"Jimmy can you read the next section out loud please." Sydney said, sitting
on a stool in the front of the classroom. A few moments later Jimmy began
reading the paragraph on their next essay topic. As the class listened
attentively, Sydney began to day dream. He stomach growled incessantly.
'Only a few more minutes until lunch', she told herself. As Jimmy finished
ready, Sydney forced herself back to reality. "Are there any questions?"
Sydney said looking up from the page. Her students sat quietly. "Alright
than why don't you guys use these last few minutes before lunch to begin
your outlines.
A quiet murmur spread throughout the room, and Sydney had a sneaking suspicion the conversations were not about Tom Sawyer. "You could at least try and pretend to be working." She said maneuvering off of her stool. The volume in the room seemed to increase as Sydney turned her back to erase the white board. "Keep it down guys." She said. Her warning turned out to be surprisingly effective and the entire room seemed to quiet attentively. Sydney turned to see what was going on, and was surprised to see Vaughn standing in the classroom doorway. He smiled widely seeing Sydney's surprise.
Trying desperately to hide her extra large, extra goofy smile Sydney hurried across the room toward the door. Several students looked back and forth between Sydney and Vaughn, intrigued and confused. "Hey," Sydney said making her way through the door and shutting it behind her. Vaughn enveloped her into a big hug.
"Hey yourself." He said softly. After a long moment of embracing, they parted.
"What are you doing here?" Sydney said unable to hide her excitement.
"I came to surprise you, I thought we could have lunch." Vaughn said, leaning in and giving her a quick kiss.
"Well I'm surprised. You weren't supposed to be back until tomorrow." Sydney said kissing him back.
The sound of laughter from behind them, made both Sydney and Vaughn turn. The window between the classroom and the hallway was filled with the smiling faces of almost every one of Sydney's sixth graders. Each apparently thought what they had just witnessed was absolutely hysterical.
"I think we've been made." Vaughn said, unable to stop from laughing himself. Sydney made her way to the door and opened it. As she did the students all rushed back to their desks.
"All right. Lunchboxes and coats, let's go to the lunch room." Sydney said trying to suppress a smile.
"Who was that?" A girl in the back asked. Despite the commotion within the room, everyone quieted.
"Um," Sydney paused, she never imagined she would be so embarrassed about it all. "That is my fiancé." A giggle came over the crowd.
"What's his name?" Another boy yelled.
"Enough you guys, everyone out the door." Sydney said shuffling to make it out of the doorway through the small sea of students.
Vaughn was leaning against a wall in the hallway, and several students stared and giggled as they passed him. One girl was even brave enough to ask Vaughn his name. Vaughn gave Sydney a sideways glance before answering. After making sure her class was off to the cafeteria Sydney smiled and sighed.
"How long so we have before they come back?' Vaughn said, following Sydney back into the classroom.
"About an hour." Sydney said making her way to her desk. She began to put several folders away as Vaughn looked around the room.
"So this is where you work." Vaughn said quietly approaching her desk.
"Yep," Sydney said leaning back in her chair. Vaughn leaned back against the desk and smiled.
"It's very 'you'." He said leaning down and kissing her softly. Sydney giggled through the kiss, which lasted a lit longer than either had expected.
They were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat in the doorway. Sydney looked up blushing to see Melissa, a fellow teacher standing there. "Am I interrupting something?" Melissa smiled.
"Hi, sorry." Sydney said getting up from her chair. She grabbed her bag and walked toward the door. Vaughn followed closely behind. "Melissa this is Michael, my fiancé." Sydney explained. Vaughn and Melissa shook hands.
"It's so nice to meet you Michael, I was beginning to think you didn't exist." The three laughed, as Sydney shut the classroom door and they started down the hallway.
"This is a great little school you have here." Vaughn said, noticing the art work on the walls, and the happy children scooting from one room to the next.
"We sure do like it." Melissa said gleefully as she opened to the door to the teachers lounge. The room was small and deserted.
"Sweetie, I packed lunch for myself this morning, but I think they're might be some food stashed in the fridge." Sydney said setting down her bag on the table. Vaughn smiled, "I took care of it." He said walking straight toward the counter. He picked up a large platter and set it down on the table, along with several plates and forks.
"Where did you get this." Sydney said helping to pull back the aluminum foil covering.
"Well I figured if I was coming to meet you for lunch, we should have something to eat." Vaughn smiled as he began to scoop pasta onto his plate. "Melissa feel free to help yourself, there's plenty."
"Don't mind if I do. It's ever so sweet of you Michael." Melissa said filling a plate to the brim. Vaughn and Sydney sat down side by side and started eating. "Oh you know what," Melissa said, as if just remembering something. "I forgot I have to go dig my desk out from under all those papers I have to grade." She said turning on her hell and heading toward the exit.
"Oh Melissa, you don't have to." It was too late she was already through the door.
After a moment Vaughn turned to Sydney. "So yeah, she seems nice." He laughed. Sydney giggled too. "So not many teachers eat in here eh?" Vaughn said looking around.
"Yeah, a lot of them eat in their classrooms, or even in the cafeteria with the kids." She smiled, taking another bite. "It's usually just me and Mel."
After a long moment of silence Vaughn finished eating and pushed his chair back. Sydney still hungry reached over, grabbed his plate, and began finishing it for him.
"Hungry much." He joked watching her.
"No comments from the 'people-only-eating-for-one club." Sydney smiled. Vaughn reached out and touched her face.
"I missed you." He said softly. "It wasn't easy leaving you here alone again."
Sydney, now finished eating, looked down. "I wasn't alone Vaughn. Ryan and Sark. It was good for us. I mean Sark and I." She paused again, looking back at Vaughn. "It was good for us to have some time together." She said with a small, hesitant smile.
"I'm glad to hear that." Vaughn said pulling her into a hug. "And how is the little rascal?" Vaughn said releasing her.
"Sark?" Sydney joked. "Nom Ryan's good. He's so funny, he keeps asking when the baby is coming." Sydney laughed.
Vaughn put his hand on Sydney's, now very large, stomach. "It sounds like he's almost as excited as I am." The both laughed together and shared a long kiss.
A quiet murmur spread throughout the room, and Sydney had a sneaking suspicion the conversations were not about Tom Sawyer. "You could at least try and pretend to be working." She said maneuvering off of her stool. The volume in the room seemed to increase as Sydney turned her back to erase the white board. "Keep it down guys." She said. Her warning turned out to be surprisingly effective and the entire room seemed to quiet attentively. Sydney turned to see what was going on, and was surprised to see Vaughn standing in the classroom doorway. He smiled widely seeing Sydney's surprise.
Trying desperately to hide her extra large, extra goofy smile Sydney hurried across the room toward the door. Several students looked back and forth between Sydney and Vaughn, intrigued and confused. "Hey," Sydney said making her way through the door and shutting it behind her. Vaughn enveloped her into a big hug.
"Hey yourself." He said softly. After a long moment of embracing, they parted.
"What are you doing here?" Sydney said unable to hide her excitement.
"I came to surprise you, I thought we could have lunch." Vaughn said, leaning in and giving her a quick kiss.
"Well I'm surprised. You weren't supposed to be back until tomorrow." Sydney said kissing him back.
The sound of laughter from behind them, made both Sydney and Vaughn turn. The window between the classroom and the hallway was filled with the smiling faces of almost every one of Sydney's sixth graders. Each apparently thought what they had just witnessed was absolutely hysterical.
"I think we've been made." Vaughn said, unable to stop from laughing himself. Sydney made her way to the door and opened it. As she did the students all rushed back to their desks.
"All right. Lunchboxes and coats, let's go to the lunch room." Sydney said trying to suppress a smile.
"Who was that?" A girl in the back asked. Despite the commotion within the room, everyone quieted.
