Elementary [n.h. au]

four | with bells on

Rolly's favorite type of Friday was the Friday before a lengthy holiday break.

Fridays, in general, were quite marvelous. They were the gateway to the weekend, after all. Weekends, however, ended as quickly as they began and Rolly found herself back at work with a bad case of the Monday blues far before she was ready.

Fridays before lengthy holiday breaks held much more promise for those who worked in education, because they meant at least a week with no kids, no deadlines to meet, no need to check emails or get up early or dress "appropriately". Rolly could spend her days off wearing nothing but an over-sized t-shirt and her underwear and nobody could say anything to her about it.

On the Friday afternoon before Christmas break, Rolly was busy cleaning up after her messy kids when Niall came by. As usual, it took her a minute to notice him leaning against the doorframe, but when she did, she smiled and said hello before waving him in.

"Hello to you," Niall greeted her in reply, as he stepped into the room. Rolly watched as he took a look around her classroom, surveying the remnants of plastic straw wrappers and styrofoam cups the kids missed during their hasty cleanup. "Have a good party?"

"Oh, yeah, it was a rave," Rolly said, voice monotone as she picked up a wad of punch-soaked napkins sitting atop a desk. She made a face as she tossed them into the plastic trash bag in her opposite hand.

Niall laughed. "Would ya like some help?"

"I would love some help," Rolly replied.

With a nod, Niall fell right in rhythm with her cleaning, collecting trash and closing up half-emptied bags of chips and scraped-clean jars of dip. Rolly snorted when she caught him trying to sneak a few cookies out of a pack of Chips Ahoy! and he laughed, too, before shoving a cookie into his mouth.

"You can take some of those with you," Rolly said.

"You sure?" Niall asked, around a mouthful of chocolate chip cookie crumbs.

Rolly laughed and nodded, handing him a napkin. "Of course. God knows I won't eat them all. Take as many as you like. The least I can offer for your services."

Niall swallowed, then smiled. "Happy doin' business with ya," he replied, using the napkin to take a few cookies out of the package before sealing it back up.

He looked nice today, she noted, although it was beginning to become a common observation considering he seemed to look nice every day (it was a crime, to be honest). He was wearing the same cream-colored sweater he'd worn on the day they met, but he'd layered it over a collared plaid button-up. His jeans were a bit long, bunched up over the black boots on his feet, and she resisted the urge to cuff them as she watched him push up to take a seat atop a desk because of what turned out to be underneath.

The hemline of his pants lifted just enough to reveal a pair of rather Christmassy socks, solid red dotted with small green Christmas trees trimmed with gold garland and five-pointed stars. Tacky and unexpected. She instantly loved them, but she certainly wasn't going to tell him that.

"Nice socks," she mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear, and she knew he had when he snorted.

"I see your judgment at my incredible Christmas socks and raise a brow at that...that thing you're wearing," he replied, pointing to Rolly's head. "Please tell me you didn't torture everyone with the sound of jingle bells all day?"

Rolly reached up to readjust the thing, as Niall referred to it, on her head—a crown of full poinsettia flowers with gold bells weaved throughout. It was a gift from a student a few years back, and she'd adored it on sight.