Chapter Two: The Other Side
The whiny tin of Kara Sinclair's voice was grating on Diana's last nerve. It took every ounce of will power to not leap over her desk, wrap her hands around the girl's throat, and squeeze. Homicidal thoughts were not the norm for Diana but there was something about the Hearst students, Kara Sinclair and Max Warren in particular, that made her think a prison sentence might not be so bad. Pressing the tips of her index and middle fingers against her temples, Diana let out an exasperated sigh. "Kara, could you please get to the point."
A gasp squeaked past Kara's lips, which open and shut rapidly like a fish gasping for air. "You can't talk to me like that," the girl seethed.
'And you can't threaten me the way you threatened your teachers at Hearst,' Diana thought. While Kara's father was the Hearst district board of education, he had nothing to do with the Berry school board. "Kara if you don't have anything else to say, I really need to prepare for my next class."
"Oh I have plenty to say! Starting with no matter how much you prepare, your class is still going to suck! And to think I was going to ask you to help with my prom queen campaign!"
Kara wasn't serious. Was she? Outside of making sure things were run honestly and smoothly, teachers had nothing to do with prom royalty campaigns. In fact there were rules stating that teachers could not promote, favor, or speak against students who were running for any school sponsored title. "I hate to break it to you Miss Sinclair but this is Berry not Hearst and teachers do not assist with prom campaigns. Now, if there's nothing else…nothing class related…I am going to have to ask that you head to your next class."
"You're going to regret this," Kara threatened before stomping off.
"No you entitled little brat, I really won't," Diana muttered as she logged on to her computer. The end of the school year could not come fast enough. Her sympathy over Hearst catching fire had waned within the first week of having to deal with the likes of Kara, Max, and that awful little girl Zoe. Any other time, with any other students, she would call in the parents. She wasn't going to waste her time talking to Kara, Max, or Zoe's parents. They had to already know what little shits their kids were and they clearly didn't care.
"Ms. Maddox?"
Diana looked up from the lesson plan she was supposed to be mulling over and found Emma Hawkins standing a few feet away. "Can I help you Emma?"
"I was wondering if we could talk. I could really use some advice."
Oh no. Diana felt her stomach sinking. Right now she could only think of one thing Emma might need advice on. "I'm always here to talk with my students, you know that."
"I know. I just know you're also really busy and I didn't want to interrupt." A small smile played across Emma's lips. She really was a sweet girl. A bit too emotional at times but a good kid none the less.
"I have a few minutes," Diana gestured toward the desk Brittany had sat in hours before. "So, what can I help you with?"
"It's sort of personal, not school related."
It was definitely about the situation Brittany had brought up earlier. Great, just great. "Well, if I can help, I will," Diana cautiously offered. That much was true. If she could help Emma realize that she need to talk to Brittany and listen to what her friend had to say, then Diana would feel like she had actually accomplished something. Not just for Brittany, but for Emma as well. And it would make her conference with Scott that much easier.
"Okay." Emma's smile broadened. "Did you know that my mom and Brittany's dad used to date in high school? How cool is that? And…" her smile grew even more "how cool would it be if they got back together?"
"Emma, have you spoken to your mom about this?" It was possible that Julia no longer carried a torch for Scott. Perhaps hearing her mother say it was never going to happen would put a stop to Emma's match making scheme.
"A little bit. She wanted to make sure I was okay with the idea of her possibly starting to date again."
Diana wanted to thunk her head against her desk. Of course Julia was still interested in Scott. Why wouldn't she be? He was handsome, he had a successful career, and had once been stupid enough to think Julia hung the moon. "Ah. Okay. Well, have you spoken to Brittany…asked her how she would feel about your parents dating." Why did that leave such a sour taste in her mouth? It wasn't like she was still that fourteen year old girl crushing on the good looking senior who smiled at her in the hall. And she had zero interest in Scott Andrews.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Emma reached up and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I think Brittany's worried that if my mom and her dad get serious that my mom is going to try to take her mom's place."
"And why do you think that?" The urge to bang her head repeatedly against the desk was getting stronger. She was starting to understand what Brittany had been talking about. It was almost like Emma had the future all planned out.
"Think what?" Confusion wrinkled Emma's brow.
"Why do you think that is what Brittany is worried about?"
Emma let out a sigh. "I can tell she's not very keen on our parents dating and that is the only logical explanation I can come up with."
Maybe Emma was listening more than what Brittany thought. Listening, but not hearing. "Do you think maybe you should sit down and talk to her about it? Find out how she really feels?"
"I'm not sure I want to hear how she really feels," Emma whispered. "I know that my mom is nothing like her mom and that she can't help comparing them. I don't blame her for that. I just think if she were to give our parents a chance they could be really happy together."
"Emma, I really think this is something you need to talk to Brittany about. And I think when you do talk about it that you need to listen and try to understand where she's coming from."
"I don't think I can." It was pretty clear that Emma was starting to get frustrated. "To me it seems really simple. If dating makes our parents happy then shouldn't we put aside our own feelings?"
Diana blinked. Of all the things for Emma to say that was not what Diana had been expecting. "What do you mean when you say put aside your own feelings?" Emma glanced at the floor. "Emma, please talk to me. What did you mean by that?"
"Just that my mom is the happiest I have seen her in a long time and it seems like it would be really selfish to tell her that I don't want her dating my best friend's dad because I'm scared it's going to cost me my best friend." Without warning Emma burst into tears. "I feel like I'm in the middle of a tug of war match where I'm the rope. It's like when my parents got divorced and I had to take my mom's side because she didn't have anyone else."
"Oh Emma," Diana said softly. "Does your mom know that you feel like this?"
"No!" Emma's light brown eyes widen in horror. "And you can't tell her! Please Ms. Maddox! It would kill her if she thought I wasn't on her side."
Damn it Julia, Diana silently cursed. "I'm not going to tell her what we talked about but I do think it would be wise if the two of you sat down and talked about how you're feeling. And Emma you need to be honest with her. She's your mom. She's going to understand that you can't always agree with her."
"It's not that simple with my mom," Emma argued. "You don't understand."
Oh Diana understood alright. Julia needed to have someone on her side. "I understand more than what you realize. Talk to your mom. And talk to Brittany."
"I'll think about it."
Diana leaned back in her chair and let out a frustrated sigh as Emma slunk out of her classroom door. Emma wasn't going to talk to her mom and she wasn't going to talk to Brittany either. Part of Diana wanted to involve the guidance counselor, to just hand the whole mess over to someone else. The other part of her knew that she was the best person to handle what was going on. Besides, she'd already set up a conference with Brittany's dad. It wasn't like she could just call the guy up and say 'you know those worries I had about your dad? Well I don't feel like dealing with them so…you know…have a nice life.' Yeah, that would not go over very well. Not with Scott. Not with Ms. Hughes. Not with the school board. And not with Diana herself.