“I’m letting you know that any other principal might not have been so lenient.”
“Alright, your lordship, shall I go down on my knees and thank you –”
“Watch your tongue!” she shouted, causing me to jump in my chair.
Jesus fucking Christ, I’d hit a nerve.
She cut me up with that icy glare. “You may have had it rough, Elise, but that does not mean the world is going to tolerate your poor attitude.”
I swallowed. “I’m sorry.”
“You should be. I’m giving you another chance and you’re being a smartass.”
“I’m sorry,” I repeated regretfully. “I…I don’t know why I said that. It just came out. I’m sorry, Principal Caul.”
She exhaled slowly and studied me for several seconds. “I know you are,” she finally said, her shoulders relaxing as the tension in the room evaporated. “Now, I can’t simply let you off the hook. I have to do something, or else I’ll never hear the end of it. Michelle Anderson has a judge for a father, and I’m sure he’ll be calling my office in a matter of hours, demanding what punishment I’ve given you.”
“You really don’t have to be lenient,” I said.
“What you did was vicious, and there is absolutely no excuse for violence, but I don’t think you deserve being expelled given the details of what happened before you tore her hair out of her head. You’re going to get a three day suspension instead, and then you’re going to return, attend class and go about your business. Ignore those girls the next time they pick a fight with you, because after this, I am positive they will.”
“And I should just accept it?” I replied, astonished.
“You would have accepted it before, wouldn’t you?”
“That was before I had a backbone.”
“No, before you would have thought of the consequences.”
“Yeah, but that was…” I paused, my chest constricting.
She tilted her head to the side. “That was what?”
“That was when Aston was here,” I finished, blinking back the sudden emotion flooding to the surface. “He…He wouldn’t have approved.” Because he’d have done something about it himself.
“Is this your way of getting back at him?”
My mouth opened and no words came out. We stared at each other for several moments, and I felt like she’d spread me wide open and looked inside my soul. “You should have been a therapist,” I whispered.
Her lips spread into a soft smile. “Where would the fun be in that? I like to torture a kid or two every now and then.”
I smiled back, surprised by our conversation.
She let out a long sigh and added, “You are crying for attention, Elise. I see that, and I hope this is the kick you need to get your life in order. Keep your hands to yourself from now on, no matter how hard it is. The consequences are simply not worth the pleasure you feel in the moment. Understand?”
It took everything in me to nod, but inside I was coiled up and screaming. I didn’t agree. Those bitches deserved it. I’d gladly do it again today, tomorrow, every fucking day of the week.
But she was right at the same time, and I felt horribly divided.
“Good,” Caul said, looking suddenly older than her forty-three years. “Now you may go, but…please, Elise, take care of yourself. I want to see you graduate. Let go of that anger. Without it, you’re a wonderful, sweet girl.”
I shut my eyes for a brief moment, relishing in her compliment. Man, I felt so vulnerable.
“Thank you,” I told her. I was thanking her for not expelling me, but most of all I was thanking her for her sweet words. I needed it more than she could ever know.
I left after that and walked back to the bus stop in the rain. This time I had an umbrella to shield me, but no man at the bus stop to make me smile.
*
I lay in the bathtub, hot water up to my neck. My wet fingers were wrapped around a pink leather wallet with a glittery name on the front.
“Michelle,” I whispered, reading it with a sick smile on my face.
I opened the wallet for the first time since I’d snatched it off the ground after the fight. It was a shock nobody had noticed it before I did. I wasn’t sure exactly why I took it. Part of me felt she deserved it, but holding it in my hands and peeking through the contents, I felt like a dirty thief. Technically I was.
She had several fifty dollar bills inside. “Rich bitch,” I muttered. There were also receipts to the nail salon and spa. “Typical rich bitch,” I added.
I threw the money on the toilet seat and then pulled out a key in the front pocket. Rich bitch was going to have a problem trying to get home without her car key. Did I care? No. She shouldn’t have said what she did and then none of this would have happened.