July 5th 2023

Chapter 186
We Surround New Stories

This was the third time in her career where Maya awaited the arrival of a sibling into her freshman class and, for that, she had developed something like rules, guidelines. The main one, right at the top, was one that felt a lot simpler in word than in practice: she would not seek them out until they came to her. She wouldn't have them in her class until after lunch, so she'd just let them have their mornings, their first classes in a new school, and sooner or later they'd come to her. She had told as much to Haley, the last time she'd seen her before today, when her little sister had asked what she should do. She wouldn't turn her away if she decided she wanted to come and see her right off the bat, far from it, but she wouldn't go roaming the halls to track her down either. If the first time they saw each other that day was as the freshmen came toward her classroom, then that would be just fine, better than fine, because there'd be stories, too.

Well, they'd made it. The new freshmen were coming along, doing their thing as they walked in, saw her, sometimes did a double take of recognition… That in itself had changed a lot over the years that she'd been teaching, from the sprinkling of TXNY fans she'd encountered at the time to now, as her notoriety had increased… Maybe it's really no wonder that more kids suddenly want to take art, and wouldn't that just make her so, so annoyed…

Those of her new students who knew her beyond these walls were a lot more reserved about this first day of class with her… mostly. Miss Haley Hanna absolutely rocketed into her big sister's arms for a hug the moment she crossed the threshold, and she kept grinning as she went and took her seat, arm in arm with Madelyn. She was very focused on seeing her best friend through this day, but she couldn't help herself for a moment, and if anyone would understand, it would be Madelyn.

Soon, they were all settled around the room, and as everyone was new, it was not just about sharing summer stories, though of course those would be welcome, too. What Maya wanted was introductions, and she got them.

She hadn't known what to expect from Martin McNeil. Sure, she'd known him to some degree or another since he'd been little, which he for sure wasn't anymore. The kid was tall, and he gave off the immediate impression of someone catching him by feet and head and stretching. He wasn't exactly going to get called Bean Pole or anything, no. He had some muscles, born of his years of studying ballet and developing his skills, and he carried himself with something somewhere between infinite grace and impossible ease. She could see him feeling compelled to sit just about any other way than with both feet on the ground and joined together, and she was sure that, in his knowing her as long as he had, he would know that he was fully welcome to sit whichever way he wished to while he worked in her class.

"Hi," he raised his hand in a short greeting, as anyone would if they had to introduce themselves to people who already knew them, including their teacher. Maya always saw it as a challenge, at least for those who would lend themselves to it, to dig deeper and find something to share that might not be known and maybe should be. "I'm Martin McNeil… I'm fifteen years old… I do ballet, and I know some people laugh when I tell them that, but that's alright, because I know they couldn't do even a tenth of what I can do. Anyway, I don't want it to be everything there is to know about me. That's why I'm here, in this school, and not anywhere else, that, and because I have one sister apart from all my brothers, and she's the smartest person I know," he smiled, letting flash the features he shared with big sister Rochelle. "I wouldn't be here without her."

He wasn't the only one who came in that year with a big sister who cast a great light in a younger sibling's life, whether they had been a student of hers, or someone she knew, or... well, herself. When Jonah Killian had walked through the door, she'd immediately clocked him for being Agnes' little brother. They looked so alike that, age gap aside, they could have been twins. He didn't look to have so much of his sister's caretaker personality, but even though he gave off big 'I don't need help, I know what I'm doing' teen boy energy, he also looked like the well-mannered, helper type. Any big physical task, he'd be the first one to volunteer. It was all speculation for now, but it felt accurate, so she'd have to wait and see. In the meantime...

"My name is Jonah, Jonah Killian. I, uh... I'm a fr..." he stopped midway through the word, realizing that it would be pointless to mention he was a freshman here. Some of the others in the room laughed, but when he looked around, he noticed as well as Maya did that it was not mocking in the slightest. If anything, some of the girls were looking at him like they found his stumble to be funny in a sweet way, which made him look like he was feeling a bit warm in the cheeks. He had to think for a second or two before he could think of what else to say. "I'm a drummer, I sing sometimes... Anyone wants to start a band, let me know," he held his hand up with a smile that only grew for the reaction he got. Maya was resisting the urge to laugh, especially as she saw her little sister stare at the boy like she'd be right there in the front row at any show he gave.

There were three students giving off clear waiting-to-the-end vibes, all for different reasons, whether for dread or excitement. Hunter Matthews fell somewhere in the middle, as far as she would say. Somehow, in all her thoughts of having Riley's baby brother in her class, she hadn't even considered how he also belonged to the club of Teachers' Kids. He may have been gifted with the touch of his mother's hair, but the more he grew, the more his face announced him as Cory Matthews' kid. It wasn't a huge problem, and Hunter loved his dad, but he clearly knew that it would only be a matter of time before his fellow freshmen figured out that their history teacher, Mr. Matthews, was his father, and maybe he'd spent the entire period wondering if this would be the time to just come right out and say it, rather than put it off for discovery. Now, there were only three of them left to speak, and one look at the girls made him raise his hand to go next. He had to decide.

"Hey, I'm Hunter Matthews, I'm fifteen years old. But you already knew all that," he tipped his head to her, and Maya smirked. "My parents and her dad have been friends since they were kids. My parents had this epic romance, and our dads..."

"Epic friendship," Maya laughed, sharing a look with Haley, who was beaming. "Not to spoil it," Maya started, tipping her hand to her.

"That's my sister!" Haley gladly announced to the class in a wonderfully proud and sing-song voice. "And he was named after our dad, which is why we both have a Hunter."

"But WE'RE not related," Hunter clarified with a smile, pointing to himself, Maya, and Haley.

"Yeah, but aren't we though? A little?" Haley grinned. Hunter shrugged it off, the way Maya had seen him do about all his life, when his nerves would assert themselves. He wasn't a shy kid, most of the time, but every once in a while he would shut down, so they would leave him be.

Haley took this as a perfect cue to do her part, especially as Madelyn was still giving the impression that she didn't want to talk. If she could count on one thing, it was that her best friend would do everything in her power to give her all the time she needed. She started off strong, by standing up and moving to the front of the class.

"So this is show and tell now?" Maya whispered to her little sister, who did the natural thing here and ignored her.

"I mean, I could introduce myself, sure. Haley Hunter, fifteen years old, gymnast, trained in circus arts, training in combat, did a couple of movies because of a lot of that, I'm working toward being a stunt performer. I think they already know all that. You do, right?" Haley swept a finger across the class to confirm this, and her classmates laughed, some of them cheering. "Yeah, see? Done and done. But now I'm here, which means I can tell all of them about their new art teacher, and how awesome she is as an artist, musician sister, wife, mother, and so on, and so forth," Haley rattled off, gaining a look of mild suspicion out of her big sister and teacher. "But I can also tell you all the embarrassing stuff, you don't even know…"

"Alright, we get the picture, thank you," Maya casually shooed her back to her seat and Haley went, grinning all the way while the other freshmen chuckled. If any of them had still needed to warm up to their new teacher, at least they'd managed that. "Now that that's done…" she stole a discreet look over to where Madelyn sat, smiling in appreciation toward her best friend. She sensed the eyes on her, looked back over. It was a clear invitation. She could stay quiet, forego the introduction, or she could say what she had to say. It was all up to her.

Maya couldn't pretend that she didn't foresee some of the students making comments whether or not Madelyn spoke here, as the sophomores had done when Max McAllister had had her turn earlier that day, and she was very glad when she sat that they didn't. Madelyn had worked up the nerve to say her part, and no one interrupted her.

"I'm… Madelyn Carter… I'm fifteen years old… and I'm seven months pregnant. I can't believe it's been that long already. Part of me just wants it to be over already, but the rest is scared about what will happen when it is. I'm trying not to think about it. I could have decided to stay out of school until after I have this baby, but… I think I'll be better here," she turned a look to Haley, who smiled back at her. "I won't be able to do the things I would have wanted to do, not right away, but… I'll get there. Until then, I just… I want to try and enjoy what I can. I was really looking forward to getting here," she added, a bit more to herself, as she looked to the blank notebook with her name on the spine, sitting before her.

There wasn't much time left to the period once everyone had finished with their introductions, but she left what time remained for the students to start and think about what they wanted to do for their covers, sketch it out on paper if they could… She watched Madelyn as she soon started to work, and to see the motivation in her, after hearing how much she'd wanted to get here… Maya could see it, and believe it, and she was so glad to know that she could provide that to her, a small respite from everything else happening in her life at the moment.

It also made her think about what Rafa had told her earlier, about what he'd discovered over the summer with Freddie. If what they said was true – and she firmly believed that it was – then how many other kids might there be out there who, like Madelyn, were going through something and could have benefitted from being here, only to be denied out of spite? She needed absolutely no further motivation in order to want to see Sandra Davenport gone, but she had it anyway, and she was going to use it.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners