Chapter 1

Ru took a deep breath and surveyed the little faces sitting on the carpet in front of her. She sat on the chair from which she’d read dozens of stories already in just the two months that school had been in session. She thought back to how optimistic she’d been back then, thinking this would be the best class she’d ever had, and she would teach them so much before the end of the school year. Now, it was only eight weeks later, and she was preparing to tell them goodbye. The tears stung her eyes and threatened to spill over; she only hoped she could manage to get her message out before the dam gave way.

Cutter had told his class last Friday and had been gone for an entire week now. His replacement, Kristin Collins, was sweet, and Ru had assured him they were in good hands. Now, it was her turn. Never in a million years had she envisioned herself leaving her classroom, her profession, but she had important work to do, somehow even more important than nurturing these amazing minds, and she had promised she would carry through. Thankfully, Cutter had gone with her to tell Mrs. Long, the school principal, that she had to take at least the rest of the school year off. It had gone better than Ru had imagined it could, probably because Cutter had influenced the principal somehow, and Mrs. Long was happy he’d already found highly qualified replacements for both of them.

Ru wished she knew how to use the power of persuasion the way Cutter did. She knew there would be tears as she made her announcement and not just from her. Mrs. Long entered the room, followed by a tall woman with bright red hair who was just a little older than Ru. They’d met, and she had instantly liked Cindy Lewis. Otherwise, there’s no way she could get out what she was about to say. Ms. Lewis smiled at Ru sympathetically, and Ru managed to smile back.

“Okay, boys and girls. Ms. Roberts has something very important to tell you,” Ru said, quietly.

“You look sad, Ms. Roberts,” one of the little girls, Shayna, surmised.

“That’s because I am a little sad, sweet girl,” she replied. “You all know how very much I care about each and every one of you, don’t you?”

“Yes, Ms. Roberts,” they answered in unison, which made her smile.

“I’ve told you lots of times before that you are the very best students in the whole world, right?” They made their affirmations, mostly with nods, a few blurting out a positive response. “Well, something has happened with my family, and Ms. Roberts is going to have to stop being your teacher.”

“What? No!” another girl, Meg, shouted out.

“But we love you!” Kevin agreed, his eyes wide.

“You can’t go!” Chris protested.

The tears were really threatening now. “I know it’s hard, my friends. I’m having a hard time with it, too, but I have to. Luckily, Mrs. Long has found you a wonderful new teacher. This is Ms. Lewis, and starting on Monday, she will be your new teacher.”

“No!” Shayna yelled.

“But we want you to be our teacher!” another student shouted.

There were several more protests before Ru managed to bring them back to quiet. “Boys and girls, I know you don’t mean to be rude to Ms. Lewis.” A glance at the other woman told her she was nothing but sympathetic and not at all offended. Tears were beginning to spill down Ru’s cheeks now as she looked at their faces. Several of them were beginning to cry, too. “Believe me, if there was any way that I could stay, I would. But I have to go.”

“Did someone die?” Ira blurted out, his face seemingly unaffected by his teacher’s revelation, even though Ru was sure he’d miss her. He was a student with autism, and she wasn’t exactly sure how this would affect him.

“No, no one died,” she replied. “I wish I could explain it to you, but it’s very complicated.” Thoughts of all of the reasons why she needed to go, and how even a group of adults wouldn’t have ever believed her, crowded her mind. “But you guys are going to be just fine! I promise!”

“Will you come and visit us?” Chris asked.

“As often as I can,” Ru replied, hoping she actually could do that. Mrs. Long had assured her it would be an option the day she’d resigned.

“We love you!” Kevin stood and hugged her, and then twenty-two nine- and ten-year-olds were on their feet, hugging her, crying, and professing their love for her.

“I love you, too, so very much,” Ru assured each of them. Once everyone had been hugged at least once, the kids sat back down. Ru stood, and crossing over to Ms. Lewis, she said, “Take good care of them.”

“I will,” Cindy assured her, hugging Ru tightly.

As the woman released her, Ru said, “It’s your class now,” and took her spot next to Mrs. Long. There was just one hour left in the day, and she would stay in the classroom, but Ms. Lewis nodded and headed to the front of the class, taking Ru’s seat. She introduced herself and began to interact with the kids. Though many of them cast longing glances in her direction, she could see right away that they liked Ms. Lewis. They were going to be just fine.