AN- So I am in the process of editing this story and adding some extra things, and once I finish that I will begin actually writing new chapters. I know it has been almost a year, and I haven't abandoned the story. I promise. I'm in my last year of college now, and things have gotten extremely busy.
"Meredith, you're wasting your potential." The girl in question resisted the urge to roll her eyes, knowing the only purpose it would serve was to fuel her mother's ire. It was difficult to divert her mother's attention away from what a disappointment she was; her mother seemed more focused on a goal more so than usual.
A deep sigh a few seconds later, and Meredith was ready to bolt from the room. The only problem was her mother's steely glare directed intently at her. Her piercing blue eyes could make a grown man piss his pants if she kept it on them long enough. They were cold and devoid of emotion unless it was irritation or anger. Those were the emotions she was most associated with as being a cause of them. Ellis Grey was a formidable woman who did not let her emotions consume her as she considered them to be a waste. Tears are for those that are weak Meredith. You don't cry, you build another layer of skin and become stronger.
"Mom, I don't know what it is exactly that you want me to say." The whole conversation was throwing her for a loop. She was confused because her mother seemed to be talking in circles; Meredith had no idea what she wanted from her, but that was typical of her mother.
Her mother stopped her pacing to shoot her daughter an annoyed look for interrupting what was surely a well composed rant. Her eyes always conveyed more than her words, although her sharp tongue did just as good of a job. She was thorough when it came to chastising her daughter for her mistakes.
"I didn't raise you to dilly dally and be generally stupid. You are much smarter than those teachers are giving you credit. You're not an idiot. You only do idiotic things as some sort of act of teenage rebellion." Her mother waved her hand in a dramatic flourish. "I want you to live up to all this untapped potential you possess, but this is perhaps not the best environment for you anymore. Your report cards may demonstrate that you have some innate aptitude for your studies, but all this trouble you are getting in is going to prevent any college from taking a second glance." Meredith did not appreciate the direction this conversation was going because she sensed that her mother was leading it to a grand finale.
The pink haired teenager crossed her arms in annoyance. Her mother sure was one to talk. "This is who I am." She gestured to herself. "Pink hair and all, so just accept it. Maybe I don't want to go to college." She sneered angrily. Liar, she thought.
Ellis Grey sneered at her daughter in the same manner. She was at the end of the rope with the girl. All she ever did was act out and cause more problems for the mother to fix. She couldn't continue to coddle the child as Meredith would never grow up then. She wasn't going to be Thatcher and cater to her daughter's wants. Meredith could hold all the contempt she wanted against her, but at the end of the day she had to what was best for her daughter.
"Meredith Elizabeth Grey, I'm sending you to boarding school. Before you go though we will be dyeing your hair back to it's natural honey blonde color. It was the way your genetics intended it to be, and honestly no one can take you seriously with that pink mop you call hair." She scoffed at the very idea.
Meredith sat up ramrod straight. Her mother couldn't be serious. "You can't do this." She protested vehemently. "I haven't done anything to warrant this."
"I can and I am. You are too old to be acting in a manner that is ill befitting of your age. It's time to grow up. Your teachers say you have a bright mind when you actually apply yourself. I've been humoring you recently, but I've gotten soft. It's time you realize I'm only doing this for your benefit." Meredith scoffed. She was doing it for herself. "You have two days to pack before it's off to your new school. I'm not doing this to be the bad guy." Her eyes softened as she took in her daughter. "I know that you make me out to be the big bad villain, but I am mom foremost. I haven't always been the best mom, but Meredith this was never easy for me."
"Well now you know how we feel. This is complete bullshit. You can't be serious about this. You're ruining my life, but I suppose that's just typical Ellis Grey behavior." She screamed angrily at her mother. She ran out of the room, knocking over a vase in the process, and up the stairs where slammed her bedroom door for good measure to convey to her mother just how angry she was with the woman's actions.
Every time she paced the length of her bedroom her stomping only got louder, not that her mother would hear. She was surely on her way to the hospital by that point. Her precious job was far more important to her than comforting her daughter after delivering a bomb shell like that. If there was one thing to know about Ellis Grey, it was that she never really wanted to be a mother. Her daughter was an inconvenience, and more of something that needed to be dealt with. She knew her mother believed that her existence was forced upon her by her Meredith's father.
At fifteen Meredith knew how unwanted she was.