Rise Up

Talie

           

I liked being with the Mirandas.  I really did.  But they weren't my family.  And the only family I had in the world barely had contact with me.  I wasn't a little kid any more.  It's not like I was a kid waiting patiently for my dad to come home so I could show him a picture I'd drawn him.  But it still hurt that my dad wouldn't answer my calls.  How hard was it?  Didn't he want to talk to me?

I served my after school detention even though I thought it was bullshit.  Mr. Parker was the biggest ass I'd ever met.  Didn't he understand that I never got to talk to my dad?  All I'd wanted to do was take the call outside.  It's not like I'd been having a conversation in class.

Once my hour was up, I wandered to Mr. Miranda's room.  He'd stayed behind because of me, so we could go home together.  Did Sebastian realize how lucky he was to have him for a dad?  I wasn't even his kid and he cared about me more than my father did.

I walked into his room and he smiled and started packing up his papers.

"How was detention?" he asked.

"Fantastic," I quipped sarcastically.  He stood up and pulled my phone out of his back pocket then handed it to me.  I smiled a little and took it, immediately unlocking it to check for any messages.  Dad hadn't called again of course.  I was pissed that Mr. Parker had made me miss my chance to talk to him.

I think Mr. Miranda could tell I was in a bad mood because he didn't try to engage me in conversation on the way home.  When we got home I went straight to my room to mope.  Maybe I was being immature but I just felt like being in a foul mood.

Before dinner I heard a knock at my door.  It was Vanessa.  I told her to come in and she sat on my bed.

"Lin told me about your dad calling today," she said.  "I'm sorry it didn't come at a good time."

I sighed, studying my nails.  "It would've been fine if Mr. Parker hadn't been such a douche.  He knows about my dad and he still wouldn't let me take it outside."

She nodded in understanding.  "Mr. Parker was a teacher when I was there," she said.  "He wasn't very sympathetic."

We were silent for a few moments and I could feel her watching me.  "Are you doing okay?  I know this must be a difficult situation for you, and your dad not being in touch is upsetting."

Vanessa was so sweet.  She treated me like an adult and didn't try to ignore my problems.  I'd seen her with the boys and she was incredibly patient.

"I don't know," I said honestly.  "It's been hard."

She nodded and put her hand over mine.  Her eyes showed genuine concern for me.  I wonder what it would it would be like to have her as a mother.

"Maybe we should do something this weekend, just you and me," she suggested.

"Like what?"

"We could do a girls' day," she suggested, "or just see a movie and binge on junk food."

I didn't really have girl friends to do these things with, which was pathetic.  I just didn't seem to bond with any of the other kids at school.  I decided that sounded really nice, so Vanessa and I made plans for Saturday.  It was that that got me through the week.

___

On Saturday, Mr. Miranda was stuck with the boys.  I was ridiculously excited.  I slipped on some dark skinny jeans and boots with a cute top.  Vanessa and I headed out to lunch at a Dominican Restaurant in Washington Heights.

It was one of Mr. Miranda's favorites, so they came here all the time.  Vanessa ordered their favorites and we shared, laughing and stuffing our faces.  It was like hanging out with a big sister.  Vanessa was crazy smart.  She went to MIT and had been a scientist before becoming a lawyer.  Mr. Miranda was great and all, but I'm not sure how he'd been able to catch Vanessa.