Ch. 5

Disclaimer: Same as Ch. 2

Author's Note: Please read and review

Gabriella wakes up at 6:00 am three days after her mother's funeral. It would be her first day back at school. Willowbrook Academy had made provisions for her to miss several days of school so she had time to adjust to the situation before she had to deal with school. Gabriella had done the schoolwork that her father had picked up for her during this period of time in spite of the fact that she hadn't truly felt like doing it. She didn't want to be too far behind her class when she returned and was determined to make certain that didn't happen. Tony is very proud of the way Gabriella had handled the situation. She had been crying a lot especially in the evenings, but seemed to be doing okay. Tony had already made arrangements to be allowed to leave work to pick her up from school early if it became necessary.

Gabriella dresses in her uniform and then brushes her hair and pulls it back into a ponytail. She isn't in the mood for anything fancy. She grabs her backpack from the back of her desk chair. Tony had told her that if she wants to redo her bedroom with her furniture from her Mom's house she could. The stuff he'd put in there had been secondhand anyway. He could always sell it if that's what Gabriella wanted. He wants her to be as comfortable as possible in her new home. She heads downstairs for breakfast.

Tony is up as well. He is nearly ready for work himself. He is making pancakes and bacon. He wants her to have a good breakfast to start her day today. Ordinarily, she would have cereal or Poptarts on school mornings, but Tony felt it was a good idea to cook her breakfast this morning to help her face the day.

Soon Gabriella has eaten her breakfast is is all ready for school. Her nerves about how her classmates will treat her is obvious to Tony. He had had a long discussion with Mrs. Kathleen Thompson, the headmistress of his daughter's school. Mrs. Thompseon had reassured him that Gabriella's teacher, Miss Veronica Jacobs would keep an eye on her for at least several days. Tony had been extremely relieved to hear this.

Gabriella is finally ready for school. Tony is ready for work as well. They head outside to Tony's SUV. Tony hopes his daughter will be able to handle this. He knew what it felt like to lose a mother at a young age and had hoped that his daughter would never have to experience that, but then Jeanne had been in the car accident and things had fallen apart. Tony is just glad he will be there for his daughter.

Gabriella heads to her classroom when her father drops her off at school. It was about ten minutes before classes were to start. She prefers being early rather thatn exactly on time. It makes her nervous otherwise and today especially.

Miss Jacobs sits at her desk at the front of the classroom as her students are trickling in one by one. She sees Gabriella and gives her a reassuring smile. Miss Jacobs would welcome her back at the beginning of class. She watches as her class come into the room to begin the new day. By the time class starts, all but three students, Lindsey Ryan, Elizabeth Thompson and Katherine Rebinson were there.

Gabriella quickly unpacks her bookbag and sits at her desk. Her friends, Annabelle Lawrence, Bethany Johnston, and Miranda Compton are sitting near her. Olivia Jackson is several seats away. Gabriella greets them quietly as she waits for the beginning of class. Normally, she would be chatting it up with her friends until the last possible moment, but today is not the day for that. She is still struggling to come to terms with what had happened to her mother and now she was back in school. Her father had been insistent that it was important that she get back to as normal of a routine as she possibly could under the circumstances. It is hard for Gabriella to imagine, but she can understand why her Dad wants her to try.

Lunchtime recess came. Gabriella heads out to the schoolyard. Her schoolmates are heading to various areas to play a variety of games. Gabriella doesn't really feel like doing anything. Her friends convince her to at least sit on the sidelines of the basketball court where they will be playing. Gabriella had reluctantly agreed knowing that she didn't want to keep her friends from having fun during their break even if she wasn't going to.
After about ten minutes, Melanie Chambers, who is one of the bullies at the school, comes over to her. The teachers hadn't been able to catch Melanie at it unfortunately. She usually did it before or after school. "Hey orphan girl," Melanie said.

"I'm not an orphan. I still have my Daddy," Gabriella says vehemently. She realizes she should have known this was coming. Melanie likes to pick on anyone who has even the slightest weakness.

"I don't care. You're still orphan girl," Melanie practically shouts at her.

Gabriella could hardly believe that even Melanie would treat her like this. She's known that Melanie could be cruel to her schoolmates, but this went far beyond that. Gabriella wishes she could do something drastic such as punch Melanie in the face, but she knows that not only would the school not approve of her handling it that way. Gabriella's friends seem to be wrapped up in their basketball game. Gabriella decides to walk away.

Melanie is having none of it. She doesn't give up easily once she hones in on a target, especially one as vulnerable as Gabriella currently is. She steps in front of the younger girl to block her from leaving.

Gabriella is desperate to get away as Melanie continues to tease her. Gabriella desperately tries to find some way to get away from the other girl, but it seems to be impossible. After a bit, with Gabriella continually trying to get away, her friends notice a problem. Lilly Marshall runs to get the playground supervisor while the rest of the group run over to rescue Gabriella from Melanie. Melanie is having none of it though. She is determined to continue this despite the fact that she can see Gabriella friends have noticed what was going on.

The playground supervisor is coming towards them, but Gabriella doesn't see her. She's had enough of Melanie's crap and slaps her in the face.

TBC

Author's Note: Sorry this has been so long in coming but I've had some writer's block.

I got some good news last night. My brother is now engaged to a wonderful girl. She fits in well with our family. I am so excited!