That night, the MPC declared no winner. Instead, the district sent a single, sad fruit basket to the faculty lounge. But as the teachers sat among the glitter, the gravy stains, and the faint smell of electrical smoke, Janine held up a burnt corner of the dragon-dreidel diorama.
The fluorescent lights of Abbott Elementary hummed a low, mournful tune, a stark contrast to the chaos unfolding in the gymnasium. It was the day of the "Merry Principal's Committee" (MPC) meeting, a district-mandated farce that Ava Coleman had, predictably, transformed into a nightmare of festive bureaucracy.
"Janine, you can't have a single diorama with both a Kwanzaa kinara and a Chinese dragon," he whispered, adjusting a tack. "It’s geographically and thematically confusing."
"Stir or get out, Jacob. And stop calling it a 'holiday sauce.' It's gravy."
In Janine Teagues’ classroom, the theme was "Holidays Around the World." Construction paper chains of every color dangled from the ceiling. Gregory Eddie, ever the pragmatist, stood by a meticulously labeled map.
Reynolds looked horrified. Ava burst into laughter. "See? Drama . That's the 'A' in STEAM, baby."
Jacob stirred nervously. "I just think it's important to acknowledge the syncretism—"
She dragged him to Janine’s room just as the diorama caught fire—well, not fire, but Gregory had accidentally plugged the "northern lights" cotton balls into a faulty socket, producing a thin wisp of smoke. Janine was fanning it with a lesson plan while shouting, "It's atmospheric! It's the burning of the Yule log!"
