Disclaimer for the entire story: Sadly, I do not own Strange Magic, although I do have the DVD that I play once a week.
This one is completely and utterly ShivaeSyke on AO3's doing *coughfaultcough* and I have no shame. Not much Sunshine in this one but she's had a rough day. I wrote this yesterday and had planned to post it but it became a bit too late when I finished and sleep was forthcoming. Constructive advice is appreciated but please refrain from criticism. Enjoy!
(Slight edit as of October 17, 2020)
Chapter 1/Violence is not the Answer
There is no doubt about it.
Dawn is going to kill her.
Swift and without mercy.
It's not that it's really her fault, she didn't cause this after all, but she is the one who taught Sunshine those kickboxing moves and Dawn will definitely blame her. At least she has two days left to live...as long as Dawn doesn't catch wind of this little incident and come home early.
"I'm Marianne Blaze, here to pick up Sunshine Prince," Marianne recites once she enters the school office.
"Ah yes, Auntie Mari," the secretary hums. "I'll need you to sign here...and here...as well as here. This is for you, a written record of the incident, along with a copy of the school's policy and the nurse's report. Also, Principal Bowers would like to see Mr and Mrs Prince as soon as they return home to discuss Miss Prince's future with the school."
"Discuss Sunshine's future with the school?" Marianne repeats slowly, pausing in her speed-reading of the papers.
"We are a prestigious academy and we do not tolerate violent pupils. Should Miss Prince continue to be disruptive, we will have no choice but to expel her permanently," the secretary explains before walking toward the closed door on her right.
Marianne can feel her left eye twitching with the effort to keep her face neutral and to keep her opinions to herself, especially as a very somber Sunshine is let out of the 'time-out' room. Only by miraculous strength does she manage to stay calm enough to give stilted pleasantries before briskly leaving with the sorrowful child safely secured in her arms.
Sunshine is in preschool, for heaven's sake!
"Are you mad at me, Auntie Mari?" Sunshine questions softly, disrupting her thoughts.
"I'm not mad at you, Sunshine," Marianne reassures. "I just think the school is overreacting a little."
"But I'm bad," Sunshine murmurs.
"You aren't bad," Marianne corrects.
"I fought at school and that's bad," Sunshine points out, leaning far enough away to stare up to her aunt with sad baby blue eyes.
"Acting bad doesn't make you bad. You only become bad when you keep doing bad things even when you know they're bad to do," Marianne explains. "Fighting is bad because violence is not the answer to any problem. It's better to talk things out."
"But Denny won't listen to me!" Sunshine pouts, scrunching her face into a glare that was too cute to be terrifying.
"Then it's better to walk away if the problem can't be solved with talking," Marianne counters.
"Miss Kissell says it's rude to walk away from someone talking to you and that you have to listen to what older people tell you. She said that I'm bad because I said that Denny was wrong," Sunshine comments.
Dawn can kill her later. First thing her little sister is doing when she gets home is enrolling her angelic niece out of that torture-house and into a nicer school. Sunshine doesn't even need preschool. She is smart enough...
Maybe a little too smart.
Shaking her head softly in amusement as her mind wanders back to what happened two weeks ago, Marianne slows down her powerwalking and lets some of the tension out of her muscles. Catching sight of the driver of the dark blue SUV waiting on the curb relaxes her even more and she bites her lip to keep the goofy smile from rising as Bog's anxious expression causes her to think about what a great father he'll make.
It's strange that being forced to tell everyone that she wasn't pregnant had made her think more and more about what it'd be like if it was true, especially with Bog being the father.
"How is she?" Bog asks as he opens the back door for Marianne to buckle Sunshine into her car seat.
"She's got a few scratches and is expelled for the next three school-days," Marianne informs, securing the five-year-old and shutting the back door before continuing with a wicked smile. "On the bright side, she gave the second-grader a split lip, probably a black eye, and a lot of scratches."
"She did that to a second-grader?! Impressive," Bog murmurs. "What was a second-grader doing around a pre-schooler anyway?"
"Don't know, the letter doesn't say and it doesn't even mention them questioning the kids about what caused the fight. Just that Sunshine was the one that attacked the boy first and therefore, she is the troublemaker," Marianne growls. "It's bad enough that they didn't even listen to Sunshine when she told them that her parents are out of town but they've had her in the 'time-out' room since the fight happened this morning."
"This morning?" Bog repeats with a growl.
"Yes, this morning. They've been calling the house instead of believing that she is staying with me for a few days and it's only when neither Sunny nor Dawn came to pick Sunshine up after school ended did they decide to call me, the emergency contact," Marianne grumbles.
"Let's get out of here before I wind up in the 'time-out' room," Bog mutters.
Marianne laughs as Bog glares toward the educational building. Maybe she'll be saved from Dawn's wrath by diverting it toward the school. Violence may not be the answer but no one messes with their Sunshine.
Tea Blend.