Exceptional

Chapter 3

Charlotte woke up abruptly to the sound of her phone notifications going off continuously. Last time I leave a group chat unmuted. she thought. Olivia was talking about something or other with Charlotte's cousin, Angelica. She didn't bother to scroll through the 100 or so messages. But one thing in particular caught her eye; Rose was in the group chat! A tinge of excitement hit her. Rose seemed really nice, and she would be a good friend to have!

Charlotte took a glance at her alarm clock, which, to her dismay, was not there. She realized she was not in her bedroom, but on the living room couch. It wasn't morning. It was only 5:00 PM. She pulled off the blankets that her mom had set on her and stood up, stretching her arms into the air as though attempting to reach the sky. Great, now I'm not going to get much rest tonight. Farewell, sleep schedule!

Cynthia (Charlotte's mother) approached Charlotte with a big smile. "You're up!" she exclaimed. "Remember, we're having our dinner tonight. Did you invite any friends?" Charlotte shook her head no. "Well, your Auntie can't make it, so you can invite quite a few people! It'll be fun!"

Charlotte smiled as she pulled out her phone. "Thanks, mom!" she called as she walked into her room. She sent out messages to Adalin, Olivia, and, after deep consideration, Rose. She made sure Angelica was still coming as well. After all the texting, she begun getting ready.

Although it was only going to be a casual dinner with homemade beef patties, Charlotte felt the need to dress up a bit. She scanned through her options and tried on multiple cute outfits, but they didn't seem right. Several outfits later, she tried on a fancy navy blue dress with a pretty bow at the waist. She smiled at her reflection. I love this dress! That's what I'll wear! She was wearing black capri-tights and her comfy white socks with bumblebees on them (although she was scared of bugs, bees were the exception). She re-entered the kitchen and watched her mom cook.

"You look stunning!" her mother commented. "Thanks!" Charlotte replied with a smile. Her mom had the beef patties separated into three plates; spicy, not spicy and in-between. Cynthia knew Angelica was sensitive  when it came to taste and would need something mild, while Charlotte was the opposite. Adalin and Olivia had been over plenty of times, and Cynthia knew they would want something spicy. Cynthia herself preferred something in-between. Charlotte had always admired her mother for being so prepared and thoughtful for other's needs and preferences. She thought it was really cool!

Charlotte helped her mom set the table, and then lingered by the door for a bit. Upon hearing the doorbell, she sprung to open the door. Angelica was at the porch, while Olivia and Adalin were just approaching the house. Perfect timing!
She greeted her cousin with a hug. "How are you?" Charlotte asked. "I'm great!" Angelica responded. Charlotte obeserved that Angelica was wearing her "masculine clothes", as Angelica had called them, and appeared to be binding. "Boy day?" Charlotte asked. Angelica was genderfluid, and out of respect Charlotte made an effort to make sure to use the right pronouns. Angelica nodded. "Well, you look very handsome!" Charlotte complimented.

Angelica went to go say hi to his Aunt, while Charlotte greeted Adalin and Olivia. Olivia was dressed in her pretty purple sweatshirt that Charlotte loved and her fuzzy sweatpants and Adalin was wearing a long skirt with puppy prints on it and her shirt with a bunch of tiny puppy dogs. Charlotte loved to look at the puppies! The two looked very comfortable.

The guests waited at the table. Eventually, they heard a knock at the door. Charlotte and Cynthia opened the door to see Rose in her wheelchair, and a short female beside her who Charlotte presumed to be her mother. The woman had long blond hair, identical to her daughter's, but her facial features were quite different. She had an angry expression on her face, and it gave Charlotte a bad vibe. Cynthia felt Charlotte tense up, and decided to break the silence.
"Hello!" She greeted. "Is this the girl you've told me about, Charlotte?" When Charlotte nodded, she continued "Well, you can introduce us later. For now, will you show her to the dinner table? It doesn't require any stairs, so you will be able to manage it! For now, I would like to meet this lovely woman who brought her here, for adult stuff."

[Trigger warning for ableism and the r word being used in a hurtful way. Skip to the next bold-italic line for a summary!]

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Charlotte greeted Rose and assisted her to the kitchen. Meanwhile, Cynthia held out her hand. "I'm Cynthia." she said, trying to be as polite as possible. "Miranda." Rose's mom said as she hesitated to shake Cynthia's and, as if she were some sort of icky piece of litter.
"Are you of their kind?" Miranda asked, looking revolted. "I don't know what you mean...?" Cynthia stated, puzzled.
Miranda took a deep breath and crossed her arms. "My daughter has klippel feil syndrome. Your daughter obviously isn't normal either. Are you a r*tard too?"
Cynthia bit her tounge. "Look, I just wanted to know when you will be picking your daughter." she snapped. "You can keep her. She'll get your damage, I bet." Miranda yelled and slammed the door angrily.
Cynthia sighed. Just how could people be so awful?

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[Summary: Rose's mother, Miranda, says some not-so nice things about Cynthia, Charlotte and even her own daughter, Rose.]

To Be Continued 💕

Here, have a cute puppy picture to lighten the mood! Don't worry, everything will be okay for Rose. You don't have to worry!