Who: Maribel Swafford and OPEN What: Afternoons with Señorita Swafford Where: Mari's class When: Friday afternoon Rating: Low
Aside from the cupcakes she had brought to his classroom on Tuesday, Mari had made some weekend plans for Mikey’s birthday. He had liked the zoo so much when they went in the summer that she had made reservations for a small group to throw a little party there for her now 7-year-old there. She was usually so busy at home with cooking and cleaning that she rarely had time to do much planning then. So, she took some time after school every day to do just that.
Today, she was making the final calls to make sure everything was in order for tomorrow's big day. Mikey was busy doing homework at one of the desks in her classroom, and several of her other students were gathered there as well, just chatting and discussing school and social issues. They tended to do that in the afternoons. Señorita Swafford's classroom was a well-known haven for any student who wanted a place to hangout or advice on relationships whether romantic, friendship or parental, because everyone knew that Señorita Swafford always had the best advice. It was almost like she was a kid herself, a much smarter kid who knew more about relationships than any of them did.
A knock at the door silenced the room, and Mari noticed that Mikey too had looked up from his work. "I'll get it," she told the students, who all casually went back to what they were doing. Mari stood and strolled up to the door. She smiled when she opened it and greeted the person on the other side with a polite, "May I help you?'