December 12th 2020

Chapter 347
Their Place to Meet

"How's it looking out there?" Maya asked as she quickly browsed back through her folders, making sure – again – that she had everything she needed, that it was all in order before the first parents arrived. She was seeing the seniors' families first of all, which was probably for the best. From past encounters, she knew they tended to have the most questions, and at least she'd have the most energy to answer them, compared to the end of the night.

"I'd say it's actually getting busy but, compared to what your night is going to look like, I'll downgrade to say it's shaping up to be pretty quiet, actually," Lucas reported. Maya smiled, pulling her phone from between her ear and shoulder.

"It hasn't even started and I just want it to be over," she admitted. "On the plus side, that just means I'll be that much happier to see your face when I get home."

"I kind of figured," Lucas replied, a smile in his voice.

"Okay, I gotta go, first ones are in the hall. Love you, hug the dogs for me," she joked. Alright, maybe she wanted to be the one hugging those four right now…

Just like that, parent night was underway.

"Hello, Aaron," Maya smirked, seeing how pleased Helena's father was that she'd remembered. Father and daughter looked a great deal alike, something that was evident to see instantly but became even more noticeable once you got to spend time with the both of them. They shared some character traits, though Helena was definitely her own person, too.

Maya knew too well how his daughter's illness had changed Aaron Zimmerman, from having heard about it all from him, and from Helena herself. Now, with her own first child growing inside her, the thought of what it must have been like just… changed. To an extent, she could also understand him and his wife being reluctant to let her play on the basketball team again. That wouldn't stop her working on to make it happen for her, though it did make her conscientious as she sat with the man.

When Joyce Boggs came along, Derek's mother did not miss her opportunity to express, as always, how much she appreciated all Maya had done for her son, saying how he'd changed over the past two years. Maya would say this wasn't wholly because of her. Without a doubt, Helena coming back to school this year had helped more than anything. But she was very happy for the growth Derek had undergone, too, and that was what mattered most.

Maribel Morales had been the last of the seniors' parents to come through the art room. Like Derek's mother, Leon's mother wished to thank Maya, in her case for the letter she'd written on behalf of her son. Over time, Maya had been able to piece together how Maribel had been through a very debilitating accident when Leon was ten. She'd recovered, mostly, though it had prevented her from working or being on her feet for too long, and continued to do so today, showing in her posture and the way she walked. Leon had looked after her all this time, him and his father especially. His impressive stature and strength here was a most valued asset, as it helped him help his mother. Maribel had been so worried that he would never dare to go out and live his own life, but now he was, and he would.

With one group down, the next was not far behind, taking Maya from her eldest to her youngest. The first to show up was Michelle Day, mother to both Dakota and Roman, though tonight she was here for Roman, while her husband was seeing the teachers about Dakota. There was little for Maya to say about the younger Day boy. He did good work in his own right, though he did get distracted easily, most often by the girls. As of yet, this was little more than basic teenage boy behavior.

"Evening, Mrs. Russell," Maya greeted Khalil's grandmother as she came into the art room after saying goodbye to whoever she'd been speaking to in the hallway. Obviously, Maya knew the woman more than she did the majority of the parents and guardians here tonight, thanks to Desi's friendship with the twins, and seeing as Khalil was doing very well, with nothing for Maya to point out that Kathryn Russell wouldn't already know about, their meeting on the whole was spent quickly catching up before looking through Maya's folder for the woman's grandson.

In the fall, Maya had been visited by Malcolm McNeil, back when Rochelle had still been her grumpy self. Tonight, it was her mother who came along, receiving an overview which might as well have been about a completely different person. Eva Rosen had nothing but praise and gratitude for how much she'd noticed her daughter's evolution since the start of the school year. Maya still had to wonder sometimes if there was a cause for Rochelle's devotion to her studies, but if there was then she'd yet to uncover it.

Next, it was the juniors. Maya thought again about how she wouldn't see them through their senior year, and it left her with such a bummed out expression that when Barton Day came along to discuss Skylar, he assumed that his son was in trouble. Maya quickly assured him this couldn't be further from the truth, and she made quick work of laying out exactly how in fact Skylar was one of the bright spots of all her days here. On the whole, he continued to be very inwardly focused, but then he'd come out of his shell when Daphne was there with him, and it was really one of those things you'd see and be unable to think it wasn't really sweet.

Speaking of Daphne, her father had been along not too long after. Of course, Daniel Brett was pretty busy tonight, too, but the science teacher had the benefit of fitting the occasional breaks into his meetings, the better to go and see his daughter's teachers. He could have asked his colleagues any other day, but he liked this system better. When it came to his passage into the art room, he almost wanted Maya to tell him more, so his break would last longer, but Daphne was always one of her most problem-free students, so it went fast, and then it was back to the science class for Mr. Brett.

John Su came for his turn, and for having seen him at all four of these nights she'd been a part of, Maya always remembered and looked forward to the way he would slip on his glasses and observe Ariel's work with great interest and attention. He was a man of few words, which was so unlike his daughter, though to hear Ariel tell it, her talkative traits were all out of her mother. Her father was more the introspective type, which Maya imagined was one of the things which had brought Ariel and Dakota Day to be friends.

"One more group…" Maya breathed, as she waited for the first of the sophomore parents. What she wouldn't have given to be at home already, to kick off her shoes…

"You look like you're ready to be done here," Lilah Sanderson laughed as she came in, and oh how she welcomed the familiar face. Missy's mother and Maya's neighbor from up the lane came to sit across from her. "You know, we could just do this over the phone later, save us both some time," she spoke with conspiracy, making her daughter's teacher laugh.

"We can get it done right here. Trust me, this is going to be a breeze."

The next one to come along hardly needed much more sit-down time. Alanna Avelino was even more familiar to Maya, as she'd known her going back to when she'd be at her son and daughter's basketball games. Now, thanks to Kai, this only got to carry on a while longer, and Maya was glad. Mrs. Avelino was that mother of one of your friends you wished was your own. Sitting here with her, Maya felt oddly compelled to ask her baby questions, but she resisted.

"Good evening, Mr. Buckley," Maya stood and shook hands with Stella's father. Paul Buckley was not exactly hyper, but compared to his very demure daughter, he might as well have been. He was always very interested to hear how Stella was doing as she continued to adjust to being in a school with other kids. Once upon a time, he had been in charge of her home schooling, and Maya could sense a part of him missed it, but it was small by comparison to the part that was happy to see his daughter thrive and reach further. Maya had once mentioned her nickname for Stella, and it had made him smile. He thought it fit her very well.

"This is the art room, yes? Oh, of course it is, what am I saying? You must be Mrs. Friar. Jo Munroe, Phoebe's mother," the woman walked into the room, with a particular brand of borderline frazzled Maya recognized with ease, though this was indeed the first time she met her.

"Your husband usually comes to these, yes?" Maya shook her hand.

"He does, yes. I usually do the visits with our son's teachers and he does Phoebe's, but I couldn't make it for Tay's night last week, so we swapped," she explained, laughing. Maya looked at her, and she didn't know what it was about the laugh, but it seemed to bounce off Mrs. Munroe's features, her stance, everything, like a pinball, lighting her up… "Is something wrong? Is it not my turn yet?" Mrs. Munroe looked back into the hall.

"No, no, it's you," Maya assured her, blinking, breaking from that weird headspace she'd just gone to. When the woman faced her again though, it was there again. "I mean, it's your turn, I… I'm sorry, it just feels like we've met before, but I…"

"Oh," Mrs. Munroe pondered this, looking Maya over, searching her memories. "I'm sorry, I can't think of anything, except obviously I know you from your band. Phoebe is a big fan."

"She is, yes," Maya smiled. Finally, she just had to shake it off. She just looked like her daughter, that was all it was, had to be.

Except the longer they sat there, talking, the question kept nagging at her, prodding at her brain like she was missing something so obvious that it was staring her in the face. It also made so that she'd have to keep herself from staring at Phoebe's mother too much or else she might think her strange.

"You know, it's really something, what you did with Phoebe last year, those dance lessons? She is just a brand-new girl. Not that there was anything wrong with the way she was before, but she does end up with a lot less scrapes and bruises."

"I haven't seen her first-aid kit in a long time," Maya agreed, and the woman laughed, just as her phone, which she'd put down on the desk upon sitting at the teacher's desk, buzzed and lit up with a message. The sudden illumination and the vibration against the wooden desk drew Maya's eyes briefly to the screen, and that half a second before Jo Munroe picked up the phone and read the message felt like a bolt of electricity.

"Phoebe," Mrs. Munroe held up the phone. "She wants me to say hello," she laughed. Maya's smile felt completely cursory, as she tried to look casual, pointing to the phone.

"Was that your son? The lock screen?"

"Oh, yes," Mrs. Munroe smiled a proud mother's smile and turned the phone for her to see. "That's Taylor. He's in seventh grade now, couple years before you get to know him."

I might not know him, Maya thought. But I know that face.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners