Post by callie on Jun 17, 2007 6:49:42 GMT -5
WARNING: This first part has no Apolo in it. But he will be coming later, I promise. This is not my original idea, but I went with it. This is my absolute first one of these ever. So, if you can make it through this sadly Apololess-as-of-yet tale, please tell me what you think.
Emma took a break from dancing to sit on the floor and catch her breath. Her four year olds were still going strong to Popcorn!, their favorite song by Greg and Steve. She shook her head as she wondered for the millionth time where they got such constant energy. As two parents entered to pick up their children, Emma got to her feet to greet them. It was 4:00 on a Friday afternoon and astonishingly, many of the children had already left. She would soon be getting the ‘leftovers’ from the other preschool rooms. As she waved goodbye to her departing students, she thought back on this past week. The weather had been awful, with it raining almost all day, every day. The skies had seemed to mostly clear up this morning, but by the early afternoon, dark clouds had slowly started accumulating again. Several teachers had called in sick. Short-staffed and crazy, cooped-up kids. Suffice it to say, it had been a terrible week. “Friday” had not sounded as good in a long time.
Emma was just starting to get her class ready to transition to another activity when the Assistant Director stuck her head in the door
.
“Emma, Jessica’s mother called. She’s been held up. Here’s a note with all the details! Gotta go, bye!” Mrs. Krovsky slapped a folded sheet of paper down on the sign out desk and hurried toward the door to the parking lot. Never one to stay a minute past the end of her shift, she was probably miffed because it was already five minutes after and she wasn’t in her car yet.
Emma gritted her teeth in frustration and stared at the empty doorway. No! She wanted to scream. Not today! She had so been hoping everybody would be picked up early today. As the afternoon teacher and third in charge, it was her responsibility to stay until all the children were picked up. Knowing there was nothing she could do, she shoved it to the back of her mind and went to handle an argument over play dough.
Two and a half hours later, Emma sat on a small, brightly colored chair, glancing between the two children on the floor and the gathering clouds outside. She had put on Madagascar for Jessica and her brother, Shawn, whose teacher had signed him over to her at 5:30. In one hand she gripped the phone, waiting for their mother to call and say she was on her way. She was already 30 minutes late. Emma desperately wanted to get home before the storm that had been threatening hit, to be sinking into a hot bath right at this moment and letting all of the stress of the week melt away. But Justin and Regina Parker, Jessica and Shawn’s parents, were never late so Emma knew it had to be some kind of unavoidable emergency. They had moved to town 6 months ago, relocating for a promotion with Justin’s job. Emma had met them at a mutual friend’s party and they had become casual friends. In fact, she was the reason they had enrolled their children in Happy Hearts Daycare.
‘But I can’t get started on my Friday night fun till Regina gets here!” Emma muttered to the silent phone in her hand. As she threw another worried glance out at the steadily darkening sky, she noticed Shawn moving around. He got up and walked over to the big, floor length window at the front of the classroom. He leaned against it, pressing his little hands and nose against the glass.
“Mommy? Mommy?” he whispered. His lower lip started to tremble.
Guilt suddenly hit Emma. Concentrating on her own emotions, she had failed to pick up on Shawn’s anxiety. She sat down the phone and hurried across to Shawn, scooping him up and giving him a big hug.
“Aw, it’s okay, buster. Mommy will be here soon!”
Shawn’s eyes when they turned to her were quickly filling up with tears.
Emma directed his attention back to the scene out the window. She wanted to get him interested in something else fast.
“Hey, Shawn, can you find any birds out there? Tweet, tweet, here birdie, birdie. Where are the birds?”
Shawn immediately began searching for any birds outside. When he saw three on the grass, he excitedly pointed, “Bud! Bud!”
“Wow! You found those fast! How many did you find? Let’s count ‘em. One, two, three...”
Emma spent the next several minutes discussing the birds, clouds, ants and anything else she could think of to keep Shawn’s mind off of his mom. Just as she was reaching the end of her available topics, the song I Like To Move It began playing. Jessica squealed and jumped up, calling over to her brother “Shawnie! Shawnie! It’s Move It!”
Shawn stared giggling and wiggling, trying to get down. He ran over to the t.v. and him and Jessica began dancing.
Then Emma heard the sound she had been waiting for, longing for. The phone rang.
“Thank God!” Emma hurried across the room to pick it up. Half way there, she realized it was her cell and not the daycare’s phone ringing. She switched directions and dug her phone out of her purse hanging on the teacher’s hook. Checking to see who was calling, she frowned as she read “Regina Roberts”.
