Growing up McGarrett

The Palace

My Dad's office is in a place called the Iolani Palace or the Palace for short, which is a really cool building downtown. It has some historical significance which is totally lost on me even though I've heard it a million times. Like seriously adults get so caught up in these things! History is soooo boring. 

We get out of the truck and Dad tosses me my school backpack. He must have slipped that in there too at some point while I was getting ready. He hadn't said anything since we'd pulled out of the school. "Go straight to my office and start on your work", he says while striding into the building. "In fact you can start by writing that letter to Ms. Higgins". I stop dead in my tracks but he doesn't notice or at least doesn't stop with me. "Eh, no way!" I say. He stops and spins around to look at me. "Excuse me"? he growls, eyes narrowed and brows reaching skywards. "No!" I repeat although I knew he had heard me. "No what, Samantha?" "No sir, I am not writing a letter apologising to her!". "Yes, you will", he says getting into his don't mess with me stance. I know I'm pushing my luck but I really don't care. "NO I WON'T", I shout at him and storm past him into the building. I obviously took him by surprise because it takes him a minute to follow me, that or he's convincing himself not to actually kill me. I say hi to the cop on the desk and carry on to go to Five-O's floor. Dad has to stop to sign me in so that gives me some breathing space but he's hot on my heels as I go through the glass doors and am faced with his whole team. "Hey", Danny greets me, "what'd you do this time?" he says jokingly. I'm really not in the mood for any of this or their questions so I throw out a quiet "none of your fucking business" as I continue into Dad's office. "SAMANTHA!" both Dad and Danny exclaim at the same time. I throw myself onto the couch and think good, I don't care if I've pissed them off. Again my brain eventually catches up with my stupid mouth and I realise that I do care and that Dad will certainly care. 

I look out the glass and he and Danny are having a serious conversation. Then he comes towards the room with a look of thunder on his face, shit! He storms in through the door. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ABOUT?" he roars. I don't answer him. I don't really have an answer other than I'm in a pissy humour and I'm not about to say that! He stands there glaring at me like a raging bull. "You do not move from this office until I get back, is that clear?!" he orders. I mumble a yes sir. "And you better have a good answer for me when I get back" and he was gone. I breathed a sigh of relief. At least we'd both get a chance to cool off. Although I am in no doubt I'm in the shit when he gets back.

I'm still in a pissy humour. Ok so if he wants me to write the bitch a letter I will. So I take out my notebook and start:

Dear Bitchface, I've been told to write you an apology so here it is. I am sorry that I ever set eyes on your stupid ugly face. I'm sorry that you are a complete bitch and a shit teacher. I'm sorry that you feel the need to be a total bully to your students and hate them if they are smarter than you. Most of them are by the way which really doesn't help your cause. But I am NOT sorry that I told you to fuck off because that is exactly what I have wanted to say to you for months. So I'm going to say it again. FUCK OFF YOU STUPID BITCH! Yours sincerely, Samantha McGarrett

I sit back and laugh to myself. Imagine handing that in?! Boy would I love to see her face when she read it. Not so much my dad's though. That wouldn't be too pretty. Well I still wasn't writing her a proper one. Even Dad can't make me apologise for something if I don't want to. Can he? Sighing I close the notebook and set it aside taking out my school packet of work. I'd better get started on it, no point adding more black marks to my dad's list. 

I start on some math work and there is a knock on the door and Kono sticks her head in. "Hey kiddo" she says, "how's it going?" I shrug and bite my lip trying to stop myself from tearing up. Immediately she is over next to me wrapping me in a big hug. Kono is like a big sister to me. She never really does the parental thing the rest of them do but is very protective and loving towards me. I don't have to yes ma'am her or call her aunty like other adults. Dad sees we have a unique relationship and doesn't interfere, unless he thinks I've really overstepped, I think he likes that I have an important woman in my life. I can talk to her about anything and ask her loads of questions that I wouldn't ask Dad in a million years. "So kiddo what's going on?" she asks, letting me out of the crushing hug. I shrug my shoulders at her not knowing if I want to tell her about it all. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asks almost reading my mind. "I don't know Kono" I reply, "everything is such a mess at the moment". "It will be ok" she says, "you and your Dad will work it out and things will get better". "I hope so but I seem to keep making them worse and I don't know why" I reply. Kono laughs and says "well maybe stop doing stuff that you know will send your dad over the edge then." "You mean like cursing at people?" I smile back. "Exactly like that" she says and kisses me on the top of my head. "I'll let you get on with your work and I guess I better get on with mine or we'll both be in trouble with your dad!" and with that she went back out to the main office. 

