July 20th 2021

Chapter 201
Our Friends in Support

As curious as Maya had been in the year since she'd known the woman, she hadn't gone out of her way to see what her house looked like. But then when the muses were due to gather on Sunday morning to go over the auditions for the musical, she'd needed to call up Miranda Ortiz and ask if they could relocate this session away from her own home. Was she telling the truth when she explained that Ginger and Darby were finally being picked up by their new family and it would create a disruptive layer of canine and toddler upset? Absolutely. Marianne wouldn't take it well, and neither would the other four dogs. But underneath all that – because they could very well have taken refuge in the Hex – there was the Summer factor.

So, Maya and Morgan had joined Miranda at her home, and they'd gone through the auditionees together until they had a definitive cast list to go up on the board on Monday morning. And then they'd been given the big tour. It was everything they might have expected and more.

Now here they were, on Monday morning, and first period hadn't even started that the day was already a very eventful one. Maya was still standing in the doorway to her classroom, ever so casually spying the list at the other end of the hall, waiting for students to go up and read it, when up came Captain Rochelle with a determined stride.

"She said yes," she proudly revealed. "When can we have our first meeting? I should check with the Think Tank, see if we can do a friendly."

"Easy, easy," Maya chuckled.

"I'll put in the order for her jacket, what about the shirt?" Rochelle went on, undeterred.

"I will take care of the shirt," Maya signalled for her to relax. A moment later, they both turned, hearing a squeal from down the hall. "Damn, missed it," Maya sighed as she watched Lea step back from the bulletin board. She may have missed the moment when her cousin-in-law saw her name on the cast list, but she did not lose out entirely. The giddy sophomore spotted her teacher and teammate and went dashing their way.

"Oh, that's today?" Rochelle realized. She took off toward the board, crossing Lea with a quick side hug on the way. She wasn't looking for her own name, no, as she hadn't auditioned, but there was someone else, and she arrived there almost at the same time he did.

Bodhi had auditioned, and he'd made it. This was big for him. As he'd told Maya and the others on Friday, he used to sing in his grandmother's choir, back in the day, and he loved it. But since his transition had started, he hadn't been singing at all, maybe wasn't sure how his singing voice would have evolved, or maybe de-evolved. Last year, he was still not ready, but this year he'd decided to take the plunge. It had been worth it.

There were others like Lea who had been part of last year's musical and were now set to participate in this year's production. Lambert Day was one of those. Then they had other newbies along with Bodhi, like Stevie Brett. Maya had seen her go up to the list, squeak, run off, then return with her father and point to the list. Stephen Brett had turned to his younger daughter and possibly asked permission to hug her in the middle of school, which she evidently allowed as he swept her off her feet a moment later.

"Is that him? Is that Khalil Russell?" Lea asked Maya when the boy could be seen looking at the list. He was stunned to find his name right at the top, the male lead. Lea had humbly found herself the female lead for the second year running and had already declared she shouldn't get it in next year's or the one after that.

"Yeah, that's him," Maya smiled. He looked so happy out there.

"So… are we going to be doing the big kiss at the end?" Lea casually and quietly asked. Maya turned to her cousin to find her observing the boy from afar, almost sizing him up. Keeping her laugh in felt nothing short of herculean.

"I mean, it's up to you guys, I guess. If either of you is uncomfortable about it, I'm sure we can…"

"I'll go find out," Lea tapped her arm without looking away before striding down to meet Khalil. Maya almost called out 'run, Khalil, run.'

Morning became a buzz of talk about the musical and the newly announced cast. Maya had predicted this would be the case and might have organized her class activities for the day in consequence, the better to allow the whisperings instead of having to silence them.

That lasted until lunch time. In the afternoon, they'd be talking about Cade Foster.

Maya had mistaken the increased chatter in the hallways as being about the musical, still, and maybe some of it was, but soon she would learn that there was something else happening today. It was particularly strong among the freshmen, as she'd see when they'd start coming along for their class after lunch, and was that any wonder? This was their classmate.

"Ma… Mrs. Friar, did you hear about Cade?" Henry came up to her.

"Cade? What about him?" Maya blinked.

"He got in a fight with a senior, right in the cafeteria. Mr. Orlando and Mr. Brett had to pull them apart," he explained, looking like the whole event had been at once scary and maybe a little entertaining. "The other guy was huge," he added with a shake of the head that sent Maya sprinting out of the room at once. She wasn't sure whether he'd be with the principal or the nurse, so she tried the nurse first.

