. Simmons and Peter a great house!"
And with that, the crowd dispersed to their assigned positions. First, we unloaded all of the knick knacks, art, posters, plates and other such small things so people could start putting those things into place while Eugene, Harold and Gerald moved everything in around them. Suzie, Nadine and Mr. Hyunh began immediately on the garden which looked a mess but they were quick to know what to do in fixing it up. Helga found me immediately and smiled at me from my side.
"So Hair Boy, we've gotten this far, eh?" She said and I smiled back at her and nodded.
"That we have."
"You proud of what you've done? Because let's be honest, this WAS all you." She said and I shrugged my shoulders.
"Well, we aren't done yet, now are we?" I said with a sly smile before gesturing for her to come with me. "C'mon. Let's head inside and oversee things. You and me." I reached out for her hand and pulled her along after me as we ran inside to take a look at just how things were playing out on the inside.
Once inside, it was clear that everyone was pretty focused on their tasks. Oskar and Grandpa were yelling at each other from inside the bathroom, but were still able to focus on hanging the curtain rod. Lila and Grandma, however, were getting along swimmingly in the kitchen, putting away utensils and plates and laughing while setting flowers inside the vases Lila had donated and setting up a few other pieces to make it feel more like home. I glanced around to see Rhonda arguing with Sheena about how a picture was askew on the wall and watched as Sid and Stinky rolled out a rug on the floor of the living room and then began setting up the TV stand in the corner of the room.
All was doing fine until the furniture began to be moved into place.
"ALRIGHT FOLKS," Helga ordered while waving her arms like a stewardess inward as the boys struggled with the couch they were holding, "KEEP IT MOVING ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER, THAT'S RIGHT, C'MON PINK BOY TAKE A BREATH ALREADY WE GOT A LOT OF FURNITURE TO MOVE TODAY DON'T CRAP OUT ON ME NOW!" She hollered as Harold frowned, sweat lining his brow.
"I'm... going as... fast as... as I can... Helga..." he said in between huffs of breath as the three of them tried to pivot the couch inside the house, but struggled to do so.
"PIVOT FOR CRIPES SAKE! PIVOT!" Helga screamed and Gerald piped up from the side of the couch.
"We can't really PIVOT, Helga, we're just trying to get into the freakin' door!" He exclaimed and she sighed while driving her face into the palm of her hand.
"It isn't that HARD ya dopes, just CONCENTRATE already!" She insisted which is when Harold's hands slipped and he dropped his side directly on his foot.
"Ahh! My toe!" He yelped while quickly hoisting the couch up high to try and avoid it from happening again. This caused Gerald to lose his grip and the entire couch went diagonal as Eugene at the back end lost his grip entirely and slipped while still on the stoop and the couch landed directly on his leg; his scream one to last the ages.
I rushed to his side to help lift the couch off of him and move it away from where he was laying. "Eugene! Eugene!" I yelled while he held gently onto his clearly broken leg and took deep breaths.
"I'm... I'm okay," He said softly and I sighed while kneeling beside him.
I turned around to holler inside to everyone. "Could someone please call an ambulance for Eugene?" I asked before turning back around to Eugene and gently touching his shoulder. "You're gonna be alright, okay Eugene? We'll get you some help."
He smiled a warm smile through tired eyes. "Thanks, Arnold. You're a real pal."
Once the ambulance arrived to take a still smiling Eugene away from the house and to the hospital, Mr. Gilly offered to help Gerald and Harold finish moving in the rest of the furniture, which seemed to work well.
The next issue, however, came from the garden, where we heard a chorus of 'ew's and Helga and I rushed to discover just what was happening. There, we found Mr. Hyunh, and Suzie stepped far away from Nadine who was digging deep into the Earth in search of something only we could assume as bugs.
"What's going on here guys? The garden still needs a lot of work..." I said and Mr. Hyunh shook his head.
"I cannot work...with her..." he said, disjointedly as he usually talked. "She play with...the bugs... is creepy! She give me the creepies!"
I shook my head while reaching up to rub at the bridge of my nose, Helga taking over in a kinder way than I had imagined she would.
"Look, Mr. Hyunh, Suzie," she said while looking at each one of them, "Nadine has this thing with bugs. Don't ask me WHY, but she does. Let's try to make it work, okay?" They both nodded and Helga finally addressed Nadine who was still digging into the ground. "And Nadine?" she said.
"Yes?" She answered, elbow deep into the dirt.
"Knock it off with the bug thing. Just for today. Remember what we're doing this for. This isn't for your bug collection, alright?"
Nadine raised a thumbs up from the dirt and smiled. "Got it." She said and the three went back to work on the gardening as I turned to face Helga.
"Helga, that was... amazing." I said and she put her hands on her hips with a satisfied look on her face.
"Why thank you, football-head. I'm a pretty amazing person." She said confidently and I chuckled.
"You sure are," I said before maniacal laughter broke out followed by the sounds of hollering coming from inside the house. Both of us sighed.
"What NOW?" Helga asked, exasperatedly and we both turned around to enter the house and rush up to the bedroom from where Curly's laughter was ensuing.
Curly was jumping on the freshly put-in bed. And he was not stopping. Each jump was higher than the next and I felt agitated that he was doing such a thing on the new furniture that we had just gotten from the warehouse.
"Curly!" I exclaimed as he jumped up and down, "What are you doing?"
"Jumping, obviously!" He said and Phoebe shook her head from the corner of the room where she stood.
"I tried to explain to him the detrimental effects this would have on the bed by him doing so, but he simply laughed and continued the act," she said rather crossly and Helga cracked her knuckles from where she stood beside me.
"Get DOWN from there Curly!" She yelled but he merely laughed and continued.
"MAKE ME WOMAN!" He hollered while continuing to laugh and jumping even higher.
"Curly, please," I pleaded, "We don't have time for this right now. There's so much work to be done and we need your cooperation."
"I swear to God, Curly, if you don't get down from there, I WILL make you." Helga threatened and I glanced over to her in mild concern though Curly didn't seem phased.
"I'd like to see you try," he said and with that it only took a grunt and a leap for Helga to tackle him off of the bed and onto the ground to which the group standing in the doorway all 'ooed' and I turned around to face them.
"That's enough, guys, break it up and go back to your sections," I directed while making steps towards them. "Go on, now, let's focus on the task at hand, please!"
Curly and Helga emerged from the side of the bed, Helga wiping off her skirt and Curly adjusting his glasses on his face. "That was exhilarating," he said and Helga raised her fists up to his face.
"You want a little more of that?" She growled and I pointed at her with an authoritative tone in my voice as I spoke.
"He's off the bed, Helga. Let's move on, okay?" I offered and she dropped her fists but first threw a pointer finger into his chest.
"Better not let me catch you doing that again or you'll have a meeting with Betsy and the Five Avengers, you got it?" She said and Curly shrugged his shoulders, completely unphased.
"The bed is broken in, you can keep your fists to yourself," he said calmly and Helga rolled her eyes before turning away and moving back to my side so we could leave him and Phoebe to finishing up the bedroom.
"Man, this place is going crazy," She commented and I shrugged my shoulders.
"We are trying to manage a bunch of kids doing adult work," I said and she sighed, but nodded her head.
"Still, you'd think they could at least ACT more mature than this. Just for one day and for Mr. Simmons." She said and we made it into the main area of the house to overlook everything at once as it happened.
"They're doing the best that they can and that's all that matters. We're already mostly done with moving everything in so the rest shouldn't take much longer. Rhonda seems to have quite the handle on the decorating aspect and Lila and Grandma almost have the kitchen complete. Stinky and Sid seem to be mostly finished with the living room and Oskar and Grandpa finished the bathroom about twenty minutes ago. I'd say we are right on track."
Which we were. It only took a few more hours before everything was moved in and decorated and we were finally allowed to stand back and take a look at the work we'd done.
"It's beautiful. Absolutely tres chic," Rhonda said with a kiss of her fingers.
"I can't believe we actually DID it," Gerald said while wiping his brow.
"It's absolutely astounding," Phoebe commented while moving to Gerald's side and smiling up at him.
"Well done, everybody," I said to the group, "I'm so proud of what we've accomplished today. Mr. Simmons and Peter will not only have a home to come back to, but they will have a HOME to come back to and the difference is everything. I never could have followed through with this crazy idea without your guys' help so I applaud you for all the work you've put in to make this possible."
The group applauded each other, patting each other on the back and smiling to one another though each was tired and ready to go home.
"What now?" Sheena asked and I shrugged my shoulders with a smile.
"Now, we wait until Friday and we greet Mr. Simmons at his new home. You all ready for that?"
A chorus of 'Yes!'s erupted from the crowd and I smiled as Helga slung an arm around me and smiled. "You did it, football-head, you really did it."
"I couldn't have done it without everyone here. Without you." I said and she grinned from ear to ear before releasing me and shrugging.
But I meant every word. Without the help of my classmates and the boarders, there was no way I ever could have pulled this off. It all started out as such a small idea and had become something bigger than I ever could have imagined. We'd done it, we'd actually done it.
Now, all I could hope for was that Mr. Simmons and Peter would like what we'd done. I didn't want what we'd accomplished to be for nothing. Not after all the hard work we'd put in.
This was by far one of the greatest things I'd ever done and I just hoped they would see it as that way too. Now, all that was left to do was wait until Friday for the big reveal. And I couldn't wait.
Well folks, we are getting towards the end of this amazing fic, and i just want to say thank you to everyone for all the support you have given to both of us throughout this journey. it's been a blast writing this and i really feel like this is a solid, episodic piece that is a great fanfic. Please be sure to leave a review so i know what you think! How do you think that Mr. Simmons and Peter will like the house? What do you think will happen next? LEave me a review and let me know! I'd love to hear your feedback!
-Polka & Spec