Worlds Collide

Dylan Staigle - Frazel

Dylan
I pull my coat closer, shivering as I rush into the school with my daughter. Today my Evelyn's 6th grade class was putting on The Living Museum. Each child picked a person from any historical time period to dress up as and create a presentation on. At the end of the night, the best dressed group would win a prize. Evelyn picked Princess Kate because she's my little princess. The others in her group were dressed as Prince William, Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth, and Prince Harry. They all looked quite regal if I do say so myself. All the children wore plastic crowns with faux gemstones and while the boys wore nice suites, the three girls wore pretty dresses. I smiled widely at the group of children in front of me, however my smile turned to a scowl when I saw the group across from us. The Elites, my daughter and her friends called them. The twins Luke and Zöe Jackson, Silena Grace, Beck Valdez, Bianca Solace-DiAngelo, and Emmy Zhang. Now, I know they're 'just kids' but I detest them. Always beating my Evelyn when she clearly deserves first place. The four girls are all draped in delicate chitons while the two boys wear togas. The jewelry around the girls' throats and arms, and the weapons attached to the waists of the boys all look synthetic. I take a closer looks at at the name plates in front of each child. Luke is dressed as Poseidon, Zöe is dressed as Athena, Silena dressed as Aphrodite, Beck dressed as Hephaestus, Bianca is dressed like Artemis, and Emmy is Hecate. Greek gods and Goddesses. Of coarse they choose the few characters that outrank my daughter's group of royalty. I stroll over to their booth and see only one pair of adults sitting with the group.
"Hello, I'm Dylan Staigle," I say, introducing myself to the two adults. The woman looks up to me and smiles.
"Hi, I'm Hazel, this is my husband Frank, and that's my daughter Emmy," she says, pointing to the girl dressed as Hecate. I sniff,
"Where are the other's parents? Do they not care? Or have your children won so many competitions this is no longer important to them?" I ask grumpily. The woman, Hazel, looks taken aback.
"Actually, the Jacksons had a family emergency up on the north side, Piper Grace's father flew in early from California, so they're picking him up at the airport right now, the Solace-DiAngelos got called in to the hospital because someone needed a critical surgery, and the Valdezes are stuck at Leo's shop fixing a malfunctioning car. We just volunteered to bring all the kids to the school," Hazel's husband replies. I raise my eyebrow at the story before turning my back and walking back to my own child.
"Why do you have to be so rude to them?" Evelyn asks, frowning when I return.
"Don't frown, you'll get wrinkles," I reply, primping my daughter.
"Mom stop!" Evelyn whines, batting my hand away, "I don't get why you're so mean to them. They're really cool and you're embarrassing me."
"Oh hush, those kids are privileged and probably spoiled beyond belief. They don't deserve to win all the time like you do," I tell her.
"Those kids are really nice mom, you don't even know them. I wish you were more like Mrs. Zhang, she's nice to everyone! I should have brought dad instead!" Evelyn replies.
"I don't care for your attitude young- wait. How do you know Mrs. Zhang?" I demand. Evelyn shrugs, "When I'm at dad's house, he let's me hang out with whoever I want, so sometimes I go over to Emmy's and hangout with the Elites. Hazel makes good cookies, but not as good as The ones Luke and Zöe's grandma makes."
"I can make cookies," I defend.
"But you're mean to my friends!" Evelyn exclaims. I sigh in defeat.
"I suppose if it bothers you that much I can try to be nicer," I tell her. I walk back over to the couple sitting across from us.
"I'd like to apologize for my behavior earlier this evening. It was very childish of me and was not a good example for the children. I'm sorry," I tell the couple. Hazel smiles.
"We accept your apology, thank you," she says. I nod and walk back over to my daughter. Maybe she was right. Maybe I judged those kids too harshly.