Page 43 of A Class of Her Own

Hailey: Did you text the PTA part of the committee?

Me:No. Just us

Aryn:That’s a bad omen

Me:Please get to the school early today

The worst part of this was that they’d all done their jobs. Posters were hung, fliers had been sent home, cookies had been ordered, families were planning to attend, and assignments for set-up and clean-up had been given. In short, everything was a go. Except for one really big issue—there was a real possibility of no ‘ho, ho, ho’s’ ringing through the school hallways. They weren’t going to be happy with me, and they loved me. I couldn’t stomach the thought of what Principal Wall and the PTA were going to do.

I haphazardly straightened my hair, did minimal make up, and didn’t worry about ironing my clothing before heading to work -- the anxiety rushing through me in a way that prevented me from eating breakfast. I sat behind my desk, nauseated and tapping my fingertips against it, while they all took a seat in the front row of small desks. No one liked having to be in early on a Monday, and their attitudes showed it. I painted on a welcoming smile, which only seemed to create suspicion.

“We’re here,” Aryn muttered, letting her head flop down onto the desk, “What did you do?”

I put a hand on my chest and attempted an innocent smile. “Me? Nothing.”

“Your smile is chilling,” Ruby said. “And your text used the E word.”

“Emergency is not a word to throw around on Mondays,” Aryn stated.

“Now, let’s not be hasty. Maybe Meredith just wants a quick update since the Santa and cookies night is on Saturday, which is in only a few short days.” Hailey offered me an encouraging and supportive look. I gritted my teeth. Her smile faltered. “What happened?”

I held up my hands and stood to walk around and sit on the front of my desk. “Okay, let’s take a breath here. Nothing to overreact about.”

“We aren’t overacting. You said the word emergency,” Ruby reminded. She’d not had time to do her hair at home, so she was currently sitting at the desk brushing and braiding while watching me. “And you didn’t want to include the PTA.”

“Meredith, you are the last person I’d ever suspect to issue an SOS. You handle stuff, and you don’t get ruffled. The fact that you said, and I quote . . .” Aryn pulled out her phone and read my text. “‘Emergency meeting in my classroom this morning,’ that’s like watching the news and being told a volcano erupted, and you’ll need to evacuate within thirty seconds.” She sat her phone down on the desk and gave me a look.

I held up my hands. “I, um, well, sometimes things are harder than they seem like they’re going to be.”

“You had one assignment,” Hailey said thoughtfully.

“She didn’t get a Santa,” Ruby groaned. “We have no fat guy in a red suit.”

My expression must have shown both my surprise and guilt over her guessing it, because there were several sharp intakes of breath before Hailey spoke.

“No . . .” Hailey looked at me with wide eyes. “That can’t be it. He’s the whole point . . .”

Aryn pointed at me. “Look at her expression. Oh my gosh, Ruby is right. We have no Santa.”

Conversation erupted, and I let them get it out of their systems. Mostly it consisted of wondering what my problem was and accusing me of being a holiday dream buzzard, out to find joy in the scraps of happiness I’d left shredded on the proverbial holiday highway.

“Okay,” I waved my hands after a second. “First, I have to defend myself. You guys know me. I tried. I would never fail on purpose. I’ve been stressing about this for weeks, making calls all over the state, and nothing worked out. So, now that you all know what the issue is, let’s discuss solutions, please. Do any of you know someone who could play Santa?”

Ruby glared, Aryn wasn’t amused, and Hailey looked concerned—not with Santa, but with me. She, alone, probably saw enough of the real me to know I’d punish myself much harder for this than they realized.

“Ford, maybe?” Hailey offered.

“Ford is too fit to pull it off without major stuffing,” Ruby stated. “Plus, Santa isn’t here as eye-candy for the moms.”

“You have a point.” Hailey looked pleased—as she should—and shrugged her shoulders.

“Maybe one of my brothers?” Aryn said hesitantly.

“No offense, Aryn, but they’re kind of the opposite of welcoming,” I muttered, picturing one of them just staring at children from their looming height.

“And again, too thin,” Ruby said.

“Um, my brothers are far from thin,” Aryn retaliated. “They’re straight muscle.”

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