Page 48 of Annika's Aurora

Her hand trembled as she reached for the box. She was nearly frantic as she dug through the assignments, desperate to find Suzanna’s. She flipped through the pages, not seeing it. In her haste, some of the pages fell to the floor. With a cry, Annika went to her knees to search, frantically looking for Suzanna’s name.

“Sunfire? What’s wrong?”

“It has to be here. Where is it? I need to find Suzanna’s paper.”

Logan was crouched down beside her. He grabbed her hands, forcing her to look at him. His image was watery, panic bringing her tears to the surface.

He held her gaze, squeezing her hands. She focused on the tiny gold flecks in his eyes. “Take a deep breath, Sunfire.” She did as directed and took a shaky breath. Then more until she felt the tremors cease. Logan breathed with her, a steadying comfort in her chaos.

When she was once again calm, he wiped a tear from her cheek. “Good. Now, what do you need?”

“Suzanna’s last assignment. It’s in here somewhere. I need to find it.”

Logan looked down at the scattered papers. He gathered a few, then handed her one. “Here it is.”

She held it and started to read, unable to control the tremor in her hand again. She gasped, tears blurring her vision. “Oh my God!”

“What is it?” Logan asked, concern thick in his voice.

“Suzanna’s last assignment. We were wrapping up a poetry unit. The assignment was to write a poem about the natural world. Suzanna chose the Aurora Borealis. It’s beautiful.” The words swam in front of her eyes as she tried reading through her tears.

She handed it to Logan with a sad smile. “Christ, you’re right. She was a genius with words.”

“She was so special. One of the most talented writers I’ve ever had the privilege of working with.” Logan wrapped his arm around her shoulder, kissing her head. Together, they silently read Suzanna’s astounding words again. With another kiss on her temple, Logan bent to gather the rest of the papers from the floor. Annika grabbed a few more things then shoved everything, including Suzanna’s poem, into the bag she’d left near her desk. Pausing for a moment, she grabbed the rest of the assignments from her inbox; it was time to go. She took one last look before walking out the door with Logan by her side.

She met Scott outside his office. “Can you come with me for a minute? I have something I need to show you.”

Curious, she followed him into the auditorium. It was full of people. As soon as they spotted her, they all stood and overwhelmed her with thunderous applause. Stunned, she turned to Scott. “What’s all this?”

“All this is for you. Hold on, I’ll explain in a minute. Have a seat.” He pointed to the front row.

She looked at the seat, seeing her parents were nearby. Behind them and taking up several rows was the Nighthawk family. Then she started to notice the other people. The students who had been with her that day were all in the front. Other students were scattered throughout the audience with their parents. But not just current students, alumni were there as well, going back through her entire career. Overwhelmed, she clung to Logan’s hand as she sat. Scott went to the podium, asking for everyone’s attention.

“I’d like to thank everyone for coming out today. We are here to honor two of our own. One a dedicated teacher, the other a talented young student who was taken from us far too soon but who will live on in each and every one of us. Suzanna Hoffsteader was a wonderful friend to everyone, with an infectious personality. Let us bow our heads and observe a moment of silence for our fallen friend.”

He paused for a moment as the attendees all silently prayed for Suzanna. Silent tears fell from Annika’s eyes as she prayed. She was going to miss Suzanna terribly.

“Now, I think her friends, Amy, Tara, and Jen, would like to say something about Suzanna.” Three girls stood and went to the podium. They took turns telling special stories about their lost friend. Stories of the ways that she was always there for them, her sunny personality and positive outlook, and her talent in writing. They each cried a little for her, which only showed how much Suzanna was loved. When they were done, they gave the Hoffsteaders hugs. Annika hoped that the three girls would take Macey under their wing and help her deal with her grief. While she could never replace Suzanna in their hearts, developing a friendship with her sister could go a long way toward healing for all of them.

After they found their seats, Scott went back to the podium to speak again. Annika jumped in her seat when he said her name. “Annika Northrup has been a teacher here for eleven years. Hiring her was the best decision we ever made. She has been a valuable asset from the beginning. From her ability to make every student into a Hemmingway or Fitzgerald, to her uncanny way of finding a literary quote for any occasion, Miss Northrup is the epitome of a dedicated teacher.” There was more applause, startling Annika once more.

“When tragedy struck our school, Miss Northrup very nearly gave up her own life to save the lives of her students, placing herself in harm’s way to protect them. And while we mourn the loss of one of our own, at the same time, we are grateful for Miss Northrup’s strength and bravery.”

There was more applause as Scott gestured for someone to come to the podium. It was Stephanie Willowby, a student she had her very first year of teaching, eleven years ago. She spoke of the joys and trials they had faced as a class as Annika muddled through that first year. And how she learned that words had power. A power she uses to this day as a journalist. After Stephanie, a few more former students were invited to speak. Even her mentor participated, a fellow teacher who had taken Annika under her wing that first year and showed her the ropes. Sally had retired two years ago but wanted to speak about the teacher with the unnatural habit of spouting great literary quotes.

“I may have been your mentor, teaching you the ins and outs around here, but it wasyouwho taughtme. I never imagined an old stick in the mud like me could learn something new, especially from a fresh out of college, little thing like you, who’d never had her own classroom before. But boy, was I wrong. You taught me that it was still possible to pass on our appreciation for the English language and great works of literature to our students. I’d never heard so many high school students spouting quotes from the great authors in the halls prior to your arrival. So, thank you, Miss Northrup, for bringing the joy of teaching back into my heart.” Sally came over to hug Annika as the audience erupted in cheers again. Both women had tears in their eyes.

Scott stepped back to the podium as Sally returned to her seat. “Liam, Sam, can you come up?” Scott asked of the boys who’d helped her that day.Oh,God.How was she going to make it through more, especially if Liam and Sam were going to speak? Logan took her hand, and she was grateful for the added support.

Leave it to those two boys to have the whole place roaring with laughter as they shared stories of all the antics they tried to pull behind her back. They always wondered how she knew. Annika pointed at her eyes, then at them, and back at her eyes again. Back and forth a couple of times. She’d constantly done that when she had them in class, letting them know she always had her eyes on them. They gave her a sheepish look as if she’d caught them doing something naughty. Everyone laughed.

When the mirth died down, they turned serious, speaking of that horrible day. They spoke of how, even though she’d been hurt, she still managed to remain their teacher. “She taught us strength, resilience, psychology, and even a bit about medicine when she told us how to try to stop the bleeding. She even threw in a bit of literature for good measure. Once an English teacher, always an English teacher. But most of all, she taught us about bravery.” It was so quiet in the auditorium Annika could hear the whoosh of the heat kicking on. The two boys had the attention of the entire audience.

“She taught us bravery in the way she protected us. Risking her own life to keep us safe,” Sam said.

“She kept telling Caleb to only look at her. She kept his focus on herself, hoping to shield us,” stated Liam. “Every time he’d look at us, she’d force his attention back to her.”

“She taught us bravery in the way she was able to get him to put the gun down. Even though she was badly injured herself and must have been in a lot of pain, she listened tohispain. She helped him work through it. Kept him talking,” Sam broke off then, a little emotional.

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