| August 8 | Monday evening |

~ Megan's POV ~

It was strange being back in teacher mode after two years of not teaching at all, but I couldn't say I wasn't excited. We were having open house for the kids to familiarize themselves with their classroom and teachers, along with giving parents the opportunity to meet their kid's teacher and drop off school supplies.

I stood nervously outside of my classroom, Ethan standing on the other side giving me a reassuring smile.

"Hey," he said. "You'll be fine."

"I hope so," I responded, seeing a woman and a young boy swiftly walking toward us.

The butterflies in my stomach swarmed at the sight of them approaching, me hopeful that this was my first kid. Unfortunately, they turned to Ethan and greeted him excitedly. I felt my shoulders shrink in disappointment. Apparently, it was common for parents to skip out on orientation altogether. I hoped today that wouldn't be the case.

But just as the thought of no one showing up crossed my mind, another family approached us, this time stopping in front of my door.

"Ms. Adams?" the man asked.

"Yes!" I greeted as I stuck out my hand.

"Hi." The man took my hand. "Michael Ellis. This is Ben."

I stuck out my hand to Ben who was dressed sharp. It was obvious he came from a clean-cut type of family, and he accepted my gesture.

"Nice to meet you Ben," I greeted. "Are you excited for school to start?"

"I am!" He shook my hand eagerly. "You're very pretty!"

I just laughed and led him into my classroom to show him his seat. After Ben, families started to come in one after another, dropping off supplies and allowing me to meet my students. By the end, I had concurred that my class was going to be amazing and the nerves were slowly fading. Eventually, I had ten minutes left and had decided to start packing up to leave, only to check my roster and notice a name that hadn't been checked, which meant she hadn't made it to open house.

Ava, I read to myself.

Then I heard Ethan call out to me from the hallway.

"How was it?" he asked.

"It was great," I said. "I'm just missing one."

"That's still a good turnout," he encouraged. "I'm sure you'll meet her next Monday."

"Yeah," I replied. "See you then."

"See you."

Then he was gone. I checked my watch again and figured she most likely wasn't coming, so I grabbed my things and headed to the door to lock up. It wasn't until I was heading down the hall that I heard someone.

"Where the hell is this damn classroom!" A woman. She was definitely a woman. Maybe a bit older judging by the rasp in her voice. "Ava, pick up your damn feet. We're already late."

They appeared at the end of the hall. The little girl, who I guessed to be Ava, had tangled brown hair that hit at her chest. Her pink shirt was wrinkled with a stain of something brown, and also wore a baggy pair of jeans. I watched them approach me as the mother tugged the little girl behind her without much regard to the little girls naturally slower pace.

The woman, who was a bit overweight and smelled of cigarette smoke, extended her hand.

"Are you Ms. Adams?" she asked.

"I am." I then directed my attention to Ava. "And you must be Miss Ava."

The little girl looked up at me with sad eyes. It was enough to tug at my heart. She could barely lock gazes with me, much less speak.

"Ava don't be shy now," the mom ordered.

But the little girl didn't say a word. I decided to take the lead on this one.

I squatted to be eye level with Ava and gave her a soft smile. This gesture at least managed to relax the little girl who seemed to be on edge because of, who I assumed to be, her mother.

"I love your shoes Ava," I complimented.

It was the only thing she had on that looked even remotely new. My compliment at least got her to break a small smile as she dropped her hand from her mouth. She smelled like she hadn't bathed today, which then led me to believe that the shirt she was wearing wasn't fresh. A thought crossed my mind that made me wonder if the little girl was being taken care of.

"They're new," her small voice claimed. "And they have rainbows on the bottom!"

She then attempted to show me, which I adored, but apparently it only annoyed her guardian further.

"Ava, enough," she scolded.

I stood and met the woman's gaze. "Are you Ava's mother?"

"Yeah." She laughed. "Something like that. My name's Lisa."

I ignored the woman's attitude and stuck out my hand to Ava. "So, Ava, do you want to see your seat?"

"Yes ma'am."

Then she took my hand. It was so small and delicate. She was also noticeably smaller than my other kids. I led her over to her seat that had a name tag ready for her. I also couldn't help but notice they hadn't come with any supplies to drop off. No pencils, notebooks, markers... nothing. I wondered if the little girl even had a backpack.

"Do you like it?" I asked.

"I do!" she exclaimed with a smile.

Me and Ava's guardian barely interacted, but it was clear Ava liked me already. She seemed excited, but I hoped she returned next Monday for class. A part of me had a bad feeling she wouldn't, and it scared me. There was something off about her situation and I didn't know what it was.

"You didn't want to drop off some of Ava's supplies?" I wondered.

"I haven't gotten around to the supplies shopping." Lisa sighed heavily, as if being here was ruining her evening plans. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Um, no I don't think so," I answered while noticing a look of impatience. I turned to Ava. "Alright, well, I'll see you next Monday, okay Ava?"

"Okay!" she laughed in response.

Then they were gone, allowing me to finally lock up and go home. They hadn't stayed long after, which was nice, but I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. Every other parent had at least attempted to get to know me a little bit. I mean, I was a new teacher. This woman had barely even introduced herself. My heart felt for Ava.

Then my phone rang.

I answered. "Hey babe."

"Hey," she replied. "What do you feel like eating tonight?"

"Ah..." I thought aloud while grabbing my things. "You know, I really haven't thought about it. Let's just talk when I get home. I should only be a few."

"Okay. See you soon. I love you."

"I love you too."

Then I hung up, locked up my classroom for the second time, and finally headed home to Sam.

* * *

"So, how was your open house?" Sam asked as she sipped her beer from across the table.

We had decided to go to a bar and grill that wasn't far from home for dinner since we had nothing to cook. I stirred my water and couldn't help but think of Ava after Sam's question.

"Um, it was great," I answered. "I have a really promising class. All the kids are really nice."

"Do they love you yet?"

I laughed. "Some of them have expressed their fondness."

A cute smile hinted on Sam's lips, but she said nothing else on the matter. I knew it was strange for her, talking about kids, but she was happy I had scored this job. At this very moment, I was happy too.

"So, have you talked to Chris about November?" I asked.

"Yes." She leaned on the table. "I'm good to go."

Lucky for us, Casey and Shawn had agreed to get married in Florida because Shawn didn't have much family to invite besides his parents, who had expressed they would love to come down for the wedding. Blair and Tony were also invited and were planning to come, but that was months away.

And apparently Sam and Blair couldn't wait that long to see each other again.

"When does Blair fly in again?" I asked.

"I think..." Sam checked her phone. "Sunday."

"Are you excited?"

"Massively."

Blair was coming visit before the start of the new semester and I could tell Sam was overjoyed. She seemed to be having a hard time adjusting to the fact that Blair was no longer around on her day-to-day basis. I figured it would help Sam in a way if Blair came visit because at least she could show her around our new city and introduce her to our new lives. Plus, I would be busy with the start of the new school year.

"I'm glad you're excited, babe."

Then Sam's gaze left mine and fell onto the door. A surprised, but excited, expression crossed her features. I turned to see what she was looking at.

The woman skated across the floor as her eyes landed on Sam. Waves of glossy, brown hair cascaded over her shoulders that were exposed in a tight tank-top, her breasts spilling over just enough to make you have a second take. Then she released a toothy smile as her striking, green eyes switched from Sam over to me. Her hand raised into the air and she waved, only to approach our table.

"Is this where you spend your days off?" the girl asked Sam. "Another bar?"

"It's just conveniently close to our house." Sam laughed. "Megan, this is Jade. Jade, Megan."

So, this was Jade, huh? I took her hand that extended in front of me and shook politely. Sam had mentioned that she and Jade were on decent terms. What she didn't mention was that Jade was absolutely gorgeous.

"Ah, you're the fiancée," Jade assessed. "It's nice to finally meet the woman Sam's always bragging about."

I felt the small bubble of jealousy burst at the mentioning. Sam bragged about me to her coworkers? That was... different. But a good different. She never had the freedom to do that much before back in Missouri.

"I don't always brag-"

"She absolutely does," Jade interrupted Sam. "It would be annoying if she weren't gay."

We laughed, but I could tell Jade was different. She was cool, but there was something about her that reminded me of someone I used to know. Or perhaps, a past version of someone I knew and loved in the present.

"Anyways, I'll let you two enjoy your night," Jade finished. "Nice meeting you, Megan."

"You too," I answered as I watched her walk away.

"She's cool, right?" Sam wondered.

"I guess so." I sipped my drink. "She reminds me a lot of you, actually."

Sam seemed to ponder the thought but said nothing else on the matter. Maybe she realized that but didn't want to acknowledge it. I knew she didn't necessarily like who she had been years ago, but there were still parts of her past self she had kept around, like her confidence and passion. Not everything was bad.

Then, before the conversation could be continued, our food was dropped. We ate and talked more about this upcoming school year and what Sam had planned for Blair's arrival. I sat and listened intently, watching Sam's excited expression all the while.

I hoped, in the back of my mind, that things were going to go great. Sam was enjoying her job and making friends, and I was getting back into teaching. So far, everything was looking up. We were building a life here, and I could only hope that this time, things would be safe.

At least for a little while.

***A/N***

Yay! Another update!

I'm really gonna try to stay on top of this for you guys, so just keep encouraging me with comments, votes and telling me what you think this season of "Everyday Adventures" has in store for Sam and Megan! I love reading your comments, they really make me laugh (and make my day).

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Be Proud. Stay You.

Lauryn A Brooks