January 15th 2024

Chapter 15
The Season For Recruits

Time flew with the start of the school year, regardless of whether they were in a good place or under the thumb of a problematic leadership, but this first month with their school for the arts truly felt as though it passed them by in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, it was October, and they never saw it coming. It was a good thing though, wasn't it? They had been so caught up in getting to know one another, in getting to exist in this new way of life, and time had walked on by without them really noticing. Once they did notice, it made them stop and look back at this month they'd just spent together. So much of it was filled with happy memories that all it left them to want to do was keep going.

Because the month had gone by so fast, and seeing as they had finally told people about the baby, she'd finally gone ahead and told Lita and Alistair and the rest of the faculty, setting the discussion in motion for her eventual leave. After that, there'd been the kids to tell, and she had been as giddy as she'd been nervous. She hadn't had to tell any of these classes before, with how long it had been since the last time, but also this would mean missing out on things with so many of them.

Some of them had found out already, being family, or part of their great group of friends' children, or connected to the ranch, or Lucas' team… The fact that none of them let the news out already was remarkable, and she was grateful to all of them for it. When she geared up to tell the groups, she could always spot them across the room, and they looked like they suddenly knew exactly what she was about to say. They would get these grins and try not to be too obvious about it, and she wasn't about to make them all wait any longer than they had to.

They'd all had a month together, so it didn't matter whether that was the length of the time they had spent in one another's lives or whether they'd known each other one year, or two, or three, or as far as their entire life. The vast majority was instantly excited for her. Those who were less so in the beginning came around in the end. They'd been happy for her the whole time, but they'd had to dig through obstacles first, like fears about what it would mean for her to be gone and replaced with a substitute, or that she might not come back at all and would decide that it was too much to juggle teaching with as many kids as she had and would have once they added the new one. It was funniest to see the reactions from those who had not caught on just yet to the number of Friar kids.

As thrilling as the news was, it did not distract those concerned from closing in around her at last, not just for those congratulations but for some answers. The quiz teams had resumed their morning sessions in her classroom for the past two weeks now. They'd spent a lot of that time debating a question between themselves. It had been just the one team for a while, just Born Curious, who had been made up of students from Maya's art class the whole time by circumstance far more than design. But then they'd wanted to expand their horizons, so the Critically Bookish had been created, featuring non-art students. What did this mean now? They had become a school for the arts. That didn't just mean her class, but still… Did the divide even exist anymore?

That wasn't the only question anymore, and Maya hadn't expected this one to stay away for too long. Born Curious was led this year by senior Max McAllister, along with junior Haley Hunter and sophomore Angie Anna Bowles. The Critically Bookish were led by senior Kinsey Miranda and featured junior Susan Kendall and sophomore Hazel Yasuda. Both teams were missing their newbies, their freshmen. And they'd given patience, with the school update and all, but now they really wanted to complete their quartets for the year.

Maya had promised them to have an answer by week's end, and she would hold it. She had been doing her best to find those two students to fill up the teams, considering her freshmen, and those in neither of her freshman groups, along with Stella Buckley. Her former student turned French teacher would continue to serve as advisor to the Critically Bookish, and she'd been in much the same position as her, taking notes but not yet having a definitive choice before her.

She had to set aside the freshman question for the day, if briefly, as she looked forward to welcoming a new addition to the school. This was no stranger to their halls, especially to anyone who'd been there over the last few years, up to his graduation the previous spring. Now, Freddie Jacek was a freshman all over again, in college, but he had not forgotten this place. It had been important to him, and he knew that there would be other kids like him who might need someone to talk to, somewhere between a teacher and a guidance counselor. And that was what he would be. They didn't have an official title of any kind, but Maya liked to see him as a mentor. He would get a bit pink in the face whenever she brought it up, but to her it only confirmed that he was the kind of person these kids would be lucky to have there, looking out for them.

In that spirit, as they walked around together, she figured they might discuss the quiz team freshman question together. He hadn't been part of either one, but he'd have the kind of consideration ideal for a choice like this.

She told him about her top candidates for Born Curious. It had felt a lot easier before. The choice would always seem to find her before long, but then these days… Freddie suggested that maybe it came down to caring a lot, which would be very like her and would make it difficult for her to pick any one person over others. He had a point. So now what would she do about it?

"Is there anyone you feel more… strongly about?" Freddie asked her.

"Well…" Maya sighed. Of course, there'd been one name swimming right at the surface from day one, but it felt like it came with a catch, and not an unfamiliar one. The entire reason why she'd had this thought in the back of her mind all this time was that she'd known this person before the school year had ever started and she'd become one of her students. If she was chosen, she would not be the first or the second person with a connection to her that would be chosen for the quiz team. The present team already counted her little sister, so what would it say if she brought on her friends' daughter?

"Would she be good at it?" Freddie asked when Maya admitted her consideration for Ada Marie Minkus.

"She would be great," Maya nodded, knowing what he was getting at. If she was the right person for the team, then would the rest matter?

"What about the other thing?" Freddie asked. She looked at him, not following. "Agnes always said how the quiz team wasn't just about them being good. It was about… needing it. Does Ada need it?"

"I know she does," Maya breathed. The divorce, the move… She needed to find balance again, and this could be just the thing.

They found their way to Stella's classroom when the conversation was ready to shift toward the Critically Bookish. When they'd come into the team, as freshmen who were not in her class, they'd more often than not be complete strangers to her, barely seen and noticed in the short time that the school year would have been in session. The most she could do there was listen, to inquire, to find any names that might have something to bring to the team. Ultimately, it would be a bit of a leap of faith.

Stella was very happy to see Freddie and know he would be among them again, in this new capacity, whenever he wasn't at his own school. She was very happy to see Maya, too, for quiz team reasons. Like her, she'd been having to think about their potential freshmen, and she'd wanted so much to have a name for her. Now, she was feeling hopeful about one of the boys in her class. He was a dancer, and he had come to their school in order to pursue this concentration along with his regular course load. He was a solid student in that respect, and he was a very good dancer. But he struggled with the more… interpersonal side of things. Stella saw some of her old self with this, and she really wanted to offer the freshman a similar opportunity.

"If you think he's the one for the team, then that's all I need to hear," Maya nodded. "Name?"

"Silas Talai," Stella beamed. It rang a bell, and after a moment, Maya put it together.

"Marianne's been telling us about a Vivian Talai at her school…" she told Stella. What would be the odds that the two of them were not related?

"He does have a little sister in the sixth grade," Stella confirmed with a nod. "She's a violinist." That was her alright. Marianne had been thinking about new instruments to try, and she'd been bringing up the violin more and more, which had brought the Talai girl into conversation.

From there, they had to see if both Ada and Silas would be on board with joining the teams. Stella took care of speaking with Silas, and she recruited Freddie to help her, which he happily did. They weren't going to make Silas do anything he didn't want to do, but he did accept, which was a relief. As for Ada, Maya invited her to her classroom for lunch, where she asked the junior turtle about how she was liking school so far, how things were at home…

"What's this really about?" Ada asked, and Maya tried not to go and mention how much she reminded her of her parents, like she might need to be reminded.

So, instead, she pitched her the idea of joining the quiz team. When the offer had been made, Ada's face was one of surprise, like she could barely believe that they would pick her of all people. Promised that she was really their choice, she took a minute and no more to consider it before declaring that she was on board. She looked plenty nervous as she said it, but that would be alright. When she'd meet the others, along with Silas, they would both be welcomed with open (and eager) arms.

"Hey, what's up? Is everything alright?" Maya asked Lucas when he called her and she'd stepped aside from the team meeting.

Everything and everyone was fine, their families, their friends, he reassured her there, but he knew that there was a chance that she'd start hearing one of their names before she got home that night and he didn't want her to get blindsided and worry that something might be wrong with her. It wouldn't have been the first time that their friend would have gone and put herself in harm's way for the sake of her job. She was safe, unharmed, but it would be out across local news soon for everyone to hear and read about. Sophie Zvolensky's name would be all over the place, and they would call her a hero.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners