Disclaimer: I do not own Roseanne; the series and its characters are all property owned by Carsey-Werner
Forbidden Love
Written By: SSJ God SS Juuhachi
Chapter 26: Aftermath
Morning came, and Mark and Becky walked through the back door. They removed their coats and hung them up before they walk, into the kitchen.
As they did, Becky noticed the coffee pot wasn't on, "There's no coffee; looks like we beat Mom and Dad home. I'm going to make some," She began to make it; Mark looked into the living room, a smile crossing his lips.
"Hey Beck, come here," He whispered, gesturing for her to come closer.
"Hmm," She turned around, "What is it?"
"Look," He pointed towards the living room as Becky walked over to him. She looked into the living room and what she saw made her heart melt.
There on the couch were Darlene and Molly sitting up, cuddled together with the afghan covering them.
"Oh my god," She smiled, placing a hand over her mouth briefly, "Would you look at that?"
"Looks like they made up last night," Mark said as he and Becky walked carefully to them.
"Yeah, they did," Becky said, the smile still on her face, "Go get the camera,"
"Why?"
"This is too adorable. We need to get a picture of this. Go get the camera; it's in the hall closet."
Mark nodded his head and walked off to retrieve the camera. A moment later, he returned and handed it to her. Becky turned it on and began positioning the camera.
"Won't the flash wake them up?" Mark whispered to her
"I turned it off,"
Becky quickly snapped the picture.
"Your parents are going to be home soon. Should we wake them up?"
"No," She shook her head, "Let them sleep for a little bit longer,"
Just then, the back door slammed, startling Darlene and Molly out of their sleep. Becky quickly handed the camera to Mark, who hid it in Dan's recliner chair, covering it up with a pillow.
"We're home!" Roseanne shouted as she and Dan walked into the kitchen.
"Oh, good, there's coffee," Dan said, walking over to grab a cup.
Roseanne dropped her purse in the chair before turning to the living room, where she saw Becky and Mark.
"Hey, when did you two get back?" She asked, walking into the living room.
"We just got here a few minutes ago, Mom."
Roseanne then turned her attention to the two teenagers, who were trying to wake themselves up.
"What is this? Molly, what are you doing here?"
"Uh, I...ah, morning," Molly responded awkwardly.
"Did you spend the night here?"
"Yes, she did," Darlene snapped at her mother as she stood up, "As a matter of fact, we were sleeping until you came in here, slamming the door."
"Oh well, it's a good thing I woke you up. You need to start getting ready for school, both of you." Roseanne said, glancing at Molly, "I didn't feel like fixing breakfast this morning, so we brought donuts."
"I'm not hungry,"
"Well, you may not be, Darlene, but it's not all about you. The rest of the family might be hungry; did you ever think of that?" Roseanne said as she walked back towards the kitchen.
Darlene stared at her retreating back; when she heard Molly speak, "Um, I guess I better get going," She turned to her, watching as Molly walked over to the coat rack to retrieve her leather jacket.
She followed her to the door, "Well, thanks for coming over; it was nice spending time with you last night."
"Same here," Molly smiled, "Well, I need to go get ready. I'll see you at school, okay, Darlene?"
"Okay,"
Molly stepped closer to her before wrapping her arms around her neck, pulling her into a hug. Darlene stiffened up slightly before she hugged her back, wrapping her arms carefully around her waist.
They soon separated, and Molly walked out the door. When she was gone, Darlene turned her attention towards her mother, who was in the kitchen, drinking coffee while Dan drank coffee and ate his donut.
She shot the woman a death glare and began walking towards the kitchen when Becky and Mark stopped her.
"Darlene, don't. Just let it go, okay?"
"Yeah, you don't want to get into a fight this early in the morning."
Darlene glanced at Roseanne a moment before looking at her sister and brother-in-law.
"Fine, I'll let it go," She said, finally, "But you two didn't see anything, got it?"
"Got it," They replied in unison.
Darlene then walked off towards the basement to get ready for school.
Once is gone, Becky said, "But I can't speak for the camera," She brought her hand out of my behind her hand and revealed the camera in it.
