Chapter 7
Vanessa
Unfortunately, life just keeps chugging along. Within a few days it felt as if everyone had forgotten about Noah, Mason, and Cameron. It weighed heavily on me, but I had several dozen other kids that deserved my full attention.
While I didn’t stop praying and asking about them and I still took a longer route varying my path each time to and from the school, I did let go enough to allow Kyle and his teams to handle it. It broke my heart to even think about it.
Instead, I focused on my other kids.
“Good morning, boys and girls.”
“Good morning, Ms. Vanessa,” they replied.
“Who’s excited for today’s field trip?”
Four-year-old hands shot up all around the room.
I smiled happily at them.
Emma and Mary had agreed to stay with the baby and toddlers for the day while I took our pre-school kids out for the biggest field trip of the year.
It was the day I introduced them to big school, followed by playtime and lunch in the park. It was one of my favorite days of the year and began the excitement and confidence towards leaving pre-school and entering Kindergarten.
It was an exciting time for them. Some would be nervous, others terrified even, but by the time the day was over they would all feel more confident and look forward to next year.
When the bus arrived to pick us up, I could easily hear it with my heightened hearing and I smiled.
“Grab your coat and line up at the door,” I instructed.
There were some squeals and a few stragglers hesitant for change, but within a few minutes they were all lined up and ready to go.
“Remember, we walk in line. Follow your friend in front of you and no cutting line.”
We’d been going over these terms with them for the last few weeks, getting ready for this day. When they did as told, my heart swelled with pride.
As the last child walked up the steps looking so small and innocent compared to that big bus, my heart ached thinking of Cam and how excited he would have been today to go to big school just like his brothers.
That emptiness stayed with me throughout the day as I tried to shake off the melancholy threatening to overtake me. The smile on my face was genuine but sad.
“Everyone listen up. When we’re on the bus we stay on our bottoms and we don’t touch the friend next to us.
You’ll notice there aren’t any seatbelts on the bus, and there are no booster seats for you to sit in.
Don’t worry. This is Mr. Buz the bus driver and he’s going to make sure that you get to school safely today and every single day next school year when you’re all in big school. ”
I nodded to Buz when I was done talking and took my own seat.
“Ladies and gentleman, remember to keep your arms and legs to yourself and inside the bus at all times. Let’s pretend your bottoms are glued to the seat, but don’t worry, the glue magically disappears when we reach the school. How cool is that?” Buz asked them.
This caused a few giggles.
“Okay, here we gooo. . .”
His excitement for the kids was contagious. Buz had been driving the school bus all around San Marco since I was a kid. I remembered him fondly and I knew that this was something he enjoyed doing for the kids.
Since I’d begun this annual event, Buz had been chauffeuring us every single year. It just wouldn’t be the same without him.
Much too soon we had safely arrived. I could see a few kids staring out the window in awe.
“True to my word, go ahead and try to get up now. Your bottom is no longer stuck to the seat,” Buz said, causing a few giggles.
“It didn’t work. I’m stuck,” Nathan said, causing his brother to laugh.
“Me too,” Zachary joined in.
The two of them were quite the comedians when they wanted to be.
“That’s not funny. Come on,” Mary Alice told them in a stern voice.
I only had the triplets a few days a week, but they certainly kept the class entertained when they were there.
I almost felt bad for Emma missing out on this.
I knew she’d wanted to come along, but Mary had needed help and I hadn’t been able to line up anyone else.
In the end, I’d left it up to her, but I think Mary may have swayed her decision a bit.
But I knew she would have loved this and the boys’ antics insisting their butts were glued to the bus seats.
As usual though, when Mary Alice spoke, the boys jumped into action. They miraculously became unstuck and got in line with the others.
“Okay, remember to follow your friend in front of you.”
“And no cutting,” Vada reminded everyone.
“That’s right, Vada. It’s good to remember the rules and try to follow them.”
As I led them into the school, I was proud to find they were the most well-behaved class I’ve ever worked with.
Shelby, along with a few other teachers and the principal, met us outside. I introduced my class to the principal who took things over from there.
I watched them quietly walk into the school for the first time exactly as we had practiced.
Shelby linked her arm through mine and sniffled.
“I can’t believe my babies will be heading off to Kindergarten soon. The years flew by so quickly.”
“I know. I’m going to miss all of them so much next year. I do believe this is the best batch of four-year-olds I’ve ever had.”
She sniffled again and elbowed me with a laugh. “You say that every year.”
“Maybe, but this year I mean it.”
We walked inside, following the kids around while they learned all about Kindergarten and big school.
Normally we would end the trip with a stop by the cafeteria where they would eat there.
This year I’d changed things up a bit though.
We were having an unusually warm spell and I thought some time running around the park might be fun for them and a great way for them to get all their wiggles out before we returned to our school.
So, once they had seen all they needed and experienced a taste of what school would be like next year, we took a quick tour through the cafeteria, pretending to get a tray and eat.
We were big on pretend play in the classroom and mimicking real life.
I knew the children would understand that it was just practice.
With any luck, they would now be ready to confidently face the next biggest step in their young lives.
“Thank you so much,” I told everyone as we said our goodbyes and loaded back onto the bus.
“Did they behave well?” Buz asked me.
“They were perfect today, Mr. Buz.”
“Perfect, eh? So we’re doing that thing?”
“I don’t know. Do you guys think you were that good?” I asked them.
They knew I had something special planned out for them if they all behaved at big school, but I hadn’t told them what on the off chance the weather hadn’t cooperated.
As it turned out, it was a beautiful sunny day.
“Yes, Ms. Vanessa,” several of the kids yelled.
“Okay then, let’s do that thing,” I told Buz.
“In that case, everyone take a seat, keep your arms and legs to yourself and inside the bus at all times. I’m activating the seats to stick to your bottoms in three—two—one.”
At that moment, he closed the door.
I scrambled into my seat quickly and we were off.
A few minutes later we pulled up to the park where Emma was waiting for us with blankets laid out and a stack of lunchboxes we’d had catered by Silver Bells, a 50’s style diner in town.
Each box contained a sandwich, bag of chips, grapes, and a brownie.
They also provided a cooler full of water and juice boxes, enough for each person to have one of each.
I hadn’t argued with them over the drinks or even bothered to explain there was no way my kids were drinking that much at once. I knew they wouldn’t go to waste and I planned to add what was leftover to the stock for our own cafeteria to use another day.
Emma helped me get everyone seated and pass out the lunches.
The kids were excited after their big adventure and anxious to eat quickly with hopes they could play on the town playground. As long as none of them made a beeline for the pond, I was okay with that. And that was also why Emma was there to assist.
All of the parents knew what I was planning to do and so a few of them started dropping by to hear how everything went. It gave me extra eyes on everyone when I finally cut them loose to run and play.
Of course, there was a group of them that headed straight for the pond.
I yelled for them to come back, but just then the triplet's dad arrived along with a few of his friends on Westin Force’s Bravo team.
“We’ve got eyes on them, Vanessa,” Ben assured me as the team of them ran to intercept the kids.
It marginally calmed my nerves and I still kept a close eye on them anyway as they played throughout the afternoon.
Positioning myself in a strategic spot to see everyone at once, I began constantly counting them in my head. I just couldn’t help it. Over and over again, I would count. When I reached fourteen, I’d start over again as there were fourteen kids in my care in this class.
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
“What are you doing?” Emma asked.
“Just making sure everyone’s accounted for,” I told her as I continued to count.
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
I froze.
Wait. Fifteen? I only had fourteen.
Quickly I recounted. Sure enough there were fifteen kids present. One had ventured off away from the group all the way on the other side of the pond.
“Shit.” I took off running after him. “Watch the others,” I yelled back to Emma.
As I rounded the edge of the pond, the boy startled and looked up.
My heart nearly flipped over in my chest.
“Cameron!” I yelled out.
His eyes met mine and then he turned and ran back into the woods.
Silas, the team lead for Bravo team, who’s twins were in my two-year-old class, jogged over to me.
“What is it?”
I pointed into the woods. “That was Cameron Baylor.”
“The youngest of the missing boys?” he asked.
I nodded feeling a little breathless and trying to wrap my head around what I’d seen.
“He was right here. I swear. When I called out to him, he took off running into the woods.”
“Okay. I’ll get a few of my guys to start tracking. Maybe we can pick up his scent.”
I nodded my thanks.
“Go on, Vanessa. Take care of your kids. We’ll find him.”
I nodded, fighting back tears in my eyes. I knew he was right. The afternoon was passing by quickly and I had to get everyone back to the school before parents arrived for pickup.
What I wanted to do was help Bravo find the boys.
Instead, I rounded up the children and ushered them onto the bus.
Once everyone was accounted for, those parents present were given the option to pick up their child there.
Only four chose to do so. Ben was going to take the triplets, but instead he left them with me and went to help Bravo track down Cameron and with any luck his brothers, too.
I couldn’t wait to get the kids back. As soon as parent pickup was complete, I was going to head out and join the search once more.