April 10th 2022

Chapter 100
Our Introduction to a Year

This was not her first ride when it came to picking up a few of those tests. She still remembered the first time, their second Halloween in Houston… Oh, that had been as chaotic of a night as she could recall, and it had all started with a belief, which had led her to a similar store aisle, followed by panic as she inspected the selection and chose four brands… and bought two of each, just to be sure. That time… nearly twelve years back if it could be believed… had turned out negative. It had happened a few more times over the years, including when they'd actually been trying for a positive with their girls. Oh, she remembered those two times, when they had been positive. She thought of the last time, with the triplets, and she remembered how she'd found out about Riley and her pregnancy. This now made her think about how, if she was right this time, it would mean that she'd be going through this pregnancy at the same time as her little sister's. They'd be having their children… something like two months apart… And two months before Cara, they'd have Chiara's twins… Now she liked it even more, to know that those babies could all grow up together…

"We're nothing if not predictable…" she sighed to herself as she realized that, once again, her mind was running away with visions of the future, as though this baby wasn't still very, very small… not to mention potentially non-existent. That was always how it started with her and Lucas, but then she had to imagine it wasn't uncommon for parents as a whole.

Either way, even if she would be headed into a third pregnancy, hardly new to any of it, there was the tiniest part of her that was feeling jumpy that morning, like she was sneaking around as she picked up the boxes – two this time, because it felt right. It also felt silly, but none more than when her phone rang and she let out a little yelp of surprise, earning her a stare from a clerk stocking a shelf nearby. She gave him a courteous smile and nod before walking past.

"Hey!" she answered the call with a smile, as she saw the caller ID photo, showing Ella and Tori in Greece over the summer.

"Hi, Nana!" Tori's voice rang out, and for the stimulation of everything happening that morning so far, it made Maya's heart warm up.

"Hi, baby girl!" she replied with a laugh. "Good morning!"

For about a minute, as she made her way to the self checkout, she was treated to her granddaughter's morning in Houston, tales about how she loved sharing a room with Giulia, how she was going to preschool this morning and she was so excited! When Ella finally got on the line, Maya already felt she knew the reason for this call, and she was correct. Ella had rightly assumed that her mother would be thinking of them that morning, with school starting and all, so she'd figured she would call, to make up for her not being there. Maya was very thankful for the gesture.

"Are you at school already?" Ella asked, like whatever she heard in the background was confusing.

"Uh, no, I had to stop on an errand on the way," Maya explained, as she walked out of the store with her purchase. "Lucas took Marianne to preschool." Oh, there was definitely a part of her that wanted to tell her eldest about this 'errand,' knowing she'd understand the secrecy, but then… no, they had to wait until it was sure. She had to finish the conversation as though it was a normal day… or as normal as it would have been already without this added situation.

Finally, with the tests stowed away out of sight in her bag, Maya went on toward school. She allowed herself to shift properly into that mindset, and it wasn't so hard. The closer she got to the building she would think about how this was already her eighth year as a teacher… She would think about how her very first start to finish class, that of the likes of Missy Sanderson, Phoebe Munroe, and Stella Buckley, would now be finishing college at the end of this year… provided that they had gone in and stayed in and done a four-year program, but still… She would get to school and, she knew, she would be flooded with so many memories, of her past years as a teacher here, past years as a student, too, especially with this potential baby getting her thinking about her and Lucas back here…

"Hey, need a hand?" a voice called as she was pulling the grandpa cart from the back of her minivan. Maya didn't even have to turn back to recognize Dylan and she smiled, especially when she saw him. Oh, it didn't matter that the basketball season hadn't started, or that the teams hadn't even been put together yet. The students would only even find out about his new position today, but it didn't matter. Already he had an air about him that compelled her to greet him with…

"Hey there, Coach Dylan. Yes, you can help me," she tipped her head to him. He started to take the boxes now, stacking them so that the designs on the outside – as done by Stella – would all line up. He'd gotten three of them down when he paused, like something had just occurred to him. He turned to his old friend and looked at her for a moment… and then he let out a sort of excited cry that made her jump.

"You guys are…" he gestured at her, and her eyes went wide. She yanked his hand and pulled it down. She couldn't even act like she didn't know what he was talking about, not with how she'd reacted. Once he realized that, he looked around before giving her a brief hug.

"How did you…"

"You just let me help," he shrugged as he grabbed the last two boxes. "No matter what is going on, usually, I have to ask at least twice." Maya was a bit speechless… potentially re-evaluating everything about herself… but now there was no point denying it, which she was sort of glad about, seeing as it meant that she could talk to someone else about it.

