July 12th 2022
Chapter 193
Our Signs For Support
It would never cease to amaze her how fast time could go by, especially on days that had started off feeling as loaded as this one, the first day back… But now suddenly here she was, three classes down and, even with an extended break in between, one to go.
The strangest part, to her at least, was that for however long she'd gone around today, worrying over Jenny Marshall, now that she had seen her, she had to realize that all that worry – warranted as it had been and still was – had been serving her in not thinking too much about something else. This wasn't just the first day of a new school year for her, was it? This was her first day back to work after having Mackenzie, which meant that this was her first day without her baby girl, the first day she'd had to leave her to a sitter. And she could tell herself that she should be used to doing this by now, that she'd done it with Marianne, and the triplets, so she should know that all would be well. She did know. It wasn't about that, not at all. It wasn't about anything, she just… she missed her…
It was just as well then that she had a lovely set of parents, in-laws, and more who not only would watch her youngest daughter, and Kacey, Remy, and Lucy, but would also be mindful of how she had this big break in the afternoon. And unless there was something else that she had to do that would prevent her from being able to see them, they would bring the girls up to the school so they could sit out on the old bench for an hour or so. Melinda Friar did that today, and Maya could have cried for how happy she was to see them all. Lucas' mother was such a pro at keeping her granddaughters in line as they went along, the triplets just ahead of the baby's stroller. Once they spotted their mother before them, the two-year-olds came dashing over at once. They talked and talked to the best of their abilities as she lifted one and another into her arms for hugs while their grandmother was still approaching with their little sister.
"Hello, Macaron… hi…" Maya breathed when she saw her, awake and smiling up at her when she saw her right back. Her arms went batting around, asking to be picked up, and Maya did not keep her waiting.
She scooped up the four-month-old, mindful of the spotty shade provided by the tree near the bench. The way she clung to her made Maya think about just how much she'd wished that she could have had more time with her at home. She probably could have extended her leave into the start of this year, but she knew that, in the grand scheme of things, it just wouldn't have been necessary, and also… she was needed here, too. If she'd felt that it was simply too soon to leave Mackenzie, it would have been another story, but it wasn't so. Mackenzie had been doing fine with her grandmother and she would continue to do so. The only 'issue' went to how much Maya lamented those months they'd spent together, and to how much she wished to be there again, to see more with her.
Melinda had to know this, same as the other sitters did, and she expected to have these visits in the afternoon as often as Maya herself was able to attend them. She shared her own story of how the morning and first half of the afternoon had gone before turning the question on to her daughter-in-law. How was her day going so far? Maya hummed, considering the question as she sat with the baby dozing in her arms while the triplets chased each other back and forth from their bench to the one just across the path to the school. She talked about the day as a whole, about the seniors and sophomores this morning, and then meeting the new freshmen after lunch… But she could not ignore the thing that had been most on her mind either. Melinda was well aware of the Jenny Marshall story, and as Maya explained her concerns and talked about their shared lunch period, she had that great sympathetic air to her that made Maya love Lucas' mother very much. To think of how 'over the top' they had considered this woman, back in the day. She hadn't exactly mellowed over the years, but by now it was hard to really notice it most of the time. It was just who she was, and they knew how wonderful of a person she was.
The goodbye part of these visits usually went well, though neither Maya nor Melinda were surprised that the triplets struggled with this one and cried when they had to leave their mother. They'd had her to themselves all through the summer, and now here they'd been, having a great time again, and they had to go away? She reminded them that she would be home soon, as would their father, and Marianne… It helped, though Maya still suspected that Melinda would have to work her Granny Mel magic on them… They would be fine. Now who's going to work their magic on me, to make me not miss them for a couple of hours?
Well, it was just going to have to be like this morning, wasn't it? She went back to her classroom, pulled out the last full box of diaries, and got started making the stacks per station, placing them where they'd need to go. By the time this was done, the empty boxes plus the box of spare materials were stowed away in the corner, as they were throughout the week, and it was nearly time for the next to last period to be over, which meant her juniors would soon be on their way. When the bell rang, she went and stood in the doorway, watching the flow of kids emerging from classes, going this way and that toward their next subject… She saw plenty of her students from the other grades, and of course those who were not in any of her classes because they did not take art.
She tried not to listen like she was expecting to hear anything, but it couldn't be helped. All she had to do was inadvertently pick up on one word or another and she'd be unable to move away. … Marshall… Cody… trans… girl… She heard some words that she'd never even dream of repeating, but they'd go by so fast, floating out of a mass of too many faces and voices that she couldn't pinpoint who had said it, and all she could think was… What would I have done? If she knew which kids were tossing slurs around the high school halls, would it be Mrs. Friar who intervened… or New York Maya? The feeling in her heart, the protectiveness she felt toward Jenny made her want to give over control to the latter, but she knew it wouldn't help. Oh, they would hold a firm front, no tolerance for hatred of any kind, but not in any way that would only make things worse, for Jenny or any others in the school who could be affected.
For a minute or two, as the juniors started to arrive and settle in, Maya had a horrible flashback to the year before. First day back, final period, and a station was sitting empty. A year ago, this had been the result of an altercation in the halls that had sent Ava Nash and Nika Petrelis to the nurse's office, with Kelsey Farrell and Olivia Zhu to relay as witnesses the story of what had happened with 'Ronnie the jerk.' The boy had been suspended, but he'd returned in time, and he continued to roam the halls. He was a junior now, too, not in Maya's class, but his presence was heavy enough that he might as well have been, and right now… Right now, she was missing Nika again, but also Lara Sullivan-Reyes, Maggie Hillard… and Jenny Marshall. All she could think about was that, if he'd taken such delight in messing with Nika for her hidden pregnancy, and her rising notoriety thanks to the band, what would he do with the presence of freshly transitioning Jenny? Had he done something now? Was that why they weren't here yet?
"Cutting it pretty close, ladies," Maya breathed when they all came hurrying along, half a minute before the bell rang. No one looked like they were hurt, physically or emotionally… They gave her a chorus of apologies as they moved to their station, and there was some level of reassurance in their air of solidarity. They had tackled this day together, as a quartet, and whatever had delayed them, it sounded to her like a good thing, so she let it pass and focused on the class that was about to begin.
By and large, what she saw from her juniors was more of what Nika, Maggie, and Lara had been giving Jenny all day. They might not all be flying flags around to cheer her on, but they saw their classmate, knowing her better than most in this school, and they weren't thrown off by this transition. Whatever else was happening for the rest of the day, when Jenny would make it to her last class of the day, she would know that here was a place where she was safe, unburdened. Maya would do all she could to ensure that this continued… and hopefully spread to the rest of her days.
"How are you headed home?" Maya asked the girls when the last class was over.
"Henry's coming to pick us up," Maggie raised her hand.
"Is he here yet?"
"Should be, soon," Maggie nodded.
"Cool with you if I go along and say hi?"
There was no need for her to pretend as though this was anything else than exactly what it was. She knew, and they knew. She wanted to be there in case any students saw this moment as a chance to get at Jenny. They graciously went along with it, so they left the building together, walking over to where Henry would be coming to pick up his little sister and her friends. She'd hoped, as well as the four juniors probably wished it, too, that they'd get out there and see nothing, but that wasn't so. Even as they walked down on to the bench-lined path, they spotted Ronnie and a few of his friends just sort of… hanging around, pretending to just be there, talking amongst themselves… But all they had to do was see the way they looked at the five of them going past, and their faces said it all. They had been looking forward to doing something all day, and now they'd been blocked. Maya held their gaze, each one in turn. I've seen you. I know you. Don't even try it. They got plenty of those looks from Nika, Lara, and Maggie, too. Jenny just went on walking, didn't look at them.
Henry arrived soon after this, and he greeted his former teacher/cousin-in-law, telling her how things were going for him as the girls got into his car. Was he going to be doing this every day? No, he couldn't, not with how his schedule was built.
"You know, I'd be happy to drive you home myself," Maya told the girls. "It's no problem at all." They understood, and they thanked her. Once the car had driven off, she turned back to look… Ronnie and his friends had disappeared. Good. She did not expect this to be a permanent fix, but the way she saw it, right now, every little bit was going to have to help.
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
