Yes, I know this is really odd. I wanted to see if I could do it! The characters are all 'normal' people in this crazy, mad, modern day world. Let's see how they face these everyday challenges.
Obviously, this will eventually be Mirana/Tarrant, but I think you'd have figured that out xD
Review please, because this is the longest chapter I've ever written! (and probably ever will write, so enjoy)
"I could use a dream or a genie or a wish to go back to a place much simpler than this…"
Mirana Kingsleigh, 20 years old
I groaned inwardly as my cell phone buzzed and my daughter's school's name lit up the screen. What could possibly be so important that they'd call me at work? She was a straight A student, musically enhanced, imaginative- she wasn't a troublemaker. So I flipped open the piece of metal and muttered a quick "Hello," busying myself with paperwork since there was plenty of it.
"Mrs. Kingsleigh?" answered the principal.
"Ms. Kingsleigh and yes?"
"I'm sorry to have to bother you during the workday, but your daughter is here in the office and I'm afraid you'll need to come down here immediately." I bit back a sigh and came up with several worst case scenarios.
"I'll be there in twenty minutes. Good-bye." I clucked my tongue, completely unsure of what to do now. I stood up and walked around my desk, a grimace on my face.
"Hey, Mirana, what's wrong?" asked my secretary and sister, Margaret- or Maggie, as I called her.
"I just got called down to the elementary school. Think you can cover for me for, like, a half an hour?" She smiled and nodded, getting right to work. That's what I loved about Maggie- she was very good at doing what she's told. I grabbed my coat off the rack in the closet and hurriedly threw it on. "See ya later, Maggie! Love you- thanks!"
I rushed out of the building and hopped in my car- a 2011, white, Hyundai Sonata. I loved this car- it was my newest one (I bought two weeks ago) and the first one I'd bought since…well, since the one I got in 2006. That one was old- it was new in 1998. The seats were a light color, but I had- luckily- been able to keep it clean for the small amount of time I'd had it.
I shoved the keys in the…I don't know, the little key-hole-thing and started it up. Before I backed out of my parking space, I pulled my seatbelt across my white blouse and looked in the rear view mirror to make sure I was actually presentable. I ended up pulling my white hair into a pony-tail, scowling at how I looked. Thanks to my great-grandmother- who I had never met- I was partially albino. When I walked through Stop and Shop buying groceries, I was the one everybody stared at. Of course, there were a few people there that knew me, and they tried their best not to stare.
I shook all the thoughts from my mind as I pulled up in front of the elementary school- Helen Street School. I honestly didn't want to have my baby going here. I'd rather have her over at West Woods, but we couldn't afford to move right now. For heaven's sakes, I was barely out of college! Working as a nurse's assistant didn't earn me much money.
I pulled over onto the side of the street- the only parking- and stepped out of the car. I walked quickly up the few steps there were, pushed open one of the red entry doors, and stepped into the hallway. I almost tripped over the little kindergarteners that were on their way to gym, the teacher nearly scolding me. It was hard to think I would be a kindergartener's mother soon.
"Mrs. Kingsleigh?" My blood boiled as he called me by the wrong name again. I put on a smile and looked at the older man standing in front of me. His name was Mr. McTwisp- the school's oddly named principal. He meant well, but I knew he didn't approve of me being a single mother. Like I needed his approval of anything?
"Hi! So, is something the matter here?" I asked, trying to get straight to the point. He gently took my hand and led me into his office. I could see through the glass that this wasn't going to be fun. My little girl was sitting in one of the blue arm chairs, arms crossed, head down. She only sat like that when she was being stubborn …or if she was just ashamed of herself. The latter would, actually, be harder to deal with. Her blonde curls were hiding her face from me when I tried to get a glimpse of it through the window.
I walked through the threshold and kneeled on the floor, dropping my purse on the floor beside me. I tried to look at her face, but she turned away from me. After a few more minutes of that- and a little tickling- she finally giggled and looked at me, but she quickly dropped her gaze. I smiled softly, stood, picked her up, sat down on her chair, and rested her in my lap.
"Alice, honey, look at me. What happened?" I asked, trying to get an answer quickly. I regretted being in a rush when she looked me in the eyes. Her pretty brown eyes were brimming with tears. I bit my lip and hugged her to me, feeling terrible as she cried.
"Let's go in my office, hmm?" I wanted to glare at him for interrupting us, but he was probably right. I stood and grabbed my purse, shifting Alice so that she was in just one of my arms. For a pre-schooler, she was tiny. We walked into the office, and I immediately felt nervous. I had never like principle's offices, ever since I was a little girl myself.
"So what happened here?" I asked, cuddling Alice and trying to get her to stop sobbing. She must've been really upset about whatever she did- or what someone did to her. At that thought, my whole body tensed. No one touched my little girl.
"Alice- would you like to tell your mother?" I pulled her away from my shoulder and stared at her, no anger present in my eyes. She sniffled, wiping away her tears.
"I w-was in art class, Mommy, a-and the teacher man w-was yelling at Illiana. And so I yelled at him, b-but he didn't listen. Then I pinched his arm: j-just like you do w-when I don't listen to you." I sighed and closed my eyes. This wasn't good.
"Alice, honey, who's Illiana?" I needed to know why he was yelling at her before I reprimanded Alice. What if she had done the right thing?
"S-she's my friend. She's special, Mommy." I looked up at the principal to help me understand.
"Illiana has Down's Syndrome." I smiled a little, earning a hard glare from the principal. I stopped smiling and looked at Alice again.
"Why was the art teacher yelling at her, baby?"
"She knocked over the finger paints on accident. I swear Mommy, she did it on accident!" She started crying again. I felt proud of my little girl- standing up for people like she did.
"Would you mind if I go talk to the art teacher? I need to get this cleared up." Mr. McTwisp nodded and led me out of his office. Alice clung to me- arms around my neck, legs around my waist. I smoothed her curls out of my face as well as hers. She dug her face into my shoulder as we walked through the halls and up the staircase. We went down one more hallway- about 5 feet- and stopped in front of a door. It was marked Mr. Tarrant Hightopp, Visual Arts.
"Mr. Hightopp should be in there now. Good luck, and try not to make him angry." I furrowed my brow and opened the gray door slowly. The room was large- painted white, of course, like every other room in the building. It had splatters of color everywhere, though, so it was rather colorful. There was a carpeted corner and a chalkboard, where I guessed the children were taught. There were tiny tables further in the room, surrounded by even smaller chairs.
"Hello?" asked a male voice from behind a desk. On the desk was a very dark green top hat. A man popped up, who I assumed to be Mr. Hightopp. He was an odd man, but I could only guess by his attire. He was pale- almost as pale as me. His hair was bright orange, not quite red. He wore blue jeans, a white shirt, and a brown scarf. Half of each hand was covered in fingerless gloves that matched his scarf (not that I was surprised) and he had a gap in his teeth. His eyes, though- oh his eyes! They made me want to stare at them for the rest of the day! They were neon lime green, seemingly happy. But…he looked almost sad.
"Can I, umm, help you?" he asked me, snapping me out of my thoughts. I set Alice on the floor, and she sat at a table with crayons and some paper.
"Ah, yes. My daughter apparently, well, yelled at you this morning?" I said, but it came out to sound more like a question.
"Is shea teh little bugger 'hoo pinched meh?" he sneered. My eyes widened at his sudden Scottish brogue. It made my skin tingle, but in a good way. I backed up one step as his eyes flashed yellow- something I hadn't expected.
"I- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head quickly, as if shaking away his earlier thoughts. "I'm fine," he muttered, then looked at me and smiled warmly. "Let's try this again. Hi, my name is Tarrant Hightopp. And yours?" he asked, sticking out his hand.
"Mirana Kingsleigh," I smiled back, shaking his hand. It was cold and rough, covered in scabs and bruises. It didn't disgust me in the least. If anything, it intrigued me.
"So, Mrs. Kingsleigh, is your daughter Alice, by chance?" I bit back a snort as yet another person reminded me of my past.
"It's Ms. Kingsleigh, thank you, but you can call me Mirana. And yes, she is. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for her hurting you, sir. You seem very nice," I murmured, blushing a little. I turned slowly and walked out of the room, a bit unnerved about this man. He yelled at the kids, got angry easily, and yet he seemed so kind.
I heard a crash inside the art room, and thought Mr. Hightopp is a queer man.
Then I heard him being to laugh like a maniac.
So very queer.
Suddenly, Alice jumped from my arms and ran back into the art room with a paper clutched in her hand.
Tarrant Hightopp, 25 years old (about an hour earlier that day…)
I watched as the finger-paints toppled onto the ground, 3 different colors combining and soaking into the tile floor. I looked at who had done it and tried to calm down, but I couldn't. I'd have to clean up this mess! I stomped forward, scaring the little brunette in front of me- Illiana.
"Wha' did ye doo? Ye shan't beh throwing paints around!" I shouted, though I should've known very well not to blame her. She couldn't help doing something by accident. Out of nowhere, I felt a sharp prick just near my elbow. "Ow!" I screeched, turning to find the culprit. There, next to me, was Alice Kingsleigh, a look of pure anger on her face. She went to stand next to the other little girl and took her hand, immediately stopping her from crying.
"You do not yell at somebody for an accident. That's what my mommy says and my mommy is always right! So don't yell at Illiana again, you…you mean teacher man!" I gasped at the child, surprised by her attitude. She never struck me as the person to stand up for others.
"You, Miss Alice, are right. I'm-"
"Mr. Hightopp, what is going on here?" shouted a very angry principal from the doorway.
"I- her- Illiana- paint- she- floor- Alice- pinch- ouch- yell- me- ughhhh!" I went over to my desk and sat down, annoyed that I couldn't talk straight. I dropped my head on my desk, feeling the stares from everyone in the room.
"Alice, come down to the office with me. The rest of you- sit quietly and draw a picture of whatever you want to." I heard Alice being escorted from the room and immediately felt terrible. I let a tear fall out of my eye- I'd never earn her trust back. She told me I was her favorite teacher in the beginning of the year, and now I just turned her in!