There he was, laid out on one of the beds, an ice pack covering most of his face. The hand that held it didn't look much better. Sitting on the other bed and talking his mouth off at both the principal and vice-principal, was a senior boy she didn't know from class but from the hallways. He was definitely what could be categorized as a bully, and whether what he said about how he'd done nothing but defend himself after Cade attacked him was true or not, she couldn't say for sure. Neither could the principal or VP. It was hard not to look from the size and state of him compared to Cade and see him as the instigator. Maya offered herself to speak with the freshman, and this was allowed, as the senior was escorted to the principal's office.

"Hey, Cade, it's Mrs. Friar, can I have a look?" she carefully touched his hand as she sat on the edge of the bed. He briefly flinched, but he lifted up the ice pack. Maya couldn't hide the reaction, though between the swelling and bruising, it was possible he didn't catch much of it. "Your dad's coming to pick you up, is that right?" He didn't speak, just put the ice back. "Cade, I need you to tell me what happened back there. Your side of it." Still, silence. "I can't help you if you don't talk to me. I want to help you."

"Fine, then leave me alone," he finally spoke. Maya wasn't thrown. She didn't know if he was ashamed, or scared, or in a bad mood, but regardless… She couldn't just go.

"Are you trying to be suspended? Expelled? Because if that's what you're doing, then you're headed the right way." Straight talk, that was all she had. But it did its part. It didn't clear things right up, but it definitely caused a reaction. He was listening. "I don't know, maybe it comes up like a lot of talk nowadays, but there was a time when I was trouble, and I don't know how far it would have gotten if things hadn't changed for me the way they did after I moved out here, but… It doesn't mean I don't remember the things I used to feel, the things that made me act the way I did."

Still listening, not talking.

"You've been kind of a mystery, you know that? Which, well, that's not a bad thing, not at all, but it does give me teacher brain, you know? I do my job best when I can understand my students, when I can figure out how best to help them learn something in my class. And all this month, you've been sitting there, in that room, and I'm not sure I know more than what you told me on the first day. Cade Foster. Sixteen," she recalled his words. "I've seen your work and even that feels like you're going out of your way not to let me see anything that could let me learn anything about who you are. And now there's today. I'm not ready to believe that the first thing I'll learn about you, other than your name and your age is 'gets in fights with other students.'"

"At least now they'll leave me alone," Cade spoke, after nearly a minute had gone by. Maya took a breath. A crack in the door, maybe all she'd need.

"Who's they? Who else has been picking on you?"

"They're not picking on me," Cade pulled off the ice pack. He tried to sit up and looked like the world had gone at a spin. He didn't resist when Maya incited him to lie back down.

"What are they doing then?" she asked.

"They laugh," he flatly replied. "Couldn't take it anymore, wanted them to see I wouldn't just stand there anymore. They're just a bunch of as…"

"Okay, alright," Maya cut him off. "I get the picture." They sat in silence for a few beats. "What happened today? Who started it?"

"He was…" Cade pointed out the door.

"I mean the fight. Did you act in self-defence, or did you jump him first?" Maya asked. Cade took a breath while she let one out. He had started it. "Right." She knew from other teachers that he had been riding the line as far as his behavior. He was late at least once a day, it seemed, and he was already a regular in detention. "Do you want things like that to keep happening to you? You're probably looking at a suspension at the least right now, and I don't know about you but I'm not looking for it to get worse than that. You're only starting out here. You can choose to stay on this path, in which case the next four years are going to be a lot like the last month. Or you can jump into a different lane, right here, right now. It won't be easy, I know, but if you decide to try, I will be there. I will back you up. It's up to you, Cade."

"Mr. Foster is here, he's meeting with the principal," the nurse came from her office to alert Maya. She was looking at Cade on the bed, saw the way he shifted. Was he scared of what his father would say? Was it bad at home?

"Cade…" she touched his arm. He flinched. "I can go with you if you're ready to get up. If not, then I can stay with you." He was trying to force an expression on to his face. It was hard, because of the fight, but it was like watching him pull his mask back on, piece by piece, after it had threatened to come loose. "I'll stay. Okay?" she asked as she guided him to put the ice pack on again. His hand came up until he could set it down on top of hers where it held the ice. "Okay." They were going to try.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners