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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2010 0:44:33 GMT -8
It all started a week ago. Megan and Natasha had gone to the train station and used Natasha's credit card. Natasha had begged Megan to let them go to London, and Megan agreed and told her to book it for a week. She had assured Natasha that her daddy wouldn't care at all. Excitedly, Natasha had thoroughly enjoyed the trip; it was absolutely fabulous! She had no qualms introducing herself to everyone she met and telling them where she was from. So when she ran into Toby Isaacs and his daughter Riley, she gabbed away and revealed that Emma was her cousin.
Magically, Emma called later on that day, demanding to know where Natasha was. The seventeen year old was browsing through a store, so when she heard Emma's voice on the other line, she asked her what she wanted. In turn, her cousin ordered her to go home, and sweetly, Natasha had answered, "absolutely. I'll be there next week." When Natasha hung up, she didn't give the conversation another thought and enjoyed her vacation without a care in the world.
Emma had done the right thing and told Natasha's father. Of course, the teenage girl had no idea that she had done anything wrong. When she got off the train, she walked to Emma's house, her hands carrying bags full of gifts for everyone. She unlocked the front door and waltzed in. "Emma! You have to see what I bought for you! London has the best-" Natasha had set her bags down and closed the door, turning to see her dad in the living room.
Now, any normal kid would be able to take one look at their parent and know instantly they were in trouble. Natasha didn't have that instinct, however. When she saw Andre, she smiled and ran into his arms. "DADDY!" she yelled excitedly, hugging him. "Oh my god, you should have told me you were coming! I would have totally gotten you a souvenir too!"
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Post by Andre Simpson on May 14, 2010 1:02:48 GMT -8
It wasn't a call that he expected to get. Natasha had never been into any real trouble before, and while he was grateful for it, a part of him feared that statistically she might someday. It couldn't be too bad, however... How could you go from doing nothing wrong to doing something hugely wrong? Needless to say, he was stunned to hear that she had taken off to London for a week without a word, and refused to come back when Emma said to. Andre had no idea what was going through her head. Naturally, he worried when she went to Toronto to begin with, but knew she'd be in good hands and was certain that she was mature enough to go. But, now, he was wondering if it was a bit of a mistake. They gave her a lot of freedom, and all he could think of was that she thought that meant she could do whatever, whenever and however. She was supposed to be back today—she should have never left, but Andre practised some control in not tracking her down. He waited anxiously though, leaned forward in a chair and tapped his hands against his legs, but abruptly stopped when he heard the door open. In an instant he was on his feet, and the sound of his daughter's voice caused his arms to cross over his chest.
"Natasha—" Before he could even get a word in, he felt her arms around him. He couldn't just pull away though, and returned the embrace, pulling her close for a moment. She worried the hell out of him! It wasn't just anger at her for taking off, it was real concern. Anything could have happened to her and he couldn't stand it if it did. Having her there and tangible made all the difference. He hugged her, but when it was done, he pulled away and immediately his arms crossed again. "Well, I guess we're almost even then. You should've told me you were going." His voice was stern, not at all amused with her souvenir talk, and no, they weren't even at all. "Can I ask what you think you were doing? Just taking off for a week?" He was calm, at least, though by no means did he sound pleased and it didn't show in his face either. That too, was stern as it ever had been.
She should have known better! And didn't she? Andre would have thought that she did. Maybe he didn't spend enough time laying down the rules, but they were pretty self-explanatory. And not running off sounded like the most blatant one of all of them. There was too much out there that he didn't want to touch her. It was dangerous and she didn't even bother to get permission. It perplexed him and frustrated him all at once. But, while he had never had to deal with it before, he knew exactly how. Just because his kid was good on a regular basis didn't mean that he didn't know how to handle her if she got out of line. It just never came up before.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2010 1:16:12 GMT -8
Natasha was stunned when he folded his arms and looked up at him. She was confused, listening to him say she should have told him. Was she in trouble? Megan has said he wouldn't mind! "Oh, no! I was with Megan," she said instantly when asked what she thought she was doing. "Megan wanted to go away somewhere, and I didn't want to make her go all alone. She said you wouldn't mind. Oh, but you should go sometime, daddy! It's wonderful! Not quite Malibu but it's great!"
Her smile never left her face. Her eyes conveyed confusion, but that was it. Natasha had always been extremely gullible and easily persuaded. While kids in her old high school would never take advantage of her, it was different here. Natasha just didn't know it. She thought the girl who convinced her to drink at Charlie's party was her friend. She thought they were all her friends. Natasha would do anything for her friends...what was so wrong with that?
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Post by Andre Simpson on May 14, 2010 1:30:40 GMT -8
At that juncture, Andre was staring at his daughter with a look of disapproval and confusion. That was her whole reason behind it? At least she was honest. Most kids by now would be making up an excuse as to why they hadn't told their parents, but not her. She came right out with it. But, it didn't make it right. "Megan has parents that she should've asked too. Do you really think she can just take off whenever she wants?" Well, Andre doubted that anyone was being allowed to, let alone her. But it didn't matter what anyone else was allowed to do. It was about Natasha and her way of breaking the rules. "Did you talk to me? Because I don't remember that conversation where you called to make sure I wouldn't mind." He was purposely ignoring her compliments towards the city. He couldn't care less about that right now. He was upset at her and he was going to get his point across, not be distracted by how great a place it was.
"Did you really expect you were going to go for a week, come home and nothing was going to happen? I thought you were smarter than that." Gullible, sure. Even he knew that much, but he thought that she knew where to draw the line. She couldn't just blindly trust anyone. That was the best way to get yourself in trouble. He'd seen too many people get themselves in way over their head all because of someone else. And he didn't want to see that become of her. She was a sweet girl; and talented, she didn't need to waste all of that by getting herself into trouble with delinquents. Andre didn't plan to just let her off, regardless of what she thought was happening before. If he did that, it wouldn't do any good and it wouldn't be showing that he cared.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2010 1:46:07 GMT -8
Slowly, her smile faded. Every single question he asked made perfect sense, even though she hadn't even thought about them before. She hadn't even thought about Megan's parents getting mad. She kept quiet, until he asked if she talked to him. It was at that point that her eyes brimmed with tears.
Natasha looked down and started crying. "Yes" she said through her tears. She had believed Megan. She expected to come home with no consequences. She felt so stupid now, though. As her chihuahua came in the room, she picked him up and sat on the couch. She wanted to get the tears to stop. She stroked her animal before looking up at him. She didn't want to make it seem like she was ignoring him, after all.
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Post by Andre Simpson on May 14, 2010 1:58:27 GMT -8
"Yes." As much as he hated to see her cry, he was stunned by the answer. He couldn't understand her logic. How could she trust that? He shook his head at her and walked towards the couch when she sat down. "Natasha," he began, not sure how to take it on all of a sudden. There was a part of him that just wanted her to stop crying. He hated seeing her cry. It was just the father in him that wanted to take every ounce of pain away from her, even when it was something that she brought on herself. "You didn't think for a second that we might be worried about you? You took off for a week, Natasha. If Emma hadn't found out, none of us would've known where you were, and what if something happened? There would be no one there to help you. You're seventeen years old! You can't just go as you please for as long as you want. When we let you come here, that wasn't what we meant." He was lecturing, his voice lifting slightly, out of anger and fear for her. The brunette wasn't upset that she disobeyed as much as he was afraid for her because of what she did.
"Do you have any idea what you put everyone through? This has to be the most irresponsible thing you've ever done. You can't just blindly trust anyone." And Andre didn't care if they were family or not. Sometimes, that was even worse. If she didn't know what she did was wrong before, he was going to make sure that she understood it now. He didn't want to see it happen again, and while he wasn't paying a lot of attention because she never got into trouble, he was definitely going to start keeping a more careful eye on her.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2010 2:35:28 GMT -8
Natasha wiped her eyes and shook her head. "I would have called to find out what everyone wanted. I always buy gifts when I'm on vacation," she pointed to the bags. Natasha was not trying to justify her actions. It was very clear that she shouldn't have gone. But Emma would have heard from her, and that was the point.
However, he said that something could have happened. Her mind went back to Jake. Of course, she wouldn't say anything. Natasha didn't talk about unpleasant things. She talked fashion and broadway. "Oh dear." she looked up at her father. She never meant to scare anyone!
"I'm sorry, daddy. Don't make me go back! I can do better! I know I can!" If there was one thing she couldn't take, it was that. She would be going to California and admitting that she failed at what she wantd to do. She couldn't face them, especially her boyfriend. She explained all of this to Marco before. She hoped he had explained it to her father/
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Post by Andre Simpson on May 14, 2010 11:47:55 GMT -8
Staring at her, he wasn't sure if he wanted to scream at her, hug her or smack his own face to his palm. It didn't matter if she was going to get a hold of them somehow for some reason, it wasn't the principle behind it. "That's not the point," He replied immediately, not caring what else she was going to do while she was there. "You weren't supposed to be on vacation to begin with!" He reminded her, not about to get off subject with what she would have done. "Not to mention, Emma told you to come home. This shouldn't be any surprise to you, Natasha." He didn't understand how she could be so confused. Every warning sign was there; she was told to come back, and she honestly shouldn't have gone to begin with. Watching her still, he raised his eyebrows at her when she made her comment. "Yeah, oh dear is kind of right." He remarked. And it should have come long before now. But, maybe things took a bit more time."So, I heard." If Andre didn't plan to stay, then he would have hauled her right back to California regardless. He didn't want to stomp on her dreams like that or stall her success, but he wasn't going to trust her on her own anymore, or even just without them.
"You're not going back. You should, and if I wasn't planning to stay, then you would be." He informed her, not sure if that really had much of an impact as far as would be punishments were concerned. "But, you won't be going anywhere either for a while. And I mean anywhere." Andre wasn't about to just show up and think that being there was enough. She wasn't going to get out of this with a slap on the wrist. And hopefully, she'd know better than to be so gullible next time.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2010 12:09:08 GMT -8
"And I did," she said quietly. She came home...just not right away. As it was, Natasha couldn't help but be a tad bit angry with Megan. She had thought Megan was her friend. Either Megan lied to her or was very wrong. Setting her pet down, she folded her arms. "Why would she do that?" The question was asked as she looked to the side.
He mentioned staying, and Natasha let out and excited squeal. "You're staying?? That's wonderful! You'll have so much fun here! I know the perfect house to get too! It looks just like a castle!"
As she hugged him and kissed his cheek, she heard him say she wasn't going anywhere for a while. "Not anywhere? But daddy, don't I have to go to school? I don't want to fail my classes! And I have a project with Faith! I can't just desert her! And what about the dance team and drama and cheerleading...and volleyball? I'm the co-captain, daddy!" The statement was out of genuine concern; it wasn't sarcastic at all. Her eyes turned into those of a puppy's. She just had to convince him to let her go to school!
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Post by Andre Simpson on May 14, 2010 12:37:41 GMT -8
"Yeah, a week after you were told to!" His voice rose without him trying to at the mention of her coming home. He didn't know how she meant that comment to be, but he was going to drill into her head that she shouldn't have been there at all. None of what she did do mattered. He was grateful that she didn't drop of the edge of the planet and it was comforting to think that she wouldn't sever all contact completely, but that wasn't even good enough. "Natasha, you can't listen to everyone that asks you to do something, some people are going to lie to you. They're going to drag you down with them." He couldn't protect her from that constantly. He couldn't cut off all contact to someone that might take advantage of her. And he knew that, it made him feel slightly helpless, but what choice did he have? He couldn't baby her. But, Andre was still going to try to give her all of the advantages he could, and if that didn't work, he would gladly go after anyone that did take advantage of her. That just didn't help before it happened.
He almost smiled when she hugged him. He knew she'd be excited to hear it, and he was more comfortable being there with her than being on the opposite coast. He worried about her too much and being that far away made it hard to do anything about it. "We'll talk about that later..." He couldn't get himself caught up in other things. They would have time to talk about housing and moving later, when this was all settled. And right now, it was far from it. She seemed to get the picture though after he informed her of what was going to happen. Only, he didn't expect her to jump to begging to go to school. He thought that was just obviously exempt. If it hadn't been her talking, he would have thought it to be sarcasm.
"You can go to school, Natasha. And any project you have, you can work on at home with your friend if you can't at school. But only school, from the moment the first bell rings to the last. Then it's straight home for you. All extra-curricular stuff, you can say bye to for now. There'll be other chances, and unless it's during school hours, you're not allowed to go until after Spring Break." The puppy dog eyes were hard to resist, but he could do it. He wasn't about to just let her go have fun. "You go to school, you come home. And believe me, I can make sure you get back and forth without distraction." He hoped he didn't have to cut off trust that much, but he definitely would.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2010 12:58:07 GMT -8
Natasha blushed when he told her she can't do what everyone asks of her. "I like to help people," she said sheepishly. "There's alot of disadvantaged people here. Like poor Willow! Oh my god and I met this guy from West Hollywood! We're practically twins! I just had to help him!" And why were they twins? Because they were both from the West Coast. By now, her tears were gone completely and she was smiling brightly again. It didn't take much to cheer her up.
And then he mentioned that she could work on her project. Grabbing his arm excitedly, she squealed. "Oh my god, it's totally gonna be fun! We're gonna do a mini musical skit! I still have to get costumes for that though." She shook her head, deciding not to ask to go to the mall. Instead, she came up with an alternative.
It helped that he said not to go anywhere until after spring break. "I can get some material from Jenna's mom. She has the prettiest stuff! I'll make costumes over spring break! I don't need to go anywhere for that and it'll be just absolutely fabulous!" Only Natasha could go from upset that she was in trouble to giddy in point seven seconds. Any other teenager would be arguing their punishment, but not Natasha!
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Post by Andre Simpson on May 14, 2010 13:26:44 GMT -8
"You can't help everybody." And some people didn't need as much help as she might think, or they pretended they did. Then, she went off on a tangent about a girl and a boy and the boy was her twin and he was a little thrown off in confusion. "Natasha, focus." Was all he said, not about to indulge her in her talk about the people she helped. He understood that she wanted to help people and that was good. He was proud of her for having that in her. It was just there had to be a line drawn and she couldn't sacrifice herself for everyone. Sometimes, they weren't worth it. Andre didn't know how to teach her how to tell, because with him, he was pretty comfortable in relying on how he felt around certain people and his experiences with them. A lot had to be learned from experience and a part of him loathed that when it was considering her. Because, he'd like to protect her before bad things happened.
She sounded far too excited about her punishment. Was he doing something wrong? He was expecting a little more misery. Don't get him wrong, he hated to see her miserable. It just wasn't supposed to be exciting. "But remember, that's the only person allowed to be over and only for that. This isn't a vacation. You're in trouble." He felt like he had to remind her, to get her out of excited mode. It didn't matter what he wanted to see. As a parent, he had to make sure that she knew she was being disciplined. So far, it didn't look like she was understanding that in the least.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2010 13:39:57 GMT -8
Focusing was not something Natasha was good at. Her mind was wrapped around making costumes and writing lyrics for her project. How could she be unhappy when thinking about performing? That was the love of her life! But he said to focus and her smile got bigger "yes, daddy."
Then he said that Faith was the only one over and reminded her that she was in trouble. Natasha got that she was being punished, she just didn't mind at all. She could find plenty of things to do at home. Natasha was very creative that way."I would never bring anyone else over. People don't like going to houses here unless there's a party," she reassured him.
Thinking about making costumes put Natasha in the mood to put on some music and bake or something. "Oh my god, I HAVE to bake you something. We haven't seen each other in forever!" Because, a month was forever. And with that, she jumped up and ran into the kitchen.
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Post by Andre Simpson on May 14, 2010 14:10:23 GMT -8
Did the discipline even work? Was that how punishment was supposed to go down? Every experience Andre ever had told him differently, and if he tried to recall how he was when he was a teenager, then no, that wasn't how it was supposed to go. If someone had grounded him, he would've stomped and whined and made a big deal out of it. And he figured so would most teenagers. He was fully aware that Natasha wasn't like every other teenager. It wasn't as if he didn't know his own daughter; he was just absolutely stunned by her reaction. It didn't stop there though, before he knew it she was rushing off to the kitchen to bake something. And Andre just stood there, trying to assess whether he was a good father or if he had just failed immensely. There was no right way to do anything, being a parent told him that early on. But, he didn't know if she was learning her lesson at all. But, it couldn't be fair to pile on restrictions until she finally got upset. That was cruel, and just needless.
After a moment of standing there, staring at the spot she left, he followed her into the kitchen. "You don't need to bake anything," he said, shaking his head at her, trying not to smile, but it was rough. "I'd also like it if you didn't associate with Megan more than you have to. She's not a good influence on you." And he didn't care if she was family or not. That didn't matter. Obviously the girl had issues of her own, and Andre didn't want to risk a repeat of this happening.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2010 14:37:32 GMT -8
Natasha washed her hands and started pulling out ingredients, humming the melody to a broadway song as she did. When her dad followed her, she looked up at him and giggled "Of course I do! I found out how to make the yummiest chocolate melting cake!" she said cheerfully when he said she didn't need to make anything. She started preparing the desert, when he said he didn't want her to be around Megan.
"Don't worry, daddy. She isn't even that great of a travelling companion, I mean, she took off with some boy on the train to have fun. When I go places with friends, I have fun with them. I don't leave them behind with some guy who wants to know if you've ever done more than kissed a boy. I mean really, these Canadian boys are so silly! Don't they know that's something a girl keeps private?"
Now, Natasha did not have a mean bone in her body. She would never say things to purposely get Megan in trouble. She just had a big mouth and a blond mind. She didn't realize that what she was saying could get anyone in trouble. But that was Natasha. Honest, sweet, and didn't think before she said things.
Like when she got Willow in trouble for skipping a class. She wasn't trying to get Willow in trouble. She had been simply expressing concern because she had just seen her in another class. It just so happened that her concerns were expressed in front of Willow's mother. Of course, as soon as she was confronted with it, she instantly apologized. That was another habit she had; she was always apologizing, even when she shouldn't.
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