January 9th 2020

Chapter 9
Their Year to Start

Maya had it all planned. She was going to surprise Sam and get his first day of school started as memorably as any big sister could. It wasn't as though she'd had any chance to do so up to now.

"Hey, no, come on, where are you going?" Lucas had tugged her back down when she'd moved to get up, making her laugh.

"Bathroom?" she tried for innocence, turning her head around to look at him. He gave her a look of his own, which came off a lot like 'nice try.' "I'm just being nice…" she tried again, with that same little smile.

"I've seen you be 'nice' like that when we'd be having sleepovers at your house," he argued, and she raised her finger to defend herself before he cut her off. "Just don't do anything that leaves a mark?"

"I can't help how Dylan is so accident prone," Maya shook her head, knowing exactly which incident he was referencing.

When Lucas finally sighed and opened his arms out to let her go, Maya grinned, leaned in to kiss him, and dashed off out of their room and down the hall to Sam's door. It was open, and as she looked into the room she found no Sam but a made bed. She frowned, her surprise busted, before making her way down the stairs and into the kitchen…

"Morning," Sam smiled at her, standing at the stove. There was an audience of two nearby, Trix and Lou standing in wait in case any bit of food should tragically fall to the ground near them or be passed to them by a kind hand. Lucas came down a moment later, finding his bride to be was still grumbling just a bit at being 'foiled' by her little brother.

"Look, he's making breakfast," Lucas just gave her a big smile, earning himself a squint. "Thanks, Sam," he turned back to the boy, who nodded and smiled. "I can take over, it's your big day…"

"That's okay," Sam told him. "I'm almost done. Coffee's ready," he pointed to the machine with his spatula. Maya walked into the kitchen proper, dragged her feet just a bit. But then she had come to join her brother, and she wrapped her arms around him, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"First day today," she smiled at him. "How are you feeling?"

"Changes every minute or two," Sam shrugged.

They could understand that well enough, without any sort of explanation. He had always loved school, and the results spoke for themselves. But for years already he had been 'the kid' in all his classes. It had been a rough transition for him at first, but after that he's stopped being 'the kid' and just been Sam Hart. They'd all grown together, through one grade and another, so his being younger had stopped being a factor. Then he and his family had moved to Tucson his senior year, which could have been a bigger deal than it had turned out to be. With everything that was happening back at home, with his sisters and his brother and his mother dealing with the loss of Kermit, he didn't have time to bother with what people did or didn't think about him.

But now everything was different. No more dark clouds, but also… no more people he knew anywhere, at least at school. Alright, technically speaking he'd have both Dylan and Rosa who, like him, would be starting today, and they'd all be going to the same school, but it was unlikely their paths would be brought to cross all that often on the whole. So he'd be the stranger fifteen-year-old kid among countless 'eighteen and overs.' It was bringing back undesirable flashbacks, but now expanded into this college setting.

"Okay, well, if you ask me, I'm going to be forced to play the big sister card and say they'd be fools not to want to be friends with The Sam Hart. But that's just me," Maya pressed a hand to her heart. "So, let's see what the cowboy has to say," she turned them both toward Lucas. "Don't worry, he's really good at this, watch," she 'whispered.' Lucas bit back a smile before looking to Sam.

"Look, you're just going to have to give it a chance. Go out there, see who's out there in your classes… First day I started back in Houston, I met Bishop, and he's one of my best friends to this day. And she met Franny and Kayla," he nodded to Maya, who gave a firm nod like 'yes, my girls.' "Not saying you'll make close friends today…" Lucas went on, getting a frown from Maya. "But that doesn't mean it won't happen. You just have to let it happen. If they're worth your time, they won't make you do anything you're uncomfortable about." Maya's frown dipped out into approval once again before rising into a realization like she hadn't even considered how badly things could go if they weren't careful.

"See, he's an ace at the speeches," she nodded to her brother, tapping his shoulder. "Okay, let's eat before it's cold or… Hey, hey, Trix, come on, off!"

Soon they would be getting in the car and making their way out into town, picking up Dylan and Rosa from their apartment. They arrived to find, to no one's surprise, an emotional Riley, proud to see them both off to their first days. Rosa looked like she didn't know whether to humor her or to really give in, while Dylan was absolutely getting in on the moment with his girlfriend, who finally remembered she was working later that morning and she needed to get ready.

The backseat now held a trio of starters, and Dylan and Rosa both joined Sam with a look about them like they knew what this day must have felt like for him and they wanted to ensure he'd be fine, like his on-site guardian angels. By the time they were pulling up to the school, he did look a bit more secure in himself, which was reassuring to the pair in the front. Maya resisted the urge to go with him, and instead she stayed in the car with Lucas, watching this new trio march off together.

"Is this what having kids is going to feel like? Watching them go off on their own?" Maya sighed, turning to look to Lucas. He sort of had his own wistful-like look, and though he tried to brush it off it did kind of make her feel better.

"Maybe… probably…" he finally told her.

"Yeah, okay, just checking," she nodded before smiling at him. He smiled back. After that spoken/unspoken false alarm earlier that summer, they'd been left with a whole other sort of aftermath. Whereas the last time, three years ago, they'd been blindsided for how deeply affected they'd been by that negative answer, this time it hadn't felt like that. It just hadn't been the time, and that was alright. All it really did was to reaffirm their convictions for what they saw in their future.

"So, what are you up to today?" Lucas asked as they drove off. He wasn't starting school until the next day, but then today, on what would be a class-less day for him this semester, he would be working at his new job, at the bookstore.

Rosa called it 'the competition,' and Maya called it 'the new bookstore' even though it had existed for decades. Coleman's, back in Houston, was big enough, for being what some might call a 'small' bookstore, but now Lucas would be working for a chain store, and it showed. It was a completely different set up, different vibe. He didn't dislike it, far from, but if he was honest, Lucas would confirm that deep down he missed working with Tracy, and Rosa, and Pete, and the others back in Houston.

"I… could browse your shelves all day…" Maya suggested. "That store just has so many books, you know? And sketchbooks, pretty good ones, too. Or… probably just going to keep seeing about anywhere that might be hiring. Not any… where, but just… I don't know," she sighed. It was hard for her not to feel her spirits sink just a bit. Even after a decade, her mind knew the path back down those old roads and could navigate with its eyes closed.

"You know what I said to Sam back at the house?" Lucas nudged her leg.

"I know, I know, but it's not the same, is it? I actually have to go up to them and say some variation of 'please like me… and also give me money in exchange for services. Maybe I should have taken the record deal…"

"You didn't want to do that," he reminded her. "Did you really change your mind, or…"

"No, no," she shook her head in honesty. "But it would have made some things a lot easier right now, wouldn't it?" He didn't need to reply, and she wouldn't have wanted him to anyway. "I'll probably go and hang out with my dad and Haley for a while, then I'll see."

He didn't like the thought of leaving her like this. He couldn't fix everything, he knew that. Some things, like this one, Maya just really needed to fix on her own. But it was just in him to want to see her be happy again and to help her get there. It was a quality which had contributed in earning him the nickname of Huckleberry, and he was happy to carry it, for that very reason.

"If you're able to come around that time, I could do with a lunch buddy," he offered when he got out of the car and she moved from the passenger to the driver's seat.

"What about your new work buddies?" she asked, leaning to the open window and looking up at him.

"They're not nearly as cute as you," he replied, and that made her laugh.

"Real smooth there, Huckleberry."

"I've had practice," he told her, leaning down to kiss her.

"Have a good day at work, sell lots of books."

"That's the idea, yeah."

Just as she was driving up to her parents' house, Maya's phone rang and she looked to find it was Abigail back in Tucson, calling over Skype. She smiled as she answered, holding her phone before herself.

"Morning," she waved to her stepmother. She'd pretty much expected this call sooner or later today. She may have been far from him geographically, but this was still Abigail's firstborn going to his first day at college, and she'd want to know how it was going. She also wouldn't want to air out her more fretful mother side and have it make Sam feel awkward. So, Maya was a natural backup option. "Sam was up before both Lucas and me this morning. He made us breakfast," she reported, which made Abigail chuckle.

"That sounds like him," she nodded.

"He was nervous about being 'the kid' and not knowing anyone," Maya continued, and by Abigail's nod it was clear she'd expected as much here. "Lucas did his whole pep talk thing, it seemed to help. We'll know tonight, I guess." She had envisioned him calling her and insisting she come pick him up, but that was more her big sister muscles flexing than anything she actually expected Sam to do. He would be fine. She had to believe that, and Abigail, too.

"Alright, well… keep me posted then."

After they hung up, Maya took a moment or two to just shove her concerns over her job – or lack thereof – into a corner where they wouldn't bother anyone, before getting out of the car and going up to the house to find her father and her baby sister and see what they were up to this morning.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners