A/N: The new chapter of "We Three Hearts" is now available!

June 24th 2021

Chapter 175
Our Beginnings Into Summer

There had been zero doubt whatsoever that Maya would cry at some point that day, especially as they sat and watched the students walk across that stage to be handed their diplomas. Some of them had never been her students as they hadn't done art in any of the last four years, but you wouldn't know it by looking at her. It didn't matter if she knew them from her class, from their having their lockers near her classroom, from one decorating committee or another, from monitoring detention every now and then… She knew them all in some way, and when they went up, she was as good as a proud mama. It was funny, and kind of adorable, and Lucas was happy he got to witness it.

Naturally, she'd be lying if she said that she didn't get a different jolt whenever the name called was one of those who'd been in her class the last four years. Not all of them had stuck it out to the end, for one reason or another, and some of them had come in on a later year, but most of them had been there from her first day at that high school as a teacher, to their last day there as students. Even Lucas knew them and felt something like pride by association. It was especially true over the last two years, but even in those before Maya had started the diaries, he'd almost had no choice but to start knowing their names, knowing their work, whenever Maya would be at home with some assignment or another she was looking over or correcting. He knew how this one had really improved, how that one had been going through something in this year or those… What a privilege it was, to see them evolve to this point.

They cheered for Kai when he walked up there. Whatever had happened with him and Missy, they weren't going to hold it over him. He'd handled it poorly, and he would say so himself, but it was not unlike what Maya had told Missy. That wasn't what today was about, and Kai had worked well all through high school, pulled in solid grades… He was heading off to do something which had to have mattered that much to him if he was willing to risk losing her.

When Stella had her turn, Maya started crying even before her shy bird was called on to the stage. She simply knew that she'd be next, and the anticipation triggered her waterworks. It would be the same when Phoebe went along, but Stella… Hers had been a journey, for Stella herself as much as for Maya. Easily more than any of the others she'd taught, it really felt as though she'd never understood what it would mean, to hold the place she did in a teenager's life for four whole years, these four years. She would never forget the first time she saw Stella Buckley, stepping out of the bathroom stall where she'd been hiding, spooked at the thought of having to introduce herself to her new classmates. She saw paint speckled hands peeking out of sleeves, a curtain of hair…

The girl, the young woman who walked across the stage today had her shoulders back, and it was only one of so many changes, but it was the kind to cascade over all of her, wasn't it? Oh, Stella hadn't chased away all of those qualities which had earned her the nickname her art teacher gave her, and she didn't have to. They were part of who she was and should always be if that was how she wanted to be. And Maya wasn't so far gone as to think that she'd been the sole influence in her former student's growth. Phoebe Munroe, the members of the Born Curious quiz team, other teachers, her family, Lea… She was out here today, next to her cousin and his wife as a plus one who'd simply demanded to be allowed admittance. She needed to support her friend.

The chief agent in Stella's change had been Stella herself, just as she should be. No part of who she'd been in the beginning had been in any way about a lack or a fault in her life, her character. She'd just been a fifteen-year-old girl, who'd had a different path than most kids her age up to this point. Maya couldn't see any of the others going through such a drastic change and not coming out in any way rattled. She certainly had been when she'd moved to Texas. Maybe in that respect she really understood Stella because she knew what that felt like.

And over the last four years, her world had expanded, filled in, just like Maya's had done, just like… every other student's had done. It was a more drastic change for some compared to others, but at the heart of it, that was what it had been. Growth, discovery… high school. And now it was over. Now, something else was about to start, and all Maya could hope was that she'd helped provide whatever Stella would need to embark in that something new just as she walked out here, with her head held high.

Whenever one of the graduating players from any of the school's sports teams would take the stage, there would be a call from somewhere in the audience, and while they suspected it was him all along, neither Maya nor Lucas knew for certain that it was Dylan until it was Phoebe's turn to walk on for her diploma. He couldn't help sounding particularly proud that time, and up on stage Phoebe would laugh, smiling that smile that made her look so much like her brothers. Maya was thankful for Dylan's calls, because oh, how much did she want to be doing the same for that girl right there?

From day one, Phoebe had come into class like a whirlwind. There had been no missing her, no ignoring her, she was really just a force of nature. She had also been clumsy to the point of travelling with a first aid kit wherever she went. But even there the way she carried that part of herself, without any shame, just a self-assured awareness of how it was part of her, and it was fine… It told Maya that here was a strong girl, not for her ability to handle a heavy weight on her back, but because very little seemed to be able to pin her down. She was out there, enjoying her life and exuding that energy from within her. Really, how Maya hadn't figured out who she was right then and there on day one, it was kind of a wonder.

That didn't mean she was exactly like Dylan, no, but still the two of them had managed to be so alike in a way that defied possibility. Yes, they had the same mother, but Jo Munroe certainly didn't have that attitude about her, and they'd never met until very recently… To Maya and Lucas both it felt like, somehow, they had been equipped so that when the day came that they did meet, it wouldn't matter all that much that they'd missed all those years together. They would connect and find a rhythm as a family without missing a beat. And that was exactly what they did.

The whole situation with her family's secret had inevitably taken up so much space in the last couple of years of Phoebe's time at the school, in their lives, but there was so much more to it, to her. When Maya would recall the girl, one of her most cherished students, she would remember her coming along, day one, with her TXNY shirt, without realizing until that exact moment who her art teacher was. She would remember countless lunch periods in the art room, herself, Phoebe, Stella… And dance lessons, she would remember those. They had shown her that there was so much more to the girl than her clumsiness. She wanted to improve, wanted to be able to play basketball, and dancing had been the way in. It had shown one of Phoebe's best qualities, beyond her warm and open spirit. It had shown her resilience.

"So, are we going to the party?" Lucas leaned to ask at Maya's ear after they'd watched Missy go and get her diploma. Just as she'd been counseled, the Sanderson girl showed no signs of any tears or sorrow. She proudly took her diploma and waved at her family where she saw them sitting. She waved at Maya and Lucas as well.

"I do kind of want to, but I'm not sure if I should," Maya shrugged. "I really appreciate the invitation, and I know it comes from a great place, but it would be weird, having their teacher there, even if I'm not their teacher anymore," she added, knowing he was about to point it out. "She'll come over sometime, and we'll do something for her graduation."

"Sounds good," Lucas nodded and smiled.

So, when the ceremony was over, and they'd talked to several families here and there, they took off for home. They arrived there and were greeted by an eager toddler. There was nowhere else they'd rather be. As the sun went down and they eventually settled their girl in for the night, they caught the first signs that the party had begun, further up the lane at the Sanderson Farm. The music wasn't so loud that they could make out the words or even the melodies, but the thumping of it was enough for them to know music was being played, to the enjoyment of the new graduates.

"Do you think they're playing any TXNY up there?" Lucas asked as they ended up sitting out on the porch. Maya chuckled. "Hey, it's good for dancing," he smirked.

"Oh, I know. Kind of wrote it," she pointed to her face. He slowly nodded, making her laugh some more before she scooted herself down in her seat, so she might get to tip her head back and see the stars in the sky. Lucas reached out his foot at this, nudging her leg. "Hey…" she 'complained,' returning the gesture, before turning her head to look at him.

"So, today…" he spoke, letting the words drift. He didn't have to say more for her to understand what he wanted to know. She'd gone into this day, into these last few weeks, dreading this separation between her and her first freshmen, her first complete start to finish class, and now here they were. It was over, they were gone. They were both very good at playful banter, and it was very easy to hide any of those other feelings underneath that mask. But when all was said and done, he wanted to know, needed to know that she was in a good place.

"You know, every year, when another of my classes graduates, or new freshmen arrive, it's like I'm finetuning myself as a teacher? I'm finding what works, what doesn't, and I'm finding what's going to be there to make me feel like… I'm doing exactly the job that I set out to do. Last year, it was the diaries, and it started out as the means to an end because I wasn't going to be in class, but it really worked miles better than I had expected it would, so I kept it going this year, and I'm going to do it again next year, and the one after that, and as long as it feels right."

"Can I get one, too, next year?" Lucas asked.

"Naturally," Maya laughed. "Anyway, when I did the sketches in the back of the senior diaries, I added a note and told them that if they ever wanted to write to me, to tell me how they're doing or if they needed to talk, and I would write them back. I told them to mail them to the school and they'd get it to me… I don't know, is it weird?"

"Not at all," Lucas promised, smiling. "I think it's a great idea. Anyway, even if it was weird, well… Why should that have to be a bad thing, right?"

"Shouldn't," Maya agreed. "Then again, there's no guarantee any of them will actually write."

"I don't know, I feel like they will. Maybe not all of them, but some. I could think of a few right now," he told her, and Maya smiled. Yeah, she could think of them, too.

"Wait, wait, listen," Maya sat up, after they'd been sitting there in silence for a while, just enjoying the evening air. They both listened, and when Lucas finally heard what she must have heard, he grinned. Even from far away, even if it were just a barely distinguishable sound, he was positive he knew that this faraway sound was her first big song she'd done for Ree Forster.

"You know, that is still one of my favorite ones that you've done," Lucas stated.

"Kind of one of mine, too," Maya revealed.

"It's very recognizable…"

"There's your slogan right there."

They stayed out on the porch like this possibly for a couple of hours. When they finally went back into the house it was at the beckoning of Marianne's cries on the monitor. They knew better than to go up to the nursery at every peep out of her, but they still preferred to be closer for a while, to see… just in case. This time around, they didn't need to go in, and their little pumpkin calmed herself right back to sleep. When that was accomplished, they permitted themselves a quiet visit with her, where they would watch her sleep peacefully.

Summer was now officially upon them. For some people it would feel as though it had already been here, but for Maya, and by extension Lucas, it would never feel like the season was ever truly started until they'd seen another of the classes graduate. In the morning, after they got up, Lucas would come to find his wife up in the attic, carving a new star on her desk, there to mark the passage of the class of 2031.

"Hey, look who's coming," Lucas nodded out the window looking down to the road. Coming up toward their house they could make out the familiar shape of Missy Sanderson, walking at ease on her way to visit her friends and neighbors.

"Gotta show her the star," Maya hurried off to go and greet her downstairs. She would spend most of the day with them, as she'd been welcomed to do, at any time. They didn't speak of high school ending, or college approaching, didn't talk of boyfriends and breakups and whether long distance relationship could work. All they talked about was summer, and what they wanted to do in the next month or two.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners