Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
zombie!
May 26, 2011 20:54:23 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on May 26, 2011 20:54:23 GMT -8
Andrew silently watched the class. He had told them to close their eyes, think of something that would make them happy, and paint it. He was really enjoying this. It was a good break from surgery, while not quite so boring as staying home. And he liked his students. They were a little odd, but he adored them. Third period was almost over when he started observing what the kids were doing. He stopped at Tara Maxwell's painting and cleared his throat. He saw a woman--a blond woman, her arms outstretched as the blade of an ax connected with her neck. "What do we have here?" he asked the young girl.
Tara looked up. "Well, this is a zombie. And this is a guy killing it and saving the town." she explained with a nod as she added some coloring to the hair of the man holding the axe.
Andrew looked closer. "Is that your dad?"
"yup. He's a hero." she said with a smile.
"and the zombie? is she someone in particular or a random--"
"my mom," she interrupted him. Andrew sighed. This wasn't the first time she had done it. All that week, her mom had been a vampire and being staked, a werewolf being shot, and demon being exorcised out of a person. He was pretty concerned with this pattern. It wasn't that the girl was into the paranormal, though, Andrew was pretty thankful that none of the kids at home was like this, but every time, the villain being killed had been her mom, and the killer was her dad.
"And he's killing her?" he asked gently.
"Well, technically it's not murder since she's a zombie. He's just...re-killing her"
"I see." He looked up at the board with the word HAPPY on it. "Are you sure this fits the topic?"
"yes." Well, she was honest. But having her zombie mother killed by her dad? That would make her very happy.
"And what would you use for the word angry?"
"I dunno. Her being alive?"
The bell rang, and Andrew watched as the students packed their things up. "Miss Maxwell, could you come have a seat by my desk?"
Tara looked up. Swallowing, she put her backpack on her arm and folded her arms, obeying as everyone else left. Andrew pressed the intercom. "Hey, Lydia, could you let Mr. Maxwell know that I'd like him to come to my classroom?"
"sure thing"
Tara stared down at her feet. She went silent, her stomach in knots. She really did not want this to happen. But hey, this is what happened when your dad was a teacher. Conferences happened a lot quicker
|
|
|
zombie!
May 26, 2011 21:19:36 GMT -8
Post by Danny Maxwell on May 26, 2011 21:19:36 GMT -8
"Are you sure?" Danny looked up from his desk at the student, and slowly nodded.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Anything." He told the girl, who was looking at him now like he had grown an extra head. He narrowed his eyes quizzically when her face scrunched up as if not amused at all by him. Well, that was good, because it wasn't funny.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Maxwell, but you can't do that," She informed him, sounding far too pretentious for Danny's liking, and he just waited for her to continue, but when she didn't, he blinked.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"As a high school students, we need more structure than that. I have to know the topic in order to reach expectations." Danny proceeded to stare at the girl. What? He thought it was supposed to be easier to choose their own topic. The rest of the class had been a mixture of happy and upset about it. But the upset came form having to write anything when they'd rather be playing video games.
"Think of it like an exam, I'm just looking for strengths and weaknesses, it doesn't matter what you report on."
"An exam? How am I supposed to study for an exam if you're--"
Then, the call came and Danny held up a hand to stop her, and in between listening to what the person on the other line had to say and answering, he glanced at the student again. "Not that kind of exam. Just pick something," he hung up the phone. "I have something I need to do, if you have anymore questions come see me during lunch." Please, don't see me during lunch. With that, he stood up and left the room, kind of relieved, but also a little worried as he approached the art classroom. He slipped in the door quietly, quickly seeing Tara and Mr. Simpson there.
"Oh god, what'd you do? Did you pour paint on someone? Out the window? Was it tested on animals or something? Or was someone wearing clothes made from the skin of baby sheep?" He asked, half joking, but actually he figured she did something crazy out of protest or threw something at someone. Really, everything had to be messy didn't it? After the initial questions, he looked over at Andrew and gave a smile. "What's going on?" He asked.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
zombie!
May 26, 2011 21:36:59 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on May 26, 2011 21:36:59 GMT -8
Tara looked up, her eyes nearly filling with tears at the thought. "Dad! Baby sheep?" her voice quivered. That was such a horrible thing to imagine! "That's so awful" she said, shaking her head. Of course, part of her was just trying to distract from what was about to happen. Andrew wasn't about to let that happen, though. Clearing his throat, he spoke up.
"I'm concerned about your daughter, Danny. Some of the contents of her paintings have been pretty....inappropriate for class. Now, having been a surgeon, I can normally take anything. But her paintings have all revolved around death of one person." he looked at Tara. "Why don't you get out the paintings you've done so far, including the one from today?"
"but--" Tara's eyes widened. "It-it's not finished. None of them. They-they're rough drafts. And, it's my personal property so it's an invasion of privacy. And besides....I don't want to" she said with a pout, desperately grasping at straws when she mentioned the invasion of privacy. After all, this was her father.
|
|
|
zombie!
May 26, 2011 21:42:26 GMT -8
Post by Danny Maxwell on May 26, 2011 21:42:26 GMT -8
"Oh, hey, I'm sure no one's wearing baby sheep," he said, almost apologetic. He didn't mean it to be serious. While he was sure that baby animals were turned into clothes, he wasn't about to get into that conversation. When Andrew spoke up, he looked at him and frowned. Inappropriate? He glanced at Tara, curiously, wondering what she was doing, but quickly back at him when he talked about it being someone's death. He never thought his daughter was one of those disturbed artist's that were going to grow up to be psychopaths. But, he waited to see them before he said anything. Well, that was until Tara protested and he raised an eyebrow.
"Tara, you're fifteen, the only reason you have privacy is because I give you it." He reminded her. "I'm like your god." He teased, though at the same time was being serious about her not getting privacy at this point. "Come on, let's see them. Classwork isn't personal property." He was a little more stern at the end, not wanting it to be debated. He wanted to see them, to decide for himself how much trouble they should be worth.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
zombie!
May 26, 2011 21:59:13 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on May 26, 2011 21:59:13 GMT -8
Tara sighed and slowly stood, dropping the backpack at her side. She walked as one condemned, to where her paintings where being held and carried them back. She laid them on the table near the desk, one beside each other, the last being that day's.
Andrew nodded to her "go on, tell him what they are"
"Uhm. Vampire....werewolf...d-demon." she said, looking down. "the last one's a zombie."
"Tara" Andrew spoke softly. That wasn't exactly what he meant.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. "It's mom" she said, looking down. "you're killing her" she whispered that last part. She wanted nothing more than to run out of the room. She didn't even care about her backpack. Though, her cell phone was in the pocket. Still. She wanted to run and hide. She looked down, unable to look at her dad. She didn't want to see the look on his face, and she didn't want to hear the disappointment. Tara hated upsetting her dad. She had just not thought about that when she painted those. She was focusing on her anger. Tara had refused to talk, and this was her way of crying out. Yeah, she was upset about her mother. Killing her in her art was poetic justice, she thought. But obviously, Mr. Simpson didn't feel that way.
"I have three teenage girls in the house, and a teenage boy. I've never seen anything quite this...morbid. And I wouldn't want to see Tara hurt someone, or herself."
Tara scowled "seriously? that's dumb," she informed the teacher
|
|
|
zombie!
May 27, 2011 0:23:35 GMT -8
Post by Danny Maxwell on May 27, 2011 0:23:35 GMT -8
Danny didn't know what he was supposed to expect from the pictures. But, his initial reaction in seeing them was surprise. "Wow, when'd you get that good?" He asked, knowing this wasn't the time to sound impressed, but she was good. He always knew she was, because he wasn't blind, but he hadn't seen any of this and it had a certain passion to it. Of course, that might have been because it was his wife in every picture. When she explained what it was, he couldn't help but smirk. "Wow, in that zombie one she still looks too nice," he joked, even though he knew he should keep that sentiment to himself and not put it on the kids. But, he also knew Tara was upset at her and while he hoped Maggie would fix it and mend things with her daughter, he was done helping her with it. He paused, remembering how serious the situation was. It wasn't like they were hanging out at home looking at her art. Finally, he looked back at Andrew, frowning when he started mentioning how he never saw anything that morbid.
"Oh, if you knew my wife, morbid wouldn't even..." He cut himself off, realising that it was the wrong course of action right away and paused, glancing at his daughter. "You shouldn't be killing your mom." He commented offhandedly, but when Andrew continued, he sighed. "Tara, be polite." Though, at that moment he didn't like that he thought she might hurt someone or herself. If it had been Chris, he would have been worried. But, Chris was little and innocent. She was a teenage girl that liked to draw morbid things. He was sure she had nothing on some of the crazy looking goth kids he saw. "You don't really think she'd do that, do you? I mean, come on, she's a good kid; just going through a rough time. And hey, it looks to me like she wants to hurt zombies, it's for the greater good!"
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
zombie!
May 27, 2011 0:51:05 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on May 27, 2011 0:51:05 GMT -8
Tara looked at the zombie picture and sighed. "It's not finished" she repeated, receiving a look of disapproval from Andrew.
"I'm sure she is. I'm not doubting that at all. It's just that sometimes, when a parent is going through emotional duress, his or her judgement could sometimes be clouded and they may not see it when their children start to show some negative behaviors." Andrew put it as gently as he could. He knew what Danny was going through: everyone did. It was pretty much announced when he dumped coffee at the woman in the halls. Which, Andrew had completely empathized with Danny on that one. After all, he had been hurt when he found out about Isaac, and it hadn't even happened when they were together. If Andre were to actually cheat, Andrew would be spilling something on the man. Maybe he wouldn't leave him, because he couldn't live without the ridiculously handsome detective. But he would be dumping something on him.
Tara rolled her eyes. Sure, they hadn't talked. But that wasn't because of her dad. It was her. Wasn't it? Her dad wouldn't be like that. "whatever" she muttered, but she caught herself giving her dad a deer-in-the-headlights look for just a moment. She shook her head, looking down. Maybe he was upset-- No. Her dad would talk, if she had wanted to. It was her. Not him. Her.
|
|
|
zombie!
May 27, 2011 2:24:06 GMT -8
Post by Danny Maxwell on May 27, 2011 2:24:06 GMT -8
By no means did Danny want this talk to get turned around on him having emotional issues. He wasn't upset enough to ignore his kids! Sure, he was upset. He had a fifteen year marriage destroyed by his wife's infidelity. To make it worse, he was left with nothing more than a note. Danny was hurt. He didn't think the kids needed to be aware of that. They were his priority and he was trying to keep things right with them. He wanted their family to be all right, balanced and to get back to a normal routine. He knew Tara was upset at her mom and he did want things redeemed and he was willing to talk if she needed to, but admittedly, he didn't try to initiate the conversation bluntly. But, he did try to remind her that she was still her mom and regardless of how the woman treated him, she didn't deserve to be loathed by her kids. And he refused to act broken over it, even if he felt that way.
"Look, thanks and all, but I'm not going through emotional duress. I'm all right." Dumping coffee on his ex was a clear sign of okay, right? He knew the entire school was aware of how upsetting and bitter the break up was. He made sure of that by dumping coffee all over her. "We'll talk about the pictures. But, I'm sure my daughter isn't going to hurt anyone. And I do pay attention to my kids." He didn't think that she was that far. She was just drawing really morbid things. And maybe he should have looked at it more seriously. He didn't know, but he didn't like having it all brought out in front of him. He thought the pictures were all right. They were art. And it was better than other ways of her expressing herself. If it helped, he wasn't going to stop her. Though, maybe they needed that talk about her mom.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
zombie!
May 27, 2011 2:42:41 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on May 27, 2011 2:42:41 GMT -8
Andrew sighed "are you sure? I mean, I know break-ups are private, but--" he started to say, when he was interrupted. Andrew looked down when he was, before giving Danny an apologetic look. This wasn't what he meant. He didn't want to stir up trouble for anyone. He was just trying to help. He really was concerned about his students.
"Private?!" Tara snapped, "the entire school saw them fight! They all know how mom puts less effort than a blow-up doll, and how you hang loose!" she shook her head, walked over to her backpack and picked it up,. "Like dad said. We're fine. Can I go now?"she wanted to leave already, and go to lunch. Though, she was thinking about just skipping all but her last two classes. Since, Danny taught those classes and he would know if she skipped them. But, after making the bold move of mentioning the fight, she wanted out of the room, out of the conversation. Of course, it might not be that easy
|
|
|
zombie!
May 27, 2011 3:00:07 GMT -8
Post by Danny Maxwell on May 27, 2011 3:00:07 GMT -8
Danny wanted it to be private, but it was hard for it to stay that way. He was about to say more when Tara interrupted. Danny cringed openly. "Tara," he began, saying her name semi-quiet, but in warning. "It was a bad fight, Tara, you shouldn't have seen it and it shouldn't have been done here. Or at all. It was immature and I'm sorry, but now is not the time for this. You're not going anywhere." He said, trying to be both sympathetic and stern at the same time. Sighing, he looked back at Andrew.
"I'm sorry, this wasn't what I wanted to happen. Things are a little rocky, but not out of control." Rocky might have been an understatement. Although he hadn't thought that it was until that moment. He knew how he felt, but that wasn't something that needed to be addressed here. The kids had always come first and that was how it was supposed to be and how he was going to keep it.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
zombie!
May 27, 2011 3:17:40 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on May 27, 2011 3:17:40 GMT -8
Tara looked at him. "You're sorry I saw it? What about Willow Santos, dad? What about JJ Yorke? I don't care that I saw it, I don't. That's not even the point." She had been embarrassed. Mortified. And then the bitch had to stick around. She couldn't even leave and come back another day....or never. Looking up at him, she sighed. "I'm sorry, ok? I'm sorry. I'll start painting rainbows and kittens. Everybody happy now?" she folded her arms. She did not want to talk about this. She really didn't. She wanted to go back to staying silent about it. She wanted to go back to silently hating her mother. It was better that way.
Andrew nodded. "I just wanted you to be aware of it, that's all. If my Natasha were painting things like this, I would want to know about it." and he'd be shocked. Natasha was the sweetest, most hyper girl that Andrew ever met. Her ADD didn't really help much, either. But he loved his bubbly little princess. If she started drawing stuff like this, he would have a heart attack. And then he'd order Andre to come back, and he'd hide in the closet or under the bed while his husband dealt with it.
|
|
|
zombie!
Oct 30, 2011 21:42:08 GMT -8
Post by Danny Maxwell on Oct 30, 2011 21:42:08 GMT -8
How was he supposed to apologise for that? Danny didn't know how to handle that situation, mostly because it shouldn't have happened to begin with. And for all the questions he could ask other parents on how to handle teenagers, asking how to deal with a teenage girl after dumping coffee on her mother in front of all her peers seemed a little off. No one was going to be able to tell him anything. Because, it was probably one of the worst examples of parenting that he could show. But at the time, he wasn't thinking about how to be a responsible dad! He was thinking that his wife was a bitch and he needed to throw coffee at her. "I'm sorry about them too. Tara, it was a mistake. I can't change it--" God, if he could... "That's not it, Tara. If you need to get this out in some morbid way, go ahead. Just no more killing your mom." That was fair, right?
"I understand your concern." He said, addressing Andrew. But wasn't his daughter that bubbly blonde girl? Yeah, that would disturb him too, because he couldn't see something that dark coming out of a girl that cheerful and bright. "I think we can agree she went a little bit overboard... But you know, some kids are just a little... darker than others." Or something. He didn't think Tara was weird or going too far. Maybe she was a little, but he didn't want to think of his daughter that way. She was a good kid. A creative and imaginative kid, but a good kid all the same.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
zombie!
Oct 30, 2011 23:04:33 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2011 23:04:33 GMT -8
Tara shook her head, biting on her lip and staring at the floor. "Yeah, obviously," she stated sarcastically when he said he couldn't take it back. She had no idea what he had even been thinking. But right now, she didn't care, either. She wanted to find Brayden. She wanted to be anywhere but here, actually. And after answerin him, she was going to just keep her mouth shut. That is, until her dad said she had taken it too far.
Tara looked at her paintings. She loved her art. Looking up at her dad, she put up a hand "wait, what? I can't agree to that."She ddn't agree that she had taken it too far at all. Did anybody ask her if she ever felt like she was crossing the line when she was painting it? "Maybe I like painting thes. Maybe it relieves my stress. But who cares about that, right?"she shook her head. "I'm not going to take a gun and go shoot her or something. I don't plan on actually killing her for real. Just in my art. What's so bad about taking it out on the person whose actually at fault? She's the one who left with a note, and come on, who does that? Really. If I left a note and took off, how much trouble would I be in? She deserves to be punished too, you know" and this was how she did it.
|
|
|
zombie!
Mar 29, 2012 12:03:30 GMT -8
Post by Danny Maxwell on Mar 29, 2012 12:03:30 GMT -8
"I'm sorry, Tara." And he was sorry. He wished he could take it back, but it was too late now. That wasn't a fight that he wanted to have in front of the entire school, especially not the same school his daughter attended or in front of her. It was an awful fight and Danny felt bad for it, at least he felt bad that people saw it. He didn't feel guilty over what he said to his ex. He was angry with her; she cheated on him and had been a complete bitch. She deserved what happened. Of course, Tara didn't deserve any extra humiliation because of it and the students didn't need to see or hear what they said to one another.
When Tara decided she couldn't agree, Danny sighed. "This wasn't really an asking for input kind of decision," he replied, but he let her go on. "I know you aren't going to do anything to her, all right? But maybe these pictures aren't really school appropriate." Because he was on the fence about whether or not they were okay. He didn't know if it was a healthy way of release, but what he didn't want was her setting off alarm bells with the school. "Tara. First of all, your mother is not a minor, nor is she my daughter, so her taking off isn't the same as what would happen if you left a note and left." He reminded her. He couldn't discipline his exwife for leaving him.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
zombie!
Mar 31, 2012 13:18:50 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2012 13:18:50 GMT -8
Tara went quiet, looking at her art. All this trouble over a few paintings. Tara never thought that her art would lead to her having to talk, otherwise she'd never have painted them. It would be worth burning them right there and then if she could just stop talking about it. But she had a feeling it wasn't going to happen. And when he went on to point out the differences between her and her mother, Tara groaned.
"Ok. Fine. I'm sorry. Now, I'd really like to leave if that's ok with you." she spoke with pure sarcasm, and a little bit of an attitude. Tara wasn't normally like this. But she just wanted to avoid the issue of talking about her mom and feelings. Tara wasn't good with feelings. She was good with dumping stuff on people. She was good at the casual, superficial things. And since she wasn't good at talking, she didn't want to do it at all if she could get out of it.
|
|