A/N: Miss Albright's first name has never been mentioned so my best friend and I came up with one for her.
"Why, if it isn't Jessica Lovejoy!"
"Hello, Miss Albright. It's been a while." Jessica smiled up at her Sunday school teacher. She had just gotten back from boarding school. There was so much she had missed about her home, and her Sunday school teacher had definitely been one of them.
"It certainly has. I've missed you, Jessica." Out of all of the children she had taught over the years, Miss Lettie Albright had always found Jessica to be the most charming. She, of course, competed with the Flanders' boys for the title of brightest student, as they seemed to eat, sleep, and breathe the bible, but Miss Albright had always enjoyed Jessica's company the most. She sat down beside the girl and smiled. "Your parents must be glad to have you home!"
"I think so."
"I just can't imagine being a parent and having your child so far away from home for so long!"
"Yeah, it's not easy on the child, either."
"Of course not. Your poor dear! Your mother told me so much about you and your school!"
"What all did she say?" Jessica's eyes flickered to the woman. She was fairly certain that her parents wanted to keep her expulsion a secret, but she could never tell with her mother.
"Oh, just how well you were doing in your classes, especially your Bible lessons! She was so proud of you. And so am I!"
"Thanks. I really am just glad to be home."
Miss Albright had taught Jessica since she was very small. She had been "hired" by Jessica's mother years ago. The church had not had a Sunday school teacher at the time, and once a group of children became of learning age, Mrs. Lovejoy began seeking a teacher. She was always thinking of the children.
Miss Albright was always surprised and pleased with Jessica's enthusiasm for the Bible. She had her own copy from the age of four, and her father had always read to her. Miss Albright hoped that enthusiasm hadn't faded. It had been four years; a lot could happen in four years.
"Has my mom been gossiping your ear off?" Jessica smiled, knowing well of her mother's habit.
"My ears are still intact!" The woman touched her ears with a giggle before sighing. "She does like to talk, doesn't she?"
"Yes, ma'am." Though she had been gone for years, she had gotten enough of her mother's gossip through the telephone now and then.
"How is your father doing? I bet he is excited to have you home again. You two seemed very close."
There was a bit of a twinge in Jessica's stomach. Of course her teacher did not know of the events that had taken place before she left for boarding school. Nor did she know the confusion she felt now. "I'm sure," she forced a smile.
Jessica really wanted to be able to travel back to the time where she and her father were close, but she knew she couldn't. She would have to find that place in the present, and she didn't know how easy it would be. She just wanted the attention she used to get—to feel that love and closeness again.
Getting expelled had brought her home, but her parents—especially her father—just buried it as if it never happened. She wanted it to be recognized. She did a bad thing, and she wanted them to talk about it. She wanted to feel. . . something—anything at all. Maybe if she did one more thing, they would finally acknowledge it.
Miss Albright, unaware of anything Jessica had done, thought she was the sweetest little girl there was.
. . . Which was why she was so shocked when the next Sunday, someone stole money from the collection plate, and it turned out to be Jessica.
"Are you positive it was her?" Lettie asked Helen that Sunday evening.
Helen nodded sadly.
"But what if Bart stuck the money in her room to frame her?" She was well aware of how mischievous that boy could be. She had had to kick him out of her Sunday school class before, after all.
"No, unfortunately no."
"But. . . why would she do such a thing?"
"I don't know. Why would she get herself expelled from boarding school? Why anything?"
"What?!"
"Oh, dear," Helen hit her hand to her head. "I didn't mean to let that out."
After the minister's wife explained the things her daughter had done, Lettie was left a bit horror stricken. "I. . . can't believe it. I don't know if I can look at her the same way again."
"Well, how do you think I feel?" Helen's eyes suddenly filled with tears.
Lettie's eyes widened, and she hugged her friend. "Your daughter is good," she said soothingly.
"I know. . . Oh, where did we go wrong?"
The next Sunday school class, Jessica sat quietly in her seat, staring at the wall. When Bart Simpson came strolling in, he sat smiling up at the teacher. "Compared to Miss Lovejoy here, I'm quite an angel, huh? See my wings?" He started flapping his arms like a bird.
"Shut up," Jessica said quietly.
"Hey, it's just the truth, man. I'd never steal from a church, especially if my dad was the minister. . ." Bart shook his head.
Jessica stuck out her tongue at him.
"Do you really have no guilt? Damn!"
"I said shut up," Jessica's eyes welled up with tears as she ran out of the room.
Miss Albright gasped. "Children, sit tight," she commanded before hurrying after the girl.
They sat on the church steps in silence together until Jessica finally spoke. "Everyone views me as a criminal now."
"No," Lettie said softly.
"Yes," Jessica said firmly. "I did some bad things. Now everyone looks at me like a bad person. My friends, the church, you. . . Mom—she can't even look at me. . . but you know who doesn't see me as a criminal? Who refuses to accept it? My dad."
"That's a good thing, right?"
"No. It's awful. If he never accepts it, we're never going to move forward. He just keeps denying everything bad. . . but the bad is a part of this, too. It's a part of me. I need him to see me—to really see me."
"You should tell him that," the woman said gently.
"I've tried!" Jessica said through angry tears. "I've tried. . ." she repeated, weaker.
Lettie wrapped her arms around the girl and held her close. "You are a sweet girl. I'm never going to stop believing that, Jessica. You know what else I believe? That your dad is going to come around. Give it some more time. You will get close again. Your father loves you."
Jessica wiped her tears and looked up. "Thank you, Miss Albright."
"You're welcome, Jessica."
"I don't want to go back to class."
"Why don't you go into the auditorium with the grownups? I'm sure your father will love to see your face in the crowd."
"You think so?"
"I know so." Lettie led the girl into the church, dropping her off with her mother.
Though confused, Helen did not complain. She smiled and beckoned for her daughter to sit closer to her.
Reverend Lovejoy noticed the new face in the crowd and smiled to her. He had been doing some thinking himself and knew he needed to do something to amend the relationship with his daughter. He, too, wanted nothing more than to be close to her again. It was just hard for him to accept some things the girl had done because he only saw his sweet Jessica—a good girl, and that was all he would ever see.