GRANITE FALLS, Wash. — Students decorated the halls, walls and even floors of their Granite Falls school with love notes and signs of encouragement for a teacher who many consider more like a mom.
It was a festive atmosphere at Crossroads Alternative High School; but in reality, it was a party no one wanted to attend.
Teacher Kayla Land said the guest of honor is her best friend.
"She's always been the strong one. So it 's hard to see something bad happen to her. It's like, why is it always the good people?"
Tracy Orr has taught in the Granite Falls School District for 21 years. She's the one who brought the first prom ever to Crossroads so the at-risk students there could simply be kids for a day.
Tracy Orr is the mother figure who fed senior Sarah Banks when she was homeless.
Tracy Orr also has a brain tumor.
"She's a strong person. I look up to that," said Sarah. "A lot of kids here look up to her because they need that. They need someone that makes them have hope."
So when it came time for lunch on Thursday, it was time for the kids to give Ms.Orr some hope.
The students filled the hallways and greeted their beloved teacher with cheers as she walked toward the cafeteria. Once there, she was greeted with a blizzard of silly string and confetti, along with more hugs than she could count.
"I adore these kids," she said, wiping away tears. "I absolutely adore them."
Orr's cancer is something only 1 in 100,000 people ever get. She's facing a daunting surgery Tuesday to remove the tumor threatening her brain.
But true to form, Orr made the day all about her students.
"These are the kids that a lot of people think are the bad kids, the bad school," she said. "This shows that isn't true at all. They have the kindest hearts. They are the sweetest."
And while just about everybody at Crossroads thinks of Ms. Orr as a mom, that's actually true for Kayla Land. The mother-daughter duo have taught together at Crossroads for the past four years.
"I mean, this is all she wants," said Kayla. "Happy kids learning to love each other and themselves. We get to see that today."
Through it all, Ms. Orr said she simply wants her students, who have endured their own hardships, to stay positive. Because the hard parts are what make you appreciate all the good stuff.
"There is going to be adversity in life. Things are going to get hard. But happiness and love are they key."