Chapter 23: Back to School Night

Sam looked around the crowded room, which had been transformed with a feeling of festivity. The school had been decked out in streamers and banners earlier that day, and was now packed with bodies. Not crowded with students as it usually was, but teeming with adults. Unconsciously, she kept close to Jack. While she wasn't the only child accompanying parents to the back to school night tonight, she still felt outnumbered. Besides the helpful faculty, many upper school students waited in the lobby handing out maps and flyers. And that didn't even include the numbers assisted by older students in the gymnasium, behind rows of decorated tables and pamphlets describing numerous extra-curricular activities at the school as well as volunteer opportunities for parents, such as recess monitor or classroom aide, which was the whole reason for them being here this night.

"There's an opening for lunch lady," Sam suggested softly with a hint of teasing as they wandered down the aisles, trying to sublimate some of her tension. An image of Jack in a hairnet handing out institutional pizza and mashed potatoes to elementary school students threatened to send her into giggles and Jack gave her an evil eye as if he knew just where her mind was.

"Ugh," he grunted. If he sensed her nervousness, he decided to ignore it and played along. "I can't believe I'm actually going to sign up for this stuff," he replied just as quietly. "Usually I just got volun-told by Sarah."

Sam smiled at the butchered word. Jack had been all for the expedition when he'd found out about the opportunities for parents to be more involved at the school. He'd been chafing about being left behind while the rest of his team all had an "in" at Providence, and he was left outside the doors every morning after dropping Sam off. It seemed he was having second thoughts now that he saw the actual openings available. She was about to make a retort when she was interrupted before she could even open her mouth.

"Hi Sam," came an all too familiar childish voice. Nathan approached from another aisle followed by a harried looking mother. The woman toted a toddler in one arm, and an armload of crumpled flyers, toys and other items in the other. She wasn't paying much attention to Nathan at the moment since she was half turned around, admonishing two older children that looked the same age. The toddler in her arms fussed and the two older children had been starting a sword fight using rolled up flyers. Oblivious to the semi-chaos behind him, Nathan smiled shyly and casually wiped his nose with the back of his free hand, the other clutching several more crumpled flyers.

"Oh!" the woman exclaimed, nearly colliding with her son, and losing her hold on a sippee cup and several other small items in the process. The toddler continued to fuss as the woman hitched her to a more secure position, and looked at the dropped items with dismay, blowing loose strands of hair out of her face. If she didn't look so hassled, the woman would likely have been pretty. As it was, brown hair straggled out of a ponytail, no doubt helped along by the fussy toddler who had a handful of hair, and several stains were visible on the front of her shirt. Behind her, the two boys resumed their sword fight.

"Here, allow me," said Jack, stooping quickly to gather the fallen items, presenting them with a flourish. "There you are," he said, "Mrs. Uh…"

"Johnson. And it's Ms." She added, taking the items and somehow juggling the child in her arms to stow them in the bulging tote bag on her shoulder. "I'm divorced." One hand now free, she presented it to Jack who took in politely. "And you are?" the woman asked.

"Jack. Jack Lewis, and this is my daughter Sam," he introduced himself.

"Sam's in my class, Mommy," added Nathan proudly; as if it were all by his doing that he and Sam were classmates.

Nathan's mother smiled reflexively. "That's nice dear. It's nice to meet you Sam." She looked back up at Jack. "My son talks about Sam all the time, Mr. Lewis," said Ms. Johnson, distractedly bouncing her little girl as the youngest child continued to alternately fuss and reach for things. "Are you here tonight with your wife?"

"Uh, actually I'm divorced as well," Jack admitted. "It's just me and Sam," he added.

The woman's eyebrows rose slightly, but before she could formulate a question, one of the two boys was tugging on her sleeve. "Mom, look, it's Mr. Jeffries. He said he'd have the forms for the soccer team, c'mon Mom, you promised."

The boys began to tug her in the right direction, and Ms. Johnson looked apologetic. "Nice to meet you Mr. Lewis. Nathan!" she called, as she got further away. The little boy looked startled, sniffled loudly, and trotted off after his mother. Jack waved at the departing group in understanding.

"You know Sam," he said, watching the group. "It could have been worse."

"Sir?" she asked. No one paid them any attention, there were many such groups, standing out of the way, and there was too much noise echoing about the crowded gym for anyone to overhear them.

"You could have been a lot younger," he told her, shoving his hands in his pockets and strolling down the next aisle.

Sam groaned, suppressing a shudder as she glanced at Nathan's departing family. His little sister was barely 18 months old if that. "Don't even think it sir," she said firmly, not even wanting to consider the possibility. After all, the machine had regressed her at least six more years than projected, another two or three years could have been easily possible. She really would not have wanted to test the theory about bowel and bladder training being more of a physical exercise of muscle development over a mental exercise of control. And she didn't even want to think about how hard it would have been to reach her lab bench. She had several important things going on she wasn't ready to turn over yet.

Fortunately, Jack let the matter drop, as he approached a table with applications for recess monitor, greeting the staff member there and taking one of the forms. Sam turned to people watching. She spotted a few of her classmates, waving when they saw her. Jack finished the form, and they moved along to another table. Jack took the time to fill out applications for several different things, including classroom mom. Sam grinned at the thought of Jack being the room mother. They also found out there would be a field trip soon to a local produce and dairy farm, and Jack didn't waste any time in signing up to be a chaperone, though Sam groaned over the idea of spending the day traipsing over a farm, complete with petting zoo.

How exciting.

After Jack had filled out all the applications he thought he could manage, and even a few that he found less than desirable at Sam's urging just in case all the other positions were filled, they visited Sam's classroom and Jack got to meet her teacher. After making polite small talk with the teacher, Jack walked around the room with Sam and the two made a show of Sam pointing out to Jack various highlights of the room like her desk and cubby in the coatroom like she noticed another pair in the room doing.

By that time, Sam was worn out. Fortunately, it was a Friday night, and they had nothing pressing to do in the morning. Their weekly check in at the SGC wasn't until the afternoon, and Sam sighed as she settled into the booster seat, no longer concerned as she felt her body relax into sleep. Somehow she knew if she couldn't wake up, Jack would make sure she got to bed.

A/N: Boy, has Real Life exploded. We lost my Uncle Bill last month, friends found him in his apartment when he failed to answer his phone, he was 70. My mother chose to bury him in a national cemetery with military honors. He had served in the Navy as a national guardsman on a submarine crew iin his younger days. I have never witnessed the flag folding ceremony, and I hope he would have liked it, it was very moving. The soldiers took it so seriously, not showing any emotion, and every gesture was as if the soldier was folding a piece of himself. On top of all that, Dad had lost his job when his company went bankrupt and had only just gotten a new job making far less money.

Two weeks ago I was involved in a hit and run accident when a man pulled out of a side street, clipped the front corner of my 2001 GMC Jimmy and pushed me into a telephone pole. I was uninjured aside from being shaken and bruised in unusual places, but the Jimmy did not fare as well, taking nearly $11,000 in damages resulting in a total loss. So after dealing with the insurance company, I took my check for $5,500 to the dealership and the money in savings that had been meant for my new solid wood bedroom furniture set and picked up a 2009 GMC Acadia this week, deciding that since I was going to have to finance, I might as well go for something nice, besides, you can't beat 0% APR right?

Anyway, as much as I've wanted to see what Sam's been up to, it's been a little hectic, but I just want you to know the story has not been abandoned, and there're a few longer chapters behind this one. In the next few chapters, we should be getting into some more exciting happenings as well, well at least I hope so!