May 9th 2022
Chapter 129
Our Power to Cheer
The last day before the holiday break was always one of her favorites. Yes, she would say that about a lot of points throughout the school year, but she did mean it, every single time. Some of those points though… They sat a cut above the rest, and this was one of those. Maybe it was that everyone was looking forward to the time away from class – as teachers or students – or the prospect of activities, of plans with family and with friends… The Christmas lovers among them definitely had plenty to be excited about, and maybe it was the fact that this was her first pregnancy to coincide with this time of year, but Maya was feeling it more than ever.
When she arrived at school that morning, she had plenty of things in mind, no doubt, but the one that held most ground was that this was the last day she'd be seeing most of her students until they returned in January, and she wanted their send-off to be a good one. Today wasn't going to demand much more than for them to show up, to express themselves… in whatever way befitting the season that they could think of. She would leave it up to them.
The seniors, being the first to come for the day, decided to leave a gift for the other classes coming throughout the day. They all had freedom of the supply closet as far as what they did at their stations, but two by two they would come up, whenever a slot opened, and they would fill up a section of the grid that the first of them – Henry Hillard, the instigator of this project – had drawn across the board. By the end of the period, each of those spaces would be filled, corner to corner and border to border, with their contributions. Maya made sure to get them all to pose with their work for a picture. This had required all of them to sit on the floor in front of the board, so she could capture every last one, and true to their class on days like these, it had led to a brief but raucous round of carol singing. Maya never had the heart to call them off from some slightly less appropriate lyric changes. It was hilarious, and… well, they were seniors. It would be her last Christmas with them.
"Was it too much? Maybe it was too much…" Stevie suggested, at the end of the period, as the realization of those 'last thing' moments happening for another of her senior classes finally got Maya crying. She tried to brush this off as hormones, which… well, it wasn't a complete lie, but still… Stevie, in her capacity as her 'sister by reasons of television,' went ahead and gave her a very welcome hug. Henry followed this, because of being her cousin-in-law. Cade had no such reason, so the most he dared to do was to hug both of his friends at once and inform his teacher that it was for her. This, combined with the looks of startled surprise from Henry and Stevie, made Maya laugh, which was as good as an actual hug.
"You guys give him one for me," she told the couple, and they nodded and hugged their friend back. She could be as emotional as she wanted to about this year ending in a few months, but then she'd look at those three and think of all they'd gone through together, how much they'd changed, and as ever she would be reminded that it didn't all have to be sad… If anything, there was only sadness because there had been so much joy.
The seniors' gift was very well received by the sophomores when they arrived. A lot of them spent several minutes before and after the bell walking along and taking in the work across the board like they might have been in a museum. Their class choice for this day, though it wasn't exactly unanimous, was also in the spirit of giving. Everyone's names would be put in a hat and, like a round of Secret Santa, they would go and pick someone's name and do something for them, a drawing, a painting, anything that reminded the artist of their person, anything that might make them happy to receive. Some of the students got much more into the effort than others did, bending over their work to obscure what they were doing, suggesting that the recipient of their piece was right there at their station or near enough to be able to peek. The last five minutes of the class were spent with everyone receiving their gift. Maya didn't force any of them to speak up and explain why they had done whatever they'd done, knowing that some would have really just done whatever they could think of, whether or not it made sense.
Nika had been the one to end up with Echo's name – or Cody's, at least – and Maya had seen her all through the period, hard at work like she didn't know if she'd have time to finish but really wanting to get there in time. She had succeeded, and she gifted her work on to Echo after she'd come back from giving hers to one of her basketball teammates. Maya didn't see what Nika had done, but whatever it was, it had left Echo looking stricken – in a good way, a very good way – enough that she'd struggled to keep her composure. She'd waited, and waited, as the rest of the class emptied, so that she could finally thank her classmate, her friend, with a quick hug.
"Hey, Marshall," Maya called her back with a smile and quick wave. It was her way of calling out to Echo without having to call her Cody, and Echo always looked happy when she did so. "Can you give this to your parents?" she asked, presenting her with a card in an envelope. "I know your families will be at the ranch in a few days," she explained, indicating Echo and Carina. The Days and Johnny's family would be there, too. "But we also wanted to invite you all to drop in on Christmas."
"Thank you, Mrs. Friar," Echo smiled. Maya still couldn't get over how much it would change her features, just this smile that was her own, not Cody's.
As had been the case all year, the freshmen faced the challenge with great energy. They'd become avid portrait makers with their model sessions, but this time they demanded that their teacher come up and submit herself to their artistic eyes. Maya accepted this, only if they took her challenge in return and took inspiration from a prompt provided by their neighbors. These were anything from a color to a mood, to a style… On top of this, about as soon as they could, the caroling began, led by Nellie and Gracie. Oh, they had been hearing for years about how her students would do this, and they had been waiting to do it, too.
The students would present her with their work at the end of the period, and it was probably a good thing that she was biologically related to a couple of her students, because they got her crying again. It hadn't even occurred to her up until that exact moment, that she would be able to look back on those portraits in years to come and recall this time where her sixth child was on its way, thriving and kicking inside her belly.
Like with Echo, Maya extended an invitation to Rolly and Tre's family for Christmas. This rose out of her inviting the members of the quiz team and could include whichever branch of Rolly's family he'd want to include. Like Rochelle, he kept to his mother's Jewish faith, but he still celebrated Christmas with his father and his stepmother and brothers. He and Tre promised to pass on the invitation with thanks.
"Are we going to work on the… you know… during the break?" Desi asked before leaving class. Going by her attempt at being covert, Maya went ahead and guessed she was referring to the workshop, for the MSC musical.
"Still working out a few things, changes from before," Maya quietly explained. "I'll let you know, I promise," she smiled, and Desi nodded and smiled back before heading out to rejoin her friends.
After spending the better part of her extended afternoon break looking over everyone's work so far today – and doing her best not to go and start to cry… again… Maya finally received her last group of the day. As ever, the juniors came with their own brand of energy, having art as the close to their days, and this was never so true as on a Friday, or a final day before a break. Still, she was able to wrangle them into action with her challenge. What did they want to do about it?
"Mrs. Friar?" Kelsey raised her hand, and Maya nodded for her to go ahead. "I was thinking… When my mother was in the hospital, the days when I'd be there with her, I'd go around sometimes, and… Well, I would see all these people who were there, too, other patients, and… Not all of them have family or other people who would come and see them. No one wants to be out there to stay, but at least if you have people thinking about you… Maybe we could make them something, cards, so they don't have to feel so alone."
There was a brief silence over the room, and Maya could see the juniors considering their classmate's words, really thinking about what she'd presented for them. They were on board, they wanted to do it. So, they set to it, and Maya watched them as they worked with this purpose in them… It was one of those times where she could only be so proud of the people they were growing into. As the minutes went on, the room was a mix of voices, some in light song, others in stories. They would share tales if they had them, talking of when they or someone they cared for had been in the hospital for whatever reason, whether illness or injury… It was not what she would have expected as the closer to this day, but she wouldn't have had it any other way. The period and the day ended, and with many well wishes the students started to collect their things and leave.
"So, what's the plan with you three over the break?" Maya asked as she found herself with only Ava, Kelsey, and Olivia left in the room. By the way they all looked at each other, there was definitely a plan but, whatever it was, they were either unable or unwilling to share it.
"It's… a surprise?" Olivia tried, and the others gave her a look. Careful. "Maybe. If it works out…" Olivia added with a confident smile to her bandmate and their songwriter.
"Hey, surprises are good," Maya promised them, her hand going to her belly almost without meaning to. If that wasn't the best surprise…
"I'm just glad my mom's home right now," Kelsey confessed, shifting the subject like she'd needed to say it, even as a part of her had also been plagued with a thought they could easily guess. Yes, her mother was home now, but she'd ended up back in the hospital before, so what was to say she wouldn't have to go again over the holidays… Both Ava and Olivia pressed a hand to one of her shoulders, and Kelsey looked up to them both with great appreciation.
"You're going to come with us on Christmas, yeah?" Olivia asked her, and Maya smiled. Of course, she was invited.
"I don't know, what about…" Kelsey started, hesitating.
"It'll be good. You can bring Max," Ava suggested, and Olivia showed her support of this idea with much nodding.
"He's going skiing with Max 2 and her family," Kelsey revealed, explaining that her brother's best friend's parents had invited him, figuring it would be good for him. He would be back on Christmas, yes, but by then he'd just want to stay home. Much as he tried not to show it, he worried for their mother a lot, too. "But… I'll be there," she turned back to her teacher.
"We'll be very happy to have you," Maya smiled at her. "Marianne especially."
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
