Always, Alice

Big Smiles Everyone

The final day of term was upon them and Alice couldn't tell who was more excited about the show tonight, the children or Harry. At school that day the children kept themselves busy finishing costumes and having free time to do whatever they fancied. Alice had set up an arts and crafts table and had filled one corner of the classroom with Lego and bricks for them to play.

The run up to Christmas was always lovely when working in a school, everyone, including the adults, were always in such a happy mood. Christmas music swarmed through Harry's classroom and it was adorable hearing him and the children singing along. Elle hadn't even bothered with Alice since their little talk in the staffroom - she hadn't even bothered with Harry. Alice suspected her ego was a little dented and she was glad of the peace - long may it last.

'Miss Hathaway guess what!' little Bruce cried as he scurried up to her at a million miles per hour. His face was full of excitement, a huge grin spread from ear to ear.

'Ooh what?' Alice replied, crouching down to his height and holding his excited little hands in her own.

'I gots a letter from Santa, he writed me a letter!' he squealed, his cheeks were rosey and he was slightly out of breath.

'No way Bruce, it's only the most special boys and girls that get letters from Santa - you must have been such a good boy this year,' she smiled at him, his little smile - brighter than the sun caused her to beam too.

'Yeah, he says I've been super good, he says I look after mummy so well and he will see if he can get me what I asked for!' he was practically jumping up and down on the spot by now. How wonderful it is when children still believe in the magic of Christmas.

'Bruce that's so exciting, what is it you want Santa to bring?' Alice asked, Bruce pausing for a second and clearly thinking back to his letter.

'I want's a baby brother or sister - or maybe a dog!'. Alice tried not to giggle as she thought about little Bruce requesting this to his parents. She loved the innocence of kids, how the world was such an easy going place for them - she wished they never had to grow up.

'Mummy said that might be tricky so I said if not then sweeties is fine,' Bruce continued.

'Ah that's some good choices you have there Bruce, I'm sure Santa will try his very best to get you what you asked for,'.

'What do you want from Santa this year Miss?' he asked her curiously, nestling in closer as they chatted together, the Christmas tunes still blaring in the background.

'I hadn't thought about it really, I'm very lucky in that I have nearly everything I could ever want,' she smiled to herself, and it was true. She looked over at Harry who was sitting with a small bunch of girls who were painting his nails with the gold paint they had been using on their pictures. He was having the time of his life.

'That's good Miss Hathaway, but I'll tell Santa to leave you some chocolate just incase,' and with that he was off, running towards the brick tower his friends had built and knocking it over at full speed. She loved that kid.

*

The children all sat in neat rows at the front of the beautifully decorated hall. A huge Christmas tree was covered in hand painted baubles the children had done throughout the week, tinsel draped over to give it that extra bit of bling - it was hideously beautiful. Bunting with pictures of snowmen, reindeer and Santa's were strung across the ceiling and tinsel decorated the front of the stage. It was a classic Primary School winter wonderland.

All the parents, carers and anyone who wanted to come see the show were seated behind the kids, a buzz floating through the room and Alice couldn't wipe the smile that was spread across her face.

She decided to wear a beautiful red dress, with thick black tights and booties. She had felt so christmassy as she had tied her long hair into a red ribbon and popped in a pair of earrings shaped as little robins. This really was her favorite time of the year.

Her heart had skipped a beat when Harry had picked her up earlier, standing at her front door in a beautiful black suit that on closer inspection was made from black sequins. The lapels had sparkles added to it and underneath he wore a satin black shirt with a collar that looked like a designer scarf that lay easily over his chest. He was as handsome as ever as he took her hand and walked her to his car, his sweet cologne the finishing touch to his perfect outfit.

Before they knew it, it was their classes moment. Alice and Harry ushered them up onto the stage, organizing them into their formation before Alice dropped down to the floor in front of the stage to watch from there. They all looked wonderful as sequins and glitter donned almost every inch of every child. Little Bruce and a few of the other boys had their hair gelled back and each little girl's hair was tied back beautifully in bows and ribbons, some even with glitter added to their hair - this class really understood the assignment.

She noticed Harry take a deep breath before he turned around to face the audience. His suit caught the stage lights as he walked up to the microphone and spoke. Alice couldn't take her eyes off him. He looked like a rock star, his suit fitted to him perfectly in size and personality. He beamed at the crowd before he began talking and Alice felt herself swoon a little, probably along with many of the parents in the hall.

'Hello everyone, I'm Mr Styles - I still feel like the newbie here,' the crowd laughed a little as he continued. 'It's been an incredible couple of terms with these guys behind me, I've lucked out with such a fabulous class. Tthank you to all the parents and carers too who have been awesome whilst I find my feet here, and a big thank you to our lovely PSA Miss Hathaway who has helped us so much to get this performance together tonight,' he smiled down at her, his dimples popping, green eyes glistening and Alice smiled back.

'On that note, are you ready guys?' and there was a chant of yes from the class whos smiles could have lit up an entire city. 'Well then, big smiles everyone, let's go,'.

Alice watched as Harry hopped down off the stage and crouched down next to her before the music began to play through the crowded hall. A disco ball started spinning above them and a spot light caused light todance not only from the disco ball, but the children's costumes too. The children started to dance just as they had in their rehearsals, not a single one of them nervous after Harry's pep talk, all getting right into the music.

'SPARKLEEEE AND SHINEEEEE,' they all sang at the top of their lungs and swayed together in time, little Bruce beaming from ear to ear as he sang and waved to his mum at her seat. Little Liam was pointing to the back of the hall where his granny was standing tall with a big banner that read 'Go Liam!'. Lucy looked a little shy until the chorus where she suddenly came to life, hands on hips and tapping her foot in time to the music, the glitter sprayed into her hair sparkling brightly. Alice felt a lump in her throat - feeling so proud of them all. She was mouthing the words along with them and encouraging them all to smile as they sang their little hearts out. It was a beautiful moment she would never forget. During the instrumental they all started dancing their own freestyle, Bruce spinning in circles making himself dizzy, some of the girls holding hands and spinning together, others clapping and enjoying waving to mums and dads.

They knocked it out of the park and as the song finished the hall erupted into claps and cheers. Mums, Dads, Aunties and Uncles, Grannies and Grandads, Brothers and Sisters all on their feet cheering and waving to their little ones. Alice and Harry jumped up from where they were sitting, clapping too and turning to hug one another in celebration at their classes triumph. Harry squeezed Alice tightly before letting her go and jumping up onto the stage. He ran across the front of the kids giving them all high fives and ruffling a few heads of hair. The children beamed as Harry kept calling out their praise and telling them how wonderful they all were as the crowd continued to cheer. They had a huge group hug before he led his little army to the front of the stage where they all took a well deserved bow before shuffling back to their seats.

Once they had settled down again and the next class were getting organized to perform their piece, Harry leaned in to Alice where they sat behind the kids. He took her hand in his and placed them on his lap, absentmindedly stroking his thumb over her fingers, still focused on the stage. She watched him as his eyes danced over the stage, excited about the next performance and still full of pride from his own classes performance.

Alice couldn't help herself but fond over his beauty. Harry was quite literally perfect to her - she felt happiness again that she had for so long feared she would never feel again. This, was perfect.