Monday finally arrived, and it was 6:30 a.m. Maeve awakened before the alarm could go off; it was the day she was to return to work. The young woman was excited to return to work and see her students again. She imagined their reactions toward her return: happy and excited. The day before, Maeve sent a message to the parents of her students about her return; messages immediately arrived. The parents were static and welcomed her back; Maeve felt fortunate that she got along with all of her students' families.
She eventually got out of bed, got dressed, and made and ate her breakfast. Afterward, Maeve cooked her lunch for later. Once finished, she returned to her room and held onto the materials for the project she had planned for her class.
Maeve made a small tradition of having the whole class help decorate the classroom for the holidays by the first week of December. Once Maeve had everything needed, she got her keys, exited her home, got in her car, and went on the road. The school she worked in was not too far, but she usually went in early and worked on lesson plans.
Fifteen minutes later, Maeve arrived at the school parking lot, where a few cars were parked. She went inside the school office, where she saw some teachers signing in and getting mail; they noticed their colleagues and were aghast. "M-Maeve, you came back! It's so good to see you!"
"We all missed you! The kiddos also missed you!"
Maeve was surrounded by many of her colleagues and asked about her well-being. She wondered if any suspected the reason for her absence. Yet, it didn't matter anymore since Maeve was dating Treyton. Once everyone greeted and welcomed Maeve back, everyone made their way back to their classrooms, as did Maeve. As the young woman got to her class, the door was slightly opened with the light turned on. "Seems Patrisha made it before I did." Upon entering the classroom, Patrisha sat by one of the large tables on the left side of the class.
The older woman looked up. "Maeve, you're here early. Welcome back!"
"It's good to be back. I brought some materials for the kiddos; I was hoping that we would have some time to decorate the classroom for the holidays." Maeve put down the materials beside the large table.
The two were silent, but Patrisha knew that Maeve was still upset about being caught spying and pressuring Persefone. "Maeve, I know you're not happy with me and Persefone. I know I can't apologize enough, but I finally accepted that I shouldn't have invaded your privacy. Again, I am sorry."
"I know that you mean well, Patrisha. I appreciate that you care and worry for me, but it did hurt me that you and Persefone decided to do what you did." Maeve sighed. "But don't worry; I have forgiven you and Persefone. May this be the first and last time you guys something like this."
Patrisha raised her right hand. "I solemnly swear that I won't spy on you again, but..." the older woman smiled, "...can I at least give some advice? Only if you need it, of course."
Maeve sighed; Patrisha would always find ways to try to get herself involved. However, she knew that Patrisha would keep her word. "Only if I need it."
"Deal! So, I began more on the lesson plans for this week and I wanted to see what you thought about it." Maeve got her laptop, logged in, and sat beside Patrisha. The teachers looked at the lesson plans and made some changes here and there until it was 7:30 a.m. Persefone arrived at the classroom; Maeve and Patrisha noticed.
Persefone put her backpack down as she went to the women. "Hey Maeve, welcome back. The kids and I missed you."
Maeve smiled. "It's good to be back, Persefone. I missed all of you, too. Anything interesting happened while I was gone...or elsewhere?"
Persefone raised an eyebrow, but when she looked at Patrisha with a gloomy expression, that was when she knew. "M-Maeve, I can explain, I..."
"Patrisha told me what happened; she pressured you to go with her to the ice rink. However, you still had the power to refuse. I'm not going to lie, but I am a bit disappointed with you both."
Maeve's words dug into Persefone; she viewed the teacher as an older sister and mentor. To be told that she had disappointed her mentor was an ugly feeling. "I-I understand and you have every right to feel that way. I promise that I won't do that again."
"I will keep both of you on your word. We have thirty more minutes until the kiddos arrive. I was hoping to have a chill day and make it fun for everyone."
"I see that you brought materials; we're going to decorate the class. I think the kids will love that." Persefone wasn't sure whether or not to tell Maeve about her date with Aidoneus. It felt a bit awkward that she was dating the son of the man Maeve was dating. The young aide knew there wasn't too much time to tell her and decided another time would be better.
The trio got the things that needed to be prepared until 8 a.m. when the bell rang, and it was time for school to begin. They left class and walked outside the school building, where there were different lines of students waiting for their teachers. Maeve saw her class standing or on their wheelchairs; they became excited when they saw her. Most of her students were non-verbal but cheered or clapped their hands. Tears wanted to form, but Maeve shook them off; she was emotional when she saw her students. "Hello everyone! I missed you all!"
Most of her students squealed and hopped, and they also hugged her tightly. Maeve smiled as she hugged all of her students back. Then, everyone was led back to the classroom, where Maeve and Patrisha did their lessons; Persefone and a substitute instructional aide assisted the students. After the major work was done, Maeve announced they would begin their holiday decorating, which caused excitement.
With the adults' guidance, the students could cut different shapes and paste them into figurines. They were able to glue them on a long strand of paper. It took a while, but the class finished with the classroom door decoration ten minutes before lunch. The artwork was put on the door; the students were static with the artwork they had done. Afterward, the students were guided out of the classroom toward the cafeteria; Maeve and Patrisha returned to their class for lunch.
"Well, it was a busy but fun day. The kids loved the arts and crafts and they were happy to see you," said Patrisha.
"I agree. Today is a huge success, and I hope it improves." Maeve went to her bag to get her lunch and phone. Her phone screen showed that a couple of text messages were received. Maeve hoped that it was Treyton; she looked into them. Her mother texted her.
Mom: "Good morning, Maeve. I wish you the best of luck on your first day back! I was hoping that we could have dinner tonight. I could go back to your house and I could pick up something."
Maeve: "Hey, Mom. Thanks for the text! That would be a good idea! You can get Japanese food from our regular place. I can pay you back. You can come by at 5 p.m. See you soon."
The text ended; she looked forward to speaking to her mother. Maeve needed some advice and hoped her mother would be of help.
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKfMouuHQR
34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE5XnRq1kF4
