The Princess of the Streets

Two - On Thin Ice

It was the first day of my junior year, and I was already in the principal's office. This had to be a new record.

I sat in one of the fancy padded chairs across from the principal's office with my legs draped over one wooden arm of the chair and my back against the other arm. It was digging into my back, but I couldn't care less. I was as good as dead when my dad got there anyway.

I knew why everybody thought it was me who started the fight, but it honestly wasn't my fault this time. I didn't mind getting in trouble when I deserved it (which was about 98% of the time), but I was beyond pissed at the current situation. I didn't do anything aside from defend myself!

Being in the office wouldn't have been nearly as bad if our old principal was here. Nobody bothered to tell me he had quit which was pretty upsetting. Principal Thomas and I were pretty tight. I could tell things were going to be very different with this lady.

The person to take his place was the wicked bitch of the west. I couldn't stand her, and I knew for a fact she hated my very existence. She was the superintendent who usually only came around a few times a year, and even then it was too much. Apparently, she had taken it upon herself to play principal as well.

The only thing filling the tense silence while we waited for my dad was the sound of crinkling papers as she went through my rather large file. 

I stared at the gold plaque on her perfectly organized desk. It read Mrs. Collins. Last I checked it was Hale. At least, according to my birth certificate it was.

"You get married, or something?" I asked her casually. 

"Mhm." She didn't look up from the thicker than average folder she was reading.

"I liked Hale better," I mumbled.

She glanced up for a second with a glare that caused me to look down. "Well, then I guess it's a good thing it wasn't up to you." 

I stared at the ground for a while and neither of us said anything else. She was being nicer than usual, more civilized. It was probably because she was at work.

The door to her office slammed open then. It smacked into the wall so hard that it rattled the thick glass and then slammed back shut.

I turned my head so fast that the room blurred. 

A big, muscly man with dark hair and a fierce scowl stormed into room and slammed his hands on Mrs. Collins' desk. I could practically feel the anger radiating off of him even though he was a foot away. 

He was a scary looking guy when he was mad, and he apparently had his own agenda here. He had a full head of hair, and didn't look a day over thirty-five. Nobody would guess his actual age was 42 unless they knew him.

"Hey, daddy," I mumbled. He turned to me, and his eyes softened just slightly.

"Hey, sweetie."

He turned back to Mrs. Collins and glared at her full-force. She just sat calmly with her hands folded in front of her. "Mr. Olivier, I'm glad you could join us. Your daughter hasn't even been here an entire day, and she's already causing trouble." Her eyes shifted to me, giving me an ugly look, before shifting back up to my dad.

"You didn't even ask her what happened, I guarantee it."

"I didn't have to ask her what happened. I know this girl has a temper much like her father. The other girl said something she didn't like, so she attacked her. That's enough for me."

I clenched my jaw and took a deep breath. I hated it when people assumed things. "Okay, first of all, she came at me first, not the other way around. Second, don't pretend you know when you weren't there." I sat back in my chair with my arms crossed.

Dad turned around to look at me, and gave me a surprised look. He reached towards my face and touched the sensitive scratch under my eye. Barbie had some sharp nails and ended up taking a little chunk of my skin. A small line of dried blood was under my eye down to my chin like a tear.

"Ouch!" It stung where he touched.

Mrs. Collins just rolled her eyes.

"Why the hell did you let this happen? You can take down a grown man, yet you let a prissy teenage girl mess with you?"

"I was trying to keep my word. You made me promise to stay out of trouble, but she, like, pounced at me. What else was I supposed to do?"

Dad nodded in understanding and turned back to Mrs. Collins with a 'see, I told you so' expression. Mrs. Collins rolled her eyes again. 

I hoped they would get stuck. Unfortunately, they didn't.

"Do you really expect me to believe that? She did some significant damage to this girl, and there was a room full of witnesses. That, along with miss Olivier's file here, should be enough to constitute an expulsion." She had to work really hard to keep the pleasure held back, but even then some managed to seep through.

My mouth dropped open as I turned to Dad. He had a similar expression on his face. 

"There's no way I'm letting you do that," he said with a threat hidden behind it. 

The satisfied look on her face melted away and got replaced by anger. "You can't tell me what to do, Adrien. If I say she's expelled, then she's expelled!" She was starting to sound how I remembered her; a stubborn, whiny, immature woman who hated my guts.

"Okay, this is the reason she's my daughter. You're pettier than anyone else I've ever met." Dad was getting very irritated.

It wasn't the petty comment that caused a reaction, but the one about me. "Are you joking? The reason she's your daughter is because she ruined my life. If it had been up to me she wouldn't be alive, let alone at my school causing trouble," she growled. 

Because that's exactly the sort of thing you wanted to hear from the woman who gave birth to you. 

"Wow, Jenna. I must say, you are quite good at causing Mommy issues," I told her. 

Dad glared at her so fiercely that I was seriously impressed. I hoped I never got that look. "Don't ever say shit like that about my kid again, or I'll end your pretty little rein here at this school, got it?"

She pressed her lips together tightly, but didn't respond in any other way. The silence was really awkward, so I stood up.

"Well, I guess I don't have to go school anymore. Let's go," I said, stretching as I walked to the door. I stopped and looked over my shoulder to see that dad wasn't following. He was still seated, staring intensely at his psycho ex. The amount of hatred coming from them both was enough to send a shiver down my spine. 

"Um..." was all I said.

"Chase, go wait out there. I'll get everything sorted out," he said intimidatingly.

Dang, so close. I would have been fine with no school. It'd be like graduating early just without the diploma. 

"Really, Dad, I don't mind. I can just get my GED-"

"CHASE!" he barked.

I shut my mouth and rushed out of the room so fast my foot caught on the door hinge. I caught myself and shut the door behind me. 

This was turning into an eventful day. My face was still burning, and I knew that the dried blood probably looked kind of weird, so I headed towards the bathrooms to clean up while they 'sorted things out.' 

Thankfully the halls were empty. Or so I thought.