March 18th 2024

Chapter 78
The Love in Classrooms

Marianne Friar would be teased by her parents sometimes - lovingly so - about how many things she could claim as her favorites. Friday desserts in the cafeteria, indoor recess because of weather, team projects… She didn't mind. She fully assumed her small passions because they made a whole and showed that she just loved school.

Today, this included another favorite: a class visit to the library. They were let loose with an assignment, picking out a book, picking a seat… She could do this anytime, but to be here with her classmates, her friends and her teacher? She loved it!

She would do her best, anytime they had one of these visits, to really seek out something special, a peculiar book that would capture her curiosity and provide her with something intriguing to work on. That she ended up in this section here today and got her hands on a large book on filmmaking… It was completely by chance, she knew it was, wasn't it? She would certainly say so, and yet… And yet she held the book and she felt a strange stillness that took her over and fixed her to the spot where she stood.

A lot of the time she could think of Haru and feel no different than usual, just as happy as ever. But sometimes the knowledge that he was so far away would sit like a heavy stone over her heart, forcing her to remember how much she missed him, how much she hated that he had to go and move all the way to Japan. Everyone would try and point out that he'd lived far away before then, too, and she didn't see him in person that often anyway, but that wouldn't make her feel better. She knew the difference, and they clearly did not understand.

"Over here!"

Marianne startled, almost dropping the book as she turned, finding one of her best friends, June Abernathy. The librarian had just given her a warning look, going by the look on her freckled face. She had always been the Southern Belle of their group, and she flashed that winning smile to apologize for exceeding 'acceptable library volume' before moving out of sight and rolling her eyes with a smile as she approached her friend. Her call had succeeded in summoning the rest of their group, and they came along, all of them with their own selection for their group project. Harper Beaumont, Mosi Okafor, and Winnie Grayson last of all - because she'd walked at a regular pace rather than get a reprimand of her own - all joined June, and Marianne did her best to look normal, never showing where her mind had gotten off to a moment before.

"Oh, good, you got one, too. Our table is still free, come on," Harper hurried to nudge the group out from the stacks. It was almost a pile up collision for their table, as Adam Gray and his friends just barely missed out. Harper and June were so proud about that one, and Marianne smiled to herself. She didn't rise to the occasion with Adam anymore. He had been part of the periphery since they were all in preschool, and he didn't get her as riled up with his antics anymore the way he did those two. She didn't give him the attention he was after, treated him instead like any of her classmates, because deep down she did believe he had more in him to offer than being branded the class bully for the rest of his life. He hadn't realized that yet, but she hadn't lost hope that he'd get there in the end.

"Annie! Annie!" a whisper managed to reach her ear without catching the librarian's attention, and she quickly looked around to find where it came from.

Over on the other side of the sitting area, there was one of the fifth grade groups, and among them sat her cousin, Leyton. The youngest of the Sullivan-Reyes kids would get so happy when he'd see her, which some of her classmates would label as annoying, but she didn't mind it. She just smiled and waved back at him. He showed her his own book, which in this case seemed to be the same across the board, and she gave him the thumbs up. She'd had to read it the year before, and she'd enjoyed it. That was all he needed to know before he dove in. He didn't have many friends… or any, really, and she found this a shame. He was a really good kid if you got to know him. Connor Garcia was also in the fifth grade, as was Mason Matthews, and they could have been a good fit for him, but they weren't in the same class this year. She wouldn't be there to see next year, once she moved on to middle school…

The notion stayed with her enough that, when they left the library and ended up at recess not long after, Marianne ended up seeking out some of the fourth graders after talking to the boys. Tori was one of them, but she was in New York right now, with her father and stepmother. In her wake, there was still a solid group for Marianne to turn to. There were two of her cousins, by blood as well as marriage, in the form of Francesca Calahart and Lily Hart-Lane, and two of her 'turtle cousins,' being Emily Orlando and Evangeline Nicholas. Evie may not have been a 'full' turtle, but to Marianne she was absolutely one of them, and the others were inclined to agree.

She told the girls about the whole Leyton situation, and though some of them didn't feel as inclined to help out at first, they agreed in the end, as she figured they would. As of late, the four of them - and Tori when she was in Austin - had been getting closer as friends, which made Marianne happy. Her parents kept suggesting this was because of her uncle Zay, and she could see him having done exactly that, too.

Her parents wouldn't exactly tease her about how she'd check in on her little sisters at school, but now and then she would catch herself seeking them out and she'd see her mom's smirk, or her dad's knowing look in the back of her mind. It wouldn't stop her, especially as she got closer and closer to the end of sixth grade. Everything was going to change soon, and she wouldn't be here with all of them anymore. That was the one thing she did not look forward to when they would ask her how she felt about middle school. She would have stayed with all of them if she could, her little brothers, too.

"Are you guys okay?" Marianne blinked, unsure whether to laugh or not when she took in the array of expressions on her little sisters' faces. Remy looked annoyed, Lucy looked like her head was buzzing, and Kacey looked at her lunch like she hoped not to catch anyone's eyes.

When they heard her and turned their eyes up to her, she pieced it all together the only way that would explain… all of this. They'd had a pop quiz in class, probably not too long before being sent off to the cafeteria, too. Remy hated those on principle, as their father would say. Lucy was scared of them, because she struggled on tests even when she did have time to prepare, and Kacey… Well, they were always easy for her, and she didn't want to show it, didn't want to make anyone feel bad, least of all her fellow triplets.

There wasn't much that Marianne could do for them in that moment, so she did what she could, suggesting they all have a game at the hoop once they got back home at the end of the day. It wasn't much, but it seemed to make them smile again, just a bit, so she'd take it.

As if leaving behind her younger siblings wouldn't be enough of a big step, Marianne had been forced to consider how the move up to middle school would also take her away from this environment that had developed into an even bigger sort of village for her thanks to just how many of them there were here who were related to her in one way or another. She had siblings, she had cousins, even a niece, and she had turtles and other family friends, across every grade… When lunch was over and everyone was heading back to their classes, she crossed paths with some second graders, and it brought her together, even for just a minute or so, with both Gigi Babineaux and Clara Matthews. The former she had known all her life, while the latter had come into the picture more recently, when she and little sister Posey had been fostered by the Orlando kids' uncle and aunt, but both girls saw her here and reacted with a smile of such familiarity, of security around her, and Marianne welcomed them both in kind.

She had become very familiar with Mackenzie's teacher, who had not been at the school yet back when she herself had been in the first grade. Back when Mackenzie had been home from school, right after she'd broken her leg, Marianne had taken it upon herself, out of big sister guilt, if she was willing to admit it, to get her homework, or bring it back in… She didn't need to be the one to do this, especially as she knew her parents would be keeping in touch, too, but she wanted to do it, and so they would let her. Now that her sister was back in school, she had less need to walk off to her classroom. But today she did have to go, in the midst of afternoon recess, when she was called over at her sister's request.

"Hey, Mack, are you okay?" Marianne asked when she walked in and found her little sister sat by the windows, looking out. Her teacher signaled to Marianne that she would step out into the hall.

"I can't go outside," Mackenzie spoke, and Marianne heard in her voice that she'd been crying, or maybe she was on the verge of crying, so she moved over to stand by her. She had been able to be outside for recess a lot of the time since her return, but not all the time, for whatever reason, and when she couldn't go, it would leave her feeling isolated all over again.

"It's okay," Marianne told her. "We can have our recess together," she offered, smiling. It would take a bit more of that to get Mackenzie to smile, but she had the skill and she had the time. She hated seeing her sisters upset, and she was four for four so far that day.

Her last chance was her youngest sister, down in kindergarten, and she didn't see her until after classes were over, but when she did, it was heralded with a squeal and the pounding of giddy feet, running across the hall and over to her. Marianne grinned when she saw Aubrey, and she caught her as soon as she was within arms' reach, lifting her into a hug.

"Hi!" she laughed.

"Hi!" Aubrey squeaked back.

"Did you have a good day?" Marianne asked, and her little sister confirmed that she had with a great big nod. "What did you guys do?"

"We played outside, and I got to throw the ball at the hoop, I showed them just like you showed me, and I got a lot of points," Aubrey reported. She was not the best scorer among them, at five years old, but against others of her age, apparently, she was very good, which was wonderful to hear. Even better was the way she brought that merry spirit over to their sisters when they were all reunited again, waiting to be picked up. By the time their father showed up with Ezra, they all looked like they'd had the best day, and that was what they would hold on to in the end.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners