Chapter Text
[*]
Hawthorne Elementary
1/7/2004
6:54AM
[*]
It was a crisp cold Wednesday morning, the bright amber light of the rising sun was just creeping over the horizon of trees, covered with white blankets of snow. There was barely a cloud in the sky nor a single sound that could be heard across Hawthorn Grove, save for the occasional howl of winter wind, and the faint howling of cars dashing across the freeway in the far distance.
However, today was an important day for the staff and students at Hawthorne Elementary, Christmas Break had come to an end, and students were returning to school today to continue their studies provided to them by their teachers. Today was going to be a harrowing experience, both for the students, and the staff as well.
It was by now that a tall man stepped out of the doors of the school, holding in his hand a red coffee mug that depicted a sunrise surrounded by trees and flowers and had the words “Life is Good” written underneath the flowers. The man with the mug of coffee had short blond hair, hazel eyes, and a beard. He was wearing a brown leather bomber jacket over his navy-blue polo and tan slacks with brown shoes and a brown belt.
This man was Raymond Stemley, a special education teacher for Hawthorne Elementary, and he was standing at the front of the school to greet incoming students, as was his morning routine.
As he stood in the middle of the entranceway, sipping his coffee while looking around at the snow-covered trees and houses, he heard the sound of the school door open and close, and turned to see a woman walking up to him, holding a paper cup of coffee in her hands. She was a short African American woman with straight black hair, blue eyes, and a string of freckles on her face, and who was wearing a black wool jacket over a goldenrod suit with a light-yellow undershirt and mustard yellow pants with brown shoes. This was Janet Hackbar, principal of Hawthorne Elementary.
“Morning Janet!” Raymond said with a smile, raising his mug slightly to greet Janet as she approached the teacher. “How was your winter break?”
“Good morning to you too, Raymond!” Janet replied back with a smile. “Aw! It was fantastic, Herbert took me and Jay to his father’s place in Canada, and we spent our Christmas under the Northern Lights. *.” Janet replied, her face still beaming. “Now how about you? Did *you* have a wonderful Christmas?”
“You know what? I can say without a doubt this was the best one so far.” Raymond replied as he looked at his coffee mug with a smile before taking a sip. “While I’m still disappointed that I didn’t get to see the kids on the last day or be at our Christmas party, the rest of the holiday was nice. The family and I went cold-winter camping for the first weekend, then we had a nice dinner for Christmas, and then we went to visit my aunt and her family for New Years. So yeah, I can proudly that I had quite the Christmas.”
“…and…” Janet sand to Raymond, walking up to him playfully slapping his arm while giving him a look of expectation. “You left out the best part Raymond! Tell me about Franny, how are things going with her.”
“Oh, you know she enjoyed it, what with being her first official Christmas and all.” Raymond replied, sipping his coffee, all the while using the mug to hide his smile of excitement. “However, I was a bit worried that it would be too much, what with Christmas, what happened a month prior, me proposing to her, and of course the vacation to visit my aunt’s. But it turned out better than expected.”
“Well I’m happy for you, the both of you.” Janet said with a nod, before she furrowed her brow as she had finished processing what Raymond had said. “Wait a minute…what was that third thing?”
“Oh! I proposed to Franny on Christmas.” Raymond explained, smiling proudly as he showed Janet his engagement ring. “That night, I made Franny a nice dinner, we watched a movie, and then I asked her to marry me. Our wedding’s gonna be in February.”
“Raymond Stemley!!!” Janet exclaimed in delight as he hugged the teacher. “Congratulations! I’m so happy for you, and for Franny too. Be sure to send me an invite as soon as you can, you hear me?”
“Yes Ma’am!” Raymond replied as he and Janet could hear the sound of the busses pulling into the driveway. “Speaking of invite, are we still up for that IEP meeting today, for our new student “J.A”?”
“Oh yeah! But truth be told, I thought the meeting was for tomorrow.” Janet replied as she sipped her coffee. “Did you get a chance to read her profile.”
“Well yes, and from what I’ve seen, she seems like a good kid, and her parents are quite the pair.” Raymond replied as he too sipped his coffee. “She and her family are originally from Wessex and moved to Beacon City back in October. Both parents work, so J.A is often cared for by either her older sister, or the family Nandroid.”