I was feeling better after the chat with Kono but still dreading Dad coming back. What was I going to tell him when he asked me why I said that to Danny. I feel bad that I said it. I shouldn't have talked to him like that. He didn't do anything to me. I'll tell him I'm sorry when he gets back. I'll still be in deep shit with Dad though. With any luck the case will keep them out so long that he forgets about it all. Yeah right Sam what are the chances of that?!! 

I need to go to the loo. I assume when he said not to move he didn't mean that too so I go off to the toilets down the hall. On my way back I see Danny. Oh shit, they're back. He acknowledges me with a very cool "Samantha" which tells me he is still annoyed and probably hurt by what I said. I hang my head in shame. "Uncle Danny I'm really sorry for the way I spoke to you earlier. I was angry and I took it out on you which I shouldn't have" I say. "Come here kid", he says grabbing me into a bear hug, "your dad told me about what's happening, you know he wants to kick that teacher's ass right?" "Are you sure it's not my ass he wants to kick?" I ask smiling up at him. "Well you haven't exactly helped yourself there, have you?" going parental on me again. "No sir" I reply with a sigh. Just then Dad sticks his head out of his office. He raises an eyebrow at Danny and me and tell me he wants me in there, now. Danny gives me an encouraging squeeze and tells me to go. I don't want to go and I hesitate but Danny swats me on my ass and says "get going missy". The swat didn't really hurt but it reminded me how my ass is already in a pretty sorry state and here I was practically ensuring that it was going to get another hiding. Boy I was so dumb sometimes. Slowly I walk into Dad's office to face my fate.

Dad is sitting behind his desk. "Sit down Sam, we need to talk" he says. "You mean you need to lecture" I sass back. He immediately stands up and my heart skips a beat, too far? "Well we can skip the conversation and go straight to the punishment if you prefer" he says. Yep too far! I sit down quickly kicking myself for being so impulsively stupid again. He waits a minute letting me stew then sits down too. I try to read him. He called me Sam, rather than my full name, which usually means a good mood but I'm sure my response killed any chance of that. Damn his practiced calmness. It's when he is most calm that he is also most deadly. I shift uneasily in my seat. "I apologised to Uncle Danny" I say, trying to get him back on side. "Good, I'm glad to hear that" he says, "but it shouldn't have happened in the first place, should it?" "No sir" I reply quietly. He continues "and your behaviour towards me before that shouldn't have happened either, should it?" I sit staring at the ground not answering. I know not answering him isn't the best course of action but I'm not sure that I agree completely that it shouldn't. I mean sure what I said to Danny was out of line but the argument with Dad was justified and I was definitely justified in saying no to writing that stupid bitch an apology. He drops something on the desk in front of me. It's my notebook! Oh crap he was not meant to read that! My stomach is flipping again and I look up at him wide eyed. "You weren't meant to", he puts his hand up to stop me. "I know you didn't intend for me to read this, but I thought it was the letter I had told you to write" he says. "Dad, I..." I start to try to defend myself but he cuts across me. "It's ok" he says, "I know you were just letting off steam, obviously I don't approve of the language you have used but it's better that you write it here than go around shouting it at people". Phew! I breathe a sigh of relief. He continues "everyone needs to let off steam sometimes Sam but there are appropriate ways to do it and I think you know the ways that are not appropriate?" OK maybe the relief was a bit premature. I nod. "I'd like a proper answer please Samantha". "Yes sir" I say my stomach scrunching up again. "So tell me the ways you have behaved today that were not appropriate" he says sitting back in his chair. Shit, I hate when he does this. It's like an interrogation technique or something, get me to list my bad behaviours and maybe I'll list something he doesn't know about. Also it always makes me feel like a little kid telling him the things I've done wrong and I have to admit that I know they were wrong. Again I sit there looking at the ground, not answering. "I'm waiting Samantha" he states, an edge beginning to come into his tone. I don't do anything. Pissed off Sam is back and doesn't feel like playing this game. I shrug my shoulders, adding fuel to the fire. "Answer the question Samantha" he growls. He's losing his calm demeanor and I know I shouldn't keep pushing but I'm not ready to tell him that everything I did was wrong. He was wrong too and he's being unfair as far as I'm concerned. "OK then I'll answer it for you" he says, "your attitude today has been off the scale, your behaviour in the truck was way out of line, then when we got here again I got a display of disrespectful attitude, cursing at Danny, getting sassy with me and now giving me attitude again. Is any of that appropriate behaviour?"