I don't own the Breakfast Club

Enjoy!

Richard Vernon was supposed to supervise Saturday detention. It had always been his responsibility, but the morning had partaken a turn of events. Out of all the days of the week, the Family Court had called him. At first, Richard was surprised that this department would operate on the weekends…unless it was for an urgent matter, or unless someone was making up for a day that they lost.

"Good morning," the voice was unusually chipper for a Saturday morning, "may I speak with Richard Vernon please?"

"This is him," Richard said, "who am I speaking with?"

"This is Jenny Chambers from the Family Court department," the voice answered him, "I am calling about a discrepancy concerning the residency of your niece, Susan Quimby."

Family Court. His niece. Richard gripped tightly onto the receiver and leaned against a chair. "What's this about?" he asked her. "I thought I had taken care of everything."

"No, no," Jenny responded, "this does not refer to any of the legal cases. It has been bought to our attention that Susan Quimby is not under your care at present. Is that correct?"

Richard furrowed his eyebrow at that. Was this some type of joke? "Of course she is still under my care. I have copies of the documents. Who told you this?" he asked her.

"Unfortunately, I cannot say who the caller specifically was. We got an anonymous tip that Susan has been staying with her grandmother for the past couple of weeks now," Jenny continued.

An anonymous tip was equivalent to nosy neighbors not minding their own business. He couldn't imagine his mother gossiping anything to her friends after what had happened. As for Susan, he didn't know if she had accidentally told anyone. "She's not permanently living there, I can assure you," Richard told her.

"Eight weeks seems to be quite the long time being there Mr. Vernon," Jenny told him. "Is everything alright with your living situation?"

It wasn't that he was struggling to provide for Susan. He had a home and all the resources that he needed. He just had difficulty trying to keep his niece at home. "Everything is fine at home," he told her. "I have everything that I need for her."

Jenny let out a sigh. "I understand. It's just a little suspicious that she's been with another family member for eight weeks."

Richard took a deep breath and tried to formulate the proper words for the conversation. "You know how it is with grandparents and grandkids. They want to stay there more than they want to with their parents…" he internally flinched at the mention of that word. Or guardians in this case. "I have checked in on her while she has been there."

"That doesn't mean that she's under your care, I'm afraid," Jenny told him.

"So you're saying that my niece doesn't have the right to visit her grandmother when she wants?" Richard defensively asked her.

"She does," Jenny said, "but if it's for a prolonged period, then it's another matter. I understand that you're trying to provide all you can. I looked over your case and you had a lot of convincing evidence why you were the right fit to be her guardian."

That was a time that Richard thought was never going to end. It had been weeks of trying to locate Susan's father, providing the court with evidence that her father wasn't present, getting a lawyer, fighting for Susan so that she didn't fall into state custody. Until everything had settled, Richard was glad that he was able to put it behind him…until that fateful moment that changed everything.

Richard let out a sigh. "So what happens if my niece decides to stay with her grandmother for a while?" he asked her.

"Then this would be a discrepancy with her residency," Jenny said, "it may involve an investigation as to why she is there. Is there anything that you want to report on that before that?" she asked him.

His grip on the receiver tightened once more to the point where he thought he was going to break the phone. Before that. It sounded as if the court was already planning the investigation. Whomever this anonymous caller was, Richard wished that he wouldn't run into him or her. "There's nothing to report," Richard assured her, "thank you for calling." He hung up the phone and let out a defeated sigh. Why did it have to come to this? After everything that they both went through…why?

Richard grabbed his coat and headed outside. Part of his mind told him to head back to Shermer High and relieve Ms. Wilson of her detention duty, but his feet took him in a different direction. Twenty minutes down his street by foot, his mother lived there. Normally, he would pay a visit to her on Sunday, but this was a situation that couldn't wait. He knocked on the door and waited until the lock clicked and the door opened.

Dorothy stood by the doorway and adjusted her glasses as she looked at Richard up and down. "You decided to grace us early with your presence," she said, a hint of smile playing upon her lips. She motioned for him to follow her inside the house.

That was his mother. A woman with a sense of humor that Richard had given up deciphering. He walked into the familiar and calm atmosphere of the house. He heard the little tweets of the canary from the living room. He took his seat on the sofa and watched as Dorothy came back with two cups of tea and sat on the couch next to him. "To what do I owe this surprise visit? Weren't you supposed to be monitoring Saturday detention like you normally do?" she asked.

Richard took a deep breath and let it out. "I was about to head out until I got a phone call from Family Court," he told her.

Dorothy took the cup of tea in her hand and took a sip of the hot liquid. "Oh? How come?" she asked him.

"You tell me," Richard said, "apparently an anonymous caller tipped off Family Court that Susan has been living with you for the past eight weeks."