"We don't know for certain yet, okay, so just…"

"Not telling anyone, I swear," he told her. "Won't tell Riley, no one, not even Lucas."

"Alright, then," she chuckled, and they headed into the school.

Oh, was she glad to get her classroom settled, to look forward to receiving her new seniors… Was she being hit particularly hard by the idea that this batch of her kids would be graduating at the end of this year? Possibly… It felt like only a moment ago they'd arrived, and now they would be leaving. Rosemary, Stevie, Henry, Cade, all of them… She couldn't chase away the image of when they'd first stepped into her class, the first time she'd met some of them, sometimes not even in her class…

"Hey, Mrs. Friar!" a pair of voices pulled her from her thoughts, and she looked up to find her sisters. Nellie and Gracie Hunter had entered the high school…

"Get in here," she laughed, moving to pull them back into a hug. "Won't get to do this later," she told them, pressing a kiss to the side of both their heads. "Alright, now go on, I'll see you after lunch. Have a great morning, yeah?"

"We will!" the twins promised together before leaving the room.

They'd dressed the same that day, only differentiated by the length of their hair. Nellie had been keeping up with a sort of short length, 'just long enough to tie it up,' as she'd say, while Gracie had been letting it grow. It now reached her lower back and was today left to flow, save for the sides being tied back. It had become a routine for the two of them to dress the same on the first day of school, and there'd been some debate about whether or not they'd do it today, too, starting high school, but it looked as though they'd decided to stay with the tradition. Now Maya wondered if they'd talked the Davis boys into doing the same.

Not long after she got back to her preparations for the seniors, they started to arrive. The first of those was Cade Foster, and once again Maya was surprised to see how he'd gone on growing. He was so far from the boy she'd met three years ago, who could barely be counted on to give her a handful of words… This young man was not closed off, not in the slightest. He was happy to be here, and he wanted to help her if there was anything left to be done.

"Just have a seat, we're all good," she smiled at him.

Henry and Stevie were no more than a minute behind their best friend, walking in hand in hand. Henry greeted his teacher/cousin-in-law as one would when they had only seen each other last a few days ago instead of at the end of the previous year. And Stevie, who had seen her even more recently than her boyfriend had, when she and her father had been invited to join the Hunters for dinner and the Friars had been there, too, greeted her as a sister. Maya was sure that, even years from now, when the series would have ended and Stevie Brett was no longer playing Katy's daughter, she would still be held in this position as one more daughter/sister to her co-star and her real life children.

"Good morning, Captain Mary-Mary… hey…" Maya started with a beaming smile when she spotted Rosemary Adewumi coming into the room, but then was surprised when she spotted the bandage peeking out of the quiz team's new leader's sleeve… sleeves, actually. Both of her hands were wrapped in the same manner, leaving the girl to look a lot more miserable at being here than she normally might have done. Maya was almost used to seeing her students show up after an injury, especially on those first days after summer, or holidays, or breaks, when they might have gone on some trip. It didn't mean that she had to stop being affected by it, especially when it was one of those kids that she was closest to. Add to it the whole 'might be having a baby' deal, and she was even more hopeless. "What happened…" she asked, approaching her. Rosemary held out her arms, turned her hands over as she looked at them.

"My mom and I were helping my dad move some things around yesterday and I fell."

"Yesterday?" Maya exclaimed. Rosemary nodded.

"They wanted me to stay home for a couple of days, but I'm fine, I just can't write. Is it okay if I record what you say in class?" she asked, like the promise of this solution meant a great deal to her, especially as she didn't want to fall behind in class.

"Of course. Here," she led her to her desk, fished out her new diary from the senior box. "I'll put it in your bag. Obviously, so long as you're healing you won't be able to do much, but that's fine. You take your time, yeah? Don't strain yourself."

"Okay…" Rosemary replied, standing there as Maya slipped the sketchbook into her bag. She knew how much it meant to her now, her diary, filling those pages, and she did not look forward to missing out for however many weeks it would be before her wrists were better. It reminded Maya of Stella Buckley, after she'd broken her arm on a ski trip.

"Hey…" Maya turned her back around, smiled at her. "Senior year," she reminded her, and Rosemary nodded. "And I'll let you know about the freshmen as soon as I can," she added. That was another thing she loved about being back at school, and unlike her diary, her injury would not stop her too much. With any luck, she'd have her new freshman locked in soon and they could set out for a new year, a quartet once again.

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners