Notes: Readers and REAL McRollers - thank you for your amazing support! It is always appreciated.
Hope you enjoy!
Open House (A McRoll in the REAL World Story by Mari and Ilna)
"Me and Michael did the bulletin board," DJ said as he led his parents over to see the October themed scene. "We did Halloween and Fall."
"That's so good, DJ!" his sister exclaimed at the scarecrows, pumpkins and full moon with an arching cat in front of it. "He looks like Midnight."
"He does, doesn't he?" Catherine said as DJ pointed out various elements to Angie. "You did an incredible job, sweetheart."
"You really did, buddy." Steve squeezed his shoulder and was rewarded with a huge smile.
"Thanks, it was fun. I volunteered 'cause I love to draw and Michael offered to help. He came up with the scarecrow idea since we don't have leaves on the ground here and stuff."
"Very clever." Steve gave a thumbs up to his son's best friend who was across the room showing his own parents the wall of WE ARE AWESOME BECAUSE that the class did for open house.
"What's that say?" Angie asked about the colorful sign above the stack of papers on a side table.
"Parent Quiz," Catherine read as DJ grabbed one and handed it to her.
"You and Daddy can take it together. It's gonna be so fun."
Mr. Francis smiled. " It's always fun to give your parents a test, right?"
"Right," the smiling fourth grader said.
Steve and Catherine sat at one of the parent-sized tables and Angie scrambled onto her father's lap.
"Okay, let's see what we've got," he said. " 'My child's favorites are…' and we fill in the blanks."
"Okay," Catherine said, nodding that he should start.
"Dinner," he read. "Chicken fingers and fries." He wrote it down when DJ grinned.
"Dessert," Catherine followed. "Ice cream. Animal is dogs."
"Subject, math," Steve filled it in. "Outdoor activity."
"Baseball," they said together. "And color," she read, laughing when Angie said, "It's blue!" along with her father.
"You got them all right," DJ beamed. "I knew you would, even though Mr. Francis said most parents miss a few."
"We know our sweet boy." Catherine kissed his cheek when he hugged her, then shared a knowing look with Steve when DJ was in his arms for a hug.
"My favorite dessert is cookies!" Angie giggled when all three of them chuckled after DJ said, "And your favorite animals are dogs, cats and goats."
"Yes! Open house is so fun. What's next?"
"Next up is your room," Catherine said and Angie practically squealed with excitement.
"That's my paper!" Angie pointed to a star-adorned sheet that featured filled in spots that read, 'I am special because,' where she'd printed:
I am kind
I am smart
I am friendly
I am brave
I am strong
I am ANGIE!
"Those are all wonderful, baby girl." Catherine kissed her head.
"And true," Steve noted, making her beam.
She caught sight of something new in her classroom and made a beeline for it. A small kiddie pool was set up but instead of water inside, there were large foam fishes with letters on them.
"Mr. S! What's this?" she asked her teacher.
"This is your chance to go fishing at school," he replied and held out a small plastic fishing pole with a magnet on the end.
"Fishing at school?" she gasped excitedly, then stopped, furrowing her brow. "But … those aren't real fishes."
Mr. Seftas chuckled. "I can't get anything by you, can I, Angie?" He flashed a quick smile at her parents and DJ. "I put a little magnet on all the fish, so when the magnet on the end of the fishing line touches one …"
"It'll catch the fish!" she finished.
"Exactly."
"Hey, there's the letters and numbers on the fish," DJ noticed.
"Good observation, DJ," Mr. S said. He winked at the fourth grader. "When you catch a fish, maybe Angie can help you figure out what letter or number is on it."
Angie frowned at her teacher and shook her head. "DJ is a very very good reader."
DJ smiled at the compliment. "And so are you, Angie. I bet you'll know every one we catch. Is there another pole, Mr. S?"
"Absolutely." He handed DJ a second fishing pole and smiled at the two. "Give your parents a turn, too, okay? Maybe you can make it a competition."
Steve grinned as Catherine shook her head, knowing exactly what was coming. "Now you're talking my language."
"Hi, Ms. Richter!" DJ greeted the art teacher and was echoed by Angie.