Mark turned to her, "You got another picture?" He asked surprised
"Yep, of them hugging," She smirked,
"What are you going to do with them?"
"If Darlene knew that we took these, it would just embarrass her, and she would most likely try to destroy the camera," Becky explained, "So once I get the pictures developed, I am going to give them to Molly for safekeeping,"
"You're a genius, babe." Mark smiled, "Giving the pictures to Molly, Darlene won't dare do anything that would break her trust."
"No, she won't." She said, "But we should probably hide the camera so she won't find it."
"Yeah, we should, in a place that she won't think to look,"
"How about the underwear drawer?" Becky suggested
"Good thinking, she'll never look through there,"
"Come on, guys, and get some breakfast!" Dan called to them
"I'll go hide the camera," Mark said, dashing upstairs, while Becky walked into the kitchen. She poured herself some coffee and walked over to the table, and grabbed a donut.
"You're not eating anything, Mom?"
"No," Roseanne shook her head, "My stomach has been upset since last night,"
"Why, what's wrong?" Becky asking taking a bite of the donut
"I think I got food poisoning from the dinner I ate," She shrugged, "I started feeling sick soon after we got to the hotel and spent half the night throwing up,"
"I thought your Mom, maybe she caught a bug at work, but she insisted that wasn't it..." Dan chimed in,
"Well, I don't think it is Dan,"
"You don't know, maybe a few of the customers that came in were sick," He retorted
"If that were true, then Leon, Nancy, and Jackie would be feeling sick too, and they're not," Roseanne told him.
"Well, in any case, take it easy today, get some bed rest," Becky said, devouring the rest of her donut.
"I wish I could, but I can't, but I have to take Darlene to school, and then I am going to talk to Principal Hiller today," The older woman stood up, walked over to the sink, and dumped out her coffee.
"Why do you need to speak with him?"
"Because I am going to discuss to him about taking Darlene out of school and having her homeschooled," Roseanne answered, leaning against the counter as she turned to Becky.
"Home school?" Becky asked, confused, "Why do you want to do that?
"Because I think this is the best thing for her..."
"And who is going to teach her?"
"Well, I was hoping you would..." Roseanne said, walking towards her daughter
"Me?" She questioned," Why would I do that?"
"Mom, I can't do it," The blonde argued, "Between work and school, I don't have the time...besides, don't you think you're acting a bit hasty?"
"No, I don't think I am acting hasty,"
"Darlene is in one fight, and your ready to take her out of school and have her homeschooled,"
"This isn't just about the fight, Becky," Roseanne said, walking over to her daughter. "Darlene said it herself; she always felt like an outcast in school and had issues fitting in; this helps resolve that problem."
"It's true, Darlene has had problems fitting in, but this doesn't resolve the problem, Mom. All you are doing is creating more for her."
"You don't understand, Becky."
"No, I think I do understand, and you can't just keep her here, Mom..."
"She's right, Mrs. Conner. You can't keep Darlene chained to the house and locked away from the world," Mark muttered as he finished his coffee.
Roseanne shot him a look, and Mark walked away from the women and over to the other side of Dan.
She then turned back to Becky, "I appreciate the concern, Becky, but you are not her mother. I am, and all I am trying to do is help her."
Becky sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
"But Mom, pulling her out of school is not helping her. All that's going to do is make her feel more isolated from people."
" What would you like me to do, Becky? Just ignore everything and let Darlene continue to struggle with school? I can't do that."
"Mom-" Becky tried to protest but, is then interrupted.
"No! You have no idea what I am going through because you aren't a parent. When you have kids, you will understand that sometimes you have to make hard decisions to protect your kids."
"Fine, go ahead ruin Darlene's life, but your the one who is going to suffer the consequences for it in the end."
Mark and Dan looked back and forth between mother and daughter.
"I'm just trying to do what is best for her,"
"No, you're doing what's best for you," Becky challenged her, "You want to lock her up, so you don't have to deal with the drama of everything. It's all about you."
"You're wrong; that's not true at all!"
"Roseanne, that's enough,"
"Becky," Mark and Dan tried to calm their wives down.
"If you want to do this, you are on your own; I won't be part of it."
