Kelly doesn't know how she ended up in Michelle's house; she especially doesn't know how she ended up crying to the girl's mother. The school day ended earlier than expected and of course, the group wasted no time getting to Michelle's house. Foolishly, the girls walked into the house with good intentions and high hopes. They should have known that things weren't going to be easy; they should have known that things were going to go downhill the moment they asked the question.
"Can Michelle go on a ski trip? It's on Friday and we'll be there all weekend," Beyonce said, trying her best not to appear scared.
Due to the series of games of paper rock scissors that she lost in the car, Beyonce had no choice but to confront Anita. She just wanted to get it over with, which is why she blurted out the question five minutes into the conversation she was having with the woman. She tried not to panic when the room went quiet; she had to fight the urge to cringe when Anita gave her a strange look.
"A trip?" Anita asked, taking a sip of her tea.
"Yes, it's a ski trip, " Lauren said. "There's going to be skiing, snowboarding, and other ice and snow-related activities. It'll be fun and we would love it if Michelle would be able to go with us. You know she hasn't been on any other school trips with us yet so we just thought it would be cool if she would be able to go on this one."
Anita placed down her teacup and looked at all the girls around her except Michelle. "You all want my daughter to attend this trip with you, do you girls not know what happened to her?"
"Ma'am we know what happened to her and we hate that it happened but at the same time that was years ago," Megan said. "She was four when that happened, she's sixteen now. Besides, she wants to go on the trip as well. Don't you think it's a little wrong to keep her trapped in this house because you're too scared she'll get snatched again?"
"Excuse me?!" Anita exclaimed.
Lizzo hit Megan and laughed awkwardly. "Please excuse her, she didn't mean that. She says dumb shit all the time, don't even mind her."
Lauren rolled her eyes before plastering a smile on her face. "Look, we just want Michelle to have some fun at least once in her life. No disrespect but you don't even let the girl check the mailbox without you hovering over her."
Anita sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose; it was evident her patience was running thin. "Look girls, I love how much you care about Michelle. It's good to know my daughter has such good friends, however, I don't like it when my style of parenting is questioned. I know what's best for my daughter and her going on a ski trip is certainly not good for her. I'm sorry but she can't go, I just can't allow it."
Michelle looked at her mother with the saddest look on her face. 'No, Mom, please let me go. I just want to have fun with my friends one time, please.' Michelle signed, tears filling her eyes.
"Michelle, please don't start, you know how I feel about you leaving this house. I was nice enough to let you have some freedom and you know how hard that was for me. To let you go on that trip will be dangerous, especially when I'm not there to protect you," Anita said, her voice cracking.
At this point, no one knew what to do now. It looked like they were defeated; they couldn't possibly argue with tears. The girls understood Anita's concern; they knew she just cared about her daughter and didn't want anything bad to happen to her; however, they didn't agree with the women keeping Michelle trapped in the house.
Kelly looked over at Michelle to see the girl crying. She knew that the girl wanted to go, and she wanted her to go as well. It wasn't even about her plan anymore; she genuinely wanted Michelle to go on the trip; she wanted her to enjoy herself just like everyone else. She knew what happened to Michelle was very unfortunate but it doesn't feel fair to keep her sheltered forever; she'll never be able to live her life if that's the case.