Dorothy rose an eyebrow at that and set down her cup of tea. "Well…that's not good."

"Of course it's not good," Richard snapped but then retreated when Dorothy gave him a glare. "Did you, or Susan, say anything that could have made anyone suspicious?" he asked her.

Dorothy leaned against her couch and looked at him. "Yes Richard, I was telling the newspaper boy my story of Susan being here," she answered sarcastically and then looked at him with a serious glare, "I hope you're not accusing me, mister. I never let anything slip about my family."

"I'm not accusing you of anything," Richard told her not appreciating her sarcasm, "this is serious. If the court finds out that Susan is living here, they'll have an investigation. It's going to be a whole other legal procedure if you're fit to take care of her."

Dorothy was quiet for a moment as she took in his explanation. Her retirement funds were enough to only support only herself. With Richard's monthly checks, they had been more than enough for support Susan while she was staying here. Dorothy let out a sigh and placed the tips of her fingers on her temple. "I know what you went through. Weeks of legal battles and trying to keep Susan from going into state custody."

Richard silently nodded his head. At least his efforts weren't invisible to someone.

"But what I don't understand was why did you have to lose your temper with that girl?" Dorothy then said to him. She had been made aware of the issue, from both sides, and she felt that she had the prerogative to smack some sense into both.

Call it his temper…a moment of weakness…whatever it was, Richard had not been proud of it.

He had been fighting with the court for weeks. Trying to locate Susan's father was an impossible mission. It seemed like he had dropped off the face of the Earth. Why had his sister been so immature into thinking of eloping with the first guy that she met? Now, he had to clean up the rest of her mess.

Even though Richard did not approve of his sister's choices, he couldn't let his niece fall into the hands of state custody. It was a whole other battle that had left him exhausted, until he won his case.

Richard had tried all that he could to provide for Susan, but her hostile attitude had been final straw. He understood that she was grieving, but to Richard, that did not mean that she should neglect her classes, family, herself, and take her anger out on others.

One late afternoon, Richard had been dealing with an extended disciplinary action at school that had left him fatigued. Why couldn't high school students just follow the rules? It would make their day better and his easier. The worst thing to dealing with these students were their parents and how some would argue with him about their child's behavior. When he arrived home, he picked up his mail and was glad to finally be inside. Just a peaceful atmosphere.

He sifted through the mail and sighed when he saw that it was a letter from the school. He had a feeling that this letter was in concern about Susan, yet it was his prerogative to ensure her academic performance. He opened the letter and glazed through the writing until his eyes fell on the grades. All Ds in her core classes and one A in art. This had gone far too long.

"Susan!" Richard called as he walked over to a section of the house and saw her concentrating on a canvas. There was paint all over the floor and he had told her countless times not to paint in the dining area. "Susan, what is this? I've told you not to paint here."

Susan pulled back from her canvas and looked at her work, not bothering to turn her attention to Richard. "Sorry, I'll clean up," she said. "I want to finish this."

"We need to talk about your grades. I just got a letter from the school that you have Ds in all your classes," he told her. "I trusted you to do better."

Susan let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't care about those classes. I have no interest in biology, or chemistry, or math."

"Art is not going to help you pay the bills, Susan," Richard told her, "you need to do better in your classes. You can't let art be a distraction to you. I've seen you spend more time with a paintbrush in your hand than your studies."

Susan blushed from embarrassment when he said that. She had underestimated Richard and his vigilance about her studies. "Who cares about grades?"

"I care," Richard said to her, "and so should you. I am responsible for you and your education."

Susan gripped tightly onto her paintbrush. "That's a first," she said and then turned her eyes to look at him. "My uncle…suddenly caring for me."

How could she not see the struggles that he faced with the court to get her? "I don't appreciate this attitude Susan."

"And I don't appreciate your jokes," Susan told him. "You didn't care at all about me…or mom before she died. She struggled and she never got help from you."

Richard took a deep breath and clenched his hand into a fist. He tried to control his nerves from getting the best of him. How dare she say something like that? "You don't know everything Susan," he told her.

How could she not know when she had been living with her mother? She had been there when she heard the nights where she struggled, where she cried herself to sleep, where she was stressed. Anger raged inside her as Susan whipped around and accidentally knocked her canvas on the floor. The cans of paint teetered from the easel and bounced off the canvas. "Look at what you made me do!" Susan yelled.

Richard flinched at her yell. "Calm down," he told her.

"No!" Susan shot back, "don't tell me to calm down! I've worked on that for weeks and this happens."

"Which is reflective of your grades," Richard says, "and until you bring your grades up, I'll will be taking your art supplies."

Susan's eyes widened as she watched him take a step forward. "No!" she yelled as she got in between him and her art supplies. "Don't you take those away from me! They're all that I have."

