Weekend Getaway

Chapter 3 - Routine

"Alright my little munchkins," Brooke called in a cheery voice.  "Let's line up!"

Her 15 bubbly, chatty Kindergarteners bobbed to their carpet dots heavy laden with backpacks and lunchboxes.  Brooke stood by the door of their classroom ready to lead them toward the pick up line, with a chirping walkie-talkie in hand. Once they were all in place, the door holder took his position and Brooke led the way out to their class's spot outside. The children sat on their mark labeled on the sidewalk ready and waiting.

Brooke stood at the front of the class, pacing, monitoring and watching for cars while listening for family names called over the walkie. One by one she took a student by the hand, walked them to their car, opened the door and made sure they were securely buckled.  After, of course, a hand shake, high five or hug.  Hugs were the most frequent choice.

Most parents chatted for a brief moment about their child's day while waiting for them to buckle their seatbelts.  That gave Brooke a chance to praise them all for their hard work, make any kind moments, or appointments on the same day.

On the rare occasion, a parent walked up to collect their own child. They knew the policy and stood waiting patiently until Brooke returned from escorting another student to make sure she saw the parents pick up their child up.

The school's procedure was a well oiled routine and was diligently monitored.  Another teacher, Kyle Larson, the heartthrob of all the single, and some married teachers on staff, had explained this method to Brooke at the beginning of the year. The school had some non-custodial parent pick up issues resulting in the school having to tighten their policies.

It was easy for Brooke to see why Kyle was seen as such a heartthrob. With his tall, lean yet muscular frame stretching to a tempting 6'3", honey blonde gorgeous locks always perfectly styled above spectacular cerulean eyes. Add to it the sparkling display of pearly whites whenever he smiled, which luckily was often.  Even Brooke froze when he first spoke to her.

Above all that, Kyle was an amazing teacher.  Conquering the first graders, he was always cheerful, charismatic, and stern when needed but was always fair. It was a great blessing their classes had recess together.

Another great blessing was the second grade teacher, Serena Douglas. It was truly a wonder Serena was unmarried.  Apparently she had been at one time, but she never gave details. She had perfectly tanned skin, luscious umber brown hair that was always tactfully pulled into a bun during school hours.  Her features were enhanced by amber brown eyes sparkling with mischief behind thin black-rimmed glasses.  She was also an amazing teacher.

Serena and Brooke became fast friends during prep week.  They went to lunch every day until Kyle claimed he was being left behind and joined them.  Their trio had quickly become inseparable. They balanced each other wonderfully, always laughing.  When it came down to business with their grade level meetings, they were able to stay on task and focus on the students needs.

Brooke had settled nicely into this school and community. Her classroom was huge and state of the art.  Coworkers had been warm and welcoming. The students were wonderful.  Parents were responsive and easy to communicate with.

On this Friday, at the end of another school week and three day weekend, Brooke found herself smiling for the first time in a long time. 

The previous months had been extremely difficult with all the changes Brooke and Melody had faced. The hasty packing, then the move from Chicago met with many tears of friends they left behind.  But settling into her mom's house was relatively easy because it was her childhood home.  Setting up a classroom anew again turned into the distraction Brooke needed from the stress.  Then Adriana's illness took its final plunge.