Welcome back~ sorry I'm a little late posting this chapter. Life, as usual, does not care about my posting schedule. But hey, it's here, and we're ready for more adventures into the shadow of Rose. This time with a lil bit more Chris and Emma activity since they were kinda AWOL last chapter.
Song Suggestion: Anti-Hero by Taylor Swift
Disclaimer: I own nothing Resident Evil belongs to CapCom. CapCom please don't be mad ovq
Staying at the BSAA after being away for so long felt like torture from white walls, blinding industrial lights, and the stinging scent of rubbing alcohol that always managed to creep into her nose just when she finally thought she got used to it.
However, just as Rebecca said, Rose was released after a few more days of monitoring to rest at home. While the setting was more comfortable, each day passed by, building up a cloying sense of dread as her return to school became a looming inevitability like the figure in the corner of her eye that continued to show up every so often.
For now, she tried to relax, curling up on the couch next to Duke after a nice warm meal and feeling particularly grateful that her family seemed to all be preoccupied now. Emma with the dishes, Chris with his evening workout, and Piers was busy playing with the toy car she picked out for him a few years back. Content that she'd be left alone, she pulled out her phone to start up her game to see if Summer was online. As she did so, her lock screen inevitably displayed the time. Sunday, February 2nd, 6:37 pm. She'd have to go back to school in the morning. Despite her best efforts to ignore all of it, time held no sympathy.
Neither did the game it seemed, or at least Summer's schedule, since her pseudo-cousin was still offline. Rose pouted while mentally willing for the grayed-out "offline" symbol to turn green. As she stared at the single name on her friend list, she eventually pushed herself to close the screen to send Summer a text instead.
[Rose] Hey, let me know when you're done with dinner. I'm going to try and grind for EXP in the meantime.
Rose did her best to be patient, but the gripping sense of loneliness still held on, making any form of waiting for a reply that much more arduous. Summer went to the middle school near her school. What if Summer heard about what happened at the sleepover party? what if she didn't want to talk anymore? This was Summer though, and they were practically family. She'd still want to be friends. Right?
Dishes didn't take forever, and eventually, Emma started walking over to check on Rose. Rose had been away from school for some time, so it was probably in her best interest to see if the teen had finished her makeup homework. Instead, she paused as she found that Rose's gloomy expression was not completely hidden behind her phone. Something was off. Even if she didn't understand what was wrong, she knew that face well enough now. Another moment of debate passed before Emma moved to sit on the end of the couch.
"Hey Rosey," Emma asked as she shifted to get comfortable in her seat. "You know, I was thinking. It's been a while since we got to bake together. What do you think about making something quick for dessert?"
Rose looked up for a moment but went back to her game. "Mom, I'm fine."
That wasn't particularly convincing, considering that's not what she asked. "Something doesn't have to be wrong for us to spend time together," Emma replied. It just happened to be that there probably was something wrong... pushing aside her own internal panic that she may not be spending enough time with her kids, Emma leaned to playfully press into Rose's side. "I enjoy spending time with my baby." She added with a theatrically affectionate tone.
"Mom," Rose chided through a laugh at the childish antics as she pushed back to stay in place. "I'm not a baby anymore."
Yeah, I'm acutely aware of that, Emma thought as her smile faded slightly. "I remember saying the same thing to your grandma. Unfortunately, that's not how moms work. As long as I'm your mom, you're my baby." Emma insisted as she shifted to turn her leaning into a hug. "So for what it's worth, according to your grandma, I'm still a baby too."
"But you're old," Rose snickered as Emma once more hams up her reaction, and the distraction is somewhat effective.
"Ouch, Old?" She replied as she put a hand over her heart. Another laugh from Rose was comforting to hear, enough for Emma to get up. " Alright, well, this old person is gonna go make some cookies. Pray I haven't gone senile so I don't burn the house down."
"Spaghetti monster in the sky, please watch over our house in these trying times," Rose jokingly started, which got Emma to crack up as she walked away.
"You are such a ham."
"Don't put ham in the cookies!" Rose quickly remarked as she went back to her phone and found a message waiting for her though she didn't have time to read it as Emma replied.
"I'm not going to do that," Emma started digging out various supplies before pausing. "Although a savory bacon cookie could be tasty."
"Mom no!" Rose quickly rejected the idea as she looked up from her phone to see if Emma was serious or not.
"I'm kidding; I'm kidding," Emma assured as she continued to gather supplies. While this wasn't exactly what she planned to do with her evening, it felt important to at least make something to back up her prior statement that there didn't need to be something wrong for them to spend time together. It would certainly look otherwise if she offered and then backed out as well just because Rose insisted she was okay. Besides, what if she changed her mind?
Once Rose was sure that Emma didn't take bacon out of the fridge, she allowed herself to check her phone again and read the messages.
[Summer] Hey! sorry about that. Mom found out I didn't finish my book report, so she took my phone. I just got it back. I'll jump in now.
[Summer] Are you still online?
Rose happily replied and got back into the game, and the passage of time was more willingly accepted in the wake of fantastical adventures in the vibrant digital world.
The minutes ticked by, ten minutes, twenty minutes, and then a few more before the sweet scent of warm sugar and chocolate began to fill the air. While rose was content with staying put and enjoying her game. The sound of the kitchen timer got the attention of others though, as Duke bolted off the couch and followed behind Piers over to Emma, who'd just put down the first tray of cookies on the counter.
Tiny steps and padded paws made their way over to the counter, where Emma was busy moving cookies from the tray to a cooling rack. An insistent tug on the leg of her jeans got her to look down and see a pouting wide-eyed child staring back at her and a pleading old pup.
"Hungry," Piers chirped as pathetically as possible in hopes of convincing Emma that he was starving.
"You're hungry?" Emma asks back to try and buy more time for the cookies to cool off and prevent water works that would inevitably come if she told the child to wait.
"m-hm," he nodded while maintaining eye contact. "I can have?" That smelled like sugar, and he wanted to eat it.
"You want these?"
"Yes," the child hissed his S as he clung to his mother's leg to try and push her to look at his
"Okay, go bring me a book, and you can have one," Emma replied, hoping that would be enough time for the baked goods to cool off.
With the deal offered, Piers quickly hurried off with his fluffy canine nanny. Likely getting distracted along the way as it took the child and pooch a few minutes to come back, narrowly dodging the basement door as Chris opened it. He was a toddler on a mission, though, and he made his way to the kitchen with a large book about a Pidgeon that wanted to drive a bus which he proudly held up to show Emma.
"Good job," Emma happily praised as she accepted the book and, in exchange, handed Piers a cookie.
Piers grinned widely as he accepted the trade before staring at the cookie for a moment and holding up his other empty hand to Emma.
Seeing this caused Emma to laugh before she handed over the second cookie. Once both hands were sufficiently occupied, Piers toddled off.
"He's getting pretty good at running," Chris commented as he walked over to join Emma. "or at least dodging doors. Almost got him pretty good."
"Might be the door dodging," Emma agreed as she contently relaxed as Chris moved to hold her and give her a peck.
"We're still good for Thursday training, right?" Chris quietly asked more so to avoid shouting in her ear.
"Should be," She said while silently appreciating that they somehow still made time in their routine to train together even after five years. Wait, seven... Eight? Oh gosh, was she actually getting old?! "Why? Did they move you home day again?"
"No, nope. Just checking," Chris replied before glancing at the cooling rack. "So, since I'm here. Could I snag one of those too?"
Ah. So that's what he was actually after. "Sure," Emma picked up two more cookies and offered those to Chris.
"Two?" He asked as he raised an eyebrow and accepted them all the same.
"One for each hand," Emma explained before pointing at Piers, who was sitting on the floor by the dining room table. He was contently munching with a bite out of each cookie under the close supervision of Duke, who was sitting as close as possible and licking up crumbs from the floor since he knew better than to take the tiny human's food.
A short huff of a laugh could be heard from Chris as he saw this before shifting to mimic the child and holding one cookie in each hand only for his laughing smile to be replaced by surprise as Emma put a third cookie in his mouth and gave him a peck on the cheek. Making the task of not dropping it while laughing all the more difficult. While an effort was made, he moved to take the third cookie from his mouth so he could talk.
"Three's too many."
"It's fiiine you were just working out. You got to replace the calories or something like that," Emma replied as she retrieved a plate from the cupboard to put the last few cooled cookies on.
"Something like that," Not really. But he could pretend for today. One more quick kiss was shared before he walked away with his not completely intended collection of treats so he could head upstairs for a shower.
As he did so, Emma collected a glass and filled it with milk before picking up the plate of cookies and walking back over to the living room. "Here you go," Emma said as she put them down on the table next to Rose before shifting to give her daughter a peck on the forehead. "Try and get some rest tonight, okay? I love you."
Rose meekly smiled in return. "Love you too." She was still nervous about going back to school but, come what may, at least she could still find peace and comfort at home.
'*'*'*'*'
Morning arrived, trumpeted by the incessant beeping of Rose's alarm clock. Rose glared at the device in contempt for everything it stood for. After swatting at it a few times, with no success at turning it off, Rose used her powers to flick the switch to get the darn thing to be quiet. Another moment was taken to allow for a deep breath before pushing herself to get out of bed.
Today was the day. She groggily shuffled over to her wardrobe and dug through it for a shirt and jeans for the day before dawning her father's coat and ring. Maybe she was just blowing this all out of proportion. Maybe they won't all hate her?
What is wrong with her?
Ew, something just moved on her hand!
Stay away from us, you freak!
Rose heaved a tired sigh as she quickly packed her bag with more force than was really necessary, making sure to pack an extra handkerchief in her bag and put one in her pocket. It would be another day. She just had to make it a few hours. Every day. Five days a week. For the next. 5 years? ... maybe one. Why volunteer for more of this by going to college? If she didn't go to college, then she wouldn't have to worry about grades anymore, so that could be a plus.
She shouldered the heavy bag and started making her way down the stairs to find the same scene she saw every morning with Piers sitting at the table, picking at cereal that was scattered on his high chair while a warm plate of eggs and toast was waiting for her and Emma hurried around the kitchen to make sure everyone was ready for their day. As per the new usual, Chris was nowhere to be seen, thanks to his stricter BSAA on-base requirements. Only getting to spend a night at home every few days.
Rose sat down at her seat and munched on her food. Maybe if she ate slowly enough, she'd miss the bus and get to stay home?
"Hey Rose, Here's your lunch," Emma said as she put a lunch box down next to Rose's plate. "Good luck on your first day back. It's not much but, I packed a bit of lunch money in case you want to get some snacks from the cafeteria."
Rose looked at the lunch box as a pang of guilt set in. Okay, no missing the bus then. Great. "Thanks mom."
"Of course. Do your best. Learn lots of new things," Emma added before giving Rose a quick hug and hurrying back to her daily prep. She still needed to pack her own lunch, one for Piers, double-check the paperwork for the daycare, make sure his bag was packed, find his shoe cause he always managed to hide one when she wasn't looking, and plenty of other little tasks that added up to a crazy morning.