"There's more to life than painting," Richard told her, "you need to learn to prioritize what's important ."

Susan clenched her hands into fists. "I don't care about anything else," she defiantly said, "and you cannot take art away from me."

"I can and I will until you bring your grades up," he told her.

Susan couldn't contain the anger that bubbled inside of her. He may be taking care of her, but it didn't give him the right to punish her like that. "I hate it here!" she yelled, "I want my mom! I would rather have her than be here with you!"

"Someone has to take care of you, Susan. You're not the only one that lost a mother," Richard spoke up and then took a deep breath, "I lost a sister."

"Some brother you were," Susan shot back at him.

He felt his nerve tick. "Watch it young lady," he warned her. Him and his sister may have had their differences but that didn't mean that he didn't care. He took a deep breath and folded his arms across his chest. "Here's what we're going to do. You're going to clean up this mess, leave your supplies here, and go to your room."

"I'm not doing anything. You're not my father!" Susan emphasized.

He could feel his patience wearing thin, yet he tried to keep his anger at bay. "Go to your room. Now."

Susan's temper flared as she stomped in front of Richard and glared at him. "I hate you!" she yelled.

He was used to disrespect from students, but he never expected something like this from his family. Unable to control himself, Richard raised his right hand and struck Susan across the cheek. The room echoed with a resounding slap, leaving both stunned.

Richard watched as Susan bought a trembling hand to her cheek. He hesitated to reach out and comfort her. "Susan I'm—"

Susan's slowly looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears, fear, and regret. "You…you hit me," her voice trembled as she spoke.

What he saw in front of him was just a scared little girl who had lost her mother. "I didn't mean to," he told her.

Susan removed her hand from her cheek where the imprint of his fingers were visible. She took a step back from him. "I'm going to grandma's."

And he knew at that moment, he wouldn't be able to stop her.

His mother knew the story when Richard confessed what had happened. "The more I think about it, the more I believe that I shouldn't have raised my hand at her."

"Damn right you shouldn't have," Dorothy agreed with him, "then you wouldn't be in this mess. But that doesn't mean that Susan is off the hook either."

Every action had a consequence. Susan had faced her consequence that day and Richard was going to meet his soon. "I barely interact with her at school. Did she tell you that she got a panic attack?"

Dorothy looked at Richard and shook her head. "Again?"

"It was mild but we can't have her go through that again. How are her studies?" he asked her.

"How should I know?" Dorothy asked him, "she locks herself up in her room most of the day and only comes out when it's time for dinner."

That would not look good if an investigation was to happen. Thus far, Richard hadn't gotten any complaints from Susan's teachers about any of her classes. However, that did not mean that he wouldn't checkup on her grades on Monday. "What do I do, now? In case an investigation was to happen?"

"Why don't you try to patch things up with Susan?" Dorothy suggested, "she may be reserved but I don't think she'll stay mad at you forever. I talked to her about it too. I told her what you did for her and her mother and those monthly checks."

"She wasn't supposed to know about that," Richard told her.

"Well, now she does," Dorothy said and narrowed her eyes at Richard when he gave her a look, "and don't give me that 'vice principal' look mister, I'm still your mother no matter what title you have. And for heaven's sake when you try to talk to her, try to be a guardian not a principal. She gets enough of that nine hours at school."

Diving his work and home life, especially with a teenager, had been a difficult task. Before Susan left, he couldn't distinguish which role to take. In the end, it seemed that the role of being the vice principal outweighed the role of being a guardian. "It's going to take more than just patching things up with her."

Dorothy held up her hand in the air. "I'll try and talk some sense into her; but let me tell you something, I'm getting too old for this. Now I do love my granddaughter, but I'd rather stick with her visiting me during the weekend. Eight weeks has gone far enough."

He didn't know how long it would take for things to get better between him and Susan. At school, she did respect his authority. In detention, she had her moment of slight rebellion, and after her mild panic attack he believed that Susan was glad that she had someone there to ensure that she was better…at least, he hoped that she was glad. "Until then," Richard said as he took out a checkbook and signed it before giving it to Dorothy, "just until Susan decides to come back."

Dorothy pointed her finger at him as she gently took the check. "I knew that deep down, somewhere in there, you have a good heart."

"Just don't go spreading rumors about it," Richard said as he got up from the couch, "I still have a reputation to uphold."

Dorothy walked him out the door and smiled at him. "You know, we all lose our tempers but when Susan told me what you did, I never wanted to believe that I had raised a son like that. But you still providing for her even after what she said, I knew that I did something right in raising you."

Even if Dorothy felt like she had completed her mission as a mother, he had a long way to go. All it took was the necessary steps, but he was going to have to tread carefully.