"Are you suggesting"—Beth gripped the arms of her chair until her knuckles went white—"that Joanna is somehow deficient as a student or—or as apersonbecause she doesn't have a father in her life? Are you hearing yourself?"
Principal Melody blanched. "I only mean that if you were not a single parent, if you had more time for her—"
"Moretime?" Beth scoffed and pushed herself up from her seat. "It is completely inappropriate for you to suggest that I am not a good enough mother to Joanna simply because there is no man in our lives. She is an excellent student and athlete and always has been. Yes, she has her issues, don't we all? I understand that Joanna's behavior is unacceptable and must be corrected at once. You truly have my endless support in helping shape her into the proper young woman she should be to succeed in this world."
Beth could have stopped there, but the anger boiling in her stomach was inconsolable. She was tired of people treating her and Joanna like they were lesser beings. She wassick of it.
"But for a school that is supposed to be all about empowering girls and young women, howdareyou throw it back in our faces that Joanna does not have a father?" Beth bit out. "That I have no husband? Shame on you for blaming her, and me, for circumstancescompletelyout of our control instead of moving in to provide Joanna with the resources she needs to take control of her feelings and her life. Shame. On. You."
"Ms. Falls." Pure, stricken panic had risen on Principal Melody's face, scrambling to stand from her executive chair. "Ms. Falls, I did not mean to suggest—I hardly said anything of the sort—That is a gross misrepresentation of what I said—"
"You and I both know what you meant," Beth said cooly. Just seeing how flustered the woman was for being called out on her bullshit made Beth's anger settle again. "We'll be on our way now. Joanna?"
Joanna sprung up from her seat and skipped out of the principal's office alongside Beth. She clung to her purse and it was an effort not to stomp out of the school and raise hell on her way out. In the end, she still knew that Joanna was in the wrong, no matter which way the dice fell. Those horrible things she'd said ...
Had Beth gone wrong somewhere in how she'd raised Joanna? She'd done everything in her power to do it right, but with no parents to back her up, no partner, nofriends, maybe she hadn't been as much of a supermom as she thought.
"What a bitch," Joanna muttered as they made their way to the parking lot.
"Joanna!" Beth scolded. "That is no way to talk about your principal."
She rolled her eyes. Where did she learn so much snark? "She is. She's mean, and I don't like her."
"Well, I don't like her either," Beth admitted. "But we have to be respectful, she's still your principal, and she could make the rest of high school really difficult for you."
"She was being disrespectful to you," Joanna pointed out. "No one can talk to my mom like that."
They came up to the car, and while Joanna threw herself inside, Beth's hand lingered on the handle. Her heart swelled with gratitude to know that her daughter had her back, but she couldn't let a brief touching moment distract her from the real issue at hand.
Beth joined Joanna in the car, closing the door behind her. She didn't start the engine. "Are you going to tell me what really happened?"
"What's the point? I'm going to get in trouble anyway."
"What's the point?" Beth scoffed. "Jo, look at me.Jo."
Begrudgingly, Joanna did as instructed, but with an animated pout on her face.
"I know those messages were edited. I'm not as stupid as Principal Melody seems to think. If you want to get suspended, and have that on your permanent record, that's your choice." Beth released a frustrated breath when it didn't look like Joanna was any closer to spilling the beans. "You're a good kid, I know you are because I raised you to think about others before yourself. This isn't like you, and if something is going on that I don't know about, I want to know. I want to help you fix it."
"What if you just raised a little shithead for a daughter? What then?" Joanna said, not meeting Beth's eyes.
"You're making me think I did, with language like that. Honestly, Jo. When did you start swearing so much?"
"All the girls at school do it. It makes them feel more adult."
"And does it makeyoufeel more adult?"
Joanna sighed. "No, I think it's dumb. But I do it to fit in."
Beth could see where this was going, and it made her squirm in her seat. "What else do you do to fit in?"
"Ugh, it's not like I'm drinking and doing drugs, mom. Gross. I don't like parties."
"You're thirteen. You shouldn't be thinking about any of those things yet at all." Beth let out another frustrated sigh. "You'd tell me if you were, right?"
Joanna nodded, but Beth wasn't sure she believed her.
"I just want you to be safe, that's all. You're young and impressionable, and you've already had enough hardship, angel. Introducing all these adult things into your life will just make everything so much more complicated."