Chapter Text
Raindrops drum steadily as they crash on the window stool. Since the weather took a turn last week, it's all been gloomy days and chilling temperatures. Lexa was stubborn as ever, refusing to unpack her warm clothes for the whole time. But today, even she had to admit defeat and bundle up in her cozy dark green cardigan. She is staring out of the window, basking in a rare moment of stillness among the hustle and bustle of the recent weeks.
"Miss Woods." A voice breaks the silence of a classroom. "What are you doing tomorrow after school?" It belongs to Madi, a black-haired girl who doesn't know how to sit still.
"I don't believe this information will help you with your essay," Lexa says, as she turns to her class.
"Oh, I'm already finished with that." She comes up to the teacher's desk and hands in her paper. "Miss Griffin is painting some decorations for the play tomorrow. I was wondering if you are going to help her?"
"Oh, no, Madi." She lets out a quiet laugh. "I don't think Miss Griffin would want me anywhere near a paintbrush. But I'm sure she will have enough helping hands."
Lexa plus paint would definitely equal a disaster. She isn't completely useless. Give her a task arranged like paint-by-numbers and she'll be fine. Any creative liberties, though, or God forbid gradients and complex shades? Yeah, no one should be subjected to staring at her 'work' for two hours straight.
"And do you know when we can practice with the decorations?" Madi isn't relenting.
"I'm not sure."
"Well, can you text Miss Griffin? Do you know her number?" There is something strange in her voice that Lexa just can't quite place.
"How about that, I will go and ask her after the class, and now we're going to keep quiet and give everyone a chance to work on their writing?"
The girl nods, but the gleam is still playing in her eyes. Weird. But Lexa doesn't dwell on it much. Being a teacher stole her ability to be fazed by strange lines of questioning.
She sits back in her chair and mentally goes over her to-do list for the day. Two more classes. Then scoring a bunch of homework. Then the rehearsals. They've been working on it for three weeks, and already there have been two major freak-outs and a particularly nasty case of the stomach flu. Though she enjoys production as much as teaching, sometimes she wishes for the ability to swap it with some teenagers-free work duties. The bell rings and Lexa's grateful for the lunch break. She's been craving her caffeine fix pretty much since she finished the first cup.
"Okay. Let's go again from the top and try to make it at least ten percent more lively. And let's do our best not to trip and fall, shall we?" She throws a glance to check on Artigas who is pressing an ice-pack to his ankle.
This is going to be her doom, Lexa is sure of it. Today's five tries haven't made any significant difference at all. Neither have yesterday's tries. Or the day's before that. It seems that the lack of sun killed her student's ability for their believable performance as much as their enthusiasm. Lexa can't say she blames them, if she never hears this particular line of dialog, it would be too soon.
It's upsetting because Lexa knows her students well, their talent, and their dedication. It breaks her heart a little to see the ever-growing despair with each bad day of rehearsals. She just isn't sure how to break free of the vicious cycle.
Her attention shifts to what's happening on the stage. She is surprised to see Aden, who is usually a poster child for an attentive student, look quite fidgety. Lexa noticed that he glanced at the clock at least four times in the last hour, which is strange because the boy is normally immersed in his acting.
"Aden, is everything alright?"
"I'm sorry, Miss Wood," the boy says. "I left my notebook in the art class and wanted to get it back. But the door was locked when I checked."
"I see," the teacher responds, she decides to put them all out of their misery for today. "Okay, I think we should wrap it up. I want you all to do the whole scene from the beginning and give it your best shot, while I'll try to retrieve your notebook, Aden. As soon as you're done, you are free to go."
"Thank you, Miss Woods. It's red with a Spider-Man sticker on it." Aden smiles in reply.
The hallway is quiet, most of the students have gone home already. When Lexa tries the door to the art classroom, she finds it open. There is no one inside, and she can easily spot Aden's notebook lying on one of the windowsills. Though the classroom is on the same side of the building as her one, she has always been puzzled to find how much lighter it seemed. Maybe it's the white walls, or various artwork decorating most of them. There is barely any free space left, the cupboard bursting with miniature easels and clay figurines as well. Even the plant pots were made by the students. Today's lesson must have been about still-life because there still is a colorful vase with sunflowers on a small table in the middle of a circle of chairs.
Lexa grabs Aden's notepad and moves to exit the room. When she comes to the door, she is surprised to find it locked. She tries the handle again as if hoping for a different result, but it doesn't come. She pats the back pocket of her jeans in search of her phone, horrified to realize that she'd left it with all her stuff in the auditorium. Fantastic. Now she is stuck here for the foreseeable future. Well, or at least, until Aden wishes to get his property back and go home.
There is nothing to do but wait, so she's perusing the room looking for some entertainment. There's a book on the teacher's desk, The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh. Lexa doesn't think Miss Griffin would terribly mind if she borrowed it for a bit. Unexpectedly, she is so engrossed in reading that she startles when fifteen minutes later the door opens.
In comes a blond teacher, cradling a box overflowing with art supplies. The look on her face and her posture reveal that she's struggling. Lexa moves to help her put the heavy thing on the desk.
"Thank you." Miss Griffin smiles. "Is there any particular reason you locked yourself in my class, Miss Woods?"
"Aden forgot his notebook after class, and I came to get it. But the door got jammed, and I left my phone at the rehearsal, so I kinda got trapped in here. Took your book to pass the time, sorry."
"Oh, don't worry about it, you can give it back to me when you're finished. And not to spoil your considerate gesture, but I saw Aden leave with a bunch of theater kids as I was walking into the school."
"Great," Lexa huffs.
Did he forget to wait for her? That seems odd. The weather must really be messing up kids' brains pretty badly this week.
"Well, as I am already here. Madi wanted me to ask when the decorations for the first act will be ready. And she suggested that I help you with them."
"Oh, thank you, but there's no need," replies the teacher. "We will paint them today and everything should dry up nicely during the weekends. They will be all yours by Monday."
"That's what I told her," Lexa chuckles. "Not much of an artist."
"You're quite good with your words." Miss Griffin grins.
"Well, thank you," the brunette grins back. "Alright, as you have saved me from imminent death by starvation, I must get going. There's a literal mountain of papers to grade on my desk. Thank you again, Miss Griffin."
"You are very welcome, Miss Woods."