everything, everthing

mr. matthews

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"maya, mr. matthews is here." shawn calls from the dining room. i want to desperately to check my emails or messages before going down but it would have taken too much time.

in the ten years mr. matthews has tutored me, i've only met him ten times. once a year. usually with tutors, it's all skype and messaging about the assignments and such. mom felt bad about farkle and isa a few weeks ago and she wanted to make it up to me. i told her it was fine but mom is stubborn. mr. matthews had to have a full medical background check before he was allowed to tutor me. just another perk.

today i made a small scale model of an example of the women's march. the skyscrapers surrounding the new york marchers as they hold colorful neon signs. men and women all different shape, size and race were together. their mouths were open as if they were chanting a phrase and the posters were covered in inspirational sayings. the assignment was to  create a piece that inspires you and why it does.

mr. matthews looks a lot like riley. they have the same chestnut hair, eyes and even the same smile. he's one of my favorite tutors. he doesn't see me as a girl with a disease, he sees me as just a girl.

"maya!" mr. matthews calls. whenever he says my name it's funny because he always says it in a different accent. today it's french.

"mr. matthews," i call back in the same awful french accent.

"okay," he claps his hands together. "let's see what we got here," he walks towards the display laughs, frowns and smiles while looking at all parts. i was finishing up by putting one more marcher in the crowd. the display has every little detail i could think about. the sidewalk with fire-hydrates and the roads closed off the the moment.

"well maya, you've outdone yourself! it's amazing." mr. matthews rubs his hands together, cold from the decontamination. "but there is one thing i don't see, where is our astronaut?" every time we do a project together i also put a hidden astronaut somewhere for mr. matthews to find.

"look closer," i gave a hint.

his eyes twinkled with excitement as he found the figure. "ah yes! a marcher, of course." the astronaut looks different in every project i make. in this one he's wearing a full astronaut suit with a bulky oxygen tank and an airtight helmet. he stands in the middle of the crowd and blends in well. but once you see him, he stands out.

i had to postpone two days of messaging with farkle to get this display done. i didn't want mom to worry about my schoolwork, she already has so much on her plate.

"this is all wonderful maya," mr. matthews is about to pat my shoulder but he pauses and puts his hand down. no physical contact allowed. he goes and looks at the display more. "but how will the astronaut be able to cheer with the other marchers with that helmet on?"

i thought for a second. i never thought that the astronaut would want to cheer and chant.

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