Chapter Text
Early summer 2008
Molly spun her pen between her fingers absent-mindedly as her teacher droned on in the background. This lesson had already dragged on way past its natural lifespan, and the warm sunlight beaming through the windows was trying to lull her into sleep. Her mind had wandered far away from the classroom to the gymnastics routine she was trying to learn. There was one particularly tricky move in it that she was determined to master during practice that evening.
“Miss Simmons?”
The teacher’s sharp voice pierced her happy bubble, and slowly, she floated back to the present, not bothering to hide her disgruntled expression.
“Yes?”
If it was possible, her teacher’s lips thinned even further. Molly wondered idly if she should be worried about getting into trouble. Probably not, she decided.
“I was simply enquiring as to whether you would be gracing us with your mental presence today.”
Molly considered this for a second before replying. “Probably not, no.”
The class burst out laughing, and Molly grinned lazily as she basked in the sound. Her teacher glared.
“Well, sadly for you, you don’t have a choice in the matter. Please pay attention or else I shall be forced to contact your parents.”
Molly snorted. “Go on then.”
It didn’t look like she knew what to say to that. She spluttered for a few seconds before pointing to the door. “Go and wait for me in the front office.”
With deliberate casualness, she collected her things and packed them neatly into her bag. Whilst she did, the colour seemed to be leaking out of the teacher’s face, leaving it an unpleasant grey-white. She picked up her bag and sauntered away, taking great care to close the door gently behind her.
She hadn’t spent too much time in this particular front office, but it wasn’t any different to the ones she’d been in before. Neutral, peeling paint on the walls, a row of plastic chairs, bored receptionist reading a romance novel, a cabinet full of trophies.
She slumped into one of the chairs and drummed her fingers on the arm. When the receptionist shot her an irritated glance, she grinned at her and carried on doing it.
Just as she began to think about that new trick again, her teacher marched through the door, clearly under the impression that she was in control of the situation. When Molly didn’t immediately jump and rush to apologise, she took on an expression of amusing bewilderment.
“Well, young lady. Do you have anything to say to me?”
She cocked her head to the side, pursing her lips. “Nope,” she drawled, popping the “p”.
The teacher puffed her chest out. “Like it or not, Miss Simmons, I am your teacher, and I would appreciate it if you showed me the respect I deserve.”
Molly frowned, feigning confusion. “I thought I was.”
She had to admit that her teacher was no fool. She immediately caught on to what Molly was implying, and gasped sharply.
“Miss Simmons, I am aware of your position in this school. Now, I am willing to take this matter no further than this office. If I were you, I would think very carefully about what you say to me next, because I don’t know any other local schools which would be willing to take you on.” Her lips twisted into an unpleasant grin, which she no doubt intended to be conciliatory.
Anger began to race through Molly’s body until she could no longer contain her words. This woman was no better than a bully. How dare she judge her on her past? She had no idea why Molly had been kicked out of so many schools.
A thousand possible responses flew through her mind, until she thought up one she liked. Then she spoke quietly, doing her best not to show her rage.
“If all the teachers here think like you do, then I reckon I’m better off somewhere else.”
Half an hour later, she stalked into her kitchen and slammed the door behind her. Her mother looked up from the kitchen table as she let her bag drop to the floor.
“Good day, sweetheart?” Abigail asked mildly, studying her daughter over the top of her reading glasses.
“Freaking brilliant,” Molly replied, acid in her voice. “I guess school called you?”
“They did,” she confirmed, her even tone not letting any clues slip.
“So don’t you have anything to say to me?” She slumped into the seat opposite her mum.
“I thought I’d give you the chance to explain what happened first.”
Molly swallowed hard. “She was a bully, Mum. It was hot, I couldn’t concentrate…she wouldn’t have listened to anything I had to say. I’d already learned what she was going on about anyway.” Lost for words, she pushed her long fringe out of her eyes. “They all think they know me just because I’ve got through a few schools.”
Abbie pursed her lips, taking off her glasses and setting them aside. Then she leaned over the table to grab Molly’s hands.
“Molly, listen to me. You’re a clever girl. You have to try and keep your head down while you’re at school, otherwise you’ll keep attracting trouble like this.”
“I don’t attract trouble!” Molly snapped, outraged.
Abbie raised her eyebrows. “And I suppose you didn’t say anything aggravating to your teacher, did you?”
She fell into a sullen silence for a second. “Fine. Okay. But seriously, Mum, they think they know everything about me because we never stay in the same place for a few months. If we could just settle down somewhere…”
“No,” Abbie cut her off sharply. “Molly, I’m sorry, and I know you don’t understand, but we have to keep moving. I need to be in so many places for my job. I really wish it could be any other way, but trust me. This is the best I can do.”
Molly struggled to hold back her wave of disappointment. She knew how hard Abbie worked, and the sacrifices she’d made to get to where she was, but for a moment there she’d thought she had a chance. She just wanted to be like any other teenage girl, and that was difficult when they moved state every three months.
“Whatever,” she replied, tone flat. “So what did school say?”
“You’ve been suspended for a week for not showing proper respect to staff members, and you’ll be on probation when you go back.”
“Which I won’t,” Molly finished. Abbie frowned, and she nearly rolled her eyes again. “Come on, Mum. After a week, we’ll be in a different state. Again.”
Abbie would have contradicted her, or at least said something to comfort her, but the boxes already stacked in the hall made any comfort impossible. Most of them still hadn’t been unpacked after their last move.
“I’m going to my room,” Molly said, after they’d sat in silence for a few minutes. “I want to make sure I’ve got all my stuff ready.”
Abbie sank back into her seat as she watched her daughter hurry away. She wasn’t blind, and she could see how badly Molly needed to fit in. The life they led wasn’t fair on her at all. But considering her family history- which Molly was oblivious to -it wasn’t safe to stay in one place. This was as close to normal as they would ever get.
She couldn’t even tell her daughter why, and it was killing her.