December 10th 2022

Chapter 344
Our Cheers For Inspiration

The month of May was upon them. By now, even if it was still several weeks away, the call of summer was beginning to make itself heard. The last stretch of the year would feel as interminable as it would feel like they could blink and in the next moment realize that it was over. For her part, Maya really wanted to make the most of this time. She couldn't forget the fact that she had been on leave at this point over the past two years, and now she wasn't. She was beyond excited for springtime at school.

Right now, the thing she'd get to look forward to the most… well, there were two of them, and they would be piggybacking on one another for a while. Today, she was announcing the arrival of this year's art auction, even as the quiz team was looking ahead to the upcoming 'Quiz Olympics,' facing off against their four most recent graduates.

"How long have you guys been in here?" she blinked when she arrived at her classroom to find the current team working together. There were flashcards, notes, textbooks, computers, over not just one but two of the stations, and the board was covered with everyone's handwriting, showing subjects they wanted to spend more time on, skills they wanted to practice… They all had this look about them like they'd barely had any sleep over the weekend.

"Is it time for class already?" Lydia asked, looking over the stations like she was trying to identify all the items that were hers and would need to be gathered.

"You've still got time, but you might need all of it to pick up after yourselves," Maya gestured around the room. She'd just seen the containers and cups to suggest they'd also had breakfast in here. "If you wouldn't mind?" she gave them just enough of a look to set them in action.

The board was cleared, the breakfast things gathered to be thrown out where they belonged, and the study material divided among the four students. They had done plenty of matches, some bigger competitions, too, and she didn't think she'd ever seen them so nervous or dialed in as they were now, preparing to go up against former members of their team. It meant a lot to them, she got that; it might have meant most to Lydia, for different reasons than theirs. They were forgetting that this was all meant to be in good fun; she would have to remind them.

For now, her class was returned to the state it would have been before they showed up, and before Rolly, Maia, and Lydia left for their own first period classes, they helped their captain and their teacher to set up materials for the seniors' period. She thanked them all, and the day finally began.

The seniors had been doing the art auction all through their time at this school, so they knew the routine. Maya only had to tell them, and it set their minds in motion. She'd had this group long enough to expect who would and wouldn't submit something to be auctioned off, but she also knew that senior year had a way of making kids nostalgic, more likely to pitch in, and already she could see it with these kids here. They didn't need inspiration; they already had it pre set within them.

It was only a second round for the sophomores, but like the seniors Maya could guess how this would go. With them, it was usually that there would be a slight increase in participation, kids who hadn't done it the previous year, as freshmen, now felt like maybe this time around they would give it a try. Maya gladly encouraged this.

At lunch, she had the knitting club in her room, where she spoke about the auction with Michelle Day, who wanted to suggest that the club submit a few of their pieces for it, too. Maya thought it was a great idea. The suggestion came that they all do a big quilt, smaller squares to be assembled together, so it would be theirs all as one. They were already figuring it all out by the end of the meal break.

Maya was not concerned about what would happen when the juniors would learn that it was auction time. They had been her most dependable group on that front since they were freshmen, and she'd expected no less at the time. This year, these freshmen, well, the tendency with most of them would depend on the group, wouldn't it? Some of them were aware of the auction, usually if they'd had a sibling in this class before. And others had already participated in it… the first time they'd been a freshman.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Maya asked Ash Bell as they hung around while the rest of the knitting club cleared out, including their girlfriend. Maia Bennett gave Ash a look, unmistakably to plead that they speak up. They hesitated, standing there, and after the last of the knitters had left, Maya went to shut the door, so at least for now it would only be the two of them. "Ash?" They still stayed silent, couldn't speak up right away. Maya sat on a stool, across from them.

"I don't know how to fix this… I shouldn't have to, but she's just…" they finally spoke, sounding more as though they were speaking to themself than their teacher.

"Who, your mother?" Maya asked, coaxing them to go on. Ash nodded. "What did she do?"

"I wanted to get out of there so bad, and it wasn't going to be so hard for me, so I did it, even though I knew… I knew it wasn't going to be enough, not for her to do the same…" It was unclear at first what she was talking about, but then… Oh.

Kennedy… Ash's little sister. She was in the second grade, eight years old, maybe nine by now… and still at home, with Mrs. Bell and her stepfather. It was as Ash said it. They had been able to get out the way they'd done, but was there actually genuine cause for Kennedy Bell to be removed from her mother and stepfather? None. And with one child having turned their back on her, Maya could guess that Mrs. Bell had now turned her attentions on her young daughter.

"Ash, I'm really sorry, I…" Maya started, tried to think… The only thing she could come up with… "Listen, I've never met the guy, so all I know is you don't think so highly of him anymore, but… As a parent, your father… Would he be a better alternative for Kennedy?"

Ash let out a dark laugh, showing their feelings toward their father had not changed in the last couple of years. But then their own personal feelings might not have been reason enough to count him out entirely, not if it could help out Kennedy.

"When they got divorced, after the affair, my mom's lawyer took him for all he had. No custody, nothing. There's no way that'll have changed now," they shook their head, showing their distress. The first day of freshman year – the first time around – Maya's impression, in hearing Ash speak of their sister, was that Kennedy was the most important person in Ash's life. And right now, they felt helpless to protect her from going through what they'd done growing up.

"Yeah, well, last time, he didn't have Topanga Matthews in his corner," Maya confidently stated. After a beat, she caught a small smile on Ash's face. That was a good point. "How long's it been since you've seen him… spoken to him?"

"About the same amount of time since the divorce and all that. He used to try and reach out, but I was pretty pissed off, so he got the message after a while. It was harder on Kennedy. She missed him, didn't understand what had happened. One time, he tried to go and see her, at school. When my mom found out, she nearly had him arrested, like he was some creep. He wasn't like that; he just couldn't keep it in his pants at work… Like, yeah, he's not exactly the most upstanding guy in that department, but he never did anything to hurt us…" Standing there, hearing their own words, Ash seemed struck all of a sudden with the possibility that they might miss their father. Maya could see it in their eyes, and she gave their arm a light tap.

"Call him, talk to him. Explain what's been going on and… put him in contact with Topanga. If there's anything to be done, she'll do it. This could be a good thing, for all three of you." Ash looked hesitant, nervous, but they nodded. They would give it a shot. For their little sister, they had to.

They were still on the glum side when Maya opened the door and let in the students who'd already come to wait, including MJ, Lamar, and Lydia. They all had concerned looks on them as they spotted Ash, and they went to ask them what it was about. They explained briefly, and MJ put his arm around their shoulders. He agreed with his sister that Mrs. Matthews was the way to go, and all three of them wanted to offer to go with Ash to see their father if necessary. More than anything, that was what got them through the rest of the day, and it made Maya smile to see it.

As she'd imagined, the announcement of the auction was received with mixed responses out of the freshmen. Maybe bolstered by the optimistic turn they'd received, Ash spoke up, sharing their experience of the previous year's auction and encouraging their classmates to participate. It was maybe one of the first times, aside from the friends they had made and sat with every day, that Maya saw them step up and count themself as part of this new freshman class, not simply wallowing in the fact that they'd been thrown in with a whole new group because they'd been forced to do the year over. It did some good for the class, with more students deciding to make something for the auction, and for Ash, too.

Maybe in an effort to further encourage this lift, Maya called Topanga while she went out on her long break. She was joined today by Phoebe, with baby Myles, and Shawn, bringing 'Fleetwood and Lucky,' and it was impossible to keep them out of the loop as she was still on the phone when they came, so she told them the story. Shawn, naturally, could do nothing but praise his childhood friend and her ability to get Kennedy Bell where she needed to be. Phoebe, who knew a thing or two about complicated parental histories but also was herself a new mother, couldn't stand to think of this whole situation with the Bell siblings. All Maya could say was that she held her tiny girls with all the love she could pass into them for as long as she could before they had to go.

It had been a gift, all year long, to finish out her days – detention time aside – with the juniors, and it was the first time today that she realized how she would miss it. Next year, because they would be seniors, she would start her days with them, which could be just as helpful, but at the same time… Seniors, already… Well, they weren't there yet, weren't done yet. They had the rest of this year, and the whole of the next one after it, too, and they were going to make the most of it. When she told them about the auction, some had already caught on throughout the day, and some others still had guessed that it was coming, so they had already started to come up with projects to submit for it. Of course, you did… She couldn't wait to see what they came up with this time.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners