January 6th 2022

Chapter 6
Our Life With Classes

"Look at us, all done, not at all chaotic or anything," Maya smiled as she resettled Lucy in the crook of her arm. "And I even have time to make myself… roughly presentable while your dad goes and gets you dressed. But he's not here yet, so it's just you and me right now, huh? Yeah…" she brought her nearer so she might kiss her forehead. It was impossible not to think about Gracie when she was a baby. Her lastborn babe was on that same wavelength of quiet as her little sister had been, when she'd been an infant. If she should turn out anything like her, it would be wonderful.

When Lucas came back, he had what looked like a whole array of onesies slung over his shoulders and generally looked as though he'd been having to deal with a 'situation.'

"So, option one is out," he informed her with a sigh.

"Do I want to know?" Maya's eyebrow went up.

"Depends, are you planning on having breakfast?"

"Right, never mind…" she gave him a sympathetic frown before turning her eyes to the tiny clothing on his shoulders. "Flowers or hearts, what do you think?" she looked down to Lucy. "And she's asleep… Hearts?"

"On it," Lucas agreed before moving to collect the baby.

"Be good to your dad, bun," Maya called after them, and she smiled when she heard her husband's laugh. "Okay…" she hummed to herself once she was alone. She didn't even want to think about what she looked like just now. It was one thing when she was just home with the family. They would think nothing of her just focusing on recuperating and looking after her daughters over the past week since they'd come home. But today…

Today was the first day of the new school year, for her students, for her colleagues… and here she was. Was there some part of her that would have considered any kind of possibility for her to be there in person, like she'd done on the first school day in her previous maternity leave? If there had been, that 'part' had been squashed with each day that brought them closer to this one. There was just no way, no reasonable way to think about bringing herself out there for the entire day. She would have had to bring the babies with her, and for now knowing the kind of whirlwind this could create… No, it wouldn't do. So, she'd just have to do what she'd known she'd have to do all along. If she wanted to be involved, she'd have to call in, while Barton Day was teaching her classes.

He'd stopped by to pick up the diary boxes a few days ago. He and Michelle had come and visited her in the hospital once, about a week after the girls were born, though they didn't get to meet them until that home visit. They'd been delighted, spending much of an afternoon holding this one and that one… Already, Michelle's knitted gifts had been put to use where they could. She'd done so well in figuring the triplets' small sizes at birth when she'd created some of these pieces, and they meant a lot to both Maya and Lucas. And then, when she'd seen the nursery, seen the discs – now with their bears, cats, and rabbits painted in the center, matched to the shades of yellow, orange, and purple respectively – she'd gotten one of those looks which both of the new parents recognized as 'project eyes.' Soon, the girls would all have a whole set of items matching to their given colors and animals.

"Hey, how are you doing? Nervous?" Maya asked, when the call connected and she was met with Barton's face, framed with the art class behind him. Just seeing those stations made her feel homesick somehow.

"I could ask you the same thing," Barton gave her a smile, and she instinctively checked out her reflection on the screen. All things considered… She had done very well for herself.

"I can't help but think the girls wouldn't recognize me right now, but other than that, I just…"

"You wish you were here," Barton guessed. She did. When she repeated her question again, he let out a breath. The way his head swivelled and then stopped itself going further, she had a feeling that his mind had recalled the drawing up on the wall, only to be prevented from following through. Lambert's drawing… It would be there, every day, to draw his attention, wasn't it? This small reminder of his lost son… It could give him grief, or it could take him back to good times, before that tragic morning.

Rather than sink further down that line, they got on to discuss the first class of the day, the arrival of the new seniors. It would be her first chance of seeing her eldest daughter today, as Ella and Tori had returned to their apartment the night before. They had agreed that the two of them would stay at the house until summer's end, to help with the babies, but once school started, Ella needed to get back to her life, and so she went back with her daughter to the home she shared with Phoebe Munroe and Khalil Russell. To no surprise, she was the first one to make it to class.

"Morning," she smiled into the screen, and Maya smiled back.

"Morning, El. Tori will be here soon, Lucas' mom just texted to say she picked her up."

"I know, she wrote to me, too. How are the babies?"

"See for yourself," Maya reached over and tilted the laptop until the camera could catch the bassinet at her side. There, the triplets in their heart-strewn onesies slept side by side. They knew the students would want to see them, and Maya would want to keep an eye on them, too, so this was ideal. If they ever woke up and needed tending, well, she'd be right there.

