August 16th 2023

Chapter 228
We Bloom All Around

There was just enough tension in the air at school for many of the students and faculty members to feel uneasy from first bell to last in the days following the dissolution of the student government. Wherever any of them fit in all this, it was impossible not to know that something was going on. They were all waiting for the burst to happen, like they were already bracing to duck and run. As for the ones who were better informed, they felt it even more… and they were ready to step up and fight.

Maya had never seen her fellow teachers so on edge. A lot of them were going around with this air to them as though they'd made up their mind, as though it had all come down to one of two choices: the clock was running out, and they could see a point coming up where either Sandra Davenport had to go, or they would. And it was a lot closer than any of them would care to admit. Maya hated to think that it might come to that for any of them, certainly herself… Could she do it? Could she leave this place while that woman continued to eat away at it? No… No, not for a second. She would be immovable for as long as she was principal and beyond. She would outlast her. She would see to it that they got their school back the way it was meant to be… She just had to hope that her colleagues wouldn't tap out before they got to that point. She was going to need as many of them around her as she could.

That wasn't what she was thinking about today, or at least she was trying very hard not to. After briefly thinking that the principal might go and cancel it out from under them, the Valentine's Dance was approaching, and Maya was as ever part of the team seeing the volunteer students through getting decorations made and put on display, out in the gym. She was really glad to have this to look forward to right about now. She could get lost in the sweet silliness of teenage romances and a bit of chaperoning with her husband, and that was so much better than having to think about Sandra Davenport.

"Did you do it? Did you call her?" a voice sounded from behind and startled her. She turned to find her brother standing there, the top of his head festooned – there was really no better word for it – in springing garlands, which Lydia and Ash both adjusted, smirking at the results.

"Call who?" Maya asked, even as she pulled out her phone and took a picture without missing a beat. MJ Hunter had the slightly frustrating gift of taking impeccable pictures without ever trying to pose, and he humbly knew it. In this case, she captured him checking to see if the principal was anywhere near, and he came off looking like some old Hollywood star in a dramatic poster… all this with garlands on his head.

"The old cheer coach," he whispered. Maya sighed. "No, of course you didn't."

"Hey," she frowned and pointed a finger at him. "Big sister or teacher, I can think of a lot of ways to get you back for that one," she squinted at him.

"Power hungry," he accused with an exaggerated shake of the head. "Come on, don't you want to get to the bottom of this? This could be the thing to finally get that witch out of here."

"That is not what you were going to say, admit it," Ash shook their head at their friend, who played innocent and shrugged.

"Look, I'm not disagreeing with you, alright?" Maya told her brother and his friends. "But I've told you before, this is delicate, and we need to handle it that way, alright? Just trust me on this."

"I do," MJ sighed. "I trust you on everything, with good reason," he smiled at his sister, and she laughed and gave his shoulders a squeeze. "Alright, come on," MJ fluffed up his garlands. "Back to work."

Maya watched the seniors walk off. She could have told them that she had reached out to Caroline Renshaw. Rather than confronting her with a call, she had written her a letter and posted it on its way. At Lucas' suggestion, she put his name along with the return address, trusting perhaps that it would spark a memory of her old classmate. Surely, if what they tracked down amid Melinda's journals spoke true, she would have heard the name Lucas Friar before and know who he was.

It had been long enough by now since the letter had been sent that, realistically, it would have had ample time to reach its destination, be read, and responded to. Even if it had taken a few days for her to make up her mind and write, it could have reached Austin by now. It wasn't a complete failure as of yet, a response could still find its way into their mailbox in the days to come, but the longer it took, the more they had to start and consider that maybe she had received the letter and, memories revived or not, the former coach had no desire or intent to write back. It had been a long shot from the start, so it wasn't a huge disappointment, but it did put them in the position of having to figure out their next move. Caroline was the closest thing they had to a direct line to what had happened back then, short of tracking down the cheerleaders from that last squad. That might not be impossible, might be easier even, but it really felt as though their best bet to get to the bottom of the story was to talk to the old coach.

Whether or not the other classes were banking on this break with the 'cheerstery,' they had other avenues to follow, even the one that had landed them in their current situation. She could see them and know they'd be circling the subject. Some of the junior volunteers were working near the sophomores, and as they counted both Freddie Jacek and Rafael Cruz among them, the two boys could be seen talking quietly together. Of all those ousted from their posts, those two had easily been the most determined to fight back, and she had to hand it to them, they were both being smart about it, not too quick and rash. They knew that it was to some extent because of them that the student government had been taken apart, and they would not be so careless as to fall into the same trap again. Still, she could see them…

"Hey, great banner, guys," she spoke with casual interest as she approached them. They looked up at her, then back to the banner, both of them looking as though they were only realizing that they'd been working on it while they talked to one another. "Now, I have a good idea of who you're going to take to this dance," she tipped her head to Rafa, who had the sense to look instantly awkward and turn his focus back to painting the banner. "What about you, Freddie? Did you ask anyone? Did anyone ask you?" she asked the junior boy with a smile. He blinked up at her, his jaw working up and down without finding its way around any one word. "Right…" Maya nodded sympathetically. "Well, I'll let you guys get back to things, just… you know… stay focused," she told them, and they looked at her now like they understood just what she was trying to tell them. They nodded, and she moved along.

Her suggestion came right on time. It was almost impossible now not to spot the principal coming along without her hearing some kind of villainous theme play in her head, and Maya swore that one of these days the notion would make her laugh at the wrong time. Today was not that day, as she kept her cool while Davenport went around the gym, observing everyone's work, commenting on it… Nothing about the way she spoke to the kids felt in any way genuine, but they could never have brought it up, and Maya half suspected that the principal was well aware of this and carried on with it now so that, sooner or later, one of them would say or do something they shouldn't do, allowing her to respond… to retaliate, more like. None of the students looked comfortable, having her around, and if she cared about whether or not they cared about her, it might have been one thing, but Maya was more and more convinced that their principal preferred it that way. It was to wonder why she'd ever chosen this field to begin with.

Once she was gone, Maya felt a collective sigh of relief sweep across the gym, whether the students showed it or not. The ones quickest to bounce back, as she figured they would be, were the freshmen. They barely knew her though, didn't they, compared to the others, so was it any wonder? Right now, they were much more interested in the dance that was coming up, as they should have been. It wasn't their first high school dance, they'd had that one back in the fall, but with that experience behind them, and this one being for Valentine's… Oh, were they all so anxious to find someone to go with.

Maya could hear her sister going on about how she and Rafa were going together, which made some of the other freshmen react in awe, impressed that she would be going with a sophomore. She wasn't even sharing it to make them jealous or anything like that. She was genuinely so excited to have been asked by him. If anything, she was trying to downplay it for Madelyn's sake, as her best friend sat by her side and quietly worked along.

It hadn't been easy, being back. People had been very vocal before she'd gone on leave, sharing their thoughts about her getting pregnant when she'd done, and now that she was back, now that she'd had the baby and given him up, they didn't magically stop talking about her where she could hear them. She'd known what to expect before coming back, as she'd told Maya. She knew that they would have had plenty to say no matter what she did, so she shouldn't pay them any mind. And for the most part she succeeded, but still… she was young… and they could be so hurtful.

"Is she going? To the dance?" Lucas asked, that night, when Maya told him about the gym, about Madelyn…

"I'm not sure she is," Maya sighed. "And maybe she's better off, but at the same time, after everything else that happened… She might be better off if she did go. It'd almost be like a reset, for her and high school, you know?"

"She deserves the experience as much as the others," Lucas voiced his agreement, and Maya nodded at him. He'd said it just as she might have done. "But we can't force her into it if she doesn't want it. And Haley… I don't know if she'll try to talk her into it or not. She might want to, but… I don't know…" Her sister had been a good friend before all this, but after, Maya dared say, she'd become a great one. It wouldn't surprise her if she decided not to go either, maybe even talked Rafa into skipping it. And he was a great guy, too, so who knew? The three of them might make a great night of their own outside of the Valentine's dance. If that was the path they chose, Maya had it in her to find a way and load up their evening with a few perks if they wanted it. Whatever they needed, she wanted them to have it all.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners