Not so little anymore

An Offer

Hope everyone is doing well and staying safe! Thanks so much for reading and supporting my stories.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The month of February went by pretty quickly. The beginning of March was here and so was the Senior hype. Seniors everywhere were making it known that they're last year was upon them, some of them determined to leave their mark on the school.

Preparation for final exams and graduation had started, making the whole school in a mix of excitement and nerves. Teachers were planning out their final lessons and giving lectures on the importance of studying and preparing. Maya could almost recite the speech by heart.

"Your education is important, These exams need to be taken seriously, blah, blah, blah." Mr. Peterson read off from a piece of paper in his hands causing some of the students to laugh. "We as your teachers will not cut you any slack for your slack and a bunch of other crap that I never bothered to memorize because by the time my students get to me, you've memorized it enough for the both of us." Mr. Peterson placed the paper back on his desk and looked back at his students who all had amused smiles on their faces.

"I have do doubt that you know how important your education is, because if you didnt, you wouldn't be here at college." Mr. Peterson stated.

Mr. Peterson was by far Maya's favorite teacher, and for the longest time she worried if she would have him again next year. That was until Simon told her that NYU didnt have a large amount of kids that took art class. So Mr. Peterson was not only the only teacher that taught art class, but he only taught it twice a week in one class. That's why Simon was in her Art class and him being a Junior.

"We have two more projects before we say our goodbyes for the summer. For the two seniors of this class who are leaving us for good, come see me after class and I will give you your end of the year projects separate from the rest of the class. For the rest of you, partner up with someone in this class, that will be who you will be doing the last two projects with. Finish up your homework I assigned to you earlier this week, Monday I will be announcing what your projects are. You're dismissed."

Everyone started getting their books and things together and leaving the room. Maya had just finished placing her books in her bag and throwing it over her shoulder when Mr. Peterson motioned her over.

"Maya, a word." He said as everyone else filed out.

"Want me to wait on you?" Simon asked her. Maya shook her head.

"That's okay. You still have one more class after this, I dont want to make you late." Maya told him. Simon nodded before leaving the room. Maya walked over to Mr. Peterson and smiled at him.

"Yes, sir?" Maya asked as she walked over to his desk.

"Ouch!" Mr. Peterson faked pain as he held his hand to his chest. "That word!" He gasped out. Maya laughed.

"Sorry." She said. Mr. Peterson smiled at her before he looked down at his desk and grabbed a piece of paper.

"I wanted to talk to you about next year." He told her. "I understand that it's a little early with it only being the beginning of March but I wanted to give you some time to think about it before you gave me your answer at the end of the year." Mr. Peterson explained as he walked around his desk and came to sit on the edge facing her. Maya's eyebrows rose.

"Okay," She said slowly. "So what's up?" Maya asked him.

"Maya you are a very gifted student. A lot better than most that I've taught in the four years I've been teaching." He started out. "And its been very clear to me that you are far more advanced for this class. The unfortunate part about all this is art is such a small part here at NYU that there isn't another far more advanced class that I could put you in. So I want to offer you something, something that I know you'll need time to really think about before you accept it."

"Well thank you for those compliments, Mr. Peterson. But I'm sure there are other students in this class that deserve this opportunity more than I do." Maya told him. Mr. Peterson gave an amused smirk.

"I haven't even told you what the offer is yet." Maya blushed before nodding.

"Alright, then what is it?" She asked him.

"I have a friend that lives in Chicago. We went to school here together at NYU. After we graduated, she went and opened her own art studio in Chicago and eventually her own museum. Linda Collins." Mr. Peterson smiled.

"Linda Collins! You went to school with Linda Collins!" Maya exclaimed. "I love her art, it's always been a dream to go to her museum!"

"Well you might get to, one day." Me. Peterson smiled at her. "Anyway, earlier this year I sent her some of your work and she loved it. Told me that she would be interested in meeting you and possibly working with you someday." Maya was in awe.

"Are you serious?" Maya gaped at him. Mr. Peterson nodded.

"I told her how advanced you were and she stated that she would love to come up for a few weeks here in New York and work with you one on one privately on a few lessons. If things went well between the two of you, I would take you out of my art class and she would be taking you on as her student."

"The school would allow that?" Maya asked in shock. Mr. Peterson laughed.

"Linda is very well respected at this school. I've already talked it over with the members of the board and they said that as long as you were okay with it being one on one private lessons, they would still let it count as your art class."

"That's amazing! This is amazing!" Maya smiled.

"Well be sure to think about it first before you make the decision. Linda is very interested in you, if all goes well this could open up a lot of opportunity's in the future for you. But it also means a lot of extra work. Linda will only expect the best from you, and believe me, after those few weeks you might be begging to come back to my class." The smile on Maya's face faded a little.

"That's means you would no longer be my teacher." Maya said. Mr. Peterson shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll still be around. Just because I won't be your teacher anymore doesn't mean I won't be there when Linda is. Believe me, you might be seeing more than you want of me next year." Maya laughed and nodded her head.

"Well thank you Mr. Peterson. This is an amazing opportunity. I'll definitely think about it, but I'm pretty sure I already know what my answer is going to be." She told him truthfully. Mr. Peterson nodded at her.

"You deserve it, Maya. Your work is amazing, don't ever doubt yourself."

Maya bid him a goodbye as he turned his attention onto the two seniors that had been waiting to speak with him after he had gotten done talking to her. Maya walked out of the room feeling like she could walk on air.
________________________________
Linda Collins is not an actual person who owns an art studio or museum in Chicago. Thanks for reading guys!!