"I wish we were meeting under better circumstances," Principal Greensburg said, pushing some of her somewhat frizzy black hair from her face; she had only been principal for a brief time, but she was the youngest the school had ever had, not to mention the first African American principal, and Lilian, on the rare occasions she had to interact with her, had found her nothing if not charming and delightful to be around. Today, however...
"I can't say what the circumstances are until I'm told what happened," Lilian replied. Both women then turned their gaze to Maddie, who had pulled her backpack closer to her chest, hugging it tightly, keeping her eyes glued to the ground. Something had clearly happened, and it had been so bad that Lilian, stated as Maddie's parental figure on her schoolwork, had to be called in, but Lilian was willing to give Maddie the benefit of the doubt. "Well," Principal Greensburg continued, "the last week or so we've been having some issues with Maddison and her attitude towards another student, a girl named Ashley Banks. Typically these sorts of issues would be kept to school grounds, dealt with internally, but it's reached the point where we feel outside interaction is required, especially after what happened today." "And what happened today?" Lilian asked, starting to feel nervous. "Do you want to tell her?" Principal Greensburg asked, looking at Maddie, and Maddie shook her head, so the principal sighed, then added, "she beat Ashley up. And not...not in the kind of way that girls typically beat one another up, with some scratches and hair pulling. I mean she literally beat her up. Ashley had to go home she was suffering so much." Lilian rubbed her forehead and slumped in her chair. This was the LAST thing she needed right now. *** Vera was sitting behind her desk at the company office, her first time actually being in the office in what felt like months. Lately, if she could find a way to do her work from home, she took it, and thankfully since it was mostly payroll and paperwork, she could. But today she couldn't do her work from home. Today she had a meeting. She'd even gotten to the office earlier than usual, much earlier in fact, to clean it head to toe and make it as presentable as possible for her guest. She wanted them to be impressed. She needed them to be impressed. As she finished dusting off the fake plant in the corner by her desk, she heard the door open and she quickly rushed to her chair, trying to look as casual as possible, something Vera was not typically good at. The door swung fully open, and in walked her guest, Mrs. Helena Langdon. Mrs. Langdon looked like someone straight out of a successful business magazine. She had the suit, the gait, the overall attitude. Hell, she even had the expensive atache case. She approached the desk and sat down, crossing her legs immediately and setting the case down by the feet of her chair. She reached up, undid her hair that was pulled back tightly and let it fall around her shoulders, something Vera had not been expecting. "I...I have to say you're both exactly who I envisioned and not at all who I envisioned," Vera said, breaking the silence. "I could say the same for you," Mrs. Langdon replied, "after all, why did you rent out an entire building for a business that only has maybe 6 employees?" "I'm a bit of a traditionalist," Vera remarked, shrugging, laughing nervously, "I always liked the idea of being the one in charge of a big company. Plus, it was either this, or meet at one anothers apartments for things and that...that's not exactly a great idea." "There's a third option, one you're overlooking," Mrs. Langdon said sternly, "you're in the 21st century. You have the internet. You can run an entire business like this purely online, via app based communication. All you need to do is get someone to create the app for you, and then you can communicate with your employees on a one to one basis, while also letting people hire you all through it for whatever they need." "That just feels so...impersonal." "You're a business," Mrs. Langdon said, "it's supposed to be impersonal." Vera shrugged. She'd always thought that the thing people liked about their company was the fact that they didn't really behave like a company. There was no stoicism to them at all, like they acted as if they didn't care about their customers. If anything, the number one compliment they usually got was just how much those hired cared and did their best to make the party a success, and many times, even offering to stay after and help clean up. Vera didn't want to lose that goodwill. "Listen," Mrs. Langdon said, "you called me, okay? I'm just here to offer suggestions and perhaps buy your company at above market value." "Above market?" "I see the potential in what you all do," Mrs. Langdon continued, "there's a necessity for it. You're niche, but you're not so niche that you can't be financially viable. Everyone has parties. Everyone's got a birthday, got a graduation, you name it. So there's always a need for what you do. There's a market here for sure. Tell me, who is your most successful employee by ranking?" "Well," Vera said, sighing, "surprisingly, it's the one we've had the most trouble with internally." *** "Where are we going?" Alexis asked as she looked out the passenger side window of John's car. "I'm taking you to meet someone," John said flatly, "so just sit back and enjoy the ride." Alexis sighed and did as she was told, just watching the streets go by. Truthfully, she hadn't had the best week. She hadn't been doing so great in therapy, unable to work through certain issues, and Rick had been avoiding her a bit for some reason - he claimed he was doing certain activities at the hospital and she didn't want to call him a liar but she had her doubts, thanks to how everyone had treated her - so she wasn't really in the greatest mood. When John showed up for his usual lunch date, he could see she was pained, so he decided to take her somewhere, whether she wanted to or not. The thing was, and she wouldn't tell him this, Alexis had begun to have doubts about her life after the hospital. Did she really want to return to the company? Did she really want to work for Vera again? And what about Rick? Rick had been the best thing in her life in many years, maybe even ever aside from John, and she didn't know how to handle the fact that she might be released before him and they might not be able to be as together as they were able to right now. This worried her deeply. She really liked Rick, and she didn't want to lose that. "I saw your sister recently," John said, surprising her, finally getting Alexis to look at him. "...what? Why?" "Well, to be fair, she showed up at my trailer park unannounced, it wasn't like we were having secret meetings behind your back," John said, "I would've been rude if I'd just turned her away, so. Anyway, she told me a bit about your parents and stuff, about the drowning incident. I'm sorry your folks sucked so much." "Eh, what's it matter? I'm an adult now, I shouldn't care," Alexis muttered. "Yeah, but you do. Because that's the thing, you don't stop wanting stuff you never got. You just want it harder, if anything. But there's also nothing wrong with that, and really I feel like that's a natural reaction to have. To double down on the want that you so required to begin with," John said as they pulled into the parking lot of the hospice. Alexis's eyes wandered around the outdoor facilities and then she turned to look John in the eyes. "Where are we?" she asked. "There's someone I want you to meet," John said, unstrapping his seatbelt. Together, he and Alexis climbed out of the car and headed towards the entrance. Upon entering, he was greeted with kindness and enthusiasm, as was Alexis simply for being his guest. They continued further in, down the hall and into an elevator, where he pressed the corresponding floor keys. "You took me from one hospital to go to another hospital?" Alex asked, "that sounds kinda counterproductive, don't you think?" John laughed and shook his head. The elevator reached its floor, and they exited, Alexis still following John down the hall until he reached the room. He put his hand on the doorknob, then stopped and looked at Alexis. Neither one said anything, and John pulled his hand slowly off the doorknob, and instead put his hands on her shoulders. "If you think that you're in the wrong for wanting a life you can't have because your parents fucked you over," he said, "then maybe this will help you understand just how okay it is to want that." And with that, he turned back to the door and opened it, revealing Stars living quarters. She was seated cross legged on her bed in her shirt and shorts, doing a small puzzle on a TV tray, and smiled so brightly the second she saw her father in the doorway. She leapt up from the bed and ran across the room, throwing herself against him. He just laughed and hugged her back, and Alexis...Alexis just stood dumbfounded. She still didn't understand what John was trying to show her, but come the end of the day, she would. And she'd feel all the better for it. *** Lilian wasn't having a good afternoon. Sitting in the principals office, waiting for her to return - she'd been temporarily called out to a classroom for something - she wanted to ask Maddie why this was happening. What this girl, Ashley, could've done or said that was so wrong that warranted an out and out beating. In Maddie's defense, she had a lot to be angry about, and at this point any reason to snap was likely somewhat justified, but still. Lilian sighed and ran her hands down her face. "...what was it?" she finally asked, looking at Maddison, adding, "what was so henious that you had to send a girl home?" "....it...it doesn't matter," Maddie whispered. "No, but it does, Maddie, it does matter. I know you're going through a lot, okay? Your father's recovery, your mothers justified incarceration, getting your first period, like...hell, kid. You've got reasons to be angry at the world. But there's healthy and there's unhealthy ways to cycle through that anger, and literally beating the hell out of someone is one of the unhealthiest you can indulge in this side of self destructive behavior." Maddie sunk lower in her chair and let her hair cover her eyes. Lilian sighed again, reaching out and putting a hand on her knee. "I'm sorry," Lilian said quietly, "I'm getting too 'mom' like, and...and it must be uncomfortable and-" "No, I...I like it," Maddie said, "it's...nice to have a mom. I don't think my mom ever really acted like a mom the way you do, so it's nice to have that for once. It's nice to feel like someone gives a crap about me." "Kiddo, if I didn't give a crap about you, you wouldn't be living with me," Lilian said, chuckling. Lilian and Maddie both had had somewhat disconnected mothers, but the difference was that, even in spite of her aloofness, Lilian's mother never had any negative intentions for her daughter. The same could obviously not be said for Maddie's mother. Perhaps that was why Lilian was so capable of being what Maddie needed, and she was happy she was succeeding. Every kid deserves a supportive adult in their life, even if only just one. The door to the office opened and the principal came back in, seating herself again. "Sorry for the delay," she said, "anyway, I wanted to discuss what we think would be appropriate disciplinary action." "Frankly," Lilian said, "...I'd like to discuss why you feel the need to discipline someone defending themselves." This response caught both Maddie and the principal off guard, and Maddie had to hide her sudden smile. *** Vera was anxious. She was tapping her pen against her desk while Helena Langdon looked through her atache case for some papers. Vera had never thought about selling the company back to, well, a company. She didn't want it in the hands of a traditional company that cared about profits over employees. She much preferred to leave it in the hands of someone who was more familiar with running a business that didn't run its workers into the ground for monetary net worth. After a moment, Vera realized she was chewing on the pen, and then set it down nervously, feeling embarrassed, but when she looked up, she noticed Helena smirking. "You don't have to feel shy about your nervous tics," she said, "I used to do the same thing. When I was still in business school, I'd get so anxious about having interviews, even the fake ones for classes, that I'd chew my nails down so much to the point where I was often mistaken for a lesbian just becase of how short they were." "That's stereotyping," Vera chuckled, "did you manage to quit doing it?" "Eventually, but it took a lot of force of will," Helena said, finally placing some papers onto Vera's desk and adding, "the real trick, I discovered, was to redirect that anxiety elsewhere, to another outlet. In my case, that turned out to be chewing gum. Now I just keep a pack of gum on my person at all times, and so instead of chewing my nails, I just chew gum. It's a much better solution that most people come up with; others attempt to substitute with smoking, sexual activities, but I find that that just creates more problems. Chewing gum never caused anyone any issues." "Unless it gets in your hair," Vera remarked, making Helena laugh. "Right, well, there's downsides to everything I suppose," she said, "now, if you want to get this deal going, these are the first papers you'll need to read through, sign and get back to me. And please don't hesitate to ask about any changes to anything you see in there that you feel isn't right for you, or the company. I'm a business woman, but unlike the others in my field, I'm not trying to screw over those I intend to help. It's a partnership, plain and simple, like any other transactional relationship in life. It needs to be equal, fifty fifty." Vera smiled big. She hadn't expected to get so lucky in finding someone so good to run the company, and she was more than pleased at the person she'd managed to unearth. If nothing else, at the end of it all, Vera could step down as owner and be confident that everything and everyone would be in good hands. For the first time in a handful of years...Vera felt hopeful for the future, especially her own. *** John and Alexis were sitting in Star's room as she napped on her bed, hugging her favorite seahorse plush to her chest. John was eating out of a bag of sunflower seeds, which he shared with Alexis, who happily took a handful. After a few moments of quiet chewing, Alexis finally spoke. "I don't get it," she said, "why did you bring me here?" "Because like you, Alexis, my daughter was screwed over by her parents, most specifically my wife. She took away the chance she could've had at a 'normal' life, and as such, took away what she and I could've had had she not become this. Don't let that confuse you, I'm not at all disappointed with how she is now. I'm so happy she's here, and I love her to death. But the fact is she didn't get what she needed, which was parental stability, same as you. I'm doing my best to give you both that, but I also want you to know that it's okay to be angry about it. Star is sometimes. Every now and then she'll tell me she wished she could go to school, or have friends, and just be 'normal', and I have to remind her that she is normal, this is her normal. Everyones lived reality is their normal. And you're normal too, Alex." Alexis wanted to cry. She had seen John as a father figure, but she didn't know he was an actual father, and now it all made sense why he was so good at it, because he was actually a dad to a daughter. Alexis looked back towards Star's bed and watched her shift in her sleep. John was right, she knew. Who she was, drug problems and all, were just who she was. And even though she had no intention to go back to that person, and instead wanted to stick the course on her rehab, she realized it was time to stop feeling bad about it. To stop feeling about wanting a regular adolescence with good parents. "...I'd like to legally adopt you," John said, "if you'd still want that." "I