It made him sick to his stomach just how unsurprised Rick had been when Ken shouted at him. What kind of friend was he, if Rick expected Ken to yell at him now when things didn't go his way?
If this was how he treated his best friend, he couldn't even imagine how warped his memories of his time with Beth must have been. Had he loved her as righteously as he thought he did?
Or had he really caused her to leave him?
Chapter 2 - Beth
The uncomfortable metal chair scraped against the clean tile floor when Beth sat down and pulled the seat closer to the principal's desk. The older woman was prim and proper, with white and gray hair carefully coiffed into a bun on the top of her head. Her tiny black glasses were perched on the edge of her nose as she stared down at Beth, and then glanced at the child sitting in the seat next to her.
"Thank you for coming to this meeting today, Ms. Falls," Principal Melody said. "As I explained on the phone, this is a dire matter in need of immediate correction. It has come to light that Joanna has been bullying another student."
"That can't be right," Beth said at once. "Joanna is troubled, but—but she has a good heart. Surely there was a misunderstanding?"
Joanna scoffed and crossed her arms, looking away from the two adults. She wore her navy school uniform wrong, with the jacket tied around her waist and the skirt hiked up an extra inch and her knee-length socks pushed so they were baggy around her calves. Likely all to piss off the principal, and Beth could see that it was working.
She could hardly believe those messy, dark curls and angry green eyes, and thatattitudebelonged to her daughter. She'd never looked upon anyone else with such hate in Beth's presence—when she was angry like that, she reminded Beth far too much of her father.
It made Beth swallow and look away from her daughter.
Principal Melody took on a grim expression. "I'm afraid not." She unlocked a drawer in her desk, then pulled out a file folder. "We've gathered evidence of Joanna's interactions with two other girls via their social media profiles, and what we found was very troubling." She turned her pointed stare to Joanna, even while she pushed the folder toward Beth so she could see it with her own eyes.
Beth's heart was in her throat when she opened the manila folder. The first page was filled with screenshots of Joanna's messages to another girl, and they quickly devolved from playful banter to outright meanness. The language was foul, and Beth was horrified to see her daughter behaving this way.
The second page contained more screenshots, but these were different. They were from a conversation between Joanna and the same girl, but the other girl's side of the conversation was blurred out. It looked like Joanna had been trying to start a fight, but Beth couldn't be sure without seeing the other girl's replies.
"I-I don't understand," Beth said. "Joanna, why would you say these things?"
Joanna shrugged noncommittally, still not looking at either adult in the room.
"We've had reports from several students that Joanna has been engaging in similar behavior in person as well," Principal Melody said. "It appears that she's been deliberately trying to make others feel bad about themselves."
Beth felt like she was going to be sick. She wanted to believe that there was some explanation for this, that her daughter wasn't really responsible for the hurtful things she'd said... but she couldn't deny the evidence in front of her. Joanna had always been a troubled child, and Beth had tied herself into knots over the last thirteen years to try and tame her daughter's impulsiveness and bad behavior, but never had she devolved into being outright cruel until now.
"What do you have to say for yourself, Joanna?" Beth asked quietly.
"Whatever," Joanna muttered under her breath. "It doesn't matter anyway."
"It does matter! You can't just go around hurting people like this! What if someone had said those things to you?"
Joanna kept her gaze averted. She was hiding something—there was another part of this tale that Joanna was leaving unsaid, either because she was ashamed or embarrassed, or because she didn't want Principal Melody to hear. Regardless of the whole story, the things she'd said to those other girls were inexcusable.
Beth had raised her better, hadn't she?
Since Joanna wouldn't defend herself or explain her actions, there seemed to be only one course of action left.
"I'm so sorry about this. I ... I'm speechless. What happens now?" Beth asked.
"Joanna will be suspended for two weeks while we investigate further," Principal Melody said. "In the meantime, we'll be sending her to anger management counseling starting tomorrow."
"Is there anything else I need to know?"
Principal Melody sighed deeply and steepled her fingers on the desk. "Your daughter is a brilliant girl, but her once-bright future has become clouded. I hope this is a path we can still correct. I understand that you are a single mom, is that right, Ms. Falls?"
A chilliness came over Beth from Principal Melody's tone of voice. It held a hint of judgment that she'd become far too familiar with from the other parents and staff in the elite all-girls school that Beth had worked so hard to get Joanna into. She tried her best to bite back her irritation.
"That's right," Beth confirmed. "Joanna's father is not in the picture."
"Don't get me wrong, Ms. Falls, it is an incredible accomplishment that Joanna managed to qualify for our esteemed school, especially with only her mother to guide her through life. But I cannot help but wonder if some of her behavioral issues have stemmed from inadequate tutelage at home. If she had a man's influence in her life—"