"You're wearing mismatched socks," Trisha said as she looked down at Mae's feet. The girls were standing in the hallway, waiting for the bell to ring and class to start. Mae looked down at her feet and groaned.
"Yeah, that happens a lot," she replied, "I have trouble getting up in the morning so I never know what it is I'm putting on." "I mean, they're nice socks, but still." "At least I'm wearing socks. My parents had to fight with me all last year to get me to wear socks at all, remember?" Mae asked, and Trisha laughed, her ponytail bobbing. "I do remember that!" she said gleefully, adding, "At one point you didn't even wanna wear shoes anymore!" Just then Allie walked up, joining them as she chewed on a cereal bar she held in her hand. After a moment of standing there, Allie looked down and then back up at Mae. "You're wearing mismatched socks," she said. "I know that," Mae said, now getting annoyed at all the attention being called to her footwear. "Where's Chaz?" Trisha asked. "I don't know," Allie replied, shrugging, as the door to the classroom swung open and their teacher for the year, Mrs. Spinner, invited all the awaiting students inside. The kids slowly piled in and were instructed to find their own seat, as Mrs. Spinner stated she didn't believe in seating charts. Trisha, Allie and Mae all put their backpacks and bookbags into the respective cubbyholes in the back of the classroom, then all found desks next to one another. As Mrs. Spinner got her things on her desk prepared, Allie and Trisha talked a bit about the classroom, while Mae surveyed the surrounding classmates. Then she noticed a girl sitting in the very back corner, with long mousy brown hair that covered half her face, not paying any attention to anyone or anything except the coloring book she had in front of her. Mae turned back to the girls and nudged Trisha in the elbow. "What?" Trisha asked, turning to face her. "Who's that? I've never seen her at the school before," Mae said, pointing at the girl so Trisha and Allie could both look towards her. Allie and Trisha looked momentarily, then looked at one another and then looked back at Mae. "No clue," Allie said. "I think she's new," Trisha said, "I've never seen her before either." "Alright kids," Mrs. Spinner said, adjusting her glasses and sitting behind her desk, "Eyes up front, please. It's nice to have a new class, and I hope we all manage to get along for the year. This year we have a special student with us, in the back, her name is Rachel Lachapelle. She's joining public school for the first time this year, and was homeschooled for her life until now, so I'd like you all to be nice to her and help her around the school if you can, okay?" All the students glanced back at Rachel, who sunk lower in her seat, then nodded in agreement, turning back to face Mrs. Spinner. She smiled, opened a book on her desk and sighed. "Well then," she said, "Let's start with our vocabulary list for the week." *** At recess, Allie, Mae and Trisha sat together at one of the blue metal picnic tables near the playground, watching Rachel sit by herself, enjoying an activity book with pictures to color and stickers to place. After a minute or so of splitting her fruit stick into pieces for Mae and Trisha to have some of, Allie scratched her head. "What's homeschooled mean?" she asked. "I think it's literal," Mae said, "You're schooled at home." "That's exactly what it is, yes," Trisha said, "There's a boy from my church who's homeschooled. His dad stays home and teaches him while his mom goes to work. Some parents do it because they don't like the public school system, and I don't blame them." "You're too smart," Allie said, sounding annoyed, which made Trisha laugh and shrug. "She's probably lonely," Mae said, "I remember coming to the school when I first moved here and I was scared as heck. I bet she would like to have friends. We should be her friends." "Okay, go be her friend," Allie said, "We don't know anything about her, so go be her friend and then bring her back here. Recess isn't for getting up. It's for sitting and eating fruit snacks." "Actually recess is exactly for getting up," Trisha said. "Fine, I will," Mae said, climbing off the table and walking across the playground until she reached the spot Rachel was sitting. Mae sat down next to her and, still biting into her half of the fruit stick, looked over at the activity book Rachel was enjoying. After a moment or so, Rachel noticed her and looked up, smiling faintly. "Hi," she said. "Hello," Mae said, "What are you doing?" "I don't know, playing with stickers I guess," Rachel said, shrugging, "My mom gave me this book so I wouldn't have to play with anyone. She doesn't want me becoming friends with anyone. She doesn't like other kids." "Well that's mean," Mae said, "Why'd she send you to school if she didn't like other kids?" "Because she had to start going back to work," Rachel said, "She couldn't stay home and school me anymore. I don't really like being here, it's really crowded and noisy. But it is kinda neat to see other kids for a change." "...do you wanna come sit with me and my friends?" Mae asked. "...okay," Rachel said, smiling, shutting her activity book and following Mae back to the picnic table. When they got back to the table, they noticed Chaz had joined. "Where have you been?" Mae asked. "At the dentists," Chaz said, "Now my teeth hurt and I can't have a snack for recess." "Who schedules a dentist appointment on the first day of school?" Trisha asked. "My mom, apparently," Chaz said, then noticing Rachel asked, "Who's she?" "This is Rachel, she's new. She was homeschooled and this is her first time at a public school," Mae said. "Want some fruit stick?" Allie asked, and Rachel shook her head politely, making Allie shrug and say, "Good, I didn't wanna give out more anyway." Rachel and Mae sat back down at the table and they watched Rachel pull her hair back into a ponytail with a big green scrunchy. She set her activity book down on her lap as she did it, and Trisha tapped it with her fingertips gently. "I used to do these," Trisha said, "When I was in 1st grade I was very nervous all the time, and my parents got me these activity books so I'd feel more calm in public. Is that why you have one?" "Mhm," Rachel said, nodding, "But mine is from my therapist." None of the girls knew how to react to that, so they chose not to. Instead, they talked about the stickers inside the book, and tried to make Rachel feel as welcome as possible. By the time the bell that signaled the end of recess rang, Rachel felt like she did belong, and it was nice. She'd never had any friends before, and she was grateful for their kindness. As they'd find out soon enough, her mother would feel otherwise. *** Sitting at home that night, Mae and Allie were lying on the couch while her mother cooked dinner in the nearby kitchen. Seeing as it had been the first day of school there hadn't been any homework, so there wasn't anything Mae needed to do. Allie was only there because she didn't wanna be alone in the trailer park until her dad got off work, so she was able to stay at Mae's until he came to pick her up. "What's your mom making?" Allie asked. "I don't know. Mom! What are you making?!" Mae shouted. "I'm not yelling across the room, you wanna talk to me then come in here," Juliet said. "When's your dad gonna be here?" Mae asked and Allie shrugged. "I dunno. Probably not very late," Allie said. "You know you can stay the night if it gets too late," Mae said, "Mom doesn't mind. She can take you to school with me tomorrow." The phone rang and they heard Juliet groan. She set her utensils down and headed across the room to the lime green landline hanging on the wall. She picked up the receiver and put it to her face, putting on her nicest phone voice. "Hello?" she asked, "...okay, yes, this is she, who may I ask is calling?" Mae and Allie got on their knees and glanced over the couch, watching Juliet stand in the kitchen, phone to her ear, hand on her hip. She had a sour look on her face, like whoever was on the other end was being very rude to her, but she held her tongue and remained calm. After a minute she checked her watch, which made the girls laugh which in turn made her smirk, and finally she spoke again. "Yes, okay, I'll talk to them, thank you," Juliet said, finally hanging up as she looked at the girls, and asked, "...did you meet a homeschooled girl today?" "Yeah..." the girls said in unison. "Well that was her mother," Juliet said, "and while she's grateful that you were kind and made her feel welcome, she also would like you to leave her daughter alone. Anything you wanna admit to? You do something bad?" "All I did was offer her some fruit stick," Allie said. "The woman sounded...not...great," Juliet said, making the girls chuckle as she scratched the back of her head and added, "but, it is her child and we should abide by her wishes, alright. So tomorrow, when you see this girl, be polite, but try not to interact, alright? Last thing I need is an unhinged mother beating down my door. Now who wants Chili?" The girls high fived and scrambled over the top of the couch, rushing to the kitchen. Lying in Mae's room that night, the glow in the dark stars stuck to her ceiling their only light, Allie couldn't help but feel weird about the phone call. She rolled onto her side on the bed and looked at Mae, who just kept looking up at the stars. "Why's that lady not want her kid to have any friends?" Allie asked, and Mae shrugged. "No idea," Mae said, "but I don't wanna get in trouble, so." "It just seems so...mean," Allie said. "I know that Trisha's mom doesn't like me being friend with Trisha," Mae said, "I think some parents are just overprotective. Your dad doesn't care who your friends are?" "Of course not! He's thankful I have friends at all!" Allie said, the both of them giggling as she added, "It just doesn't seem fair. Everyone deserves to have friends, right? If you don't have friends, your only friends are your parents, and if your parents are mean to you, then all you know is cruelty." Mae shrugged again, and Allie rolled back onto her back and looked back up at the ceiling. Laying there, Mae shut her eyes and listened to Allie breathing, as it lulled her to sleep. Allie couldn't let this go. For some reason this really bothered her, even though Mae's mother was the one who had received the phone call. She swore that, come tomorrow, she'd prove what being a good friend was like, no matter what some high strung mom said. *** That morning, Juliet drove Allie and Mae to school, stopping for breakfast at a fast food place on the way, getting hashbrowns and muffin sandwiches and the like, along with coffee for herself. As they eventually pulled into the roundabout in front of the school, Allie pulled the front door open and stepped out, Mae right behind her. Juliet rolled down the window and looked at the girls. "Remember what we talked about last night, right?" she asked, "We don't-" Suddenly a knock on her window surprised her, and after catching her breath, she rolled down her own window, to find Trisha's mother standing there of all people. "Hi Alice," Juliet said, "What's going on?" "Did you get a phone call last night?" Alice asked, "From some woman who was annoyed that our girls were friendly to her daughter?" "As a matter of fact I did," Juliet said. Trisha walked around the car and stopped beside Mae and Allie, Chaz joining them scant seconds later, the four of them standing and watching Alice and Juliet talk, unable to properly hear the conversation. Mae felt nervous for a reason she couldn't place, then she nudged Trisha in the elbow and whispered to her. "What's going on?" Mae asked. "Mom got a phone call last night from the mom of that homeschooled girl," Trisha said, "She's been...quiet and eerily angry since then. I'm not a fan." "Your mom's always like that," Allie said, Chaz giving her a high five. "Right, but this is different somehow," Trisha said. Just then another car pulled up and the door opened, allowing Rachel to climb out. Her mother, a very conservatively dressed woman, climbed out of the drivers side and walked with Rachel around the car. Trisha noticed Rachel, and ran up to her mother quickly, tugging on her moms shirt and pointing at Rachel and her mother. Juliet and Alice glanced up, spotting them. Rachel noticed the girls and waved, smiling, only to have her mother yank her wrist back down, which finally caused Alice to snap. "Excuse me!" Alice said, walking sternly around the cars until she reached Rachel's mother, asking, "Are you Mrs. Lachapelle?" "Yes." "I'm Mrs. Davies, you called me, along with some other parents, last night," Alice said, "First of all, far be it from me to tell someone how to parent, but how about you don't hurt your child physically? Grabbing her wrist like that was uncalled for. Secondly, what exactly is wrong with our daughters? I'll have you know my daughter is a model student and citizen. She goes to church, she eats well, she is an accomplished student and she's very clean and polite." "Sad when 'clean' is included in your list of accomplishments," Chaz said, making the girls chuckle. "They were just being nice, and guess what, if you hide your child away from kindness, they're going to grow up being bitter and angry and...well...like you, frankly," Alice said, making all the girls gasp as Juliet finally climbed out of her car and ran around to Alice, grabbing her by the arms. "Okay, hey, maybe that's enough," Juliet said, chuckling nervously, "Come on Alice. We're sorry, we-" "No, I'm not sorry!" Alice said loudly, now causing other parents to stop and watch as she continued, "You telling your daughter not to interact with our children reflects poorly on us as parents, it insinuates that you think we've done a bad job of raising our kids, as if they're untrustworthy, and I'm telling you right now how wrong that is. Sure, we all come from different economic rankings and class systems, and we all have different beliefs, but in the end, our girls are all friends and don't think about those things. They treat one another with respect and kindness because that's what you're supposed to do." Trisha was in absolute shock. She'd never once heard her mother speak so sternly to another adult like this before, and it was blowing her perception of her own mother out of the water. Mae reached down and grabbed Trisha's hand, squeezing it tightly. "So okay, lay down the law, but you can't enforce it. If she's here, she's going to interact, you don't want her to interact, take her back to homeschool," Alice said, "but at least here she'll have kids her own age who wanna know her because they think she's interesting, not because they're her only human interactions like her parents. I'm not pleased with my daughters social circle at times-" "Ow, uncalled for," Allie mumbled. "-but that doesn't mean that I can tell her who to be friends with. If anything, I'm just eternally grateful that she has friends who don't judge her for her parents, or her religious beliefs, or her academic achievements. They're her friends because they like her as a person, overall, and you should be just as grateful, that's all I'm saying. Because you know what happens if you don't let your kid choose their own friends? They'll never learn how to interact with people, and then you'll be an owner, not a parent." Alice exhaled deeply as Juliet patted her back. Rachel's mother looked down at Rachel, then at the mothers, then turned and quickly got back into her car and drove away. Some of the surrounding parents clapped a little for Alice, who smiled and blushed, feeling embarrassed now as she turned back to face Juliet. "I'm so sorry, I should be better at controlling my outbursts like this, I just..." she stopped, noticing the girls staring at her and she smiled, adding, "Girls, get to class, and take that girl with you." The girls all looked at Rachel, who looked at them, and they all ran off to class with one another. Juliet stood by Alice, hand on her shoulder. "You did good," Juliet said. "...my mother didn't let me have my own friends," Alice said, "I've tried so hard not to do the same thing to Trisha, and it burns me when I see other mothers doing that to their own kids. I try not to get involved in other peoples lives when it comes to raising their kids, but sometimes...sometimes I can't help it." "Trust me, when she's grown up, that girl's gonna remember that weird mom who verbally assaulted her own," Juliet said, making Alice laugh. As the girls got to the classroom, standing outside, waiting for Mrs. Spinner to open the door, Rachel pulled her backpack open and pulled out a box of crayons for each of the girls. "I brought these so we could do the activity book together today!" she said brightly. "That sounds nice!" Trisha said. The door swung open and Mrs. Spinner let the class in. As they piled into the classroom, Rachel shut her backpack back up and, upon looking down, noticed Mae's shoes. "You're wearing mismatched socks," she said. "I know!" Mae shouted.
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FANNYPACK follows 4 girls - Chaz, Allie, Trisha and Mae - in the 90s as they deal with adolescence and friendship. Archives
December 2022
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