Chapter 7 The girl

Tony's point of view

When we were away at school, I noticed plenty of things that wouldn't have happened if I had still been homeschooled. The first thing I noticed was the social injustices.

The pretty girl who had homeschooled with us for a while was at the same school. Her clothes were patched and darned, though they were clean, her shoes weren't expensive, and her hair accessories were simple. The disparity between her and her cousins was evident and alarming. Her cousin Stephanie wore designer dresses with heels, her cousin Shane wore business pants, a shirt and tie and if it wasn't too hot, a jumper, cardigan or a business jacket.

"Tony" she called across the landing

"Hi Virginia. Jay, Bruce, Nat, Wanda, Pietro, Mary-Angela Mary-Theresa, Veronica you remember Virginia don't you?"

She winced and said, "My name is Ginny" through tightly gritted teeth

"Oh, sorry. I had no idea that you hated your first name"

"So would you if your fool of a mother had called you Virginia Anne Potts" she shuddered "And if your idiotic godparents insisted on not bastardising it!"

Stephanie scowled

"That was rude" she said "Do not call my parents idiotic"
"They are idiotic, and you know it Stephanie Marie. What the hell are they doing getting mixed up with that awful awful awful man who lives across the street! The one who pretends he's in Real Estate… I know what he really is! My father was just like him."

"DO NOT call me by my full name Virginia Anne and you know you're not supposed to talk about that!"

"All right you two, enough." said Shane "While Mom and Dad aren't here, we will call you Ginny. You will have to speak to them about this though."

"You expect me to be GRATEFUL that you're going to use my preferred name? How DARE you. Get the hell away from me… NOW!"

She turned and stormed away from the table.

"Hey, Ginny, remember me?"
"Not really"
"You used to homeschool co-op with my siblings and me"
"Tony?"
"Yes"

"Hi"
"Hi"
"Shall we go down for lunch?"
"OK"

Ginny sighed. I didn't know exactly what was going on with her. I had noticed a couple of things. The way Shane and Steph looked down upon her, the way they condescended her, undermining her every word. The stale, cold, distance between them.

"Ginny, what's going on with you?"
"Not a lot. My godparents hate me, my cousins resent me. I have no one in my corner"
"Say the word and I can and will be there"

"Thank you, Tony."