“Hello?” She was puzzled as to why Regina would be calling her cell instead of the daycare.
“Emma! Oh, great, I finally reached you. It’s me Regina. How are my kids?”
“They’re fine. Shawn was getting a little worried, but he’s fine now. Jessica and him are dancing.”
“Okay. I wanted to say thank you so much for doing this for me. I was so worried, and I didn’t know what else to do. Did you have any trouble getting to my cousin’s?”
A frisson of unease shot through Emma. She was feeling like she had missed out on an important part of this conversation. “Regina, I don’t know what you mean. The children and I are waiting for you at the daycare. Mrs. Krovsky informed me that you had been held up.”
Emma heard what could only be termed an explosion on the other end of the line. “WHAT? That’s all she told you? She didn’t tell you about me stuck in Houston?
“Uh,… no, no she didn’t.” As Emma turned to check on the children, a slip of paper caught her attention. It was the note Mrs. Krovsky had left earlier. Emma pressed the phone to her chest and silently mouthed ‘OH MY GOD!’ She hadn’t even read it! One thing after another had happened and it completely slipped her mind. She grabbed it and hastily read:
Oh, crap! Now what was she going to say? Trying to think of the right words, she gingerly began “Regina, the verbal message I received only said you were held up. I assumed this only meant running late. I was given a note, but I did not have time to read it until now.”
“First of all, I can’t believe no one made sure you knew about this. Oh, I am going to have some things to say to the director on Monday! I stressed to Mrs. Krovsky how important this was. I know they don’t like to give anyone permission to pick up children over the phone, but this is an emergency. Justin had to leave early this afternoon for a business meeting. My plane was supposed to come in at the same time his was leaving, but they have delayed all flights because of these storms. I thought everything was okay with this, and that’s why you hadn’t called me. Okay. Um, are you okay with this? Can you do this for me?”
Emma looked around the room desperately, searching in vain for somebody to supply her with the right words to say. Unfortunately, the paint and crayons were silent, and the dolls had turned their backs on her.
“Regina, isn’t there anybody else who can come pick them up? Ooh,” her face brightened as she was struck with a possible way out “Why don’t you just call your cousin and have her come pick them up? I certainly don't mind waiting here as long as we need to.” She would much rather keep the children in the daycare than put them in her own car. The liability issues alone were enough to give her nightmares for years. And if it was anybody else but Regina, she wouldn’t even be considering it.
“Oh, Emma, I feel awful about this. I don’t even have any of his phone numbers written down!”
Emma mentally changed the image of Regina’s cousin from a ‘her’ to a ‘him’.
“He just came to town last month and is planning on staying a couple of months. I can’t even believe I was able to remember the address. Look, I realize this is a huge favor, but I have no other options. God, we were so stupid! I shouldn’t have let Justin leave till I got there. And now my babies are all by themselves. I don’t…” Regina’s voice cracked as she began to cry. Emma’s heart went out to Regina. To be stranded so far away from your children with this problem looming must be horrible. She made her final decision quickly.
“Okay, Regina, I have the address. Don’t worry about Jessica and Shawn. They are fine, and I’ll get them to your cousin. Can you give me directions?”
“Oh, Emma, you don’t know how much this means to me.” Emma could hear Regina trying to get control of her emotions. “Do you know how to get to Silver Oaks Vistas?”
Silver Oaks Vistas! That was an exclusive area of town. Not to mention WAY on the other side of town, half a world away.
“Um, vaguely, yes. Is that where your cousin lives?” Emma jumped as a huge clap of thunder shook the skies. Heavy rain suddenly began pelting the pavement and grass. This situation just kept getting better and better! She quickly looked at the children to see if the thunder had frightened them. But they were absorbed in building a tower with the large cardboard blocks and had not even noticed.
“Yes, sorry, I know it’s far. Drive up to the guard house outside the gate. Ask him to call up to that address. Have him say Regina had an emergency and you have her kids. My cousin will let you in. And my kids love him, so I don’t have to worry about that. And thank you, Emma. Thank you so much for this. And make sure my cousin has this number and ask him to call me, okay? Thank you again. It is getting late, so I’ll let you go so you can get out there and back home.”
“Wait! Regina, what’s your cousin’s name?”
“Oh! It’s Shani. Shani Davis.” And with that, the line went dead.
Emma took a break from dancing to sit on the floor and catch her breath. Her four year olds were still going strong to Popcorn!, their favorite song by Greg and Steve. She shook her head as she wondered for the millionth time where they got such constant energy. As two parents entered to pick up their children, Emma got to her feet to greet them. It was 4:00 on a Friday afternoon and astonishingly, many of the children had already left. She would soon be getting the ‘leftovers’ from the other preschool rooms. As she waved goodbye to her departing students, she thought back on this past week. The weather had been awful, with it raining almost all day, every day. The skies had seemed to mostly clear up this morning, but by the early afternoon, dark clouds had slowly started accumulating again. Several teachers had called in sick. Short-staffed and crazy, cooped-up kids. Suffice it to say, it had been a terrible week. “Friday” had not sounded as good in a long time.
Emma was just starting to get her class ready to transition to another activity when the Assistant Director stuck her head in the door
.
“Emma, Jessica’s mother called. She’s been held up. Here’s a note with all the details! Gotta go, bye!” Mrs. Krovsky slapped a folded sheet of paper down on the sign out desk and hurried toward the door to the parking lot. Never one to stay a minute past the end of her shift, she was probably miffed because it was already five minutes after and she wasn’t in her car yet.
Emma gritted her teeth in frustration and stared at the empty doorway. No! She wanted to scream. Not today! She had so been hoping everybody would be picked up early today. As the afternoon teacher and third in charge, it was her responsibility to stay until all the children were picked up. Knowing there was nothing she could do, she shoved it to the back of her mind and went to handle an argument over play dough.
Two and a half hours later, Emma sat on a small, brightly colored chair, glancing between the two children on the floor and the gathering clouds outside. She had put on Madagascar for Jessica and her brother, Shawn, whose teacher had signed him over to her at 5:30. In one hand she gripped the phone, waiting for their mother to call and say she was on her way. She was already 30 minutes late. Emma desperately wanted to get home before the storm that had been threatening hit, to be sinking into a hot bath right at this moment and letting all of the stress of the week melt away. But Justin and Regina Parker, Jessica and Shawn’s parents, were never late so Emma knew it had to be some kind of unavoidable emergency. They had moved to town 6 months ago, relocating for a promotion with Justin’s job. Emma had met them at a mutual friend’s party and they had become casual friends. In fact, she was the reason they had enrolled their children in Happy Hearts Daycare.
‘But I can’t get started on my Friday night fun till Regina gets here!” Emma muttered to the silent phone in her hand. As she threw another worried glance out at the steadily darkening sky, she noticed Shawn moving around. He got up and walked over to the big, floor length window at the front of the classroom. He leaned against it, pressing his little hands and nose against the glass.
“Mommy? Mommy?” he whispered. His lower lip started to tremble.
Guilt suddenly hit Emma. Concentrating on her own emotions, she had failed to pick up on Shawn’s anxiety. She sat down the phone and hurried across to Shawn, scooping him up and giving him a big hug.
“Aw, it’s okay, buster. Mommy will be here soon!”
Shawn’s eyes when they turned to her were quickly filling up with tears.
Emma directed his attention back to the scene out the window. She wanted to get him interested in something else fast.
“Hey, Shawn, can you find any birds out there? Tweet, tweet, here birdie, birdie. Where are the birds?”
Shawn immediately began searching for any birds outside. When he saw three on the grass, he excitedly pointed, “Bud! Bud!”
“Wow! You found those fast! How many did you find? Let’s count ‘em. One, two, three...”
Emma spent the next several minutes discussing the birds, clouds, ants and anything else she could think of to keep Shawn’s mind off of his mom. Just as she was reaching the end of her available topics, the song I Like To Move It began playing. Jessica squealed and jumped up, calling over to her brother “Shawnie! Shawnie! It’s Move It!”
Shawn stared giggling and wiggling, trying to get down. He ran over to the t.v. and him and Jessica began dancing.
Then Emma heard the sound she had been waiting for, longing for. The phone rang.
“Thank God!” Emma hurried across the room to pick it up. Half way there, she realized it was her cell and not the daycare’s phone ringing. She switched directions and dug her phone out of her purse hanging on the teacher’s hook. Checking to see who was calling, she frowned as she read “Regina Roberts”.
“Hello?” She was puzzled as to why Regina would be calling her cell instead of the daycare.
“Emma! Oh, great, I finally reached you. It’s me Regina. How are my kids?”
“They’re fine. Shawn was getting a little worried, but he’s fine now. Jessica and him are dancing.”
“Okay. I wanted to say thank you so much for doing this for me. I was so worried, and I didn’t know what else to do. Did you have any trouble getting to my cousin’s?”
A frisson of unease shot through Emma. She was feeling like she had missed out on an important part of this conversation. “Regina, I don’t know what you mean. The children and I are waiting for you at the daycare. Mrs. Krovsky informed me that you had been held up.”
Emma heard what could only be termed an explosion on the other end of the line. “WHAT? That’s all she told you? She didn’t tell you about me stuck in Houston?
“Uh,… no, no she didn’t.” As Emma turned to check on the children, a slip of paper caught her attention. It was the note Mrs. Krovsky had left earlier. Emma pressed the phone to her chest and silently mouthed ‘OH MY GOD!’ She hadn’t even read it! One thing after another had happened and it completely slipped her mind. She grabbed it and hastily read:
Jessica, Shawn’s mother grounded in Houston. Added you to pick up list. Wants you to take kids to cousin at 2738 Winding Path Way. Call her at 208-7743 if you have questions
.Oh, crap! Now what was she going to say? Trying to think of the right words, she gingerly began “Regina, the verbal message I received only said you were held up. I assumed this only meant running late. I was given a note, but I did not have time to read it until now.”
“First of all, I can’t believe no one made sure you knew about this. Oh, I am going to have some things to say to the director on Monday! I stressed to Mrs. Krovsky how important this was. I know they don’t like to give anyone permission to pick up children over the phone, but this is an emergency. Justin had to leave early this afternoon for a business meeting. My plane was supposed to come in at the same time his was leaving, but they have delayed all flights because of these storms. I thought everything was okay with this, and that’s why you hadn’t called me. Okay. Um, are you okay with this? Can you do this for me?”
Emma looked around the room desperately, searching in vain for somebody to supply her with the right words to say. Unfortunately, the paint and crayons were silent, and the dolls had turned their backs on her.
“Regina, isn’t there anybody else who can come pick them up? Ooh,” her face brightened as she was struck with a possible way out “Why don’t you just call your cousin and have her come pick them up? I certainly don't mind waiting here as long as we need to.” She would much rather keep the children in the daycare than put them in her own car. The liability issues alone were enough to give her nightmares for years. And if it was anybody else but Regina, she wouldn’t even be considering it.
“Oh, Emma, I feel awful about this. I don’t even have any of his phone numbers written down!”
Emma mentally changed the image of Regina’s cousin from a ‘her’ to a ‘him’.
“He just came to town last month and is planning on staying a couple of months. I can’t even believe I was able to remember the address. Look, I realize this is a huge favor, but I have no other options. God, we were so stupid! I shouldn’t have let Justin leave till I got there. And now my babies are all by themselves. I don’t…” Regina’s voice cracked as she began to cry. Emma’s heart went out to Regina. To be stranded so far away from your children with this problem looming must be horrible. She made her final decision quickly.
“Okay, Regina, I have the address. Don’t worry about Jessica and Shawn. They are fine, and I’ll get them to your cousin. Can you give me directions?”
“Oh, Emma, you don’t know how much this means to me.” Emma could hear Regina trying to get control of her emotions. “Do you know how to get to Silver Oaks Vistas?”
Silver Oaks Vistas! That was an exclusive area of town. Not to mention WAY on the other side of town, half a world away.
“Um, vaguely, yes. Is that where your cousin lives?” Emma jumped as a huge clap of thunder shook the skies. Heavy rain suddenly began pelting the pavement and grass. This situation just kept getting better and better! She quickly looked at the children to see if the thunder had frightened them. But they were absorbed in building a tower with the large cardboard blocks and had not even noticed.
“Yes, sorry, I know it’s far. Drive up to the guard house outside the gate. Ask him to call up to that address. Have him say Regina had an emergency and you have her kids. My cousin will let you in. And my kids love him, so I don’t have to worry about that. And thank you, Emma. Thank you so much for this. And make sure my cousin has this number and ask him to call me, okay? Thank you again. It is getting late, so I’ll let you go so you can get out there and back home.”
“Wait! Regina, what’s your cousin’s name?”
“Oh! It’s Shani. Shani Davis.” And with that, the line went dead.
i really liked this.. it was kinda cute 
and when she said her cousin was shani i was like 
cool haha! keep writing its good! cant wait 4 the next chapter!
I'm really, really enjoying this and am eagerly waiting for the next chapter. I really like Emma as a character and the situation is very real, believable, and interesting. The flow is perfect. 