“Hmm…” Janet said as she and Raymond watched the cars of parents pull into front of the school. “…well we’ll talk more later. Right now, I think it’s time to get to work.”
Raymond nodded as he took a large gulp of coffee as the wave of students came pouring in like a flash flood towards an island town.
[*]
Hawthorne Elementary: Principal’s Office
1/7/2004
8:43AM
[*]
Janet’s office was a quant little place, a room consisting of a long wooden table that was surrounded by cheap black swivel chairs. In front of this table was a large monitor on the wall for broadcasting information during meetings and behind the table was Janet’s desk, which was covered in paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork, as well as a side order of paperwork for good measure.
Sitting at the table in this office were a small group of people consisting of Janet Hackbar, the school principal, Gladys Rogers, the assigned general ed teacher, Raymond Stemley, the special education teacher, and a woman with long ginger hair and hazel eyes. This woman was Scarlett Addams, wife to Michael Addams and mother to their 12-year-old daughter, Jacqueline “Jackie” Addams, to whom this meeting was about.
As Jackie was a new student to Hawthorne Elementary, and also a student who was under Individualized Education Plan (IEP), it was required that an initial IEP meeting was to be held between Jackie’s parents, and the staff of Hawthorne Elementary to discuss Jackie’s education and needs.
“…and lastly, you and your husband have the right to disagree with decisions made by the Newport Department of Education, which includes any schools and their employed staff, that you believe are not in the best interest of your child, and file a claim if necessary.” Raymond said, reading the list of parental safeguards to Scarlett before looking up to the woman sitting across from him. “Ms. Addams, do you understand these rights as I’ve read them to you?”
“Yes, I do…” Scarlett replied as she looked down at the large packet before her. The words “Notice of Procedural Safeguards” on the front in bright blue letters. “…this isn’t my first rodeo Mr. Stemley.”
“Just a formality ma’am. Better safe than sorry and all that.” Raymond explained with a warm smile as he turned towards the IEP on the screen. “Now I reviewed your initial concerns and compared them to the data I acquired from Wessex Academy, and my take on Jackie is that while she doing just fine with finishing classwork and following directions, she struggles with relationships with peers, is that right?”
“Yes, that’s…that’s it in a nutshell…” Scarlett replied with a nervous smile as she looked down to her hands on the table. “Jacqueline’s such a smart caring child, and she has so much to give, but right now, all she has are Michael and I, as well as Dolly, our Nandroid. But I worry about what would happen to her if…when we… “go”.
As tears began to well up in Scarlett’s eyes, Raymond smiled warmly as he reached over to a box of tissues at the end of the table beside Gladys, and handed them to Scarlett.
“Ms. Addams, you’re not the first concerned parent of a child with Autism, and you won’t be the last.” Raymond explained, still smiling as Scarlett blew her nose softly with her tissue. “I’ve worked with plenty of children like Jackie, and often times, the best course for improving connections is to let it happen organically. As Jackie adjusts to school here, she’ll find her niche, both academically, and socially, with friends of all capabilities who will not see her for what she is, but *who* she is.”
Scarlett gave a small chuckle before she started to cry again. As she did, Raymond looked to Janet and Gladys with an empathetic look. He’d seen it before, parents of children with disabilities who’d been drenched with anxiety and fear for their children’s future, just like Scarlett. However, often times the children Raymond worked for would change for the better, and with Jackie, Raymond knew that she would not only improve at Hawthorne Elementary, but also thrive in the social aspects.
[*]
9:34AM
[*]
The IEP meeting was perhaps one of the quickest and easiest IEP meetings Raymond had ever attended. Aside from improving with peer relationships, there was no real need for academic assistance, just a few accommodations here and a teaching assistant there, but otherwise, it was simple and straight to the point.
As soon as Scarlett finished signing the IEP, the members of the IEP team said their goodbyes and thus, the meeting was over. However, while everyone was leaving, Raymond approached Scarlett, having considered something in mind for Jackie.
