Unmuted (Remastered)

23

It was weird pulling up to an almost-empty school with two teachers who were both your parents. Or maybe it was only because it was my first time.

"Are you ready for today?" Jack asked as Mark parked the car. I shook my head, and he laughed, putting a hand on my knee. "You'll be fine, Alli. I know it."

Mark turned to me, smiling. "It'll be fun! And you still have classes with us. I have to stay after for a meeting, so you and Sean can spend a few minutes together in his room before we go home." I nodded, giving them a small smile.

They took it, and began gathering their things. I grabbed my bag next to me, took off my seatbelt, and jumped out of the car. Jack followed next, then Mark. We walked into the school together. Jack stopped in the office to sign some papers that stated I was their daughter, and Mark and I headed straight to his classroom.

He flicked on the lights and walked to his desk, setting his things on it. I slid my bag off, placing it on the floor next to it. "Help me with the chairs?" He asked, gesturing to the chairs on top of the desks. I nodded and quickly began helping him place them on the floor.

Jack appeared in the room just as we finished, carrying a small folder of papers. He smiled at Mark. "Guess what? Pat's having her baby today!"

Mark smiled back. "Really?"

"Yep! Her husband called in for her, she went into labor two hours ago."

"That's great! Good for her." Mark turned to me as he booted up his computer. "Why don't you got with Sean for a while? I have some stuff to do in here."

"We'll have fun, Alli! You can play some music." I grinned at Jack, racing to the door. He placed the folder in his hands on Mark's desk. "The papers you printed on Friday, before we left. And the copies you gave to the office are on the left side."

"Thanks, Sean." They kissed briefly, and they turned to me. Mark laughed at the teasing face I gave. "Oh, stop it, Alli!" I giggled back, and Jack grabbed my bag before joining me at the door.

He led the way to his room, clicking the door in place to the wall so it wouldn't close. "My computer's on, go play some music. Whatever you want." He moved to the whiteboard to clean it, and I moved to his computer, pulling up YouTube and playing a song.

For the next ten minutes, I helped Jack get ready for the day as we played music from the computer. Mark joined soon after we finished, and we sat near Jack's desk- Jack sat in the chair, Mark sat on it, and I sat on the floor next to it.

"The doors are gonna open soon." Mark told us. "Be prepared for the flood of kids."

Jack laughed. "Oh, it's not so bad at first. Most kids don't want to be here so early."

"Alli always got here early, right?" Mark looked to me for confirmation, and I nodded. "Five minutes after the doors opened."

"But she rode the bus, she didn't have a choice to be here early."

"Fair point."

I stayed for a while longer, until the bell was about to ring. I stood and grabbed my bag, and Mark smiled at me. "Have a good day today, Alli. We'll see you in class." I nodded at them, gave them each a hug, and left the room for first period.