The Unexpected Gift

Chapter 2:

“Hey, Mrs. Jones.” I heard it coming from the older lady. I forget her name, but she is Trinity’s grandma.

I jumped a little, not prepared for someone that close to me. “Oh, sorry, I must have zoned out.”

She giggled a little bit at my expression, “Oh dear, that is perfectly fine. I did sneak up on you. I was just going to let you know that I am going to go ahead and take Trinity home with me. Can I sign her out here or do I need to go to the office first?” she asked me.

“Give me a second, I believe Trinity’s mom sent a note saying that it is alright for you to sign her out if you decide to. Let me go double check. If I remember correctly, you will be able to sign her out here. However, if I am mistaken, yes, you will need to go down to the office first, and then they will call her down for you.” I told her.

I walked over to my desk and grabbed my clipboard where I had all my parents' notes for today’s party attached to them. I flip through the pages quickly and come to Trinity’s sheet. Double-checking over the notes on the page, I was able to verify that Trinity’s mom did in fact give permission for her grandma to take her home. Good, I didn’t want to make her go through all that mess. I am sure that there is probably a mile-long line for grandparents and other family members trying to sign their little one out in the office.

I walked back over to Mrs. Rose, I double-checked her name on the paper while I was there. “Mrs. Rose, I was correct. Mrs. Evans did give permission for you to sign Trinity out, so if you would like, all you need to do is sign the sheet by the door. This way, you do not need to navigate the traffic in the office.”

“Oh, dear. That is great. I really didn’t want to have to go back there and try and fight off the crazy parents and families in the office. Can we just go out the front doors? Will that be an issue or is there a specific exit door we need to go out of?” She looked a little concerned.

I smiled sweetly at her, “Any of the front doors will be OK. Because you are signing her out in my classroom, it will not matter what door you use.” I told her.

“Thank you, I think we will head out shortly then. Do you need any help with picking up anything before we go?” She asked me.

“No ma’am, just make sure that Trinity gets all of her goodies that she received today before you go.” I stated.

She started walking off, throwing a thank you in my direction as she went.

Mrs. Rios took that opportunity to approach me. I looked down and saw that Jason now had his things gathered and looked ready to go.

“Are yall fixing to leave?” I kindly asked her genuinely.

Mrs. Rios looked at me, and I guess noticing how I was watching Jason, smiled widely, “He really loves being in your class, you know.” She stated.

“I love having him as well. He is such a wonderful student.” I told her honestly.

She shook her head, “No, you don’t understand. School had always been hard for him, because of his.” She paused for a second before she decided to continue. “His differences. He is not like other students. The doctor stated that he is on the autistic spectrum. He is highly functioning, but still a lot of his behaviors and mannerisms will be different from those of other children. So his previous teachers really didn’t know how to deal with him, which made it harder for him in school.” She said quietly.

I could see she was starting to tear up. Oh no, please do not cry, because I will start to cry too.

In order to prevent the crying scene that seemed to be building up, I squatted down to talk to Jason real quickly.

“Hey, mister. Were you able to get all your things together? We will be out of school for almost three weeks, so anything that you forget will be stuck in the classroom until we come back after the new year.” I told him.

Jason looked at me, then back to his desk. “Yes, ma’am Mrs. Jones. I did get everything. What about Georgie? Will he be stuck here all the whole time too?” The look of concern for our class pet was very cute.

“No, I will be taking Georgie home with me over the break. That way Santa knows where to find him when he brings him a gift.” I tell Jason and his eyes light up with Christmas joy.

“Will he get a present too?” Jason asked, barely holding in his excitement.

I giggled at his excitement, “I would hope so with all y’alls letters to Santa asking for a gift for Georgie. Surely Santa’s elves were able to make him something. Oh, I hope it is a new rope bridge. The one he has is getting a little small for him, don’t you think,” I said while making it a point to glance over to Georgie's aquarium.

Jason looked over towards Georgie’s home as well, before looking back at me. “You are right, I agree! I hope Santa brings him a needed rope bridge also. But why not give him a new toy? I would want a new toy not a bed”, Jason asked, confused.

“Well, look, Georgie already has several toys, don’t you think? Also, a new bed would be a good idea, because he really needs one. I think it is more important to get more of what you need than too many toys that you will not play with.” I told him.

He looked up at his mom, as if he was remembering something that she said to him. “You know momma said that too. I think you're right, he does have too many toys, and he doesn’t really play with them, so a bed is better.”

Mrs. Rios took that moment to interject, “Well, mister, couldn’t the same be said about you? You have so many toys? Wouldn’t it be nice for Santa to bring you more things that you need? Like maybe some new cool clothes”, she says to him.

Jason scrunches up his nose as if he didn’t like that idea. “Yes, momma, I guess. But maybe he can also bring me a toy or toy also, right.” He asked hopefully.

“Yes, dear. I am sure he will also bring you a toy too.” She said,

I glanced up at her, and she mouthed a thank you to me. I could tell that she was worried about disappointing him by not being able to buy all the things he wanted for Christmas.

I smiled sweetly at her, trying to show that she didn’t need to think about me. “Well, Mrs. Rios, I had a lot more food than I could possibly eat on my own, so I went ahead and made enough for all the kids and yourself for a snack and dinner as well.” I told her.

She began to open her mouth, but I stopped her.

“Before you try to argue with me, most of the parents and students have left already, and I would hate for everything to go to waste because I can not eat it all.” I told her, giving her a look that I hope says she is not going to win this argument.

“Thank you, I am going to sign Jason out, and we are going to be leaving. Thank you, and have a wonderful holiday.” She stated before walking off towards the door and signing-out sheet.