Page 13 of Bad to the Bone

“As it is she’s lucky we didn’t add destroying school property to the list of infractions,” he says with a growl.

“Let me get this straight. Shannon gets jumped by two girls in the bathroom over a boy she isn’t even dating, and she has to take a suspension and detention because she fought back?”

“Group fights are a serious matter,” he says, as if I’m an irate seven year old.

“They are, and so I suggest you spend more time disciplining the girls who start them instead of throwing Shannon into the pot for defending herself.”

“She nearly knocked a girl out.”

“Good, maybe next time she’ll think twice about following behind her friends and fighting. Shannon was just defending herself!”

The look on the Principal’s face changes to something of a mocking smile. I’ve seen that smile send a chill through many a teenaged trouble maker. It has the complete opposite effect on me. I struggle to contain my anger as I stare him down.

“Do you think you are doing her any favors by insisting on special treatment? I know you are a young woman and new to parenting, but I’m going to give you some advice. You’ve done a good job of keeping your head down and not flaunting your education or any other affiliations in front of your co-workers,” he says without blinking. “However, this is not the moment to break protocol.”

Before I can fire back at him, Shannon’s hand darts out and squeezes mine.

“That’s fine,” she says, accepting her punishment calmly. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to go home and get cleaned up. Can my Aunt have the rest of the day off?”

“I will arrange for somebody to handle the rest of the classes. Just leave your emergency lesson plan on your desk,” he says, signing the paperwork quickly and handing us a copy.

Shannon accepts it graciously and glides out of the office as if they had just been having a casual chat.

“She’s a good kid. You both are really. I hope this little infraction will be the last one,” he says as I turn to leave.

“You should take that up with the parents of other kids. As far as I can tell, this is a case of gossip having real world consequences. But then again, how can we expect the kids to know any better when the parents obviously don’t.” I close the door behind me without bothering to look back.

“Is everything okay?” Zayne stands up and greets us, being careful to keep his hands off of me.

“I’m fine,” I mumble.

“You look shook,” he says to nobody in particular.

How do you comfort a person you have to pretend you have no feelings for? He grabs Shannon’s hands and examines her knuckles. The tiny gesture of concern makes my heart ache. He can do that to her. He can show her that he cares about her without arousing suspicion. Even though he spent the night in my bed, he can’t even hug me now. Even though I am visibly upset, he has to pretend like he doesn’t see.

“I’ll meet you at the car,” I say, taking my leave of the scene before my temper gets the best of me.

The frustration of this entire incident makes me angry and I half-stomp my way back to my classroom and gather up my things to go home. By the time I get to my car, Shannon and Zayne are there chatting comfortably, as if this hasn’t been the shittiest afternoon imaginable.

“Did they suspend you too?”

“Nope.” He holds up a detention slip. “As expected, one day of detention for being in the wrong bathroom. So, I won’t be able to come over this evening. I’ll have to go home afterwards and eat some crow.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m not in the mood for company right now,” I grumble, refusing to look him in the eyes.

“Hey, is something wrong?”

“Everything is wrong, and we both know it,” I say, sliding into the driver’s seat and turning on the engine. Shannon shrugs and then gets into the passenger side. Zayne barely has a moment to say “drive safe” before I pull off. Shannon remains silent, opting to turn on the radio rather than talking.

“It’s not his fault, you know,” Shannon says as we pull into the driveway.

“I know, it’s not his fault. It’s mine. This whole thing is my fault. I put my own wants ahead of you, and I’m sorry.”

“Would you cut it out already, Aunt Kim,” Shannon says, displaying a rare state of annoyance. “You want to know why this happened? I’ll tell you. It happened because this town is full of rich bitches who have nothing better to do with their time than to gossip and construct elaborate fantasies about men who don’t want them. And Zayne, he wants you.”

“No, Shannon, this happened because I did something I shouldn’t have and I let you take the blame for me. Those girls targeted you because they think you are dating him. And you’re not. And you just let people spread that lie about you without saying anything because you want to protect me. But, honey, it’s my job to protect you. Not the other way around.”

Shannon snarls at me and rolls her eyes, just like Mia.

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