Jokers child

Personal Day

Turning down the BBC Radio, I check my mobile to see what time it was & noticed that I had missed a call from an unknown number. My heart skipped a beat briefly before I suppressed the undesired thought.

He's coming, Mista J...

He's gonna be mad with us...

You double-headed blonde bimbo...

After pulling off the motorway, the Knightington Private Primary was only a few blocks away but that did nothing to comfort the blossoming anxiety in the pit of my stomach. There were still three hours left of the school day but that didn't matter, as I had explained to my boss. This was an emergency. 

He's gonna do to her what he did to Jason...

We can't see that again...

Once Knightington came into view it did nothing to the rooted anxiety in my stomach, gnawing at my insides as I fought off the little voice inside in the back of my mind. I focused on Lucy, her & her little Sarah and Duck hoodie, with her brights eyes & rosy cheeks. 

Without slowing, I pulled into the school's car park & jumped out, not caring about the light rain that had begun. Would the school believe him if he showed up and asked to take her home early? Though we are relatively identical to each other, as much as a mother and daughter could be, there would be no denying that he was her father. The thought of his scarred, cold hands wrapped around hers sends a shiver climbing up my spine.

Impatiently, I pressed the buzzer numerous times before an elder man's voice came over the speaker, "Welcome to Knightington Private Primary, how could I help you?" 

"Hello, hi, I'm here for Lucy Quinzel." Forcing myself to take a deep breath I tried to swallow my panic, burying it next to the anxiety blossom. A minute or two painfully passed by & visions of her cradled in his arms as he walked through these same doors, but then the speaker crackled to life.

"Okay, Ms. Quinzel, why don't you come in out of the rain." The doors metallic locks click open & I rushed inside, being greeted by the colors & friendly environment of the school. The elder man waved from a window to the side, the office window, then shuffled to the doorway. "She's on her way, Mrs. Abram is walking her down right now." 

Following him into the office I couldn't help but to pace, the minutes ticked by slowly. The elder man, Mr. Jones, attempted to have a pleasant conversation but I couldn't follow. My eyes stayed on the clock until I heard the clicking of heels & then the office door creaked opened, a rosy-cheeked young teacher in a flora dress walked in. 

"Ah, hello Ms. Quinzel!"

Without thinking I rushed towards her, still standing partially in the doorway & looked for Lucy. 

There she was, blonde hair in a messy bun with her Sarah and Duck hoodie over her uniform, she smiled brightly at me & everything inside of me melted. Wrapping her in my arms I couldn't hold back the tears, relief flooded & uprooted the anxiety in my stomach. After signing her out, apologizing to Mr. Jones & Mrs. Abram, I scooped her up & quickly headed back towards the car. 

The next day I took a personal day off & kept Lucy home from school, it felt like the right thing to do. The day after that, Saturday, Lucy woke up early & begged to go outside. 

"Wait, you think he was the one that called your old client?" Selena was on facetime with me while I was sitting outside, Lucy was playing in the yard. 

Lucy was pushing her Sarah doll on the swing, "Yes."

Selena stopped grooming Tails, her newest foster cat, & looked at me. "Are you okay, Harls?" 

"I am, just on edge," Selena raised an eyebrow at me, "Okay, I probably have been overworked lately & a little forgetful of my medication but, overall, I'm fine."

She was quiet for a moment, flipping through a magazine now before sighing. "I'm not gonna say it, because I know you know, but please Harley-"

"It won't happen again," I pulled my eyes from Lucy, who had moved onto a new activity, & made eye contact with Selena. "I've already emailed my boss about lessening my hours & I've purchased a whiteboard calendar to keep better track of my medication."

She smiled, "I'm proud of you, Harley." afterward, she then filled me in on all the latest Gotham gossip & an update on her & the Bats situation. Teased me about being crowned this year's Rollardurby Queen. Mentioned that Ivy moved, yet again. Lucy eventually came over & spent a few moments telling aunt Selena about her new school. 

"Momma, I'm hungry," Lucy said after a moment of making funny faces at Selena.

"It does feel like lunchtime, doesn't it?" I squeezed a giggle out of her, "Go wash up & I'll start whipping somethin' up!" 

Lucy jumped down & ran inside, not bothering to say bye to Selena. "You heard the boss,"

"She's getting so big, I can't believe it's been two years since I've seen her last."

"Yea, you & Ivy need to come visit us soon, before we both become old & crazy."

"Harley you're already crazy," We laughed together for a moment before she sighed & looked at me. "Is there something else on your mind?"

Swallowing a lump that automatically formed, I glanced towards the house to see if Lucy had gone inside yet. She & her Sarah doll were gone. Letting out a deep breath, I bit down on my lip, "He's been on my mind lately, especially since Thursday." 

Selena was quiet for a moment, looking off in the distance & not saying anything. Very, unlike my Selena. "What is it? Are you okay, Cat?" 

Eventually, her blue eyes met mine & she smiled softly. "Yea," After a moment of silence, she cleared her throat. "Bruce mentioned that he's been, uh MIA lately."

"MIA?"

"No one has seen the Joker in weeks. He's been silent, under the radar, even his goonies haven't seen him." Selena explained but her words soon faded as panic settled him, where is he? 

(A/N in the comments)