September 10th 2020

Chapter 254
Their Help to Grow

"Hey, come here," Maya called down the hall when she spotted Derek Boggs further out, bag over his shoulder, looking very much like someone who wasn't where he was supposed to be. When she called to him, he turned, saw her, and sighed. Busted.

"I was just going to the bathroom," he hooked his thumb back over his shoulder as he approached her.

"That right?" Maya asked, and the boy nodded. She kept on looking at him, waited for him to see how he'd gone and put himself in a lie. The boys' bathroom was in fact just a few feet past where she stood. "Where did you come from, Science?" she asked.

"Yeah," Derek confirmed.

"And does Mr. Brett know you're not there right now?"

"No," he shrugged. "Class is almost over anyway." Maya looked at her watch. Ten minutes left.

"Alright, come on," she grabbed the stack of notices she'd volunteered to put up over her free period and her roll of tape and started the junior on his way back to his class. Reluctantly, he followed. "Where were you going?" Maya asked him.

"Out," Derek told her.

"Important lunch date?"

"Not exactly."

"Look, I'm not here looking to get you in trouble. You level with me, and I'll smooth it over with Mr. Brett, okay?" He was not one for confiding, that much she'd been able to tell for all the months she'd been his teacher, but right now he'd gone and put himself into a position where he had to choose what was more important.

"Last year, just before Christmas, my best friend had to leave school. She was really sick, for a while they didn't know if she'd make it, but she started getting better." The tone of his voice was so much different than she'd heard out of him before. The only other time she could say she'd heard him speak this way was when he'd come into class on Halloween. Other than that, the story called up another memory, one of sitting up in the attic, going through the files in Mrs. Yang's box. There had been one, in the same folder as Derek's, Leon's, and the rest of this year's juniors' that had a post-it note on top. Extended absence, see administration.

"Helena Zimmerman," she recalled aloud, and Derek nodded.

"Her parents want to keep her at home, keep home schooling her until she graduates. But she wants to come back, do senior year with us. Today, she's supposed to find out if they'll let her. I just wanted to go over to her house and see her, I would have been back for class this afternoon," Derek insisted. Maya looked at him, and she could imagine what it would be like for him, next year, whether or not his friend was back among them. It gave her an immense pleasure then to be able to give him the answer he'd been so eager to learn. The file wasn't the only place she'd seen that name.

"Don't tell anyone I showed you this, okay?" she reached into her pocket for her phone. A few taps pulled up an e-mail she'd received just an hour ago. It informed her and several other teachers of a student returning after an extended absence, in September, and asked them to get in touch with her about any catching up that might be done over the summer before Miss Zimmerman rejoined the seniors of the graduating class of 2029.

When she handed Derek her phone and he read this, he looked very near to breaking out in tears even as he smiled from ear to ear. It changed his face so completely, and Maya felt those emotions radiating off of him, like he might have hugged her in that moment.

"Good to go?" Maya asked him, smiling back. He nodded, like he wasn't able to muster the words, holding up a finger. She watched him process the relief swirling through him, checked her watch. "Alright, just… go to my class? I'll go talk to Mr. Brett."

As it turned out, the only reason Derek had been able to sneak off from his class was that the science teacher had been distracted, and the cause of that distraction had been that same e-mail Maya had shown her student. Helena had been the top of Brett's class, and he'd been deeply affected by her whole ordeal. Finding out that she was returning had been the best thing he'd heard all year. Derek's 'escape' would stay between them.

When Maya returned to her class, the bell had rung, sending the kids off to lunch, which would mean Stella and Phoebe would either be in the class already or they'd be on their way, and for a moment as she came up to the door and overheard a female voice, she figured it was the former. Instead, she stepped into her class to find Derek standing across from…

"Mom? What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised. "I mean… hi…"

"Stepping in for Lily, she couldn't make it out today," Katy explained. "But that's good, because I needed to talk to you anyway."

"Oh, okay, good, I just… Give me a minute?" Maya asked, indicating Derek.

"Sure, sure, go ahead," Katy stepped back. "I brought lunch, I can set up."

"Great," Maya smiled, pulling her student aside. "Hey, so I talked to Mr. Brett. You two should really have a talk about Helena sometimes," she recommended. "For today you're in the clear, just… maybe don't do it again?"

"I won't," Derek promised. "Thanks, Mrs. Friar." After he left, Maya spun on her heel to look at her mother.

"Still gets me when one of them says that," she beamed.

"Come and eat while it's hot," Katy chuckled.

"So… Business or pleasure first?" Maya asked as they ate.

"Business, get it out of the way," Katy decided. "It shouldn't take too long anyway. Lily only needs you to confirm a few things here." As promised, the theater part of the day didn't take more than a few minutes. In that time, Stella and Phoebe had come along, settling in as they did every day. They were always very respectful when they came into the room and their teacher had someone there with her, whether it was Lily, or Lucas, or Morgan the music teacher…

"Alright, that's done," Maya handed the files back to her mother before taking up her food again. "Now, what's the good stuff?" Katy laughed for a moment, and Maya could sense she'd been pressing down on her emotions all this time. Now that she was allowed to let them out it was all a matter of making it a controlled release. "Mom?" Maya asked. "You're not having another kid again, are you?" she teased, and her mother stared at her.

"No, no, that is done, five is a good number."

"Alright, just checking," Maya smirked.

"It is about your brother and sisters though… sort of," Katy went on.

"Okay?"

"Would you and Lucas be able to have them at your house for a couple weeks?"

"Wait, weeks? What's going on?" Maya sat up, confused. Katy grinned.

"I got a job, I mean… I got a part, a guest starring role, on a tv show," she revealed, and Maya just barely stifled the squeal of surprise that came bursting out of her.

"What… How… When did that happen? How…" she blinked.

"Why don't you ask her?" Katy smiled on, nodding past her daughter. Maya turned her head and found the girls staring back, Stella with a small smile of her own. She clearly had not expected to be in the room when her teacher heard the news. Maya waved her over, and she came, her best friend on her heel.

Eventually, the story was pieced together, between Katy and Stella's contributions. All this time, Maya had known that Stella had grown up in Los Angeles. She also knew that she'd done commercials as a kid. She knew her mother would sometimes be absent for some stretches of time, at which point her father would be left to look after her. What she didn't know was how all these facts tied together, but today she learned it. Stella's mother was an actress, and a successful one at that. She'd been in the business for nearly three decades, and while she still acted occasionally, she had since shifted to writing and directing. It allowed her, most importantly, to live this quieter life, out here in Austin, with her husband and her youngest daughter.

On the day when Stella and her art teacher had exchanged tales of her commercials and of Katy's acting, the girl had gone home and told her mother what she'd heard, as she told her of all her school days. Nothing had come of it for some time, until a conversation with a friend back in LA had led to Stella's mother remembering Katy. She'd looked her up, when she'd first heard of her through her daughter, and just sort of filed away what she'd seen as a potential for… something. After going from Maya, to Stella, to Stella's mother, Katy's tale had reached a new ear, new eyes, and soon a call was made. An audition was filmed, and sent off, and slowly but surely the process advanced until Katy was told that she'd been cast, and she would need to fly to LA… in two days.

The whole time, from when the offer had reached Katy, she'd been convinced by Shawn not to let the opportunity pass her up, and that they would make it work. When she had been told she had the part, and how soon she was expected to get to LA, they'd needed to figure a few things out right then and there. First and foremost was what this would mean for the kids. Katy could have gone out there on her own, while Shawn stayed back and looked after them, but then he'd just known it would be a lot for his wife to be out there on her own, so he would go along, the better to help keep her going steady through those two weeks. If he would go with her, then they had to make sure the kids would be in the best place possible. There was no question as to who they'd ask first.

"Of course, we'll take them, are you kidding?" Maya laughed. She could count on Lucas being on board for this without asking, though of course she would call him as soon as possible. When it came to family, the answer was always yes. "Have you told them yet?"

"No, and I was hoping you guys could come over for dinner tonight, for when we do tell them," Katy explained.

"Consider us there," Maya nodded, finally blinking and rising to embrace her mother and congratulate her. She wanted to hear everything, about the show, the character, the audition, everything, but it would have to wait until that evening. Katy needed to get back to the theater as soon as they were done eating. Stella and Phoebe were brought into the lunch, gathering their food and bringing it over as a couple of stools were joined to the desk.

Maya: Get back asap tonight? Dinner at my parents'.
Lucas: Got it.
Lucas: Special reason? Do I need to pick up anything?
Maya: No, I'll go this afternoon.
Lucas: So there IS a special reason?
Maya: Long story short? Mom got a part. On TV!
Lucas: What? That's amazing!
Maya: And she needs us to take the kids for two weeks while she and Dad are in LA.
Lucas: I'll get the room across the hall set up with Sam. Should we just keep Haley with us?
Maya: Yeah, that sounds perfect.
Maya: Kind of wish I was kissing you right now.
Lucas: I'll take in IOU, cashing tonight.
Maya: 366, Huckleberry.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners