November 9th 2020

Chapter 314
Their Welcoming of Camp

When she had gotten the job, when she'd become a teacher at last, Maya had worried about what it would do to her other job, at the theater, if she held on to it, too. She had those, and her music, too… In most people's hands, it would probably had been too much, but in hers, in time, she'd come to see that she could actually make it work. She could find a time and a place for everything, and that felt good. Now here they were, for another round of the shorter sort of workshop they called the holiday camp, up at Stage Ready. It held a special place in Maya's heart, and how could it not? All that holiday magic around them, that cheerful air. It was perfect.

So, it made sense to her that she should hold it as her farewell to the program. Once it was over, she would bow out from Stage Ready and the theater, leaving Siobhan and Lily to decide how to proceed without her.

It had not been an easy choice to make, but at this time, it felt necessary. She was juggling plenty already, with the school, the quiz team, the band, the song writing, and the theater… But she also had her family, her parents and siblings, yes, but also her husband, and their marriage, and soon enough children. It wasn't as though she was giving everything up, but something had to give, and of all the branches in her life, the theater was the logical one to cut away, so the rest could continue to grow. The program would be left in good hands, she believed it, and it made things easier… not easy, just… easier.

If she needed anything to make these days even better, bringing her little sister along was really the best choice. She picked up Haley bright and early, finding her staring out the living room window as she drove up, so clearly she'd been waiting for her to arrive. And when she'd gone up and entered the house, Maya had found she had dressed up for the part, specifically by donning her bird costume from Halloween.

"That's what we're going with today?" Maya asked, and Haley nodded. "What made you choose it?"

"They had a costume, too," Haley replied.

"Ah," Maya smiled. "Aren't you scared you might lose a feather or two today?" She was not. "Works for me then. Let's go."

Rather than having to transfer any seats from one minivan to another, she'd simply left hers at the house and borrowed her parents'. Haley watched her big sister with great intent and care for her 'wings' as she was strapped in. She needed to detach them for the ride, so she could fit her arms in her coat's sleeves. Finally, they were off on their way to the theater. Maya put on some music, and while Haley was not one to below along to the songs whether she knew the words or not, she would shimmy about and kick her legs along if it was an upbeat kind of tune, so her sister made sure to keep her supplied in those as much as possible.

When they walked through the theater, which was not yet open at this time, Haley quickly demanded that she lose her coat so her wings might be restored. Maya obliged her, kneeling to clip the things back into place. Haley gave them a flap and was satisfied with the result.

"Okay," Maya breathed, brushing hair away from her face before getting her own coat off, too, suddenly warm from being indoors. "We'll go and drop these off and then we can go and wait for everyone to arrive, yeah?" In response, Haley stretched out her hand, and Maya took it once she was back on her feet, the better to walk her little bird sister to the back, toward her office.

The coats were stashed there, and they went back up the hall. Haley briefly stopped to look through the window running alongside Katy's office door. She knew the place well, had been here too many times to count. From there, they followed the path that would take them up to the large stage. The lights were not more than half up, so they stopped at the box where the sisters worked in tandem to brighten up the whole vast room. With this achieved, Haley dashed off, wings in flight as she took full advantage of the empty stage.

"Don't go too close to the edge!" Maya called after her, moving to intercept.

"Okay, Maya!" Haley called back, making her sister laugh. After a while, it looked like she was trying to dance the way Gracie had done, during the Christmas play. She would likely only recall bits and pieces of it, and even then would only repeat it to the best of her ability, but she was having fun, and that was all that mattered. After a while, she paused, looked around until she could see her sister. "You have to sit there!" she pointed down to the seats with her wing.

"Not that I don't trust you, but I'm going to stay where I can keep you from going too close to the edge, okay?" Maya went down to stand in front of the stage. This appeared acceptable, and so Haley started again. Maya casually took out her phone, the better to save this for posterity and her parents' amusement later.

The sisters' solo enjoyment of the stage could only last so long before others started to arrive. First came the various teachers and coaches. Haley knew them, too, as they knew her, and when they joined in, either as additional audience or extra performers, it was as though her wish to do as her older siblings had done had come even more true. Once she'd gotten that, she was good to go to tag along with her sister for the rest of the day. She also became aware that the bird costume might not have been the most practical, so it was a good thing that Katy had passed Maya a change of clothes to bring along. The costume joined the coats in the office, where Haley was changed into pants and a knitted shirt. Wherever Maya went, she'd be right at her heel.

The holiday camp was generally a smaller group, with registration limited. The spots tended to fill up very quickly, so in time it had been decided that people could only attend it one year. If they'd already attended the year before, they could not return. They could still participate in the regular program, or attend the summer camp, but this shorter holiday stint was a one time deal. One of them at least had found a loophole.

"Maya!" the thirteen-year-old girl called as she walked into the theater lobby. Lea Sullivan-Reyes could easily have taken over and run the whole program if it wasn't that she was in seventh grade. She was here, week to week for the regular program, never missed summer camp, and when she'd been met with the likelihood of missing out on holiday camp due to the one-time rule, she had made a proposition that she could be hired on as something like a camp counselor, an assistant, supremely qualified thanks to the training she had already received from Stage Ready. Maya would have liked to see anyone try and say no to her.

"Hey!" Maya laughed as Lucas' cousin nearly pounced her way into a hug. By now, she was nearly as tall as her, which felt simply impossible. Equally astounding was the thought that, in a little under two years, she'd be starting the ninth grade… at her school. "All set for today?"

"When am I not?" Lea challenged.

"Good point, I don't even know why I asked." Maya agreed.

"Hi, Haley!" Lea turned to her, and the four-year-old gave her customary arm raising. Lea picked her up at once. "I didn't know you were coming to the camp."

"She's not really, but I brought her along," Maya explained. "Technicality."

"Best thing out there," Lea smirked before finally putting the girl down. She may have been small, but the other girl wasn't so big herself.

The holiday camp was to run for the few days leading up to Christmas Eve, closing for that and the twenty-fifth, before resuming again from the twenty-sixth to the thirtieth. Whether Haley would want to follow her big sister there on each one of those days, Maya couldn't say, but for those few leading to the eve, she was ready to go, every morning when the minivan arrived, and she followed her all day long, until camp was over for the day, at which point she'd be driven home. Each time, she would make sure to ask Maya if she would be back again in the morning, and Maya would promise it.

At the end of the day on the twenty-third, when everyone else was gone, Maya had already pointed out to Haley that there would be no camp for a couple of days, but then they would still see each other, as it would be Christmas. Finding her little sister still couldn't help but be a bit disappointed, Maya smiled.

"Hey, I have an idea. Come on," she pulled her sister up and into her arms without prompt.

They went on into the back, past the office, until they reached the room where all the costume pieces would be kept. Maya knew which doors were not to be opened, but she also knew which ones could be pulled, the better to reveal some items to make the girl's shining eyes shine even more.

"Woah…" she breathed.

"A lot of these are way too big for you, but… I think… Yeah, see?" Maya pulled down a short cape with a great flourish, the better to drape it around her sister's thin shoulders. "Tie it here, and… Yeah, that works," Maya smiled. "But now you need… Yes…" she dug around again before finding a hat, which she now set on Haley's golden head. "Go on, take a look," she pointed to the mirrors, and Haley ran off. With the mirrors as tall as they were, many together and creating a near half circle, the small girl was surrounded by this new image of herself.

Maya heard her giggling and taking on what might have been another dance number she had observed earlier. Here was her littlest Hunter sibling, and just as her parents had to face the fact, so did her big sister. She was growing up, more and more, becoming her own person. It had always been amazing to watch any of her brothers and sisters grow up, but now, maybe because she was an adult herself, one seeking to become a mother, it just didn't resonate the same anymore. It went and grabbed at her heart, seeing how, even if she was still relatively small, she was making her way out of it. She wasn't out of it yet though, was she? They were just going to have to keep nurturing that childish innocence in her, for as long as it lasted.

"Alright, we need to go home now," she finally had to tell Haley, who turned back to her, holding on to her hat.

"Why?"

"Because if we don't then you'll be really tired later, and then you won't feel as awake tomorrow, and I hear Santa might be coming by the house…" Maya shrugged as casually as one could, and it did the trick. Haley returned to her at once, pulling the hat from her head. It was returned to its place, that and the cape, and Maya lifted her up in her arms again as they went back for their coats. "Thank you for being here with me today," Maya told her little sister as they walked out of the theater, one of the last times while she still worked there. "Couldn't have done it without you."

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners