A/N: Hey! The abandoned fic returns! Like I said, I was having a really rough time last fall and really didn't feel like writing. I hate to not finish anything, though, so I'm gonna try to finish this one, but no promises! Thanks to all my faithful readers! Please review -
The three Lymans strolled down the hallway of Washington High a few minutes later. A bystander may have laughed at the way Brandon and Josh were walking. He had inherited his father's swagger somehow, always appearing cocky and sure of himself. Carly walked like any other teen girl, but didn't have her usual pep after being found out.
"So what did you do?" Brandon asked his sister.
"She's not in trouble!" Josh exclaimed again incredulously. Carly didn't say a word, letting her father speak for her this one time. She really didn't have time for her brother's antics right now, and she was in no mood for it. They hopped into their Jeep and drove home, Josh and Brandon exchanging a little light conversation, but Carly keeping to herself. Josh knew his daughter well, and when she was silent, she was upset.
When they got home, Carly immediately dashed up the stairs to her room, not even bothering to get a snack. Josh grabbed two sodas, and excused himself from Brandon, who'd switched on MTV in the living room. He trotted up the stairs to find his daughter's room closed and some angry Kelly Clarkson playing softly in the background. Josh knocked politely, hearing permission to come in.
"Hey." Josh smiled as he closed the door. Carly was busy trying to pick up her room, seeing as she didn't have time during the school week. He took a seat on her unmade bed, from their mad dash this morning. Well, she didn't usually make it anyway, despite his constant reminders. "Are you okay?"
Carly stopped and huffed at her father. Did he really have to go for the obvious all the time? Obviously, she was still upset.
"Carly, you don't have to be mad about it."
"I'm not mad." She threw a shirt in the hamper.
"Then what are you?" He asked honestly. Mally saw that was a stupid thing to say to her dad, because he could always see right through her. She continued to toss things in the hamper as she thought of an answer.
"I'm just…pissed."
"Pissed at me? Or Ms. Moss?"
"Sort of. Mostly just at me. It was a dumb thing to do."
"Sweetheart, you don't need to be ashamed. I'm sure it's difficult to always have to ask for help and adjustments, and I'm sure you get tired of being treated differently. Some of your teachers may have been unfair to you in the past, but I think Ms. Moss really cares."
"I know she does." Carly said quietly.
"But what?"
"I just want to be able to do it, you know?" She said, and Josh could tell she was getting really upset again. He stood up and brought her into a hug.
"Hey, it's alright." He shushed her as he heard his daughter start to cry a little bit. Josh gently stroked her hair and back as he let her calm down. He didn't pretend to know what she felt like, because he didn't. Carly appreciated the delicate balance he took with her. He tried to encourage her to be independent with her schoolwork, but at the same time knew she still needed lots of support and encouragement. Josh had worked hard to raise a self-confident, hard-working girl, but it was hard, especially without a positive female role model. She finally pulled back, wiping her eyes, but still looking beautiful in his eyes.
"Sorry." She smiled sheepishly.
"Don't apologize. That's what you're feeling." He gave her a wink. "Besides, you've got a sleepover to look forward to." He reminded her as he walked towards her door, stepping over many items of clothing and books. "I need to go pick up Maddy in a few minutes, but I'll be downstairs with Brandon if you need me, alright?"
"Thanks, dad." She told him, and went back to cleaning her outrageously messy room. Carly was such a slob.
CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI
"You can go to the Lyman's tonight, but tomorrow afternoon we're having a talk about your behavior." Sam Seaborn told his sixteen year old daughter, as he drove her to her friend's house that night. Earlier that day, he'd found out she already got a detention for too many tardies and it was only a month into the school year. He knew that if he didn't take care of this now, it would only get worse with Courtney. She was the type of child who liked to try things to see how much she could get away with, so he'd adapted his parenting approach with her.
"Whatever." She said, typically teen. Courtney was so sick of being the center of attention now that her sister was off at college. She missed her so much, and now her life was under a microscope. Her parents had all the time in the world to monitor her every move now, which is not something you wanted at the age of sixteen.
"Hey," I raised his voice a little to let her know he didn't like her attitude. They pulled into the Lyman's driveway. "Your mother and I are worried about you."
"Yeah, I noticed."
"We know you can do so much better than you're doing right now. We just want you to succeed."
"Okay, dad. Bye!" She said, getting out of the car and slamming the door. Courtney was so glad that she would be spending a night away from her parents, but at the same time, had a big lecture hanging over her head. She walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Maddy answered, dressed in her gymnastics uniform with Adidas active pants on, sipping a Capri Sun.
"Hi, Courtney." She said. Maddy had grown up around her older sister and Courtney, and she knew all their drama. She knew more than her family gave her credit for. The gymnast was like a stealthy animal, knowing and seeing all that went on in the house. If there was juice, she knew about it. She politely let in Courtney and yelled up the stairs.
"Carly! Courtney's here." She walked back into the living room where she was watching TV with her dad and brother. They would try to stay away from all the teenage girls tonight, but they knew they couldn't escape the noise.
Maddy looked down the stairs and motioned for her best friend to come up, wanting to still avoid her family. They'd both had a pretty rotten day, so they would surely blow off some steam tonight. Carly let her friend in her room and closed the door, both letting out a huge sigh of relief to finally have a familiar friendly face to talk to.
"Oh my God!" Courtney practically screamed. "Will they ever leave me alone?" She plopped onto Carly's bed. "I can't take it anymore. You're lucky you only have one parent."
"Courtney. Shut up." Carly told her, still sensitive about her mother.
"Sorry. But, I mean, they hound me all the time now that Alex is at college. At least you have two siblings at home."
"I got busted on not letting my teachers know about my dyslexia." She confessed. Courtney had encouraged her to tell Ms. Moss, because she knew how stressed her friend had been.
"Good." Courtney told her, biting her fingernails, a habit she brought out when she was upset. Carly rolled her eyes. "What?"
"You're just like my dad."
"Excuse me?" That was an insult, to say the least. "I'm like an adult? Please! You make me giggle."
"They're gonna talk more about me, and I think my dad has the hots for Ms. Moss."
"Why do you say that?" She was all ears. Even if it was adult romance, she was still excited about it.
"I walked in on him getting all giddy about it. I guess she's coming over Sunday to talk about it."
"Another teacher is coming to your house? That's creepy."
"Court, we're around teachers all the time." Carly reminded her. It was true, and it was a blessing and a curse. They could get extra help with homework, had access to leftover treats for the staff, but also were under more watchful eyes. It was a double-edged sword.
"Well, I like Ms. Moss. I think she'd be good for your dad."
"Courtney." She said, not believing her friend was excited about this. "My dad isn't ready to date anyone."
"Why not? Your mom died, what, twelve years ago? He needs to move on."
Carly just ignored her, not wanting to think about her dad being romantically interested in someone, especially her own teacher. Ugh.
"Forget about it. Let's just have some fun." Carly decided, turning up the music. They giggled and chatted as they waited for the other girls to arrive, anxious to let off a lot of built-up steam.