Lea and Taylor were not far behind in joining their friend and classmate, so they crowded around the screen, too, wanting to see the triplets. Lea had seen them a few times in person by now, along with the rest of the Sullivan-Reyes family, while Taylor had met them one afternoon as he visited Ella. The rest of their class had not seen any of their teacher's newborns, not a picture or a video, and while the other three were still having their look, more of the group started to arrive, bringing them all to crowd together. They all spoke over one another, some making sweet baby noises, others asking after their names, or noting how one of them had more hair than the others, or how small they were… Overall, they did all this in hushed tones, respectful of how they were clearly sleeping. Eventually, Barton had to tell them to back up and start taking their seats.

It would be much the same way with the sophomores, two periods later. Here again, a couple of them had met the triplets already, naturally. Olivia Zhu had long been campaigning to get in some babysitting when it would be required, and by the way she handled the small girls, Maya and Lucas were both inclined to give her the job. She wouldn't be the only one queueing up for the job by a longshot. She'd have to get behind several aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents… But she was there, and that was all that mattered. Anton Day had met the girls, too, and today he was less concerned with seeing how they were doing and more with experiencing his first class taught by his own father. Barton gave him a look as though to say, 'don't worry yourself over it, we'll be fine.' To see them both, Maya had a feeling that Anton would be working even harder not to be caught looking at his late brother's drawing on the wall.

"They're so cute…" Kelsey Farrell beamed as she rolled up and stopped her wheelchair where she could get a good look at the screen, once again showing the babes in their bassinet. She'd seen them before, not in person but on Olivia's phone. She looked like she had the reflex to wave at them, only to remind herself that they were clearly asleep. They'd woken up earlier, in between classes, by chance, and Maya had needed to step away from the laptop with them for a time, but they'd come back before third period was going to start.

As before with the seniors, there was a bit of a crowding situation when the kids came along and saw the screen, and the babies… It wasn't all of them who came. Some took one quick look, wondering what had everyone so curious, and then went to take a seat. Falling somewhere in the middle was Ava Nash. Maya spotted the curtain of auburn hair first, and then there she was, looking but keeping back, off in her own head. Maya could see her, though with how the camera was angled toward the bassinet, Ava couldn't see her. It was hardly the first time she got to look at the girl when she didn't know she was being seen. After a year of it, she'd come to see this as someone generally in their own world. That could be said of most people when they weren't interacting with others, sure, but with Ava… It was hard to explain. She was still trying to figure out the girl, and in many ways, Ava looked like she was trying to do the same thing.

Maya had worried about her, whenever she'd thought about being away from class this fall, about the work they'd done together last year and what her absence would do. So far, it at least looked like everything was just as they'd left it at the end of the previous year. Now all they had to do was keep going. She'd have her diary, she'd do her assignments, and then… they could continue their dialogue.

The other one she'd been thinking about a lot was Cade Foster. She wouldn't see him until the end of the day, along with the rest of the juniors, after the freshmen, but when she would… Ava had stayed the same throughout the summer, but Cade… Cade had changed. It was enough that, for a second, she didn't recognize him, but then she spotted Stevie, and Henry, and here was this boy with them… Had he hit a growth spurt, or was it just that he was walking with his shoulders a lot straighter? Maybe it was a bit of both. Either way, it highlighted much of the change in him, all of it resolving itself in something like a new confidence. After the crowd moved away from the screen, Maya lifted the screen back up so that she could be seen, and she caught the boy's eyes. He stopped and came back closer to the computer with a smile. He was very happy to see her.

"Hey, Mrs. Friar," he waved at her.

"Morning, Cade," she smiled. "Glad to be back?" The question carried another, and she was certain he had caught on to it by the discreet smile and nod he gave her. The last two years had been a mess for him, a lot of the time, with the bullying he had received. It had been bad enough that his father had considered sending him to a different school. But he'd fought to stay, and now he was here, and he looked like… like he had gotten it in his mind not to waste this opportunity, to stay with his friends and the people he cared about.

"Yes," he told her. "Kind of wish you were here, too." Maya breathed through her smile, feeling her emotions were likely to tilt if she didn't keep it together.

"I will be… In whatever way I can, I will be," she vowed. He knew, like all her students did, that her word was her bond. If he needed her, she would be there.

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners