August 21st 2021

Chapter 233
Our Rally Around Moving Forward

Maya could not think of a single day when she hadn't looked forward to going to work since she'd started teaching. No matter what was going on in her life, whether it had something to do with the school or not, it would not be so encompassing as to make the entire act of going out there feel bad. Always, she would know what her position out there was, her duty to those kids, whether they were her personal students or not. And today was no different, not really, although there was just the tiniest part of her that felt… Oh, she couldn't even say what it was. Nervous? Anxious? Afraid? Not exactly…

When she mentioned all this to Lucas, as he woke up next to her on Monday morning, he looked at her with those pondering Huckleberry eyes of his. He suggested that today might feel very much like a turning point, and as much as these could have a way of throwing her mind in a jumble, there was more to it this time. They'd had the funeral. Roman and Taylor were returning, everyone was back, and it was to be like any other school day… but Lambert would still be gone. Maybe it wouldn't be so evident to see most of the time, but no one would have forgotten, would they? Possibly, some of them would have. Or not forgotten, but… For some of them, the event would have become a thing of the past and they would carry on, while for others it would continue to cast a shadow. And on those closest to him… Maybe some of it was helplessness. No matter what she would do, no matter how hard she'd try, because it wasn't just her job, because it was just the way she was… she couldn't fix this. Time would do that… in theory.

"You know, as much as I'm looking forward to being back at the ranch full time for… the obvious reasons… I'm also looking forward to being able to have our weekly lunches again," Lucas told her as he reached to hold her small hand in his. "I would have gone today… every day, if you needed me to."

"I know you would," Maya promised. "You know, we might need to get you a second watch, for all those days when I have yours."

"I manage," he smiled.

Maya wasn't alone in thinking a lot about today. When she and Lucas brought Marianne downstairs for breakfast, Summer came up to her host and teacher with what her mother used to refer to as an announcement in the shape of a request. She had been texting with Taylor since she'd gotten up and started through her morning routine with Tori. And she had told a very pale sort of lie in telling him that she had been speaking with their teacher regarding his return to school.

"I told him that we would pick him up," she revealed. "He wanted to take the bus, but his parents want him to be accompanied like they think he'll only pretend to go and then he'll skip class instead. So, I mentioned us giving him a ride, and his parents were okay with that…"

It was a good thing that Maya readily agreed with the whole plan or else it would have been difficult to say no. Only once they had climbed into the minivan and taken off, just the two of them, did she air any sort of concern for the plan, or at least…

"I don't want you to misunderstand my asking, but you and Taylor…" she started and paused when Summer turned her head toward her. "I know that everyone's feelings are sort of… all over the place right now, and that's more than normal under the circumstances. But I know what you've told me before, and I know where he stood before last week, so I just want to make sure that neither one of you is going to get hurt in this."

Summer was quiet for a while after this, and Maya worried that she might have offended her or overstepped her bounds. Wherever she disappeared off to in her mind, whatever thoughts she needed to explore, she came out on the other side of it shortly before they arrived at the Munroe house.

"Nothing's changed," Summer vowed, which Maya took to mean she was still not looking to get in any sort of romantic relationship at the moment. "I'd be lying if I said that he'd never made me feel anything, but even then, I won't let it go any further. I already let myself get carried away and I lost… almost everything. The way I see it, my love story is my daughter. Taylor is my friend. He needs me right now, but I know where to draw the line, I promise."

"Okay," Maya nodded. She could trust her word. A few seconds more passed in silence.

"Thanks," Summer added as they pulled to a stop. Maya looked at her. "It's been a long time since someone called me on something because they wanted to look out for me, not because they thought I'd just screw up again." Maya smiled and reached across the seats, her hand going around Summer's back to her shoulder so she might pull her closer a moment, press a kiss to the side of her head. They exchanged a smile, taking all the good energy they might gain from this moment, to get them through the day, before going up to collect Taylor from his house.

They'd kept in touch, in one way or another through the week, though they hadn't seen him in person again until Saturday, at the funeral. Already, back there, he'd been so quiet, closed in on himself. He had dreaded this day, they could tell, and once he'd arrived at it, the dread had felt warranted, hadn't it?

