Thankfulness

"Alright, now that we've got those busywork details out of the way--thank you again, Fiona, for handling them--it's time to get to one of my favorite sections of tonight. Obviously, this is the handiwork of Rachel Stratton, who knew the day-to-day details of Cassie's teaching better than any of us. So I'd like to call up to the stage a group of former first-graders from Noble Elementary, who are also one of Mrs. Singer's final classes. C'mon on down, kids!"

Guests sitting at their table craned their necks to see which among them began to rise to their feet. A few shot up in excitement while others rose awkwardly. One timid girl needed her best friend to motion her over.

"Where the hell are you going?"

"I'm in this," Lacey announced, shocking her older sister.

"Why am I not?"

"Mom asked you."

"No, she didn't!"

"I was there when Mom asked you over the phone. You were too hungover from your Halloween party," Lacey reminded. She also recalled their mom's annoyance with Lana after she blew off the question. "She wanted to put together a few different classes."

"That's what she was asking about?! I didn't know!" Lana exclaimed.

"Too late," Lacey sang with a wink before dashing off.

Back on the stage, Serinda and Sanna watched in awe at the group of Honey Hollow High seniors that slowly walked over to the stage stairs. Letting out a small squeal, which amused and confused Bridget, Sanna ordered her older sister to pull out her phone.

"You take the footage, and I'll narrate."

"Gotcha!" Serinda agreed, turning her phone in time to capture the speakers as they assembled down below the stage.

"Hello, Eldermoss! Sanna and Serinda here again while we cover his year's Honey Hollow New Year's Eve Charity Ball. Just a reminder for any of you that have skipped prior videos, but tonight's ball is in honor of our late and beloved Aunt Cassandra," Sanna began her narration with the camera lens focused on her face. "And as we teased on our social media updates, your Bank sisters have upgraded from front row seats to ceremony assistants."

"Hurry up," Serinda hissed as the first speakers started to climb the stairs.

"I'm on it!" Sanna replied. "Boy, do we have an extra treat for our fans back in Eldermoss. Multiple stars from the last several seasons of Nosy Nectar have begun to assemble on stage. That's right! Multiple stars. First to take the stage is, appropriately enough, star of the stage, Lux Chaumont. Yes, we've heard the complaints. Lux has been underutilized this season, but keep an eye on her. Lux might eventually be the biggest breakout star of Nosy Nectar once she hits Hollywood."

Bridget glanced over at Cassie's nieces after Tinny overheard Sanna and made a comment.

"Uh, perhaps you girls better take a step back or two. It, um, might be better if your subjects can't listen in."

"Okay, Doc!" Sanna replied cheerfully, motioning for Serinda to take three steps backward. "Viewers, you just witnessed your favorite hosts interacting with the gorgeous Dr. Bridget Tarver, one of our aunt's best friends since childhood. Dr. Tarver is not only filling in as a last-minute emcee replacement, but she's also the mother of this week's new breakout character, Sean Tarver. Yes, the regular, nice guy of Honey Hollow has turned into the talk of the ball after saving Whitney Diamond from near ****. That's right, the girl that Eldermoss loves to hate has upped her screen time even further by taking a sudden sympathetic plot twist. Ooh, and she just walked onto the stage. As you know, her father is close friends with our Uncle Fred, Cassie's husband, and it appears that Whitney is quite sad at the moment."

Sanna motioned for Serinda to zoom in closer on Whitney's distraught face before showcasing the two friends at her sides. Serinda mouthed an annoyed, "I already did that."

"Accompanying the diabolical queen bee of Honey Hollow are her two unlikely friends. First up, we have our favorite character, the adorable Lacey Stratton. Lacey's not only Cupid's matchmaking agent in Honey Hollow; she's the younger sister of Lana Stratton, star of Seasons 12-14. Also rounding out the trio of friends is Ramsey Swift, editor of the school newspaper, The Buzzy Bee. That's the same newspaper that our Aunt Cassie worked for during her senior year and that our cousin, Finn, ran as editor during his star run on Nosy Nectar. Ramsey, for sure, has that Lois Lane vibe going down, but does she have a superhunk in her life? Could that revelation be in an upcoming episode?"

Serinda shot her younger sister an inquisitive face, wondering if she'd heard a new rumor. Sanna shrugged her reply, indicating that she'd made it up on the fly.

"Next up is Honey Hollow's ice queen, Sienna Thirlby. Already the villain of several episodes, she's yet to emerge as this season's Big Bad, as Serinda predicted. And I'll tell ya, sis, I don't think the way she's carefully escorting her best friend Rylee Kittle onto the stage will further tease that crucial role. Sienna looks downright kindly with how she treats the painfully shy girl." Hitting the mute button, Sanna turned toward her sister. "We really need to think of a label for Rylee in case Sienna gets more screen time for the last half of the school year."

"Right," Serinda agreed before suggesting a solution. "Maybe we can have a viewer poll."

Sanna nodded excitedly at the idea. Then, unmuting the sound, she continued her narration.

"Stepping onto the stage next is Honey Hollow royalty. While not the school's queen bee, Olena Olesky reigns as the head of the Bumble Girls, the town's historic society clique for the offspring of the wealthy and influential. Olena is also my pick for this season's Big Bad. Not only are there some intriguing crumbs laid out over the last several seasons, but who else would be better than the head of the mean, rich girl clique?"

Almost as if she'd overheard the suggestion, Olena made eye contact with the youngest Bank sister as she joined the group assembling around the podium.

"Finally, we've got the heiress to the Noble Honey fortune, Paige Noble. Unlike other heiresses in town--and on stage now--Paige keeps a relatively low profile as mostly a supporting character. While her name does pop up frequently, it's usually in conjunction with her best friend--which I might remind our viewers is such an odd duo. Brash and colorful, Fletcher Wynwick appears to be cementing his status as the latest town lothario covered by Nosy Nectar. The bigger question is, will Fletcher ascend to the horny playboy heights only seen with Archer Bowe and Harvey Diamond? Well, he'd better get moving if that's the case."

Serinda sent a nonverbal warning to wrap it up as Bridget began introducing the new group.

"And that's our reminder to viewers that plenty more can happen in the eight months before this season's cast spreads their wings and heads off to college. Will Fletcher surpass the legacy that Archer established in Seasons 10-11? Does a torrid love triangle emerge similar to Season 11's with Cash Colcord, Blush Ashby, and Tuesday Brass? Will a romance heat up enough to challenge the classic Finn and Lana heartbreak from Season 14? And how will this week's drama impact Season 17? Will the sympathy last for Whitney? Is her hero, Sean, the hottest commodity now? Stay tuned for more!"

Ramsey and Paige jointly began this section's speeches. The two studious students discussed how Mrs. Singer's approach in the classroom affected their enjoyment of school from first grade up to the present. They both discussed the incredible creativity Cassie brought to her teaching style. They praised the creative approach for keeping young children engaged. It kept the boredom that often crept into the classroom away for students who were not as highly interested in earning good grades. Paige also added a joke about how some of their classmates were shocked the following year when they discovered how unique Mrs. Singer had been as a teacher. She even admitted, to laughter, that Mrs. Singer was the only teacher she never questioned over her methods or knowledge.

"I had one classmate who whined every year about how he missed Mrs. Singer's fun class and that school stunk without her. Only he didn't use the word stunk," Paige said, shaking her head while glancing over at Fletcher. "And he only stopped once girls became the vital reason to attend school."

Bridget chuckled as she recalled feeling a similar way about boys, the sole reason to care about school, for a couple of years. Over the phone, Tinny showed how much of a kick she got from that remark as she began listing all the boys they attended school with to check out. Fortunately, Bridget had turned her phone volume down and stepped far enough away from the podium that only the Bank sisters and Lacey heard enough to acknowledge. Whitney should've been able to catch the comment, but didn't seem to react to it.

"Good evening, I'm Sienna Thirlby. At my side is Rylee Kittle," Sienna greeted while clutching Rylee's wrist.

Often viewed as snobbish and selfish, Sienna gave a surprisingly upbeat remembrance of how Mrs. Singer impacted her life and Rylee's. Actually, Sienna focused more on how Cassie worked to make her classroom a safe place for a painfully shy girl. The level of fondness and appreciation that the blonde felt for a teacher who went to great lengths to help her best friend shone through.

Sienna also praised Mrs. Singer for almost weekly check-ins with her students in later years at Noble Elementary.

"Just because you left her classroom didn't mean you stopped being her student."

Then, Rylee surprised everyone by leaning forward. She whispered into the microphone, "We love you, Mrs. Singer."

Startled but pleased, Sienna gave her best friend a side hug. Then, when they turned to walk away, Lacey gave her classmate a full hug. Another one came from Paige while Fletcher loosely wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder.

"Hello, everyone; I'm Lacey Stratton. My mother, Rachel, is the person who helped put this night together, and I think she deserves a round of applause for that hard work," Lacey said after replacing Sienna and Paige at the podium.

The crowd took the hint and stood up to show their appreciation for Rachel's effort. Despite waving off the clapping and cheering, Rachel eventually stood up to offer her thanks in return. Of course, the moment's emotion led to tears streaming down her face as Gabby hugged her best friend. Clive gave Lacey a thumbs up for giving her mother that moment while ignoring the ear-busting whistling from Lana.

"Hello, everyone; I'm Lux Chaumont," the school actress said, joining Lacey.

"And we're here to talk about nutrition!" Lacey and Lux jointly announced before breaking into giggles.

The L&L duo went on to describe in extraordinary detail the nutrition play that Mrs. Singer's class performed during a school assembly. They rattled off a list of the fruits, vegetables, and bad foods that each student dressed up as.

"I got to play a bad girl: the cupcake!" Lacey revealed, laughing.

"While I shone in the spotlight for the first time as an ice cream cone," Lux announced dramatically.

Besides listing the roles for each of her classmates on stage, the petite redhead also announced the same for people who had opted not to gather on stage. Lux made sure that each of their shyer classmates had to stand up for a brief second to acknowledge their nutrition part. Lacey added the names of their classmates who weren't in attendance tonight. These included Wesley March and Lucas Prescott, whose families were away on vacation.

"And to finish our segment, here's Whitney!" Lacey announced dramatically like a game show hostess.

Only Whitney didn't come forward to the podium. Instead, the school's queen bee and cheerleader captain, who loved to hold court, shook her head slightly. While Sienna and Olena frowned at Whitney's ****, Ramsey whispered if she was alright.

"Uh, Whitney, it's your time," Lacey prodded again, shocked that her friend stood there.

"Whitney, are you okay?" Bridget inquired, concern all over her face. She even took a step forward after noticing the tears rolling down her cheeks and the way she bunched up her mouth to hold in whatever wanted out.

Shaking her head more violently, Whitney crossed her arms around her chest and hurried down the stage toward the stairs. She couldn't move very fast in her floor-length gown, allowing Lacey and Ramsey to catch up. The two redheads immediately helped their friends down the stairs, where Harvey walked over to check on his daughter.

"What happened?" Tinny asked from Hawaii.

"Not now," Bridget said before addressing the remaining teenagers. "Um, I guess that's it unless one of you wants to do the finish."

"Very well. I'll pick up the pieces for Diamond," Olena proclaimed haughtily.

Striding forward confidently with her head held high, Olena appeared ready to use this moment to fulfill what she viewed as her rightful place as queen of Honey Hollow High. That's the destiny she always imagined for herself. First, queen of the school, and later, ruler of all Honey Hollow.

A step and a half away from the podium, Olena received a rude awakening as another person stepped forward. This individual not only cut her off but also added a little hip check to throw the white-haired teen slightly off-balance. Catching her footing, Olena turned back with clenched teeth, along with the expectation that Sienna had finally made her move against her.

"Nice try, Double O, but you're not using this moment," Fletcher stated, holding his hand over the microphone.

"How dare you?!" Olena hissed. The scheming teen appeared ready to fight for the mic, but halted as Fletcher began counting down from three with his fingers and a soft voice.

"Sorry, folks, it looks like we had a bit of a technical difficulty with our last classmate. But hey, what can you expect from a Diamond, ain't I right?" Fletcher watched as his joke bombed amongst the concerned crowd. "Ooh, rough crowd tonight. No, need to worry; we Wynwicks are always ready to step in and do a better, more pleasing job than the Diamonds. And unlike Whitney, I got stories, and I'm not afraid to tell them. Wait, hold on."

Bridget watched in partial disbelief as Fletcher found how to unhook the microphone from the podium. Watching from afar, Tinny remarked that he had his Aunt Sela's self-assuredness but in a far funnier way.

"Oh, please, no," Paige moaned as the situation unraveled. She palmed her face as Fletcher began to pace up and down the stage while telling increasingly colorful school stories.

Nate picked up his phone to check the message. The groan that it caused worried his family members sitting around him.

"Everything alright?" Theodore Day asked his grandson.

"Dad's got a chore for me. Or rather, Mom told him to tell me," Nate grumbled, standing up.

"What sort of a chore?" Virginia inquired, suspicious of her daughter.

"I gotta help the next speaker," Nate replied, moving toward his destination two tables over. It's not that he didn't want to help with Aunt Cassie's event; he just wanted to keep a low profile. Ever since Zaylie showed up out of the blue, Nate had this feeling at the back of his neck, which implied trouble.

At least this next one can't go any worse, Nate thought, chuckling.

Fletcher's tales had grown increasingly bawdy. First, Paige attempted to wave him off. Then, his mother yelled to wrap it up. Finally, when her cousin began recounting the first girl who made him want to attend school every day and why, Sienna snatched the microphone from his hand.

"Well, that was something, wasn't it?" Bridget spoke into the mic with a huge grin. "Now, I have even greater respect for Cassie's teaching methods. Oh, don't worry about it, Fi," she reassured the embarrassed mother again. "Nothing wrong with a little humor to brighten up a somber occasion. And to be honest, what I'm muting from Tinny is so, so much worse."

"What? You're fuck--" Tinny started to bitch until Bridget did it again.

"Up next, we're going to hear from another member of this year's graduating class. This one is a lot closer to home for Cassie and myself. So, I'd like to introduce my son, Sean Tarver," Bridget announced.

Rather than cheer, the crowd craned their necks in hushed silence to catch a glimpse of the most (or second most) talked about teen in Honey Hollow this past week. One table, in particular, had a tough time keeping silent.

"What?! Sean's giving a speech?" YoYo exclaimed. "Did we know this?"

"No, we did not," Beatrice stated, in a tone that her friends knew meant she wasn't happy.

"How were we not told?" Zara grumbled.

"Wait, we need to help him!" Kizzy shouted as the realization hit her. "We're his candy-stripers."

"You're his what?" Kaitlin challenged, suddenly concerned over what Whitney asked her little sister to do for Sean. She'd heard Yumi's confusion earlier over Whitney's comment but hadn't really thought much of it.

"I've dressed up as one of those," Cat declared.

"Aren't those like nurses?" Yumi queried. "I don't remember you dressing up as a nurse for Halloween."

"It wasn't for Halloween," Kaitlin responded first. "And you don't want to know why."

"Is this one of the Bad Cat things?" Yumi asked, looking worried. "Should I put my earmuffs on?"

"No, you don't, and yes, this is a Bad Cat thing."

"When did we start using the term Bad Cat for my life?" Caterina demanded.

"C'mon, Harls, we gotta help Sean," Kizzy ordered. Then, getting up, she was surprised to find that Harley was the one waiting for her to catch up.

"Hold on!" Roxie called out.

Kizzy and Harley turned to face Roxanne before returning their attention to their patient. With help from his sister and another young man, Sean had moved from his dining chair to the wheelchair. Aware that the Babybees would hurry over to help, Sean turned his attention in time to wave off the two sophomores. When Beatrice and YoYo joined their two friends, Sean waved more intently while also shaking his head.

