"Okay everyone give a round of applause to Samantha's dad, Mr. Miller."

All the children clapped as Mr. Miller took a bow and headed to the back of the room with the other fathers.

"Okay we have one more left; Anastasea is your father here today?" Mrs. Thompson asked.

Anastasea looked down at her desk and shook her head as all the other kids looked around the room for Anastasea's father, "No Mrs. Thompson my daddy couldn't be here today."

Mrs. Thompson looked down sadly at the young child and nodded her head as all the other children started whispering around the room.

"Wow this is the third year Ana's dad hasn't shown up for "Bring Your Dad to School" day."

"I bet she doesn't even have a dad."

"I hear her dad doesn't love her enough to go to school with her."

"Has anyone even seen her dad before?"

Mrs. Thompson stood up from her desk and walked to the front of the room, "Alright well that's all the fathers here today. You guys can all leave and go have your picnic lunch with your fathers out on the playground."

All the kids yelled in excitement as they jumped out of their chairs and raced to their fathers who had their lunch boxes in their hands. Anastasea waited for all her classmates and their fathers to leave before she got out of her chair and walked over to her cubby. Her long brown hair was up in a tight ponytail letting the ends of her hair twist in little curls. She wore a long bright yellow sun dress with white flip-flops and her necklace which she had received three years ago from her brother and father around her neck. Anastasea grabbed her lunch and walked outside to where her class was. She sat down on the table under the old oak tree away from everyone else. It had been that way for the last three years. Every year they would have a day where all the kids could bring their fathers to school with them and the dads would sit with their kids in the beginning of the day and watch as they did their lessons, then before lunch all the dads would talk about themselves, after that they'd all go outside and have a nice little picnic out by the playground, and then they'd all go back inside and have craft time. Every year was the same, but Anastasea didn't mind she knew how busy her father was and understood that he needed to sleep during the day, but what really got to her was that she was always the only one out of everyone in her class who didn't have her dad there with her. Anastasea quietly ate her ham and cheese sandwich which Ms. Molly had made for her. As the lonely girl ate in peace she didn't see the group for four girls walking her way.

"Hey Ana!"

"Yes?" Anastasea looked up to see four girls she had hoped to avoid all day, Alex, Samantha, Jessikah, and Hailey. They were the meanest girls in her class. They were so pretty, each girl had long blond hair and wore the nicest clothes. Everyone in the class loved them, everyone but Anastasea. Ever since first grade when Anastasea accidently spilled black paint on Alex's brand new pink dress she wore for her sixth birthday the four girls teamed up against her and tried to mess up everything Anastasea did.

"So where's your dad today Ana?" Alex asked her as she sat next to Ana signaling the other girls to also sit down at the table.

Anastasea looked down at the table and quietly continued to eat her sandwich, "He's at home, sleeping."

Jessikah looked over at Alex and smiled, "Sleeping? And he couldn't get out of bed for one day to go to school with you? Sound like to me your dad doesn't care about you."

Anastasea's head shot up and slammed her sandwich down on the table, "Shut up Jessikah! My father does love me!"

Samantha laughed as she leaned over the table, "Then why isn't he here?"

"Because he works nights so he sleeps during the day." Anastasea re-informed her.

Hailey stood up from the bench and sat up at the table smiling down at Anastasea, "Oh really? You know Ana I don't think anyone has seen your dad at all since you started school. Do you even have one?"

"Of course I have one! I already told you he's not here because he's at home sleeping because he works at night!" Anastasea yelled at them.

The four girls laughed as they saw how frustrated they made Anastasea. Alex put her hand around Anastasea's shoulder and whispered in her ear, "If your dad really loved you then why would he constantly humiliate you every year by not showing up? I'll tell you why, because deep down he doesn't want to be your father."

Anastasea did the first thing that ran threw her mind she looked at Alex, "I told you to shut UP!" and swung her fist punching Alex right in the nose.

"DADDY!" Alex screamed as Anastasea jumped off the bench and ran to the other end of the school.

There she sat underneath the stairwell knees to chest wiping the blood off her hand with her dress and cried, "My daddy does love me. My daddy does love me. He does. I know he does."