"Hello, you two," Iris Richter greeted them and offered her hand to Steve and Catherine. "Good to see you both. I'm sure you're excited to see the children's work. Kindergarten is right here." She pointed to the colorful display of art on the bulletin board closest to her desk. "And fourth grade is to the left."
"That's mine!" Angie bounced in place. "It's story time, see?"
"We see, sweetheart." Catherine ran a hand over her hair. "That's all of us and Cammie and Pumpkin reading together."
"It's quite good," Mrs. Richter said and the little girl's face lit up. "Angie is very expressive, and she includes wonderful details. If you look, the book you're holding even has a title."
Steve chuckled. "Let's Count Goats. One of her frequent requests."
"Mrs. R helped me write it." She beamed at the teacher.
"Angie loves experimenting with colors. She's quite confident in her choices, which is wonderful to see."
"Great job, Angie!" Her brother, who was seeing that particular drawing for the first time, gave her a one armed hug. "I really like how you made the lights in your room look sparkly."
At his words, she wrapped him in a full hug. "Thank you! I used the sparkly markers like Joanie showed me on Skype."
When they moved to see DJ's work for open house, Catherine looked between the poster board signed DJ McGarrett under the Our Self Portraits banner and her son's face. "Honey, this is … beautiful."
Ms. Richter stepped up behind them. "It's fabulous, isn't it?" She placed a hand on DJ's shoulder. "He's very talented, which we've discussed before, but the details and the fact that he can render so well…" She waved a hand as the nine year old ducked his head and beamed. He'd tried extra hard on his portrait and was glad the art teacher thought it turned out so good.
"We're very proud of him." Catherine's smile lit her eyes.
"Rendering," Ms. Richter explained, "isn't something we teach. It's a natural talent. See the details, here and here? The eyebrows are individual strokes to illustrate hair. The fingernails? That's rendering. And DJ's choice of the thought bubbles, very creative. He took the assignment a step further. His portrait shows his physical appearance but also his emotional makeup." She smiled at the boy who'd come so far since first grade, and who had a talent she was thrilled to see. "I'll leave you to admire. Great seeing you both."
"Thank you, Ms. Richter," DJ said happily before turning back to his family. "I added the bubbles cause I got the idea from the comic books me and Angie make." He pointed. "That one is me thinking about you and Angie and Cammie and Pumpkin. This one's hiking with grandma and grandpa and BINGO with Grandma Ang. There's the water park with Uncle Danny…" As he continued, Angie asked questions and clapped at his statements while Steve and Catherine looked at each other.
Steve slid a hand around his wife's waist. They were both very proud of DJ's talent. Not only artistically but in everything in which he excelled. But what made them happier than anything, was the absolute joy which DJ expressed in his self portrait. The colors were bright and cheerful. He was smiling broadly in the image and the bubbles around him showed nothing but happy scenes. Catherine squeezed Steve's hand where it rested on her hip and he kissed her temple before they both complimented the artwork and she positioned him beside it for a photo.
After visiting the music room and the gym and enjoying a cup of fruit punch and a cookie in the cafeteria, the four walked outside to head home for the evening.
"That was so fun," DJ said, walking between his parents with Angie.
"Yeah," Angie agreed. "We should have Open House every week."
Catherine chuckled. "But if we had it every week, it wouldn't be so special."
Angie frowned up at her. "Yes, it would."
"It would," DJ agreed. "Because we get to go to school as a family, and any time we do something as a family is special."
"Sweet boy," Catherine said, reaching over to brush a hand over his hair.
"Can't argue with that," Steve added.
"But at least we have the family picnic to look forward to," DJ said. "It's not the same as Open House, but it'll be just as fun. Maybe even more fun 'cause there will be more activities and food."
"And it'll be outside!" Angie said.
Steve nodded. "So we've got the family picnic to look forward to."
Catherine grinned, taking Angie's hand. DJ reached for Steve's, and then he and Angie held hands so they were all joined in a line.
"Can't wait," Catherine said, sharing a smile with Steve, still amazed sometimes at how different their lives were now.
He smiled back, reading her thoughts perfectly, and agreed. "Can't wait."
Hope you enjoyed!
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