Among The Wildflowers

𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕣𝕥𝕪-𝕤𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟: Master Plan

Last night after Will and John went home, Gina laid into her daughter.

Nic thought the lecture would never end. And even though she was grateful that it'd been 'too late at night' for a spanking, Nic thought her mother's speech on respect had been far worse anyway.

None of her excuses had mattered, Gina shot them all down. The part that had really stung Nic, was the last thing Gina had said before she shut her daughter's bedroom door.

I'm extremely disappointed in you, Isabella.

The next morning when Nic wakes up, that's the first thing that comes to her mind. She had cried herself to sleep last night, turning the words over in her head.

This is all his fault, Nic decides, I have to make him leave us alone.

She leaves her bed unmade and goes downstairs for breakfast.

When she reaches the bottom of the stairs, she frowns.

Gina's not there.

Nic walks over to the table where she finds a cereal box, bowl, and spoon set out.

Maybe the cafe's just really busy today.

Quickly, Nic eats her cereal, then grabs her backpack and lunchbox. She mulls over going into the cafe to say goodbye, but decides against it.

All through school, Nic can't focus. She has to come up with a plan to get rid of Will. If she can do that, her and Gina will be okay again.

"Guys."

Stan and Kate's head's turn in unison, they're both surprised their friend has spoken.

"She speaks," Stan says with a playful laugh.

"I've been thinking," Nic continues,"I wanna get rid of this Will guy. But I can't figure out how to do it."

Kate looks back down at her lunch, twirling a fry in her ketchup.

"I can probably help ya out," Stan offers, the mischief already sparking in his eyes.

"Give me some ideas then."

"You want small, non dangerous ideas? Or big, scare-the-hell-outta-him ideas?"

"We'll start small and go from there," Nic says.

Stan nods, thinking for a minute. Then he slaps the table, a grin spreading across his face.

"You said the guy comes over some nights for dinner, right?"

"Yeah."

"Mess with the food," Stan suggests.

"How?"

"I don't know. Put too much seasoning in it. Make it too spicy, or salty, or something. Make it nasty. Or make sure something burns in the oven. Screw up the food and see how he reacts."

Nic smiles, her mind running wild with the idea.

"If we're lucky, he'll spit it out and say something really rude," she says.

"Yup, then you can move on to bigger things," Stan smiles wider,"and I already have a few ideas for that."

"I can't wait to hear them! We're gonna get this asshole outta here by the end of the week."

Kate finally looks up from her food and her expression is one of exhaustion.

"Don't y'all ever get tired of causing trouble?"

"Nope," Stan says.

"Never," Nic states, giving Stan a high-five.

Kate rolls her eyes and goes back to her French fries.