Taking Center Stage
The only regret Helena had about agreeing to go to the school program so early the next morning was that it didn't afford her enough time with Myka. Although she had met with administrators to discuss what they wanted the program to provide, she had missed the first few sessions. For her, it was going to be very cut and dry.
While Helena dressed, Myka rushed downstairs to get something for her. When Helena came down, there was Myka, bouncing on the balls of her feet, biting her bottom lip, and holding something behind her back.
"What are you up to, Mrs. Bering-Wells?" Helena asked, acting as if she were suspicious.
"Well, since it's your first day of the high school program…..," Myka said, giddy over her own joke. "…. I got you this!" Myka pulled out what looked like a very small boxy pocketbook with artwork on it and held it up. Helena stared at it, wondering how she was going to fit everything from her purse into it.
"Well, that is very sweet," Helena said, opening up her bag to transfer the items.
"No, silly! It's a lunchbox," Myka explained.
"Lunch… box?" Helena repeated because the item and term had not really crossed her path before.
"Yes, you take this to school with you and your mom puts like a sandwich and snacks in it. Look, I made you peanut butter and jelly and there are grapes and a juice box!" The inflection in Myka's voice told Helena this was something to be excited about and she could only assume it held fond memories for her spouse.
"Thank you, Myka. I will enjoy this," the Brit said, taking it and looking at it. "It has a person on it."
"Katniss Evergreen! From Hunger Games," Myka explained.
"How apropos," her wife responded.
"I was going to get Wonder Woman, but I have issues with the way she's dressed. They were out of the Madam Curie ones," Myka teased.
"She's shooting an arrow," Helena observed. "Makes it sound as if getting lunch is rather a sport."
"It can be in high school," Myka said, remembering how the social hierarchy of the cafeteria worked.
"Well, this will remind me of the one you have shot at my heart," Helena said, expressing her gratitude in a kiss.
"Do you have everything you need? Pencils? Notebooks?" Myka laughed because all these memories of school were flooding her mind. Some of them were Myka's worst and she suddenly found herself projecting and warning Helena - "Maybe just leave this in the car. I mean, I don't want anyone….thinking …uhm…you're not serious."
Helena read it immediately from the expression on Myka's face. Myka's eyes reflected the angst she experienced from times when her peers were less than kind. Helena wished she could protect Myka from the past. "Pete tells me I can be as serious as a New York heart attack," Helena assured her, but mixing up the idioms.
"Well, okay then," Myka said, straightening out Helena's coat lapels even though they didn't need it. She held onto them and pulled her in to kiss her. "Have fun!" she said, but Helena could easily detect that Myka didn't associate anything fun with high school.
"I will be back before you know it," Helena assured her and added, "I do hope your students are better behaved."
"What? Oh yes, very mature," she said, unsure how true that was.
Helena's schooling had been private tutors up until she went to college and took very few courses. The bullies in Helena's past were often the headmasters who laughed when she said she wanted to take math and science courses. She kissed Myka goodbye and went outside, lunchbox in hand. Myka peeked out the window and watched her wife approach the car. If there was one thing that she enjoyed almost as much as being with Helena, it was watching Helena. This was why she was going to surprise her and go to the school on her own.
Myka loved to watch people's reactions to being in the same space as Helena.
Outside, Pete held the car door opened for his boss. "Cool lunchbox," he said, noticing it right away.
"From Myka," Helena beamed as she got in the car.
"Good morning, Helena," Irene said, smiling from the seat next to her.
"Irene?" Helena said, surprised that she was there. "You do know where I'm going?" .
"Of course I do. I brought you this. You're going to need it," the older woman said, presenting Helena with a thermos.
"You made me tea?" Helena asked, staring at the object, but not accepting it.
"I don't have time for that," Irene gently scolded her. "We stopped at Ms. Sullivan's before we came," she smiled.
Helena took the thermos quickly and opened it. "That was very thoughtful."
"Yes, I know," Irene said and didn't look at Helena's staring back at her. "Enjoy it."
"Were you worried I might not play well with the other children?" Helena laughed.
"The thought did cross my mind," Irene said. She wasn't exactly sure what possessed her to change her schedule and join Helena. Perhaps it was to reassure the Brit that she would always have time for her. Or maybe, it was to reassure Irene that Helena would always need her. She dismissed both nagging thoughts and decided to just go ahead and be there in the car.
"I get the impression that few people are fond of their academic years," the Time Traveler noted. "I imagine yours are too distant to recall, so I'll ask Mr. Lattimer." Helena didn't flinch when Irene gently slapped her hand for that snide remark.
"High school? Some of the best years of my life," Pete said back. "Of course, if you're not popular, not good looking, or if you're uncool, yeah it can be pretty tough on you."
Helena couldn't imagine Myka falling into any of those categories. "Myka seems to have some hesitation about her experiences," she said to Irene.
"Oh, well, it's a time of adolescence when boys and girls are coming into themselves and some of us have bumpier rides getting there," Irene shared.
Helena listened carefully.
"Do you think people were unpleasant to Myka?" Helena asked sincerely.
Irene looked at her and had to remind herself that of course Helena couldn't know this from personal experience. "I imagine Myka was smart enough to stay away from anyone who might give her trouble."
The answer didn't really satisfy the inquiring woman. "What do you think, Pete?" Helena asked.
"Well, Myka was really smart, good looking, and she did play a sport, so she probably wasn't bothered much," Pete decided.
Helena nodded her head and turned to look at the window to consider this information. She agreed with Pete's assessment, yet she couldn't shake the feeling of Myka's anxiety. There was only one thing to do. "I want a list of everyone who Myka went to high school with," the executive requested.
Irene looked up from her paper to see if she heard correctly. "Why?" she asked bravely.
"I'm going to ask Myka if anyone gave her a hard time and when she tells me their names, I want to be able to know who we're talking about," Helena said, having thought hard about the matter.
"Then we'll track them down and …..?" Irene asked, waiting for Helena to fill in the blank.
"Don't be ridiculous," Helena rebuked her, looking out the window again. Just as Irene let out a sigh of relief, the Brit answered: "We'll make them come to New York."
Pete tried not to laugh at his boss' badassery, but he the harder he tried to hold it in, the more he snorted.
"Don't encourage her, Mr. Lattimer," Irene warned him.
The high school Helena was to appear at was a half hour away and by 7:15, she was walking inside. Helena was greeted by the Administration staff and they thanked her profusely for coming. Helena nodded, but grimaced when the noise was so loud in the hallway, she could hardly hear them.
"Is it always this noisy?" she asked them. She was met by blank stares. Surely she remembered what high school was like, they all thought.
"Perhaps Ms. Wells could go to the area for the assembly?" Irene asked making herself indispensable as usual.
The group started to walk down the hallway through the crowd of students who were at their lockers getting ready for the day. When they saw Helena, they instantly knew who she was and many of them simply turned to stare. Helena smiled and said hello and for the most part, she observed their behaviors. She noticed the girls with too much make-up, the boys with broad builds in athletic gear, the kids who reminded her of Eileen, and those who dressed more like Claudia. None of them appeared to be suffering, she thought.
The principal escorted them into the auditorium where Ted Grayson was already setting up on stage. There were a row of chairs aligned behind a long table.
"Oh, thank God," he said when he saw his fellow presenter. He greeted Helena like a soldier greeting the reinforcements. "Glad you made it, Wells!"
"We'll see about that," Helena commented and he showed her where to sit.
"Now, remember, the whole point of this assembly is to motivate the children to consider careers in business," the Principal reminded the panel.
"And if they want to be artists?" Helena asked because she didn't believe that was the point of the talk.
"We'll have artists to come in and talk about that," the overwhelmed administrator replied.
The Mayor may have been taking credit for the spearheading the whole program, but it was the administrative staffs that were left to deal with the details.
"Let me show you how it's done," Ted said, regaining his confidence now that the crowd wouldn't need to start chanting Helena's name.
Helena looked at Irene who wore her 'try to be patient' expression. Then Helena took her seat and placed her newly acquired lunchbox on the table.
"What the hell is that?" Ted asked, amused.
"It's my lunchbox," the Brit said proudly. "It has a juice box."
"I know what it is, but…oh, never mind," her co-speaker said as the kids piled into the auditorium.
The panel was introduced and Ted tried not to show his annoyance with the thunderous applause Helena received. He went first and started his PowerPoint presentation about the exciting field of biotechnology which quickly put a majority of the kids to sleep.
It was time for Helena to do what she did best – be large and take charge.
"If I could interrupt for a moment, Ted," Helena said, standing up and taking the microphone from him. He stammered at the disruption, but had not choice as Helena relieved him of the device and proceeded to go down the steps and stand in front of the stage. There was a second round of applause.
"Please forgive my colleague," she started. "You see, we spend so much time doing what we do, we sometimes forget how to make it exciting."
Students, who had been slouching in their seats, or on the cell phones, now sat up and took notice. Myka quietly slipped into the back of the auditorium undetected and took a seat just in time to see Helena start.
"First, let me just say that anyone who would rather be somewhere else, is free to leave," the CEO began and the only one to protest was the Principal, but no one moved.
"Great. Now, why am I here and what is it that I can share with you that will make this a meaningful experience?" Helena began.
"Get us a day off!" someone shouted from the back and everyone laughed.
"Ah," Helena smiled. "I have a great deal of influence, but I dare say, not even I could do that."
Irene was sitting in the front row with the Principal and his staff. She smiled nervously at him, grateful Helena didn't take the student up on his request. Myka, in the meantime, settled back into the auditorium seat, eyes locked on her wife.
"Here is what I can share with you that might help you survive what I have come to understand can be trying times. Do what you want," Helena stated and the crowd cheered.
"That's not good," the administrator said and was about to get up, when Irene put her hand on his arm.
"Of course, if you intend to come work for a firm like mine, and let's face it, darlings, why wouldn't you?" Helena teased them, "…then you better be able to demonstrate what you have accomplished. And you will only be able to do that if you follow your passion and do the work."
"Easy for you to say," a student called out from the side row and the crowd murmured 'oooohhhh' in response.
"And she thought it would be easy," Ted said to the guest speaker next to him.
"I did not find my passion because I was rich. I became rich because I found what I loved to do. That, and I wouldn't take no for an answer," Helena responded and walked up the aisle. "You will be told you can't do things. Don't believe them. You will be told it's not possible. Make it possible. Don't wait for someone to hand it to you. Find out what your skills are and make that work in your favor."
Two girls sitting in front of Myka, whose passion was texting on their phones and were otherwise occupied, suddenly found themselves being tapped on the shoulders. "Pay attention!" Myka heard herself whispering sharply, looking very much the part of a stern teacher. The girls turned back and put their phones down.
No one was going to ignore Helena!
Helena continued to talk about her profession and opened it up to questions. A discussion about what it takes to succeed in any job ensued and Myka was lost in watching the students interact with Helena. This was Helena at her best; engaging, charming and witty and Myka let out more than one long sigh as she gazed lovingly from the back row. As hard as Helena tried to defer a question here and there to the other panel members, including Ted, the students insisted on reverting back to the star guest.
Someone asked what it would take to get a job at Wells Corp and Helena said that her ideal candidate was someone who came to work every day with a positive attitude and who went above and beyond their duties, even if no one knew it. "I am fortunate to work with some of the most qualified people who know how to make us successful," she said and looked directly at Irene and Pete.
When someone asked if she could ever leave Wells Corp, Helena warned them not to become complacent and to understand that change was an inevitable part of building their dreams.
Myka looked out on the crowd of excited students who were actually getting a chance to talk to the legendary business woman. Finally, Helena closed the talk and everyone stood up to applaud.
As the crowd of students moved in mass toward the stage to get a selfie with Helena, Myka noticed one person going in the opposite direction in quick fashion. The man looked as if he were trying to get out unnoticed because he kept his head lowered and seemed to be talking into this wrist.
And the really perplexing thing to Myka was – he looked oddly familiar to her.