The last bell wrapped up the school day for the middle schoolers. Heather slowly walked out of the building, with her purse over her shoulder. Her father, Lucas, called earlier to tell her that he is working overtime. He may be hungry right now, so Heather decided to stop by a fast food restaurant before heading down to the coffee shop. She entered a McDonald's that was one block away from the shop. The employee at the front counter raised an eyebrow as he laid sight on the girl. "Aren't you a little... too young to be wandering this town by yourself, kid?" He asked.

Heather squinted her eyes at him. "Excuse you, but I am in my last year of middle school." She blurted out. "May I please take my order?" She then added. The employee snorted. "Yeah right, kid." He snapped back at her. "I bet you don't have any money on y-"

SMACK!

His sentence was cut short by a slap to the face. Horrified gasps rang through the restaurant, and then it fell silent. Heather cleared her throat to break the silence. "Explain to your manager why you have a red hand print on your cheek." She stated coldly. She then turned around and left without saying another word.

Heather strolled down the block, feeling pissed. She never experienced anything like that before- someone acting like a jerk when he notices a young kid by themselves. It was probably very easy to tell that she was angry, because she slammed the door when she entered the coffee shop. Lucas was chatting with a customer. He looked up to see his daughter stomping her feet as she took a seat. He excused himself from the customer and went over to her. "What's the matter sweetie?" He asked, his eyes filled with worry.

She sighs before responding. "Well, I was going to get some food before I came here, but an employee was being a jerk towards me." She explained. He said that I was 'too young' to be out and about of town by myself." She was tempted to slam her fist down on the table for being pushed to her limits. Lucas sighs and takes a hold of his daughter's hand. "You'll feel better with a cup of hot tea." He offered. Heather couldn't deny having something to drink. She was thirsty, after all.

Lucas started preparing the tea after he finished business with the customer. The shop was usually very busy whenever Heather comes after school. Now it was really quiet- too quiet for the young girl's tastes. She started tapping her spoon rhythmically on the table. Some customers told her to "cut it out with the racket" as they passed by her table, but she ignored them. She glanced up to see her father with a mug of steaming tea in his hands. "Why don't you head on home with your tea?" Lucas asked as he set the cup on the table. "I won't be done with work for another two hours."

Heather smiled weakly as she lifted the cup up to her lips, and took a sip. "Thanks dad." She muttered. She placed the cup down, and wrapped her arms around her father without warning.

"Thank you, dad..."