"What the hell?!"

"Who's that guy? An orderly?" Ariel challenged. As a dancer, she wasn't up to speed on the cheerleader alumni or the dynamics from the past generation.

"An orderly?! Oh, please ask him that to his face," Tuesday said, laughing heartily. It was a laugh that she desperately needed.

"That's Nate Toone!"

"Oh, right!"

"Duh, I knew that."

"I can't believe that we've been replaced," Kizzy fumed, plopping down on her chair with folded arms.

"Have we?" Beatrice challenged. "We take our orders from Whitney, not Sean."

"Yeah, we do!" YoYo agreed. That was strange, as she often found reasons to ignore Whitney's commands or to play semantics with the words used.

"And we're just letting his sister and a family friend help out this time," Zara stressed.

"He is stronger than us," Harley stated, nodding toward the stage stairs.

All the cheerleaders and one dancer turned to see Nate struggling to help Sean walk up the stairs. Considering how strong the college student appeared, they hurriedly agreed that his short stature probably caused the difficulties. Fortunately, Sean's mom and sister helped Nate get him up the final steps.

"When he's finished, it's our time. Got that? And nobody is stopping us," Beatrice declared.

Thankfully we replaced those earlier painkillers, or this moment isn't happening, Bridget mused. Thinking back to the previous two days, she blushed at the possibilities that could've come out of his mouth. With that relief, she watched with pride as her youngest child overcame early speech difficulties. Never the most confident public speaker, Sean had grown more certain over what he wanted to say after he tossed aside his planned remarks.

"As I mentioned before, Aunt Cassie gave me my first book. Other family members and friends of my parents later did so too, but for some reason, I seemed to gravitate toward the books she brought me. It's fair to say that not only does my love of reading come from her, but so does much of my life. It's not an overstatement to say that I wouldn't be the same person standing here right now if it weren't for my mom's best friend. Reading instilled a desire to learn more about so many aspects of life that I'd likely never have cared about if I'd followed my dad's goals for me. Rather than becoming his mini-me, I developed my own personality. While I can also thank my mother and grandparents for the freedom and inspiration, the world of books helped me realize what I want to be now and in the future."

Sean paused to double-check his table to see if his father had arrived. Thankfully, he hadn't.

"The first moment I can recall ever feeling pride in who I was came in the sixth grade. That year, The Worm Bookery held a reading contest. Not feeling all that confident, I almost didn't enter. But Finn Singer reminded me that his mom would've called it a perfect contest for me. To my complete shock, I won. And the one thing that I wished for that day was for Aunt Cassie to be there to witness it."

Sean couldn't see them, but his mother and sister both had tears running down their faces. Even Nate wiped his eyes while muttering a complaint about the dust.

"So that's why I'm up here tonight. As part of Cassandra's Story Society, we're going to hold contests to help develop that same pride and confidence I experienced growing up. We're still narrowing down what to do first and would love to hear your ideas and feedback. However, for now, we're looking to run a reading contest in conjunction with The Worm Bookery, a scavenger hunt based on clues from several books in a series, and my personal favorite, a mystery adventure. Finn and I have started working on that adventure for this spring. We plan to test the mystery with two of the smartest men I know, my grandfather, Seamus Fallon, and Clive Stratton, our town's best district attorney."

Tinny hollered a cheer through the phone at Sean's defense of Clive.

"With that said, I wanted to add another personal point. All my classmates and I have stood up here tonight to praise and thank Mrs. Singer for her teaching and love of reading. However, I want to thank my mother and Tinsley Day for befriending Cassie Bank back when they were children. Without Cassie in their lives, I'd never have met one of the single most important people in mine. Cassie might have only been physically in his life for eleven years, but in that time, she raised an extraordinary person. For Finn Singer has always been there for me. People are calling me the man of the hour tonight for something I fell into. Well, I'm not. The man of the hour tonight is Finn Singer. He's acted as my mentor, therapist, shoulder to cry on, and role model. Yet, most importantly, he's been the best big brother anyone can ask for. Thank you, Aunt Cassandra."