* Valentine's meeting *
The Valentine's Day ball was a tradition in Stratford Elementary. It was one of the most popular events at school. It was only for 5th and 6th graders, and each year, it had a different theme. This year's one was fairytales, so kids, along with the teachers who were going to chaperone that night, were going to dress and princes, princesses, witches, wizards, fairies and elves. Meg knew that John was going to chaperone that night, which meant she would spend her Valentine's Friday night by herself until he arrived home to spend the rest of the day with her.
That morning, she was in her classroom with her students, telling them all about Valentine's Day. She walked around the classroom as she was telling them the story, making dramatically pauses and acting out parts. Kids were really enjoying it and she never noticed the 5th graders that passed by her classroom's door and looked at her with amusement. When she was over, she saw one of the little hands shooting up. She smiled.
"Yes, Deacon?" she asked.
"Why did they kill this Valentine guy?" a boy with short, straight, light brown hair asked.
"Well... Emperor Claudius II thought that Valentine was betraying him and his rules, and he didn't want young soldiers to fall in love, so he thought the most reasonable solution was to kill him." Meg explained as another hand was raised.
"But you can't kill love." another boy said. Meg smiled.
"Of course you can't, Luca. Love is a very powerful thing." she answered. "Yes, Lydia?" she asked a little girl with blonde hair and braids.
"Miss Meg, do you have a Valentine?" the girl asked with a timid smile. Everyone 'ooh' as Meg smiled and blushed a bit.
"Yes, Lydia, I have one. Now, if there aren't any more questions on our story, time to take your materials out and start working on those cards." Meg said as another girl raised her hand. "Yes, Emily?" she asked.
"Do we have to write the card to a boy, Miss Meg?" the girl asked shyly. Meg smiled at her.
"No, sweetheart. You can write it to whomever you want. Remember, Valentine's Day is not just for lovers but to show our love to the people we love. It could be a friend, it could be someone from your family, it could be your pet even. Anyone who makes your life better and happier." she explained. Soon, kids started taking all type of stuff out of their bags: colored papers, cardboards, glitter, paints... Meg walked around and helped them as much as she could. She was kneeled on the floor picking papers up when she heard one of the girls talking.
"Look! There's my sister Bethany! Hi, Bethy!" the girl exclaimed. Meg sighed. The older kids were still putting the finishing touches to the decorations for the ball that night, so Meg assumed they were now working on the exterior of the school.
"Let your sister work, Sasha, and go back to your seat, please." she said.
"Miss Meg, there's a man waving at us." a boy said.
"Timothy, just go back to your seat, please. He's probably a passer-by" Meg told him as she got up.
"He wants to speak to you, Miss Meg. He's pointing at you." one of the girls said. By that time, most of her classroom was leaning on the big window looking outside as they giggled. Meg sighed and went to the window. She couldn't believe what she saw outside. All 5th graders were holding a letter forming the question: 'Will you be my Belle to the ball?' as John was standing next to them with a rose in his hand, smiling widely at her. She smiled as well and blushed as she opened the window.
"So? What do you say, Miss March?" one of the 5th-form girls asked, smiling. Meg giggled.
"You didn't think I was going to leave you home alone on Valentine's day, did you?" John asked.
"Well... you never asked anything." she said.
"I do recall asking you to come with me to the store to get the outfits." he said.
"I remember you asking Rose, not me." she said, pretending to be offended. He sighed and got closer to her.
"What do you say, Meg?" he asked. She looked at him, pensive, then looked at her students.
"What do you think, guys? Should I say yes?" she asked, a mischievous smile on her face. All the kids nodded and smiled. She looked back at John, smiled and kissed him. All the kids shouted of joy. "I'd love to be your Belle, though I don't have a dress." she said. John smiled widely.
"Look in your wardrobe when you get home." he said. He kissed her one more time, gave her the rose, then went back to his students while they all shouted of joy again and congratulated him. Meg laughed and looked at her students.
"So, he's your Valentine, Miss Meg!" a girls exclaimed. Meg just smiled and nodded.
"Come on, everyone! Time to finish the cards!" she said and everyone went back to their seats.
When she got back home that evening, she found the most beautiful yellow dress she's ever seen waiting for her inside her wardrobe. It was the same one from the 'Beauty and the Beast' movie. John was wearing the Beast's blue-and-gold suit, minus the Beast's head, when he went to pick her up. He looked like a prince taken out from a fairytale. Although they went as chaperones to the school dance, they had a marvelous time dancing together. It was just the perfect Valentine's date for them.