I don't own the Breakfast Club

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Susan wished that she had a color that was same as the sky's. It was such a beautiful Sunday afternoon that it would have been a shame to spend it indoors. She had been staring at the sky for who knows how long. At first, she had wanted to do some drawings. She had lots of ideas in her mind that were waiting to get sketched on paper, however the serene atmosphere, the warmth of the sun, and the twittering of the birds made her caused her to submit to nature and enjoy it.

It was a shame that Brian wouldn't be able to join her. There would be other days, and ones that she would be grateful for. Letting out a gentle sigh, she pulled herself up from the grass and collected her items. Her grandmother was probably worried about her for being out too long.

As Susan walked down the path, she immediately took a turn when she noticed a familiar figure strutting into the park. Just from the elegant poise, she knew that it was Jennifer Martin. Strange how she would come to this park, where Susan had overheard her saying that parks were infested with disease-borne ticks. Susan ducked her head and took a different direction to hide behind an elderly oak tree. She peeked out to see if Jennifer had continued her way but she was already in a deep conversation with a student that Susan had seen sturtting the hallways.

Just from the clothes that he wore and the attitude that floated around him, she could see that he was part of the rebel group. Why would a girl of a high social class randomly get acquainted with a guy like him? It wasn't as if Susan had seen Jennifer willingly walking up to him and talking. That is, if their group was starting to make a difference to the cliques at school, or if Jennifer was jealous of Claire and was trying to upstage her.

Considering how they conversed with one another, Susan didn't want to remain hiding for too long. The last thing she wanted was to be accused of eavesdropping and belittled by Jennifer's taunts. She proceeded forward from the direction of the tree and let out a sigh once she was out of the park. Thank God she thought as she was stepped on the sidewalk and proceeded on her way home.

She wondered what else she was going to do on this Sunday. Staying in her room and drawing for the rest of the afternoon didn't seem like a bad idea. There would be less distractions and she could just get all her ideas on paper. She looked up when she saw the familiar driveway of her grandmother's home. Hopefully her grandmother hadn't set up too many chores for her to do. Susan thought it was one of her grandmother's motives to have her out of the room.

Susan wanted to spend time with her grandmother, but they just didn't have so much in common; and no matter how interesting her stories were, Susan had heard them numerous times. And those gin rummy games? Susan was glad that she hadn't grown an obsession with card playing or gambling.

She opened the door and stepped inside the house to be welcomed to the aroma of brewed coffee. "I'm home," she called.

"Well look who decided to grace us with her presence," Dorothy commented as she smiled to her granddaughter. She then looked at her up and down and shook her head in disapproval when she noticed the blades of grass that Susan had transported with her. "Susan, how many times have I told you not to sit on the grass? It stains your clothes."

Susan resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It wasn't that the stains weren't going to come out. She'd wash them anyway. "Sorry grandma," she apologized with a small smile. "I'll be sure to clean them before tomorrow." Susan turned to head upstairs but Dorothy stopped her.

"Just a second," Dorothy said as she reached over and took a gentle hold of Susan's elbow. "I need to talk to you."

Susan stepped down the stairs and was escorted over to the living room. There was a halfway finished cup of coffee on the table along with Dorothy's teacup. "I didn't know you had a visitor over. Was it Mr. Burton?" she asked her grandmother with a teasing tone of voice.

He was an elderly neighbor from across the street and issues that Dorothy had, she would go to him. Even though Dorothy considered him an acquaintance, Susan found it sweet…especially when she could tease her grandmother about it.

"Don't get cheeky with me, young lady," Dorothy warned Susan, making the young girl chuckle. Dorothy tried to hide her smile. Ever since her granddaughter had made herself a permanent guest to her home, her visitations with Mr. Burton had been limited. "Have a seat."

Susan walked towards the couch and set her sketchpad next to her. Once she made herself comfortable, she looked at her grandmother expectedly. She looked over at the birdcage to see the little canary sleeping with its little head tucked inside its feathers.

"Richard paid a visit yesterday," Dorothy said as she took her teacup in her hand.

So that was the reason why he wasn't at school on Saturday. "Were you doing okay?" Susan asked her. When Dorothy nodded her head, Susan then asked, "was he doing okay?"

Dorothy's lips tilted into a subtle smile and she took a sip of her tea. "I don't know yet. He seems to have run into some trouble…concerning you."

Susan frowned. "Me?" she asked and pointed to herself. "I…I was in detention yesterday if that's what he's referring to." Even though Susan didn't want to go, she wanted to avoid getting herself into further trouble.

Dorothy shook her head. "No, dear it's not about the detention." She set her empty teacup on the table and leaned against the couch. "He received a phone call from the Family Court."

Susan took a deep breath. Just the name court was enough to worry her. The number of times that she had to present herself in court and fearing that she would be handed over to the state, she was glad that it had been over. But…what could be the reason for them to call? "What was it about?" she asked her.

"We don't know who, but someone has tipped Family Court that you have been staying here with me. In their records, it shows that you're under Richard's address," Dorothy explained to her.

"Oh," Susan said, feeling some of the tension being lifted, "can't we just change it?" she asked her.

"It's not that easy, Susan," Dorothy told her. "If we change it, there'd be an investigation…if there's not one already in place." The elderly woman took a deep breath as she tried to keep her mind clear from any scenarios that were threatening to emerge. "Do you understand what I'm trying to say?" she asked her.

Some of these legal procedures, Susan had difficulty grasping the concept of. This one was no different. "No," she shook her head.

Dorothy let out a gentle sigh. "If I take custody of you, they will have to interview me and I have to show evidence that I'm the appropriate guardian to take care of you."

"But you have been these past eight weeks," Susan told her, "I can vouch for you."

"You're too young Susan," Dorothy told her, "I cannot go through these legal procedures. It was painful seeing you and Richard going through it the first time."

Susan had a feeling where this conversation was going. "You're saying that I need to move back in with him…is that it?"

Dorothy nodded her head to Susan as confirmation.

"Grandma, he hit me," Susan told her, "how can I go back to someone who would do that? Ever since I came here, he's never apologized for what he did."

That was her son. Filled with that pride. As a mother, she knew that underneath that tough exterior, there was a vulnerable man…somewhere. "I heard the story, Susan," Dorothy told her, "it was tough hearing it the first time." She had sympathized with both, of the tough time that they were going through, and blamed it on both, for not controlling their volatile tempers.

"I don't think he ever cared," Susan then mumbled under her breath.

Dorothy raised her eyes towards her granddaughter. "Now I will not stand for that," Dorothy said. "Just because you both lost your tempers, doesn't mean that you go on hating one another."

It wasn't that Susan hated him, even though she had angrily expressed it. "Even when he visits, he doesn't bother to have a conversation…just at school when he's the vice principal."

"That's because you have never given him any reason to engage in a conversation," Dorothy pointed out to her. "When he comes to visit, you stay for a little while and head to your room. That's a bit rude."

Whatever it may be, Susan had her reasons why. Ever since she had expressed her 'hatred' for him, she had grappled the guilt that had come along with it.

"And if he didn't show his care, he wouldn't have sent checks every now and then to provide for you," Dorothy added.

Susan's eyes widened as she looked at her grandmother. "Are you serious?" she asked her. "I thought you were the one paying for everything."

"I don't have that much pension fund to provide for both me and you. And trust me, the checks that he sent was not cheap," Dorothy sincerely said.

Susan took a deep breath, grappling with the choice that she had chosen to stay with her grandmother and the unintentional mess that she had caused. "And if I don't go…" her voice trailed off and swallowed before proceeding, "what happens?"

"An investigation happens and if they find that Richard is not fit to take care of you, you go into state custody until you're eighteen."

She'd be taken away from her family. She'd be taken away from her friends. And she'd have damaged everything that Richard had tried to do in court. Thinking about the situation that happened eight weeks ago, it had been impulsive of her to yell that she hated him. At that time, she didn't think he understood what she was going through…and she had failed to see what Richard was going through.

She didn't know whether it was the authoritarian role that he had in school, that he had to carry it at home with him, or that fact that she didn't know him as well as she thought. "If I decide to go…what if it happens again?" she asked her grandmother.

"I didn't raise a son to be violent…his father on the other hand…" Dorothy said with a scoff and tried to place that memory back in storage, "look, it won't happen again. He already feels ashamed for what he did."

Susan had seen him in that moment. He had hesitated to comfort her, hesitated to apologize. The only thing that she remembered him saying was I didn't mean to. Then why had he done it? It was the same as her saying she didn't mean to hate him. Then why did she say it? She would be lying if she didn't feel remorse for saying those three words. And to go through the courts again was going to be a whole other headache for all three of them. "I need to think about this," Susan said to her grandmother.

"Of course, dear," Dorothy said to her, "but he needs an answer soon before anything happens."

Susan nodded. "Can I go?"

"Sure," Dorothy said as she watched her granddaughter walk up the flight of stairs. Once she heard the light sound of the door closing, she picked up the receiver from the telephone and dialed Richard's number. "Susan came ten minutes after you left," she pointed out when she heard his voice, "we just had a good conversation with one another."

"About the Family Court?" Richard asked.

Dorothy could hear the exhausted tone in his voice, yet she couldn't help but poke fun at him. "No Richard, it was about last night's episode of the rerun series, Another Life." She heard Richard letting out an exasperated sigh on the other end of the phone, "yes, it was about the Family Court!"

"How did she take it?" he asked, "another adolescent tantrum?"

"Better than I expected," Dorothy said, "which I'm surprised considering how she was when she came here."

Richard let out a sigh. "I guess her being in a different environment was good for her…and all of us."

"Not for me," Dorothy chuckled, "I had to cook for two during these past weeks. Not to mention deal with a bit of drama during the first couple of days."

Richard hadn't meant for Dorothy to pick up after his mess, but knowing his mother, she was resilient woman and through her experience with having children of her own, she was able to eventually ground Susan to being mild-mannered…aside from the paint that she threw every now and then. "Thank you," he said to her, "I appreciate you doing this."

"Just don't mess it up again and I speak for both of you." With those words, she placed the phone back on the receiver and leaned back on the couch. She could go for another cup of hot tea. After all that conversation, she felt that she deserved it.