"Um," Sydney paused, she never imagined she would be so embarrassed about it all. "That is my fiancé." A giggle came over the crowd.
"What's his name?" Another boy yelled.
"Enough you guys, everyone out the door." Sydney said shuffling to make it out of the doorway through the small sea of students.
Vaughn was leaning against a wall in the hallway, and several students stared and giggled as they passed him. One girl was even brave enough to ask Vaughn his name. Vaughn gave Sydney a sideways glance before answering. After making sure her class was off to the cafeteria Sydney smiled and sighed.
"How long so we have before they come back?' Vaughn said, following Sydney back into the classroom.
"About an hour." Sydney said making her way to her desk. She began to put several folders away as Vaughn looked around the room.
"So this is where you work." Vaughn said quietly approaching her desk.
"Yep," Sydney said leaning back in her chair. Vaughn leaned back against the desk and smiled.
"It's very 'you'." He said leaning down and kissing her softly. Sydney giggled through the kiss, which lasted a lit longer than either had expected.
They were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat in the doorway. Sydney looked up blushing to see Melissa, a fellow teacher standing there. "Am I interrupting something?" Melissa smiled.
"Hi, sorry." Sydney said getting up from her chair. She grabbed her bag and walked toward the door. Vaughn followed closely behind. "Melissa this is Michael, my fiancé." Sydney explained. Vaughn and Melissa shook hands.
"It's so nice to meet you Michael, I was beginning to think you didn't exist." The three laughed, as Sydney shut the classroom door and they started down the hallway.
"This is a great little school you have here." Vaughn said, noticing the art work on the walls, and the happy children scooting from one room to the next.
"We sure do like it." Melissa said gleefully as she opened to the door to the teachers lounge. The room was small and deserted.
"Sweetie, I packed lunch for myself this morning, but I think they're might be some food stashed in the fridge." Sydney said setting down her bag on the table. Vaughn smiled, "I took care of it." He said walking straight toward the counter. He picked up a large platter and set it down on the table, along with several plates and forks.
"Where did you get this." Sydney said helping to pull back the aluminum foil covering.
"Well I figured if I was coming to meet you for lunch, we should have something to eat." Vaughn smiled as he began to scoop pasta onto his plate. "Melissa feel free to help yourself, there's plenty."
"Don't mind if I do. It's ever so sweet of you Michael." Melissa said filling a plate to the brim. Vaughn and Sydney sat down side by side and started eating. "Oh you know what," Melissa said, as if just remembering something. "I forgot I have to go dig my desk out from under all those papers I have to grade." She said turning on her hell and heading toward the exit.
"Oh Melissa, you don't have to." It was too late she was already through the door.
After a moment Vaughn turned to Sydney. "So yeah, she seems nice." He laughed. Sydney giggled too. "So not many teachers eat in here eh?" Vaughn said looking around.
"Yeah, a lot of them eat in their classrooms, or even in the cafeteria with the kids." She smiled, taking another bite. "It's usually just me and Mel."
After a long moment of silence Vaughn finished eating and pushed his chair back. Sydney still hungry reached over, grabbed his plate, and began finishing it for him.
"Hungry much." He joked watching her.
"No comments from the 'people-only-eating-for-one club." Sydney smiled. Vaughn reached out and touched her face.
"I missed you." He said softly. "It wasn't easy leaving you here alone again."
Sydney, now finished eating, looked down. "I wasn't alone Vaughn. Ryan and Sark. It was good for us. I mean Sark and I." She paused again, looking back at Vaughn. "It was good for us to have some time together." She said with a small, hesitant smile.
"I'm glad to hear that." Vaughn said pulling her into a hug. "And how is the little rascal?" Vaughn said releasing her.
"Sark?" Sydney joked. "Nom Ryan's good. He's so funny, he keeps asking when the baby is coming." Sydney laughed.
Vaughn put his hand on Sydney's, now very large, stomach. "It sounds like he's almost as excited as I am." The both laughed together and shared a long kiss.