July 2nd 2023

Chapter 183
We Surround Their Beginnings

When their girls wanted something, really, really wanted something, they didn't have a single subtle bone among them. They were children, so it wasn't particularly surprising, but it sure would be funny, to Maya and Lucas most of all. For instance, when the morning came around where school would begin, there was for sure something that at least one of them wanted, and being the eldest among her sisters at home, she could come up with plenty of ways to make her desire known. She ended up doing it by way of the 'put it where they won't miss it' logic.

"You think she wants a story?" Lucas asked, smiling as he sat up and looked to the closed door.

"What?" Maya asked, not following. She turned to look at her husband and he tipped his head to the door so she would look. As soon as she did, she spotted the picture, stuck to the back of the door, just above the handle, and she snorted. "Huh… Now that you mention it, I think she does," she replied, matching his tone.

Even though Marianne had very likely been the one to orchestrate this request, it was giving off the distinct impression that, once again, this was not specifically for her benefit. No, rather, this was for her little sisters, especially any of them who might have been having their first day of school ever, or have expressed any kind of mixed feelings toward starting 'big kid school.' The picture in question showed a pair of brunettes, all of six years old and as identical of clothing as they were of face, with big grins on as they sat before their house, with their bags at the ready and a sign that proclaimed that they were starting the first grade that day.

Maya retrieved it herself from the door, the better to go up and show it to the subjects themselves, while Lucas saw to looking in on the rooms across and down the hall from theirs, to see to it that their six young schoolgirls would be up and getting ready. It was so strange to think about it still, all of them being in school now, right down to their littlest. They had similar signs to those in the photo, all filled up and ready to be brandished by the one they announced. The way they all were when they were collected from their rooms to go ahead and start the morning routine, it would maybe be a miracle if they got the six of them to sit or stand still long enough for that picture to be taken at all. But they finally made their way down, along with their aunts, uncle, and cousin, and the story of Nellie and Gracie's first day of school was shared among them, told by more than one narrator, from varying perspectives.

It was very fortunate for them – and they expressed their gratitude each time, no mistake – that they had a few more hands at the ready as they went about getting the girls dressed and ready to go. It didn't matter so much that most of them were reasonably old enough to get dressed by themselves, leaving little more than their hair in need of some assistance, not when they were filled with so much giddy energy that they had to let it out. In no time, the tactic became that, once they had been dressed, they would be caught and sent off to the bathroom, where Maya and Gracie were going to get their hair fixed up for the day.

Marianne was back to being a blonde, back to the color she had been born with, and for as much as her parents had been certain that she'd be bummed out at losing her summer colors, she was actually pleased. The way she put it, she knew that when summer would roll around again, she would have her colors back, and that was good enough. If she had the colors all year round, they wouldn't be special anymore. Her hair had grown a bit since the great chop, not anywhere near where it had been before, no, but long enough now that she had more options again so far as styles to play with. That was a good thing, because it had been the girls' plan for them all to have the same hairstyle on their first day of school. They wouldn't all be in the same place, no, but wherever they were, they'd have this to make them think of their sisters. As Marianne also revealed, they had gone so far as to tell Ella about it, and she'd promised to do her hair just like theirs for the day, in sisterly solidarity. Marianne had a picture taken of herself and Mackenzie, the first two to be shuffled off to the 'salon,' and sent off to their big sister, who'd soon responded that she was working to match them at once.

The best part of their time at home, before the pictures, before getting into the minivan and driving off, was that as soon as any of the girls would be done getting their hair up, they would hurry out of the bathroom, up the hall, down the stairs, and over to the piano to join the others. Marianne had been the first one done, the one most likely to grasp that if she stood still she would be done quicker, and that was where she'd gone. As soon as the notes had climbed their way up to the first floor, her little sisters all grew very anxious to join her. The more of them were done, the more the tune expanded, whether in tune or not. Eventually, there were six girls packed around the bench, all their hair done in the same way. They could have stayed there all day, but there was also school…

Their first stop that morning, as it had to be, was the preschool. There were plenty of emotions from the parents at the fact that they were bringing in their last baby girl to join Miss Alma's class, but they did their best to keep those under check, primarily so that Aubrey wouldn't look at them and wonder why they were crying, like maybe she shouldn't be going in that building without them. At least she would be very lucky in that she wouldn't go in alone. She'd have her big sister right by her side now that Mackenzie was heading into her second year at the preschool. All the Friar girls had so many good stories about their current and former preschool teacher, and they had shared them all with their littlest sister. It was almost a rite of passage now for them to spend this time with the woman, so much that they wouldn't have known how to imagine preschool without her smiling face there to greet their girls.

And when she saw them all arrive with their shared hairstyle, all these girls she had seen grow before her eyes, she had some misty eyes, too. She got how big this moment was for the Friars, and she felt it, too. The girls ran over, and they hugged her as one, a giant mass of arms around the woman, from Marianne on down to Mackenzie. Only Aubrey stayed back at first, uncertain and shy. She held on to her father's hand as she watched the scene, then looked up at him, at her mother…

"Do you want to go say hi?" Lucas asked before reaching down to pick her up. Aubrey put her arms around his neck at once, but she looked at the group, too. "You know who that is, you've met before," he reminded her.

"I know, Daddy," she promised, and he laughed before pressing a kiss at her cheek. He tried to set her down as they approached Alma and the girls. She didn't resist him, so he put her back on her feet. As her sisters moved back, Miss Alma looked to Aubrey, the sixth and – as far as they could confirm at this point – final of the Friar children to come along, another echo of her parents' features, and she greeted her with a smile of such familiarity. "Hi," Aubrey waved at her, and when Alma laughed, she smiled back at her. She was ready.

Onward they went, two girls down and four to go, and while they were all going to the same school, it felt important to mark the triplets' passing into the grades. There had been that stretch of time where Kacey, Remy, and Lucy had all been concerned about whether or not they would end up in the same class, as they had always been, and that would likely remain a concern among them in the years to come, each fall when they went back to school. There was no scenario, no split of one here and two there that would make it so that they were okay with being apart, and it had been important enough that they'd just about had nightmares about it.

Their parents had been aware of the issue, even before there'd been one, so they had done their part, getting in touch with their principal, this one just about the opposite of what they had to deal with at the high school. They had spoken with the triplets' kindergarten teacher, had even contacted Miss Alma, and it had been an easy conclusion that none of the triplets were in any way disruptive when they were together, so there'd be no reason there to keep them separate. As for keeping them together, in the same room, there were many more advantages, as the teachers stated, and the principal agreed. They would continue to evolve as individuals, but they would also have their fellow triplets near, and that'd be for the best.

Maya and Lucas had gone ahead and shared this news with the three of them as soon as it had been official, the better to put an end to their fears. Their reactions had been everything their parents would have imagined and hoped for. They were all so happy, filled with the opposite of concern, like of course they would be kept together, who would even think to split them up? Now that they were at school, the three of them heading into the same class, they couldn't wait to get started. All they'd still had to think about was whether their friends Barry, Sammie, and Felicity, would all end up in their class, too, but for this year at least this had turned to be the case, so they were good to go.

All that was left now was to see Marianne off, and even though on the whole this process was extremely familiar by now, the fact that it was familiar was striking, too. But she wasn't concerned about going out there, no, she was thrilled, excited. She was in the fourth grade now, halfway through elementary school, and she had her friends with her as always, and while she was still bummed out at not having Miss Ingrid for her teacher anymore, in her place she had easily the next best thing: she had her uncle.

"Alright, you need to stop getting taller. What are you feeding this kid?" Zay asked as he hugged his friends' daughter and she hugged him back, laughing as he teetered her from foot to foot.

"Same thing as the others, don't look at me," Maya held out her hands and indicated herself in all her short stature.

"That doesn't count, none of us is growing anymore," Zay smirked and shook his head. "Pretty soon, you'll shrink." This made Marianne giggle, looking back at her parents, her mother's exaggerated look of hurt, her father's shaky attempt at keeping a straight face. "Alright, she's mine now, shoo, go away," Zay waved them away, and they made as though retreating slowly. Marianne smiled and waved at them and they wished her a great day, blew her kisses, and went on their way.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners