July 16th 2021

Chapter 197
Our Friends in Reach

Already they were in their fourth week of this new school year, and the familiar fence posts were coming in, getting them from a clear open field and closer to something that felt like the 2031-2032 school year was becoming its own thing, with memories to look back on, for good or ill. The Fall Festival was upon them, and the new musical had been announced (auditions were happening the next day), and while they were still one member short, the quiz team had started to meet with their advisors to discuss their plans for the new year. Maya had promised them that she would see about their newest member as soon as possible.

She was still keeping an eye out, still looking to these freshmen of hers, to see if there was anyone among them who fit the bill. As of yet, she hadn't made up her mind. She was also aware that she'd only picked out students from her classes in all this time, which might have been unfair. There were students who didn't take art, for whatever reason, and that didn't mean they couldn't be great assets to the quiz team, or that they couldn't have benefited from being part of that team. She'd opened this notion out to Cory, and Dylan, and Morgan, and Miranda, and Lindsay, and Stephen, even to Vice-Principal Ríos, and they all promised to let her know if they thought of anyone. Hopefully, they would find their candidate before Lea and Rochelle locked her down and started making demands.

Whether or not the new member of Born Curious would be one of her art students, Maya did spend a lot of her time in class watching them all. Whenever they'd all be set to a task and the room would open into hushed discussions and pencils or brushes, whatever medium they were using on a given day, she'd be walking around the room, watching, commenting, assisting… and assessing. Would this one do well? What about that one? She didn't have a lot to go on, but that wasn't really an issue, was it? Most of those kids she had recruited off an instinct, and she'd never been wrong.

She was sitting in her class now, on her long afternoon break, which had been meant to be used in an effort to rearrange her bookshelf and consider what else she could add to it. That had been the intent, yes, but what she'd actually ended up doing was stand by the window, looking at new photos and videos of little Emily Orlando. She was still in that very perfect window of itty bitty baby, where they were just so sweet to hold close and watch, as Maya herself could attest. She'd been to see her friends and their daughter many times over. It was hard to decide what was the cutest, between watching one and a half-year-old Nicky with his baby sister, or Marianne with her baby sister (that was she called her, and no one argued against it), or Nicky and Marianne together with 'their' baby sister.

Nicky would follow whoever had Emily in their arms, wherever they went, and when she was stationed somewhere, either in her crib, or her seat, or with someone while they were sitting down, he would be right there, like his sister's personal bodyguard. He loved to hold her little hand, and kiss her forehead, and clearly Emily loved it, too. She would be so calm when he was there up close and she could see him, when she could tell he was there. One of the videos Riley had sent her today showed Emily wailing her head off and Nicky reaching over and touching her hand. It wasn't like flipping an off switch, but she did immediately and noticeably diminish in volume until she'd stopped altogether.

Maya knew that when she'd get home that evening Marianne would love seeing this video, too, this video of her 'brother and sister.' That was what they all were to her, Nicky and Emily, Giulia and Connor, Mia… They weren't sure where she'd picked that up. When she'd see Francesca, that would be her cousin, and she'd say as much, but her parents' friends' children, those were her siblings. She didn't pitch a fit at leaving them when it was time to go home, at least not in any exaggerated way. When she did get to see them, especially Emily Orlando now… She would want to hold her, and when they'd let her do it, very carefully, she would hold the tiny girl and tip her head left and right, singing her whatever song she could think of. Sometimes it was only one part of a song, over and over, and often there would be words missing, but on the whole she would do very well, and the effect would speak for itself.

On Emily, it would bring peace and more than once sleep. On her parents and her aunt and uncle, it brought… well, a lot of smiles and a lot of happy tears, too. For Maya and Riley especially, to see their daughters together, the small blonde holding the tiny brunette… It would give a particular jolt only the two of them could feel as they did.

Maya looked up from her phone suddenly when she heard a noise out in the hallway, a thump like a book being dropped, followed by a muttering voice. A moment later, she saw someone sprint by her open door and recognized her. Summer Levesque. Maya put her phone back in her pocket as she moved after her. She barely managed to see the back of her disappear through the door of the girls' bathroom and, unsure of what the situation might have been, she hurried to join her. The moment she opened the door, the sophomore gasped and moved from where she stood at the sink to bolt into one of the stalls before shutting the door, never stopping to see who had entered, student or faculty.

"Summer, are you alright?" Maya asked, approaching slowly even as she looked around. The dropped textbook now sat balanced on the edge of the trashcan, and there were several paper towels already pulled and bunched up at the sink. And there was a scent on the air… It was faint, and most people in the building would not have known what to make of it even if they caught it, not unless they were… Oh…

It was like about a dozen floating observances had very quickly flipped over, until she knew exactly what they meant. Why was she so tired all the time, until she'd been caught dozing off so many times? Why was she so distracted in class but at the same time so driven? Why did she look so unwilling to open up to her classmates? Why had she moved to Austin, to live with her older sister?

"Summer…" she spoke again. "Hey, it's Mrs. Friar, are you okay?" She couldn't help being taken back to her first day as a teacher, standing in front of this very stall, attempting to coax another girl out of hiding. That was where the similarities ended.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Summer replied, though her voice wasn't so convincing. "I have a hall pass." She went quiet here, maybe waiting to see if her teacher would leave. Maya considered her options for a moment. She looked to the door, as though she could tell if anyone was approaching. She'd speak softly.

"Summer, how old is your baby?"

The silence that followed felt loaded, like it wasn't just that no one spoke, but that this silence was achieved with great effort, pressing the lips together so not to make a sound.

"It's okay," Maya took a step closer to the stall. "You don't want anyone to know, I won't tell. I'm guessing at least… No one else knows around here?" More weighted silence…

"No one…" Summer quietly replied.

"And no one will, not unless you decide it's okay," Maya vowed. Seconds went by.

"She's six weeks old." Maya smiled.

"What's her name?"

"Victoria," Summer revealed, and here after hearing only quiet and distress out of the girl, Maya picked up on something else. Love. Whatever her circumstances, Summer loved her daughter very much. "I've been calling her Tori though."

"My daughter will be two years old in a little over a month. Her name is Marianne, but she'll refer to herself as Annie a lot. It's kind of starting to stick…" The silence felt just lighter now. "I'll be right back, okay?"

"Wait…" Summer breathed.

"I promise, fifteen seconds, tops."

Maya left the bathroom and returned to her class. Luckily, she saw no one in the halls as she retrieved her sweater, grabbed a plastic bag, and returned. She walked up to the stall and passed the bundle in the space under the door. Summer took it at once and Maya went to grab her some more paper towels if she needed them. A few moments later, the door clicked, and Summer emerged, wearing Maya's sweater and carrying the bag that held the discarded items.

"This never happened out here before, I… I was in class, and the teacher showed a video, there was a baby, and then I was thinking about Tori, and then…"

"Been there," Maya nodded in sympathy. "Of course, when it happened to me, I was home. But you've been here, not a month after having yours."

"I didn't have a choice," Summer bowed her head, focusing on straightening up the sweater as she looked at herself in the mirror. "They're going to know something's up when I show up like this."

"Just say that you noticed a big stain from lunch," Maya suggested. That worked. Summer nodded appreciatively, though at the same time… Her sigh sounded of something like desperation. "You've just been going along like everything was normal, haven't you? Just keep going, one step in front of the other, and there won't be any problem. Won't even have to admit how scared you are." Summer didn't say a word, but she didn't have to. The way her face crumpled just a bit… Maya had hit the nail on the head.

"What choice do I have?" she reached up a shaky hand to stall her tears. "My parents kicked me out when they found out. Tori's dad won't say she's his because of his parents. If it wasn't for my sister, we would have had nowhere to go, and she's not too pleased to have us either. But I'm emancipated, and I'm working, so I can pay for anything Tori needs, but… it's a lot…" The more she spoke, the more it felt like all those fears she'd been pushing down were forcing their way up. Maya finally made the choice to put her arms around her, and Summer gave no resistance. Instead, she held her close and let it out. What choice do I have? Lucas, I know you'll back me up for this.

"You're not allergic to dogs, are you?"

"I… what?" Summer sniffled.

"Here's what we're going to do. Where's Tori now?"

"With our neighbor."

"Right. If you want to, the two of you can come and stay at my house, until you're able to get your own place. My one rule is that whatever job or jobs you have right now, you either get on leave or you quit, say until the end of the year. You just had a baby, it's no good for you to overexert yourself, not for you, not for Tori. If you have to stay until summer, or beyond, that's alright, so long as you end up where you and your daughter can be happy and thriving together." There was no doubt in her voice, and Summer took all this in with great shock and a tremulous hope.

"Wh… Why would you do all that?"

"Because, once upon a time, I was Tori, and I wish someone would have been there for my parents. So, what do you say? There's me, my husband, our daughter, my sister, my grandmother, and six dogs… You'll be well surrounded, both of you."

Summer looked at her, for a few seconds more, and finally she nodded. Maya smiled. Her gut never let her down, did it?

"Six dogs?" Summer sniffled.

"Four of them ours, two are fosters," Maya nodded. "Just a bunch of softies, they're going to love you." It was the first time she heard Summer laugh. "Okay, first things first, we have some calls to make."

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners