August 8th 2022

Chapter 220
Our Magic in Joy

How they'd managed to make it all the way to this point without anyone at school who, for one reason or another, had been told independently of their connection to the school finding out about the baby, Maya couldn't say. She was very clearly pregnant by now, and it was only through careful clothing choices – and the benefits of fall weather – that she'd managed to pretend as though she wasn't around several of her colleagues and most of the students. There had been some close calls, especially when nausea had still been her constant nemesis, and then once her sisters had found out about their future new niece or nephew… They could play it cool as well as the next person, but sometimes they'd struggle to keep it together enough that they came on the very dangling edge of spilling the beans.

Luckily, their 'struggle' would be coming to an end today. After doing everything in her power to hold the news that long, her target surprise day had arrived: it was the last day of classes before the break. This had always been one of her favorite days of the school year, so what better way to let them in on the secret? Her plan was simple. Yes, they would do what they always did on this day. Freedom of the supply closet as far as what they would all be doing during class time, free chatter, music on, and if the class felt inspired to do so, some singing along. Maya was always mindful of the fact that not all her students celebrated Christmas, and this was kept in mind as well in all their activities. As to the reveal, she would be looking past these holidays and focusing on another that would take place while they were out of school.

What were they all looking forward to in the New Year? What would 2036 be for them, as far as they could see it?

She got to ask this first of her seniors, so for them the obvious answer was right there. Graduation, and everything they'd have to do to get there in the first place, even as they all considered their futures and tried to get into the schools they wanted to get into. It wasn't all that they were going to experience, but right about now it was kind of hard for their minds not to go there over anything else.

When they turned the question on to her, as she'd known and planned for them to do, she got to tell them one of the things this new year would bring: a new baby. They'd all been through this dance together, what felt like a ridiculous number of times. Even if she'd managed to finish out the year, back when she was expecting the triplets, she would have been pregnant through part of three out of their four years at this school. And she wouldn't be around when they finished this last one… They realized it, and they shared in her disappointment about this, even as she assured them all that she would be with them on the last day, and at graduation. It was what it was, and at the end of the day, they were happier for her than they were sad for themselves.

It always made her laugh, on this day and on the three previous occasions when she'd had a pregnancy to reveal at school, just how the news travelled. With the faculty and staff, it was like a floating buzz in the air, the word travelling and making it so that she only ever got to tell a couple of people before the others just came to her, having heard from someone else and seeking confirmation. But the kids… She would see them all class to class, with several hours in which the news was out there with one group, and then another, and another, before she'd make it to the end of the day, and yet each class would keep the word contained so that those that came after still had no idea by the time she saw them. Sure, it was easy, seeing as they were in different grades, but still… The day carried on, and so did the experiment.

Next came the sophomores, her most involved group, and for having gotten to tell them all something like this before, she had a pretty good idea of how it would go. It was not lost on her that this would now make two for two on the years they'd had her as a teacher where she'd miss the end run. She wasn't about to give them a third, but then she hadn't imagined giving them a second so soon, so…

The twins knew that today was the day as soon as they came into the room, or at least there were these looks on their faces like 'please tell us that you're going to tell them,' and she didn't try and pretend as though she wouldn't. As it turned out, there had been several among this group who had begun to suspect without bringing it up, so when she did tell them, they looked relieved to see that they had been correct. They were all very sweet about it, as she'd known they would be. They already looked to Mackenzie as being part of their class experience with her, and they would regularly ask about how she was doing. She wouldn't put it past them to make her a birthday card when she had her first in April. And now they would have a second class baby to think about…

The further she got into this day, with the singing – especially with the sophomores – and the cheer of the news spreading through the school, she started to think about what would happen when she went on leave this time. As far as she'd heard, Barton didn't have a full year posting like he'd done last year, which had led to Stella getting her shot. It would be four or so months before she needed a sub again, so she'd need to check with him and see if he could do it. That would bring him on the premises for the end of his youngest son's senior year… That'd be reason enough already, wouldn't it?

With her freshmen, it was a brand new thing, unlike every other one of her classes. First last day before the holidays in her art class, first 'surprise, I'm having a baby!' announcement, maybe the only one, for all she knew. So, the class started smoothly enough, with her directing them to take whatever they felt like using in the supply closet. It was kind of amusing to see how some of them seemed shy about it, like anything anything? Yes, anything, she promised them, and so it caused a bit of a bottleneck situation as they went and explored. Some didn't dig too deep, those who were still at the 'easy pass' mentality for this class, but others, like Ash Bell, spent a good ten minutes in there. As Maya eventually realized, the reason they were taking that long was that, even as they were looking at what was available, they were also cleaning up after those of their classmates that were rummaging and leaving things where they didn't belong. The supply closet was well organized, and Ash respected that.

Maya had been wondering if they would sing here. If their classmates were to go and start singing to the music on the radio, would Ash join them? They'd made it clear that they were not looking to be any kind of performer anymore, but for having heard them sing with Angel, it didn't seem as though they'd stopped practicing or lost their touch. Speaking of Mr. Ríos, Maya could see him, when a couple of the other kids did start chiming in along with the music, looking over at Ash like he was thinking of joining in but also wanted to see if they would do it along with him. They were friends now, as so very unmatched as the two of them could look side by side, and he was very appreciative of all they were doing to help him be ready for the musical. When he started to sing, Ash heard him, looked to him and smiled, but they didn't sing. 'Keep going,' their eyes encouraged, but they didn't participate, and that was fine.

The news about the baby was a complete surprise to most of them, though again some had suspected. As it turned out, exchange camper Raj had known, but only because he'd overheard Lucas talking with Mariko one day at the ranch. He'd kept quiet about it until that day when he and the rest of the freshman class were told.

There had been a very light snow that morning. Most of it was gone by the afternoon, though when Melinda brought the triplets and the baby for their visit with their mother, Maya got to watch the two-year-olds chase after every remaining patch of the stuff that they could find on the ground, or on the bench across from them… It was the first snow that Mackenzie saw, too, and as she sat with Maya, she would touch the parts of the bench where she could see the snow. She would squeal in surprise and look to her mother.

"Yeah, it's cold," Maya told her. "Also, it's not food, so no sticking it in your mouth, okay?" she had to instruct her, much to the girl's disappointment. "I know, I'm sorry. When you're older, there's a kind that you can eat, you'll see. That one's going to be nice and sweet. This one is not, okay, Macaw?"

With the final period of the day came the end of this great long day, and also the end of the 2035 portion of this school year. The juniors were on hand, showing that excess of anticipation that came with a last class of the day on a last day before break. At least with her, they got to put that energy into creation, as they went about picking their materials and setting to work.

"Something funny going on?" Maya asked, curious, as she approached the station where Nika, Maggie, Lara, and Jenny sat together. They'd been sitting hunched forward and laughing.

"We were just thinking about if the band did a Christmas album, what songs we'd put on it," Nika explained.

"Except we were trying to put a twist on them, and…" Jenny continued, before her friends gave her a look to suggest that the titles may not have been appropriate for class time.

"Well, you can tell me about it later," Maya smiled.

When the question went around, about plans for the break, and then what they saw for the new year, she got some sense that some of her students were not looking forward to the break as much as the others. For one at least, she could unfortunately imagine it very well. Holidays tended to mean family gatherings, and this would be Jenny's first Christmas. She knew from discussion with her and her parents that there were some in their family who had not responded so well to her transition. There was nothing she could do for it except to promise, as always, that she was there for Jenny if she ever needed her.

At least they ended the class, the day, and the year on a high note. Maya told them about the baby, and they reacted with great happiness and loads of congratulations. Some of them again had suspected, but they'd held their tongues. As the class cleared out, Maya went about cleaning the room, leaving things as she would before a break, and taking a look at the work that her students had left behind that day. She loved carte blanche days. Left to their own devices, these kids could come up with so many things, and there was nothing better than a glimpse into their imagination.

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners