Hi, everyone, I'm back! I hope you're all doing well under quarantine and lock down. Looking on the bright side, I have plenty of time to write, so I hope you enjoy reading this.

This story will probably be 5 chapters long, and will alternate between the present, and the past, one chapter for each. The ones set in the past will be written in italics.

The Origin of the Ears

Chapter 1

Bob Belcher concentrated on cleaning the counters next to the grill, doing his best to ignore the empty restaurant. They hadn't had a customer for over an hour, now, and Bob needed to keep busy. He looked up, smiling slightly, as the bell rang, signifying that someone had entered the diner. However, it was accompanied by the sound of the door being slammed. He poked his head through the hatch and saw Louise stamping over to the counter, and slamming her backpack down on the floor, a thunderous expression on her face.

"Louise, what are you doing home?" Bob looked at the clock, confused, "it's only 12:30."

"I know that, Dad; I can tell time!" she snapped, sitting on a stool.

"Louise."

"What's the matter, sweetie?" Linda sat down next to her daughter.

"The stupid principal has made a stupid rule about no stupid hats at stupid school!" the little girl seethed, and Bob and Linda looked at each other. That wasn't good. "He came into assembly and said no more hats. And when I wouldn't take my ears off, he called me up in front of everyone, and said that I was suspended until I could follow the rules properly," said Louise casually, being careful to leave out the part where she had screamed in his face, and stormed out.

"They just let you leave?" Linda looked shocked. "Why didn't they call me?" She pulled out her phone, checking it. "Oh, never mind," she said, noticing that she had a few missed calls. She kept forgetting to take it off silent.

"So, looks like I'm not going back until you sort this out."

"I thought we explained to them why she's allowed to wear the hat," said Bob to Linda.

"You did!" Louise shrieked. "So, you're gonna do it again; because if I can't wear my ears, I'm not going back to school."

Bob, knowing that trying to say anything to the contrary would end badly, kept quiet. "Go on, then! Go down to the school; what're you waiting for?" Louise tapped the counter impatiently.

"We'll go when your brother and sister are back; I'm not leaving you here alone," said Linda. Bob agreed; leaving Louise alone when she was like this was practically begging for a disaster.

"Fine," Louise scowled. "Stupid Principal Spoors: who does he think he is?"

"Did he say why he started this rule?" asked Bob, and Louise shook her head.

"Nope. Just came into assembly and said it, and made everyone take their hats' off."

Louise spent the rest of the day in her room, by choice, not even coming out when Gene and Tina came home, and her parents headed down to the school. She opened her bedroom door just long enough to tell them not to bother her, before slamming it shut.

She sat on her bed, back resting against the wall, knees pulled up to her chest. Gently, she tugged on the tassels of her beloved ears. Removing it was unthinkable. Showing everyone what was under there... well, it didn't bear thinking about. Five years she'd had her ears, five years since the accident. Louise knew that her family thought she would have grown out of them by now, but there was no way, no way that she could bring herself to take it off.

Tentatively, she reached one hand under the hat, before retracting it. She knew what it felt like; there was no need to feel it again.

She didn't think even her brother and sister had seen her bareheaded more than two times since the accident. They knew what had happened, and what she desperately needed to hide.

Of course, Louise straightened up, she'd kick the ass of anyone who laughed at her, but she didn't think she could go about her life having everyone know what was under the ears.

Bob and Linda sat in Principal Spoors' office, along with Mr. Frond, and some of Louise's teachers that they should know the names of, but didn't. Once the introductions were out of the way, Bob got to it.

"So, apparently, there's a no-hats rule?" he confirmed, and the teachers nodded.

"Yes, we feel that it's an appropriate rule," said Spoors.

"Okay, but can't you make an exception?" asked Linda. "Louise needs to wear her bunny ears; she's already said she's not coming back until she can wear them."

"Sorry, Mrs. Belcher. Rules are rules."

"Yeah, but, this isn't something she does for fun; she has a good reason for wearing that hat."

"Like what?" asked Mr. Frond. No-one actually knew why Louise wore the ears; when she'd started Wagstaff three years ago, Bob and Linda had spoken to Spoors privately. He'd been okay with it then, so they weren't sure why he'd changed his mind.

"It's personal," was all Bob said. "The hat gives her confidence; without it, she's.. really insecure."

"So, it's a security blanket?" Frond confirmed.

"Sort of."

"You said she would take the ears off when she was ready."

"Well, if she hasn't taken them off, then she's clearly not ready," Bob said, sounding irritated.

"But she came in without them before!" the counsellor exclaimed.

"They were stolen!" said Linda. "Someone stole them. You don't know what she was like without them; she was one step away from snapping."

"Look, Mr. Belcher," Spoor sighed, "I know your daughter had an accident," which was the extent of what he had been told those years ago. "But, we've made several allowances for Louise over the past three years, and it's really not fair on the other pupils. Many of them now have started wearing large, crazy hats, and lessons are being disrupted. We're being accused of favouritism," he added. The parents remained silent, so he continued. "I understand Louise has reasons for wanting to wear the hat; she feels she needs to wear it, I understand, but do you think you could swap it for a hat with no ears?"

"I guess.. I'll try, I mean, I'll talk to her about it," said Bob, knowing exactly how that conversation was going to go; he wasn't even going to have the talk; he didn't want to deal with the aftermath.

"You didn't look too impressed with that," said Louise's P.E. teacher. "What's the deal with that particular hat?" Bob sighed. He hoped he wouldn't be the one to have to tell the story (although he knew Louise never would), but if they knew why, they might leave her alone. He sighed again.

"She was four years old," he began.

~ X ~

I think this must be my shortest chapter ever! It's freaking me out, haha.

What did you think? I'd love to know!