“You know Ms. Addams, I’m currently hoisting an afterschool club for some of students here.” Raymond explained to Scarlett as he handed her a green piece of paper which had the words “Hawthorne After-School Club” (HASC)” along with a schedule below it. “We meet for two and a half hours in the library every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after school. It’s free of charge, and I know that it would be a great way to help Jackie make friends and work on her social cues without any pressure. What do you say?”
“Oh! This would be perfect! But if I could make a request…” Scarlett said extatically, her eyes beamed with joy as she looked at the paper and then to Raymond before her eyes shifted to a look of worry. “…could our Nandroid Dolly attend your club with Jackie?”
[*]
Hawthorne Elementary: Library
1/7/2004
3:11PM
[*]
The day for Hawthorne Elementary and her residents went by faster than expected, and soon enough, it was the end of the school day. But for Raymond Stemley, it was the start of the “Hawthorne After-School Club (HASC)”, which was an after-school program designed to provide students help with their homework, give them opportunities to socialize and make friends, and to explore hobbies and talents.
The library where HASC was meeting was the school library. A large room which consisted of a carpeted floor that was blue with small colored specks. The walls were composed of large bricks that were painted white and complimented the bright florescent lights that dotted the ceiling in rows of three.
Across the walls were tall bookshelves bolted to the floor, and were stuffed with books of different categories and genres. From fiction to non-fiction, chapter books to comic books, and theology to science. There was a book for everyone.
In the center of the library were six large tables, composed of varnished light oak, and which had two matching chairs on each side, allowing for eight children a table. At these tables sat students who were members of HASC. Some of these students were working on homework, either together or on their own, while others were reading books or playing games with one another.
At one table sat a small group of students who were each working on their own little project. The first was a young girl with brown hair in a ponytail named Madeline Delaire, and she was currently hunched over on the desk, her hands on her head, as she had been trying to read a book on teaching and another book on Broadway at the same time, only to give herself a headache in the process.
The kids who were sitting to the left of Madeline were known Nathan and Ryan Flagg, a pair of blond-haired and hyperactive twins who were once under the care of Raymond’s fiancée Franny, and now were under the care of a new Nandroid named Betty. As of now, the two of them were playing s game tic-tac-toe, which lasted for about thirty seconds before they began to argue about who placed what where, which then escalated into violence before Raymond and Molly broke them up.
The next student who sat to the right of Madeline was another girl, but she was Asian and had short black ponytails. This was Michelle Spiegel-Price, and she was drawing a series of pictures for Polly to “critique”.
Finally, there was the students who was sitting across from Madeline, a young Indian boy by the name of Ajay, who was supposed to be working on a short essay explaining what were the causes for America’s involvement in World War II, but was distracted by the sight of Molly helping Raymond break up the Flagg twins and instead decided to continue working on his comic “A-Man!” A comic about a superhero named A-Man who rescues androids at night and who’s secretly in love with his maid “Mollie (who’s *clearly* not based on anyone specific way…clearly…).”
At another desk, there was Raymond Stemley, who had just returned to working with another student with his math homework after breaking up the Flagg twins. Aside from Raymond, there was also the Nandroids Molly, Polly and Amy, who had volunteered to help Raymond with HEASC. Molly was currently Nathan and Ryan by having them reorganize the returned books back on their shelves, Polly was currently working with two other students, teaching them how to create art “the right way”, only to find out she was the worst artist of the bunch, and Amy was sitting in a corner reading “Charlotte’s Web”, with several other kids, before she ended up burst into tears when they reached “that one chapter”.
It was around this time that there was a knock on the door as a woman walked into the library, It was Scarlett Addams, to whom Raymond noticed and raised his hand in salutation before he quickly turned to the student he was currently working with.
“Okay, Thomas, I’ll be right back.” Raymond said to the student as he stood up, pointing to the worksheet that he and said student were working on. “In the meantime, I want you to try to complete the rest of the problems on your own. Be sure to look back to the equations we already finished as a reference and remember: *Show* *your* *work*!”
As Thomas nodded and began to work, Raymond walked over to Scarlett, who looked around with a hint of excitement and anxiety.
“Hello again Ms. Addams.” Raymond said as he gestured towards the tables of kids and Nandroids. “Welcome to HEASC! We just got started a few minutes ago, so your right on time.”
“Thank you again for your help Mr. Stemley.” Scarlett said as she noticed the Nandroids working with the kids. “So…you have Nandroids here to help you?”
“Of course, and that can include your Nandroid too, if that’s what you want.” Raymond explained with a warm smile. “You’ll find out soon enough, that I’m quite open-minded about androids. So…are you ready?”
“Y-yeah…” Scarlett replied nervously, having never broken Jackie’s routine like this. “This is gonna be rough, won’t it?”
“Just take a deep breath Ms. Addams. These changes can be big for a lot of parents” Raymond reassured Scarlett. “But the benefits will be worth the effort.
With that, Scarlett turned and opened the door, leaning out the door and gesturing for someone to come inside. This was followed by the entrance of two individuals into the library.
The first of these individuals was a typical looking Nandroid, who had bright orange hair in a ponytail like Molly, only much smaller. This Nandroid was Dolly, who served the Addams family and who had walked into the library with a young child by her side.
The second individual was a child, about the same age as Madeline, who had freckles and short brown hair to which there was one lone knot tied up with a sky-blue bowtie. She was wearing a mocha brown fleece jacket over a white dress shirt which had a creamy yellow bow knot attached to the collar, a brown skirt, and white stockings along with brown shoes. This child was Jacqueline “Jackie” Addams, who looked around at the library as she held Dolly’s hand.
“Hey there Jackie.” Raymond said as he approached Jackie and knelt in front of her. “How did your first day go for you?”
“It was okay…” Jackie replied, still looking around at the library, avoiding eye contact with the teacher she was talking to. “…Mr. Sareen’s class was boring, but he’s nice. Your class was boring too.”
“Jackie!” Scarlett exclaimed softly, embarrassed by the comment as she looked to Raymond, who was smiling and chuckling softly at the situation.
“I’m also supposed to tell you that I have autism, so it makes it hard for me to understand social situations.” Jackie said, looking to the right side of the floor. “I’m sorry if I upset you.”
“Not at all, I appreciate the feedback.” Raymond chuckled as he stood up and turned to the Nandroid accompanying Jackie. “So, you must be the Nandroid assigned to Jackie then, am I right?”
“It is a pleasure to meet you sir.” Dolly greeted Raymond with a small courtesy. “My name is Dolly, and I am an android nanny, or Nandroid, created by Sterling Robotics to serve the Addams family.”
Raymond paused for a moment, his mind drifted back for a moment to when he first brought Franny home way back in August, when she introduced to Raymond’s parents in a similar manner to how Dolly just did. It felt strange to imagine that there was a time where Franny *used* to be a lot like Dolly, and it reminded Raymond how things for Franny quickly changed in a matter of months between her and Raymond, and how much both of them had grown since then.
“Well it’s nice to meet you too Dolly.” Raymond replied back before turning his attention toward both Jackie and Dolly and gesturing towards the rest of the children and Nandroids. “So right now, the rest of the kiddos are currently working on their own projects and we’ll head out for recess in half an hour. In the meantime, make yourselves comfortable. As for you Dolly, you can float around and see if any kids need help.”
With that, Scarlett gave Jackie a anxious farewell, hugging her daughter tightly before she got up and slowly left the library, waving goodbye to Jackie and Dolly as she did.
“Okay…Jackie…” Raymond said as he looked down to the student before him. “What would you like to do? You can read, work on homework, play a board game, or hang out with the other kiddos.”
“I didn’t have any homework today, so I’d like to draw.” Jackie replied flatly, still looking around at the library. “Actually, I don’t like coloring outside of the lines. So, I’ll read instead.”
“Okay then!” Raymond said enthusiastically, gesturing to the various shelves of books in the library. “Help yourself, just be sure to put the book back when you’re done.”
“I know.” Jackie replied as she walked over to one of the bookshelves and began to peruse the wall of books before pulling out the book “Horrible Harry in Room 2b by Susan Kline” before she walked over to a corner of the room and sat down. Upon watching this, Raymond sighed sadly, thinking of a plan before he glanced over to see Madeline, who was clasping her head with her hands as she continued to try and read her books together.
“Miss. Madeline…” Raymond said as he approached Madeline, closing her books before the child popped a blood vessel and then gesturing to Jackie. “…you know, instead of “reading” these books alone, how about you read along with Jackie over there?”
“But Mr. Stemley, I’m working on my career path!” Madeline objected as she reached over and pulled her books close to her. “If I’m to be the best big sister for my baby brother, Gabe, then I need to get my act together and plan my future. Now if only I could figure out what I want to do?”
“Well…how about you take a break for a moment?” Raymond said with a smile as he pulled Madeline’s chair out and scooted the child towards Jackie. “Perhaps getting to know a new person will set you on the right path.”
“Ugh…fine…” Madeline sighed as she walked over to where Jackie was sitting. “But if I end up a bagger for the rest of my life, I’ll blame you!”
With that, Madeline walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out the book “Jackie Ha-Ha by James Patterson” and sat down nearby Jackie. As she did, Jackie looked up for a moment, before she went back to reading. As Madeline started to read, she looked over to Jackie, who was fixating on a small tear in in one of the pages of the book, she fidgeted for moment, sucking through her teeth and tapping her hands on her lap before the began to talk to Jackie.
“So…” Madeline said awkwardly to Jackie, trying to engage in a conversation she didn’t want to engage in. “…you…you’re new here, right? My name is Ma-”
“You’re Madeline Delaire, you sit three seats ahead of me in Mr. Sareen’s class today. You were falling asleep, probably cause Mr. Sareen’s class was boring, but he’s nice.” Jackie blurted, interrupting Madeline as she continued to read, occasionally going back to the page with the rip to fixate on said rip. “I’m Jaqueline Addams, but people call me “Jackie”. I’m also supposed to tell you that I have autism, so it makes it hard for me to understand social situations. I’m sorry if I upset you.”
“Oh…not at all…” Madeline chuckled uncomfortably, fighting every instinct to bolt as she scooted closer to Jackie. “I…I wouldn’t have…noticed if you hadn’t told me…ehehe…”
“Okay…” Jackie said in a flat tone, before she noticed the book Madeline was reading, her eyes widening upon seeing the book’s cover, which depicted a girl with brown hair and a sticky note stuck to her forehead. “That book has my name…That girl has my hair color…that girl looks like me, but it’s not me.”
Well…yeah…she does, doesn’t she?” Madeline said, glancing over at the book cover before she smiled. “This is one of my favorite books. Have you read it before?”
“No, we don’t have that book like that at home.” Jackie replied, putting her book down as she fixed her gaze on the book cover. “We just moved from Wessex and all my books are still boxed up. Can…can I read the book with you? It’s okay with me if you don’t want to.”
“No, No! That’s fine with me.” Madeline said warmly as she patted a spot beside Jackie. “Here, come sit over her.”
Jackie smiled as she let out a small squeal of delight, stimming slightly as she moved over and sat down beside Madeline, who then began to read the book to Jackie.
As Raymond was working with Thomas on his math, he turned to see Jackie and Madeline reading together, with Madeline even stopping to explain things about the book to Jackie before moving on, and smiled warmly.
“Well how about that?” Raymond thought to himself with a chuckle before continuing with his lesson. “Seems like you both got what you needed, didn’t you?”
[*]
Hawthorne Elementary: Playground
3:37PM
[*]
Ah Recess, the one thing that young students look forward to during their busy day at school (aside from leaving it of course). The playground was no different than your typical playground, with its jungle gym, swings, carousel, tetherball pole, and even a sand pit. The playground was next door to an open field where students who were practicing sports, such as lacrosse or football would practice. Currently, the students of HASC had to share the playground field with Hawthorne Elementary junior lacrosse team, “The Hawthorne Hornets”, which included Corbin Mendenhall and Addison McQueen, who were currently trying to one-up the other to the chagrin of their team.
As the students of HASC were playing, Raymond and the other Nandroids sat upon the metal benches that sat directly across the playground. As Raymond sat on the bench with Molly, Polly, Betty and Amy buzzing around him, he looked over to see Dolly sitting by herself at the end of the bench, her eyes fixated on Jackie, who was currently building a large sand castle in the sand pit with Madeline and the Flagg Twins, and a warm smile was stretched upon her face, complete with glowing cheeks.