would," Alexis said, sniffling, trying to hold back tears. "Then we'll get started on that asap," John said, "every adulthood deserves a childhood, even if it's a little late." It was funny, Alexis thought, for someone who played a clown, John made her cry far more often than he made her laugh. *** "I'm sorry, what do you mean?" Principal Greensburg asked. "I mean here's a girl whose mother MURDERED a child at her birthday party, then attempted to kill her father after he has a heart attack, and you expect her to behave socially acceptably? I mean, I get it, school has rules and yes, violence is often not justified, but there are extenuating circumstances in certain situations. Let me guess, Ashley gets go home to a house with two supportive, loving parents and never wonder why her mother didn't want her, right? You're the principal, you've met these people, tell me." Principal Greensburg cleared her throat, clearly feeling nervous now and cupped her hands on her desk again. "Y-yes, she does, yes, her parents are both successful people in their careers, and often go the extra mile for her. They donate to the school, they chaperone, they do what they can," Principal Greensburg said, "but just because one student has it better than others doesn't entitle the lesser lucky student to behave this way." "I'm not saying it entitles them to, no; it's contextual, not actionable. Explanation doesn't equate justification," Lilian said, "and yes, by the rules set by the district, Maddie should face some kind of disciplinary charges, but you need to also recognize that these are unusual circumstances that not every student is dealing with. I just think it isn't fair to say she's the only bad one in this situation." "It wasn't even about me," Maddie said, finally speaking, causing both Lilian and Principal Greensburg to look towards her as she added, "...it was about you." "...me?" Lilian asked, "What do you mean?" "She said I was going to become a queer like you," Maddie said, "but in...not so nice terms." "Oh, I see," Lilian said, "and that upset you?" "Of course it did, because first of all that isn't a problem, you're the coolest person I've ever known, and secondly, who you love isn't a problem, because unlike my mom you don't try to kill your partner. If anything, you and Miranda probably have the healthiest relationship I've ever seen, and if I do turn out like that, then that's great, cause while Ashley will be miserable married to some guy who gives her 3 children then starts to hate her when she isn't pretty anymore, I'll be happy with whoever it is I wind up being with because I had a good role model. Nobody gets to talk that way about me, or about you." Lilian wanted to cry. She wanted to grab Maddie and squeeze her so tight and just cry for joy. After all the effort she'd put into helping this little girl, Maddie was finally repaying the favor, and although Lilian always knew she and Maddie were friends, were close, this was the defining moment that she realized just how much of a parent to her she'd really become. Maddie was willing to throw down to protect her honor. Lilian really felt like a princess. "So rampant and open homophobia is perfectly okay at your school?" Lilian asked, finally looking back at Principal Greensburg, "because that's what it's starting to sound like. Like because little miss perfects parents donate and help out, she gets a free pass to be vile and spread her vitriol anywhere she wants. Is that what's going on here? Because if so, let me know, so I can start looking for another school." "Obviously that isn't the case, and had I known what Ashley had said, I would've spoken to her parents about her choices in dialogue," Principal Greensburg, "I assure you were are a very open and inclusive school-" "Because you believe in it, or because you're legally forced to be?" Lilian asked, interrupting her, "because there is a difference." "Miss Phillips, I don't think we-" "No, I don't think we need to sit here and listen to anymore of this. Somebody isn't going to take blame for defending themselves, defending those they love, while some brat gets to walk free with, at best, a scraped knee or a broken nose and continue to be openly hateful towards those she finds below her," Lilian said, standing up and taking Maddie by the hand, "because you might be a school, but it seems to me the only thing you're teaching is that it's okay to be cruel to others, and frankly, that just isn't the kind of environment I want for my kid." With that, Lilian turned and left the room, tugging Maddie behind her. Once outside the office, Lilian leaned against the wall and sighed, running her hands down her face, wanting to scream. Suddenly, she felt Maddie hug her around the waist, and she smiled, reached down and stroked her hair. "Come on," Lilian said, "let's go get ice cream. This day calls for ice cream." "I'm gonna get rainbow sprinkles in solidarity," Maddie said, smirking. "Alright, now you're just makin fun of me," Lilian remarked, the both of them chuckling. Sometimes the best mothers and the best daughters aren't related at all.
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A young woman named Lilian Phillips, who plays a princess at birthday parties, befriends a little girl who had a child die at her own birthday party. Archives
April 2024
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