To Leave or To Stay

Monday, 25th June, 1984

William Strickland, long-time principal of Hill Valley High School, was known as a frigid, mean old creep who was married to his job to most of the kids in town. But as he sat in the waiting room, cringing at the faint sound of his wife's agonised screams with his head between his knees, all of that melted away in a second. He was terrified, not for his wife or for his unborn baby but for himself. When he decided to marry Judy, he knew he was going against everything he stood for. She was much younger than him – by twenty six years and two months, to be exact. She was just barely two years older than his eldest son and worst of all; she'd previously been one of his students. That was the worst possible thing for an educator like William, despite the fact that Judy graduated in 1964 not '84. And now as she prepared to give birth to the couple's first and only child, William realised he couldn't bring himself to be there for them.

The first time he held Rupert in his arms, the feeling was indescribable. He was blissfully euphoric, he wanted to cry which, of course, he did. He felt he was ready to take on the challenge of fatherhood, raise him the right way and teach him all kinds of things. By the time Louie came along two years later, he had become principal and already earned the reputation of being a heartless creep with hatred for teenagers. It wasn't true. That morning was a mistake; he didn't mean it! The bell for assembly rang and all the kids filed in late, chatting to their neighbours as they went. William stood on the stage, watching them all intently like a vulture. He'd unfortunately had a stressful, sleepless night and he was not in the mood for bad behaviour. He spent the rest of the assembly, screaming at them, calling them slackers and giving them detention just for picking their noses. It was since then, the rumours started; the teasing, laughing behind his back. He believed them. He was a saddo with no life, so that was what he became. Gradually, he started to act like that in the home. He ignored everything Angela said to him and began to resent his sons, knowing that one day they would be like those slackers who gave the school a bad name. So on the morning of the new term in September 1952, he woke up an hour early, packed his suitcase and walked out that door to work, never to return again.

If he were to do the same to Judy, he would never be able to live with himself. He was in love with her. She was his soulmate, kindred spirit – whatever you want to call it. She was different from Angela. She was carefree and spirited. She wasn't afraid of what people thought of her. She was William's complete opposite and that was what made their relationship so exciting. But since the day she announced that she was pregnant, those old resentful feelings came back. It wasn't fair to the kid to grow up with a father like Mr. Strickland – or as he was famously known in the school Mr. Strict-land. He was getting older, too. What fun would that be for a toddler? All of a sudden, William felt scared and panicky. He wanted to run, but it felt as though his feet were glued to the floor, and finally, it was too late to run. The sound of a baby's cry filled the air and there was a rush of excitement in the delivery room.

" Mr. Strickland, you have a daughter! Weighing in at 8lbs and 1oz," the doctor cried excitedly as she burst through the doors.

William stood up, not one breath leaving his body. " How is Judy?" he asked, breathlessly, amazed to learn that he had a daughter. He never had a girl before.

" She's fine, tired but she's in perfect health. Come on in, sir," she answered.

Hesitantly, he sneaked past the doctor and stepped inside. The first thing he noticed was Judy. Her long, wavy dark brown hair was soaked in sweat and her face was still slightly pink from pushing. Her small, bluish-grey eyes were shining furiously underneath the light and she looked completely shattered, but she looked…happy. There was no other word for it. She was happy, smiling down at the blanketed bundle in her arms and gently rocking it. She looked up and saw her husband by the door.

" Oh, William. Come and look!" she whispered.

" She looks mighty fine from here," William replied.

" Oh, don't be such a pansy!" the new mother joked and smiled.

He did as he was told and joined Judy in welcoming their new baby into the world. Despite being covered in blood and God knows what else, the baby was beautiful. Her skin was smooth and her fingers and toes were fat as anything. Her head, like her father's, was completely naked, which seemed to humour him. She began to cry a little and Judy quickly shushed her and she gradually calmed down. William wrapped his arms around her and gave her a brief and slightly cold kiss on the cheek. Even if he wanted to leave them both, he wasn't going to.

" She has no hair, like you!" Judy laughed.

William flashed a smile. " Being bald is the best possible thing! You don't have to waste money on haircuts or shampoo. You should be very proud to be bald, little lady," he said to his daughter. Then he faced Judy and asked her, " What shall we call her?"

" I think we'll call you Kelly. Are you Kelly? Yes, you are!" she muttered under her breath and caressed the baby's cheek.

" Yeah, she's Kelly," William agreed and held out his hands to hold her.

Monday, 3rd September, 1984

As William trotted down the steps of his house with his briefcase in his hand, he wasn't that eager to get to work. It was the start of another term and that meant new students, new slackers and a whole lot more work. It tired him out sometimes and all he wanted was to have just one minute to himself. Kelly was awake all hours, screaming and crying for food or some other reason. It was hard to get work done in time and William couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.

" Bye-bye, Daddy! Bye-bye!" called a voice from the front door.

William whirled around, slightly startled, but was relieved to see Judy holding Kelly, waving her little arm for her. He smiled somewhat sadly. He couldn't leave Judy and that perfect little angel. He braved a grin and waved back.

" Bye-bye, sweetie!" he called.

" Go easy on the sensitive kids!" she hollered. " You'll scare the life out of them!" she chuckled, reminiscing about the first time she came face to face with him at the age of fourteen.

" I'll try! See you tonight!" As he walked down the road to his car, he muttered to himself, " I can't leave her. Not right now."