“So, Dolly, what do you think about Hawthorne so far?” Raymond asked Dolly amongst the swarm of Nandroids, to which the addressed Nandroid snapped back to reality with a flustered yelp. “Has it been a big adjustment for you and your family?”
“Well sir, the Addams family and I have only been here for a month. But from what I have seen so far, things here are much more…different than they were in Wessex.” Dolly replied, eager to share her experiences with Raymond, who sat in his seat and listened. “I will confess, I was concerned about how things would turn out here for Jackie…and for me. But what’s really won me over was the integration of androids in your community. I mean, to have old androids like Eugene as custodian here at your school, or to have your Nandroid fill in as a substitute teacher. Such things like that would be unheard of in Wessex, and that alone makes me even happier to be here, and I know that Jackie .
“Well, we’ve come a long way in android rights, and we’re still-Hey Natalie! Natalie!!! Don’t climb the slide like that! - we’re still moving forward.” Raymond said as he was watching the students, having to interject himself to stop a student from climbing the slide. “I mean, take for example that Nandroid substitute you mentioned. Sure, she was just a Nandroid I won in a contest, but as of now, we’re going to get married in a month.”
“Yeah! Franny’s a great example, but what about Emmy, Mr. Stemley?” Amy asked while following a trail of ants towards their hill, much to the growing fear of Molly and Polly. “She was once a normal Nandroid too, but then she saved us from getting scrapped and now she’s a student of the Nirmata.”
“Yes Amy, Emmy is a prime example as well.” Raymond replied with a warm chuckle while watching Amy before turning back to Dolly. “But the important thing to take from this is the idea that as long as we all work together and support each other when we need help, then all of us, regardless of our capabilities or differences, will be able keep move forward towards a better future not only for Jackie, but also for *you* as well.”
Dolly nodded as she turned back to watch Jackie and the others play, imagining the idea of a Nandroid like herself becoming a bride, or a Nandroid like herself as a student of the Nirmata, which were things that five year ago, she, like many Nandroids like her, would find impossible to comprehend. But among these thoughts, she also contemplated what Raymond said about moving forward, for she had heard that kind of talk before.
{*}
Wessex, unlike Beacon City, was more conservative with their views on android rights. Having been an industrial city for year, the people of Wessex opposed the idea of android rights, viewing androids as tools and nothing else. Dolly, much like other Nandroids before her, viewed herself as a piece of equipment, meant to be used and then discarded when needed. However, that was before she had her eyes opened.
It was about a year before the Addams family moved to Beacon City. A group of Alloyist monks came to visit Wessex during a pilgrimage to preach about android rights and to try to help androids see “The Path of the Nirmata”. During their time here, before they were chased away by the people of Wessex who saw their teachings abominable and an affront to human development and supremacy, Dolly was able to meet the monk leading the pilgrimage, who was a former Eldorado Robotics clerk android by the named “Yancy”.
Although their time was brief, Yancy helped Dolly see new opportunities by removing her Nandroid protocols. This in turn not only improved her duties with the Addams family, but also provided her the means to support Jackie, and to truly bond with her as not only a care provider, but also as a friend and nurturer.
{*}
It was then that this moment of introspection was cut off by the sound of crying, to which Raymond, Dolly, and the rest of the Nandroids could see several of their children crowding around something. It was then that Dolly recognized the screaming, her eyes wide with shock at the realization.
“Jackie!!!” Dolly exclaimed as she rushed out to the field with Raymond and the other Nandroids right behind her.
[*]
“Apologize now!” Madeline barked towards Corbin, holding the lacrosse ball hostage in her arms while the Flagg twins and Michelle were consoling Jackie, who was frozen as she sat before the remains of her sand castle, tears welling in her eyes. “Say your sorry right now Corbin, or you’ll never see your ball ever again!”
It had been only a few minutes ago that an errant lacrosse ball had rushed into the sand pit where Madeline and Jackie were playing, smashed through their sand castle and reducing it to a small mound of sand and rocks. Of course, Jackie was shocked by this sudden turn of events and froze, trying to process the sudden loss of her sculpture.
That’s when Corbin Mendenhall, who had joined the Hawthorne Hornets as a means to be “well-rounded”, approached Jackie and Madeline and demanded the return of the ball behind the slaughter, talking down to Jackie for “interrupting his teams practice with her wonton dramatics and immaturity”. It was during this that Madeline, having subconsciously entered into her material instinct, decided to take it upon herself to stand up to Corbin, which of course began to draw the other children from the playground towards the commotion.
Corbin stood before the children with a lacrosse net in one hand, donning his team’s jersey which had the number 23 printed on the front in front of large hornet, as well as matching shorts, and a pair of safety goggles resting above his eyes.
“Look Madeline, I already told you that I’m aware that this was an accident, but I’m not gonna apologize for something like this, especially to someone as immature like your friend here.” Corbin replied snootily to Madeline, who was trying her best not to pelt Corbin in the nose with the ball. “So, tell that girl to get thicker skin, hand over the ball and then *I* can go back to doing something that’s much more productive with my evening, and leave you two to go back to making your little sandcastles.”
“No! You say you’re sorry to Jackie, right now!!!” Ajay growled, approaching Corbin while pointing his finger at the rich child, who was looking back at him with a smug grin. “I’ve tolerated a lot of baloney from you over the past few years (most of it so I could be close to Molly), but this…this is where even *I* draw the line.”
“Of course, you would, drawing *is* your best talent after all.” Corbin retorted with a chuckle towards Ajay, who only needed a minute to process the complement before he realized that it was actually an insult.
As Madeline, Ajay, were about to pummel the smug Corbin into the earth like the fist of an angry god, all the children were drawn to the sound of Jackie, who was now rocking back and forth on the ground, her hands inches away from her head as tears were pouring down her cheeks.
“No fighting… No fighting… No fighting…” Jackie droned sadly, repeating the mantra over and over as she coughed and hiccupped. “I’ll be good… I’ll be good…”
It was at this point that Corbin saw the state that Jackie was in, that he felt a sudden pang shoot through his chest into his very soul. Corban began to feel something, a feeling of guilt and shame wash over him, and upon seeing Jackie’s eyes wet with tears and her stifled sobs, that he began to feel that guilt build up more and more, until he felt a spark of divine inspiration ignite.
“O-oh! Uh…h-hey now! Don’t…d-d-don’t cry!!! I…I’m s-sorry for doing that!!!…I-I really, really am!!!” Corbin said frantically as he dropped his lacrosse net and tried to console Jackie, flailing his arms around as he tried to fix her sandcastle. “Here! Let’s try to fix it!”
As Madeline and the others watched this spectacle before her eyes in disbelief, she could see Addison McQueen, and two other lacrosse players approach Corbin and Jackie.
“Oi Corbin! Did you get our ball yet?” Addison shouted as she approached Corbin, watching in confusion as he was frantically trying to build a sandcastle with a crying girl. “Uh…Corbin…what the hell are you doing?”
“Oh! Well…she…I…” Corbin stammered, trying to justify himself without losing his dignity, but there was no getting out of it now.
“He knocked your ball into our sandcastle and upset Jackie.” Michelle explained to Addison, who glared at Corbin before looking to Madeline. “She told him that he wouldn’t get the ball back unless he apologized to Jackie.”
“Oh Really?” Addison said with scoff as she walked up to Madeline until she was inches away from her. “But now tell me, Madeline: What would happen if *I* wanted the ball back? What would you say to that?”
“W-well…” Madeline said, looking at the two lacrosse players standing behind Addison, who growled at the children like dogs while holding their lacrosse nets like clubs. “…I’d say…I’d say that you can’t get the ball back unless Corbin makes this right, and he has, so here, take your crummy ball.”
“I thought so…” Addison hissed as she swiped the ball from Madeline, leering at her before she began to walk back. “Corbin, just leave that spaz to build her shitty sculpture and let’s get back to practice before the Coach finishes calling his ex-husband.”
“Uh…yeah…of course…coming.” Corbin replied sheepishly, looking to the still upset Jackie as if he was going to say something, but instead stood up and quietly walked away to join his comrades, the angry eyes of Madeline and the other kids glaring at him as he did.