"Then I guess you don't care enough about your sister to help her-"
"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!" The family whipped around and saw Darlene standing there, an angry expression on her face.
"Darlene..."
"Can't we have one calm moment in this damn family without someone yelling at each other and telling the other what to do!"
"It's okay, Darlene, no one is yelling. Becky, weren't you going to take your sister to school?"
"Yeah, I was. Thanks for reminding me, Dad."
"You don't have to do that, Becky." Roseanne said, "I'll take her,"
"No," Darlene fired back, "I don't want you to take me,"
Roseanne stared at her.
"All right, let's go, Darlene," Becky said, grabbing her coat.
The sisters began to walk out of the kitchen when Roseanne spoke again.
"You can't leave here without first getting something to eat..."
Darlene turned around and walked over to the table. She grabbed a donut and stuck it in her mother. Darlene looked at her mother briefly before turning away and began heading to the door.
Roseanne watched as Darlene slipped on her flannel coat, and she and Becky walked out of the door. After they left, she released a sigh.
Dan turned to his wife, "What's wrong, babe?"
"Nothing," She shook her head, "I'm going to lay down for a while," Roseanne said before walking off to the bedroom to rest.
"Wel, that was intense,"
"Yeah, it was," Dan said before glancing at the clock, "We better get going, or we're going to be late," After finishing his coffee, Dan dumped his coffee mug in the sink and walked to the back door.
"Okay, Dan," Mark followed his father-in-law after dumping his coffee mug in the sink as well.
Moments later, Becky and Darlene were on the road and on their way to Lanford High School.
"So she doesn't trust me?"
Becky nodded, "She thinks after everything that happened; that this is the best thing for you."
"Yeah, she would think that," Darlene said dryly.
"Don't worry, Darlene, she'll come around. I think you, getting into that fight yesterday just scared her,"
"Yeah, that's what Dad said too." Darlene said, "So, how is work going for you?"
"Are you really interested in knowing how work is going, or are you just changing the subject?"
Darlene pauses a few seconds, "Changing the subject,"
"Work is fine," Becky answered, " They bumped me up to a management position, which is fine."
"Does it have a pay increase?"
"It's not about the money, Darlene. But yes, it does; this will help Mark and me to save money, start a new life of our own and escape the madness of Mom and Dad."
"Speaking of which, is she really going to come to school today?"
"That's what she said,"
Becky pulled up in front of the school.
"Thanks for the ride, Becky." Darlene was about to get out of the car when Becky stopped her.
"Hold up a minute, Darlene," The teen turned to look at her.
"I just want you to know; I'm sorry..."
"About what?"
"About the things I said, about my part in why you felt so isolated..."
"Becky..."
"No, if I hadn't said the things I said, if I had listened to you, tried to understand why you did what you did, maybe you wouldn't be this way now..."
"Becky, stop it,"
"It's my fault you felt isolated and alone if I had been the big sister I was supposed to be; if I had noticed that something off with you-"
"Would you knock it off already?" Darlene asked, frustrated, making Becky turn to her, "It's not your fault, okay? All your words did was make me think about my actions. It made me think about what I did and realize if I had controlled my emotions better. What I did; wouldn't have happened; at all had I had a better grasp on my emotions, so that's what I did."
"You turned them off, you said."
"That was the only way I could control them..." She then added, "but that doesn't make it your fault, Beck. I decided to bury my emotions; It's on me, it was my choice, nobody else's, okay? So stop blaming yourself,"
Becky nodded
"I have to go; I'll see you later,"
As Darlene turned to leave again, Becky said, "Wait, I have something for you."
"Can it wait till later? I have to get going..."
"This will just take a minute," Becky picked up her purse, reached in it, and pulled out some money, handing it to Darlene.
"What is this?"
"It's lunch money,"
"Becky, I don't need your money,"
Darlene tried to give the money back to Becky, but the blonde refused.
"Take it, Darlene. All you had to eat today was a donut; this will allow you to buy a salad if you want,"
"...Thanks."
"You're welcome," Becky smiled, "Have a good day,"
"I'll try," Darlene said as she gathered her things, "See you later," She gets out of the car and begins heading to the door.
Becky sits there a moment, watching her sister before releasing a sigh and driving off to work.
Darlene entered the building. Her book bag slung on one shoulder as she made her way to her locker. The other students whispered and stared at her as she passed, but she ignored them.
As she walked down the hallway, she saw Marcy, Stacy, and Cindy. They glared at her as they caught sight of her, she glared back. None of them said a word as they passed each other.
Darlene soon arrived at her locker. She put her book bag inside and got what she needed for English Class before heading off to class.
When she got there and walked inside, the other students in the room turned to her. Darlene looked at them, feeling increasingly uncomfortable with them staring at her.
Molly, who sat nearby, watched as Darlene then sat down at her desk, carefully placing her notebook, textbook, and pencil on top of it.
Everything was eerily quiet until Mr. Williams walked into the classroom. "Good morning, class," It was only; when he spoke, did the class looked away from her and towards him, which was a relief for Darlene.
Mr. Williams began that morning's lesson. Darlene's mind began to drift as he spoke, silently telling herself that she could get through this.
Becky soon arrived at Buy N' Bag, where she's met; with her supervisor.
"Good morning, Becky."
"Good morning, Jennifer."
"You were supposed to be here a half-hour ago," The middle-aged woman said as she followed Becky into the employee locker room.
"I know, I'm sorry." Becky apologized as she opened her locker and put on her vest. "I had a little bit of a family crisis this morning. it won't happen again."
"It better not," Jennifer said sternly, "Becky, you're a manager now; you need to set an example for the other employees."
"I know, your right. I promise it won't happen again."
"See that it doesn't, or next time, your late; it's coming out of your check."
"Understood," Becky replied, and Jennifer walked away. Once her supervisor was gone, the blonde sighed; she looked at the small mirror in her locker and stared at her reflection.
"Come on, Becky, you can do this...remember, this for you and Mark, for your future together..."
"Hello, Rebecca!"
Becky jumped as she looked over to find one of the new trainees.
"Oh, hi, Cindy." She said, "What are you so happy about this morning?"
The short brunette, who was just a year younger, smiled at her, "Jennifer said we got a new employee starting today. And since your the manager, he's going to follow you around to see how things work."
Becky blinked, "He? So the new person is a guy?"
"Yeah, I think Jennifer said his name is Tim," Cindy explained as the two women clocked in for work; and walked onto the main floor. "There is he is now,"
Becky looked, and to her horror, she saw Tim Davis standing there.
"Tim Davis...you have got to be kidding me...of all the places in Lanford he could have worked, why did it have to be here?"
"You know him?" Cindy asked
"Yeah, you could say that." Becky responded, "I guess I better get this over with,"
She walked over to him, "Hello, Tim."
Tim turned to her, "Why, hello, beautiful," He smiled, "I didn't expect to see you here."
"I bet you didn't."
"Can't say it's a bad surprise."
"Right. And I didn't expect you to look for a work in a place like this, I thought, you know you would be more at home behind bars somewhere, making license plates..."
"I see why Mark picked you; you got attitude,"
"You know, I am your manager; you need to watch what you say to me."
"Relax, I know that," Tim said, putting his hands up in defensive, "and don't worry, I will be on my best behavior."
"All right then, let's get started,"
"Oh, before we do, I would keep this between us. No need to involve Marky into this."
"Whether or not I tell Mark; is none of your business."
"You're right. It's not. I was only saying that because the word is Mark beat up your last supervisor and got into some serious trouble before, which resulted in a year ban, and if I heard right, the next time he does something, it will be a lifetime ban. You don't want that to happen, do you?"
"No, I don't," She responded, "Now we will need you for bagging items for customers or stocking shelves. That should be easy enough for you."
"Yeah, easy and simple."
"I guess I should show you around, so you get an idea of how things are run, around here, follow me." Becky beckoned for him to follow her.
At the Lanford City Garage,
Mark sneezes
Dan glancing over, "You okay, you're not getting sick, are you?"
"Naw, I'm fine, probably allergies or something." Mark shrugged his shoulders
"Well, it's not going to affect your work, is it?"
"No, I'm okay," Mark told him. "Say, Dan, you don't think Mrs. Conner is serious in what she said this morning, do you?"
"About taking Darlene out of school?"
"Yeah, you don't think she'll really do it, do you?"
"It's hard to say, honestly." Dan answered, "I mean, her intentions are good, and she wants to do what's best for Darlene. But at the same time, I don't think she's thinking; what that could do to Darlene emotionally and mentally."
"That's for sure; who knows what could happen to Darlene," Mark said, "I know my parents tried to do that once with David."
"Really?"
"Yeah, David was getting picked on a lot at school by some older kids. I did my best to protect him, but I couldn't be there all the time so eventually, my parents, fed up with the beatings and bruises he received, decided it would best to have David homeschooled."
"And how did that go?"
"David did well in his studies, but he became more closed off from the other kids in the neighborhood, some of which were his friends,"
"What did your parents do?"
"Nothing, they just ignored it as usual," Mark said, "And, of course, they didn't want to hear my opinion on the matter, but I told them he needed to go back to school, that he was becoming isolated from people and was depressed."
"Damn," Dan taking in the weight of the situation, "I remember when Darlene was depressed, I don't ever want to see her like that again."
"Then talk to Mrs. Conner, straighten this whole thing out."
"You're right. I should." Dan walked into his office and picked up the phone. He dialed the house number before putting the phone to his ear, listening as it rang over and over again.
"Come on, Roseanne, pick up the phone."
Roseanne walked through the doors of Lanford High School. She walks to the main office, where she finds Ms. Carrie.
.
"Hello, Mrs. Conner," The woman greeted her, "How can I help you?"
"I'm here to speak to Mr. Hiller."
"He's busy right now, so I'm afraid you will have to wait," Roseanne ignored the woman and walked to his office door. "You can't go in there!"
Mr. Hiller was going over paperwork when his door opened, and in walked the familiar presence of Mrs. Roseanne Conner.
"Mrs. Conner, and to what do I owe this surprise visit?" He asks as she walks over to his desk.
She put her hands on it and said, "Look, I'm going to cut the chase. I want to take Darlene out of school,"
"Reason being?"
"I want to have her homeschooled,"
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Mrs. Conner?" He asked her
"What do you mean?"
"I have seen a lot of parents take their kids out of school and try to homeschool, and it never works out. They might do well academically, but socially, they suffer. They become isolated and depressed, and the parents bring them back, where they can be around kids their age group."
"You call this healthy environment? Since enrolling Darlene back into this school, she has been getting bullied every day, beaten up, left unconscious on the bathroom floor, and now she's getting into a fight with other students. Aside from not fitting in, I don't feel this is a safe place for her anymore."
"Now, Mrs. Conner, let's now be hasty. I understand you are upset about what has happened, but I can assure you that Darlene is perfectly safe here."
"Yeah, well, it doesn't seem like it."
"Listen, Mrs. Conner," Mr. Hiller began, "Why don't you take a couple of days to think about it before you make a final decision? Talk it over with your husband, with Darlene," He said before then, adding, "In the meantime, if it makes you feel better, we will look into the situation and investigate what happened yesterday. We will interview students, get an insight of what they saw, and when we find something out, we'll contact you."
Roseanne looked at him skeptically, "Okay," She said after a moment or two, " Well, thank you for your time, Mr. Hiller,"
"Of course," He said, "And don't worry; Mrs. Conner, we will take of care this matter,"
Roseanne nodded and afterward exited his office and walked out of the school. She looked at her watch and saw it was approaching eleven o'clock.
"While I'm out, I might as well go to Buy N' Bag and see what's on sale." She said before walking to her car.
Darlene exits the lunch line with a salad, some fruit, and milk on her tray. She walks over to a table isolated away from other people and sits down. She reaches in her bag and pulls out a book to read as she eats.
Sitting nearby was Molly and her friends. Sarah and Ashley looked at her in disgust, while Molly stared at her sympathetically.
"Look at her..." Sarah said, "Look at her face..."
Molly sighed, "Sarah, please..."
"It's disgusting," Ashley then added.
"Ashley..."
"That fight was brutal yesterday; I have never seen such barbaric behavior, especially between two girls," Sarah remarked.
"I saw it happen; Darlene tackled that Marcy girl to the ground, beating her viciously."
"I heard some kids say that she was the one who started the fight,"
"Well, they're wrong," Ashley and Sarah turned to Molly, giving her an annoyed look.
"Yeah, and how do you know?"
"I can't believe you, Molly," Sarah said, glaring at her friend, "How could you defend her? After the way she treated you..."
"That is none of your business; that is between her and me, not you." Molly said firmly, "As for how I know, because she told me. Darlene said that you two told her about Marcy bullying me and that she would take care of it. That's what she did. She stopped Marcy from hurting me anymore,"
Sarah and Ashley stared at her, "Darlene is a good person, she may be rough around the edges, but she has a good heart, something the two of you would see if the two of you were sitting here judging her,"
"I see, so you're on her side,"
"Sarah..."
"No, no, you think she is a good person and has such a good heart, then you go ahead and sit with her. Come on, Ashley, let's go..." Molly watches as her friends, got up from the table and walk over to another, leaving her alone.
She turned her head toward Darlene and saw she was still reading. Molly picked up her tray and walked over to Darlene's table, sitting down right across from her.
Darlene looked up from what she was reading, "Molly?" She asked, confused, "What are you doing over here?"
"You looked lonely, so I thought I would join you?"
"What about your friends; don't you normally eat with them?" Darlene asked, "Where are they anyway?" She looked around for them, noticing they weren't at their usual table.
"They're over there..." Molly pointed a finger; at a table behind Darlene. She turned to see where she was gesturing and found Sarah and Ashley shooting her a dirty look.
Darlene turned back to Molly, "It's because of me, isn't it?"
"No," Molly shook her head, " They just decided to sit with some other kids today. And I thought it would be good for you if you had some company,"
Darlene knew Molly was lying but didn't push the subject, "Okay," She said, nodding her head, accepting her answer.
"So, how was it this morning after I left?" Molly asked, changing the subject
" Oh, you can imagine," Darlene responded, "Mom and Becky were arguing about me and whether or not I should be; homeschooled,"
"Homeschooled?" Molly asked, "Well, she's not going to do it, is she?"
"I don't know," Darlene shrugged, setting her book down, "Mom can be unpredictable at times, so it is uncertain if she will follow through with it."
"Well, hopefully, it doesn't happen,"
"I hope not either,"
Molly reached out and took Darlene's hand in hers, "I hope that things are calmer when you get home," She said, "But if they're not and things are still hard, and you need someone to talk to, I am always here for you."
Darlene looked down at their hands for a moment; before looking at Molly again.
"Thanks, Molly..." She replied, pulling her hand away reluctantly.
Roseanne walked into the Buy N' Bag; she grabbed a cart and a sales ad and began to head towards the grocery section. She grabbed some fruit, a loaf of bread, and a few snacks and put them in the cart. As she turned down the canned goods aisle, she saw Becky standing there.
Her arms crossed, watching another employee stocking shelves.
"Becky," Roseanne spoke, grabbing her daughter's attention. The blonde turned to her and walked over to her.
"Hey, Mom," Becky greeted her mother, "What are you doing here?
"Well, I noticed we were lower on a few things, so I decided to stop by and pick up a few things."
"On your way here, did you stop by the school?"
"I did," Roseanne responded, "and I spoke with Principal Hiller about taking Darlene out of school,"
"And what did he say about the matter?" Becky asked
"He told me I should take a couple of days to think things over, discuss it with your father and Darlene before making a decision."
Blonde nodded her head, "Seems fair,"
"Yeah, in the meantime, he said they are going to look into the situation and investigate what started the fight,"
"Well, that's good at least they are going to look into it," Becky said
"Yeah, so how has your day been going?"
Becky sighed, closing her eyes briefly as she then got an annoyed look on her face.
"That good, huh?" Roseanne teased
"Oh, Mom, you have no idea the kind of day I've had so far,"
"What happened?"
"Well, after I dropped Darlene off at school, I got stuck in traffic and showed up to work a half-hour later. Jennifer, my supervisor, chewed me out and told me the next time I'm late, she's going to dock me a half an hour's pay. And then, on top of that, we got a new employee today,"
"Is that him?" Roseanne gestured to the teen stocking shelves,
"Yeah," Becky replied
"Mmm, he's cute," Roseanne smiled,
"Cute?" Becky scoffed, "Believe me, there is nothing cute about him."
"Why, what's wrong with him?"
"You mean besides being Marcy Davis's brother? Everything,"
"Marcy Davis, the one who was in the fight with Darlene? That's her brother?" Roseanne asked, gesturing to the young man.
Becky nodded, "That's Tim Davis."
"And he's working here?"
"Unfortunately, yes." The blonde sighed, "I am showing him around today, getting him familiar with the store and how things work around here,"
"Well, he seems nice,"
Becky rolled her eyes.
"Trust me; he's far from it." She said
"So he's just like his sister then?"
"Yeah," Becky answered, "Ugh, he makes my skin crawl so much,"
"I see," Roseanne said, "Well, you're in charge, Becky. You're the manager; if he makes a mistake or does something he shouldn't, you can write him up."
"Right, I know," Her daughter responded, "The problem is he will never do that. Tim is like his sister; he is very meticulous. He knows exactly; what he's doing." Becky explained, turning to him.
"Hey, nobody is perfect all the time. Just watch him, and the first time he says something inappropriate to you or tries something with another employee, you can write him up. He gets enough of them, and he's fired,"
"Thanks, Mom, I'll try to remember that..."
"Well, I guess I better let you get back to work; I just need to pick up a few more things anyway, and then I'm out of here," Roseanne started to walk away, pushing her car when Becky then stopped her.
" Mom, wait before you go; I wanted to ask you how's your stomach doing? Is it any feeling better?"
"A little bit. I've stopped throwing up for the time being,"
"That's good; I'm glad to hear that." Becky smiled, "All right, well, I guess I'll see you when I get home."
"Okay, see you later," She stood there for a moment watching as her mother walked away. As she did, a thought suddenly popped into her mind. "Wait a second; her stomach has been upset since last night, she's been throwing up...she couldn't be pregnant, could she?" Becky thought to herself, "No, no, that's ridiculous; she said it was food poisoning, so that has to be what it is. That has to be it. Please, let it be food poisoning," Roseanne then turned the corner, disappearing. Once she was gone, Becky turned back to Tim and returned to work.
Dan walked out of his office to find Fred, Mark, and Bob sitting in the breakroom. Bob sat reading the newspaper while Fred and Mark ate their lunch.
"Bob, you're finished with your lunch; get back to work!" Dan instructed.
The dark-haired man set down his paper and exited the break room, returning to work.
"God, I'm barely in my 20's, and already I feel old," Mark muttered, standing up from his chair.
Dan smiled, "Hard labor does that,"
"Did you ever get ahold of Mrs. Conner?"
"No, she must have already gone to the school," Dan said
"You don't know that, Dan, maybe she had some errands to do," Fred suggested
"I don't know; she was pretty serious about taking Darlene out of school,"
"You never know, maybe she changed her mind. She might have thought about what she was doing and decided it wasn't the best thing to do after all and went somewhere else instead,"
"I doubt it, but she may have changed her mind, I don't know," Dan looked uncertain, "I guess we will find out soon enough if she went through with it soon enough,"
The whistle blew, signaling their lunch break was over.
"Well, in any case, I wouldn't worry too much about it, Dan. I know Roseanne, and I am sure she wouldn't decide anything without discussing it with you first,"
"I hope so," Dan said
Lunch was now over; Darlene and Molly walked side by side as Darlene escorted Molly to her fifth-period Math class.
Darlene was escorting Molly to her 5th-period class.
"You know, you didn't have to walk me to class; I could have gotten here on my own."
"I know, but I just wanted to make sure Marcy and her friends didn't try anything..."
"She has looked at me a couple of times today when in the hallway but hasn't tried anything. After that fight you had, I think you finally put her in her place,"
It was at this moment, Marcy's words echoed in Darlene's mind.
"If you think this has stopped me, think again. Next chance I get, I am going after your pretty girlfriend again, and this time she is going to get worse than before."
"We can't be sure of that," Darlene and Molly soon arrived at her Math Class.
"I'll be back after class to come and get you,"
"Darlene, you don't need to do that."
