The Doorman household was no stranger to awkwardness. In fact, they probably should have started charging it rent years ago. But as Uzi and Khan sat across from each other in the living room, the feeling in the air was very different from what they were used to.
"So...let me get this straight," Uzi finally spoke. "You, YOU, went to a parent/teacher conference...and now you wanna 'talk about it'?"
"...Yes, for the fourth time," Khan replied with a deep sigh. "I don't blame you for being skeptical, Uzi. No one else believed I was there for the conference, either."
Remembering the various reactions still made him cringe. Three different people asked him if he was okay, since he'd clearly wandered into the wrong place. The teacher thought he was there to check on the doors, and one Worker was genuinely shocked that Uzi had a parent. It was NOT a fun experience, and only got worse when the teacher broke out the laundry list of issues Uzi had in class.
"They saw you and still don't believe it, so imagine how I feel," Uzi scoffed.
"You could have seen me, too, if you hadn't ditched school today," Khan scoffed right back, which he immediately realized was a mistake. He had no high ground here, no room to be offended or indignant about anything.
"But when I go to school, I cause disruptions," Uzi said with an unsettlingly familiar blank stare. "I get into fights, I make other students feel uncomfortable, and generally turn the classroom into a hostile environment."
Khan blinked in surprise as he realized that was almost word-for-word what the teacher had told him to set the tone for the conference.
"...What did they do?"
"Of course you would assume I di-wait, what?" uUzi's indignant tirade game to an abrupt end when she actually registered what her father said.
"I may not know nearly as much about my own daughter as I should, but I know that you mind your own business and like to be left alone," Khan said. "So if you're beating people up, I'm guessing they had it coming."
Caught completely off-guard, Uzi had to take a moment to gather her thoughts before answering.
"They can't stand that I'm different," Uzi groused as she crossed her arms and leaned back into the sofa. "I'm not important enough for them to even remember my name, but somehow my existence offends them."
"That's a bit...dramatic, wouldn't you say?" Khan said incredulously, only for Uzi to give him a withering look.
"Every day they go out of their way to mess with me. They can't just call me a freak and move on; they have to push and push and push..."
"Why don't you tell someone? Ask for help?" Khan inquired. "You don't have to deal with everything by yourself."
"That's news to me. Last I checked no one cared. And why should they? I'm a freak, an outcast...a disappointing failure," Uzi sneered, taking a worrying amount of pleasure in seeing her father visibly flinch and avert his eyes. "I've got no one in my corner and everyone knows it."
"...You've got me," Khan all but whispered, then lifted his head to fix Uzi with a look that cut off whatever dismissive quip she was about to spit out. "Whether you want me there or not, you've got me in your corner."
"..." Uzi looked on with narrowed eyelights.
"..." to his credit, Khan didn't back down even though it was clear he was incredibly uncomfortable.
"We'll see," Uzi said, then got up off the sofa and moved towards the kitchen. "You want a power pack?"
"Uh, y-yeah, I'll take one," Khan stammered, having expected a much harsher response.
