Hi everyone!
This new piece I did is from a show where I mainly saw clips but I kinda know a little to do this particular story. The cartoon here is called Twelve Forever.
I saw a clip where Reggie, her mom, and Esther were shopping for an upcoming wedding and I wasn't happy how Reggies mom acted just because she's being herself. Reggie can be goofy sometimes but her mom calling her a mess in a public store was totally uncalled for.
I'm glad the two friends talked it out but I feel like it should've been a mother/daughter thing. So instead of going to endless, I'm gonna have Reggie and her mom talk it out after Reggie snaps.
Sorry if it's rushed but it's the best I could do since I don't really watch this show.
Oh and one more thing: I made a kofi page to kinda help earn a bit for my writing. If y'all wanna support my work or spread the word, the link is right below here ^^
/jessicadunn53812
Enjoy!
I don't own Twelve Forever or the characters.
After Reggie rushes into the bathroom, she looks at herself in the mirror as she struggles to keep the tears from falling out of her eyes.
"Who does my mom think she is?!" She vented, "I never wanted to do this stupid wedding shopping day anyway! It's not my fault I love being myself! Why can't she just accept me for who I am?!"
She splashed some water on her face and just used her hands to wipe away the makeup.
"If she thinks I'm a mess, why doesn't she adopt Esther instead?!" Reggie said bitterly, "Maybe we should switch moms.."
She takes a couple paper towels to wipe away the rest of the water and makeup off her before looking into the mirror again.
"Be someone other than myself huh? Well maybe I should get serious for once."
Then the door opened and her best friend, Esther, came inside with a worried expression.
"Reggie? Are you okay?" Esther asked, "You've been in here a while and we're a little worried."
"Who cares?" Reggie mumbled.
"W-What?" She muttered, "Why would you say that?"
"Doesn't matter, I'm going home." Regime started to walk around her.
"But your mom said-"
"I don't care!" Her friend snapped with teary eyes, "I don't wanna stay around her anymore! You wanna stay with my mom, fine! She likes you better anyway..."
"Reggie that's not true-" Esther tried to say before she was cut off again.
"Doesn't matter", she walked past her friend, "I'm going home and locking myself in my room. I don't even feel like going to Endless either."
"Isn't your house far away though?"
"I'll find a way. But right now I can't be near my mom anymore..."
As Reggie walked out, Esther stood for a few minutes feeling both shock and sadness over her friends words. She never meant to steal her best friends mother away and make her look bad; but Reggie thinks it differently.
She comes out of the bathroom just as Reggie met up with her mom, Judy, who just finished getting a perm.
"There you are! Is everyth-"
Her daughter said nothing as she walked passed her but not before grabbing the bag that had the dress she hated.
"Reggie? Reggie!"
"Don't talk to me!" The girl barked as she walked out of the salon.
Judy looked shocked and dumbfounded as Esther came to her side.
"What has gotten into her?!" She asked.
"She's very mad at us." Esther answered sadly.
"What do you mean, honey?"
Esther told her everything Reggie said to her in the bathroom and Judy instantly regretted ever saying her daughter was a mess. The two ran to find Reggie, and they find her coming out of the dress shop they went to earlier.
"Reggie!" Her mom ran to her daughter, "Honey you shouldn't run off like that. And listen, I-"
"If it's about me being an immature mess, I don't wanna hear it!" Reggie snapped before handing her down cash, "Here! I got a refund for that dumb dress you got me. I hated the color, I hated the look, and I hated the way you said I should be someone else other than me!"
She was talking so loudly, that everyone in the mall was watching them.
"Reggie please-" her mom tried to say.
"Don't!" she held her hand up and tears ran down her face, "Just don't! I get it, you think I should grow up and be mature like everyone else! That I shouldn't like the things I like anymore! Well news flash mom: I'm not like other girls! I like silly stuff! I like toys and goofy hats! To you it's stupid, but I'm more comfortable that way! I'm happy being me but you of all people can't accept that!"
Reggie cried softly as she used her arms to wipe away the tears coming down her face.
"You and Esther seem to get along better and have more in common than with me." Reggie said bitterly, "How about you adopt her and her family can have me instead?
"W-What?! B-B-But-" her mom stuttered.
"You know what? Forget it!" She raised her arms up, "I'm going home and I don't want either of you to follow me. And one more thing: I'm not going to that stupid wedding anymore! You and Dustin can go without me. I'm outta here..."
Reggie ran out of the mall and went down to the nearest bus station.
Thankfully a bus was stopping and was about to head to Reggies neighborhood so she climbed on and paid the fee before it took off.
"Reggie wait!" Esther called out as she ran with Judy right behind her.
But it was no use and the bus already took off with Reggie on it. Both Esther and Judy were out of breath and were saddened that Reggie felt so angry towards them and took off with no remorse.
As soon as she got home, Reggie slammed the door open and rushed to her room without even looking at her older brother, Dustin, who was sitting on the couch playing video games.
"Hey, how was-" Dustin stopped when he looked up and saw his sister looking sad, "Hey, are you okay?"
"I'm fine..." Reggie said as she walked to her room and shut the door.
Dustin thought of going in and talking to her but just decided she probably needs some space and just left her alone.
About a half an hour later, Judy came home and saw her son in the living room.
"Hey mom." Dustin looked up.
"Hey hon." She smiled softly, "Did Reggie come home?"
"Yeah, she's in her room." He answered, "She looked upset but I wasn't sure about talking to her or not. I checked on her but she hasn't said anything."
"It's okay, Dustin. Thank you, I'll talk care of it." She said before heading to her daughters room.
Judy felt uneasy when she reached for the door but didn't touch the handle yet. After what happened at the mall today, she wasn't sure how Reggie would react seeing her mom.
After thinking it over for a couple of minutes, she knocked on the door lightly.
"Reggie? Honey?"
No answer. She turned the knob and was thankful it wasn't locked.
"Hey hon." Judy opens the door slightly, "Can I come in?"
"Mmm..." was all Reggie could say.
Judy closes the door behind her and slowly walks over to her daughters bed before sitting down. Reggie was laying down with her back towards her mother while hugging one of her pillows.
"You okay?" She asked softly.
"Go away..." was all Reggie could muster after the rough day she had.
Judy only sighed as she sat next to her daughter on the bed.
"Honey listen," she began sadly, "I'm sorry...I'm really sorry about this whole thing. I just wanted to spend time with you and Esther but I never realized I was making you feel bad about being yourself.. I just wanted you to try more feminine things now that you're getting older."
Reggie sighed as she turned to look at her mom, "I may be a goofy girl but at least my friends are okay with it. But I feel like you're forcing me to grow up so fast that I can't enjoy what I like anymore; that you think it's too childish or something and I should be more like this stick figures on magazines. I don't care what anyone else things but why can't I just be myself in my family?"
As Reggie buried her head in her pillow again, Judy felt even more guilty about pressuring her daughter to be something she isn't. She has only one chance to earn her daughters respect again.
"I'm sorry sweetie." Judy rubbed Reggies back, "I forgot you aren't like other girls. When I was your age, I loved dressing up, talking about boys, putting on makeup, and even wear high heels every day. But there are times I forget that not all girls like that kind of thing and have their own personalities and interests just like you. Sweetheart, I understand if you're upset with me but I want you to know I am very sorry for not being supportive you and what you like."
Reggie listened to her moms apology and gave it a lot of thought. Maybe she was a bit too hard on her mom and best friend over the whole thing; she did feel hurt but she didn't mean to hurt them either. She sat up and looked at her mom with a sad expression.
"So you don't prefer Esther over me?" She asked sadly.
"What?" Judy hugged her daughter tight, "No honey, of course not! Why would you ever think I'd prefer someone over you?"
"Cause she's more into what you like than I do."
"Reggie, while it's nice to be with someone who share my interests, no one can ever replace my awesome daughter." Judy assured her.
Reggie smiles with tears in her eyes and hugged her mom, "Thanks mom. And I'm sorry for the way I acted back there. I was just so ticked off I lost it."
"It's okay honey and I'm sorry for what I said and ruined our day." She apologized again.
"It's okay. Just a bad shopping day I guess."
"I got something for you." Judy smiled as she pulled out a very large bag.
"It's not another dress, is it?" Reggie acted reluctantly.
"You'll see." Judy hands her the bag, "Open it."
Reggie opens the bag and sees a tux jacket; an outer space T-shirt with her favorite colors; a couple pairs of bracelets that had her favorite characters; and the big red boots she saw earlier. Her face beamed when she saw these items and hugged her mom.
"Oh thank you mom!" Reggie said with joy, "This is exactly how I wanna dress!"
"Of course hon." she hugged her daughter back, "I want you to be yourself when you got to the wedding...if you still wanna go that is. I won't force you if you don't want to."
Reggie thought about it for a moment and made her decision.
"You won't care how I look?" She asked hesitantly.
"Honey, I think you'll look fine no matter what." Judy smiles confidently, "And if anyone says anything different about it, they'll have to answer to me."
Reggie smiles at her mom and feels that things will be alright now but there's still one more thing she has to fix.
"Okay, I guess I'll give it another chance." She rubbed the back of her head, "Think I should call Esther and let her know everything's okay now?"
"Good idea, honey." Her mom agreed, "And if she's okay with it, how about you invite her back over and we can have a girls night? I'll treat for pizza."
"Thanks mom! I love that you are so cool."
"And I love you the way you are, Reggie."
Both mother and daughter hugged and both were happy their relationship was repaired. Later that day, Reggie called Esther and apologizes for what happened at the mall; thankfully, Esther forgave her and took up on her girls night offer.
Lesson here is that not all kids are perfect, and neither are parents. What's truly important is that you love and appreciate your loved ones for the inside, not just the outside.
(The End)
