Notes: Thanks to Mari and Sammy for being their always awesome selves. You're the best, ladies!

Readers and REAL McRollers - Thank you for your amazing support! It is always appreciated.

Special thanks to my mom and all the amazing teachers out there, including our own Joni Lane!

Hope you enjoy!


Favorite Teacher (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)

"It's so weird to think that Ms. Lane won't be my teacher next year," DJ said while talking about the end of the school year with Chin and Leilani at the Memorial Day barbecue.

"I bet it is," replied Chin. "You've had her for the last three years, right?"

DJ nodded as he swallowed a mouthful of Elizabeth's famous potato salad. "She's the best."

"She is," Catherine agreed, joining them. "But I suppose we should let some other kids have the best teacher ever, huh?" She squeezed DJ's arm with a smile.

"Yeah," he agreed. "They're gonna be so lucky."

"Are you doing anything special for Ms. Lane at your party on the last day?" Leilani asked.

"We're going to bring lemon tarts," DJ said. "Those are her favorites."

"And everyone who could contributed to a gift card to a local spa for a relaxing day this summer," Catherine added.

DJ nodded. "And me and Michael are collecting cards from everyone in class telling Ms. Lane how much we're going to miss her and what we think makes her the best teacher."

"Ohh, that's nice," Leilani replied. "I'm sure she'll love that."

"Sounds like her next class should get a copy, too," Chin quipped with a smile.

DJ's eyes widened suddenly.

"Oh, I know that face," Catherine said, smiling knowingly. "What's your idea, honey?"

"I gotta talk to Michael!" he said. "When's he and his family coming, Mommy?"

She glanced at her watch. "They had another barbecue they were going to be at first, but they should be here in a half hour or so."

Chin's lip quirked. "Do we get to know your idea or do you have to talk to your best bud first?"

"It's kinda your idea, Uncle Chin," DJ said, his smile widening. "And it's a good one."


"Did you like the lemon things, Ms. Lane?" a girl named Madeline asked later that week during their party for the last day of school.

Joni Lane grinned, popping the last bite into her mouth. "Lemon tarts, and yes, they are delicious."

"I don't like fruit stuff, but these are pretty good," a boy named Rikko agreed.

"That might be because there's a lot of sugar in them," his teacher said with a chuckle. She looked around at her beloved students who were eagerly going through her gift to them, a three-year book, with photos and memories from the three years the class had been together with her.

"Here's when the turtles came!" Ella said. "In second grade, remember? They had a race on that sheet with the big circle on it."

"Oh yeah, and one of them pooped instead!" Caleb said, laughing.

"But then he won," Ella pointed out.

"Probably because he was lighter," Justin said, cracking himself up.

Over at their pod of desks, Michael leaned close to DJ and whispered, "When are they coming? The party's almost over."

"They'll be here," DJ said confidently as he watched the door. "They promised."

"All right, my friends, we still have a bit of take down to do before the end of the day," Ms. Lane said, motioning to artwork on the walls.

Michael and DJ looked at each other in panic, and a couple of the other students looked their way as well.

"Wait, Ms. Lane …" DJ started. He swallowed, not having thought any further. "Um …"

"We haven't finished our lemon tarts yet!" Michael spluttered, gesturing to the half-eaten tarts on their plates.

Joni sighed fondly. "Well, we can't have that. A few more minutes then." She ran a hand over the box of cards the students had given her. She hadn't wanted to open them yet, knowing once she started reading she'd probably need an entire tissue box to get through them.

Suddenly, DJ popped out of his seat. "There they are!"

"There who–" Joni began, then spotted several familiar faces coming through the door. She smiled at DJ and Michael. "Ah, I should've guessed you two were up to something …"

"It's a good something!" DJ called back over his shoulder as he ran over to greet his parents, sister, grandparents, and great-grandmother.

"With you, DJ, it always is," Joni said with a soft smile.

"Is everything done?" DJ asked as Michael ran up beside him.

"All ready," Catherine assured him, handing him a medium-sized flat box.

"It's in the hallway, DJ!" Angie said excitedly.

"Shh!" he and Michael quickly replied.

"It's a secret present for Ms. Lane, remember?" DJ reminded her in a hushed tone.

Her eyes widened as Joni came over.

"Well, this is a lovely surprise," the teacher said, smiling at the new arrivals.

"Shhh!" Angie said immediately. "There's a secret present!"

"A secret present?" Joni repeated.

"You're going to want to sit down for this," Ang said, patting her arm. "Trust us."


"But you all already got me so many lovely gifts," Joni protested once she'd sat back down with her class and visitors gathered around. She waved a hand over the various presents the students had brought her, including the box of cards. "You're all so generous."

"This one … isn't really for you," Rikko said.

"Part of it is!" Madeline corrected.

"Yeah, part of it is," Ella agreed.

"Well, now I'm really confused," Joni said.

"This is for your class next year," Michael said, handing her the box that DJ's family had arrived with.

"What?" Joni asked.

DJ smiled. "We wanted them to know what a great teacher you are, so we all wrote a page on why we think so and had it made into a book."

Joni's hand flew to her heart. "You …"

"Open it!" Angie squealed, and her cry was quickly echoed by the eight and nine-year-olds in the class.

Joni opened the lid of the box and gasped. On the cover of the book there was a photo of her smiling as she was clearly teaching a lesson with an embossed title:

Ms. Lane: Your New Favorite Teacher

"I … I don't know if I can open this," she said. "I'm already tearing up."

"We're way ahead of you," Elizabeth assured her, passing over a packet of tissues.

Awed, Joni opened the book, seeing pages from all of her students inside.

Ms. Lane will help you learn so many things. Even when you don't think you can do it, she believes in you. ~Kenshawn

Ms. Lane loves music, so it's like you get music class every day. Hopefully you like music too! But if you don't, Ms. Lane will understand. She always understands. ~Ella

Ms. Lane helps everyone learn the way that's best for them, and I know she'll figure out the best way for you, too. ~Michael

Ms. Lane really cares about you and wants you to do your best. It's like having part of your family at school all the time. I know you're going to love her as much as we do. ~DJ

Joni wiped at the tears flowing from her eyes. "I don't know what to say. This is so beautiful."

"It's all true," Caleb said.

"It was DJ's idea," Ella said, smiling over at him.

"Actually, it was my Uncle Chin's," DJ said. "I told him we were giving you cards to tell you why we think you're the best teacher, and he said that sounded like something your new class should have, too."

Joni sniffed, wiping her nose with a tissue. "Well, you know there's no way I could ever read this to my new class," she said with a laugh. "I'd be blubbering before the first page."

"We'll come read it to your new class," Michael said, grinning.

"Speaking of reading to your new class …" Catherine said leadingly.

DJ beamed. "We have one more present!"

"Oh dear, I think I'm out of tissue …" Joni said.

Steve and Joseph stepped out into the hallway for a moment and returned carrying a rocking chair between them.

"What in the world …" Joni began, standing.

"It's a rocking chair!" Angie said, jumping up and down.

"A very special rocking chair," Ang said.

"I remembered the last time I was here you mentioned how your old chair had seen better days," Elizabeth said. "Then when DJ mentioned his idea about the book, it all fell into place."

"We had a friend of ours build it," Steve said, "but the kids did the decorating."

Joni gasped as she moved closer. "Are those–"

"Our handprints!" Michael said. "We all put our handprints on the chair and put our initials, so you'll always remember us."

"I can't believe it," Joni said, reaching out to touch one of the arms. Brightly colored handprints adored the arms, legs, spindles, and headrest, standing out against the white paint of the chair. She laughed suddenly. "So that's why so many of you kept getting called down to Ms. Richter's room this week. I thought I spotted paint on some hands but I never imagined this."

"Look what it says, Ms. Lane!" DJ said, pointing to the red seat. In gold stitching were the words, To Ms. Lane, Our Favorite Teacher Forever.

Joni touched her chest again, tears filling her eyes. She looked around at her students, smiling softly.

"It's classes like this one that make me want to be a teacher forever." She put a hand on the back of the chair, gently rocking it. "And now every time I see this chair, I'll remember that."


Hope you enjoyed!

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