As he rejoined Addison and the others, Corbin looked back to see Madeline, Ajay, Michell and the Flagg twins console Jackie, who begun to cry loudly. This was then followed by the sight of Dolly, Raymond, and the other Nandroids rushing towards Jackie and the kiddos. As he watched Raymond and Dolly console Jackie before walking her towards the entrance back to school, he then saw the other kids tell their Nandroids what had happened, with the sole exception being Molly, who had her arms crossed and her eyed, cold and filled with disappointment, fixed upon Corbin. Upon seeing Molly’s stare, Corbin flinched and returned to looking ahead.
As he returned to the rest of the lacrosse team with Addison and the two other member of the Hawthorne Hornets team, the latter three laughing and chatting away as of nothing had happened. Corbin could still hear the faint sound of Jackie crying in the distance. The guilt and shame of his actions were eating away at him from the inside, which was something that he had never felt before, especially since he had dreams of being a CEO like his father one day, but the kind that would reprimand dead employees for unscheduled time off. But this…this was a new problem for the boy…
…and for the rest of his lacrosse practice, Corbin began to contemplate ways to make things right with Jackie.
[*]
Hawthorne Elementary: Library
1/7/2004
4:07PM
[*]
Aside from the snafu at the playground, the rest of Jackie’s time with HASC went smoothly. After returning from recess, Raymond, Dolly, and Madeline helped Jackie calm down while Molly and the other Nandroids put a movie on the library’s projector, which was brought in on a small cart and hooked up to Raymond’s laptop. As soon as the movie started playing, Jackie heard the music play, and all the anxiety and terror from outside was gone.
“Jackie, Betty just set up the projector and we’re about to watch “101 Dalmatians”!” Madeline said to Jackie, who’s eyes lit up as she saw the title credits pop up on the wall, to which she responded by smiling and flapping her hands in excitement. “Come on Jackie, let’s get ourselves a good spot!”
As soon as Madeline and Jackie rushed over to join the other kiddos, Raymond and Dolly looked to one another and sighed with relief, happy that things went better than what was originally expected.
“Well… aside from that situation just now, Jackie actually handled herself well today overall, and she seems to have made some friends in the process.” Raymond said as he sat down at a table and began to fill out an incident report, which was needed to indicate the confrontation between Jackie, Corbin, and the Hawthorne Hornets. “I’ll be honest, from how Scarlett described her, I was expecting a more…intense meltdown.”
“Oh, that does still happen, but not as much as it used to.” Dolly explained, hearing the sound of kids laughing as Pongo began to pull his owner through the park to chase after the alluring female dalmatian and her owner. “It was very hard for Jackie to process the move from Wessex, but she’s made so many strides since then.”
“Well…it does help that Jackie has good people in her corner…” Raymond said as he smiled warmly and crossed his arms. “…like her parents and you for example. Speaking of which…”
“Raymond turned his head at the sound of the library door opening to see Scarlett walking into the room, slowly approaching Raymond and Dolly as she looked over to see the children watching the move, with Molly, Polly, Betty, and Amy standing by and gossiping with one another.
“Hi!” Scarlett said nervously as she waved her hand to Raymond and Dolly, giving the latter Nandroid a hug when she approached her. “So…how did it go today? Were there any problems?”
“Well…there was a small conflict with some kids outside of HASC, but that was resolved quickly.” Raymond explained as he gestured over to Jackie. “She’s been the same as she has been all day: An ideal student, and a good friend.”
As Scarlett looked over to where Jackie was sitting, tears were welling up in her eyes as she saw her daughter talking to Madeline, the two of them laughing at the small dalmatian puppies that dashed across the screen. Turning to Raymond and Dolly, the teacher with a tissue in hand, Scarlett too the tissue to wipe her tears and blow her nose, smiling as she saw her daughter with her first real friend.
“As I told you, Ms. Addams…” Raymond reassured Scarlett as they watched the kids watching the movie. “…your daughter will find friends who’ll see her for who she truly is.”
It was at this moment, that Scarlett nearly burst into tears, sobbing quietly before Dolly walked over to comfort her owner. Smiling warmly with glowing cheeks to see that the tears in Scarlett’s eyes were of joy, and not from the fear that she had been feeling since the move to Beacon City.
[*]