"I don't trust that Marcy and her friends have just given up; until this whole matter is resolved and dealt with, I am going to walk with you to your classes,"
"You know, if we're not careful, people are going to start thinking we're a couple,"
"Let them think what they want; I just want to make sure you're safe,"
Molly smiled, "That's sweet, Darlene. Thank you for walking me to class,"
To Darlene's surprise, Molly leaned up and kissed her on the cheek.
"I'll see you after class,"
Molly walked into class, leaving Darlene standing there stunned and blushing. She touched her cheek as her heart pounded in her chest.
Darlene blinked, shaking her head turning to her next class. Just a few more hours until the school day was over.
Roseanne walked in the front door carrying groceries. She walked into the kitchen and set the bag on the table.
"What to make for dinner tonight," As she began to put away groceries, Roseanne pondered on what to make for dinner that night. She went over a few options before settling on meatloaf. Darlene, she knew, wouldn't eat that, so she would fix her decided a vegetarian burger and french fries to eat.
Roseanne glanced and saw it was a little after one o'clock. She smiled, "I still have a few hours before I have to start fixing dinner. I'm going to go relax for a while,"
Just then, as Roseanne was finishing putting away the groceries, the phone began to ring.
Roseanne picked it up, "Hello?
It's Jackie.
"Hey, sis, just I thought I would call to check up on you and see how you were doing."
"Why?"
"Fred stopped by today to pick up sandwiches for the garage, and he said that you weren't feeling good; I just thought I would make sure you were okay."
"I'm fine, Jackie," Roseanne replied, "I didn't feel good this morning; I was throwing up, but now I'm feeling a bit better."
"Morning sickness, huh?"
"No, food poisoning." Roseanne corrected her
"All right, if you need anything-"
Roseanne interrupted her, "I'll call you,"
"Yup, well, I better get back to work; Leon looks like he is ready to explode,"
"Talk to you later, sis."
"Okay, try to get some rest,"
"I will, bye," Roseanne then hung up the phone. "Now for some relaxation," Roseanne said as she walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. "I have a few hours to myself before Dan and kids come home, and I lose my sanity," She turned on the TV and began flipping through channels.
Roseanne soon found a Soap Opera on and began watching that as she started to relax.
Darlene eyed the clock on the wall. Two minutes till 3 o'clock. The day was almost over; she made it. She got through the day; maybe this will put a stop to her mom's idea of locking her away from the world because it wasn't going to be pretty if it; does happen.
The bell sounded, and she jumped up, grabbing her things. She made her way out of the building and walked to the buses when she caught sight of Molly and saw her walking to her car. Darlene knew she would probably be okay, but she still felt nervous that Marcy and her friends might try to jump her or do something, so she chased after her.
"Molly, wait up!" Molly turned at the sound of someone calling her name and saw Darlene appear beside her.
"Oh, hey, Darlene," She greeted her.
"Hey," Darlene smiled, "Just saw you and thought you would like some company, you know, as you walked to your car..."
"Yeah, that would be nice, thank you."
"You're welcome,"
"So, how was your day today?"
"You mean besides all the gawking and whispers behind my back? It was fine,"
"Well, that's good that one tried pushing your buttons,"
"No, they didn't," Darlene shook her head, " How was yours?"
"Uh, it was okay," Molly shrugged, "aside from the small thing at lunch today,"
"Sorry about that,"
"It's not your fault; it's my friends; I just wish they weren't so judgmental and quick to believe stupid rumors,"
"It's all right,"
"No, it's not. If Ashley and Sarah knew you, as I do, they would see you aren't what the rumors say. You're a good person, Darlene."
They arrived at Molly's car.
"Thanks for saying that, Molly, but people have been judging me my whole life; I'm used to it."
"Well, it's not right. People need to learn; it's never good to judge a book by its cover,"
Molly took Darlene's hand in hers, Darlene felt her heart race again.
"See you later, Darlene." Molly let go of her hand, and Darlene watched as she got into the car, started the ignition, and drove away.
Darlene continued to stand there, her heart still racing. She blinked and shook her head, "What's happening to me?" She asked herself before walking off to her bus.