A few weeks had pa.s.sed since Rick had begun teaching at Wildwood Elementary. Rick has always had a soft side for kids, teaching a subject that was in his field of knowledge was also a nice bonus.As night began to fall, Rick was busy grading his cla.s.ses tests. "Hey, Rick?" A small voice called out. "Mm?" Rick answered, not picking his head up. "What are ya doin?" Maru came over, attempting to get a glimpse. "Nothin." Rick replied, too into the grading. Maru puffed her cheeks. "Liar!" Rick turned his head, quickly coming out of the trance. "Huh?" Maru glared, still puffing her cheeks. "Oi oi, take it easy." He chuckled, patting her head. Maru finally gave up on puffing her cheeks, and took a deep breath. "What do ya need?" Rick asked, twirling her hair. Maru pointed. "What does that say?" Great. Now I"m totally outta focus. Rick turned towards the test he was grading. "What?" Maru placed her finger on a word. "This." Rick looked. "Ah, it says photosynthesis." Maru stared at him blankly for a few moments. "...Say Maru?" Rick said, breaking the silence. Maru kept her head down. "No no! Hey! That"s a difficult word, but..." He continued, cautiously. "Do you...have you learned how to read?" Maru looked up. "No." She muttered. "That"s ok!" Rick smiled. "You"re only five kiddo!" Maru looked up quickly. "Really!?" Rick chuckled nervously. "Do you mean that at the fact that you"re five years old, or-" Maru huffed. "I know I"m five!" She held out a hand, holding up all of her fingers. "See!" Rick let out a hardy laugh. "Kids don"t usually learn how to read until they"re six, or even seven." Maru"s eyes lit up. "Really!?" She exclaimed. "Totally!" Rick laughed. Maru climbed onto his lap, and cupped his face in her tiny hands. "Rick?" She stared into his eyes. "Y-Yea what"s up kiddo?" Rick chuckled nervously, her grip hurting a bit. "Teach me how to read?" She asked, giving that puppy eyed look kids tend to do when they want something. "Oh, sure!" He smiled. "I"d be more than happy to." Maru let go, as she hopped down. "Yay!" She clapped her hands together, smiling widely. Rick couldn"t help but smile too. d.a.m.nit, this kid is way too adorable. "Now," Rick began, turning his chair back to his desk. "Why don"t you go to bed, so I can finish grading my kids papers?" Maru beamed. "Aye aye sir!" She said turning away, but quickly turned back. Rick now with his attention back on grading quickly turned again. "Hm?" Maru gave him a kiss on his cheek. "I love you, Rick!" She giggled happily. Rick turned a bright red. "Goodnight, Maru." He said, stroking her head gently.
As Rick got into bed he stared at the ceiling. "When was the last time I heard those words...?" He muttered, as he turned onto his side. Suddenly a vivid memory of a smiling young boy flashed in his head. "Ah...that"s when." Rick sighed as he hugged his pillow.