Now it was Monday morning, one week since Dylan had gone to break the news to him, and he was going back to school. Not too long ago, whatever else might be going on in his life, he would have his big sister and his best friend to back him up out there. Now he had neither, so Maya could easily see how Summer's friendship would be so important to him. Whether it would remain that way or whether it would only increase what romantic leanings he'd already had toward her, only time would tell. Right about now, the only thing that would matter would be reaching the end of the school day without losing what small bit of ground he might have regained over the past few days.

He didn't speak more than a handful of words between the time they picked him up and their arrival at school and neither Maya nor Summer pushed for him to try harder. He hadn't gone the way Eliza had gone after Kermit's passing, where they hadn't heard a single thing out of her for weeks and weeks, but he was near enough to that for it to remind Maya of her younger sister's predicament. Like her, it was clear that he was very much aware of his surroundings, not lost in his own mind. He just didn't know what to say. When they arrived and they got out of the minivan, he helped his teacher and his friend to unload the diary boxes on to the Grandpa cart.

"See you two later?" Maya looked between Taylor and Summer. They nodded and Summer led Taylor off toward the front of the building while Maya rolled her way in. When she turned the corner and saw her classroom further ahead, she found someone already waiting outside the door. Roman Day sat on the floor, his school bag in his lap, looking into nowhere. Maya slowly rolled up toward him, hoping he might become aware of her presence before she ended up startling him. He looked up and blinked.

"Is it time for class?" he asked, looking at his phone for the time.

"Still got a little while," she assured him. "You want to come in?"

He helped her set up the room. She hadn't intended to involve him, but she'd gone to open the supply closet and there he'd been, standing a couple paces behind her like he was waiting to be handed something. So, she let him help. Having spoken to his parents several times throughout the week, she knew that it had been Roman's choice to come back today. They would have let him stay home another week or two if he'd wanted it, maybe more. But he wanted to come back, couldn't bear to sit around the house anymore. It could be that he'd have difficulty concentrating, listening to his teachers, but it felt like the place to be, so here he was.

As expected, it was a strange sort of reunion as his classmates came around and found he was back. Some of them had been at the funeral, they'd seen him then, but most hadn't seen him, not since before the news about Lambert came. They were nervous around him, which was sort of expected. Roman was nervous around them, too, though, so on the whole… Maya saw him off at the end of the period, letting him know that he could come by to see her whenever he needed to. If he didn't want to eat in the cafeteria, he was welcome to her classroom. She had a strong feeling that she'd be extending the same invitation to Taylor Munroe when he'd come around for third period.

"Miranda?" Maya called to her colleague as she saw her walking along back toward her class, near to the end of her free period. The woman stopped at the sound of her name, looked around and saw her. "What's up?" Maya asked. The drama teacher seemed caught up in her own mind, though those thoughts might have been governed by a different emotion than those of Roman or Taylor. Hers looked closer to self-disappointment.

"I hate to say it…" Miranda shook her head after she'd followed Maya back into the art room. At once, Maya felt like she knew what she was getting at, and she tipped her head with a sigh.

"No…" she pleaded, but her fellow muse shook her head.

"Believe me, no one hates the idea more than I do, but I thought about it this weekend, thought about last week, and what things will be like for… I don't know how long, and I don't see how we can afford to go on. You know what the next few weeks and months are going to be like, how much work it will require. Those kids are grieving, and they should be allowed to grieve, and I'm not going to be the one to push them for the sake of a musical. That's the kind of thing that will sap what love they have for it right out of them. I know, I've been through it."

"I know," Maya sighed. "I just wish it didn't have to be like this."

"You and me both," Miranda nodded sympathetically.

"So, it's official then?"

"I want to tell the kids first, to explain to them why we're cancelling. It's the least I can do, isn't it?"

"Yeah… When are you going to do it? I would like to be there, Morgan, too, I'm sure."

"Friday after class is our next meet up," Miranda confirmed. They'd been off, naturally, since last week. "Maybe we can still do… something… later on in the year. It won't be the same, but it'll be better than cutting out entirely." The tone in her voice said what it really was. A sad consolation prize. But it would have to do.

"We'll think of something, I swear."

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners