Book 2, Chapter 3: Twas The Weekend Before

 Twas the last day of zoom and all through the class, the students talked about how good it would be on Monday. They were all very excited to think that in a few days, they would be in the classroom with their friends and their teachers and made sure they would have the right books and be ready. Twas the weekend before school resumed and all through the Hibiscus clan, the teddies prepared for school on Monday. They talked about the students they had heard and met on zoom and talked about what changes would be made to the classroom procedures due to Covid. They knew that Dovic would be going to school and they wondered who would be with him on the first day.

Everyone; Hibiscus, her students, and the clan were excited.

On that Friday night after the last week of zoom teaching, all the Hibiscus clan gathered together to watch the football. Richo had a front row seat and everyone joined him to watch the Tigers play against the St Kilda Saints in one of the finals. Due to Covid, the footy season had lasted longer than other years and Richo was hoping that his team would win tonight and be eligible for the Preliminary final to play against the Port Adelaide Power. Lulu had learnt a lot about AFL and the Richmond Tigers when she had been in ISO with Richo and she knew how much it meant to him. She practised the dance routine to the Tiger’s theme song.

The game went well from the start and during half time, they had a lot of laughs as Lulu and Richo tried to teach the others how to do the dance routine. When Ronnie did a double flip off the chair and landed on Milly’s back, they all decided they’d had enough. Although it was warm in Queensland where the game was being played, it was a cool night, so they ate the traditional meat pie with tomato sauce. Richo sang the song the loudest when it was played after the Tigers won.

Saturday was a lovely day and Hibiscus took Dovic and Richo for a walk around the lake. There were a lot of families having a picnic, wearing their face masks and maintaining their social distance. A couple of ducklings were swimming behind the mother duck on the lake and they saw a cat being taken for a walk too. Richo saw a tall tree and said to Dovic that next time, Ronnie should come here, “He would love to climb that tree!” Its branches reached high up into the blue sky and they could see their home from the Lookout. They imagined that the Hibiscus clan could see them and waved and wondered if they were outside enjoying the sunshine too.

It was the day before school started and Dovic was excited. Lulu brushed his hair and made sure his ribbon was on straight. Tomorrow, Richo would be coming with him because he wanted to see the other Tiger supporters from the class and celebrate with them. He was also looking forward to having his turn in the classroom and Gazza took him aside.

“If you see Miss Lauren when you are at school tomorrow,” he whispered, “Please tell her hello from me and tell her I hope she had a good weekend.” Richo promised he would do that.

The Hibiscus clan had a lovely evening and made up stories about what school would be like for Dovic and Richo tomorrow. Ellie asked a sobering question, “Will the students be allowed to hold you? With all the restrictions, they might not be allowed to” and Dovic gulped.

“Oh boy, oh boy” sighed Gazza, “She could be right!”

The Hibiscus clan talked about it for some time and thought that if the students had sanitised their hands, it should be all right. Finally, Hibiscus took Richo and Dovic aside and put them with some books to get ready for tomorrow. She took their photo and kindly suggested they get a good night’s sleep before tomorrow. “I know you’re excited. I am, too! It will be wonderful to see all the students in the classroom again, but we need to be ready for the day ahead. Sleep well. Good night” And as she turned out the light, Richo asked Dovic, “Do you think I should take my footy tomorrow? Because, will the students be allowed to play with it?”

“Hmmm,” replied Dovic, “Perhaps leave it at home tomorrow. They can see the photos of it and they probably all have their own footy. Good night, Richo” and Richo replied with a snore.

“Tomorrow, tomorrow,” sang Dovic, “It’s always a day away.”