Come now, Tarrant. That is an exaggeration.
But still! The poor girl is never going to speak to me ag-
"M-Mr. Hightopp?" I picked up my head and saw a little boy standing in front of me. He had a look of sadness on his face and it broke my already heavy heart. I wiped my eyes quickly, not wanting him to see me break over such a small incident.
"Yes, Thackary?" I had always loved that kid's name- it was like Zackary, but with a 'Th' instead of the 'Z.'
"I drew you a pic-ter," he said, beaming up at me. I grinned.
"Well, let's see it!" I said, in a better mood. I took the picture from his hands and immediately smiled the largest I had in years. It was a picture of my hat- and it was absolutely perfect. Without saying a word, I went and hung it on the wall behind me.
"Thank you, very much," I whispered. The smile that graced his tiny face could've been that of my own child…though that was impossible. I shook my head to clear my thoughts as the kids' teacher came into the room.
"Ahh, Mr. Hightopp. I see we're missing a student?" I looked up and smiled at my friend, Mrs. Mally Cat. She was married to the gym teacher, Mr. Chessur Cat (I loved their names, too). They were two of my closest co-workers at the school, and I tended not to get close to anyone.
"Oh, yeah," I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck and smiling sheepishly. "She's in Nivens' office. I'll explain later because you, my dear Mally, have a class to keep up with." I smiled and shooed her out of the room, returning to me desk. That was my last class of the day, so I dropped down behind my desk and tried to gather my papers and binders with no success.
I heard someone walk into the room and froze. Who could it be? "Hello?" I asked, praying it wasn't the principal coming to talk to me. I popped up from behind my desk and froze. Standing in front of me had to be the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes on. She was thin and tall, about my height, and had pretty white hair. Her skin was paler than most people's so I assumed her to be albino, or something of the sort. Her eyes were dark brown- like melted chocolate. Her fingers were long and the nails were painted black. Her lips were colored a dark maroon, but it looked almost normal against her pale skin. Despite the color of her hair, her eyebrows were dark brown, the same as her eyes. As I looked back at her face, I noticed she was staring at me, too. "Can I, umm, help you?" I stammered, wishing I could continue looking at her.
"Ah, yes. My daughter apparently, well, yelled at you this morning?" I grimaced as I thought back to just a few hours ago. Poor dear, she had to deal with my yelling at her. But then again, she ought to show some respect!
"Is shea teh little bugger 'hoo pinched meh?" I growled, glaring at the young girl sitting at one of the tables, coloring so innocently. I stopped immediately and actually began to think about what I was doing. Her mother was backing away from me slowly.
"I- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." I sighed, upset with myself. I shook my head harshly to clear my mind. "I'm fine," I muttered, a bad habit of mine. I looked up and smiled gently. "Let's try this again. Hi, my name is Tarrant Hightopp. And yours?" I held out my cut up hand, and she shook it without seeming as…disgusted as most people.
"Mirana Kingsleigh," she said quietly.
"So, Mrs. Kingsleigh, is your daughter Alice, by chance?"
"It's Ms. Kingsleigh, thank you, but you can call me Mirana. And yes, she is. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for her hurting you, sir. You seem very nice." Dammit! I just met her and already, I called her by the wrong name. At least she had- seemingly- forgiven me. She picked up her daughter and left the room.
I started pacing, but ended up walking into a stack of empty, metal paint cans! As everything crashed down on top of me, one can hit my head, and I fell down too! I started laughing like a madman- which I suppose I am- and the door to my room was thrown open. I stopped laughing immediately and looked up at the intruder. It was little Alice, running to me.
She grabbed one of my gloved hands and started pulling me up, but she was getting nowhere. So, I sat up on my knees and smiled at her. She had tears in her eyes and some paper in her hand.
"What's wrong, Alice?"
"You got hurt!" she said, giving me a big hug. I didn't touch her for a moment, then awkwardly rubbed her back and ran my fingers through her curls while she cried. No one had ever cared for me this much- even after they left.
"I-I'm fine," I whispered to her. "Don't worry." She pulled away, and saw the very few tears that had escaped my eyes like before. She reached over and wiped them away, making me smile.
"That's better," she said, matter of factly. "Mommy says when someone smiles, everything is a-okay!" I giggled at her. "I maded you a pic-ter. I'm sorry for yelling at you, Mr. Hightopp." She handed me a crude drawing of, what was probably supposed to be, me and her, holding hands in a park.
"Well, thank you very much sweetheart. Now, I think your mommy is waiting for you- I'll see you on Friday." She smiled, took my hand, and planted a big, little kid kiss on it. I blushed- even if she was just a pre-schooler, no one had ever done that to me before.
I glanced up and noticed Mirana standing there, a smile on her beautiful face. I swear I blushed an even deeper red as I got to my feet, absolutely unable to find the words to express the embarrassment I felt. She just closed her eyes and shook her head slowly, as in disbelief. She gathered her daughter in her arms and left the room, leaving me alone. I sighed, getting ready to clean up the mess in front of me.
But the whole time, I couldn't stop thinking about little Alice's mother.
So, what'd you think? Review please!