Rose reluctantly finished up her breakfast and put her shoes on before heading out to the bus stop. As she waited for the bus, she nervously fidgeted with the soft white cloth in her coat pocket to rub off some of the grey cells she was starting to sweat out of her hands.
Ew, something just moved on her hand!
As the bus rounded the corner, Rose quickly shoved both of her hands into her pockets to keep them hidden. The second the doors opened, Rose stared at them like they were a gate to hell. Hesitating a moment before ultimately boarding and finding a seat where she could keep to herself until she got to school and quickly made her way to her homeroom class to nervously sit and wait for school to start.
This was a trend that continued throughout the day. Find a seat. Wait for class to start and fidget with her handkerchief as her nerves got the best of her, then, once the bell rang, hurry to the bathroom to wash her hands between classes, and the cycle began anew.
Lunch period came before long and broke that cycle as Rose hesitated in front of the cafeteria door. She was supposed to go in, but Lucy would be in there somewhere. Rose's mind drifted back to the party once more. Why did that happen? Why would Lucy do that? They were friends. They were supposed to be at least... the fear and stress that these thoughts brought about caused her palms to sweat once more, which rose instinctively tried to wipe off on her handkerchief. Only to find that it wasn't rubbing off this time.
Renewed terror caused Rose to quickly hurry into the bathroom where she meticulously scrubbed at her hands to try and get them clean to no avail. "Come on. Come on, come on. Wash off," She muttered under her breath before noticing that, yet again, the figure showed up in the corner of her eye. "Will you just leave me alone!" Rose snapped as she turned to face the figure. Finding none as usual, only for a student to quickly hurry out of a stall and just as quickly leave the bathroom.
Rose pressed her lips together and breathed a defeated sigh through her nose. "Great..." Well she certainly did not want to go into the cafeteria now. Instead, she looked around the bathroom, trying to find a place to sit and finding little other option besides flipping down a toilet lid and sitting in a stall. There wasn't much of a bright side to this, but at least she'd be close to a sink to wash her hands. And she wouldn't have to face Lucy just yet.
With that thought, she dug out her lunch box and opened it, finding a neatly packed meal with a five-dollar bill and a sticky note that read, 'Halfway through the day, hurray! If you're not feeling well, just call, and I'll pick you up. Love you. Mom' Rose read it over a few times. Maybe she should just pretend to be sick and go home.
It was a tempting option, and one that she repeatedly considered as she picked at her lunch, ignoring any finger foods since she couldn't get this obnoxious gunk off her hands at the moment. Lunch was almost halfway done when Rose heard footsteps heading toward the bathroom.
"I think she's still in there,"
"Catherine. Shhh, quiet. She might hear you."
Rose used her foot to close the door to her stall and hold it shut. Inadvertently letting them know exactly where she was. She nervously waited as she heard the sink running outside, and before she could react, a numbingly horridly familiar feeling of water crashed over her as laughter filled the bathroom.
"What the hell!" Rose shouted as she quickly got up, causing her lunch to clatter to the ground and the spring hinge door of the stall to swing open.
"There she is," said the girl that ran off before, who was presumably named Catherine. It took Rose a moment to realize she'd seen her before, at Lucy's party, and furthermore, to Rose's horror, there was Lucy holding a broom she'd likely picked up from the notoriously unlocked janitor's closet next to the bathroom. Cafeteria messes were frequent enough that they never bothered closing it up properly in case a teacher needed to get in.
Rose held up her hands to signal peace, forgetting their glue-like status in her panic.
"Ew, it's still there," Catherine grimaced before a less-than-pleasant smile took its place. "Well, that works cause I brought something for you." she snidely remarked before digging through her bag to take out a bottle of spray cleaner which began to spray at Rose.
Rose moved to shield her face from the harsh blue-dyed chemicals as the two laughed. "Knock it off!"
"You gotta make sure you rub it in," Lucy chimed in as she used the broom like an extendable scrub brush.
"I said knock it off!" Rose grabbed onto the brush and shoved it, which hit Lucy in the face causing her to stumble back.
"Lucy!" Catherine cried before glaring at Rose.
Shit.
And just like that, the girl lunged forward to punch Rose and landed a solid hit that caused Rose to nearly slip on the tile floor. Instead, she grabbed onto Catherine and push forward to maintain her balance and work her way out of the stall. Only to be met with the broom again as Lucy swung at her. Again landing a solid hit causing Rose to let go of Catherine in favor of grabbing the broom once more.
Seeing little reason to hold back, Rose swung her arm, causing the handle of the broom to smack Lucy in the head. Subsequently, Lucy hit her head against a mirror that broke on impact. It took only a second for Lucy to scream as she noticed blood starting to leak down her hairline.
Rose froze at that moment from the horror of her own actions. This gave Catherine enough time to grab Rose again with a now open bottle of cleaner which she dumped on Rose's head in retaliation, and Lucy lunged forward again as well.
By this time, hurried footsteps rushed towards the bathroom as a few teachers rushed in to separate the three.
'*'*'*'*'
Emma was sitting at her desk happily humming as she listened to music while clicking away at her keyboard. It was so nice that the kids were both old enough to either go to school or daycare. For the first time in a while, she was actually getting work done in a timely manner. This content line of thought was cut short by her ringtone taking the place of her music. Probably another robo-caller. All the same, she clicked answer just in case.
"Hello, is this Miss Redfield?" asked a voice on the other end.
"Speaking," Emma replied while waiting for the caller to go into the usual pitch about how she needed to renew the extended warranty on her car that didn't exist.
"This is Janet Collins calling from the principal's office regarding Rose." the voice said instead.
"Is everything alright?" Emma asked as her eyebrows furrowed. If Rose wasn't feeling well, she would have expected the nurse would call.
"Rose got into a fight at school."
"Oh my gosh!" Emma quickly stood up and instantly started packing up her things.
"We need you to come and get her immediately. The principal would like a word with the parents and children involved and to discuss proper punishment."
"Yes. Right. Of course. I will be right there. Give me twenty minutes." Emma nervously replied. "Is she okay?"
"She's well enough; this will be discussed further once you arrive," Janet calmly explained.
"I will be right there. Thank you for letting me know. Bye," Emma stumbled over her words before quickly hanging up and heading towards her boss's office, where she knocked on the door frame with repeated urgency. " Mr. Abner."
Marice looked up from his paperwork with a less-than-thrilled expression.
"Sorry to bother you. I need to leave. I just got a call that my daughter got into a fight at school, and I need to go pick her up." Emma explained with continued panic.
Marice nodded as she spoke before motioning for Emma to enter the room. "come in for a moment first and close the door, please."
While part of her was reluctant to do so since she was needed at the school, Emma complied.
The second the door closed, Marice heaved a tired sigh. "I understand your home life isn't particularly easy between Rose's unique condition, raising two kids on top of your husband's constant traveling, and I try to be accommodating to that." he started as he laced his hands together. "Frankly, I was being kind by marking your performance as average with your year-end review since you haven't been focused on your work for some time now."
Emma lowered her head to look at the floor while pursing her lips to keep quiet. Was now really the time for this?
"You take time off with very little notice; constantly. You'll leave work early just as freely. I understand I messed up before with my comments to your significant other, but there's only so much repentance I can be expected to offer when it comes to turning a blind eye to your lack of dedication to your work," he more pointedly remarked before his frown gradually relaxed. "Your attention is divided between two jobs right now, and both are equally important. I assure you I understand that. However, I need you to pick one and focus. Consider this your first official warning," He stated with continued monotone ire. "Now. Given the nature of this emergency, I'll approve your early leave. However, I expect that you'll take some of this time to consider where your attention really needs to be. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir," Emma quietly replied.
"Alright. You're free to go then," He said as he returned his attention to his paperwork.
Emma stormed out while trying to keep a neutral expression. It didn't work. She was livid, to say the least. She was doing her best, it wasn't much, but it was what she could offer. He said all that as if they offered her a fair wage in the first place! Emma grumpily got into her car, put her bag down in the passager seat, and closed the car door before taking a second to rest her head on the steering wheel to catch her breath from holding it for so long. She was going to log in once she got home, but now spite was telling her not to do that.
I will be right there. Give me twenty minutes.
Her own words replayed in the back of her mind. She took one more deep breath before weakly digging around her purse for her keys and focused on the task at hand. Protecting Rose. Rose would probably need to go to the BSAA for a checkup if she got into a fight.
Emma's mind raced through all the various possible outcomes of this as she drove to the school. After an excruciatingly anxiety-inducing 20-minute ride, she managed to make her way to the school parking lot and found a spot. Once parked Emma quickly jogged over to the front door and to the front desk to check-in.
"Hi, um. I'm Rosemary Winter's mother. I'm supposed to pick her up?" Emma stated though her voice was almost an octave higher from fear of the conversation she was about to have.
"Right, We've been expecting you. Just sign here, and the principal's office is through those double doors there to your right." the receptionist explained though his tone more so said 'good luck'.
"Thanks," Emma quickly signed the log book and once more jogged over to the office while pushing down the sense of dread the building created. It had been over 30 years since she had to go to school, and the principal's office still made her nervous.
Emma hesitantly peeked through the doors to find several people already inside of the small office space where other doors lined the far wall behind another reception desk. Three other adults were sitting in the room along with the three girls. A mother and Father were in the middle of coddling their sobbing daughter, who had a bandage on her forehead, while another mother was hugging her daughter with a freshly forming black eye. Rose was sitting on her own, as far away from them as possible next to a drenched bookbag, wearing clothes that Emma didn't recognize and clinging to a very full plastic bag that held damp clothes. A few bruises and a black eye were starting to form, while parts of her near-white hair were stained an icey blue hue. The other parents stopped talking to each other as Emma walked in and stared at her. Through the process of elimination, they'd already figured out who she was.
Emma wordlessly moved to sit next to Rose as the principal's receptionist got up and walked away. Likely to let him know that everyone was here now. While she wanted to try and say anything, she had a feeling speaking would just instigate the other rightfully upset adults to argue. Instead, she put a gentle hand on Rose's back to try and offer comfort and signal she wasn't upset. Yet. That did partially depend on if Rose started the fight.
The group didn't have to wait long for answers as the receptionist walked back out. "The principal will see you all now. Please follow me to Conference room three."
The group got up to do as they were told and moved into the conference room, where the principal was waiting for them.
"Thank you all for taking the time to join us," the principal greeted, with a voice that sounded somewhat like Sean Connery. He waited for everyone to take their seats around a large oval table, where he sat at the head with a laptop in front of him and a large projector screen behind him. "I trust you all understand why you're here. Our school takes student safety very seriously. So fights like this are not acceptable."
"Yes," "Of course sir," I completely agree." the three other parents spoke at the same time.
"What happened?" Emma asked.
"She lost it!" Catherine shouted. "We didn't do anything." While she spoke, Lucy began to sob again.
"I was bleeding so much. I thought I was going to die," Lucy wailed.
Hearing this caused Rose to shrink back into her seat. She wasn't trying to kill anyone; she just wanted them to stop.
"We were just protecting ourselves," Catherine further insisted.
Rose, remained quiet. It was two against one. And the other parents already shouted at her before. There's no way they'd let her speak.
"Everyone, please calm down," He loudly stated to cut off any further discussion. "Before we make claims. I'd like to first review what we have on camera," The principal stated, causing Lucy and Catherine to go pale. The principal clicked at his laptop and the large screen behind him, displayed a feed from the hallway between the cafeteria and bathroom.
The feed showed a large crowd of students heading into the cafeteria while Rose hesitated by the door. Only to turn around and go into the bathroom. The feed sped up after this as the principal held down a fast-forward button, only to stop again as Lucy and Catherine walked out of the cafeteria smiling and laughing. They walked over to a door and opened it to take out a broom and bucket before walking into the bathroom.
Some time passed after this before passing students nervously glanced at the bathroom entryway and quickly ran out of view. A group of Teachers hurry in shortly after and rush into the bathroom. Each escorted out one of the three girls while a fourth teacher carried an open and empty bottle of cleaner.
Lucy's mother gasped in horror as she saw her child on the screen and the profuse amount of blood on Lucy's face, despite the cut being rather small.
"It's hard to say exactly what happened since we don't record inside of the bathrooms, but school policy dictates that the punishment is academic suspension for three days."
"That brut is only getting suspended?" Catherine's mother cried.
Lucy's mother glared at Rose. " We openly invited you into our home and this is how you treat my daughter?! I want that girl expelled! Look at what she did to my baby!"
"I only-" Lucy hiccuped. "I only invited her-r cause she k-kept asking about it. I d-didn't wanna."
Emma's jaw dropped as she heard the demands. "Expelled," she whispered before her mouth scrunched into a frown. "If you believe that's a justifiable punishment for the fight, then I expect the same punishment for the other girls as well." Her words, while calm, held a venomous undertone.
"That's absurd. My daughter didn't do anything!"
"Why is my daughter soaking wet?" Emma quickly fired back, causing Rose to break from her zoned-out stupor and stare. Emma had been here for 5 minutes, and she had already had enough of this. It didn't take a detective to see what actually happened. "Cause it seems real convenient otherwise that your daughter brought a broom and a bucket in with her, and Rose just happens to be soaked."
"We didn't!" Catherine shouted once more.
"Why is her hair blue?" Emma hissed, which caused Catherine to stop. With that, Emma looked back to Lucy's mother. "If you want to push for Rose to be expelled. Fine. Be my guest. I'm more than happy to get a lawyer involved and press for premeditated assault charges against both. Or negligence against the school because I didn't see them grab cleaner from that closet."
"My child would never!" Lucy's father indignantly replied.
"Everyone, please!" the principal cut in as talk of the school getting sued came into the conversation. "No one is getting expelled."
With that, the adults became quiet.
"Like I said. The school's policy is a 3-day suspension for first-time offenses. Since we can't say who started the fight, all three girls will be punished." The principal clarified since Lucy and Catherine's mothers seemed to believe they were not included. "However. We will also look into why the supply closet was not locked, and I will confirm with the cleaning staff regarding where the cleaner came from. As far as I'm aware, we don't use that brand." While his job was to monitor the students, it was also to protect the reputation of the school. A few delinquent assault charges would fall off the record much quicker than staff negligence.
Hearing that caused Lucy and Catherine's mothers to quickly snap their attention to their daughters.
"With that out of the way. As an additional preventative measure, we'll reorganize the class schedules for the three involved to make sure they do not have classes together." the principal stated. "We'll need you to fill out a few forms to accept these changes. Once you sign, you're free to go. The suspension will start tomorrow, and they'll be welcome to return on Friday."
The principal proceeded to hand a folder to each of the parents. The paperwork rather conveniently said that the parents weren't allowed to sue for the suspension after signing and that they understood that the matter would be added to their child's record as a misdemeanor.
Forms were filled, and one by one, the parents left with their children. Rose remained quiet throughout and curled up to hold her legs once she was safely seated in the passenger's seat of Emma's car with her bookbag at her feet.
Emma focused on getting her Rose away from the school, and there was still plenty left to do. As they waited through traffic, Emma would occasionally glance over at Rose, puzzling over what to say to the hurting child while a rather somber pop song played on the radio that repeatedly claimed the singer was at fault for their own pain and isolation, calling themself a monster.
That was enough of that. Emma reached over to turn the radio off.
The drive continued in silence for a few minutes longer before Rose spoke. "How long am I grounded for?" she meekly asked while cautiously looking over at Emma who, in her perspective, still looked pissed off.
"You're not grounded,"
Fear turned to shock as Rose waited for some sort of 'but' or 'actually' to follow that would say otherwise.
"I am mad, but I'm not mad at you," Emma admitted while staying focused on the road. "I'm not going to punish you for defending yourself. If anything, I'm proud of you for protecting yourself," One with a black eye and the other with a cut that probably wouldn't even need stitches compared to being drenched in water and soap, multiple bruises, and a black eye. "You were holding back, huh?"
The relief she felt, and question that followed caused tears that Rose had been holding back to fall freely as she moved to bury her face into her knees.
Upon hearing the child sob, Emma moved to pull the car over to the side of the road so she could focus on Rose. After timing traffic, she managed to find a gap where she was able to get out of the car and hurry around to the passenger side door so she could open it and sit in the doorway, ready to offer hugs or any comfort the child needed.
"I thought she was my friend," Rose whimpered.
"Rosey," Emma cooed as she gently rubbed her back. While Emma had never felt compelled to punt a child before, she almost wanted to make an exception for the two did this to Rose. "How long has this been going on?"
"Since the party..."
"They," Emma paused to once more bridal her anger with the two other teens. "They were mean to you at the party?"
Rose nodded into her legs. "Yeah..."
Emma remained quiet as she stayed by Rose. Anything she could think to say about that certainly wouldn't help. After a good ten minutes, when Rose started to calm down, Emma spoke. "I need to get you to a doctor to make sure you're injuries aren't too bad. Are you going to be okay for a bit while i drive?"
Again, Rose silently nodded.
"Okay. We'll need to pick up Piers from daycare too. How about we stop by a drive-through for a milkshake along the way?" The poor thing needed water after crying so much, but after getting a bucket of it dumped on her, it was hard to suggest as much. Emma heard a mumbled response while rose stayed curled up. "That sounds good?" she asked to confirm what she heard before seeing rose nod once more. "Okay. Let's do that."
'*'*'*'*'
And so they did. Pier's was collected from the daycare, and a chocolate milkshake was purchased to wash away the salty taste of tears on the way to the BSAA.
It didn't take long for Chris to hear that Emma and the kids were on campus for an emergency medical exam, and quickly started making his way toward the medical wing. Once he rounded the last corner, he found Emma sitting next to one of the exam room Doors with Piers.
"Hey," He greeted as he jogged over. "What's going on? Is Rose okay?"
Emma took a breath before moving to stand up with Piers on her hip. "Rose got into a fight at school."
"What? W-" His eyebrows knit together as he held the side of his head. "Did she start it?"
"The school says there isn't enough evidence to say who started it," Emma admitted in an attempt to bury her bias that didn't completely work. "I don't think she did, though. It sounds like she might be getting bullied at school."
"I thought she was making friends," Chris whispered to avoid being overheard by the teen in the exam room.
"Not good ones, apparently," Emma mumbled.
This got him to pause. "How are you holding up?"
"Not great. Someone hurt my baby. I'm mad, and tired, and-" embarrassed and ashamed. She went full Karen in that darn office, threatening to go to a lawyer so quickly. That probably didn't help Rose at all. She took a breath. "It's been a long day. My boss didn't exactly make that any easier."
"What happened," Chris asked as his concern turned to a scowl upon remembering the guy he'd met before. He still remembered Emma's deal too.
"Well, I got a write-up from the sound of it," Emma reluctantly admitted. "He was saying I'm 'too distracted' and that I take too much time off on short notice. That I need to pick between working or taking care of the kids."
Chris silently moved to hold his frustrated wife and gave her a peck on the head. "Sorry. My schedule probably didn't help with that."
"It's been getting better," Emma offered in return as she felt herself relax, as much as she could with a toddler pulling on her hair.
"Being home for one night every three or four days isn't really better," He moved to gently grab Pier's hand to get him to let go of Emma's hair. "While I don't think your boss's intentions were in the right place saying that..." how to say this gently. "He might have a point." That probably wasn't gentle enough.
For what felt like the 5th time that day, Emma's jaw dropped. "You're joking." Who's side is he on?
Chris stumbled over his words for a moment before managing to speak coherently. "It's not that. I. You hate that job. You always have since you started it. And now we know Rose is going through stuff at school. I'm not able to be home that often, and that's pushing you to pull triple shifts between this, the kids, and a job." Not to mention she was doing freelance work and taking care of the house in general, which isn't a small task. Hell Duke is getting up there in years and needs more care too. It's too much.
"Okay, so you're going to quit then and take care of the kids while I work?" Emma suggested in return.
"You know why I can't," Chris whispered while using his free hand to gesture to the exam room door while the other stayed around her waist.
A defeated pout replaced her anger. While she wanted to push back, she did know well enough that he wasn't trying to pick a fight.
"I'm not going to say you have to do one thing or another; there's a lot of different options. This is a conversation that would have come up either way because of Rose's situation. Don't completely throw away that option just because he's the one that suggested it first." Chris further stated. "You've done amazingly with your freelance work. Maybe see this as the nudge to focus on it. Or just see it as an opportunity to find something you do like better that's more understanding."
"...What if you get sick again," Emma quietly asked. "I've, considered the option briefly after Piers was born, but If I didn't have my job when that happened, we would have been sunk. If that happened again and I don't have a job,"
"If that happens again, you have my permission to ignore the doctors, tell me to get my ass in gear and pay up,"
"That was partially me; they said to use my best judgment. Not that I couldn't tell you," Emma reluctantly admitted.
"Still." He gave her another peck. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
They just got back to where they were comfortable with their budget... "Alright. I'll at least consider it."
"I'll support whatever you choose," Chris affirmed.
"Can you take the next school meeting? Assuming there is one?" Emma weakly smiled. "That was not easy, and I don't think I can do that again any time soon."
"I'll talk to the director about it. I would have gone in today, but the call came in the middle of a security debrief," Chris explained. "So long as I talk to her about it ahead of time, she'll probably okay a short emergency leave." He then moved to caress the side of Emma's face.
'*'*'*'*'
The three days of suspension were almost a welcomed relief for Rose as, yet again, she was left to dread the idea of going back to school. Three days was not enough time for the bruises and black eye to heal. While the BSAA had some advanced medications, it couldn't put blood back in its vein, so the bruises were left to heal at their normal pace.
The dark and yellowing skin did little to help her feel like she could blend in as she walked down the halls of the school to her new homeroom class. Hearing the whispers of the people around her only made her more anxious, and anxious meant sweat, which meant even more anxiety.
"Imagine wanting to be friends with her."
"She's definitely not normal."
"Catherine said she sweats mucus like a frog."
"That's just disgusting."
"What a freak."
"Shh, she's coming this way."
As she fidgeted with the handkerchief in her hand, a childlike voice rang loudly in her ears. As if someone that wasn't there was shouting at her. "Go away, freak."
Rose picked up her pace to hurry to her class. She just needed to make it through one day, and then she'd get a two-day break. She didn't even need to do well in school. She could quit after she finished her senior year. She could do this. Just focus on the light at the end of the tunnel.
She barely noticed the bell ring and class start. Instead of writing down notes, she focused on rubbing her handkerchief in her hand to keep the sweat at bay.
"Rosemary"
She could study at home while doing the assigned homework to keep up.
"Rosemary,"
It would be fine, everything would work out how it needed t-
"Rosemary Winters!"
"Huh?" Rose looked up to find the teacher glaring back at hear.
"So good of you to finally pay attention." The teacher grumpily stated. She'd been warned that a troublemaker would be transferred into her class, and it seemed the warning was justified. A strict hand aught to help keep her in line. "I know you're new to this class, but I expect you to pay attention. You're not a baby anymore. Put the fidget cloth away and take notes like the rest of the class."
"It's not. I need it," Rose replied, not sure how else to respond. "I. It's a medical condition."
The teacher paused and gave a tired sigh before walking around to their computer. "I just pulled up your file. I see no mention of a medical exemption to hold a fidget cloth in class."
Some of the students grumbled under their breath while others tried not to laugh.
"But," Rose started as the teacher took out a piece of paper from their desk and started writing. "It's not a fidget cloth. I don't even know what that is."
"Well. Maybe your parents can enlighten us both on the subject." the teacher stated as she got up and walked over to Rose's desk and placed a write-up requesting a parent-teacher conference. "I expect that to be signed and returned on Monday. Now put the cloth away and take out your notebook."
"... Yes ma'am," Rose reluctantly whispered. The day couldn't end soon enough.
Once she got out of class, Rose made her way through the hall and hide in the bathroom. She'd rather get marked tardy than go through that fiasco again.
Each time the bell rang, she'd mentally mark down one more class period to freedom. She'd munch on her lunch and stay as quiet as possible anytime anyone else entered the bathroom before, eventually, the 8th and final bell announced that school was over.
The bus ride home was the last of leg to freedom. She'd never been happier to get off that bright yellow ferry to hell.
Her excitement ended at the driveway. As she walked up to the house, the garage door was open, and Emma's car was inside. Seeing this instantly reminded her of the yellow write-up in her backpack. She wouldn't even get 2 hours of peace.
Rose quietly opened the front door of the house and just as quietly closed it behind her to find Emma sitting at the dining room table with her laptop. Did she decide to work from home for the day? "... I'm home?" Rose hesitantly announced.
Hearing this caused Emma to look up from her computer. "Oh. Hey welcome home Rose." Emma said with a notably tired expression. "Thanks for keeping your voice down. Your brother is taking a nap."
"Oh. Is that why you're working from home?" Rose asked while cautiously walking over.
"Something like that," Emma agreed. "How was the first day back?"
Rose remained quiet.
"Not so good?" Emma asked sympathetically.
"yeah..." Rose slowly took off her backpack so she could open it. "promise you won't be mad?"
"I promise."
Rose swallowed the lump in her throat before taking out the write-up and putting it on the table.
Emma gingerly picked up the paper to read it over. "Well. These things happen." She remarked as she put down the page again. "I was thinking it might be a good idea for one of us to talk to them. I'll call Chris later and work it out." Emma picked up a pen from the notebook next to her laptop so she could sign the paper. "I'll need to fill out the rest later, but I'll give it back to you once I can fill out the availability section. Okay?"
"Okay," Rose quietly replied. "Thanks."
"No problem. Go rest a bit; it sounds like you had a hard day," Emma pushed herself to smile.
"Alright," Rose agreed before cautiously turning to leave as if she was expecting one last 'gotcha,' but it never came, and she made her way up to her room.
Once Rose left, Emma looked down at her computer and the resignation notice she'd been working on for the last two hours after getting another call from the school, stating rose stopped showing up for classes after first period.
'*'*'*'*'
Chris stood in front of the large glass doors of Rose's high school and stared them down as if it was an active battlefield before looking back at his phone which read Monday, February 10th, 6:25 pm. True to his promise, he agreed to attend the parent-teacher conference and let Emma rest from the school debacle. He did pretty much everything he could think of to be ready. Including going over what he was allowed to say with the director since the list of things he was not allowed to say would be much longer.
He pocketed his phone all the same before walking into the school. He'd be a little early but, the sooner he got this taken care of, the better. The hallways lined with lockers felt oddly nostalgic. He certainly didn't miss them considering he left as soon as he could but, he remember the feeling of being in a school all the same.
Chris eventually found the classroom from the write-up instructions and sure enough, there was a teacher inside waiting at her desk and likely grading tests since she didn't seem to notice him. To help with that Chris knocked on the door frame which caused the teacher to jolt to attention. "I believe we have a meeting scheduled?"
"Yes, welcome." the teacher greeted as she stood up and offered a hand.
Chris walked over and accepted the handshake since she didn't seem too keen to move from her place.
"Mr. Winters. Thank you for making the time to come and meet with me." the teacher started.
"Redfield,"
The correction caused the teacher to stare at him quizzically. "I'm sorry. Maybe you're actually in the wrong room. I apologize I have a meeting to speak with a parent as well."
"No, I'm in the right place. Rose is my daughter. We have different last names." Chris answered.
"Right. my apologies," the teacher said before moving to take her seat again. She waited for Chris to take the seat she set up in advance across from her. "I understand things have been very. Difficult lately with Rosemary." She gingerly started. "I personally believe in the 'no child left behind method' but in the few days I've had Rose in my class she's become. A bit of a distraction and I'm worried about her."
oh boy, and they were off to a great start. "A distraction how?"
"Well. She doesn't pay attention during class. Doesn't take notes. I repeatedly have to remind her not to use fidget paraphernalia in my class. It distracts from the lesson when I have to remind her and the other students end up distracted too." The teacher explains before wincing. "Hopefully it's understandable how that's not conducive to a good learning environment for all of my students."
"Is this affecting her grades?" Chris asked.
The question caused the teacher to pause. "It's hard to say. She's only been in my class for a week."
"Is she not doing the homework or is it significantly incorrect?" he pressed.
"... From what I've seen. Not at the moment." The teacher paused only a moment before continuing. "But my concern is for the future, Taking notes is a very important part of learning."
"For some people sure. Rose is pretty smart though," Chris stated, trying to sympathize but ultimately failing. "She didn't take lecture-structured classes growing up. Notes aren't useful for her. she learns by listening and reading."
"That doesn't change that it's against the rule of my class to have distractions like phones and snacks and fidget items out during the lesson. She needs to have her book out like the other students." the teacher insisted.
"What is this fidget stuff you keep bringing up?"
"They're toys that kids tend to bring with them to school and mess around with. Rose has a cloth she keeps carrying around and fidgeting with during class." The teacher explained. It always did make things more difficult when parents didn't know what their kids were bringing to school.
"her handkerchief?" Chris raised an eyebrow. "That's not a toy, she needs that because she's sick. She was out on medical leave for two weeks. She's still recovering."
"If she's sick then she shouldn't be in class, she could get the others sick too,"
"Not, like that." At this point, Chris was starting to understand why Emma didn't want to go. This was painful. "She's not going to get anyone else sick." at this point Chris held his forehead. "It's my understanding that we already discussed with the school that rose has a chronic condition and she'll need to be out of class for a week or two sometimes for medical exams and the like. the doctor suggested carrying a handkerchief after the most recent check-up."
"Well, then you need to send her in with a doctor's note at the very least. There are rules mister Redfield. How am I supposed to know that if you don't keep her record up to date?"
"It's a handkerchief,"
"It's a distraction and without a doctor's note, it's not allowed in my class," The teacher insisted more firmly. "My job is to educate and I need the assistance of parents to make sure that the kids follow the rules and don't detract from the learning environment for others. This isn't a class just for Rose."
Chris could feel his eye twitch. "You call publically disciplining a child that's already getting bullied by her peers a good learning environment? She skipped classes because of you. How's that for a good learning environment?" Chris snapped as the teacher finally grated away at his last shred of already thin patience. "She got beat up, in a bathroom. For being sick. and you're going to say you're HELPING by bringing more attention to that fact? Your 'learning environment' sounds like a living hell."
"It's my understanding that we don't know who started that fight Mr. Redfield. Send her in with a doctor's note and it won't be an issue going forward. It's your job as her parent to keep her record up to date. I'm not her parent, I don't know these things and you need to make sure we do know so situations like this, don't happen." Ugh, she could see where Rose got her attitude from. This was going to be a long school year.
Chris stood up. "I think we're done here. You'll get your note." and with that, he walked away.
Another bitter-sweet chapter. papa and mama Redfield protect their rose though and it's at least heartwarming in that sense. I promise the next one will have more cute stuff in it, but the shadow of Rose DLC painted a pretty grim picture.
With that said, here's a bit of FanNatic logic from the DLC. I tried to get it as close as possible to the scene shown by the dolls. That one seemed the most literal since Rose had the most notable reaction to it. I don't think the quote from the note next to the scene would be a direct quote from one of the kids. The page read, "We need to clean that gross mold off her."
It's one of those "you can't have your cake and eat it too" situations since the voice line quotes from supposedly the same girls are mostly confused about what is going on with Rose. Either they know she's made of mold, or they don't, and they're confused about what's going on with her hands. So to me, the note is the first hint that Eveline might be pulling the strings for that section since she would know about the mold.
Naturally, I don't think the 3rd scene of Rose being burned at a campfire was a memory, particularly since 'Eveline' was present for that scene as a doll. I think that was meant to be a threat from Eveline that, if she had her way, she'd manipulate the people around Rose to kill her. Similar to how Eveline controlled Mia and the Bakers to force them to kill people. Or, at the very least, it was an implication that the harassment Rose was facing wouldn't stop unless she died. Which is equally horrible.
Also, I slightly deviated from the journal. it mentioned that Rose's encounter with the teacher happened on Feb 10th. but it seemed odd to me that Rose's teacher argued with her and Chris was called in that same day. So I spaced it out a little to have Rose and the teacher disagree on the 7th, then the Chris and teacher conversation a few days after to make it flow it bit more naturally. Teachers have lives and need time to plan too.