May 23rd 2023
Chapter 143
We Collect Questions & Answers
With eleven of them travelling together, Maya could not help but get hung up on the fact that the other ten were now or had at one time been either students in her class or students she interacted with nearly every day. It didn't matter that two of those were former students who had graduated five or six years ago and were now independent adults, living together, working… To her, there would likely always be some part of her mind that would see them as her students, as her kids. She had travelled with most of this group on events like this, her fellow chaperones especially, so to head out with them again now, even if they weren't the ones competing… It felt really nice. It brought back memories.
This time around, they were headed somewhere that was very exciting to the teams. Sure, they always loved going on trips like these, those of them who'd been on them before, but this time around they were headed to California, to Los Angeles of all places. As the only one accompanying them who was a teacher at their school and someone that they could ask, several of the kids had already attempted to plea their cases, wanting to visit one place or another that they'd either seen in a movie, or heard some star or another hung out at… Maya had to remind them every time that they were going out there to compete, not to sightsee. She knew that they all understood this, to some degree, but the temptation was right there, and it was so, so very strong. This told her that she was going to have to watch them at every turn, keep a constant headcount… and maybe look for any opportunity at all to treat them to some down time on the town. She did know some people…
The trip from Austin to L.A. had already been something of… well, a trip. She couldn't speak for any of her travelling companions and their families, but part of her had hoped to make a smooth exit for her morning flight, the better not to get caught up in extended goodbyes with sad, small girls who would only crank up the sad eyes and make her want to stay. She'd nearly made it, too, giving each one a kiss goodbye where they'd just been far enough out of sleep to be aware of her presence, but then Mackenzie had been much more awake than the others, and she had gripped on tight, refused to let go, and the more Maya had tried to set her down, she'd eventually woken outright and burst out crying, which had brought her sisters to wake, and rise, and scurry over to the green room in the triplets' case. There was a big, big group hug, which had threatened to make her miss her flight, but finally she'd managed to get out, joining Rochelle and Bodhi, who'd come to pick her up.
She didn't exactly cry all the way to the airport but, oh, was she ever on the edge. Upon arriving, Maya and her chaperones had been treated to many goodbyes, as the parents had dropped off their kids. Her favorite might have been Kinsey's farewell with her sister and future brother-in-law. The way she was talking to them, she might have been saying 'guys, I'll be fine, I'm going with Mrs. Friar.' It reminded her of Cade's letter, and it made her smile to herself. Once they all boarded the plane, she knew from experience that whether or not this was the first time they went on a flight without their families they would very likely still have that mood to them that came down to 'giddy independence.' Adding this to how much they already looked forward to their destination, the whole thing was just teetering on the edge between control and chaos, and Maya knew that Rochelle and Bodhi were just as thankful as she was when they finally landed and were able to go and breathe fresh air before making their way toward their hotel.
"Looks like they calmed down," Bodhi met her as she returned from settling into her room and checking in with Lucas, and Maya looked past him to discover what he was telling her. Inside the room, the two teams were sitting on either end of the 'living room,' four here and four there, familiar books and cards and notebooks at hand, while Rochelle sat in the middle, checking over a stack of cards in her hands.
"How…" Maya blinked. Bodhi could only tip his head to his girlfriend, his look reading as something like 'You know how she gets.' Maya opened her mouth to reply, but then, upon reflection… The Rochelle of old had grown, sure, evolved, but then Rochelle McNeil, Born Curious captain of the class of 2032, she was still in there somewhere, and over the next few days she was there to see to it that her former team and the new team came away from this trip with the win they knew they deserved, so she wasn't going to have them simply sitting around, and she sure wasn't going to let them be all over the place either. None of them looked annoyed, driven, more like, which suggested that she had not so much demanded as she had motivated them all into action.
As thankful as she was for this focusing presence, and she was, Maya soon convened the group to leave the room and the hotel so that they might grab something to eat. Those were some magic words where all were concerned, and after the disorienting bit of the travel, and the arrival, this was really the first moment where it felt like they were all themselves again. Of course, they were in a brand new place, most of them, and not just any new place, so the fact that they were there with their art teacher who, on occasion, was less 'Texas art teacher, wife, and mother' and more 'Award-winning song writing superstar,' well…
"What's with the faces?" Maya asked when she noticed them all either looking too fixedly at their menus or looking at her sort of… unevenly.
"Some people recognized you, looks like," Rochelle reported, which left the kids not knowing what to do with themselves anymore, a few of them quietly laughing. Maya knew better than to turn her head and seek out the onlookers. It wasn't that she didn't interact with people who saw her like that. Back in Austin, especially, she would have to navigate that part of her life and how it could intersect with the one that had her children in it, and she'd gotten pretty good at it, but somehow, out here… it just wasn't the same, was it? And right here, with all of them…
The best she could do for now was engage her students and former students in conversation, establish as best as she could that this was neither the time nor the place and that she'd rather be left alone. It was never a guarantee, but today at least it seemed to work. They carried on with their meal and eventually left the restaurant to return to the hotel.
"It's not going to work, you know?" Rochelle told Maya as the two of them and Bodhi watched the quiz team members walk just ahead of them, talking excitedly amongst themselves.
"What's that?" Maya asked, and the young woman waved at her, which didn't specifically answer the question for her.
"She's right," Bodhi chimed in, getting a nod from his girlfriend and a look of ongoing confusion from his former teacher. "There's no point just… sidestepping the subject, with you and who you are out here. It's only going to make them more into it." Rochelle nodded.
"And that won't be good for them when they're competing," she added.
"So, you're saying that I'm going to be a distraction to my students if I don't let them ask the questions for a change?" Maya asked.
"Something like that, yeah," Rochelle nodded. "I mean, even I would start to wonder," she pointed to herself, and the idea was effective enough to make Maya consider the advice in earnest.
It wouldn't get to happen just yet, couldn't. Just now, they only had enough time to go in, get changed out of flight mode, and go off to visit the venue, meet the other teams… Nothing was going to distract them all from something like that. Those of them who'd been to events like this before were eager to show the ones who hadn't the 'ins and outs' of it all, and especially to tell them about some of the other teams, as they'd recognize some of them from previous meets. Lydia still had to deal with the occasional complaint going back to her cheating 'scandal,' but overall, the team had more than bounced back, more than shown they belonged, so they knew that it had entirely more to do with the fact that other teams saw them for the strong competitors that they were.
The topic might have been left to the morning or might never have been brought up again at all if Maya had the choice, but then upon returning to their hotel room, tired and eager for sleep, they discovered a ridiculously large gift basket and flowers had been delivered in their absence. Agnes and Max were the first to get to the table where they had been left, and there they discovered that these offerings had been sent to neither of the teams and instead were addressed to one Maya Hart.
"It's from the hotel," Agnes informed everyone after reading the card. "To say thanks for staying here again."
"You've stayed here before?" Kinsey asked, as surprised as the others, who had been in awe every time they remembered where they were.
"Yeah, I… Yeah," Maya scratched at the back of her head as she decided it might have been better for her not to get into detail there. "If you guys want to dig in, go ahead," she instead waved at the basket. The eight students looked to one another, and in the next moment, Kip was carrying the thing over to the rug. Shoes were kicked off and they all knelt or sat on the floor before pulling the wrapping open.
"I'll take that," Rochelle was quick to lean in and swipe away anything that looked like alcohol, which had both Maya and Bodhi chuckling, especially as the kids looked briefly taken aback but just as quickly dug in to see what remained.
Soon, as tired as they had been before, they were all just sitting around on couches and carpet, eating through some of the items in the basket, and when Max McAllister asked if she'd gotten things like this before, it very quickly opened up the topic her teacher hadn't wanted to get into before. Now though, maybe because of the relaxed atmosphere, she at ease enough to answer their questions. Some had extra insight, like Lydia, who was related to her through marriage, but she would stay almost purposefully quiet, like she wanted her schoolmates to hear it from the source. Whatever they already knew, from media, from having been to her house, it wasn't the same as this, and as much as they appreciated it, Maya had to admit she appreciated it as well. It was a bonding experience, and it felt needed right then and there.
"Alright, that needs to be all for tonight. We have a lot to do in the morning, and I'm not sure any of us is going to sleep much but we have to try, yeah?" Maya asked, taking in the 'damage' of empty wrappers strewn about. There was some grumbling, but everyone got up and went about picking up after themselves before retreating to their rooms.
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
