Reconnecting

September

A few more months went by and September came. Over the summer Tori spent a lot of time with Joan and Frank, and I really loved that even if she wouldn't know Nathan, she would know her grandparents. We'd also determined that her cow's name was moo moo. September came and I sent Tori to daycare for the first time. I definitely want prepared for the tears, but the staff assured me that it was normal and before I even got out of the parking lot I got a text from them saying that Tori stopped crying. That was also my first day of teaching and 9am brought me face to face with 20 6th graders.

Before I could say anything one boy raised his hand.

"Yes?" I asked

"Are we allowed to ask you questions?" He asked

"Of course. Just tell me your name first" I told him. I had 6 different classes that I'd be teaching. A total of 130 students. I was definitely worried about remembering all their names.

"Brian. And do we have to call you Ms Gilmore?"

I hadn't even told them my name yet, but it was written outside the classroom. "That's my name. You can also call me Rory if you'd like" I never understood why teachers got so mad if you called them by their first name. It didn't seem like a big deal to me.

"Is Rory your fist name?" A girl asked

"Yes" I said. "What's yours?"

"Sarah"

"Nice to meet you Sarah"

"My name is Kelly. Do you have kids?" Another girl asked. I wasn't sure how much I was supposed to let them know about my life, but I told them they could ask questions and I wanted them to trust me so that was the moment I decided that I'd answer any question as long as it was appropriate.

"Just one. A daughter"

"How old is she?"

"She just turned 2"

"How come you're not married?" Another kid asked "my mom said people who have kids without being married go to hell"

"What makes you think I'm not married?" I asked her

"You're not wearing a ring, and your name is Ms nor Mrs" she said

"What's your name?" I asked her

"Clair"

"You're very observant Clair" I said "I was married, but now I'm divorced"

"Do you miss your daughter when she's with her dad?" Kelly asked. "My parents are divorced and my mom says she misses us when my brothers and I are with my dad"

"She's with me all the time" I told them and the questions were headed somewhere that I didn't want to go with a bunch of 11 year olds so before anyone else could talk I started my lesson. "Ok. So you so have a copy of our reading book for this month. The Giver, by Lois Lowry. If for whatever reason you don't already have the book, today is the time to get it because tomorrow we're going to start reading it. For today..."

Logan's POV-

I was standing in the kitchen, talking to Rory as she prepared Tori's lunch for daycare the next day.

"And they're really nosy" Rory said. "I don't remember wanting to know that much about my teachers. I just wanted to go to school, do my work, and leave"

"Social media, Ace"

"What about it?"

"Those kids are used to knowing everything about everyone"

"I guess that's true. What about you? How was your day?"

"My day was good, boring"

"Oh, boring's no fun"